The Roberts Family

8053 US Highway 160, Walnut Shade, MO 65771

417-561-2074

February, 2004

Dear Friends and Family,

A poem from my childhood says, "The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things. . ." That must mean it's time for the Roberts Family Newsletter, and as you know, there's never a lack of activity around here!

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season, with visits from both Scott's mom and my parents. Scott's mom flew in from California before Christmas and was able to spend about two weeks with us. We shared many neat experiences with her, including baking Christmas cookies, Christmas caroling, Christmas Eve candlelight service, and a trip to Silver Dollar City. ("See Grandma ride the roller coaster. Go Grandma, go!") My parents were also here for a couple days, and we had a great time with them, too. Between our own family and two sets of grandparents, there were some notable gifts given and received. Josiah received a BB gun, and he is becoming a pretty good shot. He has yet to knock the marauding squirrel off the bird feeder, but its time is coming!

The very fact that we gave Josiah a BB gun is pretty significant. He has made HUGE strides this past year, in all areas. Thanks to his medications (which are gradually being reduced) and the neurofeedback therapy he received, his ability to focus and attend is greatly improved. His attitude is also much better, as is his ability to control his emotions. A year ago, we considered the BB gun idea, but realized that he just couldn't handle that kind of responsibility. We are so pleased that he can now. Josiah also received not one but TWO remote control vehicles (compliments of generous grandparents), which means he can now devour AA batteries at a rate that threatens to break his bank! More significantly, he said that this was the best Christmas of his life. He may think that is because of the gifts he received, but we think it has a lot to do with his being able to use the new tools that he has to help him handle life.

Scott and I wanted to give the girls a meaningful gift this year; something that wouldn't be opened and soon forgotten. They have been (by their own choice) sharing the attic bedroom for most of two years. However, as they have grown larger, that small room has gotten much smaller, and they have both wanted some privacy. We decided that I would give my first floor office to Jessica as a bedroom and move my stuff into Scott's office. Since Scott's mom was coming and would be sleeping in that room, we went ahead and moved most of my stuff upstairs a couple weeks early, on the pretense of "making a way for Mom to still be able to work while Grandma is here." They understood that I'd move back down when Grandma left. They were totally shocked when they simultaneously opened Christmas cards that said, "this move is permanent, and now you each have your own room!" I wish you could have seen them. Jessica jumped up and down and screamed, and Katie smiled widely enough to show her braces. It has all worked out very well, and Scott and I even get along sharing an office.

Then there were the marshmallow guns. I had seen plans online for these "guns" made of PVC pipe. Supposedly, you could insert a mini-marshmallow and blow it up to twenty feet! It sounded fun to me, so I bought all the supplies and spent several hours out in the shop sawing, sanding, and assembling PVC pipe components. Some 56 cuts later, I was able to put together eight marshmallow gun kits, complete with parts, assembly instructions, and small bags of "ammunition." We all opened them as the final Christmas gifts, and soon, marshmallows were flying everywhere. They were great fun, and even the grandparents enjoyed participating in the "battles." And yes, you really can shoot a marshmallow twenty feet, or even more.

In other kid news, Katie (13) took her SAT in January, and we just got the results a few days ago. I suppose it would be improper to do a detailed public brag here, but I will say that she scored very well. She was 100 points higher than she had been on her practice test, and she scored significantly higher than the average 16-year-old who took the test. (This test is normally taken as a high school junior and is often used as a college entrance exam.) We are all very proud and happy, and she is hoping to attend a Mark Schultz concert as a reward for a job well done. Katie's also preparing an entry for the Archeology Challenge, and she's designing a family web page, which looks quite promising.

Jessica is a whirlwind of activity these days. One of her Christmas gifts was to begin taking piano lessons. She is practicing diligently, making good progress, and (I think) enjoying it. As we don't have a piano, she is using Scott's mom's keyboard, which is in her own room. She is also active in 4H, where she'll soon be starting on some personal projects (finance, decorating). Right now the whole group is doing a project on clowning. The clown from one of the local theaters is teaching it. It's certainly messy, but seems to be a good experience. Last week they learned how to put on one kind of clown makeup and how to tie balloons. I think juggling is yet to come and maybe even a bit of unicycling. Jessica will also begin attending an art class for homeschoolers in Branson next week. All that, and she is keeping up well on her academics and is always diligent to do her chores thoroughly. What a delightful kid!

Scott plans to leave for China on April 1. In fact, he is sitting at one desk proofing a Mission China letter (very exciting news!) while I'm typing this at my desk ten feet away. For those of you who are not on the Mission China mailing list, I'll just say that God is opening tremendous doors of opportunity for making disciples, both through the ISOM Video Bible School and through the Pressing Toward the Mark curriculum. Scott's main challenges now are 1) how to best invest his time during this trip, and 2) how to manage the growth and effectively oversee and mentor the team leaders in China. The work those folks are doing would be amazing here in America, much less in China, where they are persecuted and must function below the radar of the government. If you would like to have your name added to that mailing list, please let us know.

Having said that, if you really want to know about the inner mind of the head of Mission China, get a load of this: It snowed. Our local hill had turned to slush, because our neighbors had the audacity to drive on their driveway. We were hoping to find another nice, fast hill we could use. On the way to church we saw a snow-covered access road at the county line that looked long, steep, and straight. After lunch, we drove back up there and found that the top layer of snow was actually ice! This was going to be great! Well, because of where the hill is in relation to the highway exits, it would be necessary for someone to drop the sledders off at the top and drive around to pick them up at the bottom. Since I was the sober one (not "high" on sledding), I was the designated driver. I dropped them topside and drove around to the bottom. We own four sleds and had five sledders, so I assumed two of them would go together. This hill is six-tenths of a mile long, so from the bottom, I couldn't even see them at the top! Eventually each of the kids came down, each on his own sled. Knowing that Scott couldn't come down till I shuttled the sleds back up, I was about to head out. But, no. Wait! Look! Something is coming down the hill. But it's not coming straight; it's going back and forth across the hill, almost into the (deep, rocky) ditch. It obviously can't be Scott. He has no sled. What or who else could it be? It's spinning in circles. What's going on? Is it Scott sliding down on his bottom??? It must be Scott. Oh, no! He's off in the ditch! After several minutes, he slides into view, riding - are you ready? - a windshield!!! He got tired of waiting at the top and found an abandoned sun-roof lying beside the road. The crazy guy slid six tenths of a mile down a sheet of ice on a windshield, ripping his clothes and cutting himself in the process. His comment? "You've gotta' be resourceful!" He did get to take a later run on a real sled, which went much faster than the windshield. He looked a bit shaken at the bottom of that run, saying, "I'm just glad my life insurance policy is up-to-date. If I had lost control, I could have died!" Yes, that's the same guy who thirty minutes earlier sent his FOUR-year-old son down that same hill, alone. . . Ah, well. I really do love him.

As for me personally, I have learned in recent months that my main job is not to DO the housework or DO the teaching or DO whatever. My job is to train our kids, and then facilitate their doing what needs to be done and what will best help them develop and mature. To that end, I have been delegating more, which gives me more time to plan, observe, and oversee their progress. So far; so good. They are learning to take more initiative, to manage their time and money, and to plan and follow through in order to meet goals. After 13 years of parenting, maybe I am finally beginning to master a few of the details! Some of us focus on the details (Patty), while others see the big picture (Scott). Some of us take large strides and accomplish the obvious, while some of us take tiny steps and accomplish the virtually invisible. However, we are all important to God's kingdom, and you, our friends and family, are all important to us.

With love and appreciation for each of you,

Scott, Patty, Katie, Jessica, Josiah, and Andrew