Mini Date, Ticks, and School (What a combination!)

 

 

 

Just a week ago Roger and I were checking into our bed-and-breakfast for our mini getaway! It was a glorious thirty-six hours together, and we soaked it up! I’m thankful for so many friends and my sister for making it possible!

On Wednesday morning, Allison and I finally got away for a walk and some time together. The school year gets so busy that sometimes a month or more has gone by before we’ve actually been able to have a lengthy conversation! We had a great walk, spent some time shopping for bargains, and headed back to school. Originally, my sister, Hannah, had planned to come down on Wednesday afternoon. She would watch the kids, take them to school, and then take Emma with her for the day and overnight on Thursday. However, she sent me a text on Wednesday morning to say that Josh wasn’t feeling well, and she wasn’t sure she would be able to come down on Wednesday afternoon.  I immediately went through several scenarios in my mind of other possibilities, but my mind was coming up blank. My biggest concern was Emma on Thursday as she doesn’t have school, and someone  needs  to watch her all day. Hannah sent me a text a bit later to say that she was planning on coming down anyways, and it would be fine. However, I didn’t want her to feel like she should come down when she was concerned about Josh. So, I made a phone call to Claire, who was going to take the kids after school on Thursday. I explained my dilemma, and she said sure, the boys could stay at her house for two nights. That solved the boys. Hannah said that she could meet me at school and just take Emma with her back to her house. Emma would stay two nights  with her. Whew! Problems solved! Roger managed to get away from work a bit earlier than normal, so we checked in about 5:30pm. It’s been over 16 months since we’ve been away with just the two of us! We enjoyed supper together at a quiet local restaurant, took a walk, and enjoyed uninterrupted conversations! It was so nice to be able to have conversations where we did have to talk in “code”. You know when   you try to describe something without your kids figuring out what you’re talking about?! We discussed everything under the sun in the course of our mini date, and it was refreshing for both of us.  On Thursday, we were up long before it was time for breakfast! Our lives revolve around early mornings, so we were still up before six. We savoured coffee, went for a long walk, and came back and lingered over breakfast. The owners of the bed and breakfast are delightful people. She is the picture of southern hospitality, and her husband is from England. I enjoyed conversing with them, and I would strongly recommend the Blackberrry Inn. Roger had a flight physical scheduled for later that afternoon, so we wandered over to the town it was in. We visited several quaint shops, walked along the water, ate lunch at a cute local spot, and enjoyed time that was not confined to a schedule! Roger had to be at work by 5:30 on Friday morning, so I took him to work. When I got back to the inn, I realized that I wasn’t going to fall back asleep. So instead I went for a run. I can’t remember the last time I was able to go on a morning run, and I was reminded of why I like it so much. The streets are quiet, the birds are singing, it’s the perfect opportunity to visit with my Heavenly Father, and I enjoy exercise! My friend, Claire, joined me for breakfast since Roger was working. She dropped off the boys at school, and then came over for breakfast. She said the boys did very well, and I was glad to hear that they weren’t a problem.  My sister, Hannah, dropped off Emma at school, and I picked her up at 11:30. While I did miss our kids, it was so good to get away for a while. Truly, I love our  children, but when they move on with their lives it’s going to be important that I have a good relationship with Roger! I came back refreshed and recharged, and I am ready to finish out the school year...I think! I’m so thankful to all that made this getaway possible!

I leaped right back into the craziness of Fridays  after school! The two older boys had a birthday party that they had been invited to, so after piano lessons I took them to the party. It was at a mini golf course, and the boys were excited. I also had three younger children that were extremely disappointed that it wasn’t for them. It’s hard to see our children disappointed, but honestly, sometimes life is like that! I don’t want to be the “snowplow” parent that removes as many difficult obstacles as possible from their lives. I truly believe that disappointments, struggles, and challenges are a part of all of our lives, and I can help my children by helping them face those rather than remove them! (I know, it’s a weird concept in today’s society sometimes!) I took the three younger ones out to the airport for a bit, and then we went back to pick up the older boys. The older boys did have a good time, but it was nice to hear them tell their brothers that it would’ve been nice if you could’ve come too. Whew! It’s good  to know that they DO care about each other!!

Saturday was a bit of a rainy day in the afternoon, so we worked in the yard in the morning. The boys cut grass, cute down a tree, and played outside. Roger did trash and took Chandler to get his cans/bottles counted. That kid has made $33.00 this summer in collecting cans and bottles! I took him to the bank and then he had to go grocery shopping with me. None of the kids enjoy coming along when it’s time to grocery shop, but they sure do enjoy it when I come home with food!

Last Saturday, Chandler asked Roger to take him to the jewelry store. He had collected some more jewelry through several yard sales. He’s on the hunt for gold, as the price is good right now. Chandler checks the value of gold every couple of days, and he was anxious to see what his stuff was worth. I refuse to go to the jewelry store as that’s not my department! So off Roger went with Chandler and the other boys in tow! They went to the same store they had gone to a while back. Chandler dumped his “treasures” in the counter. The jeweler told him that most of his gold was costume jewelry, but he did have enough to sell. He told Chandler that he would give him $15.00 for his gold. Chandler looked over at Roger, but Roger said it’s not my decision. Chandler thought about it, and then said to  the jeweler, “How about twenty dollars?” This kid! The jeweler is a good sport and kind to Chandler. He replied that he had already rounded up to $15.00. Chandler looked like he was going to collect it all up and bring it back in at another time. The jeweler told him, “How about fifteen dollars, but I’ll give you this two dollar bill also?” Chandler thought about that for a minute, and then agreed to the price. So he spent two dollars and aquired seventeen dollars! I love our kids, and I am so thankful that Roger is willing to take him to the jewelry store! The jewelry person gave Chandler some tips on what to look for in good jewelry, and Chandler is excited about the challenge of finding more treasures. I think  what touched my heart most of all is when I saw Chandler put that two dollar bill in the offering plate on Sunday. Neither Roger nor I mentioned that he should give some money back to the Lord, but he did it of his own volition. That was special to my heart.

Monday was Memorial Day. Roger was working, so I decided to bring lunch out to him. We packed a picnic lunch for all the pilots that were working, and Roger’s boss also brought some stuff for the picnic. We had a feast of brats, hotdogs, hamburgers, and so much food! It was a bit on the chilly side for weather, but the picnic was nice. It’s always good to interact with the other pilots at Roger’s work, and it was a way for us to see Roger on this holiday. After the picnic, the kids and I headed out to a cabin. Our pastor and his extended family have a cabin on a lake, and they were having a cleanup day. The boys enjoy going down there, and even though it was much too cold for swimming, it was a good time. I spent some time raking and helping to clean up while the boys played with their Airsoft guns with the pastor’s son. It’s a great place for the boys to be boys, and they have a great time using their imaginations! At the end of the afternoon, the boys decided to have kayak races. I knew that someone would end up wet, but it’s life! Sure enough, Travis, Chandler, and Wyatt, all ended up being wet from the waist down! Oh well! They certainly had a good time, and I was glad they had a fun afternoon. We went home to take showers, check for ticks, and get ready for school the next day. The ticks aren’t too bad down by the lake, but they are pretty thick in our neck of the woods. Emma has to be checked over every single night, and most nights we pull two or three ticks off every day! Lyme disease is a huge deal out here, so ticks are soemthing  we are cautious and consistent about checking. The boys pull them off too, but they generally just take care of getting the ticks  off themselves, and then telling me that they had a tick. For whatever reason, it would appear that the ticks are more attracted to Emma, Garett, and Travis. Chandler and Wyatt seem to rarely get ticks, so it’s an odd phenomenon to me. I recognize that the ticks are bad, and we are cautious about checking for them, but we can’t live in fear either. These kids are already turning brown with the sun on their skin, they practically live outside, and they’d probably never come in the house if I was willing to throw food out on the back porch every once in a while! We are just trusting the Lord to help us spot the ticks, and we will continue to pray for His protection. God is faithful...always!

Hooray! That sums up another week in our lives, and we have thirteen days of school to go! Please be in prayer as we finish up the school year. Also, our Vacation Bible school will take place just a week after school gets out. There is always so much to do, and Roger and I have been working and talking about this for weeks now. Please pray for clarity of thought, wisdom, God’s protection, unity among those working, the children that will be coming, and that God will be glorified! We rejoice in WHO He is, and WHAT He is coming to do.

Colossians 2:6-7 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” 

Teacher Appreciation Week and Working as a Family!

Last week was full of activities at the school for teacher appreciation week. As a member of the parents group, I already knew what the teacher appreciation gifts were going to be. As a parent actively involved in the PBA (parents group), I helped fulfill many of those teacher appreciation ideas. As a teacher (music teacher), I was blessed by the efforts of the PBA to recognize the teachers (it would also be awesome if a few more moms were willing to be involved next year!) The truth of the matter is that as we near the end of the year, it would appear that the parent involvement is getting lower, as in about three moms to flush out and fulfill ideas and commitments to the school, which makes it a bit tiring for all of us. I mean, I get it, everyone is busy! And with only eighteen days of school left, we are nearing the finish line-Praise Jesus!

On Monday we had decided to gift the teachers with potted plants. Claire had made these beautiful potted flowers for the grandparents brunch, and we smartly decided to reuse them for teacher appreciation gifts. Claire handed me mine on Monday morning as she was passing them out to the teachers. I helped pass out a few, and then I was going to run a quick errand before taking some of the kids to the nursing home to sing. However, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place when I was caught off guard by someone asking about a substitute teacher. The parents group had already decided to do something different, but it became apparent that wasn’t going to work out as planned. Do you ever get caught in a situation where you know what someone expects you to do, and probably what you should do, but you don’t want to do it? I had about a five second inner struggle before I handed over my plant and said “this is for so and so”. I would much rather deal with my own hurt feelings and emotions that to wrestle with the fact that I might have hurt someone else’s feelings or emotions. I want each person who has a part in our children’s education to feel loved and special. That’s not to say that wasn’t hard for me...in fact, I cried as I told my friend, Allison about my    struggle. I know it’s mostly because I was overly tired from the weekend of the grandparents brunch, a Mother’s Day where Roger was flying, and just a bit overwhelmed with the upcoming week. I did gather myself together, and I got ready to take kids to the nursing home.

Two of the music classes went to the assisted living home last Monday, (5/14) and two groups would go the following week. Some of the kids were a little nervous about singing, but they did a great job. I was proud of their singing, their manners, and their willingness to be a blessing to the residents. We had walked the students down to the nursing home, as it is close to the school. When we arrived back at school, there was a basket of flowers with my name on it outside the office. Sometimes, when we bless others, God blesses us back in a bigger way than we could’ve imagined! My friend, Allison, had made the effort to pick out a hanging basket of flowers for me! They are beautiful and all    summer long they will remind me that God loves me and He blesses me.

Tuesday was a breakfast for the teachers before school. This one was a bit tricky for Claire and I to coordinate just because we had to be at school early to get it set up so that the teachers could eat before school. Roger had off on Tuesday, so he was going to bring in some of our kids a bit later. Two  of the boys (Garett and Wyatt) wanted to come with me, so I took them into school to help set up for the breakfast. They were very helpful in running to get stuff, organizing the table, and doing what I asked. The perk to this teacher appreciation idea was that it was done in the morning , which meant Roger, Emma and I had the rest of the day together. We took a walk down by the water, Emma played at the park, ran a few errands, and headed home. We worked in the yard a lot as the weather was nice, and it was a good day together at home.

Wednesday’s teacher appreciation gift was  gift cards to a coffee shop. We didn’t have a lot of money on each card, but it did show the teachers that we loved and cared about them. Roger and I had picked up the cards the day before, and I had written notes of appreciation on the envelope. Claire and Allison had both said that they would pick up the cards for the teachers too, but since I had the          funds to do it from our parents group, it made sense for me to just pick them up. It was a bit of an odd vibe for me though when I realized I had writtenmy own note of appreciation! Emma also had a field  trip on Wednesday, so I went with her on that event. We went to a local museum, and the preschoolers seemed to have a good time. I, personally  thought it was a bit boring, but the kids didn’t seem to think so! It was a good opportunity to spend with Emma and her class, and I’m glad I went even though I didn’t really want to originally.

Thursday was my birthday! I had kept reminding the kids all week that my birthday was on Thursday.   When I would ask them, “what’s happening on Thursday?”, they would reply with gym class or  bowling! Emma was the one who remembered on Thursday morning, and I think that’s because she wanted cake! Roger was working on Thursday, and we had a teacher appreciation lunch today. Allison and I set up the table for the lunch in the morning. I had made lemon bars and an angle food berry roll cake (it looked beautiful!). We had a few things we needed to get for the lunch, as well as pick up a food tray from a local restaurant. Emma, Allison and I got everything ready for the lunch, and then went to pick up the food tray. Our area town has a one way Main Street, which means you have to go around in circles around the block if you don’t park the first time around. Allison already knows that I’m not a fan of parallel parking, so we of course made several trips  around the block! Eventually, a vehicle moved and we found the right spot! Good thing we left a little early to pick up the food! It was a fun morning spent with good company. The teachers seemed to really enjoy the lunch, and since there wasn’t any dessert left, I’m assuming that was good too!

After we cleaned up from the lunch, Claire offered to take Emma with her for part of the afternoon. This was a great birthday gift to me as it meant that I could get in a run before picking up the boys from school!  Allison, Claire, and I met together a little before school was done to put together teacher appreciation baskets. This was our last gift for the teachers, and we were handing them out on Friday. Each teacher received a basket with snacks, treats, school supplies, and a few miscellaneous items. We had accomplished what we set out to do- a different gift for every day! I’m thankful for friends to work together to make these things happen for our staff and teachers! Claire also handed me a birthday card with a note inside. She was offering a gift to me for my birthday if Roger and I could work it out. The certificate was for a local bed and breakfast for a two night stay! How awesome would that be?! But could I manage to figure out how to make it work? The certificate needed to be used before May 31, and Roger doesn’t have off two days in a row this month! I came up with several different options over the course of the afternoon as I knew that if this was in my power to make it happen, I wanted to do it!   By the time Roger came home from work, I had schemed up an idea to make it happen. My sister Hannah, agreed to come down on Wednesday  evening to stay the night at our house. She will take the boys to school on Thursday and Emma with her that day. Roger has to work on Wednesday, but we will head out once he’s done. He has off on Thursday, and we will soak in that day together. On Friday, he has to work, but we will have managed to get away!! I’m thankful for family and friends that are helping make this event possible! I’m  thankful for Claire’s gift of thoughtfulness for my birthday. Roger and I are very excited to get away,  and I told him that I would leave all my responsibilities behind and just enjoy our time together. I’m not going to think about VBS, hot lunch, chapel, or anything else. Roger and I haven’t been away together for a very long time, so this is exciting!

Friday brought about the handing out of the teachers baskets, hot lunch, Piano lessons, and setting up for a church give-away. Every year our church hosts a give away. Everything is free and open to the public. This year we had a lot of stuff given to the event, and some of the students from the school helped us set up on Friday afternoon. It was a bit overwhelming with all the stuff in there! Chandler found an ice cream maker that is a ball that you roll around. He’s been wanting one for a while, but they are expensive! This one was free and still in the box! Chandler told me that night that he was  glad he waited to get one because God gave him one that was free! We also brought home a turbo heater that works! So while we gave some stuff to the sale, we also came home with some items! Oh well! I’m thankful for how God provides for our needs, and sometimes he even gives us our wants. Roger come home from work with a birthday present for me!  Roger’s  boss, wife, and the people that work at Penobscot had gifted me with a beautiful bouquet flowers and a gift card to a spa!! I felt so loved and appreciated and it took me by complete surprise! I’m looking forward to using that  gift card!

 

 

  

Saturday provided us with the opportunity to attend a piano recital for the boys, make  lasagna for a church dinner, and mow the run way out on an island! There’s nothing quite like mowing a 1,500 foot  runway with a 22” mower! We took all our kids out, our mower, the weed whacker, and of course, snacks! There was a riding lawnmower out on the island, but it quit working about twenty minutes into the job! I was proud of the boys though as they stuck with the job and took turns with the mower and the weed whacker. We hurried around back and forth down that run way working hard to finish before the rain came! I got in all my steps for the day, and it was good exercise for all of us! I’m thankful that my parents gave us money to put towards a quality push mower when we moved to Maine! The boys experienced hard work and the  joy of seeing the task completed. This was a job that needed to be done, and we had told Rogers boss that if he needed someone to do it, we would. Roger’s boss does many wonderful things for Roger and our family, and this was an opportunity for us to be a blessing.

We started off this new week with kids sick at home for the first two days! Chandler had a stuffy nose and cough, so I didn’t think he should go to the nursing home to sing on Monday. Then I decided to just keep him home for the day. Travis came home with a bad headache. The kind of headache that had him lying on the floor. He didn’t sleep well, so I kept him home today. He and Emma have played so nicely together all day, and I certainly do love these kiddos of ours! Tomorrow evening Roger and I are leaving for a mini getaway! I am so very excited!

Thank you for you love and prayers,
Sarah

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17 

35 Years! 35 Lessons!

Life! 

This is a list of a few lessons I’ve learned in thirty-five years of life. It is in no way complete, but I’m half way to seventy today! I figure I better start writing something down, so I’ll have a reminder when I can’t remember! These 35 lessons are in a completely random order, and some are serious and some are fun! I love life, love the Lord,  love Roger, love my kids, and I am so blessed! I’m happy to celebrate my 35th birthday today, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming year. God has been so good to me!

1) I’ve learned to never try to have a serious conversation with my sons without feeding them first!

2) It is possible to have four boys in less than four years and stay sane...I think!

3) Parenting is much harder now at the current ages of my children than it was when they were younger.

4) Every time I’ve been hospitable, I have received a blessing. I’m hoping to show my children that as we work at being hospitable.

5) I thought I was busy during my college days, but actually I had no idea what “busy” looked like!

6) As a young mom I was often overwhelmed (even if I didn’t show it). As an older mom I want to offer more support and encouragement to young, overwhelmed moms than a hug and “I remember those days”. I’m still overwhelmed with raising our children, and I still feel that support, counsel and guidance from older women is lacking. However, I can’t do anything about that, but I can reach out to those young moms that I see are overwhelmed and needing a friend.  

7) My dad instilled in me a desire to work hard. It’s a desire that I want to instill in my kids. I also need to take time to just relax every once in a while too (which is also something my dad isn’t great at either!).

8) My way is not always the “right” way.

9) Never borrow something to someone unless you can also afford to lose it.

10) If someone had told me that parenting was this hard before I had kids, I would have never believed them.

11) Enjoy the simple things in life: clean sheets, the toilet lid down, simple meals & laughter.

12) Laugh often and be willing to laugh st yourself. I took myself way too seriously in our early years of marriage and parenting, and I should’ve been more willing to laugh at myself.

13) Don’t worry about having a lot of friends. Instead  treasure the few but very meaningful friendships that are dear to your heart.

14) If the opportunity becomes available to go on a date with Roger, I should take it! Even if it means an airplane ride and a trip to the post office on one of the islands! (Not that I mind those dates!)

15) It’s okay to be “myself”. However, I never want to be complacent with how I am as there are always areas of my life that I need to work on.

16) Contentment does not come by acquiring more “stuff”. It comes from an inner peace of recognizing WHO God is and that my life is complete in Him.

17) I fail every. Single. Day. In some aspect of my parenting or marriage. But when I say I’m sorry, and ask for forgiveness, life is better for all of us.  

18) God’s grace is ALWAYS sufficient!

19) I really did marry the perfect guy for me. I can’t imagine doing life with anyone other than Roger- good thing!!

20) God has gifted me with five wonderful blessings called children. It’s easy to nag and to forget to praise them. But seeing their faces light up when I praise them should be my reminder to do it more often.

21) Every church needs help whether it’s in Wisconsin, Alaska, Arizona or Maine. I can delight in the fact that there are opportunities to serve or I can become bitter and disgruntled by those who don’t seeem to be doing their part to serve the local body of believers. I want to take delight in serving Christ and the church, and be an example by who I am in Christ.

22) The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence, and their yard probably has just as many ticks in it as ours does! (Lesson from summers in Maine!)

23) In the thirty five years of my life, God has never failed me or neglected to provide for our needs. So I just need to not worry!

24) In our first year of marriage, I had a recipe that flopped. I had the bright idea to turn the flopped broccoli casserole into broccoli soup. Two wrongs did not make a right! It was terrible!

25) You really can tell if spaghetti is done by throwing it at the wall to see if it sticks!

26) My life is not all roses, but even with the thorns, there is beauty from my Heavenly Father.

27) When I am positive, happy, and upbeat, my attitude can rub off on those around me. It  doesn't always happen, but I have no desire to be a Negative Nellie!

28) Be a giver-cheerfully! Not just concerning money, but also with my time, my interests, and my  service to God and others.

29) My kids say and do cute things, but that doesn’t mean that I need to monopolize my conversations with them when I’m with other moms. (and truth be told, I don’t always want to hear about your kids either)

30) My joy in life needs to be in Jesus, not in my children or my spouse.

31) Every day is a gift and a blessing, so I need to treasure them as such.

32) Life is hard, difficult, and messy. Why would anyone endeavor to do it without Jesus?

33) Life is also wonderful and fun. It’s a journey to be enjoyed with Christ by my side.

34) If I accomplish nothing of great value to the world with my life, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I’ve lived my life for Christ, and He is my Rock, my Savior, my friend, my Redeemer, and so much more.

35) I wonder what life lessons I will write about when I’m 70.

Thank you to all that have invested in my life, prayed for me, mentored me, and loved me. I am one very blessed person! Love, Sarah

 35 Today! 

Brunch and Blessings!

My blessings!

 Fun times 

 Friendships! Heather and I 

 All these kids!! 

 Wyatt is wearing a mask because of the black flies; Travis is sitting in the basketball hoop 

Another week consisting of school, spring weather, a get together with friends, a birthday party, a meeting for Travis, the grandparents brunch, and life has passed us by! We had a busy week as I spent much of the week preparing for the Grandparents Brunch which took place on Friday morning. It was a long week, in many ways, but God continued to give grace and strength as He watched over us.

Last Saturday we were able to meet up with friends from Wisconsin! Jeremy, Heather, and their children have been traveling out this way as they continue to work to raise support for their missionary work. We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to make it work for us to get together as they have a tight schedule, and Roger is working a lot these days. We had originally planned to meet them in Portland on Friday night, but Roger was working. He didn’t get home until after seven pm. By that time, it was too late to meet up with the Ingalls in Portland. Thankfully, God worked out the details so that we could meet in Augusta for brunch on Saturday. We have nine kids between the two of us, and we went to brunch at Denny’s. The kids (except Emma) sat together in a corner booth. They did very well for seven boys at one table! No spills, no squabbles, and all the food was consumed! After brunch, we tried to find a park in Augusta. Neither Roger nor I are very familiar with Augusta, but we managed to find a place for the boys to play football, and to go on a short walk. I had such a good visit with Heather, as it was so refreshing to be able to share my challenges of parenting with someone who has faced or is facing similar challenges. It was a reminder to pray for their family, as they are also seeking to raise their children for God’s glory. We talked about many things in our short visit, and I am so thankful that God worked it out so that we could visit together.

On Sunday Roger was working again. It looks like during these busy summer months, he may have to work two Sundays a month. That’s not ideal,  but we will make it work. We are down to the last two   weeks of our children’s program on Sunday nights, and I’m looking forward to getting back to Sunday night services. We had hospitality Sunday on that first Sunday in May, which meant breakfast at church. It’s always a bit more of a challenge on the days that Roger can’t come, but we arrived on time and with food in hand. I do enjoy the discussion on hospitality, and it’s a topic that I enjoy. I also taught children’s church as we are working to add more organization and intent to this ministry. I don’t want to do it for forever, but it gets a little smoother every week! After church, I was blessed and surprised to find a loaf of homemade bread in our truck. The kids wanted to eat it in the way home, of course, but we managed to wait until we arrived home! It was a busy Sunday, but God is so faithful.

Monday was music class for me, which always makes for a busy day! This was our last music class before the grandparent brunch on Friday morning, so we needed to make every moment count. For the most part, the students have worked very hard. I’m pleased with how well they’ve memorized words, parts, and the things that I’ve asked them to do. While I’m looking forward to summer break, I have certainly enjoyed the challenges and delights that have come with teaching music class this year. It’s something that I put hours of prep work into to prepare lesson plans, organize music, and teach with deliberation and intent. It’s not ALWAYS fun, but for the most part, it’s been a good year. I don’t get a whole lot of feedback from parents, so I guess right now I’m just hoping that means I’m doing a good job!

Tuesday was a meeting for Travis with the special education people. I’m not a fan of these meeting simply because one- we are discussing my child, and two- I am not putting my child in public school, so stop mentioning it!! Travis has been having speech lessons since November, and his speech teacher really put in a plug for Travis to continue having these lessons. The problems we are facing is that Travis is a good test taker, but his day-to-day education struggles are the real deal! The district seems to like to look mostly at test scores from Terra Nova, but any teacher will tell you that those results are a small piece of the puzzle! After hearing the concerns from his speech teacher, his classroom teacher, and myself as the parent, the superintendent decided that Travis could continue speech lessons for this year. In October or November another meeting will be organized to discuss possibly getting Travis tested for some learning struggles. (I dislike the work disabilities and refuse to use it when discussing our son.) The truth is that God made Travis to have these particular struggles not because God made a mistake,  but because there is a bigger picture here than what my immediate   mind can conjure. We are trusting that God will show Himself strong in all of these and that Travis will be encouraged. He told me on Monday, “Mom, I’m done. I don’t want anymore school, no more piano lessons, no more speech lessons, and I just want to play now.” Yeah, my son, I feel your pain, but we must press on! Please pray for Travis. And also for Garett as the school district was supposed to be in touch with us by now about some plans for his education in junior high, but they are dragging their feet. Why on earth is it so difficult for those of us that don’t choose to send our child to public school to get some answers and help?! Seriously, we are paying taxes too! Good night!

Anyways, on  Wednesday (May 9) I made lunch for the teachers. This week was the actually Teacher Appreciation week, but since we have the grandparents brunch on Friday, we already have a lot going on! The kids and I made pasta salad and homemade cookies on Tuesday night. I certainly appreciate each of the teachers that works at the school, and I want them to know that we love them. Making a meal is a small token of my appreciation for them. I also worked with Allison and Claire to figure out how much food we still needed for the brunch on Friday. This is a big deal for our small PBA group. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how it was all going to come together by Friday! We had decided on a menu of fruit salad, sausage, egg bakes, and baked pastries and muffins. We managed to get a lot of the fruit and pastries provided by parents of the students, but the egg bakes were another thing altogether! I ended up making four of them, Allison made four,  Claire made two, and a few other parents agreed to make a few also. With having over 120 people to feed for brunch on Friday, the last thing we wanted to do was to not have enough food!

Roger had a day off on Thursday...hooray! The boys had a dentist appointment in the afternoon, and I was going to cancel it. Thursday afternoon was when we were going to decorate and set up for the grandparents brunch, but Roger said that he wouldn’t mind taking the kids to the appointment. He also went with the School on their bowling outing in the morning, and he graciously put up with all my craziness this week! I am truly married to a wonderful guy! Even though Emma didn’t have a dentist appointment, she wanted to go with daddy. It did make it a little easier for me to decorate, set up tables, and organize for the next day without having Emma at school with me. Allison and I had taken the morning to finish the shopping for the brunch. We purchased the sausage, extra fruit, extra pastries, paper products, and the flowers that the kids were handing out to their grandparents. It was a crazy, busy full day with decorating, shopping,  making egg casseroles, and three loaves of banana  bread. I’ve been tired this week!!

On Friday, I was awake before the alarm clock. I hadn’t slept well, and every time I woke up I had the brunch on my mind. The boys were excited for the day took so they were up early also. It all worked out though since I needed to be at school early to put the sausage in the nesco. Roger’s boss, Kevin and his wife, Terri, were coming to the brunch as the boys surrogate grandparents today. By the time the chapel service rolled around at nine am, we were as ready as we were ever going to be! The students did a great job on their music, and the only rumple in the program was when I misplaced the music for the junior high class! I knew it was in my music folder... up where?! Thankfully, one of the students had a copy in her desk. She ran to get it for me, and the program went on. The students presented their grandparents with a flower, a message was given, a song was sung, and we headed down to brunch. All in all, I thought the morning went really well. God gave grace in each situation, and we had plenty of food. I’m thankful for each parent that helped in any way to make this event possible. I’m also really glad that it’s behind us!

Following the brunch was clean up time, lunch out to Roger,  and back to school for piano lessons for the kids. We even managed to attend a small birthday gathering at Allison’s house for one of her girls.   We didn’t stay late as Roger had to work on Saturday, and everyone was tired. It was nice to know that we didn’t have any plans for Saturday!

Saturday was a day at home. We did take trash to the dump, and we did go to the local park, but it was a wonderful down day! I’m so excited that there will be more of those coming soon! I’m thankful that not every week is like this week, but I do believe that God was honored and glorified at the grandparents brunch. The message was clear both through song and through the Word. We serve an amazing God!

I hope that you each had a great week too...it’s okay if it wasn’t as crazy as ours! But did you worship and honor God this week? As our kids get older, it’s something that I see of utmost importance. I wan our kids to know that life is about giving God glory and not our own selfish ambitions. One of my children gave me a great compliment whene he told me “Mom, your always serving other people. But I know that you’ll always listen to me.” It was also a reminder to work at that every. Single. Day. May God be glorified in and through me today and always!

Love, Sarah

Spring!!

 

We may still have about six weeks of school left,  but we’ve made it through testing week!! So basically the school year is about over, in my opinion! Travis struggled through the testing last week, but he did finish it all. The problem that we are seeing is that Travis is a good test-taker. This is a problem as we have a meeting with the special education department from the school district next week. They like to look at mostly the testing scores and because Travis will test as an “average” first grader, we probably won’t receive much (if any) help in continuing his education. I struggle with this as it would appear that since Travis doesn’t misbehave, isn’t wild and out of control in the classroom, and is testing average, there is clearly nothing wrong with his learning skills! This is wrong for a myriad of reasons among them being that how Travis responds to testing is not what we see in the classroom and at home! He struggles with anything with education thus far, and he’s in first grade! So far I have not been too impressed with the special education team from the public school that is supposed to be coming alongside the Christian School, but maybe they will surprise me at the meeting next week, right? Please be in prayer for that meeting. We need grace and wisdom, clarity of thought, and I want to know how I can help Travis succeed a little better at education.

Just an example of testing last week: Testing started on Monday. Travis came home on Monday afternoon just plain exhausted. I could tell because he was weepy about everything, and generally he’s pretty tough. He also seemed to have forgotten his “common sense” skill as he proceeded to dump a whole bottle of cleaning solution on the living room floor! Why? Well, he was needing an ice skating rink so he could slide around in his socks! It wasn’t my finest hour in my response, and the more I asked him “why” the more emotional he became. We cleaned up the mess and he said, “I just don’t even have a brain!” My heart broke. His brother (G) replied, “Well, we think you have one. We just don’t think you used it!” Not helpful, Mr. G! Go away! I sat with my young son and apologized    for being upset with him. I began to realize how hard of this is for him. I explained with intent that God had indeed given him a brain. Just because someone is not educationally smart does not mean that they are not a smart person. God gave all of us different strengths and weaknesses. Some of us have to work harder at certain areas than others. I wish I had a good solution on how to encourage him, but honestly, all I can do right now is pray hard and love that little boy!

Roger had off work on Tuesday so my friend, Allison, and I took at trip to Augusta. We have a grandparents luncheon coming up in two weeks, so we needed to get supplies for the kitchen and table decorations. It was a whirlwind trip to get everything done and back to school in time for pick up, but we did it. The funnest part was just spending time together. It’s hard to have a lengthy    conversation with her as we are both busy with families, church and school. We went to Target, Sam’s Club and the Christmas Tree shop. The Christmas tree shop is actually a store that has a large variety of items. They have table decorations, household items, food, home decor, etc. Oh, and at Christmas time they do have decorations for Christmas. The name of the store threw me for a loop when we first moved out here as I assumed that the store was full of Christmas items year round, and probably full of expensive ornaments. It’s actually nothing like that! It was a fun day spent with a good friend!

The rest of the week was busy with helping Garett and Chandler’s class with a project, shopping for hot lunch, preparing for hot lunch and helping organize a bridal shower for a lady in our church. Hot lunch last week was make-your-own sub and picnic food. So it wasn’t exactly a “hot” lunch, but it  was a picnic. We sent up the tables outside, and the kids had a good time making their own subs. I certainly haven’t minded helping out with hot lunch, but I am glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel...only about six more!

On Friday after school, Allison and I set up the fellowship hall for the bridal shower. It is so much fun to see it all come together! Sometimes I get ideas in my head, but when I try to make them work     in real life they are a total flop! We spent some time trying out a few ideas for table arrangements, but by the time our kids were down with piano lessons the fellowship hall was ready to go.

Roger was working on Saturday, so I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do with our kids during   the shower. I called Terri (Roger’s bosses’ wife) and also a friend to see if she would be willing to watch the boys and Emma while I did the shower on Saturday. She was happy to do it for me, so I dropped the boys off at the airport on Saturday a little before noon. Terri took them to lunch at McDonald’s, then to the Transportation museum, and also for a walk on the beach! I am so thankful that she was willing to take the kids, and they were very excited to spend time with her. Terri said that the boys were very well behaved (Emma too), and she was happy to take them with her. It was certainly a blessing to me!

The shower was very enjoyable. Planning and coordinating these types of events are things that I enjoy doing. Sometimes I do certain service events because help is needed, not because it’s necessarily something that I enjoy. We had about 25 ladies attend the event, and Leslie seemed so happy with the shower. We played a few simple games, enjoyed food, had a good time of fellowship, and enjoyed watching Leslie open up her gifts. That girl ran away with the gift cards to T.J. Max! I don’t think she got a gift card to anywhere else and she probably was given about fifteen of them! Word had gotten out that she enjoyed shopping there, and she can now enjoy those gift cards for a while!! How fun!

I picked up the kids afte the shower, and I talked with Terri for a bit. The kids have invited Kevin and Terri to the grandparents brunch next Friday, and they are going to come. The boys are very excited to have them come! We got home around 4:00, and I was able to get in a short run. I also talked with one of my friends from Wisconsin, Beka. It was good to have a lengthy conversation with her, and it was a reminder to stay faithful with where I am. Sometimes in church and ministries it’s easy to ask the same people over and over again to do soemthing. I don’t think that is wrong in and of itself, but sometimes we miss giving someone else a blessing by asking them to help. Don’t get me wrong, I am guilty of the same thing! But as Beka and I talked we both realized that there are certain ministries or areas that we help out/serve in but are not necessarily what we’d love to do. But perhaps the things we see ourselves enjoying or being good at are ministries that someone else is already  in charge of and doesn’t seem inclined to include us. I’m not complaining (okay, maybe a little) but sometimes the things I do are because I feel like they are  ministries that perhaps someone else doesn’t want to do. I told Roger recently that there are areas that I’d be more than happy to hand off and take on one that I’d really want to do. But sometimes I feel like the only thing I can do is do a really good job at what  I’ve been handed or asked to do, and hope that perhaps someday I’ll have the opportunity to take part more in something that is my passion or real interest. Guess what Roger's response was? He gently reminded me that perhaps an area that I’m serving in because there is a need is something that someone hopes that someday they’ll be able to serve in. If you’ve managed to survive all that  mumble jumble, basically I was reminded of the need to look around me and to work to include others where possible. Perhaps there are some people that want to serve and they are just waiting to be asked!

Sunday was a full day,as always. Roger had to work on Sunday, but he was able to get away to help  me with the children’s Sunday school program. We are in our third week of having a Sunday morning     Opening with the children. We sing songs, teach them a Bible verse, give them a short missionary  lesson, and then send them to their classes. I feel like it is going very well, and Roger and I have enjoyed working together again in ministry. I did Childrens church also, and Allison assisted me. We have about thirteen kids in a rather small space, so I’ve been having to get creative about incorporating a review game that doesn’t take up a lot of space. We started our series on Sunday School Charlie, and I think the kids are going to enjoy that. It is a great story, and one that I have taught many times, from Wisconsin to Alaska and now in Maine. I was thankful for Allison’s help as we do have a few children that provide some interesting “dynamics” to the class. Following the church service, we had a church dinner and a business meeting. My kids asked to go outside during the meeting, so they stayed outside. I wasn’t able to stay for the whole meeting as I have to be careful on how I use my time. I have four classes of music to teach on Monday mornings,  so it’s important that I am prepared.

Roger was coming in the driveway about the time that we were headed to church for the Childrens program....three weeks to go! (Then the program is over for the summer) Chadler was the only one who wanted to go with me, and the other four kids stayed home with Roger. We normally don’t give our children an option about whether or not they are going to church. However, as we age as parents we realize that our time spent with them is also important. The kids have not seen much of Roger lately as the weather has been nice, so we felt it was fine for them to stay home with him. Chandler came with me, which also meant he had to go grocery shopping! It was supposed to be a short grocery trip after church as I have my list and coupons ready to go. However when we checked out  , the computer couldn’t handle all the coupons and the whole computer crashed! We had to wait for the computer to reload and then try it again. Thankfully, it did work so I guess it was worth it since we saved 57%.

On Monday while on the way to school, we were discussing how the previous  week had been testing week. Chandler commented that he didn’t mind the testing, and it was kinda fun. I asked Garett what his opinion was on the matter. He replied, “It’s really not my pot of coffee, Mom.” I stared at him until I realized that what he meant was “not my cup of tea!!!” I got a good chuckle out of it, and it brightened our day. The day before,  after church,  Emma was looking for her shoes. She kept telling me that her shoes were in the “poo”. I was completely confused until I realized that she was saying that her shoes were in “the pew”!

The boys had a job to do after school on Tuesday. They had asked an older gentleman at church if he had some work for them to do. He employed them to pick up sticks in his yard for an hour after school. It wasn’t very hard work, but the boys had taken the initiative to ask him if he had any work for them to do. They had done some yard work for him last year, so Chandler and Garett talked to him last Sunday. The boys made a few dollars and it was a good opportunity for them. I’m thankful for older folks who are willing to let our kids work for them.

On Wednesday, May 2, the weather was beautiful! You could practically see the grass grow and the buds develop on the trees. We’ve been getting to school by 7:30 this week as I am doing before school watch outside. The teacher who has that responsibility this week has not been feeling well. It’s been hard for her to go outside. Since our kids are generally up early, I offered to do it this week so  the kids could play outside in the mornings. It’s not been too much of a problem to get there by 7:30,  but of course, when you HAVE to be there by 7:30, it is a bit of a challenge!

Roger had the day off on Wednesday, and he took Chandler out of school for the day. Chandler has really been struggling with a kid in his classroom, so much that he asked me to homeschool him next year! While I agree this child can be a bit of a challenge, Chandler also needs to learn how to get along with difficult people. You see, difficult people show up in everyone’s life. They have a different face when they are in their teens, twenties, thirties, and so on, but difficult people don’t go away! It’s important to learn how Christ wants us to respond. Roger and I do not generally pull our kids out of school as that’s soemthing that has to be paid for, but there are exceptions. Chandler has been showing signs of stress and aggression at home, so Roger arranged to take him fishing. Oh wow! Chandler was so excited to spend the day with Roger and to do his favorite thing! He was up at 5:05am, waiting to go fishing. The other boys were disappointed that they had to go to school, but Roger is going to try to take each of them on a special day with him before the end of the school year. Garett has already said that he would like to spend his day flying;  Wyatt said that he wanted his day on a Saturday as he doesn’t want to miss school; Travis has a whole list of things he’d like to do including go-carts and golfing, but NO fishing! So many different personalities in our children! It’s important that Roger set these date days up now, because the busy season is coming! I would rather have the boys miss a day of school now than to use up Rogers days off during the summer as those are very valuable family days! I know that Roger would not probably choose to spend all day fishing, but he and Chandler did have some important discussions, and it was time well spent. Unfortunately, they did not catch any fish. The water is still really cold here, so the fish aren’t biting quite yet.

Roger and Chandler were still gone after school, so I took the kids for a walk in the breakwater. Allison brought her girls to and we had a nice walk out to the lighthouse. The day was beautiful and warm, but we didn’t realize how windy it was until we were walking on the breakwater. The waves were splashing over the breakwater resulting in a spray on us every once in a while. Allison, Emma, and I tried to avoid getting wet, but the rest of the six children worked to get as wet as possible and as quickly as possible! Thankfully, the sun was warm even if the water was cold! It was a fun time and we created another memory with friends in Maine.

The students st the school are doing bowling for gym class for the next several weeks. I wasn’t planning on going as gym class in on a Thursday, and Emma does not have school on Thursdays. However, when I was asked if I would come along and help tie shoes and keep score for the younger classes, we did. It was a fun morning to watch the kids bowl as some were fairly good at it and a few not so much. I’m thankful for these opportunities to interact with our kids even if it meant not as many things done at home. However, Emma and I had a productive morning the rest of the day as we worked around the house. Our church is hosting a give away sale in a few weeks. It’s like a rummage sale, except everything is free. It’s also a great opportunity for me to clean items out of our home that we don’t need or want! Hooray!

That wraps up another week. We appreciate your prayers and love. Love, Sarah