What does a weekend with 15 grandkids look like?

This weekend started last Thursday when Sam and Lisa and boys came up so Sam could help Dave finish the cover on the lakeside patio. Lisa, the boys and I spent the time in the lakeside "pool" trying to beat our 13 + days of 100 + heat! Sam and Dave had to haul lattice up on top and staple it down to provide us with some shade down by the lake. We finished off the night with a game of "500" and I don't remember who won.
I had a rather sleepless night as I was up reading my Karen Kingsbury novel! So when the doorbell rang at 7 a.m. I stumbled out of bed and greeted the 8 Smith kids for the day! We began with breakfast. breakfast They brought a box of Cream of Wheat-I was set to make enough for 8- Caitlin informed me that they make enough for 16! Then at supper time- I got out the 2 boxes of Mac and Cheese but Caitlin said, "Oh Grammy, we always make 4 or 5!" Good thing I had spares on hand.
The day was spent with 5 hours down at the lake swimming, boating and searching for treasures in the lake. JM won that one with his prized net...only to lose it later while swimming with Ana BUT Ana saved the day and found it again so they now have joint ownership!



Saturday the whole Smith clan was back along with Jay and Cole Hasz- giving relief to their parents with the new baby! More swimming, games, food and fun! At one point in the day Ana and JM were playing Fisher Price (that is getting out the house, school, farm, and hospital and all the furnishings). Ana was in charge of the school and JM the house. Ana came in to appeal to her mom becasue JM had all the desks from the school in his house! Amy told Ana that she thought that JM should give her the desks since she had the school. JM adamently exclaimed, "But MOM! My kids are homeschooled! What will they do for desks????!!"

We finished off that day with a story then Amy picked them all up about 8. I fell into bed exhausted but happy! Cole and Jay spent the night and went to church with us on Sunday. Jay talked GrandDad into a Stop Thief game.
Tonight we brought Jay and Cole home and had pizza with David and Beth. We then met Jon and Jordan at Dairy Queen to experience her first ice cream cone! (Sorry- blogspot won't let me put on any more pictures!) Then Jon and Dave went to Lowes to get Jon a grill-dropped me off at the Coffee Shop to blog- then we'll go over to Sam and Lisa's and play some 500.
THAT is what a weekend looks like here in East TExas!

Nicholas Walker Hasz

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Nicholas Walker Hasz
8 lbs. 7 oz.
born to: David and Beth Hasz

Children are a GIFT from the Lord;
They are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man
Are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hands.
How happy is the man whose quiver is full of them!
Psalm 127: 4,5

How happy David and Beth are to welcome Nicholas Walker Hasz into the world this afternoon. We are praising the Lord for a healthy baby and mom!

Beth will be in the hospital 48 hours. Ashley and Jonathan started back to school last Thursday and their intern babysitter- Beth, is taking over with Cole and the house.
Teen Mania welcomes the new August class of Interns on Wednesday which puts David back into full swing! Nicholas arrived just in time!

This makes 15 grandchildren for us and we are SO blessed. Thank you Father God. Your goodness is overwhelming. This child, like the others, is truly a gift to us.

May you live to enjoy your grandchildren...

"May you live to enjoy your grandchildren, And may Israel have quietness and peace.Psalm 128:6"
This past week we were so blessed to have MOST of our grandchildren come and visit us. We DID see ALL of our children and their spouses this week. God is so good to allow us to live close to them all for this season and we are enjoying it SO much.

We are praying for the peace of Jerusalem and watching as God fulfills the prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel in bringing about the last days. Are you ready? Read ALL ABOUT it in the WORD!

So Give Your Parents JOY...Prov. 23:24

Proverbs 23: 24 The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure it is to have wise children. So give you parents joy! May she who gave you birth be happy!" Proverbs 23: 24”
Last night the LORD, (and we give HIM all the glory and honor), allowed us to be so blessed to attend the Honor Academy, Gala, which is celebrating the completion of one year ( or two years for some )for the interns in the Teen Mania Honor Academy. (Here is David confering with Ron Luce, the head of Teen Mania, during the program. ) The mission statement of the Honor Academy is, “Our heart beat is…To provide a young generation to passionately pursue Jesus Christ and to take His life-giving message to the ends of the earth! God has gifted David to be the leader/teacher of this group of young people and to lead this part of Teen Mania. There were about 500 graduates in the 2 groups this year. We couldn’t have been more blessed than to sit there and watch David MC the night and speak of the goodness of God and what HE has done in the lives of these youth. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
The other added blessing is that our ENTIRE family- all 8 children and their 14 offspring- well, not ALL as Beth, Jay and Cole were at home as Beth is just days away from delivering their fourth child! All of Amy's family were there and so well behaved! What a blessing...as were ALL the children! Sam and Lisa were there with their boys, and Kelly and Jon and Jordan were seated at the end of the Hasz table!
Anyway- it is such a blessing to have all our children involved in ministry here at Teen Mania and to be seated together at one LONG table! On the way home last night Dave and I were recounting our blessings and thanking God for honoring His promise that if we would train up our children in the way they should go...when they were old they would not depart from Him! We were remembering the days when David was just a little boy- 3 years old- and he was STANDING in the BACK SEAT (years before children had to be in carseats...how did they ever survive!) and as he stood singing the cords on his neck stood out as he bellowed at the top of his voice- Oh, how I love Jesus!" Just one of those memory pictures that continues to bless us and we have seen the hand of God on his life as he has yielded himself to the Lord. Yes…"she who gave birth was indeed happy!" Prov. 23:24

Because the Gracious hand of God was upon me

Yesterday I told you about the things that the Hasz men were able to accomplish for Lisa and I through their phone conversations. This morning as I was reading in Nehemiah, the Lord spoke to me and showed me that it was not their wisdom and cleverness that reaped the blessings we were given but…as Nehemiah had asked the king for letters for safe travel and provisions to be given him to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall- this is what the Bible says:
Nehemiah 2:8 “and because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.” Therefore, I want to give credit where credit is due for our cushions and so forth that WalMart is going to give us. Thank you GOD that your gracious hand was upon us!


I was asking the Lord again this morning what my purpose is for this time and He reminded me again that I am the helpmeet for Dave. So I went out to the garage and found him sawing lumber for the “cover” over the lakeside patio. I spent the rest of the morning holding the umbrella over him as he worked and getting him tools and drinks and doing whatever he asked of me. What a joy to be where I am supposed to be.

This is why I am the HELPER -helpmeet!

This is why God created me to be the HELPMEET! After reading on Lisa’s blog about Sam and his conversation with their internet provider-after Lisa got the total run around with them…see her blog! I wrote this in her comments:
I think Sam must be his father's son or Maybe Dave is Sam's father.. Anyway, we had a similar problem yesterday with a patio set that we bought at WalMart on clearance from WalMart to use down by the lake. It was marked down from $325 to $175 so we thought that was a good deal. They had one sitting out on the sidewalk in front of WalMart and the guy who was assembling the matching loveseat set said there were lots more in boxes inside. We paid for it THEN found out there were no more in boxes- there was just one in a dismantled box but were told that the manager said that one was SOLD- (to himself I'm sure). Anyway- we bought the one on the sidewalk- all assembled- and loaded it on to our already loaded down truck. We also bought the matching loveseat set in a LARGE box. We got it all home and after unloading it found that there was a hole in one of the cushions- the covers for table and chairs were missing and there were several glides missing from the chairs. I called WalMart and talked to them and they said all we could do is bring it back and have our money refunded. Groan. This morning DAVE called the Customer Service number on the sticker on the table-(also a WalMart rep. but not at the local store.) After talking with MY HUSBAND, H e is going to: Send us a new cushion, send out the covers and send out the glides. How does Dave do that???? This is why I am the Helper and not the one in charge! I need to remember my role and let HIM do the talking!

Reveille

It’s late and I’m tired…but just wanted to share this really sweet moment from camp…Haley played her trumpet to help us rise each morning with Reveilee and put us to bed with Taps each night. It was so sweet!
( I just waited 10 min. for this picture...and NO picture!...maybe tomorrow!)

I also spent about 1/2 hour on the internet just trying to find out how to spell Reveille!!!

Reveille (Service Call) - Signals the troops to waken for the morning roll call. This call is also used to accompany the daily raising of the National Colors and/or United States Flag. Soldiers who are outdoors and hear this call should face the flag (or face the music if the flag is not in sight) and Present Arms (salute) whether in or out of uniform.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

After taking the challenge of the "Experts"-who we had spanked last Friday night at "500"- Lisa and I again went to the table and in 3 out of 5 games came out the champions. It will be short lived so we'll enjoy it while we can! Tonight may be a different story. Sam and Lisa came up so Sam could help Dave with the building project down at the lake- putting a cover over the "patio" by the "lakeside". I say "lakeside"- because the water is so low that the sea wall is sticking 4 feet out of the ground. Our bay is too shallow to bring the boat in and we are praying for rain in this drought stricken land of East Texas- not just for the lake but primarily for the farmers. Sam and Dave will work on it tomorrow as Sam is taking a much needed day off. He worked long hours all weekend moving 1000's of kids to and from Dallas for Teen Mania via bus. He is in charge of all the scheduling of transportation so was at work at all hours of the day and night. What a great son to help us on his day off!
The sign says "Loser" in case you can't read it!

For Mom's ...all of you!

I'm thinking of my mom today. She went home to be with the Lord just a few months
ago after 95 years of grace. I sent her this poem every day on MOther's Day from the time that Amy was born until she died. (about40 times!) When I was teaching 7th grade Girls' Bible at Faith Christian and we did a Mother/Daughter tea I always had a group of girls act this out. Please take time to go to this website today and be blessed.
http://wandascountryhome.com/motherswalk/index.html

A Day of REST

Here they are...the Blue and Red Teams...the kids that dominated our lives last week and brought us so much joy. We held our First, Lord Willing, Annual Grandkids Camp. It was lots of work but oh rewarding. The LORD gave us the grace, wisdom and training to do this type thing...also the property to be able to hold it here...and we give HIM all the glory. Today is the day of REST and after spending yesterday cleaning up...we will take that day and REST!

Put on Kindness, humbleness of mind

Tomorrow camp begins...I think I am as ready as I am going to be! It reminds me of my teaching days...there was always something more that could be prepared or perfected...you just can't do it all!
I have been seeking the Lord on what kind of spritual truths I can impart to my grandchildren in the days ahead...I seem to be coming back to this theme...kindness.

What is it? Webster's 1828 edition says: Kindness: That temper or disposition which delights in contributing to the happiness of others, which is exercised cheerfully in gratifying their wishes, supplying their wants or alleviating their distresses."

Lord, let me show that kind of kindness to my husband and grandchildren in the next few days...and in all my life! I need the grace of God for this!

Another definition:
"Kindness is shown in a gentle tone of voice and in kind acts. Kindness draws people to us whereas criticism and harshness pushes them away. This shoudl not be a surprise as 'it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. "
(Romans 2:40) Martha Peace
I would ask for your prayers in the days ahead that I can show this kind of kindness and be able to teach some aspect of this to the children.

One day to GO!

Busy working on camp...one day to go. Check out the new blogsite.
Click on camp on the side bar and stay tuned!

How about that Lisa???

Isn't she amazing. That is FRESH, FROM SCRATCH, French bread! And is it ever good. She is a great cook and it is always fun to eat at their house! Now that we have learned to play 500 5 handed- since Brian was there with them- we've had some great games.
On to the more mundane things.
I've spent lots of time here the past 4 or 5 days. I know it doesn't look like much- and the picture looks almost the same as the one the other day- BUT...I got both spreads done. They didn't turn out like I had planned- they were GOING to have the comforter inside- but that didnt' work out. I am hoping that tomorrow's picture will look a bit different since I went to Wal-Mart tonight and got some more things for the room.

I am working on Grandkids Camp for next week. We will have ALL the grandchildren who are 6 years old and older here for 3 days of camp. That will be the oldest 8 of the 14. We have games, crafts, and all kinds of activites planned. I hope it is fun for all. We are looking forward to it. We had to go out and buy a "kids" bow and arrow set for the archery classes- don't want to say too much and spoil the surprises. Camp is scheduled for next Tuesday through Thursday-HGK Camp- First Annual!

It Just LOOKS Harmless

A boat, a ship, a rug, and various other “nautical” things and one comment from Beth, “What are your going to do with the bunk room?” Well, I THOUGHT I had already “DONE” that room. After all it had pictures and all beds had comforters-ugly though they were. Then Beth added that she had these nautical things that had come out of a room she had done for Jonathan a few years back- and maybe I would like to have them. (I know she was feeling sorry for me that the room was so ugly!)
This is the before picture.
So… I gladly took them and her suggestions- she is a much a better decorator than I! I began shopping for sheets and comforters- and did the almost daily exchanges at Wal-Mart as I chose different things. THEN- Lisa- bless her! She came up with this great idea for the new bunk beds that they got for Henry and Jonah. She got a quilt top and…. The rest is history.

Then there is the sewing room- ripping up the old comforters- making new spreads and trying to figure out a way to use the old comforters but make it less bulky because those bunks were always so hard to make with the full comforter.

This is the new look- not complete- the shams aren’t done- the spread really isn’t all sewn together- this is a work in progress. But you get the idea.

Thanks Beth and Lisa! Another week and I should have the sewing done and maybe get started on shams and pillows and walls and the rest…maybe in time for Grand-kids camp!

A BUSY Week..

What have we been doing all week? Can anyone appreciate how much time I have to sit at my computer on DIAL UP!!! to download pictures on a Sunday afternoon so YOU can see what we’ve been doing??? I wonder if anyone even cares! Oh well, I entertain myself by playing Free Cell while the pictures download…but just figured out that I could be writing this in WORD while they download! Some of us catch on more slowly.
Anyway- the week- yes, lots of fun and lots of work again in the 10 days of temps over 100 degrees- today, it is COOL- only 93! What a relief! Dave and Sam worked on Sam’s tool “shed” for 2 days- we finished up the sprinkler- Sam and Lisa came and helped Dave get the sprinkler heads all adjusted so now we can water!

They stayed and we play “500”- also played with David and Beth one night at their house- then played again on Thursday night here with Sam, Lisa, Brian (*Lisa’s brother from Montana).

On Sat. we went down to Lindale while Dave helped Sam and Brian again on the “Sam’s shed”-
Lisa, the boys and I went Blue Berry picking- what fun- cloud cover-awesome- That night we celebrated Brian (Lisa’s brother’s) birthday with a birthday dinner attended by David, Jon, and us- (Brian and Amy and family have been sick with stomach flu so we missed them!). It has been a great week with family. Today-the day of rest- we went to church- ate at Paralta’s-washed the car-went to Sulpher Springs for some parts for water system and my sewing room is beckoning me-I am making bedspreads for the bunks in my efforts to redecorate that room. Beth- where are you??? Oh yes- Beth-She is about 3 weeks away from the delivery of her 4th child and our 15th grandbaby! God is so good!

Kelly gave an AWESOME shower for her on Wednesday. I had gone down on Tuesday night to baby-sit for Henry and Jonah so the three of us went over to Kelly’s to “help” her. She was SO organized!!!! The luncheon shower on Wednesday was truly a gourmet’s dream- Beth- also VERY organized- had her thank you notes in the mail the NEXT day!
That is our minor news- in the wake of all that is going on in the middle East- we live in peace as reminded by our Pastor this morning- “Matthew 24:26- When you see all these things occurring- see that you are not frightened!” Knowing that we are HIS and that we are in the center of His will- we go to look forward to each new day- asking HIM how to serve HIM!

OUCH!!!

What happens when one kneels in the nest of fire ants?
I think Dave just invented a new dance that day. The Fire Ant Hop!! You should have seen him jump! He didn't know what had bitten him but he jumped up and ran for the water faucet. We never saw an ant but by the next day when all the 60 some bites started to come to a head we concluded it must have been fire ants. We were still installing water pipe and Dave knelt down in some dirt he had just dug out. Poor guy. We again were working in 105 degree temps...I mostly held the umbrella and provided drinks and encouragment.
On Saturday Sam and Lisa came and Sam helped us fill in trenches- a job we THOUGHT would be easy...but alas...not to be. Dave had rented the post hole digger so after the trenching work was completed the guys went down by the lake to dig holes for the poles that will hold up the roof for the "shade" guard for the lakeside patio. (Lisa was on umbrella duty here) We hope to have the cement poured this week.
It was fun to have Lisa and the boys here too- Henry is such a charmer!

Last Pipe!

Let's just say this is Dave laying the LAST pipe around noon today. We started this morning before 6...good thing as our thermometer on our patio was reading 107 this afternoon! We didn't work outside past 12:30...just TOO hot. We did venture out later this afternoon to try the water system...and it worked! The heads were spraying TOO far though...and after Dave called the COMPANY hot line to find out how to adjust them...they said these heads were NOT adjustable to what we needed. So...we proceeded to take out 13 heads and VERY CAREFULLY clean them and repackage them...made the trip to Lindale...returned over $400 worth of plumbing/sprinkler parts...bought new stuff...then went to SAM and Lisas. They graciously invited us to stay for dinner-we graciously accepted! THEN Sam showed Dave how the heads we had just returned...WERE adjustable. SO....... back to Lowes to exchange the "new" heads for the "old" heads we had returned a few hours earlier. Now tomorrow we will reinstall the 13 heads...install some heads we couldn't do today because it got to hot...wire the valves to the sprinkler control box...and then try everything again. IF it all works...we can close up the "miles" of ditches in our yard. WHAT a project! Praise the Lord for my husband who tackles most anything and does it well. What a work horse he is. He DID kneel in something this morning and has MANY bites all over one knee. Please keep him in your prayers.

Lake Fork "Beach"

This is our idea of "beach time" at the Hasz household this week. My job when not running for elbows, connectors, t's, etc. or running to town for a missing part or getting Dave drinks, wrapping sprinkler heads with teflon tape, and digging ditches...is holding up this umbrella to keep Dave in the shade. We've had some major problems with the "existing" 2" pipe which we tapped in to which was already here...it was capped but not glued and broken in several places.
Here is Dave's version of building sand castles at the "beach"- bailing one of the trenches after yet another break in a pipe!
We are presently taking our afternoon "siesta" from 12:30 to probably 7 p.m. as the 102 temps today have driven us out of the sun to the shelter of "Matlock" and "Freecell". Such is life! God is good! All the time!

Max and his way of helping!

It was another LONG, HOT day on the lawn project. Much of it took place near this partial wall on the pump house since that is where the sprinkler and the water for the house hooks in. We now have running water in the house again! Yea!
We are hooked in to the well. I had to make three trips to Sulpher Springs today- 25miles away...reasons- too long- Lowes fault! When I asked the Manager WHAT he was going to do about it being their fault he said, "What do you think I should do?" That surprised me...we settled on 10% of the bill which would pay for my gas. I told him I had also lost vaulable WORK time!!! He wasn't buying a lot of that. We have about 1/4 of the system done...lots to do. We started at 7 a.m. this morning which really helped- then took the hot afternoon off.

Max, our grand-dog-whom we are dog-sitting while his family lounges of the beaches of Florida- managed to carry off several parts to the sprinkler system- we found them down the driveway- he carried off one part we needed tonight and we never found it. THat made for the 3rd trip to SS today. Got to love the grand-dog!
What's this??? Dave taking up a new musical instrument???? No, that would be Dave blowing out the dirt in the toilet float thingy- dirt that got in there while we were laying pipe and thus...no toilet flushing at first! But...my husband can fix most anything and he came to our rescue and had it working in no time.

Hard Work!

Trenching and putting in a sprinkler system in East Texas in July is....maybe insanity! Sam had quite a struggle with the trencher to get the trenches dug over our 1 acre of grass area...we are also trying to hook the house up to our well water so have to run those lines. Now the trenches are all done...thanks Sam!!! and we have weeks of work ahead of us to put in the sprinkler lines.
What happened to our retirement days? Where are the crazy, lazy days of summer. Crazy..yes!

Help has arrived!

After sharing my concerns earlier about the "work" I was called to today...I got baled out by my son, Sam! He and Lisa and the boys came up this afternoon and helped "raise" the walls. It was so nice to have them come and share dinner with us. Henry helped out too! What fun to have a grandson to lick the bowl!

Our Bible study at church on "The Bait of Satan" ended tonight. It had been 12 weeks of focusing on how satan uses offenses to destroy relationships, churches, etc. A good study!

Why 'Created to be a Helpmeet?"

Why “Created to be a Helpmeet?”
I celebrated 43 years of being a helpmeet to Dave last month. Over these years I have been a student of the WORD and any other resource I could lay my hands on to be a better wife and helpmeet to Dave. I wish I could say I have it all together and am a model to be followed. All who know me will agree that I am FAR from that. I would like to share along the way some of the things I have learned and am still learning.
I go all the way back to books in the 60’s like, Total Woman by Marabel Morgan (even took the class 2 or 3 times!), and Philosophy of Christian womanhood by Gail Larson all the way to current book like Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Maheny and Biblical Womanhood in the Home edited by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. The Lord has taught me so much over the years…I only wish I had some of the teaching of the past 3 years 40 years a go! My prayer is that some of the things I have learned will be an encouragement to those who read things on this site in your journey of Biblical Womanhood no matter what season of life you are in.
Today I am working out in the yard with Dave on building a wall for our “workshop”. My prayer each morning is, God, how can I best serve and glorify you today and be a helpmeet to Dave? Today it is…working with the heat, spiders and lumber! This is the one we had to attack today! Am I being a helpmeet or am I crazy?

I could have danced all night

Our searching for a new place to dance has paid off! It isn't exactly ball-room like we had in Florida BUT we found a BIG, SMOKE-FREE dance hall over at Big Sandy, Texas which is about 35 miles from here. It is an old converted skating rink so has a great floor. There were over 100 people there and it is "TEXAS COUNTRY" but we are learning the 2-step better and can adapt our other dances there. We met some people who told us about several other places to dance. So...for 3 hours we danced the night away and had a great time!

The Rest if the Story for sure!!!

I can't believe that I wrote the WHOLE blog about David and Jon's birth and just LOST it in trying to add a picture!!! Has that ever happened to anyone! How frustrating.
Anyway- where was I? Oh yes, the castor oil! I took it about 3- Dave got home shortly thereafter- just as I went into labor- so we called the DR-he said come over to the office-just blocks from our home- we did- he said- I'll follow you to the hospital. (He had missed Amy’s birth because I delivered so fast so wasn't taking chances on this one.) WE got there and Dave went to check me in and I went right to delivery-and delivered Jonathan about 10 minutes later! He was smaller than expected at just 6 lbs. 13oz. The DR said, "She is just going to be FAT because she gained so much weight! (This was a constant 'problem' throughout the pregnancy! The DR sewed me up despite the continued hard contractions which he said were just afterbirth. When these did not let up he finally had some of the MANY people in the delivery room- a whole group of student nurses and aid observing a birth for the first time!- he had them put stethoscopes on my belly to try to determine if there MIGHT be a heartbeat- there was none but harder and harder contractions. I was watching Jonathan- in a little clear basket by my side- NO ONE paying any attention to him! I said, "Someone better take care of this baby- I want at least one baby out of this deal!" They assured me that he was fine. The DR. then decided to take OUT the stitches he had just put in and said, 'There is only one way to find out if there IS another...." He had to insert his hand, and arm and felt around and found a baby wedged up under my rib cage- unable to get into the birth canal...and proceeded to pull him out feet first!
He was BLUE, not breathing...so they did a heart massage and stomach suction and he began to cry! David was born weighing just 4 lbs. 13 oz.- a fighter from the get go! Due to the great difference in size and the length of finger nails, etc., the Dr. believed him to be 2 weeks younger than Jon. All this time Dave was checking me in..He JUST got to the father's waiting room when he heard over the loud speaker in there, "Mr. Hasz, come meet your family." As he stepped out into the hall there I lay with a baby under each arm! His comment..."I PRAYED for a boy!but I guess I overdid it!" What a blessing David and Jon have been over these past 38 years. They are both now working together for Teen Mania, whose Mission Statement is," To provoke a young generation to passionately pursue Jesus Christ and to take His life-giving message to the ends of the earth." What a privilege for us to have all our children involved in this ministry. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!