December has always been a busy month for us with 4 birthdays to celebrate, plus all the added benefits of the holiday season. If Christmas parties, concerts, end of the year projects, school finals, shopping, baking and decorating weren't enough, we're also experiencing a really sweet outpouring of the Holy Spirit at The International House of Prayer. CBN did a story on it, Zach can be seen towards the end. I can't believe I'm actually telling my kids, "No, you can not go to the service every night."You will be receiving a photo Christmas card from us with a magnetic strip on the back so you can hang it on your refrigerator as a reminder to pray for us. If you do not get one but wish to be on our mailing list, please email us.
Yearly Wrap Up
John is currently using his radio experience by working on the ihopworship.fm project for IHOP. This will be an internet radio station due to launch the 1st of the year focusing on music from IHOP. It's a great idea and long overdue. He is also building a Simply Music business. This is a new method of teaching piano that is growing in popularity with homeschoolers. He hopes to have 30+ students very soon. John and the kids also lead worship once a month in the Children's Equipping Center at IHOP. Starting in January he will also teach a keyboard theory class to 1st year students at The Forerunner Music Academy.
On occasion I'm able to step out of my office, the laundry room, to teach a couple of classes at The Daniel Academy. TDA is a parent partnership where the kids go to school 3 days a week and get their homework for the other days. It's somewhere between homeschooling and private school. The Personal Finance class is my favorite, we use the Dave Ramsey course for high school students. I am truly a Dave Ramsey nerd. The other one is the Yearbook class. Last year we put together a really nice looking yearbook, this year is going to be even better. I think if I had to make a career change right now it would be in computer graphics or design of some sort.
Zach is still attending Forerunner Music Academy. He's had the opportunity to play with several different worship teams at IHOP. He's also in a band that has written a song for a documentary on human trafficking being put together by a well-known person. (More on that in the future. It's still in the works.)
Rachel is graduating from The Daniel Academy this year. She will start a nearby Junior College next year and is looking to get into their fashion design program. After a couple of years her dream is to go to New York's FIT or a fashion school in Chicago. It's easy to see her talent in her drawings. She's also a gifted writer with quite an imagination. She likes to strike a pose often.
On occasion I'm able to step out of my office, the laundry room, to teach a couple of classes at The Daniel Academy. TDA is a parent partnership where the kids go to school 3 days a week and get their homework for the other days. It's somewhere between homeschooling and private school. The Personal Finance class is my favorite, we use the Dave Ramsey course for high school students. I am truly a Dave Ramsey nerd. The other one is the Yearbook class. Last year we put together a really nice looking yearbook, this year is going to be even better. I think if I had to make a career change right now it would be in computer graphics or design of some sort.
Zach is still attending Forerunner Music Academy. He's had the opportunity to play with several different worship teams at IHOP. He's also in a band that has written a song for a documentary on human trafficking being put together by a well-known person. (More on that in the future. It's still in the works.)
Rachel is graduating from The Daniel Academy this year. She will start a nearby Junior College next year and is looking to get into their fashion design program. After a couple of years her dream is to go to New York's FIT or a fashion school in Chicago. It's easy to see her talent in her drawings. She's also a gifted writer with quite an imagination. She likes to strike a pose often. 
Sarah is enjoying high school in The Daniel Academy. She sang a beautiful solo in the Christmas concert. (She won't let me post the video) Sarah has also continued dancing at Dramatic Truth along with her sister's Rachel, Hannah, and Chloe. Someday she wants to dance in the company and to teach dance. She's off to a great start. She's also pretty handy with the camera.
Hannah simply amazed us all with her recent solo in the Christmas concert. Not only was it extremely high but it was in Latin. Hannah is in 7th grade at TDA. She would rather dance, sing, and act her way through school than pick up a book. Definitely a Davidic anointing on this one. She's also a big help in the kitchen always whipping up a new recipe. In this case, it's cow cookies.
Josiah is in the 6th grade at TDA. He continues to WOW us with his growing knowledge and brains. Next year he wants to be homeschooled so he can study the things he wants to and do a more difficult math. He already has his plan for the future to be in the army and then an author who writes war stories. Sounds like a plan.
Chloe is a 3rd grader attending TDA. She's interested in dancing, singing, and crafts. She has recently started sewing up anything that is in need of repair.....stuffed animals, socks, just about anything.
Sophie has learned how to read. It's a big deal because she has known all the phonics and special sounds for almost 2 years but hasn't shown any interest in actually reading. Last fall before school started she announced to us that she didn't want to read, she didn't see the point in it. After all, there are 6 older siblings to do it for her. They convinced her life is way more fun when you can read for yourself. A short time later it all clicked and now she reads nonstop for hours at a time. 
And then there's Charlotte, the newest addition to our family. After much training on how to trust people she is becoming a happy, well adjusted dog. We got her from a local pet shelter when she was 9 months old so we don't know much about her puppy life. We think she's a Jack Russell Terrier/Beagle mix. She's super smart and very aware of her surroundings. There's not a squirrel in the yard she's not aware of. She's proved to be a wonderful deterrent to rabbits trying to sneak into our garden and a good watchdog as she barks at anybody who would dare to come near our home. Doesn't she look ferocious?
Guess who....Josiah doing the bunny ears again!
For example, this horrible picture. I would have made them stay behind these flowers until they were all smiling like angels. Truth is...the sun was in their eyes and my camera battery was dead. I managed to eek this one more picture before it crashed. Thanks for the great day!
