Welcome! Nuestra Casa Es Su Casa ...Our house is your house

A glimpse into the life of Daniel and Jaynee Lockwood and their 12 precious blessings. Thank you for visiting; we pray that what we share here may always bring glory to our wonderful God and Saviour. May you praise the Lord with us for the great things He has done and continues to do as we serve Him sharing the gospel here in the little town of Cuidad Insurgentes, BCS Mexico. He alone is good and faithful!

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Recap of April

Another month gone and a new one here.  
April was a wonderful month.
To make up for the lack of pictures my last post, I have plenty to share with this one! :)

I also just noticed I only updated here once last month.  I love to write, feel I share my heart best through written words, and have enjoyed sharing with you all a glimpse into our daily life here in Mexico and most importantly, give praise and glory to our wonderful Lord.
But the past several months, most of my writing has been done in my journals here at home.  As I look back through those pages, what do I see?  The Lord's hand, answered prayers, changed hearts, and so much love. Oh, He is faithful!

May is here, the last month of our school year.  To take advantage of free shipping, I placed our next year's school order online late last night (Abeka offered free shipping in April).   Ordering 10th grade materials for Timothy and Elijah brought a few moments of contemplation.  I still remember the first books I ever ordered when Timothy was 5.  I remember receiving the order, opening the box in our bedroom on the bed and I can still remember the smell of the new books.
That was almost 10 years ago.  And with Samuel being 2, Lord willing, I'll be homeschooling for another 16 years still.
I have a picture framed on the shelf above my desk.  It is one of my favorite pictures...sweetest memories.  It is of Elijah, age 5, lying on my bed with Beka, age 4, lying next to him on his shoulder.  He's reading one of Timothy's readers to her.  He use to do this every afternoon for weeks.  They were too "big" to sleep during nap time, but had to lie down and be quiet.  He loved to read, and his little sister loved to listen.  So did I. And I still love to hear the children read.  
Nine of them can read now...three more to go! 
This morning, I read Psalm 1.  As I read the first 3 verses, the words, "...and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper", spoke to my heart.  Sometimes, my heart fears or feels overwhelmed with so great a task before me...home schooling my children.  But these precious words remind me that as I continue to trust in the Lord, follow His Word, and each day, do the job He's called me to do, that He will prosper my path!  What wonderful encouragement!  

Well, since I do have (to use Benjamin's words) a bazillion pictures to share, I'll keep this short.
I do want to start updating here more!  And I think I will. :)

So here's a glimpse of our April:

*Playing in the mud.  We've hit about 100 degrees a few days already!

*Samuel decided to comb his own hair.
*What do you think, Mommy?  Do I look nice?
Uh, a little heavy on the gel there, buddy :)
*Hna. Lizbeth, a dear sister in Christ, came to give a class on teaching children.  We've always had a heart for the children in our town and what a blessing to the ladies in our church to glean from Hna. Liz's wisdom and ideas.
*This little man turned 3!  He got over the stomach flu just in time for his birthday.  Notice a couple of recovering sickies still in the background :)


*Here is the building that is being loaned to us for free where we will be holding services now.
Daniel drove by it tonight and the electricity just got connected, so we'll begin moving this week and, Lord willing, hold our first service there Sunday!
*Here are a couple of "before clean up" pictures.

*Daniel, the boys, and Hno. Juan worked on the clean up for a few days, and then we had an all church work day.  Beka and I helped Hna. Tola make tamales to eat after the work was done.
*Let the clean up begin!
*I love these boys!  Left to right...Isaiah, Noah, Benjamin, and Josiah
*Hno. Ramon...such a kind man!
*Children playing in a cleaned out room
*Baby Abraham and his big sister, Alondra








*Every time Nehemiah does this he first says, "Look, Mommy!  I'm so strong like Daddy!" :)

*A couple weeks ago, a Russian church from Sacramento, CA sent a group down to our area.  After a day and a half of cramming to learn Russian, I was happy to know they spoke very good English. :)
They held a VBS for the children one day.  Ninety children and 40 adults heard the gospel that day.





*I loved this shot.  Hna. Tola following around her little "chick" making sure he doesn't get hurt/stays out of trouble...just like a grandma. :)







*Messy, sticky, and very happy :)
*Sweet Rebekah turned 12.  What would I ever do without her!  She is so helpful and so full of joy and life! Sensitive, caring, and a tender conscience.  She told me this past month, "Mommy, sometimes I just want to be all grown up and sometimes I just love being a kid."  What a fun age to be!
And, I love Nehemiah's face in this picture :) 

*Since the group was still here on Beka's b'day, she got to go out to lunch with us.



What a blessing to meet these brothers and sisters in Christ!  I love making new friends!
Remember, our house and hearts are always open if you want to come and visit! :)

9 comments:

  1. yay an upate! I always enjoy them! Looks like the month of May was a bausy one for you but full of blessings too!

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  2. I am curious about your homeschooling as I am starting my boy in Abeka kindergarten this August. Do you use the Abeka videos or just work through the books?

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  3. Jessi, This is the first year we have used the Abeka videos for some of the children. I have always just taught them myself using the books and loved it. We started using some video also this year as 9 of our 12 are now in school and the videos helped me in my teaching time. :) They have been a blessing!
    For Kindergarten, I would recommend you personally teaching your little one if you can. The time I spend teaching my children has been invaluable!

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  4. I so enjoy reading your updates, Jaynee - I love to hear your mother's heart. And the bzillion pictures are fun too! =) especially the half-cup of hair gel on your little guy - hee hee

    When it fits your plan, be SURE to get the speech class from A Beka Acad with Miss Autrey ~ she is absolutely excellent! Our kids have learned so much from her this year. (We have our three high schoolers doing it together, but we ALL like to watch.) ... which reminds me that I still need to write a letter to A Beka with accolades for our favorite video teachers.

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  5. I love the pictures of the children helping with cleanup. That is so sweet!

    I sent an email to you all about a week ago hoping your children can help my son with an Awana assignment. He has to learn about how Christian kids have church in other countries. I'd love to hear about that from your family. Thank you!

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  6. Hi Jaynee!!! Love seeing an update. You are all so cute and have been so busy. I was thinking how you have 9 readers. THat is so neat. I am just barely getting to 2 now!!! I have a ways to catch ya! Take care. So jealous of your hot weather. We are freezing still!!!

    Much Love
    Jessica

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  7. Hi Jaynee,
    Great pics! I always love seeing your family and hearing about the work our great Lord is doing in your community!

    Are there any updates on the furlough? Although we live in Texas, we have family in New York and I was hoping to time a visit up there with when you might be there! :)

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  8. Es hermoso como la mano de Dios obra en cada lugar, y más hermoso es que está obrando en México esto me anima, ya que ser mexicana anhelas que otros mexicanos crean a Dios.
    Sigan adelante y que Dios les bendiga a usted y su bella familia.
    Que muchos crean y se conviertan al Señor Jesucristo.
    Me despido tenga una bonita tarde.

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  9. Jaynee -

    Thank you for the update!

    SO enjoy seeing the smiling faces in your photos and all God's work you accomplish with each day.

    What a blessing to have such a LARGE new home for your church - room to grow. Do you have any specific needs (in addition to prayer) for your new church home? Please write about them in your blog.

    Much love, prayer and joyful thoughts,

    Dianne (Oregon)

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