12/8/2017
As I write this I am sitting at a booth in McDonald’s with my Bible and a cup of coffee. My children are in school, we made it through the first performance of the Christmas program, and the suburban is in the parking lot with some funny smells, and it doesn’t want to go anywhere (that is the extent of what I know is wrong with it!)
It’s been a crazy week...even crazier than normal, if possible! My parents came for a visit this week, and that has made time go by even faster! They flew into Boston and then took a coach bus up to Portland, Maine. The bus worked out really well for them, and I was so thankful that I didn’t have to drive in Boston traffic! We picked them up at the bus station about 7:45pm., and the kids were so excited to see them. It was a late night for our kids, and for the rest of us, but we did make it home safely. It was a full day of travel for my parents, but everything went smoothly.
On Tuesday 12/5 morning I had a quick parent meeting at school, and Roger had some paperwork to do at the airport. A lady from church, Sharon, came to help me set out all the costumes for tomorrow’s dress rehearsal. We laid out about 39 costumes, but I think we are ready for tomorrow! Emma was thrilled that she was able to stay home with Nana and Papa! When Roger and I arrived home, my dad was working on a project for me!! Yay! I don’t like having a lot of stuff on my kitchen counters, and I had asked my dad about putting the microwave into a built in spot on our island. My dad was able to figure out how to make it work for me so the microwave isn’t on the floor in the pantry any more! Yay!
Also on Tuesday my friend, Hannah, made a meal for our family. She realized that this would be a crazy busy week for me, and she wanted to be a blessing. And she certainly was a blessing! It was a delicious meal of chili, chips and salsa, and all the fixins’. My parents asked Roger and I if we would want to go on a date on Tuesday night....umm, yes! I think the last date we went on together was last January before I left for Haiti. When my mom told my kids that we were going in a date, Wyatt asked her “Is Dad going on the date?” And Travis asked “Who is mom going on a date with?” In my defense this sounds worse than it is! It’s just usually when I say I’m going on a date, I’m going to the grocery store and taking one of the boys with me! For the record, Roger is the one I go on “real” dates with and only him!! It was a funny moment though!
Roger and I had a great time on our date. We were able to try out a new restaurant in the area that we’ve had a gift card to for about six months. It was a great evening together, and I’m thankful for the opportunity we had to spend time together with just the two of us. The kids were able to get some time with their grandparents.
On Wednesday I had Christmas program practice with the students at the school, and my parents came along to watch the program. The kids have worked so hard on this program, and I’m excited about seeing all of their hard work and effort come together. After the practice, my mom decided that the angel costumes should probably be ironed! She offered to iron them for the program on Saturday, and I didn’t argue! I picked up the kids early from school as I allowed them to come home when I picked up Emma at 11:30am. The boys are wanting to spend time with their grandparents and that seems way more important than a perfect attendance record! My dad took the boys down to the cemetery down our road, and the kids had a great time playing hide-n-seek with Papa! My mom ironed about twenty costumes for the program, and I am very thankful for that! Hannah and Josh also came down for part of the afternoon, so our house was full of fun and laughter. The kids love to play games and this week they’ve had more people to play with them. My dad also finished the microwave cabinet, and my kitchen is back together! We are enjoying our time with my parents, but this week is going by so quickly!
On Thursday Roger had the day off of work, and he was trying to work on replacing the exhaust on the truck. It was a job that he thought would be simple, but it was not a simple fix! My parents went to see Hannah and Josh’s house, and I worked on figuring out a million little details for the Friday program. I had to order a “Mary” costume, and it was supposed to arrive on Wednesday. However, Wednesday came and went without a costume coming! I was a little worried about this costume, and about 500 details, so by Thursday night, I was a tired mess! Thankfully, the costume came at about 4:30pm. on Thursday afternoon...Praise Jesus!
Garett and Chandler’s teacher has a birthday on Saturday. On Monday Chandler asked his teacher what kind of coffee she liked. She told him, and Chandler came home very excited to tell me what kind of coffee she liked. We decided that we would buy her coffee on Friday morning (I already had plenty to do in the morning, but this was important to Chandler.) I was up early on Friday morning asking God to give me peace, calmness of heart, and grace for whatever the day brought. I took the two older boys with me when I left for school at about 6:45 am. The truck was had a funny smell, and Garett prayed that we would make it to School and that nothing would be wrong with the truck. We stopped to get some coffee for their teacher and those two boys were delighted to bring her a gift. I’m glad I was able to help them brighten someone else’s day. We arrived at school with plenty of time for me to finish up some last minute details, confirm a few minor changes with the teachers, and make sure the costumes were organized for the program at 8:30 am. The morning program is for those who would rather not come out at night, or perhaps can’t make it, or parents who want to see it twice. Our pastor was out of town on Friday morning so I asked my dad to lead one of the congregational carols in the program. When we had practiced on Wednesday morning the students had not been able to get their costumes on and get in their spots by the end of the song. I warned my dad that if the shepherds weren’t standing in the back of the auditorium we would need to sing another Christmas song! Sure enough when we finished singing four verses of “Joy to the World”, we were still waiting for the students, but my dad just led the congregation into the next carol. I was thankful that we had already practiced this on Wednesday, and I knew it might be a snag! The students did a great job on their morning performance and other than the sound effect without the trumpet, and a few stumbled lines, they did a flawless job!
After the morning program, I had s time before I needed to pick up Emma. My parents went on an errand to Walmart, and I decided to visit one of the elderly ladies in our church. I stopped by McDonald’s for a cup of coffee and as I was pulling out of the drive thru, the truck lost power steering, all the gauges went crazy, and I was a bit unnerved! I managed to coast into a parking spot in the back of the parking lot. I called Roger, who was out on a flight. So I then did what any daughter would do next...call DAD!! I explained where I was, and that Roger was unavailable, and that the truck was broken. I told him not to hurry as I was safe and fine. I could’ve walked back to the school if I needed to, but I decided to just go into McDonald’s to wait. I had a great half hour spending time with Jesus, and asking Him for some extra grace for today. I wasn’t necessarily upset about the truck, but it’s been a very busy week! Fatigue and feelings of being overwhelmed were catching up with me which can lead to emotional tears! Thankfully God provided an opportunity to quiet my heart. When my dad arrived, he looked over the truck and determined that a belt had broken and that a pulley was frozen. He said that he thought he could fix it if he had the right tools. However my dad was in dress clothes, Emma needed to be picked up, and the boys were waiting to have lunch with Nana and Papa. Solve one problem at a time, right? We picked up Emma, ate lunch with the boys, and headed home so that Dad could get the right tools and change clothes. I’m thankful that Hannah had borrowed my parents a vehicle for the week, so at least we had a vehicle to get home in! My mom offered to stay home with Emma, while Dad and I went back to the truck. I offered my help to my dad, but he didn’t seem to think that would be good help! 😋He worked on the truck, while I walked down to the school and prayed for a quick fix. It was already about 1:30pm., and the boys were done with school at three! I had brought Christmas cards to work on, but I got distracted by talking with Allison! At about 2:15, my dad walked into the school, and I was surprised to see him! He handed me the keys and said the truck was fixed! God had brought along a man from an auto store to McDonald’s for lunch. He had noticed my dad working on the truck and had walked over to see if he could help. Once he noticed what the problem was, the man fixed it in no time at all! Praise the Lord for a wonderful blessing! My dad headed home, while I ran to the grocery store to get milk...again, and pick up the boys. I had cancelled the boys piano lessons for today as I knew that we needed to spend at least a little bit of time at home before coming back for the program.
This is the link to Garett’s song for the Christmas program:
https://youtu.be/XJQVnZeJy1c
At six pm., the students were ready for the program, the church was packed, and God showed Himself strong in His faithfulness and grace. The students did a great job, and the Gospel was presented. I don’t know if anyone accepted Christ as their Saviour, but I pray that some seeds are planted. I am SO thankful that it is behind us, and that the students hard work and effort paid off. Garett and Maggie (another student) did a great job on their solos. The staff presented me with an evergreen Christmas basket after the performance, and the junior high class gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers! Both were unexpected surprises, and just added to my already blessed heart.
After the program life got a little bit crazy as we were having Christmas with my parents at our house. Allison came to rescue me again, and she helped gather up all the costumes. Roger, Hannah, and Josh also pitched in to help, and we managed to get a good chunk of the costumes organized and put away. I knew that we would have to come back on Saturday anyways to put the church platform back together and finish cleaning up, but at least we had some of it done. We were headed home by seven thirty, so we did manage to get out of there before it was really late. My parents won’t be here for Christmas Day, so we gave them our gifts on Friday night. I am thankful that my parents were able to spend some time with us this week even though it was a very short week!
We took my parents to Portland on Saturday morning to catch the bus to Boston. It was a bit of an early morning after a late bedtime the night before. The kids were sad to see my parents leave, but we were all thankful for the time we had together. We made it safely to the bus station, took a few pictures, and said a few teary good byes. Thankfully Roger and I had planned to do a few errands in Portland so that distracted the kids. We stopped a few places and headed home in the early afternoon. It was starting to snow, which was beautiful, but made the driving a bit slower. We did make it home safely by around three pm., and the kids immediately hurried to find all their snow gear! Garett hooked up a small bike to the back of the dirt bike, and he drove his brothers around the yard a few times...and that is why I don’t have a nice yard! However, they played together so nicely and for several hours!
Chandler was the first one to come inside, so he was volunteered to come with me to the church to put everything away from the Christmas program. It was now dark, still snowing, and chilly. I didn’t exactly feel like going out again, and Roger offered to go instead. But I was the one who had gotten all the stuff out, so I knew where it all needed to go back. We drove safely, and finished as quickly as we could. We did see two cars in the ditch, but God brought us safely back home again.
My parents flight was delayed out of Boston, and they actually didn’t end up making it back to Wisconsin yesterday. The were stuck in Alanta for the night, then this morning they got in a flight to Tampa, and then back up to Wisconsin! A little bit more traveling than they were anticipating, but God gives grace for what we need.
Sunday dawned a beautiful winter morning with a fresh layer of snow. It was beautiful! The boys were up at the first light of dawn to be outside in the snow. They are worried that it will melt today, and they want to use it as much as they can! Today was a special combined Sunday school class hour, and to be honest I wasn’t really excited about going. I’m very tired out from the busy week, and it was a bit of a mountain top experience in my life. So now I feel a bit of the let down of it being all over, combined with fatigue, which leads to a lot of emotions. We headed to church, and I was looking forward to playing the piano for the Sunday school hour. However, there was some miscommunication, and I was not given the opportunity to play for the service. I cried, which is ridiculous! I am not normally a person to get upset over little details but for some reason this morning it was a bitter disappointment to me. And guess what? It’s life; and I moved on, got over it, and continued on with the day! All in all, it was a good day! God gave me a special encouragement through a short rest time in the afternoon as also the opportunity to take a short run. My heart is encouraged, and I am ready for a new week!
A few highlights from this weekend
1) On Saturday, December 2, I was able to go to a ladies Christmas party. It was a delightful evening of fun and fellowship. And we also were able to find a place to cut down a Christmas tree that fit into our budget!
2) There was some miscommunication with how my parents were going to get from Boston to Our house. Through it all, God showed Himself strong and worked out the bus situation to work out far more smoothly than if I had driven to Boston.
3) Last Sunday our family had the privilege of first candle of Advent. It was a special moment as the boys read the Scriptures and lit the candle.
4) God brought a lot of people out for the program on Friday night, and it was a wonderful experience to see how God showed Himself strong.
5) My husband loves me in spite of my craziness, and he definitely balanced me out this week and helped me get through the week.
6) My Dad was able to fix the pellet gun for the boys, and that was a delight to them. Chandler shot a squirrel on Thursday morning, and the boys ate it for supper on Friday night after the Christmas program. It wasn’t something that I was excited about eating, but they were thrilled to eat it!
7) Allison helped me with so much take down and put away after the Christmas program. I was so encouraged by her thoughtfulness.
8) I am so blessed!
Our love,
Sarah
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