A Vehicle? Maybe...

So many things have happened in the course of a week both in our lives and in our country. It's been an exciting week to be an American, and I'm was/am rejoicing in the choice of the American people for a new leader. Apparently...in case you didn't know, people are shocked and amazed that Mr. Donald Trump is the president-elect! And now we have riots and protests in the streets against the decision that was made by the voters. Did you know that 90 million eligible American voters did not vote?! I wonder how many of those protesting actually voted?! I firmly believe that the reason that we have such protesting and violence is mostly because we raised a generation that was given anything that they pitched a fit for, and now they are suprised that it's not working! You all know about the parents in the grocery store that tell their children five times that they can't have candy. Then the child lays down on the floor screaming and kicking.  The embarrassed parent leans over and whispers "Get off the floor and you can have candy". It shouldn't be a suprise that the child bounces up and gleefully grabs the candy! Should it be a surprise to us now that these children have grown up that they act the same way? I think not! However, while I think we need to have grace and patience with those that are disappointed for the outcome of the election, they need to grow up.

Anyways, Roger had to work in Wednesday and I had to get up and get everyone going for school. We prayed together as a family, and expressed to our children that no matter what the outcome of the election would be, we would still praise God. God was still going to be in control on Wednesday morning, Roger and I would still work to raise our children for His glory, and life would go on. We have continued to pray for our nation, and I would encourage you to do the same.

                                                            Travis and Emma

I spent some time on Tuesday walking with my friend, Allison. When we came back to church, I played the piano for a while as that always soothes my soul. Then Emma and I picked up Travis, did our lunch duty and headed off to vote. It was a bit like stepping back in time as we filled out the ballots on paper rather than doing them electronically. However, it went smoothly. Maine was also voting on the legalization of marijuana, raising of minimum wage, an extra tax on people that make more than $200k, and on more gun regulations. I voted "no" on all of them. Unfortunately, the only one that didn't pass was more gun regulations and while I am very thankful for that, I'm not too thrilled about the other referendums that passed. Don't worry though, I'm not planning on having a fit over it!😄


Wednesday was the day that I was rejoicing in what God had done. I'm not under any illusions about the president elect. He desperately needs our prayers.  However, one of the two major candidates was going to be the next president. Mrs. Clinton would have been a difficult one for me to rejoice over especially as I think about what her moral standards appear to be. Our nation is in need of intense prayer right now, as we are a country divided. As Christian people, we need to pray for our nation and ask God to specifically  work in our country. Also today was an early release day from school for the kids. The teachers are going to a convention, so the kids have a few days off of school. I went and helped with the ice skating lessons again today, as a friend was willing to watch Emma for me. Roger was unable to get off work, but I do enjoy going with the kids.



On Thursday Roger had a day off of work. He spent the day looking for a vehicle...and he found one. We decided to drive down to look at the vehicle. The kids weren't necessarily thrilled about driving to New Hampshire to look at a vehicle, but since there were not any other options, they came. 😀They are good travelers, and we made good time to the vehicle place. We took the Honda Pilot for a test drive, and the boys pronounced it a good vehicle! I liked it because it seats eight, had about 100k, and was in our budget that we could pay upfront for it. Roger was able to convince the man to go a bit lower, and we left with two vehicles. It made for a bit of a long day, but we are rejoicing in God's provision. The only drawback is that we couldn't get it insured until Monday. Friday  was Veterans Day, and the insurance place was not open on Saturday or Sunday. However, it is now
insured and we just have to go to the town office to pay the excise tax. I had never heard of such a tax before moving to Maine.

Friday was "sister day"! I wish I was better about take pictures when we go do stuff together, but we had a fabulous day. We went down to Freeport to check out the outlet stores, and to do some Christmas  shopping. I really enjoyed my time, and I so appreciated  Roger's day off. Roger is a fabulous dad, and I am blessed to be his wife. He loves me. 😘

Saturday found Roger back at work, and me and the kids hanging out at home. It was a good day for them to just be at home, out in the woods, raking leaves, building forts, and playing with legos. I do love them so much, and I enjoy the days when they are home from school.

Also this past week, Roger hit a deer with his car. The bummer part is that the deer isn't dead, and the car is damaged. When it rains, it pours! Of course, property taxes are due this week also! 😳Rogers boss loaned us a second vehicle so that Roger could get back and forth to work, and I could take the kids to school. We have done some great advertising for his work this week since the vehicles have the logo on the sides. I also drive very carefully! 😊 Roger broke a brake line on the car, lost a headlight and mirror, and dented the side panel. The good news is that the car will be driveable again. It won't be pretty, but it will get us around. His car is currently at the shop, but I am rejoicing that we can get it fixed. Hopefully, our vehicle troubles are behind us, we can get them all registered and Maine insured, and we can go back to putting aside money for the next thing. Oh, God is so good to us! If I have learned one lesson over the course of the past two years, it's about how God will provide
for our needs. I wish I could say that now I pray about stuff and don't worry, but then I'd be lying. I'm working on it!

Update: I haven't even posted this post, and it is already outdated! So....the vehicle we bought is causing us some concern. Roger drove it to work on Monday, and it started to run very loudly. Oh no! We noticed ...I mean, Roger, noticed that a patch job had fallen off the exhaust. We took it to a car inspection place and service person that many people from school go to on Tuesday. The mechanic
inspected the exhaust and also looked it over since we mentioned to them that we had just bought the vehicle. The mechanic discovered some things that need repairing which is a problem since we just
bought the vehicle! Roger immediately called the car dealer that we had bought the car from and expressed his strong disappointment...okay, it was more like anger!  Roger does not have the angry very often, but he felt that the dealer had misrepresented the vehicle. Roger told them that we would be bringing the vehicle back to them the next day. They said they weren't sure how they would solve the issue, but they would look at the vehicle. We both just wanted our money back, but knew that they wouldn't want to do that because of the title and giving back our money. However, something had to happen.


I asked my friend, Allison, if she would take the older three boys after school. Because the kids have ice skating on Wednesday, we felt it best if we didn't leave until after that. Travis and Emma had to come with us, but they did great in spite of a long day in the car. Roger left a bit ahead of us because I didn't want the kids exposed to that adult conversation. We had told our children of the situation, and we had prayed that we would specifically see God work. Chandler asked why would God let us get a vehicle that wants to take all our money. It was a good opportunity to express why we trust God even when things are hard. Perhaps God allowed the muffler piece to fall off so that we would realize that other things are wrong with it. I will say that the boys are learning the power of prayers as we adventure through life.

                                                                 Ice Skating!!
I picked up Travis early from school, made arrangements for the older boys to go with Allison, and started down the road. It was a long day. By the time we arrived at the car shop, Roger was through discussing the problem. He explained what the other mechanics had found and how disappointed he was with the dealership. They didn't see it as their problem at first, but at Rogers insistence they agreed to put the car on the lift. The mechanic admitted that there was a problem, but he wasn't willing to give our money back. He asked for an opportunity to "make it right to us, and he said they would fix it. I'm not sure how much confidence Roger and I have in that, but we are praying that they exceed our expectations. Would you please be in prayer for that also? We drive a lot, and we need a vehicle that can go a long time for many years. God is faithful and I'm thankful that He sees the big picture.

I have had the opportunity to learn a few things this week.
1) It takes two hours and forty-two minutes to get to the car dealer in New Hampshire.
2) New Hampshire does not have income tax, which I already knew, but it's a cool fact.
3) If nothing else, Roger and I have been able to have two separate conversations that have been at least two hours and forty-two minutes long.
4) We found a car mechanic for future reference near us.
5) We have some good friends in Maine
6) The whole situation could always be worse. 😉

The beautiful sunset...and our vehicle 

A Heart Full...and My Vote on Tuesday!

"The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them." Patrick Henry

"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism." George Washington

Oh my! My heart is full this week, and I have much to write about in the story of our lives.

Monday: As you might remember, Monday was October 31. The kids had a full day of school, but we also signed up to participate in our church's "Trunk and Treat Event". I didn't realize until Sunday that most people decorated their trunks for the event. So, I went home and went directly to Pinterest! I gleaned a few ideas, but you would've still needed to use your imagination on Monday night to figure out what I was trying to create! (Roger is the artist, not me!) We've never participated in an activity as this one, but it was fun. The kids had a good time helping pass out treats, playing the ring toss game we brought, and visiting with other kids. I know a lot of Christians greatly frown down upon Halloween events, but I can also see what a community outreach this event was to the town. We did have to look for kids, they came to us! It was a wonderful opportunity to give the community a safe event, and for the church to present our children's ministry and other ministries. The boys have never dressed up for Halloween, but I told them they could be anything they wanted to be as long as it was something we already had a home. Garett was a soccer player (who about froze since he wore shorts). Chandler and Wyatt were ice skaters with roller blades. Travis was a lobster man. He declared that this would be easy because all he would need is rubber boots and a trash bag. (We do see a lot of sternmen around town wearing rubber boots and carrying a trash bag.) Travis built his own lobster trap by tying two milk crates together. Roger was working on Monday so he wasn't able to be there, but it was a good opportunity for the kids to serve others. We did have to have some discussion on the way home about Halloween, but I was thankful for the opportunity to again assure my children that "this is the day that the Lord hath made." Satan may try to take that day, but we are "lights on a hill" and today we had the opportunity to share Jesus. (You may disagree with me, and that's fine.)

                        Emma thought the leaf pile outside was so much fun that she brought it inside!

Tuesday: Well, I was the impromptu music teacher today. The lady who normally teaches music was not feeling well, and I was asked if I would be able to teach. At first I said "no", since music class started in five minutes. However after I walked away, I walked back and said yes. I know how important it is for the teachers to get a little bit of a break to grade papers, or whatever they need to do. It was not a well prepared lesson, and I'm thankful that no one was critiquing it. However, I did teach four different music classes, and the teachers got a break. Emma was with me the whole morning, so she was ready to go home also. We played quite a few games of musical chairs and "name that tune". 😄 I also had lunch duty that day, so it was a bit of a long day. It was nice to go home  for rest time.

Wednesday: The school started their four week course on ice skating today. Oh, how excited the boys were about going to school today! A older lady in the church offered to watch Emma in the nursery to I could help out with ice skating. The school was asking parents to come along and help tie skates or go on the ice with the kids. Emma was perfectly willing to play in the nursery, and I was happy to help with ice skating....after all, it's fun exercise! 😄 Roger was able to get away from work for a bit to come out as well. It's a delight to my heart to know that our kids enjoy having Roger and I come along to their special activities. By the time ice skating was over, it was about time to help out with the hot lunch. The school serves hot lunch once every two weeks, and I usually help prepare and serve if needed. I could tell that the kids had enjoyed the morning of ice skating, but everyone was looking a bit tired! Travis was even ready to go home and take a nap!

As I look back on the week, I see how busy it was for us. No wonder we were ready for the week to be over! I'm thankful for the opportunities to serve, but writing about it also makes me aware of how much I need to guard against adding more things to our lives.

Thursday was a fun morning walk with my friend, Allison. We've become good friends, and she doesn't mind walking with me. 😄 We also usually enjoy coffee together, so I look forward to the days that we manage to get in a walk together.

Friday was chapel day at school. I have been playing the piano some for chapel, and it's definitely something I enjoy. It's a bit of a challenge to watch Emma while trying to play the prelude, but I think  we have worked something out. It reminds me of our days in Alaska when I would try to play the piano, sing the hymn, and give my children "the eye" which  meant "sit down and behave"! Oh, the memories!

On Friday we also went out to the Pastor's house for chili and a bonfire. Roger met us there, as he was working. He worked for eight straight days, so we didn't stay late. We did have such a wonderful time of fellowship, and it was an encouragement to our family.

Saturday....Roger was off work! Hooray!! We spent the day cleaning up the yard, taking trash to the dump, and preparing for the winter. The boys were thrilled when we said we were done for the day!  It was a tiring day, but we did get a lot accomplished. We ended the day with homemade pizza and several rounds of hide and seek. We are about to the stage where we don't have to hide anyone anymore or pretend to not see the child hiding under the couch cushion. We actually have to look these days!

Sunday...it's another day to worship the Lord together! Roger has off again today, so that makes my morning a bit easier. I was able to get in a quick run before church, which was a reminder that it's been a while!

The upcoming election has been heavy on my heart. I feel like the very freedoms that our forefathers fought to protect and preserve are on the line. The future of our children and grandchildren is at stake and many Americans seem to be caught in a quandary about whom to vote for in the election. I'm not going to say anything that you haven't already heard or read, but we need to be on our knees for our country. As I was running this morning, the thoughts of the election were so heavy on my mind that tears started to stream down my cheeks. (Good thing we do not live on a busy road!) How much we need our God to intervene! Neither candidate is a great choice, but I cannot vote for anyone who wants to abort babies at any stage of life, does not care about our military, nor does she care about religious freedoms for Christians. I will be voting for Mr. Trump on Tuesday. I will not bury my head in the sand and think a third party candidate can win. I wish to protect my children,  and I love the U.S.A. I am praying for God to allow Mr. Trump to be the next president of this nation. I am so passionate about this election and what it  could mean for the future of  America that I have committed to fast and pray for two days. I'm not telling you that to get attention, but to encourage you to think about doing the same. Please be in fervent prayer for our nation.