What we've been up to!

We’ve long thought it was about time for another update and a few pictures =)...wouldn't you agree? But finding the time to DO just such a thing has been next to impossible! Finally though, here it is, and I think we've made it long enough to make it worth your while. =) We are doing well in Pennsylvania and can see so clearly the Lord’s hand continuing His work in our family -- God has been so very good to us! We’ve had a very mild Spring so far with little rain, but enough to keep the lawnmower going. =) We’ve loved watching the many flowers bloom around our “little white house,” and we have yet to run out of fresh flowers from the yard to make bouquets with (when we do, we‘ll have plenty of dandelions to spare)! We also love living in the country again where the cows graze across the road from our house and we hear the familiar “whirr” of Amish buggies traveling along the road.

A little update on the family… The Lord has provided Dad with consistent construction work so far--something that we praise Him for each day as an answer to our earnest prayers. The Lord has opened up the door for us to buy a house... Our grandparents were looking for another smaller home to purchase and offered to sell their house to us--the home where both my grandpa and dad grew up! We're excited about this opportunity and are continuing to seek the Lord about it...but it's almost a certainty that we'll be moving again by the end of the summer. ;)

Shiloh is almost as tall as the twins now (he definitely weighs more!), he talks a lot, and he doesn’t walk--he runs…everywhere. Since he’s not quite two yet, you can imagine that makes for lots of bumps and bruises (and a few pretty deep cuts too) for the little guy. =) Our blonde, curly-haired, blue-eyed baby absolutely LOVES to be outside and is never happier than when he’s allowed to roam the yard away from the confines of the front porch!

Savannah and Sophia are so glad to live next door to Anna and Becca, whom they play with every possible day. Their favorite thing to do is play in the sandbox together! And they love to go “camping” in our travel trailer, even if it is right beside our house. =) They have such servants’ hearts and like to help me with whatever I’m doing, whether it’s hoeing the garden, baking bread, making cookies, or cleaning the bathroom…they like to be right there helping in any way they can!

Silas, ever mischievous, likes to help Josh haul pigs and play with Anna…Everyday after his schoolwork and chores are finished he seeks out Anna and they go off on their adventures together. Of course, he always takes his little stuffed puppy with him wherever he goes--you should hear the stories Silas tells about his little puppy ;)…one moment his puppy’s been carried off by the giant dog, Abby; the next he’s been swimming in the toilet (seriously!) or buried under a mountain of sand. =)

Seth loves to “hunt” with his bb gun, catch wild birds (like the robin he literally picked up out of the yard and set in a cage in our garage, feeding it worms for days =), ride his bike everywhere, experiment with different ways to start a fire (not always outside either!), explore the surrounding fields and woods, and do small work projects for others to earn some money. =) Last I heard he was saving up to buy himself a laptop. ;)

Sam helps Dad and Josh a lot with various work projects, and he’s become our official lawnmower because he loves riding the lawn tractor so much! It’s no chore to him at all. =) He helped a lot with the maple syrup-making this past winter and splitting nearly nine cords of firewood to sell. Sam helped Seth and Silas build a fort on the other side of our garage and they all love to play there together! All of the boys LOVE to fish, and a farmer down the road gave them permission to fish on his pond whenever they’d like, so they’re always asking to be able to go and do some fishing. =)

Skyler seems to be the busiest of us all, yet always makes time for fun and encourages the rest of us to do the same. He made a volleyball net for us to tie up across our driveway…we usually only play with just us children and Josh and Suzi, but sometimes we invite friends over to play with us as well and we have lots of fun! Skyler’s Spring has been filled with rock-picking fields (the soil around here is filled with stones and every year the fields have to be picked over before the farmers can plow them), splitting firewood, helping Dad with construction jobs, finishing up his final year of home schooling, and trapping and hunting animals. ;) He’s planning a wilderness camping trip this summer too, of course. =)

Stefanie keeps Suzi and I accountable with our Biggest Loser fitness program that we do together every morning (yes, Mrs. Rodgers, can you believe we’ve stuck with it for five weeks now!?) and is a huge help with home schooling younger siblings. Ever an avid reader, Stef often goes to the library and checks out huge piles of books…and somehow manages to read them all in a week or two!

Other than staying busy with the usual home-keeping (cooking, cleaning, laundry, baking, changing diapers, etc. =), I (Sara) have been giving sewing lessons, volunteering at Miracle Mountain Ranch and a local Mennonite church (helping with community service projects), landscaping around our yard and over at Suzi’s, and doing lots of organic gardening--Spring to me means gardening and I look forward to it all winter long! I can hardly wait for enough fresh produce to spare for smoothies and juices…my favorite!

Anna, Becca, and Ben come over often to our house, and we love having them around! They’re growing so big so fast and they all just dote on their baby sister Sara. =) Sara Kate Heagy was born on March 25th, and she’s just the cutest little thing in the world! I love having a little namesake, and it’s neat that she not only shares my name, but I was there to assist the midwife with her birth and we all think that she looks the most like I did when I was a baby. =) She's growing bigger (and chubbier!) every day...

And we have the wonderful addition of two little puppies now too! They're Papillons, sisters, and the cutest, craziest, little things. The family's puppy's name is Lilly, and mine is Eponine (the little ones call her "Epie")... Our family has always had a dog or two (we had five once upon a time!), so we're so happy to have some again. The little ones love on them all day long, and the puppies like to return the favor too. =)

As much as we’re all greatly enjoying this Spring, we’re really anticipating Summertime…picking fresh berries and fruit, spending days at the peninsula on Lake Erie, family cook-outs, camping adventures…we can hardly wait! I (Sara) will be heading to Indianapolis at the beginning of June and will be there until the middle of August or so, and the rest of the family will join me at the ITC the last week of July to help with the Indy Regional ATI Conference--we’re looking forward so much to serving there and seeing so many dear friends once again!