The Dyrud's Great Adventure

We started school last week since we have lots of new activities coming up this semester. Justice is in 4th grade this year and will turn 10 at the end of September; Jaycee is in 2nd grade and turned 7 back in May. Both kids are very active in their Sunday School classes at church and they are excited to start back at AWANA this week. After Labor Day, we will be joining a homeschool co-op that will meet on Thursdays from 9:00am until 1:00pm. The kids will each be taking 3 classes this semester; Justice will have study hall for one period, then he'll be taking a karate class with an excellent karate master and then the last period will be a World War 2 history class! Jaycee will also have one period of study hall along with a science/health class and a Ladies and Gentleman Etiquette Class. I will be working two class periods in the nursery and then have a Moms Bible Study and Prayer Group during the last period before lunch. The kids will have lunch with their friends as well as a...

 I was reminded this week of something that happened while we were in French Language School in Quebec, Canada in 2009-2010 before heading to Africa. We had just arrived and were getting settled into our apartment for the school year when the power went out in our building. Since all of our candles and flashlights were still mostly packed, we turned on a small flashlight that Rodney had on his key ring and tried to locate a larger source of light, not knowing how long the power might be off. Just then, there was a knock at our door. We didn't know a soul in the apartment building so I didn't know who would be coming to our door. I opened the door and the woman from across the hall was standing there with a lit candle in her hand. She spoke only French and I spoke only English at that point, but through hand gestures I figured out that she had brought us this candle and wanted us to keep it until the power came back on. I think I managed a nod and a smile as she went back ...

October 31st has come and gone..... everyone ate enough chocolate and candy to last them for a year and the kids (and adults) enjoyed dressing up in costumes, attending harvest festivals and trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. So now what? Well, according to retailers and stores around America, it's time to celebrate CHRISTMAS!! Wait, what? I feel like we skipped something here.On November 1st, stores are playing Christmas music, the Hallmark Channel has started their annual showing of Christmas movies and Christmas decorations are replacing the pumpkins and skeletons that once adorned store fronts and houses. Christmas Bazaars and Holiday Shows begin on the first Saturday after Halloween and everyone is ready to celebrate Christmas........... except me. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE to celebrate Christmas!! It's a wonderful time to remember our Savior's birth and we all enjoy buying gifts for family and friends and spending time with loved ones. But all t...

We host a Bible Study group from our church in our home on Monday nights. Last night, our group had the opportunity to help a fellow church member who is moving into a 'new' house...... the house is a fixer-upper so there is a lot of painting, etc. that needs to be done and we (the kids included) were excited to go and help this family. We decided to ask if it would be okay to bring the kids with us and we were told that the only help needed at the present time was adult help (he said that there would be projects for the kids to help with later). Needless to say, there was great wailing and gnashing of teeth when the kids found out that they couldn't come this time......... "But I wanted to serve!" came the response. I was touched by the tender hearts of my children who were quite devastated that they were not able to help with this particular project. When their tears subsided, I reminded them that there were plenty of opportunities to serve at home...... as th...

My new personal blog is www.missionarymommylife.blogspot.com I will continue to post updates here on this blog as it relates to family things :-) Blessings, Tammi

"The resurrection is the most well attested fact of ancient history". Dr. Simon Greenleaf  We enjoyed a wonderful weekend celebrating the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior! Rodney had Friday off and we had planned to go for a hike, but when we woke up on Friday morning it was 32 degrees and SNOWING..... so we enjoyed a family day at home :-) Saturday found us doing an Easter Egg hunt in the park at 10am, having lunch with friends at our house at noon and then heading to church for an Easter Egg Hunt and church service on Saturday evening. We also enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the way home from church :-)  On Sunday morning, we went back to church for our Sunday School class and then we took a picnic lunch and went hiking for the afternoon since it was nearly 70 degrees today! We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon in God's marvelous creation and I kept smiling as I thought about the fact that on Friday it was 32 degrees and snowing and on Sunday it was 6...

I am attending  a homeschool Mom's Bible Study group; we meet bi-weekly for fellowship and a time of sharing together as Moms. It is a joy and blessing to do life with these women and to encourage one another as we homeschool and raise our children.  Our group is reading a wonderful book right now called 'Different' written by Sally Clarkson and her son, Nathan Clarkson. This book shares the story of Nathan's growing up years as he dealt with OCD, ADHD and other things that made his life 'different'. The pages give a neat perspective from Nathan's point of view (growing up this way) and from Sally's point of view (parenting a child with these unique abilities). The book has so many wonderful insights of how God strengthened and taught both Sally and Nathan as they navigated through many challenges. I wanted to share the end of one of the chapters in the book as a means of encouragement. At the end of Chapter 7, Sally shares, "God's existence...

I love to watch children at Christmas. The world seems new with the snow and lights and decorations; there are special times of staying up late, sitting by the tree or fireplace, drinking hot chocolate and sharing stories or watching a favorite Christmas movie.  And, of course, there are presents :-) Presents from family and friends, presents that the children have picked out and wrapped to give to a special pal or sibling. And for as wonderful as those presents are, the best present was given to us many years ago when Jesus was born. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9 " For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast."   The gift of God was given to us that day, long ago so that we could spend eternity in Heaven. When you receive a gift from a family member or friend, you didn't do anything to earn that gift; they give you that gift because they love you and care...

Today is America's 240th Birthday. A lot has happened in the last 240 years, lots to be proud of and thankful for and lots that should cause us to give pause and reflect. Men and women have sacrificed their lives on both foreign and  home soil to ensure that we have the freedoms we enjoy today. In today's world, many of these freedoms are under attack and we must remain vigilant to continue the fight for liberty. As Thomas Jefferson so powerfully observed, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator" - not by kings, not by queens, not by a president, but by their Creator – "with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."(shared from a post by Ted Cruz) May we fight to be One Nation Under God; may we think of the future of our children and grand-children and great-grandchildren and may God continue to bless America. Take 12 minutes...

We spent most of May in Southern California visiting family, friends and ministry supporters. What a refreshing time we had! It was a busy trip; we saw 35+ families during our 3 weeks in town and we enjoyed trips to the beach and the San Diego Zoo as well. We also celebrated Jaycee's 5th Birthday with both sets of grandparents and Jaycee enjoyed her long awaited trip to Disneyland with Nana (Tammi's Mom). We returned home to Idaho on Memorial Day and then we enjoyed a two day home school conference last weekend. Next week we have MAF Family Conference to look forward to, the week after that, Rodney and I will celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary and then the kids begin two weeks of swim lessons to finish out the month. I think we'll need a vacation in July :-)                                      ...

Last weekend, Jaycee had decided that she wanted to try and ride her bike without training wheels. So Rodney removed the training wheels and she had fun trying to ride her bike like big brother. The weather has been nice this week so today we decided to go for a bike ride to the park. We went to the garage to get the bikes and I discovered that Jaycee's training wheels were still off her bike. She tried to ride the bike but it turned frustrating very quickly. Justice offered to put the training wheels back on her bike so that she could ride it and I (under estimating his ability) called Rodney at work and asked him to talk me through putting the training wheels back on the bike. (Remember, I'm NOT the mechanic in the family) :-) After listening to Rodney's instructions over the phone, JUSTICE found the correct tool in Rodney's tool kit and put the training wheels back on Jaycee's bike ALL BY HIMSELF!!! Jaycee was so excited to be able to ride her bike again a...

Happy New Year; we hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas celebration with family and friends. It was very cold last week here in Nampa (in the mid teens and twenties during the day) so we've been doing more indoor activities...... although the kids love to get bundled up and play outside for a few minutes :-)                                                 Building a rocket ship out of cardboard boxes   Justice has been enjoying a Parkour class once a week (it's a great way for him to get his energy out!)                   Jaycee enjoyed a 'Frozen' inspired dance class last week during Christmas vacation. Today we started home school again and...

Have you ever wondered what a typical work day looks like at the US Headquarters in Nampa, Idaho? Ever wonder what the guys in the hangar do all day or what the folks in the office participate in? This short video gives a glimpse into our life here.( Look closely and see if you can find someone you know) :-) We are blessed to have so many people who give of their finances sacrificially and who spend hours praying for us. Thanks for your participation in the ministry of Mission Aviation Fellowship; it is because of your faithfulness that the good news of Jesus Christ continues to be proclaimed to the ends of the earth! Blessings, Tammi, Rodney, Justice and Jaycee

Hi everyone! We are enjoying a wonderful summer :-) We attended a Christian homeschool convention in Nampa during the first week of June and the second week of June found the kids at Vacation Bible School at our church. We enjoyed a visit from some dear friends from California yesterday and for the rest of this week we will participate in the annual MAF Family Conference! The following week will find us celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary and then on the 6th and 7th of July we will head to Salt Lake City, Utah to meet with some facial nerve specialists in regards to Jaycee's cheek. Thank you for your continued prayers over Jaycee's health situation. We are praying for wisdom for these doctors as they seek to determine how to best help Jaycee. We are also praying for safety as we drive to Utah (but we are thankful that it's only a 1 day drive as opposed to the 3 days it takes us to get to Minnesota) :-) Also, check out our updated MAF webpage when you get a chance! h...

                                      Jaycee sleeping on our first flight from Boise to Denver                                  Jaycee playing on our second flight from Denver to Minneapolis Hi everyone! We had a successful short trip to Minnesota on April 27th and 28th to see doctors there. Jaycee's craniofacial plastic surgeon feels that he has done all that he can do for Jaycee right now. The next time he would want to do surgery would be in a few years. He has referred us to a facial nerve specialist in Salt Lake City since most of the fatty tissue in Jaycee's cheek has infiltrated the facial nerves. We will keep you all up to date once ...

Hello everyone! For those who don't receive our e-mail updates we wanted to share that Rodney, Tammi and Jaycee will be heading to St. Paul, Minnesota on April 27th and 28th to meet with Jaycee's doctors. We will see the craniofacial plastic surgeon, the Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist and the orthodontist who has a clinic at the hospital. The surgeon wants to wait to perform surgery until sometime next year but he does want to see us in person at least once a year whether we do surgery or not. We are very blessed to have family and friends in the St. Paul area that we can stay with during these trips :-) Thank you for your prayers!            Rodney and Jaycee recently attended a Father/Daughter Ball at our church in Idaho :-)

Dear Prayer Partners~ Thank you so much for your prayers over Jaycee and her health situation. We spoke with the surgeon today regarding the results that came back from the Mayo Clinic; the doctors at Mayo Clinic have confirmed the diagnosis of an infiltrating lipomatosis. We are thankful that everyone is on the same page regarding Jaycee’s cheek and we feel confident moving forward with treatment options. The surgeon mentioned several things on the phone today. The first was that, after looking at the MRI from October, he and the rest of the team of doctors who care for Jaycee did not see a significant decrease or improvement after performing the second surgery in 2013. The second item he mentioned was that Jaycee will need reconstructive bone surgery down the road but at this point in time, she is too young and her bones are too small for that kind of an operation to provide any improvement. He also mentioned that he wants her adult teeth to be in before he performs any bon...

Christmas Fun in Idaho

Dear Family and Friends~ A little reminder to keep in the back of your mind as you start your Christmas shopping (I know, I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet). When you are purchasing things on-line (at any time of year, not just Christmas) please shop through our website! The address is http://www.sendthemforhim.com/files/Groups/Dyrud/categories.html All you need to do is go to our website, make a choice from the lists on the page (apparel, automotive, jewelry, etc.) and start shopping. That's it! You don't pay anything extra and we get a portion of the proceeds sent to our ministry account with MAF! Pretty neat :-) Thank you for using this unique method to help support our ministry as we serve with MAF. Happy Thanksgiving! Love, Tammi

If you have not yet seen the music video entitled, "Baby It's Cold Outside" by Idina Menzel (the singer who sang 'Let It Go' on the Disney movie 'Frozen') and Michael Buble, it is SUPER cute and I highly recommend it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bbuBubZ1yE . It's always interesting to me to see different people's perspectives on things. For example, I had one San Diego friend who posted on his Facebook page "Baby it's cold outside"......... it was 47 degrees this morning (which, I confess, IS cold for San Diego). Today, here in Idaho, 41 degrees is supposed to be our high for the day and we might as well be outside in our shorts and tank tops! 41 degrees means the ice that we've been sliding around on as we drive will melt a bit; 41 degrees means the snow will start to melt a bit too and we'll remember that we have grass in our backyard; 41 degrees means we can leave our enormous down jackets in the closet and pull out ...