12 months of 2009 in the Q fam...

12 months of 2009 with the Q family

12 Angry Men (Steve’s drama debut!)

11 Beds for making (plenty of room for guests)

10 Homeschool Conventions worked (and much sightseeing enjoyed)

9 Laying Chickens (we are getting used to country life – sorta)

8 Subjects studied at our Homeschool – enjoyed being in a co-op again

7 Serving Jesus daily desiring to reach those who don’t know Jesus here & around the world

6 Days for Work (5 at MFW and one at home always lots to do)

5 Golden Children: Gabe, Maggie, Eva, Mal, Zeko

4(+1) Trips to Michigan to reconnect with family and friends

3 Sports played (soccer-boys, volleyball, and basketball)

2 Instrument Lessons (all are taking piano and violin)

1 New Foster Baby (She came into our home in Aug at 6 days old)

We pray 2010 will be a blessed year for you and your flock!

Much Love the Quak flock

O Christmas tree.....

For the last 9 or 10 years we have have put out our manger at Christmas and put the gifts around that.
We haven't set up a large Christmas tree in over 6 years! Between little ones and moving it was one thing we intentionally skipped! This year it was decided (with a little persuasion from lots of helpers) that it would be fun. Though I miss the fun of cutting it down, it sure was easy to just pull it out of a box! They all enjoyed laughs and memories while pulling out homemade ornaments they had made in years past and finding special ornaments from loved ones.
the bead lady ~ the girls got all the lights up then nicely strung the pearls
finding an open branch was quickly a challenge!
not so hard for those gifted in height :)
it was neat to see them all enjoying the memories ~ it was suggested that putting it away can be just as fun :) when I mentioned maybe packing it up BEFORE Christmas you would think my name was scrooge! I just thought one less thing to do when we return - oh well!

We enjoyed a fire and Christmas music to set the mood then roasted marshmallows over the fire and feasted on s'mores! (thanks Gr K for starting that fun tradition!!!)

May your families enjoy warm memories together as you prepare to celebrate the birth of our King!
Love the Q fam

Joyfullness

2009 Volleyball season is done

After a few injuries, (mom thinks I should say minor injuries but they HURT) hard work, and LOTS of fun the season is over!My most improved area is serving at the beginning of the season I could barely get the ball to hit the net, but at the last game I got all but one of my serves over!

This is my friend Laura and I ready to return a serve!

This picture of me and my team: Erin, ("Tutu" that is what my dad called me because of my number 22) Alissa, Clarissa, Laura and Coach Jessica
We celebrated the end of our season with a banquet. Here my coach Jessica is giving me the character award of joyfulness and a new Bible.

It was fun making new friends and learning to play volleyball! I look forward to doing it again next year.

Posted by Tu tu

Standin' in the need of prayer

We are currently studying the civil war ~ I have always enjoyed this spiritual. May you be blessed by it today too!

It’s me, it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer.

Not the preacher, nor the deacon, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer;

Not my father, nor my mother, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer.

Not the stranger, nor my neighbor, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer;

Not my brother, nor my sister, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer.


There are many things we like to THINK WE can do ~ we can't on our own, not without God! So often it seems easy to lift others needs up to the Almighty one because they aren't OUR struggles. We need to humble ourselves and invite him to work in OUR lives too.

Today may YOU come before our wonderful Father, lifting up your heart to HIM who can do more than we can ever ask or imagine.
We are all Standin’ in the need of prayer!

Pumpkin Patch

We seem to be on a roll with field trips....
We ventured out on a cool fall day with our homeschool group -- Thankfully God held the rain off! It was a very nice farm.

4 of the kids posed by some corn stalks ~note how CLEAN everyone is!

After gathering our group we loaded up on the hay wagon for a ride out to the pumpkin patch. The boys are pretty sure they got the BEST of the patch :)
one of them is showing his strength holding it with only one arm.

Everyone + pumpkins back on the wagon for the ride back in.

It was great fun being with friends :)

They had lots of fun activities for the kids to do back at the "barn". A hay jump complete with a mattress under the straw for extra bounce! The kids LOVED this!!! There were also goats to feed, a "corn box" (like a sand box) and a huge corn maze to wander in (none of them got lost- but they did manage to get pretty muddy!)
We enjoyed our day at the farm even the "little pumpkin" did great! Hopefully we'll get the pumpkins carved sometime this week.... off to find the calendar to fit that in!!!

Fire Station

We enjoyed seeing inside a fire station a few weeks ago~ (lots of pictures from our impromptu field trip :))
It was fun to sit in a fire truck and hearing the sirens was "cool" (well for some of us!)
"Leiutenant" you're so lovely with that hat...trying on the gear.....
someone really is in there :) a little growing to do before that fits I'd say but adorable anyway!wow that looks HEAVY!!!


and some of the kids even got to shoot the fire house!
it was an enjoyable visit ~ they even had inflatable things to play in ~ that was really fun too!
Best of all was seeing a friend of ours get dressed in the gear! You look GREAT Sarah!
We had a fun day seeing how a fires station works!

Mmmm... homemade applesauce!

We had a delivery of apples fresh from up north a week or so ago! So what do you do with a bushel and a half of apples?? make applesauce of course! Thankfully we had the experts here (my dad and mom) to help!
Its all in the line up! first you fill the sink with water and put the apples in,
then the peeler gets going -- peeling apples is fun with this tool!
Then the corers/slicers get to work. That is the hard part!
Once the pot is full add a little water and boil for awhile.

oh and of course enjoy the peels -- they are the best part :) and the chickens didn't mind all the leftovers either!!

After it cooks down add some sugar and cinnamon. Then pour into freezer containers and start the next batch --
house smells delicious and we can pull fresh applesauce out of the freezer for dinner anytime -- well until it runs out!

He's fine cause now he's 9

Had to make him stay in bed (he is our earliest riser so this was hard!) so he could have breakfast in bed... a special birthday treat!
A special treat having both sets of Grandparents around for the weekend! We had lots of fun.
Not sure who is scarier the little guys or the big one???? We are so blessed with this wonderful young man! Hard to know where all the years have gone, but its so special seeing the kind heart of this guy! Who desires to have fun, play like today may be the last day to do so, include the little guys (or gals) hold a baby, draw, read, and stratagize ways to build some new contraption.

May you grow more each day in your walk with Jesus and continue serving others with all your heart! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Make a joyful noise.......

Its not quiet symphonic sounding yet.... but we are entering our 2nd month of violin lessons. Our piano teacher is expanding our musical horizons with a string instrument. We have been so blessed to be able to borrow a few and Gr and Gr K surprised us with 2 little ones for the boys!

There almost isn't enough room for everyone to bow! Its neat to see them all working so hard to learn something new.
The Q Quintet

-- you may need to turn your volume up to hear the wonderful music....

(this is my first time trying a video so if it doesn't work I'm sorry!)
I am sure more to come as we improve!!!
Enjoy making your joyful noise today too :)
The Q's

Cute pictures for a good cause!

You may remember our post about LIGHTHOUSE the Russian orphans that came this summer.... well good friends of our have been called to adopt a sibling group, a 14 year old boy and a 13 year old girl. If you live nearby, join in this unique fundraiser to help a local family bring 2 children from Russia HOME! We did something similar 2 years ago and it was so neat! The kids had a blast! and I LOVE the pictures! BONUS you get a wonderful photograph for just $10!!! (additional photos can be purchased as well but don't have to be) A neat way to remember how you were a part of bringing children to their forever family.


**If you would like more information on how God has brought this all to be, you can contact us or Stacy and if you live out of town and want to support the Q's in their adoption journey the address for donations is:

First Assembly of God- Rolla

1608 N Oak St
Rolla, MO 65401

Please note ** Quittschreiber adoption fund** in the memo portion.

Please pray for these 2 children and the family that is waiting for them to come home and that the last 60% of funds needed will be raised quickly.
THANK YOU!

A beautiful day outside

A couple of days ago my sister got me all dressed up for a photo shoot...
We went out in to the field, thankfully we did not get covered in burs or ticks!
Though I did get some chigger bites :(

Posing by a post, we took LOTS of pictures it was very fun!

I picked a purple bunch of flowers, they were so pretty.
Here I am with some of the little flowers

I don't really read books in trees,
but the photographer wanted me to pose this way, so I did!


Go out and enjoy God's nature TODAY!
Hope you have a wonderful day

~by a 10 year old~

a VERY busy day (by a 12 yr old)

Today was a VERY busy day. :)
First of all I had to do my chores (we all know just how fun that is) chickens, cat, trash (pewwee) then breakfast, school, lunch, piano and violin lessons, recess (that was fun) then I had to dust and got a little rest then up on my feet again and off to volleyball as soon as that was done it was off again to drop a friend off at her house and to pick the 3 little kids from Dad. It ended up that us 4 little kids got to stay and watch some of Dads 12 Angry Men play practice (he did pretty good from what I saw) while mom picked my older brother up from soccer but my day doesn't end there its 7:30 P.M. and I was HUNGRY yes I had a apple, cheese stick and a granola bar but that was at 4:00P.M. so you can understand why I was so hungry. Had dinner and it feels good to just sit down and relax. Need to take a shower and get in bed. Tomorrow will be here all too fast! (i wanted to put pictures in but the day was too busy and we didn't get any -- maybe next time!)

All in a day as the oldest daughter in the Quak Flock!!!

Come watch the drama....

(This is copied from the Nisbetts blog... just sharing the info!
We'd love for you to come see it!!!)

This classic jury room drama is amazingly fun to watch. Alex G was at the last rehearsal and afterwards said, "I thought watching 12 men argue for three acts would be dull, but it WASN'T!" Join us for one of the performances.

Starring Jurors:

#1 Steve Skelton
#2 Steve Quakkelaar
#3 Paul Hammacher
#4 Kevin Edwards
#5 Nathan Hickle
#6 Joe Davidson
#7 Joel Nisbett
#8 Dan Goff
#9 Keith Nisbett
#10 Bruce Wade
#11 Scott Alford
#12 Adam Nisbett

Justin Mosher Guard
Judge Bill Hickle as the Judge

TWELVE ANGRY MEN REHEARSAL

. . . all those voting not guilty . . .

. . .guilty. . .

. . .this is the angry part. . .

I love Scott's costume.

Posted by Nisbett Family at 9:06 PM

http://nisbett.blogspot.com/2009/09/twelve-angry-men-rehearsal.html

get off your chair and STAND UP!!!

This year for school we are learning hymns each week. This week it's Stand Up Stand Up for Jesus here is a little about how it came to be and the words:

‘Stand Up for Jesus’ was the dy­ing mes­sage of the Rev­er­end Dud­ley A. Tyng to the Young Men’s Christ­ian As­so­ci­a­tion…The Sab­bath be­fore his death he preached in the im­mense ed­i­fice known as Jaynes’ Hall, one of the most suc­cess­ful ser­mons of mo­dern times. Of the five thou­sand men there as­sem­bled, at least one thou­sand, it was be­lieved were ‘the slain of the Lord’…The fol­low­ing Wed­nes­day, leav­ing his stu­dy for a mo­ment, he went to the barn floor, where a mule was at work on a horse-pow­er, shell­ing corn. Pat­ting him on the neck, the sleeve of his silk stu­dy gown caught in the cogs of the wheel, and his arm was torn out the roots! His death oc­curred in a few hours…The au­thor of the hymn preached from Eph. 6:14, ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,and the…verses were writ­ten simp­ly as the con­clud­ing ex­hor­ta­tion. The su­per­in­tend­ent of the Sab­bath school had a fly-leaf print­ed for the child­ren—a stray co­py found its way into a Bap­tist news­pa­per, from that pa­per it has gone…all over the world.

George Duffield, Jr.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the solemn watchword hear;
If while ye sleep He suffers, away with shame and fear;
Where’er ye meet with evil, within you or without,
Charge for the God of battles, and put the foe to rout.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict, in this His glorious day.
Ye that are brave now serve Him against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the Gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, each soldier to his post,
Close up the broken column, and shout through all the host:
Make good the loss so heavy, in those that still remain,
And prove to all around you that death itself is gain.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle, the next the victor’s song.
To those who vanquish evil a crown of life shall be;
They with the King of Glory shall reign eternally.

We love a party!

Turning 17 is worthy of a party :)

with a cake.... and candles....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU... MAKE A WISH!
Alida we wish you a VERY happy birthday!
thanks for letting us celebrate with you :)
You are a wonderful young lady --Your willingness to help out where ever there is a need, quietly serving and helping out in many little ways does not go unnoticed. May God bless you with many more wonderful years to serve Him where he calls you!!

A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,
MAY YOU FIND GOD NEAR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR
A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,
AND THE BEST YEAR YOU'VE EVER HAD!
HIP HIP HOORAY!!!!!
(song courtesy of the Alvaro's :)!!!)

Love from all the Quaks!

Big Steps Little Feet

15 years ago, I joined a wonderful homeschool family in their new business venture, opening a child care center. I was 19 and still in school working on my Early Childhood Degree. Rob Young, the owner, (either in amazing confidence or complete ignorance) hired me to be the director of the whole thing! WOW what an experience that was!

Our desire was to provide the best Christian care for those who couldn't (or chose not to) be home with their children. We were entrusted to help raise these precious gifts from the Lord and what a blessing that was. I have so many fond memories of those years. And feel like I owe many parents apologies for all my parenting advice -- you shouldn't be allowed to give advice UNLESS you are a parent yourself! It doesn't matter what kind of degrees you have!!!
(Some pictures of our fun days at Big Steps....)

A few highlights from my BSLF years --
* Making sure the staffing ratios are meet -- try scheduling 20+staff and over 100 children and making it all work out!
*Making meals that are healthy, well balanced, and kid friendly x 130! (I should be better at that by now -- still not my strong suit!)
*Getting to be a kid again and PLAY, read stories, and wonderful nap time :)
*Being able to work with so many friends what a wonderful treat.
*Enjoying pajama day with all the children -- then having a cute guy come and propose to me right in the middle of our preschool! (yeah, Rob was in on that too and convinced me not to change out of my pj's- however I insisted when he pulled out a camera!!!)
*Making wonderful friends with lots of families and watching their blessings grow up.
*Getting to send them all home every night! That was a shocker when I had my own 24/7
*Being able to have my children in the room right next to my office so I could see their first rolls, crawls and steps.
* Getting to know a blessed homeschool family who taught me that following God's call is most important -- Sorry I always gave you such a hard time about homeschooling, look where it got me! -- I have learned not to say NEVER

Getting to work at 8am with 2 under 2 was a challenge!

Yes that is me with Maggie and Gabe

I am thankful God has called me to be home, but that season was used by Him to grow me in so many ways. Thanks Rob and Annette for all your love and encouragement.
(and reminding me its been 15 years!)

May God continue to guide you as you help those little ones take
BIG STEPS with their LITTLE FEET! and HAPPY BIRTHDAY BSLF!

And best wishes to Kathy who has grown and improved it as director since I "retired" and to Jana (their oldest) as she opens her own BSLF this fall!!!

FYI the name came from a song by Mary Rice Hopkins
Chorus: "I may be small but HE lives in me I've got Big Steps and Little Feet"