By Larry Reinhold

The spring that is ahead of us is the first that I can remember that we will not be calving any heifers. That’s too bad. We will have a natural alarm clock for most of the season. That little alarm clock will be a new baby in our household. April 11 is the due date and needless to say Robin, the girls, and I are very excited. The girls are convinced that the little one is a boy. I know that they would like a little brother to wrestle with. Robin is doing well and is looking and feeling pretty fine.

We have had a nice fall with record breaking temperatures and very little moisture. Keep us in your prayers as the fire danger has been unseasonably high and the corrals are very dusty.

God has allowed us the privilege of preaching and having a part at a number of fellowships and congregations. Truthfully, we are very blessed by these opportunities. We have so many friends all around that are such an encouragement. If we can ever be of assistance to any of you, let us know and we will see what we can do.

Robin has been doing a splendid job at taking up the reins in guiding the homeschooling of Rachel and Molly. We have members on both sides of our family that homeschool and so this seems quite normal. I am amazed at how quick kids can learn and it really drives home the advantages of reading together and memorizing together. I also like the fact with this Lonetree School (that’s what we call our school at home) is the flexibility of the schedule. It allows doors to be opened to allow the kids to learn so many other out of school experiences. Of course, there is the need for a social life as well. That is the reason that Rachel and Molly had a special party today. Mommy prepared homemade banana bread and fresh skimmed milk. The girls then invited most of their dolls and teddy bears to seat themselves on the lawn and enjoy the nice day. They were quite the little hostesses. They weren’t even too bothered by the unexpected company that dropped in. The kitties drank Molly’s milk and ate part of her buttered banana bread. Rachel shared her bread without any prompting from an adult, so something must be working.

The girls have enjoyed another fun challenge as they have joined AWANA. They have really enjoyed learning the sections and receiving the awards.

Sometimes, we do get a little over busy just as so many do. A couple of weeks ago, we went hunting to see if we could get a duck or grouse. We had done some driving around the ranch enjoying the company of each other. We came to one pond where we planned to do some bass fishing. To our surprise and delight we saw three mallards. I knew that the girls wanted to fish but they encouraged me to see if I could sneak up and get a shot off. They watched from some distance away and sure enough I got close enough to bring down a nice drake. That was nice, but not as exciting as hearing the cheers from my wife and daughters. We fished for about a half hour and again we continued a great success story as we caught eight nice bass. The girls reeled some in. Robin was the volume “catcher” of the evening. “Good for her!”

We sure want to take time to wish all of you a pleasant Thanksgiving and Christmas. My, it is a good time of the year. A grand time to realize how blessed we are as children of God. We mail about 1800 copies of the Reflector all around the country and world. I can honestly say that I count it a privilege to write these quarterly articles. I would mess up royally if I wouldn’t attempt to challenge and encourage you. I would be a failure if my written words would not bring you to a point where you would desire to know Jesus and more of Him. Do you know Him personally?

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and until the next Millennium,

Larry, Robin, Rachel, Molly and ??