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| Silliman Family at Daniel and Beth's Wedding, March 21, 2009 |
From personal
experience I can testify that God’s Word is true. “Children are a blessing and
a heritage of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is the Lord’s reward. They are
likened to the arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are his many children in the
gates of his land. Happy is the man who has his quiver full.” See Psalm 127. If
you were going into battle with only a bow and a quiver with arrows, how many
arrows would you want? We wanted as many as God would give us!
Though their lives are
their own accomplishments, and a product of their own choices, hard work, and
God’s blessing on their lives, I have you as my captive audience so I’d like to
tell you about each one of them.
Peter Stanford is
nine-years-old. He is sweet, loving, funny, tall, freckled, fun, smart, and
good at math. He likes basketball and playing sports. He loves his kitten, Gus.
He is a helpful son. He is a Christian and likes to speak and share what he is
learning. Peter is not shy a bit. Sometimes he goes with me to the nursing
homes when we do sing-a-longs. Today we will dress up in cowboy hats and vests
and he will go with me.
Luke Thomas is twelve,
but he’s wise and thoughtful and knows stuff intuitively. He is tuned in to how
people are feeling, how God sees them, and what potential they have in life. Luke is smart and does very well in
school, but it comes easily to him. Luke is a writer and would make an amazing
journalist. He has lots of friends and enjoys being a kid, but he can get in
serious discussions with adults too. Luke is a talented artist. He has already
entered art shows, has a portfolio of his art, and has tried all different
forms of artistic expression from photography to origami paper folding. Right
now he’s painting his room black and white!
Stephen is fifteen. He
is extremely smart and knows something about everything. He collects facts and
loves to share them. He has a talent for math and he’s also an athlete. He’s
excelled at basketball and soccer, but his favorite right now is track. He
throws the javelin, runs fast, and pole vaults over nine feet into the air. He
is a leader on his track team and naturally spurs them on to do their best. He’d
make an awesome coach. He’s an all-around great guy and will do well at
whatever he decides to do in life.
Joshua is nineteen. He
is living at home right now, but he is a naturalist and lived in a debris
shelter he made himself for six months over last fall and winter. He studies,
enjoys, and lives in harmony with nature. He has grown to love our area, the
beautiful Olympic Peninsula of the far Northwestern U.S.A. Joshua works very
hard, and enjoys serious and deep discussions, but he has an amazing wit and is
so hilarious sometimes. He makes me laugh! He is also a poet, an artist, and a
good friend. He has a tender heart and intuitiveness and loves deeply. Joshua
is extremely strong and is into health and fitness. He works as foreman in my
husband’s business, Father and Sons’ Lawn Service, but he’s also in training
with Tribal Edge. He naturally passes on what he knows and I can see him training
boys for Tribal Edge, or being a life coach/personal trainer.
Michael is twenty-two.
He is heading into his senior year at Simpson University and was elected class
president. He is leaderful and has a natural ability to see what is important
for people’s lives. He is a smart, articulate, and deeply spiritual man. He had
training with Youth With A Mission and has traveled to many countries already.
He works very hard. He worked for our family business, Father & Sons’ Lawn
Service, and in the summers at college he is a groundskeeper. He is pursuing a
degree in cross-cultural studies and then will work towards a Masters in Public
Administration as he hopes to be involved in community development. He is also
will get his teacher’s credential and would like to teach and coach children
and will be an awesome role model. Right now he’s getting ready to go to Uganda
and has worked hard to earn the funds, raise support and prepare for this trip
where he will work at a school there.
David is twenty-five
and he’s married to Charisa and they live next door in our mother-in-law
cottage. He has a dream of becoming a fireman. He’s worked and is working very
hard towards that goal. He is a volunteer fireman in Port Angeles and is also in
a training program and serves as a “Residential Firefighter” for the city of Port
Townsend. David has completed EMT training, lots of other training and passed
many testings to qualify as a firefighter. Right now he is pursuing some
college classes to make him more eligible for a position next time he applies.
He and Charisa are also a dynamic duo with the company Advocare and they are
mentors, coaches, and a support team for those pursuing better health and
fitness. David is extremely fit and athletic and enjoys many outdoor activities.
He takes along his dog Charlie and has a
blast. He also enjoys fixing things, has been rebuilding a VW bug, he loves
antique cars, and riding his motorcycle. David is also a leader and has
coached a softball team in Sequim for several years. They were in first place
last year!
Valerie Joy, our one
and only daughter, is twenty-seven and lives in Portland. Her name means “strong,
valiant joy” and she definitely lives up to her name. She is smart, wise, and
practical at the same time. Valerie is an awesome writer and communicator and
is an excellent counselor/support person as well. She is leaderful and a good
friend. She has many friends all over the country. She is musical and enjoys going to concerts, many different types of music, playing the piano, and singing (though she hasn't had much time for singing in choirs or playing piano while getting her Masters). She’s very good
with her hands, enjoys making things, types fast, and is a hands-on kinesthetic
type. She is also an awesome chef and an amazing hostess. She loves to plan
events and cook for a dinner party and pulls recipes off the Internet or gets
them from friends, to try new recipes. She's growing a little kitchen garden on her deck this summer. She went to college at University of
Portland in Oregon and graduated with her BA in Literature. She amazes me how
she bicycles everywhere in the city! She lives there in Portland with her
partner, Val. She just finished getting her Masters in Social Work, or MSW, at University
of Chicago. She’s applying for jobs now and has a bright future before her.
Daniel, our first-born,
is now thirty years old. (How can that be?!) He is brilliant. He is a writer.
He has been published many times and continues to write his blog several times
a week. My Danny is fun to be with. He turns on awesome music and is a terrific
conversationalist and also a story teller. He's also an extraordinary artist, photographer, and woodcarver. He plays Scrabble and is impossible
to beat. I think he’ll be a world champion at that game some day soon. He is a
deep thinker and a philosopher. He graduated with his BA from Hillsdale in
Michigan in Philosophy. He also studied Journalism and worked at several
newspapers while in college and then worked as a crime reporter for two years
on a newspaper in a city near Atlanta, Georgia. He now lives in Tuebingen,
Germany with his wife, Beth. Beth is leading a missionary team at Tuebingen
University and works with the students there. Daniel is now working towards his
PhD in American Studies while he’s in Germany studying under a professor at
Heidelberg University.
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| Crescent Lake, WA, Summer 2007 when Daniel brought home Beth to meet us. |
All of our children
have a living faith in the Lord Jesus and are loving, awesome people! I have to
give the glory to God because I surely can’t take the credit for who they are
today. However, I can tell you I am thankful and I am blessed to be their
mother.
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| One of my favorite photos! All my children in my kitchen, Summer 2003. |
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