Tears and Trips (to Wisconsin)

It’s 11:00pm. on Tuesday night, and I am sitting in the Chicago airport waiting to fly back to Maine. It was a crazy few days, but I have no regrets over the craziness of the days. I’ve shed quite a few tears over the last few days, and I’m thankful for the promise that someday God will wipe away all tears form our eyes in Heaven. I’m thankful for the ability to cry and to feel emotions like sadness and sorrow as well as joy and peace. We serve a God who created us so perfectly!

I got a call from my sister, Hannah, on Thursday night. My dad had tried to call earlier, but because I was going to be in a meeting, I didn’t answer the phone. However, when my sister called about 1/2hour later, I knew something was amiss. I stepped out of the meeting to take the phone call, and my sister told me that Grandma had passed away,  My sister and her husband had gone out to Wisconsin for a few days to visit my parents. On Thursday they decided to take a trip up to Wausau to visit Grandma. Little did they know that Grandma was going to see Jesus that afternoon. My dad had mentioned to me that Grandma’s life seemed to be winding down, but I was still taken a bit off guard when my sister said that Grandma had passed away. This past summer, we had tried to get up to see grandma on three different occasions during the week we were home. However, the truck broke down once, then our van needed fixing, and then we didn’t have a vehicle big enough to take all of us! I’ll never know why God chose not to allow the pieces to fall into place for that, but it is what it is. Hannah mentioned that Grandma’s death was one of the most peaceful she had ever witnessed. I’m glad that Grandma went in peace, and I know that she was ready to go to Heaven. She will be missed by all those that loved her, but Heaven is sweeter.


I knew that I wanted to go out to Wisconsin for the funeral if it was at all possible. Roger and I immediately started looking for flights, but we couldn’t move forward until we knew when the funeral would be. My dad called me on Friday afternoon to tell me that the there would be a family viewing on Sunday and a memorial service on Tuesday. I did not see how on earth I would ever be able to go on such short notice, but Roger and I decided to see what plans we could come up with that would work. I called our school administrator to see about moving music classes, and finding a sub for the three days I would need to miss. I contacted the boys piano teacher to see about moving piano
lessons. And the pastor to tell him I wouldn’t be able to teach Sunday school. And I called a friend to see about covering my preschool Bible class on Sunday evening. And then there were plans to coordinate for the kids to and from school, grocery shopping to be done....oh, and to find a plane ticket! How did the details get together?! Only because we serve a big, big God! I was able to find a plane ticket from Boston to Chicago, and it was cheap enough that we could afford to send one child with me. Since Garett had gone to Haiti, and Chandler had taken a trip with Roger last year to pick up an airplane part, we decided  to see if Wyatt would want to come with me. He immediately said yes, and his teacher was fine with him missing a few days of school. I decided not to tell my parents that I was bringing Wyatt but to surprise them. We found a car rental in Chicago, and a flight out of Boston on Saturday evening. It is a very weird feeling to book a ticket one day and fly out on the next! That is definitely not how my planner, organizer brain functions most of the time! Roger was contacted the small air company that flys out of Roger’s airport. Roger was able to get Wyatt and I booked on the flight out of our local airport at no extra cost! That was totally of the Lord that we could fly to Boston so that Roger did not have to drive us, and we had a little more time to prepare. I have been blessed
with some wonderful and dear friends who came together on behalf of our family. Terri watched our kids on Sunday, another friend (Ashley) made a meal, another friend (Claire) volunteered to take Emma on Tuesday afternoon  and pick up the other kids. I am still just in awe of how God  orchestrated so many details! Roger was supportive of me going, and encouraged me to bring along Wyatt. I am so thankful for Roger. 


Wyatt and I landed in Chicago at nine pm on Saturday night, and it was raining. We took the shuttle over to the rental car place, and apparently everyone was renting from Thrifty car rental that evening!  It was a long wait to get our car, and Wyatt and I were both so tired! However, God gave grace and  we arrived at my parents house around two am (which was three am in Maine!). My sister, Jen, had arrived from South Dakota only about an hour before us. Hannah and Josh were able to stay a few extra days for the service for Grandma.

On Sunday afternoon we drove up to Wausau for the viewing for the family. Wyatt was one of the
only children there on Sunday afternoon, and he seemed unsure. I’m thankful for how my sister, Jen, loves him and takes him under her wing. We were able to go out to dinner with some of our extended family, and the laughter and good conversations were good medicine. Some of my cousins I haven’t seen in years, so the reunion was sweet. Wyatt was also glad when we went back to my parents house,  and he could ride the four-wheeler!

On Monday we soaked up our time with family. Wyatt went with Uncle Josh and Papa to do some pigeon hunting, and Wyatt rode the four-wheeler on many trips around the yard! I was able to squeeze in a quick visit with my friend, Jenna, who came over with her four little ones. It was a morning full of good fellowship and good conversations. Later in the day, we went to do a little shopping together and had dinner together. It’s been almost four years since Jen, Hannah and I have all been at my parents house. I am thankful that God provided the opportunity for me to return to Wisconsin for a few days. Wyatt was perfectly delighted that he woke up to snow on the ground on Tuesday morning!


Tuesday was a day full of emotions, conversations, reunions, and driving! Hannah and Josh we’re leaving from the service to begin the drive back to Maine, Jen was leaving from the service to head to South Dakota, and Wyatt and I were leaving to head to Chicago. We ended up taking four vehicles up to Wausau for the service, as we were all heading in different directions afterwards. What a blessing to visit with cousins that I haven’t seen in years...some of them over ten years! It was so good to reconnect, and visit but the time was so short. I know that Grandma would’ve been delighted with all the family visiting that went on that afternoon. I especially enjoyed catching up with my cousin, Justine. We spent the little time we had discussing things that matter for eternity. We discussed marriage, parenting, seasons of life, and prayer requests, and I will treasure up those conversations for months to come. It was a blessing to sit at the table for the meal after the service with my cousins, Justine, Erica, and Beth...the years have flown by!


The one thing that really captured my attention during Grandma’s service was her Bible. The pastor mentioned her Bible, and how she loved her Bible. Some of the pages were tattered and torn, the Bible was full of notes and highlights, and it was clearly a treasure to her. What a testimony! I want my Bible to be well-loved as was Grandma’s Bible.

It was a crazy few days, and I cannot help but praise our great, great God! Our flight out of Chicago on Wednesday morning was a little delayed due to snow, but we arrived in Boston on time to get the flight to Rockland. Wyatt and I were able to get on the flight from Boston to Rockland so once again, Roger did not need to drive to Portland or Boston to get us. We arrived back in our area by 10:30am on Wednesday morning. We were both very, very tired, but thankful to be home. Wyatt said that he was glad he was able to come with me, and I hope we created some memories that will last a lifetime. I’m so thankful for this sweet, sweet boy, and I pray that he will grow up to love Jesus passionately. Wyatt and I were both in bed by 6:30pm, and we slept long and hard. It was a weird feeling to go to school on a Thursday, but here we are in the last half of the week. We are rejoicing to be home, and we are thankful for each one that helped out our family in so many ways this past week.

To God be the Glory!
Sarah

Thorns with the Roses OR Roses with the Thorns?!

Abraham Lincoln said, "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." 

Life is a journey with beautiful roses to enjoy and a few thorns also along the way. If we didn’t have the thorns, we wouldn’t appreciate the roses in our lives. In the Christian’s life, God uses these experiences to draw us to Himself...both the lows and the highs. I’m so thankful for both, but sometimes the thorns  seem a bit pokier and sharper than I’d prefer! However, I know that God is the Ultimate Planner and Director of my life, and I have no reason to  worry or fret.

 

 

This past week, (10/18) my college cross-country coach for two of the four years that I ran, finished his earthly journey. Coach was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer towards the end of September, and he is celebrating a brand new body in Heaven now. It happened so quickly, and I’m still pondering so much of it all. Jack Noonan was my cross-country coach for my first two years of college running. I couldn’t possibly relate all that I learned from him both in running, but more importantly, in life. Coach was also the head of the kitchen on our college campus, which is not a particularly recognized position. Yet he worked hard at what he did, and he tried to instill in his team the need to work hard regardless of recognition. I remember him telling me early on in my running years that cross-country was not the sport to be in if you were seeking recognition or fame. Runners run early in the morning, have practice in the afternoon, and very few people come to watch runners race. Yet he taught us to enjoy the sport, to take delight in the quiet morning runs, to spend that quiet time reflecting on the goodnesses of God and His Word. Coach always opened practice with Scripture and prayer, and I’ll never forget his mentorship in my life. He saw potential in a girl who had tried out for the volley ball team (and had not been chosen!), and he taught me to enjoy running...something I still enjoy to this day. I’m not running sub-twenty minutes for three miles any more, but I still appreciate the sport. I’ll miss his birthday blessings to me every year, and his smile. Heaven is a bit sweeter this week.

Last week we also had our first “snow day”. It was actually a storm day, as school was closed due to power outages. I’m thankful that our house has a generator, and it really didn’t seem that bad to me. I ended up at the school anyways as I needed to work on some stuff for school, and the kids came with me. They played while I worked for a bit, and then we headed home. It was a productive day as far as projects at home, so that was nice.

We played soccer with some other friends on Saturday morning, so that was a fun time for us. Roger had the day off, so it was nice to play together as a family. The boys really enjoy soccer, and it was a beautiful fall day. In the afternoon, I took Emma to a birthday party for one of her classmates. The two younger boys also came along, while Roger took the older boys to the airport to do some work. I  wasn’t exactly crazy about going back out on Saturday afternoon, but God provided me with wonderful opportunity to visit with one of the other moms of a student in Emma’s class. I had prayed  specifically before walking into the party that I would find someone to be a blessing to and to have a
conversation with someone. I don’t know if I blessed this mom, but I certainly received a blessing! I am so thankful for the opportunity that God gave to me to visit with this mom. My heart was certainly encouraged.


Sunday was a bit crazy and chaotic. I’m not big on disorganization and miscommunication, and I wasn’t feeling my best on Sunday morning. I’m thankful that Roger had the day off or I might have given into the flesh and just stayed home! Roger had the opportunity to help in the morning service  with the music, and I taught Childrens church. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to serve  Christ in our local church body, but does anyone else ever wonder if we do what we do because we are called to serve, but its not necessarily our gift or where we’d prefer to serve?! Every once in a while, I wonder if I’m serving because I’m using “my gifts” or just filling a need in the body of believers. I’m not necessarily  saying either are bad...sometimes I just need a nap to reset! So, I went  home and after lunch, I took a nap! God gives us rest, and sometimes that’s all it takes for a fresh perspective.

This week felt like a lot of  Mondays! I told Renee that I felt like every day this week was Monday! I taught music classes on Monday, and I attended a baby shower for a mama in our church in the evening. On Tuesday, my friend, Claire, offered to take Emma for the afternoon. That worked out well for me as I was able to get a lot done for our upcoming fundraiser auction. Emma is a great trooper, but going in and out of places asking for auction donations, is not really something she enjoys. (Me either...but I do it!)


On Wednesday, I received a text saying that someone had donated money for my Haiti Missions trip! This was a complete and total surprise to me, and I think God specifically waited to let me know about the gift to bless my heart on Wednesday. The gift came from some dear friends of ours in Alaska. I called Damaris in the afternoon to tell her thank you, and we had such a good visit. About this time of year, seven years ago, we were preparing to head to Alaska with our four young sons. We would spend a couple of months in a small village in Alaska to help in a church there. The experience has never been forgotten, and should God ever provide us with that opportunity again, I would definitely want to go. We made such wonderful memories, and God provided us with some dear friends that we still treasure to this day.


It’s been a busy and full week, but the weather has been mostly gorgeous! Roger is happy to be back to flying again as the plane needing the paint job is complete. God blessed Roger with a great job, and for the most part, he really enjoys what he does.

I have been enjoying the preschoolers as there is never a dull moment! It is hard to believe that we are finishing up week 8 this week! Even harder to believe that the Christmas Program is right around the corner! The students have been working hard, and I always start to wonder if Ive bitten off more than I can chew about this time of year! One day and one practice at a time, and I don’t want to do this for my glory, but that God will be magnified and glorified through this Christmas program.

We appreciate your love and prayers,
Sarah

Moments, Memories, and Mayhem!

 

Eight years! That’s the number of years that I have been blogging for our family! It’s hard to believe that eight years have flown by, but perhaps even more astonishing is the fact that I am still writing! I’m not reaching a large audience (I never intended it for that); I’m not an overly exciting or great writer but I still write...why? I was having this discussion with Roger earlier this week, and it’s for several reasons. I began writing things down eight years ago because I wanted to remember certain events that happened in our lives. Now I sometimes write because it’s a habit or I write because I still want to remember events, feelings, situations or memories. But mostly I want to write because I want my life to be a testament to how God has worked in my life. God is at work in my life and in the lives of those around me on a daily basis, and I want to write a few of these memories (because I am going to get old and forgetful!)

This week is a different one for me as our head preschool teachers is away this week. So I’ve been teaching in the preschool room this week. (I work in there every school day, but generally, I’m just the aide). I have been enjoying the challenge, but I told Roger that I feel like I teach a lot these days. I’m currently teaching a preschool Sunday school class, teaching preschoolers for our children’s program at church, and teaching preschool at school! Not that I’ve minded, but it does make me appreciate adult conversations!


Last Thursday, Emma and I had coffee with our friend, Terri. It’s much harder to stay connected with people this year as I am at the school every day, but I’m thankful for Tuesday and Thursday afternoons with Emma. It’s our time to catch up with other friends, get caught up on chores around
our house, or just enjoy time with Emma. We enjoyed coffee and a walk with Terri and her dog,   Annie.


Last week the kids had a four day weekend. We had a teacher workshop on Friday, and no school on Monday due to Columbus Day. I worked a very full day on Friday between a workshop at school, and cleaning out in our classroom. Roger had the day off so he was able to be home with the kids. It was the first time in our fourteen years plus of marriage that I went to make money and Roger stayed home with the kids! (It was a weird feeling!) On Friday morning, we had a workshop at school for  the teacher and staff. The workshop was called “Darkness to Light” and it was on sexual abuse in  children. The seminar was very well done, but wow ...what a heavy topic! My heart hurts for those  that have been affected by sexual abuse. Did you know that the number of kids affected by sexual  
abuse is one out of ten?! Read that again! That’s horrific! However, I’m thankful for the opportunity  to be educated on this topic, and it makes me more aware of how Roger and I can protect our
children.

After the workshop on Friday, Renee and I spent a good amount of time cleaning out a room that has  harbored many, many years of preschool materials and supplies. It was a bit overwhelming, and we did not have enough time to finish the job. But we did make a good healthy dent in cleaning it out. Roger and the kids came in the afternoon to help me take stuff to Goodwill.

On Saturday, we did “family fun” (I.e. work) around the house and yard. Then we went  to a lake so that the kids could fish, or ride their bikes, or use their magnets to try to find stuff in the lake. It was a bit of a dreary day, but the kids didn’t seem to mind.


Roger had to work on Sunday, and I was playing the piano at another church. It always seems that  when I’m playing the piano at another church, Roger is working! I knew all the songs this time, so
that definitely made playing a bit easier. I enjoyed the opportunity, and I’m thankful for all those  years of lessons that my parents invested in for me. Side note: Wyatt is very dedicated to his piano  practice, and he has been excelling at his lessons. Garett enjoys lessons, but practice is not his   favorite thing.

This week on Tuesday, Emma and I had company for lunch. My friend, Ashley, is planning on going to Haiti with me on a missions trip. She had a lot of questions, and it was good to sit and visit and talk about the missions trip. Please pray that the situation in Haiti will calm down a bit as tensions are high, people are hungry, gasoline is in short supply, and the country is hurting. Please pray for the country of Haiti and for wisdom concerning the missions trip.

Roger has been busy working on an airplane that needs to be painted in the company colors. This  means that he has not been able to fly as much, and I can tell that her really misses flying. Garett  asked me, “Is Dad grouchy because he hasn’t  been flying much lately?”. I laughed, but told Garett that that just might be a true statement! I know that Roger will be glad to get back to flying soon!

Last week was a bit of a rough week for me, as I have several hurting friends. A college  acquaintance, who is 37 years old, had a stroke. She is the mom to two young children, and it’s just hard to imagine how their lives will be changing. My dear college cross-country coach was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.  This man was my coach for two of my four years of college running, and I learned so much from him. He encouraged me so much in my walk with the Lord and his faithfulness in the little things of life.  Thirdly, a dear friend messaged me that her husband had an affair, and their lives would forever be changed. It was a lot of sad and disheartening information for one week! I’m thankful that these things do not catch God by  surprise, and He never wonders what He should do next!  We serve a mighty, immutable, unchangeable God! Even in the midst of stormy  situations and circumstances, God is still faithful and true. I’ll cling to Him in the midst of a raging
storm!



Also this week, I read a good article on dressing up for church...gasp?! Yes! I’m going to include a  link to the article, but the truth is that the article describes much of what is in my heart. I know that  God looks at our hearts, and He welcomes us just as we are every time. I know that sometimes there are situations where it’s just not feasible to dress up every time and a million other reasons. However, I also think that dressing up for church shows my family that it’s valuable to me. I wouldn’t wear pajamas to go on a date with Roger, and I wouldn’t wear my swimsuit to a wedding. Are pajamas or swimsuits evil? Um, no! There is a time and a place for those articles of clothing. But when I dress up for church, I am showing my children that I value this time with God.  I hope that I am  teaching them that we dress up for situations that we value, take seriously, and we count it a privilege to attend services with other believers. I hope you don’t feel like I am getting after you if you choose to not   dress up for church, I truly love you just as you are! Roger and I just realize that for our family, we want our children to know that we count it a blessing and a privilege to attend church. And it’s not killing any of our children to wear a button-down shirt and nice pants!  Church dress

In closing, I realize that this post jumps around a bit. So if you read the whole thing - hurrah  and thank you! I hope that you have a wonderful week. We love you all,
Sarah

Fall Beauty in Maine (and falling in Maine!)

If you’ve ever tried to plan a quick getaway as a family, and you have a large family, you know the struggle! It’s a struggle to find something for a large family to do on a shoe-string budget! Our boys are getting bigger, and it’s nearly impossible to fit us all into one small hotel room. Then there is the food cost factor on top of the lodging factor that makes planning a family getaway seem a bit daunting!

However, God is so good to us! He gives us unexpected blessings and surprises at every turn just because He loves us. Roger has a friend that has a small cabin up in Northern  Maine. When I was lamenting to Roger about struggling to find a place that we could get away as a family for a night, he thought of his friend. This friend had offered up their cabin to our family if we would like to use it for a day or two. This fit into our budget quite nicely, so we decided to do it! We planned a spur of the moment trip to Millinocket, Maine. We left on Friday afternoon and we came back on Saturday evening. It was a quick trip, but a beautiful one! The cabin was quite lovely, and it was right on the lake. Chandler was up at 4:50 am. On Saturday morning to go fishing! All the other kids slept in...until 5:20am! We enjoyed the lake sunrise, and the boys did catch some fish. Most of them were too small to keep, so we put them all back.

Do you ever have one of those days where you feel like you have two left feet?! That was definitely me on Saturday morning! First of all, I went to try out my own magnet fishing experience. Roger had tied my magnet to some paracord (50 feet), and I was anxious to see if I could snag anything magnetic. Well, on my very first attempt, I forgot to hang on to the string, and promptly threw the magnet and the rope into the lake! My boys were just in awe of how I managed to do that! Chandler managed to snag the rope with his fishing rod, and we rescued my magnet. I then decided to tie my rope to the tree so that I couldn’t do that again! The boys were fishing off the dock, so I decided to climb down on some rocks to use my magnet. All was well for a few moments until I leaned over too far, and fell into the lake! I was soaked from head to toe! My boys gaped at me with open mouths for a few seconds, and then they all burst out laughing! I must have looked a sight with water dripping off everywhere...it was so cold!!! I managed to haul myself out of the lake with Roger’s help. (He wisely refrained from asking me how that happened!) I waddled back to the house, any thankfully my clothes from the day before weren’t too dirty! I managed to hit my shin bone pretty hard on a rock, and it’s been a bit painful for a few days! It was just that kind of a morning!

We enjoyed God’s beautiful creation, hiked on some great trails, went down into an ice cave, and made some wonderful memories together. Garett and Chandler did miss out on an opportunity to go on a teen active, but sometimes you just can’t do it all! We chose to do this as a family, and I am so glad that we did.

 Roger has had some rough days at work as he prepares a plane for paint. He is missing being in the  plane, and he is ready to get back to that.  My friend, Allison, and I were able to have lunch together last week, and I certainly enjoyed that! Since she has a daughter in high school, and I’ve been working, we just do not have very much time to spend together! I’ve been missing our deep conversations and laughter together. Hopefully, we will be able to find our routine, and we can get back to sharing a bit more time together.

I had a meeting with Garett’s teacher, speech teacher, and several others today to discuss Garett’s education process. Garett is a slow learner, but he is progressing. His teacher reports that he is a hard worker, and his speech teacher gave him high praise also. Out of all the speech teachers that Garett could have gotten, God gave Garett a wonderful Christian lady to give him lessons! She has been such a blessing to us, and we are so very thankful for her work with Garett. I’m thankful that Garett
will be able to continue to receive speech lessons twice a week, and we are looking at getting him    
  some additional help in reading. Garett is a hard worker, and a great kid. We will continue to pray for God to work in his heart and life.



And now for pictures...lots of them!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Banquet and Magnet Fishing!

God is good and faithful, just as He always is to us! He brought us safely through another week; and although it had its challenging moments, we saw God at work.

 

 

 

My biggest praise from last week is simply that the banquet/pledge dinner is behind us! I don’t have to have nightmares about roasting turkeys and making pumpkin rolls this week! I made nine pumpkin rolls for the dinner, and we did not have as many people as we originally thought that we might. That means that we have lots of leftover pumpkin rolls, which totally delights everyone in my family! We served a menu of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, sautéed green beans, rolls, cranberry Caesar salad as well as carrot cake or pumpkin roll for dessert- it was quite the meal! I am so thankful for my friend, Robin, who graciously put together the shopping list for me. She also contacted area businesses about donating food to our dinner. She spent most of the day on Friday at the church with me helping to prepare the food. It would have been much harder for me to coordinate it all without her help! I am also thankful for those that helped peel potatoes, wash mountains of dishes, and those who helped serve the meal. It took a lot of people working together to coordinate the banquet, and I am so thankful that this event is behind us!



However, I do feel that God greatly blessed our school on Friday night. Although it was a smaller crowd than we had planned for, God knows best. The crowd that came was gracious, kind and supportive of the school. And we cant have a second annual banquet until we have the first! The seventh and eighth graders came to help serve the meal, and they waited on tables. They did such a good job of asking people what they wanted to drink, how they could help, and being polite. I gave the students a crash course in serving and in etiquette on Friday afternoon, and they gave it their best effort on Friday night. While we did not make the amount of money that I had been praying for, we did get the perfect amount that God wanted to provide. This Christian school has been in existence since 1978, and Lord willing, it will continue to stand firmly on God’s Word and endeavoring to give
students a quality Christian education for many, many years to come. We are blessed.


Terri (a good family friend) was able to watch the younger four children on Friday night. Garett helped serve at the banquet, and Roger was working. It was a long day for me on Friday as I assisted with Preschool, made and prepared food, and then stayed to clean up and put away food. I think Garett and I arrived home around ten pm. I was thankful that Terri was willing and available to watch our children, and that Roger came over after work to help wash dishes!


On Saturday we spent a low-key day at home-Hallelujah! Roger and the boys did some yard work, while I folded mountains of laundry. Then we took some time in the afternoon to run a few errands together and to spend some time as a family. We needed that. Roger has been busy at work with preparing a plane to be painted, which has meant additional hours for him at work. However, the sun is starting to set a little earlier so that means that Roger will be able to start coming home earlier.

As far as preschool goes, I am really enjoying the job. Like most of the rest of my life, it is never boring in there! Renee and I seem to be able to work together quite easily, and I am thankful for her friendship to me.

Last week held some interesting moments, but God provided grace for every moment. God provided moments that gave me opportunities to praise Him and to pray to Him for wisdom.

I’m not saying that Roger and I have it all together by ANY means because we Do NOT! There are many, many different styles and ways of parenting, and our society today is flooded with books and information on that topic.   I am thankful for the many people that influenced Roger and I in our early years of raising our children. I am thankful that God gives grace for the many, many mistakes that we make!  I am thankful that I had the opportunity to attend a Bible college where classes in parenting and raising children helped to form principles and guidelines that I would use years later as the principles are founded on God’s Word. I often tell Roger that if our children grow up to love and serve Jesus it will be only because of Jesus and not because of their mother! I fail so often (everyday) at taking advantage of opportunities to point my kids to Jesus. I get upset, frustrated, respond without grace or am perhaps too passionate or not passionate enough, oh, the struggles are real! But the grace of God surrounds me, and His mercies are new every morning! I already know that I’m an imperfect mama, but I want my children to see a mama that asks for forgiveness, cries out to God, and has a real relationship with her Heavenly Father!


 One other similarity I see is the comparison between preschoolers and teenagers! As Garett enters his teen years, I see many similarities between him and the preschoolers. Garett is sometimes moody, always hungry, often smelly (especially according to his sister), and often loud! He is also loving, sweet and kind! A friend told me years ago to “Wait and see. When your boys become teens you’re going to think you’re back in the toddler years” I didn’t believe her and practically laughed, but oh, its a bit true! However, I love them all dearly-both our students and our children! We have such opportunities to point them to Jesus, but far too often I lay in bed at night thinking of the missed opportunities. But God is faithful to give new mercies every morning!

We also were able to see a butterfly come out of its cocoon. It was the perfect opportunity to teach our students about the beauty and amazement of God’s Creation.

The boys enjoyed “Magnet fishing” this week also. Oh, you don’t know what that is?! Ha! Neither did I! The boys spent some of their money and bought these magnets from the Harbor Freight Store. Chandler bought a 150lb magnet (the magnet is not 150lbs...it attracts and can hold up to 150lbs.) The other boys have slightly smaller ones, but everyone has one-except Garett. He didn't think he wanted one, but now that the other boys have magnets, I think he is wanting one also. So back to magnet fishing- you go “fishing” with the magnets! The object is not to get actual fish, but rather fishing lures, anything magnetic, etc. I had such a good time at the lake on Sunday afternoon with the kids as we did magnet fishing. The boys were actually quite successful, and acquired enough lures that the magnets have paid for themselves. Its actually really quite fun to throw in the magnet, reel it in and see if anything is attached. The boys use paracord to tie to the magnets, and they have quite the system worked out. It was a fun afternoon.

This week is a bit more relaxed for me as we do not have a banquet on Friday. Roger and I are trying to plan a quick family getaway this weekend, but we will see. God is good, and I hope He is real and at work in your life also!