Christmas Break! Praise Jesus!

 

Christmas is almost here! I know that if I don’t write about the adventures and memories of the past few days, I’ll forget! We are so thankful that it is now Christmas break. Chandler has a “Freshman Focus” trip planned for next week (several of the freshman are going on a trip to encourage fellowship and hopefully deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ). Other than that trip for Chandler, we plan to stay around home. Last Christmas the kids and I drove from Maine to Michigan over Christmas break, so this Christmas I am thankful to be sticking around home! 

In the past week, we’ve done A LOT of Christmas baking! I think we made 39 little boxes of treats for our neighbors, teachers and friends. The most popular treats were peanut butter balls and Christmas crack, but we also dipped Oreos, made oreo truffles, caramels, chocolate chip cookies, and a bunch of other sugary treats! I am about sick of making peanut butter balls, but hopefully others will be blessed and encouraged by a box of Christmas treats! 

A few Sundays ago, our Sunday School teacher was talking about Random Acts of Kindness. I know it’s been on our hearts and minds (Roger and I) on how we could help teach this to our children. I printed several Random Acts of Christmas Kindness cards for our kids to hand out to strangers, and I was pleasantly surprised as to how much they seemed to enjoy the idea. Then I had the idea to print a bunch more of those same cards and challenge our 4th and 5th grade classes at school to pass out the cards! So I spent much of last Monday printing out the cards, attaching an invitation to our church’s Christmas service and a candy cane. Then Jennifer and I gave them out to our library classes on Tuesday. We didn’t make the students take a card, but we just encouraged them to take one if they would use it. The majority of the students did take a card, and I’ve been praying that God will specifically use those cards to encourage some spiritually weary people in our world and point them to Jesus. This world needs Jesus, and since we have our hope in Jesus, we need to share that with the world! 

The boys survived mid-term exams! I wasn’t sure that we would make it through the week, but by the Grace the God, we made it through! It was a long week, and it was more stressful that I would’ve liked, but it is behind us for now. Last Friday evening, the kids and I went over to a friends house to do some Christmas baking- including more peanut butter balls! This family has two teenage daughters and a fourth grader boy. It was refreshing to see the teens have conversations with each other and laugh together. I think that teens are often intimidated to talk to the opposite sex because then some one will tease them about “liking” that person! It’s annoying to them and it’s discouraging as a parent who’s trying to raise kids to have healthy relationships at their ages! 

We had over some friends last Saturday, and we did more Christmas baking! Maria and I made oreo truffles and more peanut butter balls! It’s fun to have them over as they have a bunch of boys too, and we enjoy fellowship with them. On Sunday, our Spanish church was having a potluck Christmas dinner and Maria invited our family to join the Spanish church dinner. It was a little odd to go to a potluck dinner knowing that I hadn’t made anything to contribute, but per usual for church dinners, there was plenty of food! It was a good opportunity to interact with families outside of our normal church circle and to be introduced to some ethnic Mexican food. It was delicious!

Monday began the last 1.5 days before Christmas break from school! The older kids (6th-12th grade) had a special day of games for them. The boys all agreed that it was far better than school, but they would’ve preferred more active games- sounds pretty typical for them! The more running, moving, and being active, the better in their opinion! Meanwhile, the younger grades had one last rehearsal for the Christmas program! I had the opportunity to be involved a little in the rehearsals, and it’s always fun to see it finally start to pull together. After weeks of instructing in music, drama, songs and telling students to be quiet on the stage, it’s nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel…either that or it’s an oncoming train! I had the opportunity to be involved in several years of music in Maine, and I’m glad that God continued to allow me to have a small part in this new Christian school. I worked with two great ladies, Lauren and Tamela, and we were all thankful to know that by Tuesday at 11:30am, this program would be behind us! The students did a fantastic job on Tuesday morning, and I think we are all relieved that we don’t have to hear those Christmas songs for a while! 

Roger’s parents came for a few days, so we were able to enjoy some time with them. They arrived on Monday afternoon and left on Wednesday morning. They are traveling a lot this Christmas season as they visit several of Roger’s siblings and families. We enjoyed conversations, laughter, lots of food, and opening gifts together with them. Mom and Dad were able to come to see the Christmas program on Tuesday morning, and we were thankful that they were able to spend some time with us. 

I’ll be honest- this Christmas season has been a rough one. I don’t know that I could adequately express how I feel, but tears have been close to the surface many times in the past few days. My heart hurts for those that have lost a loved one recently. One of my friends lost a son this past year, and we’ve shared many moments of watery eyes. My heart hurts for those that are hurting this season. It’s a season of joy as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but for some it’s a season of deep sadness and grief. 

Transitions are hard- even if they are good transitions. We are figuring out new friendships and relationships here in North Carolina, and it’s not without some rough moments on both Roger and I and our kids... especially Emma and Travis. We left behind six years of friendships in Maine, and some of those will remain life-long friends. I miss shopping trips and church events with Allison, laughing with Jess, and school and church Christmas programs. I miss deep conversations about things that really matter with some of those very close friends. I know that God is at work here too, and that He will bring about those friendships and conversations in His perfect timing. It’s hard not to feel sad about what was behind, but I also know that God will continue to work out His perfect will here too.  

But, we’ve made friends with a military family that’s also new to the area. Getting to know Justin and Laura and their family has been a blessing to our entire family. Laura and I have shared conversations about raising teenagers, and I’m thankful for another “like-minded” mama. Also, I’m thankful for friendships such as Jennifer and her family. Jennifer and I have been working together in the library, and she and her husband have been an encouragement to our whole family. They’ve shared fellowship with us, welcomed our family, and have encouraged both Roger and I.  Wyatt and Travis have made friends with Gabe and Enzo, and I have been encouraged by conversations with their mom, Laura, and we always have lots of laughs together! It’s been six months since we’ve moved, but God has been faithful. Even when I am weary or discouraged, He is still good. He never changes! 

Just this week, God provided several blessings for our family. 

*Garett got his driving permit! I can’t believe our son is old enough to drive! His brothers do not like him to drive because they say that he drives too slowly, but he is being responsible! We are thankful that he takes this responsibility seriously. 

*Christmas cards! We are still one of those weird families that send out Christmas cards, and we also enjoy receiving them! This week we received several cards from friends in the mail, and our kids pour over the pictures and letters also. “Look how big so and so is!” “Mom, did you know…?” Even if they don’t know or remember the family, they enjoy looking at the pictures on the cards also. Also this past week we received a special card and note from some dear friends in Maine. Roger has stayed in touch with them, and we were blessed by their thoughtfulness and generosity to our family. 

*Christmas break- oh, I am so thankful for Christmas break! We are looking forward to soaking up some time together as a family as well as just relaxing at home. 

Photo credit: seedsoffaithdesigns.com

Christmas Season and Blessings!!

Library decorations! 

 November is over, and now it’s starting to feel like the mad dash to Christmas break! My dad has been gone on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic, and my mom spent the week visiting her sister and family as well as time with us. My mom folded lots of laundry for me, matched socks, and played many games with the kids. It was a good week, but it went by quickly. 

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, a friend reached out to me to tell me that she was getting rid of some Christmas decorations. She asked if I would be interested in any of the decorations either for our home or the school library. We gave away a lot of our Christmas items when we moved to North Carolina, and the school library could definitely use some new decorations! Roger and I went over to pick up the Christmas decorations. We stayed for a visit and spent some time just talking with this friend. Christmas can be such a hard holiday on some people, and it’s good to be reminded to spend some extra time in prayer for friends that are hurting or grieving. When we came home and unpacked the decorations, we were thrilled to find that there was a very nice Christmas tree in the mix! We’ve ALWAYS have had a real tree in our 17 years of marriage, but Christmas trees are expensive here, and we weren’t sure about buying one. However, this tree is perfect for our house, and it was fun to decorate for Christmas while my parents were here. There was also a smaller Christmas tree, so the kids had a fun time putting on all the random decorations we’ve collected over the years on that tree. 

My dad was leaving for the DR on Monday morning, and on Sunday afternoon, I got a text from the missionary that my dad was going to be going with. They asked if I could help my dad get some information printed so that he could easily enter into the DR. After finally managing to get the paperwork filled out and completed, we needed to print it. However, last Sunday was a very windy day and the power went out at our house! Now what!? Well, thankfully, we could run the internet off the phone and Roger dragged out the generator to plug the printer into the generator cord! We looked like totally red-neck folks but we managed to print the paper! Whew! My parents headed to Raleigh to check into the hotel, and Emma was excited that she was able to go with Nana and Papa. Since my dad’s flight was so early on Monday, they went to Raleigh on Sunday afternoon. I was happy that Emma was able to have some one-on-one time with my parents. The boys enjoy all kids of outside activities with my dad, but Emma isn’t interested in deer stands, hunting, or shooting at targets. Thankfully, we were able to mend all relationships with our neighbors after Chandler shot the deer on the other neighbor’s land. My dad ended up helping the boys move the deer stands, and I think they might have ended up with a better spot than they were originally. They also met a new neighbor who was extreme helpful in  them figure out where to set up the stands. It was a blessing to have a neighbor help out the boys and give them a few hunting pointers. 

On Monday morning,  Chandler woke up with a rash on his skin. Apparently he had gotten into something while out in the woods. I didn’t think too much about it as the boys are always getting into something. However, by the time basketball practice was done on Monday evening, Chandler’s forearms were swollen and the skin was very irritated. Clearly, whatever he had gotten into wasn’t going away, and we needed to have a doctor look at his arms. So Tuesday morning found Roger and Chandler waiting outside a walk-in clinic in a near by town at about 7:15am. The clinic opened at 7:30am, and when they went to sign in for an appointment, the secretary told Roger that they weren’t taking any new patients. Say what? The walk-in clinic isn’t taking new patients?! I thought that was the purpose of a walk-in clinic. Roger was told that Chandler could come back in January to see if they were taking new patients then. Um- Chandler would have his skin scratched off by then! So they went to a different walk-in clinic. At that walk-in clinic they discovered that there was already about 20 people in line! Roger remembered that there was a clinic in our local town that opened a little later. So they headed there. Thankfully, Chandler was able to be seen by the nurse practitioner who prescribed prednisone and a cream for his skin. Roger picked up the cream and Chandler put it on. Roger had planned to take Chandler to school, but the cream caused his skin to start to “weep”. Clearly, he wasn’t going to be able to go to school like that. So he took Chandler home. A teenager on prednisone was a crazy week! Chandler is like the energizer bunny without a steroid, so he was really eating us out of house and home this past week! He was irritable, unable to sleep and ate so much food I don’t know where he put it! However, we made it through, and his skin does look a lot better. We are thankful that we found a clinic to go to and that Roger was able to adjust his work schedule so that he could take Chandler. 

Friday found me with a passel of kids to take home after school, which I absolutely do not mind in the least! Garett and Chandler had a basketball tournament for part of the day on Friday, so they were gone to that. Typically we go to all their games, but I had already planned a “baking for Christmas” evening with a few friends. Since I wasn’t going to the game, I ended up taking a few extra kids home with me as their parent was at the game. The kids had a great time running around in the yard and playing while I got ready to make a huge mess in the kitchen. Laura and her sister, Suzanne, arrived around 5:45pm with Suzanne’s son, Eli. Two of the other kids that I had brought home had already left, so there was just seven kids left. Laura, Suzanne and I made so many sweet things that we probably were close to a sugar induced coma! We made peanut butter balls, dipped Oreos, gingerbread cookies, caramels, dipped pretzels, reindeer pretzels, Christmas toffee, and I don’t even know what else! It was the perfect day to do it because we had to stay up late anyways waiting for the boys to get home from the basketball game. It was a late night, but such a fun night! Wyatt, Travis and Emma were thrilled to have friends to play with, and it was such a fun night of laughter and fellowship! 

Travis said on Saturday night that “We used up all our Saturday!” And he was rather dismayed about it! We went to watch the boys play in the basketball tournament on Saturday morning. It was a longer day than anticipated as all the games started later than they had anticipated. The boys ended up losing the game, so that was disappointing for them. The boys have learned a lot this season, but the late night are really late nights! We aren’t a late night family, so that’s been a total adjustment.  I’m thankful that they’ve had this opportunity to try, but I’ll be curious to see if they try out next year. 

This past week we also received a really big blessing regarding Emma’s school bill. When we moved to North Carolina, we discovered that the state of North Carolina offers an “Opportunity Scholarship” that will help pay for a student’s tuition bill. However, while we met the financial qualifications for the requirements, we didn’t mean the other requirements. A student has to be entering K, 1st or 2nd grade or be from a military family or be adopted or have been in a public school for at least a semester. Well, we didn’t meet any of those. God provided a job for me though and we’ve been slowing working through paying off the school bill. My parents and sister, Jen, have also given generously towards helping us with their tuition. Late September we made the decision to move Emma back to second grade. Once we made that decision, I decided to see if we could apply for the opportunity scholarship for the second semester of school. We received a reply almost immediately that we were eligible to receive at least a portion of the scholarship and we would be notified if funds became available. I didn’t think much about it after that, but then at the beginning of November, we received an email stating that Emma qualified for 90% of her tuition fees for the second semester! This was a huge, huge blessing to our family! Then we received and email stating that if our child had been enrolled in the same school since October 1st, we could ask for a tuition scholarship for that semester. I sent the email, the school secretary helped with a few phone calls, and a few days ago we were notified that Emma would receive 90% tuition assistance for this school year! Praise the Lord! While God has always provided, and always right on time, this tuition assistance does help relieve some of the financial concerns regarding the school bill. When the kids were enrolled in Maine, we received a significant discount since I was teaching, as well as the Christian school there had a policy that any family that had more than four children, the fifth was free. That worked out well for our family with five children! God has always been faithful and this past week was just another reminder of His goodness to us. So we will continue to pursue our children having a Christian education as we continue to trust Him to provide while we budget and work at it also! God is good. 

This has seemed like a long week, but tomorrow is Friday! Friday is my favorite day of the week. It’s the day that I anticipate all the many projects that I’ll accomplish over the weekend, which I never complete the list! But it’s still my favorite day of the week. 

As we prepare for Christmas, we are looking forward to some family time, making memories, and enjoying a few days off of school. We’ve started a devotional book for Advent season and it covers some of the many familiar Christmas carols. We are only a few days in, but we are enjoying it. I love music, and I am so thankful for music. We pray that you will enjoy this Christmas season. Take some time to read through the Christmas story in the Bible. A helpless babe - and the Savior of the World! 

Photo: cache.love thispic.com

A Week of Giving Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving!

 Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! Our hearts are full of thanks as we reflect on the past year and all that God has done for us. We were thankful for a short week of school this week, my parents coming for a few days, a short visit with Roger’s parents, attending the pie and praise service at church, a successful deer hunt, a fun Turkey trot race, and a table full of guest and family on Thanksgiving day. We are so blessed! 

My parents came in from Wisconsin for a few days, and they arrived late on Monday night. We allowed Chandler to stay home from school on Tuesday to spend some time with them. He’s done well with making good choices in school, but a day of mentorship from my dad was the right choice for him on Tuesday. They spent the day setting up deer stands, talking to the neighbors, and just being together. We are thankful for those that mentor and disciple our children. My friend, Laura, brought me coffee and a biscuit to school and that was a special treat. I’m also thankful for those that pour into me! It was so thoughtful and kind! It’s not easy to uproot, move, and re-start, but God has been faithful through it all. 

On Tuesday night we attended the Pie and Praise service at church. This is always one of my favorite services of the year, and every church does it just a little bit differently. We were happy to meet Roger’s parents at the Pie and Praise service as they were passing through the area. My heart was full as I listened to testimonies of God’s goodness and character. I tend to be emotional on nights like these, but I only cried when I heard my friend express the goodness of God when I knew that she has had the roughest year in her life. I did say a word of praise expressing my thankfulness to God’s perfect timing. After I sat down, I thought of other things that I could’ve said better or differently, but God knows my heart. We do have so much to be thankful for as we look  back over the year. 

Wednesday was a half day at school, and we were thankful it was a short day. I came home and made lots of food in preparation for Thursday’s dinner. Two pies, pumpkin roll, chocolate crème pie, macaroni and cheese, and a bunch of other food items. Chandler went out to deer hunt around four pm, and he came back around 5:15pm to tell us that he had shot a deer. There was a few frantic moments as we gathered up the knife, boots, and everyone piled into the truck to go out to the field. Chandler was excited to have hit his first deer, but we then realized that he had accidentally shot the deer on someone else’s land. The person was very gracious about it, but we would appreciate your prayers that we could figure out who’s land is whose and where the property lines are at. We want to be on good terms with our neighbors and we want to be a good testimony for the Lord to our neighbors. But anyways, it was an exciting moment for Chandler and our household! 

Oh, and I know this is random, but I did want to interject a moment about the Freshmen Trip that Chandler is preparing to go on next month. There was a teen fundraiser after church on Sunday night, but it was poorly attended. I mentioned in my last post that Chandler has been working on raising money and trying not to take money out of his bank account. Last week, a new friend came to visit me in the library for a minute. She handed me a card and as I read the note I could hardly keep the tears at bay. It was the sweetest note that I’ve read or received in a long time. It was for Chandler and her family was expressing their thankfulness for our family and in getting to know us. Funny thing is that Roger and I had a similar conversation about this exact family earlier in the week and Roger had commented on how easy they were to talk to and we were looking forward to getting to know them better! She had read the blog, and then her family had given Chandler a gift for his trip. Even though the Sunday night event wasn’t well attended, Chandler now has all the funds that he needs for his trip! God is so good! 

Here’s another random story about the goodness of God: Last Friday Travis had taken a dollar to school with him so that he could buy a treat at lunchtime. Well at lunchtime, he realized that one of his classmates didn’t have any lunch. Travis gave his dollar to his classmate so that his friend could buy something to eat. At the basketball tournament later that same day, Travis had noticed that the Pastor had spilled his drink. The Pastor asked Travis to go grab some paper towels to clean up the mess. Travis got the paper towels and cleaned up the mess. Pastor gave Travis $5.00 for helping and being thoughtful. Travis tried to refuse the money, but the Pastor told Travis that the Lord wanted him to give the money to Travis. When I saw Travis later in the day, Travis immediately told me about the story. It was the PERFECT reminder that we cannot out give God, and that God will do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think! Also, last Friday, Travis and Wyatt had the opportunity to get out of school early so that they could go to the basketball tournament earlier to watch the girls team play. I was going to be coming after school, but the younger boys were thrilled to get to go to the basketball tournament earlier with the Hardison boys. Mr Hardison had a van full of five boys! We are thankful for friendships that are being made in the boys lives also. 

Anyways, back to the week at hand- that is now almost over- again! This morning (Thanksgiving morning) the four boys and I ran in the 5k Turkey Trot race. There were 244 runners in the race. Chandler came in second overall. Garett beat me, but I was ahead of Wyatt and Travis. It was a slower race for me (read “I haven’t been running as much lately!), but I did finish third in my age division (which also gets older every year!). Roger came along for moral support and Emma was happy to stay home with my parents! It was a beautiful morning for a run, and we are thankful that we have healthy bodies to run with. My friend, Jennifer, was there at the race, and she’s the one that invited us to join the race. It was good to have a few moments with her also. 

After the race, we came home to do more cooking! We had Turkey, ham, rolls, corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, strawberry fluff, Brussel sprouts, macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, and lots of dessert! Another family from church was able to join us, and I love to have people in our home, so I was especially thankful for that opportunity again! We are so very blessed to have people to gather in our home to eat and fellowship with us. 

This year I’ve again created an acronym using the word THANKSGIVING. I’ve done this before and it’s interesting to see how things change from year to year. God has been so faithful through the years, and while every year brings about challenges and trials, the faithfulness of God never changes. 

T- Together Last year, Roger had a job in Michigan and while he was home for Thanksgiving, we spent much of the year apart. This year we are thankful to be together and host dinner in our home again. 

H- Heart I am thankful that God knows my heart. These years of raising teenagers are challenging, but when I don’t know how to express my thoughts into prayers, God already knows my heart. 

A- Attitude Sometimes we really struggle to have an “attitude of gratitude” in our home. As we talk to our teens and Emma about their attitudes often, I am thankful for the moments of gratitude in our home when our children remember to have that attitude. 

N- New Experiences I’ll be the first to admit that I am not always thankful for new experiences, but my faith is always challenged to grow. When I lean into Him, I can be thankful for new experiences. 

K- Kindness As we’ve experienced many new things in the past six months, I am so thankful for those that have extended kindness to our family either through action or word. 

S- Salvation- This is the best gift I’ve ever received! God send His son to die on the cross for my sin. I am so very thankful that I have the promise of a home in heaven. Jesus is the Rock of my Salvation. Spouse- I am thankful for Roger. He is my best friend. School While it’s been a major adjustment to transition to a new school, we are thankful for the Christian school. It’s not perfect, but we’ve added five imperfect children to the school. We are thankful that they have the opportunity for a Christian education. 

G- Good- byes We’ve said a lot of these this past year, and some of them have been very emotional. It’s hard to be thankful at times, but it’s also a reflection of the gifts of many friendships that we’ve been blessed with in our lives. 

I- Intercession I am thankful that the Holy Spirit ever gives intercession for me/us. So often I don’t know how to pray for our family, or 500 other things, but God knows. 

V- Victories When we see our children make good choices, love others, speak kindly or reflect Jesus, my heart is blessed. These are victories over the flesh and that is a victory! 

I- Investors I’m referring to those investing in the lives of our children and Roger and I. We are so blessed by those that speak Jesus in to the lives of our children and are investing in them for eternity. 

N- Never late Whew! I am thankful that God is never late and always on time! My timetable is rarely, if ever, on the same schedule as the Lord’s, but He is never late. He’s provided in miraculous ways for our children’s Christian education, our home, and thousands of other ways! 

G- Grace  I am thankful that God’s grace is never ending. He is never weary of me, and His grace flows freely. What a blessing! 

Photo credit- aleanjourney.com 

November Musings

 

Another week in November is over! And it took me almost a week to write this post, so it’s already old news! 

We’ve experienced more sickness, our first basketball game, a day off of school, fellowship at the pastor’s house, a fall sport finale, and a bike-a-thon! Last Monday, I wasn’t feeling great, but I managed to drag myself and five kiddos to school. It felt like a long day, but we made it through. The boys have been having basketball practice every night except Wednesdays, and it makes for some late evenings. We’ve started coordinating pick ups with another student who also plays basketball and that has helped a lot with trips to school. Roger and I also try to go together to pick up the boys so that we can spend some time together. Since one of us has to go to pick up kids, we might as well both go so that we can have some conversations with each other also. 

On Monday evening (last week) I went to bed as soon as Roger and I brought the kids back from basketball practice. I wasn’t running a fever when I went to bed, but by 2:00am, I had a fever. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go to school on Tuesday, so I sent a text to my administrator to tell them I wouldn’t make it in for school. I hate missing school because it puts us behind on our school bill, but I also knew that I was going to need some extra rest. By the time the kids were up and we were leaving for school, my fever was gone, but I was just really, really tired. I stopped to vote on the way to school so that I could have that done. I was voter #26 at 6:50am. I am always thankful for the privilege of voting, and while it often seems like lately the votes haven’t come out the way I’d choose, I know that God is still in control. Voting is also a reminder that I want to make sure that our children understand the importance of voting, taking part in campaigns, and doing our part to stand against the tide of evil. God is faithful, and He rises up and set down rulers. He is still at work in the lives of people, and I am confident that He will continue to do His plan. It’s easy to be discouraged and disheartened as it seems like evil runs rampant around us, but I can rest in the fact that God has a perfect plan for each one of our children and their future. He is not surprised. 

After I dropped off the kids at school on Tuesday morning, I came home and took a four hour nap. It’s amazing what some extra rest can do! I felt like a new person, so I cleaned the house, did laundry and about 500 other things that needed doing around our house. It was a productive day. I went to get Wyatt, Travis and Emma at three pm, and the boys were invited to go to the basketball game with their friends, Gabe and Enzo. So Emma and I headed home to wait for Roger to get off work before going to the varsity basketball game. I wanted to be there to encourage them, but we didn’t make it until the varsity game. Unfortunately, the varsity boys lost their first game, but we have to start somewhere! Chandler and Garett both did get a chance to play in the game, so that was fun. We were not prepared for how late the night would be! It was about 11:30pm when we arrived home on Tuesday night! Needless to say, we will be rethinking our plan about away basketball games! We are thankful that they boys have have the opportunity to play, but we are definitely not late night people, so it’ll be interesting to see if the boys decided to try out for the team next year. But for now, we are committed to this year. We will see what God continues to do in and through the boys during this season. 

Guess what? It was a short week last week due to Veteran’s day! We were certainly all ready for a day off of school, and it was nice to have minimal plans for Friday. We did some painting, house projects, took the boys to basketball practice, and spent a quiet day at home. We never get done what we think we are going to get done, but every time we do make progress. My parents are coming to visit next week, so we are trying to make some additional progress on our house. The painting is never done, and neither are the various projects, but we do make progress. 

Chandler participated in a bike-a-thon on Saturday morning. He is trying to raise some funds for a Freshman trip that the youth group is going on. He would rather work for someone but we don’t know very many people to ask for funds or work. He did find a few to help him out with his trip, including my sister, and a new friend here in North Carolina. He did a lot of biking on Saturday, and he would’ve kept on biking but I told him that no one wanted to keep paying him for biking! He is closer to his goal for the trip though, and he would really like to not take money out of his bank account. 

On Saturday afternoon, Roger worked with Garett on his car while I took three kids to a birthday party. The party was at a roller skating rink, and those places always feel like stepping back in time! Emma, Travis and Wyatt had a good time while I enjoyed the opportunity to sit and have adult conversation with Laura. I’m thankful that Gabe and Enzo and their family as well as extended family have become friends with our family. It’s nice to start to develop these important friendships in our lives here in North Carolina.  Acquaintances are good, but we sure do savor the deeper friendships in our lives. I stay connected with a few friends from our travels across America- Alaska, Wisconsin and Maine, and I’m thankful for deep conversations and friendships. 

Garett is getting much closer to being able to drive, and I know I’m not ready for this new stage of life! While it takes up a lot of time for us to run the kids to and from practice, I’m going to miss these moments of conversations in the car with our teens. I will never be able to understand why some parents seem to step back from their middle schoolers/teens rather than trying to spend more time with them! These moments are just so fleeting, and every day is a reminder that life is flying by.  We are so blessed to be the parents to five great kids, but we are such a work in progress! Sometimes, the progress seems measurable and sometimes it feels like we are taking three steps backwards! Emma struggles to have good friendships, and Travis is just looking for a friend in his class! Garett is friends with everyone, but he doesn’t have a close friend. Chandler has a lot of friends, but he is selective in his deeper friendships.  He’s kinda a loner in someways, but so far it’s probably kept him out of trouble. Garett is kinda looking forward to driving, and I’m confident that he will be a safe and cautious driver, but I’m just not ready for our kids to grow up so fast! 

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and we are looking forward to having a few days off of school. I love this time of year, but I don’t like how fast the time flies between Thanksgiving and Christmas! I want to do some baking, decorate our house, prepare some Christmas cards and do all the Holiday things! But for now, I’ll just keep making food for supper, painting, and living one day at a time. We have so much to be thankful for and I am so thankful for all that God has done for us. We are blessed.  

These days are full with activities, memories, and life with teens and Emma! :) We are wanting to make the most of the moments and the memories. We do have a few prayer requests to share.

1) We are still praying for a good friend for Travis. A bad friend is worse than not having a friend, but a good friend can be such an encouragement to a weary heart. Emma could also use a good friend. Sometimes Emma gets a lot of attention from older girls, but it’s not always good attention. One of her brothers made the comment to Roger and I that he feels like the girls just want to be friends with Emma because the girls want to be friends with them (the boys). Pray for the protection of our son’s hearts as well as Emmas. We need healthy relationships in our lives, and so do our children. 

2) Garett will be driving soon and this will be another transition for our family. I probably need the most prayer in this as I’ll be the one driving with Garett the most! 

3) We need some parenting wisdom, which is nothing new, but parenting teens is a challenge. Actually so is parenting Emma! So we just need a lot of prayer!

4) Roger and I are facing some “stressors” in our life, and we need wisdom in how to adjust the sails and make changes or just keep on in the direction we are going. 

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November!!

      Life has been busy and full as of late- but now that I think about it, that’s a way of life for us right now! Roger and I have lately said “no” to some activities for our teens simply because we need family time too. Last Sunday night we participated in a “Trunk-or-Treat” at church. Our friend, Laura, and her boys invited us to stay with them at their trunk and hand out candy. We’ve done a trunk for these kind of events in the past, but we kinda just wanted to see how it was done at this church. There were A LOT of trunks and a lot of people! We almost ran out of candy, but we had enough for all that came through the line. Roger and I both said that we were impressed with the organization of the event. Sometimes it’s easy to want a community out-reach event, but it’s harder to be organized with how to give the Gospel to the lost that are literally  in our backyard. This particular church sets up their Trunk-or-Treat event so that everyone that comes through is directed (funneled) through the auditorium for a clear Gospel presentation. I know that some Christians are adamantly against anything to do with Halloween, but we tend to take the approach that this is a fabulous opportunity to give Jesus to lost souls. Maybe next year we will have a trunk, we will wait and see. 

    Monday marked the day for our “Library Book Character” day! We had a great number of children participate and it was fun to see their creativity. I went as Mary Poppins, and Emma went as Laura from Little House on the Prairie. We had book characters from Charlotte’s Web The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Little Red Riding Hood, Clifford, Peter Pan  and a whole host of others! It was a fun event, and I think both Jennifer (the library assistant) and I are both glad it’s behind us!  A lot of parents came to watch the parade so that was exciting for the students also. We handed out participation prizes as well as a “Best Dressed” prize that included a gift card and a package of fun pencils. A few kids that didn’t participate said that next time they wanted to do the parade. So that’s a token of success in my book! (Pun intended!) 

    Garett went on a teen overnight activity last weekend. A bunch of guys and the youth leader took some young men to a fun event but also to invest and provide some discipleship in their lives. However, one of the teens that went on the trip wasn’t feeling well. Want to guess what happened over the next several days?! By Monday, about six of the ten boys were sick with body aches, fevers and chills. Garett came to find me around lunch time at school on Monday. I didn’t even need to take his temperature as I could tell he wasn’t feeling well. I ended up taking him and Emma home (Emma had a little bit of a cold) and then coming back to school to finish the day. Garett found out that both he and Chandler made the Varsity Basketball team, but Garett wasn’t able to go to practice on Monday. After school, I ran a few errands to pick up a few groceries. I was still wearing my “Mary Poppins” outfit. Wyatt and Travis asked me if I was going to change my clothes before going grocery shopping. I was like, “No, I just need to run in and grab a few things.” Wyatt promptly replied, “I am SO going to stay in the van! That is so embarrassing!” I just laughed and left them both in the van! Honestly, I did get a few unusual looks, but I still think I looked far more put together than a lot of people that go to the grocery store!

By Tuesday morning, Emma  sounded like a “barking seal” with her cough. Travis asked her, “what in the world is the matter with you? You sound like a Mack truck that can’t get started!” Leave it to her brother to put it in perspective like that! Garett still had a fever on Tuesday morning, and since Emma wasn’t feeling well either, Roger decided to stay home with those kids. The rest of us trotted off to school for another day. All around the school, it felt like kids were dropping like flies with either a cold/flu, stomach bug or something else! We made it through the day, and Chandler went to basketball practice (both for JV and Varsity). 

Wednesday is another full day of the week for me as I help out with elementary art. I really like working with the art teacher, Cara, and the day usually goes by pretty quickly. By the time the day is over, I can about do the art project in my sleep! Around 11:20am, Travis came to find me in the art room. He had tears in his eyes as he told me his headache was so bad he couldn’t focus. He ended up spending the day in the library sleeping on the library cushions. Emma had already planned a play date with a girl from her class, and the day felt all wacky! Thankfully, the school secretary checked in on Travis a couple of times during the day, and he slept the afternoon away. We were all ready to leave for home directly after school that was for sure! Emma had a great time playing with her friend, while Travis curled up in our bed and continued to sleep. He started running a fever and then  he was throwing up. I think he was throwing up because his head hurt so badly, but it was a pretty miserable afternoon for him. Roger was able to coordinate his schedule so that he could stay home with Travis on Thursday. Normally, I’d stay home with our sick kids, but since I need to work to pay the school bill, it worked out a little better for Roger to stay home. I felt like we just rotated through which kids were coming to school every day this week! Hopefully, we are all on the mend!

By Friday, it felt like the end of a very long week! Usually Friday is my favorite day of the week, but wow- it was a week! I did manage to set up the Thanksgiving bulletin boards in the library, which needed to happen. It’s such a short window of time between the Thanksgiving bulletin boards and then needing to do a Christmas board! I decided to put up a bulletin board featuring “Ways to Show Gratitude!”We need to be reminded of this as adults, and so do the children we are working with! I’m not an overly complicated person, so the ways I came up with are very simple! “Say Please”, “Smile”, “Be respectful”, “Say Thank-you”, “Be on time”, “Write a note,” “Ask ‘How can I help?’”, and a bunch of other ones. 

We also have a few more new books for the library, so my day was full with those projects. We are working hard at changing out bulletin boards, playing trivia games with them, reading aloud, puzzle and stem projects, but none of those things gets itself prepared without hard work!  

Roger sent me a text on Friday afternoon to see what I thought about his brother and two kids coming for a visit. Well, my house feels a little behind and it’s not as picked up as I’d like it to be, but they’re welcome to come over! So Roger’s brother, Nate, and two of his kids came for a visit on Friday night. They’re staying for a few days, and I know that Roger is glad to see his brother, and we are happy to have family come and visit. 

We have enjoyed some beautiful weather this week, and I’m still waiting for it to “feel” like fall! I wore my dress boots once, but my feet were too hot! Today was about 82 degrees so we spent a lot of time outside! The kids played baseball with their cousins, dad and uncle, while I took a nap. I’m trying to avoid coming down with something! This Friday we have the day off due to Veteran’s Day, so we are all looking forward to that. We did finish up the first quarter last week, and everyone passed all their classes- Thank YOU, JESUS! 

The days are flying by now that basketball season is practically here. Garett is not nearly as aggressive as Chandler when it comes to playing sports, but Garett is also a child that will remain calm. I do think he is a leader in his own quiet way, whereas Chandler is often a leader also, but he needs to work at remaining calm, level-headed, and using edifying words. We are all a work in progress! God continues to work through us as their parents, and even though we make a LOT of mistakes, God provides mercy and forgiveness. It’ll be interesting to watch their skills develop as the season progresses. Roger and I have both been impressed with the boys basketball coach, and I think that the coach is another person that can invest in their lives and point them to Jesus. 

Thank you all for your love and prayers! As we prepare for Thanksgiving, I pray that you’ll take some extra time to focus on the blessings that God has given you. I know that it’s easy to complain about rising prices on everything, but we still have food to eat, and God continues to provide. It’s easy to harp on our kids about things I want them to improve upon, but I am so very thankful for each one of our children. God has given me salvation, what a gift! We are so blessed! 

Photo credit: fontlot.com

A Full Week- Champions, Disappointments, and Life!

 

Fall sports are officially over! Whew! It was a crazy season with lots of ups and downs, but our children certainly learned a lot. We are so thankful for coaches that have invested in their lives. As parents we are so appreciative of each one that invests in our children’s lives for eternity.  

The boys’ soccer team was disappointed to not make it past the play-off game for the tournament, but they are a young team with several years of growth ahead of them. I’m excited to see what the future will hold for them if they work hard and continue to play together. 

The cross-country team finished their season with an amazing grand finale! Yesterday (10/24)  was the state cross-country meet so we pulled all of our kids out of school to watch Chandler run his race. Roger has been busy at work (24 days without rain in this part of N.C.), so he wasn’t sure if he would be able to get off for the race. He did mange to get off for the race. He drove over an hour to watch Chandler run and then an hour back to work. Now that’s a committed father! I don’t think that Chandler probably fully appreciates the sacrifice that Roger made, but someday he will remember that his dad worked hard to come to his state cross-country meet. The boys race was at 1:00pm, followed by the girls race and then the middle school race. It was an afternoon full of races! Chandler had a great run, and so did several of the boys on his team. The boys team finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd as well as 5th and 7th! It wasn’t Chandler’s best time of the season, but he did win the race by quite a few seconds. The boys took home the state trophy for the boys team, while the girls team had a great performance as well that put them into the second place spot. It was an exciting afternoon and a full day!  Chandler also received an award for  having the lowest average of race times all season at just under 20 minutes. We are thankful for the cross-country coach  and the time invested in our child. 

A few other highlights from last week would include lunch with my new friend, Laura, a quick date with Roger, Emma’s opportunity to play at a friends house, the Homecoming Sunday for our local church, and time spent together as a family and with new friends. Last Monday I had the opportunity to have lunch with Laura. We went to this little hotdog place that was literally like stepping back in time. In North Carolina, hotdogs often have chili or coleslaw on them. The prices were reasonable, the food was good, and the company was great! It’s been fun getting to know Laura and her family a little better, and the time flew by! 

Last Saturday, Roger had to work as the fall fire season has been busy. There has not been enough rain this fall, and everything in the area is dry. I took the boys and Emma into school on Saturday morning to watch the championship game for the soccer tournament. After the tournament game, two of the boys went home to play with Laura’s boys. It’s fun to have friends to play football, basketball and be outside with, and we are thankful that Wyatt and Travis have made new friends. Travis especially seems to have a rough class (for yet another year in a row!) and it’s been a challenge to encourage him in the school realm. Both he and Wyatt were disappointed at the Middle School Retreat last week, so we’ve been trying to encourage them to “stay the course” and to be faithful. It’s hard when our children are disappointed are discouraged. While we want them to know that life is not all about them and that life is full of disappointments, we also want them to know that we are looking out for them and advocating for them if necessary. Middle School years are hard! They don’t fit in with high schoolers, but they also don’t feel like they fit in with the “little kids”. Please do keep praying that Travis will be encouraged and continue to work hard even when he’s discouraged.  And also please pray that Roger and I will have wisdom and discernment to be Godly parents! 

On Saturday night, we had kids going in all directions! Garett had been invited to the birthday party of a classmate, Chandler, Wyatt and Travis were going to a teen event, and Emma had been invited over to her friend, Lily’s house. Roger and I had planned to have a date together, but then Roger needed to work. So I dropped off all the kids at various places, and I went grocery shopping! That’s almost like a date when I get to go by myself! Laura and her husband drove my kids and hers to the teen activity, so that was also an added blessing. Roger was able to get off work by six pm, so he came into town to have super with me. It was a quick date, but we were very thankful for the time to have dinner together. Sometimes it feels like we are going many different directions, so getting to actually finish a conversation is a real treat! 

On Sunday our church was hosting it’s “Homecoming” Sunday. That was a word that I wasn’t familiar with being associated with churches until we moved here. I had always heard of “Homecoming” in relation to a high school prom and not a church anniversary Sunday! But apparently fall is the season for “Homecoming services” in the area. I’m pretty sure that we could attend a “Homecoming” service for several weeks straight if we were looking to do that! It was a blessing to fellowship with other believers, hear preaching from God’s Word, listen to good music, and also enjoy a good meal. The church meal featured Eastern North Carolina bbq, which is pork seasoned in a vinegar based sauce (I think). I thought that the meat was okay- probably not my favorite, but I would try it again. Three of my boys thought that the meat “tasted funny”. However, we’ve now been introduced to another North Carolinian food! 

On Sunday night, we had a family from church over to our house. They have four boys and one girls also, so we have a lot in common! Some of their boys are older than our boys, but they all enjoyed playing soccer in the yard together. Our house is nowhere near as “homey” and finished as I’d like it to be, but if I wait until everything is “ready”, we might not ever have people over to our house! We enjoyed an evening of getting to know this family better, and it was nice for our teens to see older young men (out of high school) that are desiring to live for Christ. We need those people in our children’s lives also. 

Yesterday the boys had tryouts for basketball. Travis, Wyatt and Chandler all tried out for the JV team, and  so did a lot of other boys! I know that the two younger boys were disappointed to not make the team, but they are young. It’s hard though when you enjoy sports to not have something like practices and games to help the weeks go by. And it feels like one more disappointment for them. I’m telling you what- middle school is hard! Garett wasn’t sure if he wanted to play basketball or not this year, but he did end up trying out for the team. I’m not sure if he will make it, but he did try out. For our kids, playing sports is an added motivation to work hard in school and keep up their grades. A few of our boys (actually all of them!) have to work hard at school to keep up with grades, homework and all their other responsibilities. I’m thankful that November is just around the corner! 

We are having a “Book Character” day at the school on Monday hosted by the library people. It’s a hard battle to encourage kids to read these days, and we are working hard at encouraging reading. Kids today are so used to being entertained every moment of every day, and I’m pretty sure that some of them have forgotten how to use their imaginations! We are hoping that many children will participate on Monday. Emma has decided to be Laura Ingalls Wilder and I’m going as Mary Poppins. It’s for students in Kindergarten through 5th grade, and these ages are usually pretty easily excited about most things! I’ll give you and up date next week! Last week we had a “pumpkin” themed library day. Jennifer and I made over 200 mini pumpkin muffins. We read a book on growing a pumpkin and the students tasted pumpkin seeds. It was a lot of fun, and the kids seemed happy to come to library so that’s a good start! 

In closing, please keep praying for our children especially. School does not come easily for most of them, so we are trying to help them learn good study habits and how to take good notes! Travis is discouraged about a lot of things , and it’s not his personality to be an “Eyore”.  Please pray that we will know how to encourage him or what to do about his schooling. God is faithful, and I’m so thankful that we serve a God Who never changes! 

Another great song! 

Soccer, Sportsmanship, and School!

 

The last two weeks have been so busy that I wouldn’t be able to say if we were “coming or going”! Soccer is about to wrap up for the season, and I have to say that I am actually looking forward to that! The last two weeks, we’ve had a soccer game or a cross country meet every day of the school week except Wednesdays! At the Monday game last week, Wyatt forgot his game shorts (thankfully, he had an extra pair even though they weren’t quite the right color!). On Tuesday, Travis came to school and realized that he had one soccer cleat and two feet! Um- yes! Thankfully, Roger was able to swing by home to get the soccer cleat before coming to the game. So, we’ve been making it through these long days, but I don’t know that we’ve been thriving! 

Two weeks ago on Saturday, (10/8) signaled  the last of Saturday’s soccer games for Travis and Emma. They were happy that they had the opportunity to play and even Travis ended up enjoying those Saturday mornings. He’s the youngest player on the school’s traveling soccer team, so he doesn’t get a lot of playing time. After the Saturday game, we had our first introduction to Krispy Kreme donuts! We’ve become friends with the Hardison family (they have three boys), and they invited us to come to Krispy Kreme. The boys thought that Krispy Kreme had better donuts than Dunkin Donuts, and we had a great time of laughter and fellowship. 

Nearly two weeks ago, Chandler had a cross-country meet. This one was different than cross-country meets in the past as there were over 500 runners at the meet. The boys race had over two hundred boys running in the race. It was a good race for Chandler as it came him some good, stiff competition. We’ve been wondering if Chandler could break 19 minutes if he was pushed, and he did it! Chandler came in 7th in the meet. He had a time of 18:27, and it was his best run of the season. Roger, Emma and I had to leave after his race so that we could get back to pick up the other boys from soccer practice. Chandler said that he thought he’d like to come home with us, but we encouraged him to stay to get his award. Chandler does not do great getting up in front of people, but this was a positive thing for him to do. We are proud of all the hard work he has put into the season. He has one more race this season, and it’s for the state cross-county meet coming up in a week. 

This past week I’ve felt like we spent a lot of time washing uniforms and finding clean soccer socks. The boys had an away game on Monday, Tuesday, and a home game on Thursday. Chandler had a night cross-country run on Friday. The soccer team got to play a game “under the lights” on Tuesday night, and that was a fun experience for them. It was made even better by the fact that they won the game! We haven’t won a whole lot of games this season, so a win was very exciting! The team is young, and I’m excited to see what the next few years will bring for them as they continue to play together. 

However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the season its that I’d rather coach a team of “not the greatest” players than be the coach of some of these teams that have such poor attitudes and a poor testimony. It’s very sad to me that all the teams that we play are in “Christian” leagues, but they surely don’t all act like it. Last week, the referee called out a player for making fun and using poor language against some of the other players. Attitudes like that are often “caught and not taught”. If poor sportsmanship, bad language and poor attitudes are allowed during practice or off the field, that will certainly be carried over into the games. One of our sons made the comment this past week that some of these players act worse than some of the public school kids he played with last year. My word! These things should NOT be! It’s led to some interesting dinner conversations around our table though in the last few days. A student asked me, “Is it morally wrong to be a poor sport?” My answer: “Yes, it is, actually. If our lives are to be a reflection of Jesus Christ, then so should our words and actions.” I was reading a devotional by Charles Spurgeon once and the statement was made ‘Preach the Gospel always, if necessary use words.’ I want my life to be a reflection of my relationship with Jesus Christ. My prayer would be that others would see Christ in me. 

I was able to substitute teach in fifth grade last Friday, and I really enjoyed it. It’s good to get to know the students, and fifth grade is a fun grade- most of the time! It was a long day, and then it was followed by soccer practice and a cross-country meet. Wyatt and Travis had the opportunity to go home with some friends after soccer practice, and that was such a good thing for them. Finding good friends and building new relationships can always be a challenge, so I was glad that they had this opportunity. I often find myself sitting with Laura (the mom of these two boys) at about every soccer game, so it’s been a fun time of laughter and fellowship as of late. Speaking of late, it was a last night! Chandler had a rather rough run on Friday night, but he did it. I don’t think he ate enough during the day, and then running a 5k at 7:30 at night was rough.  But he survived it. Garett, Emma, Roger and I made it to the meet, while Travis and Wyatt were able to hang out with their friends. It was a very late night, but Saturday was on the horizon! 

Also this past week, Garett did his driving with the instructor. He drove the 6 required hours and observed for six. He is now ready to proceed to the DMV to get his permit! (I’m not sure that I am ready for that, but here we are already!) I think that Garett will be a very cautious driver, and it will be nice to not have to sit around for sports practices to be done! I am excited for him, but I’m not sure I’m ready for this new transition! 

Speaking of transitions, the pastor spoke on trusting God on Wednesday night. He was referring to the Israelites getting ready to cross the Jordan River and how that was a time of transition for them. Sometimes during transitions, it can be hard to trust God.The pastor referred to many different types of transitions, and whew- our family has been through a lot of them in recent years. Here are a few:

1) Loss of a loved one (in 2020, Roger’s boss and dear friend died suddenly. It shook the company and his death was the first one that greatly impacted our family)

2) Geographical change- this has happened twice just in the last two years. Last October Roger was taking a job in Michigan. This October our family is in North Carolina. 

3) Family separation- Roger was working in Michigan last school year and I was teaching in Maine. Our family was separated for weeks at a time and that was hard on everyone. 

4) Changes in finances- when God began to reveal that Michigan was not His long-term plan for our family, there was a shift in our financial situation. God has always been faithful. 

5) Family changes- we are transitioning from parenting children to young adults. This is a huge transition as we navigate through uncharted waters. In some ways, parenting young children was easier. The days seemed so long when the kids were young, but now we are working through much deeper issues of the heart. 

6) Church changes- we attended the same church for the six years we were in Maine, and now we’ve had to work at finding a new church home.

7) School and academic changes- we’ve changed schools; I’ve changed job positions; we’ve experienced a whole new set of academic changes and procedures! 

However, through ALL the transitions, God has been faithful. I’ve had my moments where I’ve wondered what God is doing or how this is going to bring glory to His name, but He has been so faithful! I’ve doubted and worried, and God has given peace in the midst of the storms. We serve an amazing God! What a privilege to live my life for Him! 

We spent the weekend recovering from the week! It was nice to have a low key day at home. Of course, I did have to go grocery shopping because everyone still likes to eat! As I mentioned, we are entering the last week of fall sports. The boys have a soccer game tomorrow that they would really like to win. I’d like to see them win this game, butI want them to give God glory no matter what the outcome may be. Wyatt and Travis will be going on the Middle School Retreat tomorrow, and we are praying that God will work in their lives. Middle school can be a challenging time for children, and we are praying that they will be encouraged to live their lives fully for God right now! 

Thank you for your prayers.

Fall Break, Visiting Friends and a Hurricane!

 Happy Fall!! We’ve officially experienced a few fall temps here in North Carolina, and the kids even had to dig out a sweatshirt! Last week was fall break from school, our first introduction to a hurricane, our first visitors (other than family) a few minutes with Roger’s parents, and enjoying a few days off of school! 

So last Tuesday evening (9/27)the boys had an away soccer game. I generally manage to get to all their games, and Roger has been able to make it also. But on Tuesday, Roger was running late so Emma and I left for the game before him. The boys have been playing hard all season long, but the soccer team has yet to actually pull off a win. We’ve tied some, lost by one, lost by more than one, but we haven’t yet won a game. Anyways, Roger’s parents surprised us by meeting us at the soccer game! It was nice to see them again, and Roger was able to get to the game for the second half. Roger’s parents treated us to supper and ice cream after the game so that was a real treat! It’s always nice when I don’t have to think about what we are going to have for supper when we get home after a game! Roger’s parents hadn’t been planning on staying overnight, but as long as they don’t mind a bit of a mess, we were happy to have them! 

On Wednesday morning, Roger went to work, his parents left and we headed to Raleigh to meet some friends from Maine. Claire, and her three children came to visit us for a few days. Travis and Emma were particularly excited about that as they have been good friends with Abel and Lucy for a long time. We had originally planned to eat at Mr. Beast Burgers, but that turned into a total flop! Instead we ended up at a mall where we found a Lego store and a food court! Sweet! 

We had planned to go to the beach on Thursday into Friday, but a tropical storm warning was in effect for those days. Oh well. We went anyways. It wasn’t raining on Thursday so we spent time walking on the beach, roaming around a small beach town, playing mini golf and enjoying each other’s company. We found our beach house around 4:00pm, and we went for a walk on the beach. Travis, Emma, Abel and Lucy all enjoyed getting wet by the waves coming onto the beach. The water was warm, and they didn’t get in past their knees, but they loved it! The rest of us scavenged the beach for shells, cool stuff and just enjoyed God’s creation. The beach is one of my favorite places as the water can appear angry, or peaceful, agitated or serene. It’s always amazing to see God’s handiwork at work, and I love it! It rained ALL DAY on Friday, but Claire and I went for a walk on the beach anyways. Chandler, Wyatt and Travis started off with us, but they decided that they did not want to be soaked. So, Claire and I wandered on the beach for a while. Going with the wind and rain was fine, but once we turned around to head back it was a wet, wet walk back! We enjoyed the moments though, and we created some fun memories with our children. On the way back home, we stopped at a trampoline park. The entire area was empty! We had the place to ourselves, and the kids were able to run around and jump and wear themselves out some more! The ride home did have some tense driving moments, as the rain continued to pour down, but God kept us safe. We were happy to get home!

Our friends left on Saturday morning to head back to Maine. We enjoyed having our friends come for a visit, and I know that Travis was especially encouraged. He is really struggling to make friends in his class, and it’s not because he isn’t friendly. He is a bit quiet, but when you get to know Travis you’ll discover that he is sweet and kind. He needs a good friend, and please pray with us for that for him. 

We are always thankful for the opportunity to host friends and family in our home, even though our home still needs work. If you’re ever coming through North Carolina, we will be happy to have you stay with us!

Saturday was a quiet day around the house as I worked on laundry, the boys fixed their dirt bike (again), and we enjoyed a mostly quiet day at home. (It’s never really quiet with five kids around!) 

Sunday we spent the day worshipping with other believers. We’ve been enjoying our Sunday school class, and the boys have mentioned that they’ve really enjoyed their classes as well. 

Emma headed off to Second grade on Monday morning. She seemed relieved about the transition, and she even picked out a gift for her “old teacher” and her “new teacher”. Emma’s love language seems to be gift-giving, and while we currently foot the bill for that at times, I am thankful for her sweet spirit that thinks of her teachers. She picked out chocolates and a candle for both of her teachers, and she seemed to have a great first day. I tend to try to pick back up my worries, but I know that I need to just leave them at Jesus’s feet. What about high school? Emma will be 19 all of her senior year! What about events that are by age/grade? Will Emma feel awkward or embarrassed about that? I know that for now Emma is confident in this change. I’m praying that she will mature into a sweet, Godly young lady who is far less worried about her age or “if she’s in the right grade” but rather concerned about her relationship with God and others. We sure do love this daughter of ours, and we thank God for her every day. 

Chandler had a cross-country meet yesterday (Monday) and it was a chilly day! It was about 57 degrees, which is the first time that it felt like FALL temperatures. I was unable to make it to the meet as it was 55 minutes away, and I wasn’t able to leave school until after 3:00pm. The boys were going to be running first yesterday, so I knew that I probably wouldn’t be able to make it. Thankfully, the athletic director did give me a call towards the end of the race, so I could see Chandler’s finish. Chandler ran a great race on Monday with his best time of the season. He has now officially broken my fastest time for a 5K, and he reminds me that he’s a freshman in high school and I was in college before I broke 20 minutes for a 5k! Haha! Its another reminder that I am getting old! Chandler was happy to have the opportunity to ride back to school with the cross- country team, and I’m glad he enjoyed that. It was nice to have a short conversation with the athletic director about Chandler on Tuesday, and hear that someone else is also pouring into our children’s lives and pointing them to Jesus. We are thankful! 

Tuesday was a beautiful day for a soccer game! The boys were thankful for another opportunity to play, and it was nice to have a beautiful afternoon to watch them play. It was our first win of the season, and that was a big encouragement to the team. Three of the boys got to start in the game, and it was exciting to see the team play together for a win. I had the opportunity to sit and watch the game with a few school moms, and it was so nice to have someone to laugh and chat with during the game! It was a blessing and encouragement to me. I’m so thankful that God provides us with encouragement, new mercies, and constant reminders that He knows exactly where we are…I might not always be delighted with the way things are in the moment, but God has continued to be faithful. I’m reminded often of the song that we sang in my kindergarten class last year- “Jesus, Strong and Kind.” 

God has been good and faithful for eternity past, and I know He will continue to do so. I was so blessed and encouraged this week by friends who sent a text to say that they were praying for us, or conversations with both of Emma’s teachers to encourage us. 

When Life Feels Like “Dèjá Vu”, and It’s Still Hard!

 Life has felt a little bit like “dèjá vu” for me these past few weeks. I’ve struggled so much with many feelings these past few days. Lots of tears, feeling overwhelmed, and just plain sad have all run the gauntlet on my emotions. 

Six years ago, we moved to Maine. We enrolled our children in the Christian school in the fall, and about mid-September, we realized that one of our children was really struggling in school. Feeling like I had failed him as a mom and teacher, overwhelmed with how hard school was for him, and feeling all the big emotions that come with a major decision, we decided to move him back a grade. Years later, I don’t necessarily feel any regret over that decision, and I don’t think that child even thinks about it much anymore. It’s been easier also since we’ve moved to a different school, and no one in his class knows that he was moved back a grade. 

And yet here we are again in a similar position. Emma has struggled with school since she’s been in kindergarten, which was also the year school was shut down due to Covid. First grade was very hard, and her teacher thought that she might have a learning challenge, but everyone was so behind from Covid that there was no hope of getting her tested. Second grade came along and with it another new year of challenges. The class was big, and Emma functions best in a quieter environment. Her teacher and I were a bit concerned, but to be honest, we were barely hanging on. Last year was a rough year all around with Roger working in Michigan, I was teaching kindergarten, trying to keep our family stable, and trying to love God and keep all the children alive! (We made it- by the grace of God!) So yes, I was concerned about Emma, but in the back of my mind, I figured I could catch her up over the summer. Well, we worked at it. My mom worked with Emma when she came to visit, and we did try to catch Emma up. But sometimes it seems like no matter how hard Emma is trying, it’s like pouring water in a strainer! Emma has been stressed about school in N.C. From early on, and constantly being overwhelmed or coming home to do more school work did not seem to be working for any of us! I love that the boys have the opportunity to play sports, but it also means that our time at home is limited. When we arrive home, it’s time for supper, showers, homework, Bible time and bed shortly to follow. 

All that to say, we’ve decided to put Emma back in Second Grade. I’ve cried, struggled, and have fought depression over this. However, at the end of the day, it’s what is going to be best for Emma. She was upset at first about moving back since she’s working on trying to make friends in third grade. But also, Emma has seemed a bit relieved since the decision has been made. She’s not keen about being the oldest child in second grade (by quite a bit), but at the end of the day, it’s about what will be best for Emma. God knows exactly where she is, and I’m 100% confident that He has a perfect plan for Emma. God operates on His own time table, and not the time table of Sarah! (Praise the Lord for that!) My friend, Jenna, from Wisconsin, called me randomly out of the blue on Sunday. And while I was crying about my struggles, she gently reminded me that God’s not surprised. And I know that, but as an educator and a parent, it’s hard not to feel like I’ve “failed” Emma in someway. Having your child struggle in school is hard on any parent, and having more than one child struggle in school just adds to the challenges. I don’t know why God orchestrated these events this way. I don’t know why some of our children really struggle in school. I don’t know why this is the path God has directed us to, but wow! I am so thankful that I can rest in the arms of my Heavenly Father Who holds tomorrow. God is still good. He is going to continue to be faithful. He loves our children more than we do…He is truly a good, good Father. 

Emma will be making this transition after we come back from Fall break, which is at the end of this week. Once we return back from this break, Emma will move to second grade. Thankfully, God has given Emma a friend in the second grade classroom. Emma has to hang out at soccer practice after school quite a bit, and there is a little girl that also has to hang around as her brother helps coach the team. It’s been nice that Emma has had a friend to play with while we wait for the boys. 

In closing, we, of course, value your prayers for our family. We are not expecting this to solve all of Emma’s educational struggles, but perhaps this will be a good solution for helping her build a foundation for years to come. We love all of our children dearly, and as parents sometimes we make decisions that are not our favorite, but for the best of our child/children. 

September Moments- God is Faithful!

 Half-way through September already! On one hand the month is flying by and on the other hand, it’s felt like one very long month where every day is Monday! Garett and Chandler had a good time on the High school retreat last weekend, but they came back really tired! (Read that as grouchy!) Our kids tend to go to bed earlier than most teens, but we’ve found that it works for our family. The kids are generally in bed by about 8:30pm and get up around 5:30am. It’s what has worked for years for our kids, so when we find the kids go several days with late bedtimes, it affects all of us! Anyways, Garett and Chandler said that the retreat was fun. It was an opportunity for fun, fellowship and preaching. We are thankful that the school puts the retreat in the calendar.

Travis and Emma have  been playing in a school league for soccer on Saturday mornings. Travis finds it a little bit boring as it’s a lot of younger students, but Emma does enjoy it. Last Saturday several of the boys went to work for the farmer bagging corn, while Travis, Emma and I went to soccer. It was an overcast day, but that was kinda nice. I feel like most of the soccer games we’ve spent sweltering in the heat, so it was nice to not feel overheated! 

On Sunday we re-visited the church that we went to last Sunday. We went to a different adult Sunday School class and this one had couples closer to our ages. The one last week was a great Sunday School lesson, but Roger and I were about the youngest ones in the class! (And we aren’t that young anymore!) We enjoyed the opportunity to interact with couples our age. The boys are in two different Sunday School classes, but they are in pairs of two. Wyatt and Travis are together in a class and Garett and Chandler are together in a class. What did surprise me was how few middle schoolers and high schoolers come to Sunday School? Is that a pattern across the nation? Do you think Sunday School is an effective means of reaching kids and families with the teaching of God’s Word? A lot of older people still go to Sunday School, but what happens when the older generation dies off? Is there a better way to minister to those around us for discipleship and evangelism? Are churches being as effective as possible in reaching the community around them by offering Sunday School? Is the purpose of Sunday School for discipleship or evangelism or both? If both, how is that happening? Sometimes…don’t overreact now…I think that Sunday School for kids has become a repetition of the same Bible stories over and over again. How many times have kids in Sunday school heard the story of Noah’s Ark by fifth grade? But do the know the attributes of God? His character? How to lead a friend to Christ? I don’t have a solution, but it is something that I spend some time thinking about. Roger and I want to be actively involved in our children’s Christian education, as we are the ones responsible, but it’s also important that the church we settle down in have a plan to help come alongside our children to encourage them in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Anyways, that was a little bit of a rabbit trail, and one that I probably have more questions than answers to. 

We dropped Garett off at school at 7:00am on Monday morning for his trip to Washington, DC. He was both excited and nervous to go. It’s a tenth grade trip, so the whole class was going. Garett doesn’t have a cell phone, so we haven’t heard from him all week. I think he might prefer that he had a cellphone this week, but ya know…we want to hold off on giving our kids a cellphone as long as possible. Teens are becoming increasingly attached to their cellphones, and seem to be struggling to have real, personal relationships with actual real people. I have to put my phone on silent at times and remind myself that not every text needs to be answered immediately-I’ll apologize now to those friends of mine that have to go days before randomly hearing from me out of the blue! We are thankful that Garett had the opportunity to go to Washington DC, and we are looking forward to hearing about his experiences. 

This has been a rough week for Emma and her momma! Emma is struggling so much with school. She is struggling far more than we thought that she would. School has never come easily for her, but she has liked school so far. This year it’s been a difficult transition for her to a new school, new curriculum, new friends, etc. She likes her teacher, and Emma is a pretty social child. However, most of the kids in her class have been in this school for several years or all of their lives, so sometimes finding a close friend can be a challenge. I’m worried about Emma, but the Bible clearly tells us that we cannot add height to our stature by worrying…I’d probably be 90 feet tall if that was the case! I worry and then pray. Then I battle with wanting to pick up my worry again, and again, and again. I’m thankful that God does not become weary with me. We are praying and working towards coming up with a solution to hopefully help Emma not be so overwhelmed and weary with her school work. 

This week, Chandler came to school and opened his locker door. Sitting on the shelf starting at him was a mouse! Chandler slammed the locker door and told Wyatt he needed his lunch box container to catch the mouse. Chandler opened the door and the mouse escaped down the hall! Several of the boys in the hall managed to snag the mouse, and the mouse’s life quickly came to an end. The next day, it was discovered that the mouse had had babies, so that caused quite a stir! Thankfully, I think the mouse problems are behind us now! It did provide for a funny topic at the dinner table that night. I’m thankful for laughter! I’m also thankful that I was not a part of being in the hallway when the mouse was being chased around. 

Chandler had another cross-country race last Monday. I seriously do not know how they run in the heat as I think I’d be throwing up! But anyways, Roger was able to get off in time to come to Chandler’s meet. The girls ran first this week, so we were there in plenty of time. Chandler took off with the pack, but by the 1/2 mile marker he was falling behind. He told me he had a cramp in his side. Well about the only thing you can do during a race is keep running, try to regulate your breathing, and keep moving. It worked itself out, but Chandler was in about the sixth spot. He managed to pull off a win with a time of 21:01. It wasn’t his best time this year, but he ran hard and worked through the cramp. We had left Wyatt and Travis at soccer practice which is normally done by 6:00pm. When we pulled up to the school it was 6:03pm, and Wyatt and Travis had been waiting for almost an hour! The coach had dismissed practice early, and there was an assumption that all the kids either had rides or a way to call their parents. However, Wyatt and Travis just had to wait patiently for us to arrive so that they could be picked up from practice. It probably wasn’t their favorite memory from this year, but they survived it! 

I helped with art classes again this week. I’m not an artsy person, but I can generally follow directions. I clean up, pick up and set up for the next class while the teacher begins instructions. We have over 200 kids that come to art classes in one day, so it’s a long day. By the time the last class rolls around, we are tired but it’s like a well-oiled machine. I enjoy working with the art teacher, so that makes the day more fun. 

I do the library classes on Tuesday and Thursday and those are some full mornings also! I have the opportunity to work with a great lady who helps me out a lot! It seems like every time we turn around there is a pile of books that need repairing or sorting, books to be shelved or something else to do! I’m thankful that Jennifer and I also seem to work well together and the time goes by smoothly.  We’ve brainstormed a lot of library ideas,

Garett arrived home from Washington DC around 6:00pm on Friday. He was happy to be home, and we were happy to have him back. Actually, Roger and I were happy to have him back. I’m not sure his brothers missed him too much! Garett was full of stories and adventures from his week away, and we had some good times of laughter and discussion. We are thankful for this opportunity for him. God has been so good to America, and we have been blessed. I pray often and fervently that God will send a revival to America, and that God will use our young people to bring revival. Sometimes it’s easy to feel like the evil has already won, but God’s Word tells us to be faithful, make disciples, be fervent in prayer, and to trust in the Lord. Until the Lord calls me home, I want to be faithful to do what God has called me to do today and that includes loving Jesus, loving my spouse, loving my children, loving other and doing the next right thing. I am so thankful for the promises from my Heavenly Father. What an awesome God we serve!

We went back to the church we visited last Sunday. The kids seem to really be enjoying the services and the boys have asked about going to a teen activity this Friday. We’ve been going to the Sunday night service as well which has been a reminder to us that Emma has not sat as much in church services as the boys have! During our time in Maine, Roger and I were involved with teen group which happened on Sunday nights. Emma would come along with us to teen group, so she didn’t have the opportunity to sit in Sunday evening service. We had to have a discussion about our expectations after the first week, but we are seeing improvements. We don’t go to church to be entertained, and sometimes boredom is not a bad thing. Even when bored, children need to learn to sit still, not disrupt others, and be polite. I see some adults and teens still struggling with those same concepts!

It was a wearying week, but God was faithful just as He always has been. I am thankful for the wearying valleys as they give me another opportunity to grow in my faith. I don’t always like the experiences in the moment, but God gives grace for every moment. It’s still been really warm here, and it’s odd to see people decorating for fall with the temps still in the high 80s! 

In closing, God is good, and He is faithful. I am thankful that He loves me unconditionally and that I am forever His child. 

                                                           Fields of Cotton

Our Four Boys

                                                Chandler and Roger at the last Cross-country meet.