I will be away for the next few days on a much, much, much, much needed vacay :) Lots of pics to post when the P.C. returns!! And...to answer some questions...Julie and Jon have entered into what we call an intentional 'courtship' period. We as a family embrace the Word of God as our standard and have been led to dismiss the world's views of 'dating' in exchange for a Biblical standard known as Biblical Courtship. What does this look like? Well, there's no clear definition, and it is drastically different for each and every family. Our son's courtship with his wife Mel looked very different from the one his sister is experiencing now. This courtship now has been in the works for quite a while now, and they (we) have felt led to move into a more 'formal' phase of relationship. Each courtship has it's own personality and flavor which is a great and good thing,:) however, the underlying premise is to honor and serve the almighty God in our relationships...and ultimately marriage. The best concise definition of what defines Biblical Courtship I have found, is explained by a staff member of Mark Dever's church in Washington D.C. It can be found here.We're excited and full of anticipation of what God will do in the coming days and months as we walk these two through these 'uncharted' waters---and looking forward to lots of fun in the process! Please pray for us!!:)

Merry Christmas!

Angeli Hope,7, Kristin Elisabeth,5, and Katherine Mei,3. Just adorable aren't they??

Cade William, 2 1/2 and Katie Mei

Julie and friend Jon..(Yep...it has happened.:)To those of you with questions...please ask away:0))

Last but not least...the most recent pic of Jason and Mel. Sorry. This is the most recent and well...the most accurate.:)


This is our virtual Christmas card! We wish a very blessed Christmas to all!

This week....

Our very special friend Medana and her 4 awesome kiddos came over this week and spent time with the P.C. We let them climb, pick their own oranges and eat them on the spot:) Here's a few of my fav pics from our afternoon!! (Just FYI...Katie decided she was the Pumpkin Fairy for the day and her boo-boo is fake. She just wanted a band-aid)

Happy Birthday Jason!

Happy Birthday to our first born!! Jason is the one who made us parents for the first time...has had to live through all our mistakes that first time parents make :) and has lived to tell about it! Heh..heh. We are so grateful to God for the man, husband and father he has become! We did our best to raise, nurture, pray for and commit this child to God...and it's only by HIS faithfulness that we have the amazing, remarkable, son that we have today. Thank you Jay for honoring your parents all these years .. by taking the wisdom we gave (whatever little nuggets you found:) and now pursuing what God has given you in both heart and mind. We love you, Mel and buddy Cade very much!! (he also has a wicked sense of humor if you can't tell:))

A Neat Story for You....

We happened to be at our local mall the other night getting "Hotfuddays" at McDonalds right around closing time. We walked by the Chinese eatery when the people cleaning the counters and food noticed Katie. This woman came running out ..talking a mile a minute to Katie and us...while a 20 something Chinese man talked to me. I introduced us all around and asked them if they were indeed Chinese (they were) and if they were from China....(they were). The young man was so kind and polite...saying they were from outside Shanghai...and asking about Nanchang, where we met Katie for the first time. I then noticed his shirt. It said "Jesus Wept" complete with a picture of the cross and scripture reference below it. I asked if he were a Christian (affirmative) and if he had been a believer in China. He went on to explain to me that in China he was a member of the state run church and really didn't know what being a Christian was, until he came to the U.S. He then told me that many of his friends back in China were members of the ....and he pointed to the ground.....(pause). I jumped in and finished his sentence for him....and replied "the underground church". He seemed dumbfounded that this white lady in the mall would know anything about the Chinese underground...but we had quite a conversation about it:) He was genuinely amazed that someone NOT Chinese would have an interest in his country, and know details seemingly only Chinese christians were aware of about the status of their believers and ability to worship. He did say that many, many of his friends were still being persecuted and arrested on a regular basis, and would we continue to pray for China? Aaron (his American name) then turned his attention to Katie....and said how God had blessed her for bringing her out of China and into a Christian home in the USA. We couldn't agree more. After big tears in my eyes and thanking Aaron for his testimony to me that night...I was able to tell him some of our testimony with our girls and hopefully encourage him in his faith as well. His mom was the lady STILL holding Katie and speaking to her in Mandarin. I hated to break the news that Katie really, really doesn't like strangers (but Katie laughed and giggled at her..suprise, suprise...) and doesn't know a lick of Mandarin. All this at the food court of the mall. God works in mysterious ways...does he not??

So...during this busy Christmas season...would you please pause and pray for the persecuted around the world that won't have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas as we do? And...remember Aaron who is lifting up and encouraging his fellow Chinese christians in the Shanghai area....They need our prayers desperately! Yet another reminder this week of God's faithfulness in our lives and those around the world! You can read more about persecution in China and around the world here

And.....sorry to disappoint all of you who are still laughing at me...but I did NOT wear my pj's to the mall. It would've been nice though:)

Our Little Farmers:)

Today's pickins straight from our garden:) Both girls are great little workers and are seeing the fruits of their labor! Do you think we need to find some front teeth for Christmas?

Sad...but true....

Ok. I'm going to tell a funny story about myself so my older kids can make big fun of me for a while. Mom Jo (my mom) has been coming over to help with the laundry lately which has been a godsend. That's point one. Well...on Saturday we decided on a whim to head out to Sea World after Dad's radio show (WTLN Saturday mornings live at 8am). I scrambled to get everyone ready and headed into my closet to find something for our 'cooler' weather lately. Spotting a shirt in MY closet of Julie's ...I decided to wear it...knowing she wouldn't mind. We do this alot and she was at work. In the car almost to Sea World Julie called me and I politely told her I was wearing her shirt and I hoped she didn't mind. She didn't ...but 'would I describe to her which one?" So...I said "Oh, you know...the hot pink long sleeved one...blah, blah, blah...." Long silence. ......Pause....to which Julie said....."Mom.....(long pause again...).....you have on my pajamas." :):)

So here you will see me at the sting-ray feeding tank with my sweet Leni....in Julie's pajamas that I thought was a regular shirt....and hopefully no one noticed the idiot lady at Sea World that day... with 3 cute little girls, walking around in her 20 year old daughters p.j.'s.

Christmas according to Kristin

What Christmas is all about according to the 5 year old blonde of the VanLue house :) Oh how we love her!

Yes...We Did It!

We went....we conquered....5am...Black Friday...these two were at Wal-Mart. Never, ever had we done this before....but this year...we decided to give it a go. Did we score?? Oh, yea...then on to Target, Walgreens, Jo-Ann's, Kohl's and later in the day to the mall and Toys R Us. Are you impressed?? We even saw Harry. S. in Wal-mart at 5am!! Pretty darn funny:)