Cookies Anyone?

Looking at these pictures, you realize these are NOT cookies, right? Unfortunately, my two year old was not so wise! That's right! He gave them a little sampling! Thankfully, they're made from Crayola's non-toxic air-dry clay! Boy, I just never realized how WONDERFUL the words "non-toxic" were until I had kids!! =0)

So, you may be saying... I know they aren't cookies, but WHAT are they?

Olivia, Derek, and I are reading/learning about Sumerians for history. We're learning about the invention of writing. Well, the Sumerians did their writing on clay tablets using reeds. So we thought we'd make some of our own. After they kneaded their clay and formed it into a tablet, the kids decided what they wanted to "say" on their tablet. Then they used sticks to write their message using their own symbols. Just as we were finishing, Wesley got up from his nap. This was WAY too messy for him to do at this point. But he was VERY interested. I quenched his desire to do the clay with the opportunity to paint with water colors. There shortly after, the clay mess was all cleaned up, and the tablets were sitting on the counter to dry. It was time for me to make dinner. Dano was home. The kids went out to play. Wesley gladly left the paints for the great outdoors. That was yesterday.

Today, Derek was VERY interested in his clay tablet. I told him to leave it on the counter. It wasn't quite dry yet. Well, unfortunately he didn't obey. He took it to his desk. I didn't realize this! Enter Wesley (unbeknownst to me).

Just before lunch, Derek comes in very distressed (I mean crying and everything). He's holding HALF of his clay tablet. The next thing I see is Wesley smiling with a face that answers most of my questions! It is covered with the white/gray clay... mouth, tongue, and teeth... covered! All he's saying is, "It's a cooo-kie."

So, I'm torn between several things. #1 verifying that the clay IS non-toxic. #2 consoling my 6 year old since his project is half eaten. #3 lecturing my 6 year old for disobeying and putting his tablet at his desk. #4 spanking my 2 year old for eating his brother's tablet. #5 calling Crayola to verify that non-toxic really means it is okay that my son eats it. #6 laughing. #7 and of course, taking a picture of Wesley's face! I think I managed to do all of these except spank Wesley. Instead I made him a cup of water and encouraged him to drink the water then spit in the toilet. I also washed him off (after the picture, of course)!

Up until about 8 pm tonight, I thought Wesley had eaten HALF of the tablet... YUCK! But when I got home from picking up Olivia from church & picking up a couple of things from Wal-Mart, two halves of Derek's tablet were on the kitchen counter! Dano said Virginia found it in the basket of toys! Yes, Virginia is our 6 mo old! Dano said she turned the basket over, and he heard her smacking on something... yes, it was the tablet! Surely, it CANNOT taste good! Nonetheless, kids put things in their mouths, regardless of taste. Once again... thank you AMERICA for labeling things "non-toxic."

So there is a little "snap-shot" of a "normal" day in our lives!

BTW, Olivia's tablet is a note to her friend. It says something about them being friends, and Olivia liking her. Derek's means, I see a giraffe (his face, an eyeball, & a giraffe).

Have a blessed day!

Melinda =0)

PS Hopefully Derek was reminded of some verses we are often saying around our house:

Ephesians 6:1-3

¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ²"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— ³"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

Things did NOT go so well with him & his tablet due to his disobedience. God's Word is TRUE!

The Kodiak has Arrived!

Today the Kodiak landed safe & sound in Papua New Guinea (PNG) at its final destination! Praise the Lord! Thanks for praying! For pictures and more, visit JAARS.

Update on Kodiak

The Kodiak landed safely in Hawaii late last night (early this morning). If you are tracking it, it seems to be "stuck" just off the coast of Hawaii. Rest assured, they arrived safely! Thanks for your prayers! They continue on later today to the Marshall Islands.

Please Pray for My Daddy

Daddy's tumor has grown back. Please pray for healing. You can visit his CaringBridge site for more details: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/richardmcdonald

Also, please keep my family's health in your prayers. Olivia is sick. Please pray no one else will get it.

Sweet dreams,

Melinda =0)

PS Now at 12:30 a.m. (yes it is late), the Kodiak is almost to Hawaii! Praise the Lord!

Looking for Texas Housing

We’re planning a trip to Texas, and we need a place to stay for 3 to 4 weeks.

We are wondering if any of you know of a furnished, three (or more) bedroom house that would be available mid October through mid November in or near Arlington?

Thanks for any info!

Blessings,
Melinda & gang =0)

Kodiak Video

Just because it is always exciting to see a plane take off...

Be sure & read the two previous posts (or notes on Facebook). =0)

Kodiak Pictures from Today

Here it is! The Future of Mission Aviation! The Quest KODIAK ready for service with WyCliffe Bible Translators! Dano was part of the team that made that possible!

We took a quick trip up to the hangar at JAARS for the sendoff. We all enjoyed the excitement of the historical moment.

The President of JAARS in blue with his hand on the shoulder of the pilot standing next to his wife. This was just before several led in prayer for the send off.

The kids watching just as the Kodiak was pulling away to taxi down the runway. I think they had the best seats!

Lift off

Next stop? Oklahoma City, I think, to pick up the co-pilot for the 10 day journey. You can follow the flight from www.jaars.org (see the former post below for more info).

I was wearing Virginia in my Mai Tai carrier that a friend in Ohio made. That is her TOE that she's chewing on! I didn't want to leave her out. She was there, too!

When we were leaving, Olivia asked if she could call her cousin, Maddie, to tell her all about it. Wesley cried when we left JAARS. He wanted to stay longer! When we got home, Derek built a Kodiak with his Legos! It is exciting when your kids are excited about the same things you are!

Please read the post below if you didn't receive it via e-mail! Blessings! =0)

Whited Update - Kodiak Ferry Flight leaving TODAY

Hello! This is not really an update about us, but it is an eventful day in Mission Aviation, and we got to be there! I’ll post pictures and perhaps videos later on the blog and maybe on facebook.

Below you can see some links to the JAARS website that pertains to the Kodiak. Surely by now you know WHAT the Kodiak is… if not, we hope you take the time to find out and to follow the flight. This would be something fun and interesting for homeschool families… or anyone with kids! It teaches lots of geography! Gracious… we could all benefit by some more geography knowledge!

Please be in prayer for the two men flying the plane and for their families who are “left behind.”

Thank you for allowing us to play a role in Mission Aviation! Dano was part of the team who prepared this airplane for service in Papua New Guinea. He helped with the installations of both the engine fire detection system and the HF antenna on the Kodiak. Preparing this airplane is a great example of what happens here in Waxhaw, NC which is essential support for the overseas operations. We are BLESSED beyond measure by your partnership through finances and prayers! We are always honored by your support. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!!

Serving HIM,

Melinda for the Whited Gang

Dano, Melinda, Olivia, Derek, Emma, Wesley, & Virginia

Message from JAARS:

JAARS first Kodiak airplane will leave on its ferry flight to Papua New Guinea today - Saturday at 12noon from Townsend Field.

We encourage you to share this e-mail with your churches, and prayer and financial partners as well, so they can join with us in praying,

As mentioned before, the progress will be tracked online, and can be found at:

www.jaars.org/kodiak-updates, as well as on Facebook.

Visit this page on JAARS.org to learn more about the current status of the ferry flight. It will be used as the primary source of updates on the flight path and the ferry flight.

Kodiak description: http://www.jaars.org/whatwedo/aviation/aircraft/quest-kodiak

Article in Summer Edition of Rev. 7: http://www.jaars.org/files/rev7summer09.pdf

We appreciate your interest and prayers, and give thanks to our Lord Jesus for the opportunity to serve Him in this way.

God's Faithfulness... Shown Today

Don't you just love when God answers a prayer QUICKLY in a positive fashion to show you He hears you and is working? We shouldn't NEED times like this, but I think we all do. =0) Well, He gave me such an event today! What a precious gift!

This morning I was reading Philippians 1 in my quiet time. I've just recently committed to getting up early (again) before the kids to have my quiet time with the Lord. It just doesn't happen if I don't start out with it. Also, my friend and I are going to hold each other accountable for memorizing Philippians, so I thought I would spend my quiet time in this New Testament book learning what Paul had to say to the Philippians and what God has to say to me.

As I'm sure you know, Dano & I are full-time faith supported missionaries. Of course, this means the only salary we receive is from gifts from individuals and a few churches. So we are COMPLETELY dependent on God through the family of God partnering with us in ministry. As we've been transitioning from our former mission organization to Wycliffe, our support has been low as the economy has been low and as our partners are in the process of transitioning over. So each month, we are curious to see how God will stretch what we receive to cover our bills and grocery costs. Normally, this is not something that stresses me. I KNOW God will provide. However, I must confess lately this area has been getting to me. Month after month of being short, is challenging. Actually, it is very discouraging. Then when you can't do "normal" things because of the costs involved; it is frustrating. However, we press on because we KNOW God has called us to this ministry, and we will obey. Also, we press on because God is always faithful. We have such amazing stories of how God provides through His people. We are truly blessed!

Now back to this morning. As I was reading Philippians chapter 1, my heart was encouraged by Paul's words to the church of Philippi. Verses 3 - 6 in chapter 1 were both a challenge to me and a point of prayer. I know we do not thank our partners enough for their investment in our ministry. For that I am ashamed. Secondly, I wrote a prayer in my journal about this portion of the scripture. Here is part of my prayer...

"Father, you alone are my God, the one I depend on and trust for all our needs. You have promised to supply all our needs, and I know you will. Thank you. Father, raise people up to partner with us. Put a burning desire in their hearts that won't be quenched until they commit to partner with us and start supporting us. ..."

I wrote that prayer before 7 a.m. this morning.

God gave me TWO answers to this prayer today.

The first one came in an unexpected phone call from a friend in Florida. Just as we were leaving to take Emma to speech, my cell phone rings. A friend was calling because she thought I had called her! (I hadn't.) But the funny thing is Dano & I had been talking about how we needed to call her for her recent gifts to our ministry. I guess the Holy Spirit decided to make this call since we weren't getting around to it! While on this SHORT phone call, she expressed to me that she was committing to give us that "special" gift monthly! Wow! Thanks, God!

After speech, we went to the chiropractor, then we met Dano at the hangar for lunch. After lunch, we were walking around showing the kids the Kodiak. Dano told me that another missionary at the hangar mentioned to him that her and her husband (who also works at the hangar) had been burdened to start supporting us! (They are also faith supported missionaries!) I literally teared up! I asked him if she had told him this today. He confirmed that. I then told him about my prayer that I shared with you above. We went to tell her about God's timing in all of this. She told us that God had laid it on both hers and her husband's hearts individually this weekend! Don't you love how God is working before we pray, and isn't it neat that she didn't share this with Dano yesterday? She shared it today... after my prayer! I love how God works!

I am so thankful that the Lord doesn't condemn me for weaknesses and moments of weak faith. Instead, He waits patiently. He uses members of His body to encourage me. He uses His Word to speak to me. He uses prayer to change me! Why do we neglect being in His Word? Why do I neglect being in His Word? Father, forgive me. Thank you for your Living Water!

May you be encouraged to be in HIS Word and spending time in prayer. May you seek to bring HIM Glory in all you do! Father, forgive me where I fall short. Thank you for your Grace! Help me in this journey towards you.

Blessings,

Melinda =0)

Virginia is 6 Months!

Well, I just can't believe my baby is already 6 months old... this is half a year (as I'm sure you know)!! She is just precious! She is a good baby who seems to be happy all the time (except in the church nursery for some reason). As you can see from one of the pictures, she has not quite mastered sitting up, but she's getting there. Speaking of "getting there," she moves all over the floor... mostly in circles. She loves her tummy time. She still nurses exclusively, and as you can tell by the rolls, she's doing great! We're in no hurry to introduce solids. She cut her first teeth at four months, and those two little bottom teeth are still her only ones. She plays peek-a-boo with her burp cloth. She is so fun. She loves to "sing" along with you. She likes to give me "zerberts" on my arm. And she gives great (open mouth, slobbery) kisses! Maybe that is only something a mother could love! All the kids still just adore her... especially Wesley. She has been in excellent health. To my recollection, she's never been sick! What a praise! Thank you for praying for our family and my precious little baby girl! She goes to her 6 month check up on Monday... so I'll have her "stats" after that.

Below (and above) are some pictures of our Virginia Grace in the lane in our backyard that leads to the fields behind the yard. Her bloomers were a gift from a friend at church. She's just about outgrown them, but I was thankful to get some more pictures in them before it was too late! The quilt is one Dano's mom made for Olivia. I love it! Enjoy our little amateur photo shoot.

In Our Backyard

Click on this link to see who visited our backyard today...