In this year of 2013, the Lord gave our family many blessings, adventures, and opportunities along with a few character-developing trials. Between February and November, we attended thirteen conferences or seminars. Each month we opened our house to have fellowship with other Christians. Paul Meehan (a missionary to Hungary) visited our family and presented the Gospel in our home twice during the year. Lydia was able to minister to a family in Japan. Steve and I were able to make a few trips alone this year, both for business and for pleasure. We took a tour of DHART, a medical helicopter. We finally sampled New England lobster rolls at a waterfront restaurant in Plymouth, MA. Both a bathroom and a bedroom experienced some remodeling. In addition to all these, we had many opportunities to help others with projects they were working on throughout the year.
Steve's Chiropractic office continues to remain open year around. =) He pursues his education in specific Chiropractic techniques, nutrition, and other health care services. His many DAD responsibilities of five stay at home daughters keep him busy, from reading to them books, to exploring with them their new iPods. And Grandpa is a name he is proud to wear!
Although I am no longer a consultant with Creative Memories, I do teach digital scrapbook classes with Panstoria. And while I no longer need to teach the school lessons, I still oversee the home education of Keziah, Moriah, and Deborah. This year I was able to help Rebecca a lot while she was carrying her precious twin babies.
We also had a few car trials...vehicles breaking down, being towed, and not passing inspection. Each and every month, from January through November! The last month of the year has passed without incident, leaving us with our 1998 van and 1999 Subaru in workable condition! We have been learning patience.
Then there is our house...it was Lydia who discovered the problem when she decided to repaint the ceiling in her room. Oops, her hand went through the wallboard, into the insulation in our attic, creating a hole. It seems that the roof has been leaking; softening the ceiling in the girls’ bedroom...this problem was discovered in December with 15 inches of snow on the roof. A temporary fix to the roof took care of the leak. When the spring arrives, we will be able to put a new roof on! Our 27 year old house is beginning to show it's age with many little problems showing up here and there, keeping us busy tending to them.
Travels/Conferences/Events: Steve attended many chiropractic and nutritional seminars this year in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, and even Wisconsin. Several of the seminars I attended with him, while the whole family also joined him for a couple. Our nutritional highlight was the plane trip for Steve and me to Standard Process Farm and Processing Center in Wisconsin! The conference and trip were wonderful, and while there, Nathanael brought his family from SD to eat dinner with us before we returned home!
In May, our family along with the Galla's enjoyed the annual Memorial Day Bible Conference in Worcester, Massachusetts under the teaching Warren Henderson and Mike Attwood.
The month of June brought the Inspire Conference with the Maxwell family in New Hampshire for us to both learn from, and enjoy the fellowship of the Greg Moore family.
Early in July, the History of America Mega-Conference spread a feast of information before us in Harrisburg, PA. This year was the 150th Anniversary of Gettysburg, which brought the largest reenactments of the battle. Our family was able to join a tour group to witness one of many historical battles on July 4th.
August brought a busyness of its own. The girls and I entered quilts, crochet, and projects of handwork in the Country Fair, all receiving awards on our various items. Steve and I took our 35th anniversary trip to the Castle in the Clouds! We arrived home from our trip to find that our children managed to throw a large (80 guests) surprise celebration party that included many friends from the surrounding states and family from both near and far. The girls at home, along with Rebecca, did most of the planning, organizing, and preparation---concealing it from their parents for about 8 months!!!  We were delightfully surprised to find that Nathanael, Jesharelah, and Meleia had flown in from SD and my parents drove up from Florida. While they were here, we brought my parents to the Living History Event in Hillsborough, NH. Steve's parents flew up for a two-week visit at the end of August. My parents were still visiting with us, and so we appreciated the time with both sets of grandparents together. The family also gathered for a birthday celebration in honor of Deborah (18) and Abigail Galla (5).
In September, we traveled down to Plymouth, MA for the Plymouth Freedom Tour with Paul Jehle.
Our Married Children:
Rebecca is happily wed to Chris Galla. On October 31, her twin babies, Jonathan Micaiah and Emma Kesediah, arrived in the world to meet us. With Abigail and Stephen, they have four children to bring enjoyment and laughter to train for the Glory of God.. Presently they reside in Connecticut.
Tabitha married to Chris Batchelder, works as a LNA at a nursing home in Keene. They live here in Walpole, NH.
The MacPhail's: Susanna, married to Scott, is a stay at home mom to two little ones Ashlyn(5) and Kamran(1, nearly 2), expecting another baby in May 2014. They live in Swanzey, NH.
As for our son’s family, Nathanael and Jesharelah recently moved to Lincoln, NE, where they live with their little girl, Meleia(1), and are expecting a little boy in April! Currently Nathanael is employed as a customer service representative at Verizon.
Our Girls still at home:
Christianna (22) assists us as the office manager of Steve’s chiropractic business. She is also studying various subjects. This year she went through Understanding the Times, by David Noebel. Recently she began an Aromatherapy Course by the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy. Christianna enjoys planning creative projects to do with her nieces and nephews when they visit; i.e.: making their own silly slime, oobleck, and others. (The adults love this too!) This year she was able to minister by sewing clothes for a couple missionary families, as well as both Rebecca and Abigail.
Lydia (21) was called upon to serve a missionary family of eleven in Japan. She spent 90 days abroad as a mother's helper while they were expecting their 10th child. After arriving back in the States, she planted our garden, contributed to the many projects we always have going on and decorating the house. She frequently went down to CT to help the Galla family while Rebecca was expecting the twins. Yet, she still made time to enter a project in the County Fair and plan a surprise anniversary party for us with her sisters.
Deborah (18) is my master organizer. She not only creatively organizes freezers, cabinets and closets, but she keeps a mental inventory of what is there and exactly where it is. She has a very good eye for photography and especially enjoys still (nature) photography. Although she is still working on her High School subjects, she enjoys studying Essential Oils, health, and nutrition.
Moriah (16) keeps busy in many areas of life. Christianna is teaching her to take over several aspects of the business. She enjoys baking for our family; her chocolate chip cookies and brownies are famous even with those outside our family! This June, she played several pieces at the recital including a trio with Deborah and Keziah and the grand finale. She has been diligently pressing on with her High School subjects. Photography, especially candid portrait shots, and pencil drawings rank among her hobbies.
Keziah (15) certainly qualifies as a book lover. She reads plenty of historical fiction and biographies. Often you will find her “reading” a book on Librivox. My old Dell computer is her new best friend, listening to CD’s or online books, or writing a paper for World History or Biology. She enjoys baking cookies and preparing appetizers for us. This summer she took over using the gas-powered tiller for the garden and the small mower for the lawn. Keziah also began making her first large quilt to be entered into the fair this summer.
We hope you enjoyed these little snippets of our life from 2013. We look forward to all the adventures that the Lord will bring our way during 2014. May God bless your family with many joys in the coming year.

Steve, Mandy, Christianna, Lydia, Deborah, Moriah, and Keziah Pena