Robert, where did you find such a beautiful name and what does it mean? “Sauntina was a name that Mama and Papa Kowalchuck had wanted to name one of their children however the Lord only gave 4 children and were not able to use this name. Both Kendalyn and I loved the name and the musical ring that it had. Sonata is a musical term and Sonantina is a short Sonata. Kendalyn’s Grandmother gave her oldest daughter the middle name La Verle because of the kindness of a little girl with that name. Mama gave that middle name to Kendalyn and so Kendalyn passed that middle name on to her first born daughter. Verle means truth and LaVerle is the femine form of that. So to us “LaVerle” is a blend of truth and kindness and a reminder to us to speak the truth in love.”

Kendalyn, How long were you in labor? Would you do a water birth again? Did you have everything you needed to welcome and care for such an early baby?

“I was in labor for about 6.5 hours and yes, I would do a water birth again!  We had almost everything we needed…save a hose to fill the tub and an air pump to inflate the tub.    Thankfully, our neighbor had the needed supplies and everything was ready when the time came!  My other jobs, such as meals, finishing thank you cards, finishing up the baby’s room, and other misc tasks on my to-do list were quickly prioritized as non-important.” 

Kendalyn, How are your feeling now?

“I am so happy! I just lay there looking at Sauntina, marveling at how tiny she was and that she was ours to keep for as long as the Lord allowed.”

Kendalyn, What is your favorite part about being a mom so far?

“I love holding her, seeing her stretch her little arms out, and watch her open her eyes and look around at her new home.”

Grandpa Staddon, How would you put into words your feelings about holding your first grandchild? “To put my feelings into words I would say, ‘precious.’ What a precious gift from the Lord of life. What a precious memory of holding such bundles in the past. What a precious potential for the glory of our Heavenly Father and the advancement of His kingdom.’

Grandma Staddon, how does it feel to be a grandmother? ‘”It is very exciting to know that she was able to deliver at home and didn’t have to go through the hospital experience! I’m so happy Sauntina is born into such a wonderful family. Kendalyn and Robert are going to be very loving, caring parents and they will have lots of support from both friends and family!”

Mama K, where were you when the baby was born? I was at 35,000 feet in the air on route from Calgary, Alberta to Chicago. I discovered my flight was cancelled because United Airlines said they lost my plane! So I sent a text to Robert to let him know I would be later than expected. Robert replied saying Kendalyn was in a lot of pain and he was wondering if the baby was on the way. So I called Robert to see what he meant and heard Kendalyn in the background. At that point I asked Robert to hold the phone up to Kendalyn’s ear because I wanted to hear if she could speak to me. She couldn’t. At that point I told Robert, ‘Yes, your wife is in labor and she is not very far from transition.’ The time was 12:40. I encouraged him to be strong and told him I would be there as soon as possible. I also told him that I would be praying that God would deliver the baby in a short time frame. And at 1:11pm the baby arrived!”

Mama K, how do you feel about the baby’s name? “Honored beyond words! The realization hit me the next morning during my devotions with the privilege of seeing the face of Sauntina 30 years after God gave Kendall and I the name!”

Uncle Dan, when did you first see your little niece? “I was one of the few that was privileged to be in Chicago at the time of the birth. I was on my way back from getting ice-cream with Mr. Crouse and some of the HQ staff in honor of Sauntina’s birth. Robert called and invited me over to see the baby that same night. As soon as we walked in Robert came down the steps and said ‘Well hey guys! Hang on, we’ve had a little explosion up here!’ Once the diaper was changed, we all walked into the bedroom. They let me hold the baby first. I had so little experience and felt inadequate. I saw her eyes peek open and admired her perfectly formed little features. Her fingernails were so cute! Her long fingers promise the potential of a great pianist! Having a niece is so much fun! I can hardly wait for the Lord to bring more in the future!”

Praise the Lord for a safe and healthy birth! We love you, Sauntina! Welcome to the family! For more info visit robertloveskendalyn.com

The problem was that it would take him at least eight days to finish by himself. You see, frame building would be a long, tedious process and each box needed four coats of paint in some places! It would certainly not have worked to start any earlier, for we had not yet received the pieces to put together. Fortunately, Michael was able to foresee the problem and present it to the rest of the Staddon brigade a month in advance. This gave all the willing workers time to prepare for the blitz.

When the time came, Dad, Mom, Donald, Esther, James, Jonathan, and David helped Michael knock out the giant project with a servant spirit and encouraging smiles. Good Job guys and we will look forward to sharing the rewards of harvest!

We chose a baking theme for Grandpa’s birthday party because he is such an outstanding cook! We have great memories growing up of walking into Grandpa and Grandma’s house smelling the glorious stew ready and waiting to welcome us to West Virginia. Grandpa is the one who taught us how to make rhubarb jelly which has been a staple in our house ever since we moved here and planted divisions of his rhubarb plants. His most recent doing in the kitchen was a big batch of sauerkraut! Grandpa encourages us to eat healthy and have our own garden and we treasure his advice! Thank you, Grandpa! We had fun celebrating your birthday with you!

We are so blessed to have a virtuous mother! Her dedicated love, hard work, and God-honoring life style are a testimony to all! What a joy to honor her on her special day. In fact, there was more than one celebration of her birthday this year! The first was at the Neely’s with the most beautiful, delicious cakes you could ask for! The second was a a party for her and Grandpa at Manard’s Spaghetti Inn where Uncle Tim took us all out to eat! Last of all we celebrated with a Hawaiian theme and went to a piano concert in Clarksburg. We love you, Mom and thank God for who you are!

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It could be that Europe has experienced some benefits along with their government-run health care. But that’s Europe. Americans don’t give up freedom for ease. Otherwise the United States would never have been born. Remember Patrick Henry. Remember our fathers who against all foreseeable odds set their firm reliance on divine Providence and won the liberty for good people to make their own decisions without hindrance.

And the voice of freedom will again be heard. No matter how hard the tyrants press the people to conform to their agenda, true American patriots will still say “Give me liberty or give me death.” And we praise the Lord for those patriots who make their voices heard to avoid the deadly “spiral of silence” before it is too late. Lord willing, the Supreme Court will have the wisdom to remember that we have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. And if not, well, the fight has just begun.

Psalm 8

“O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

“O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

Happy Resurrection Day!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Lord for His mercy and guidance through the years of my life and thank my family for making the celebration of this so special! Looking back to the fun birthdays in the past and scary birthdays in the past, reassure me that the Lord is in control and has a plan and purpose for my life. It is so fulfilling it to live for Him!

The minutes flew by as we went through Ruth 1:16, a part of Exodus 34 and Psalm 9:9. Proverbs 17:17 spoke of a friend loving at all times. Yes, any time is a good time to go over Scripture with your brother. At the end, I realized that I was full of joy. Listening to Scripture is like standing under a refreshing waterfall. God’s word is holy and the more I hear it the more it makes me clean.

By the way, remember not to get upset with someone who tells you that Scripture memory is a waste of time. They simply haven’t done it! I myself will readily admit that often times it is hard to take time out for Scripture memory but once that decision is made and becomes a part of our habits, the Scripture will come to stay, bringing its unique fruit and blessing in all of our other work.

As a doctor once observed, medical expenses are one thing that will diminish as Scripture is built into a person’s life. He found that he could help a patient to reduce their visits to his clinic from 8 or 9 to only two per year, simply by recommending training in Biblical principles.

Choose your investments wisely. Decide what the central support of your life will be. Consider this year’s Bible Bee.

     Though we have collected sap for some years now, every year the process becomes more refined. But this year was drastically different. The sole reason was because of a home-school family we met through the Salem Farmers’ Market. This family went all out when it came to the maple syrup making. They tapped hundreds of trees and bought a commercial boiler to process the sap. They agreed to process our sap with their equipment if we could get enough sap to make it worth it. So the challenge was on, and this was the reason Mom and I were pushing 30 gallons of distilled water out of Wal-Mart. Not necessarily for the water, but for the jugs.

     In a couple of days we had a total of 60 taps in maple trees all over our our neighbors’ properties and a couple on our own. This was over four times what we had ever done before! How were we going to gather it all, bring it all back to the house, and take it to the Colemans?

     The answer came through a blessing, a willing younger brother. Together we were able to collect about 389 gallons of sap, bring it all back to the house, (with the help of a car) filter it into 30 gallon drums, they had loaned us, and take it over to the Colemans for boiling.

     It’s so exciting to see how each year expands beyond what we ever thought possible, especially this year. But so is the way of God’s work in our lives. He always has a goal set before us, though it takes much patience and a willingness to expand our borders. I have learned much more than just how to process lots of sap. And I hope this encourages you not only to do the challenging, but to do the impossible!