This is the largest rotating globe in the world. It's three stories tall and quite impressive.
We saw it in Yarmouth, Maine, last week.
Good news: Both Roger and I are official Maine residents!! So far I only have a piece of paper stating that fact but the DMV said that they are mailing my official one soon. With Roger working...a lot...and long hours, I ended up taking the kids to the DMV with me. I deserve a medal for that in and of itself! The paperwork wasn't too hard to navigate through, but the wait was longer than five kids and one mama wanted it to be. Thankfully, we did survive, and as a treat we all got donuts afterwards. (I got coffee!) I have mixed feelings on being a resident. I'm excited as this is where God has put us, and it's another sign of putting down roots. I'm sad because it closes a chapter in our lives that will never be the same again. I'm relieved to have it behind us as we can't get a library card, file for insurance paperwork, or register our vehicles (another story) until we were residents. All in all, it's a good thing, just sometimes the changes seem so overwhelming. However, did I mention that God is good? He certainly is!
Other news: I have applied for Maine care for our children. We qualified for state insurance in Wisconsin due to our income, and we may or may not qualify for it here. We will see. The application was pages and pages and pages long, but it is necessary. We need to have insurance for our children, so we will see. However, please be in prayer with us over this matter. It's a big deal.
I'm enjoying getting to see my sister, Hannah, more often. We were able to meet for coffee and supper last Sunday evening together, and she has come down to see us a few times. In the midst of feeling lonely and overwhelmed, God has allowed her to be in my life on a more regular basis. I like that.
Church: Well, I don't enjoy church shopping. We have visited several, and while I don't think we are a picky family, none of them seemed to be a good match. I have no problem singing the hymns of the faith and older songs; however, it seems to be a common thread among conservative churches to sing them without life or enthusiasm. If we are singing, "And the Lord shall descend and the trump shall resound...", I kinda feel like we should be excited about that thought! I am under no illusions that we will find an absolutely perfect church. After all, imperfect people attend them, myself being one of them. However, God has a church that will be a good fit for our family, and one in which we can grow in our faith and hopefully be a blessing. I'm praying that we will find the church for our family soon.
Work: Roger does a lot of this! I knew that we were moving during the busy season for flying. I just didn't realize the full ramifications of that. I'm not complaining, or I'm trying not to, but Roger is gone from sunup to sundown on the days that he works. That is not an exaggeration. When the weather is good, and the sun is up, the planes are flying. I know it will slow down in the winter giving us more time as a family, but it's hard right now. I take the boys and Emma with me EVERYWHERE. To the DMV, grocery shopping, errands, or wherever we need to go. They're good kids. I like them. But every once in a while, we like to be apart. However, it has meant that I've spent more time reading to them, taking them to the park, playing games, and finding jobs for them around the house. We have fun adventures like the farmers market and swimming in the creek. We have not fun ones like waiting in line, or traveling an hour to go to Sam's Club or hauling trash to the dump. But all in all, it's just another adjustment, and we are surviving it. I wouldn't say we are to the thriving part yet, but we are adjusting and coping.
Play: Its been warm here the last few days. It's been warm enough that the boys think that they would like to go swimming, but not hot enough that I want to try it! Our house is about three minutes from a nice park with a creek. The water is about two feet deep in some parts near the park, but it's enough to to get wet in. That park has been a special blessing to me. It's nice to have a place to go where the kids can play and get wet, and I don't have a whole lot to worry about.
I am very thankful for this little park and creek.
We visited the library in Rockland last week. It was a very nice library. However, I discovered that you have to get a library card in the town you are a resident in. Since our district is Warren, we have to get a library card to the Warren library. We will have to visit there soon. It looks like a small building from the outside, but sometimes good things can come in small packages.
School: I have filled out the boys applications for the Christian school near hear. We are prayerfully moving forward with the decision to enroll them in school. This will be a great blessing to me, but if we can't afford the financial strain than I will teach them myself. It's definitely a matter of strong prayer on our hearts. I feel like this would be good for the boys as they need some extra stability in their lives, and I'm trusting that God can provide them with good friends.
And the not so good news....anyone want to buy a suburban? So the state of Maine requires a vehicle inspection once a year. They are fairly picky about it...and they do not allow rust on the vehicles. Our suburban has survived a trip to Alaska, three years in Wisconsin winters, a trip to Arizona, several trips to South Dakota, several trips to North Carolina, uncountable trips to Oshkosh, and now Maine. It looks like Maine doesn't want it. We took it to a vehicle inspection place just to see what they would say about it, and to find out how picky they are about vehicle inspections. It wasn't good. The inspector said we are looking at about $2500.00 of rust repair on the vehicle. He said that underneath looks fairly good other than the rust (as it should since we've maintained the brains of the vehicle just not the body). He told Roger that he had never seen a vehicle with that much rust on it and someone still driving it. Roger just chuckled and said "You've never been to Wisconsin, have you?" People drive around vehicles with far more rust than ours and don't even think twice about it. We are currently praying about what to do. It looks like we can get Roger's car to pass inspection without a whole lot of extra money, but the truck is a different matter entirely. Anyone want to buy a truck that has 230,000 miles on it, doesn't look pretty, but runs good?!
We are settling in to life here. I am enjoying the water, the walks along the coast, the beauty and simplicity of nature, and our home. However, along with the newness wearing off comes a sense of loneliness. It's deeper right now as Roger is so busy, but I know the kids are struggling with adjusting and loneliness in their own ways. It flushes out differently with every child, but their struggles are real. They have their own list of specific requests that they are asking God for, and I am going to enjoy seeing how He answers their prayers.
"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." Psalm 19:7
amen God Bless everyone in Christ always chubby billpage illusionist magician in fun :)
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