Summer Break!!

 It’s been a busy two weeks, as we’ve jumped full swing into summer break! We are enjoying a bit of a more relaxed schedule, but we find it’s still really full with kids working, balancing screen time and work, projects that we’d like to finish, and planning a few activities over summer break. 

I’ve still been working at the school some as it’s near impossible to get everything cleaned and packed up before school ends much less when I’m working in both art and library. I enlisted the help of my kids to help take down bulletin boards, move books, haul stuff to the dumpsters, and other cleaning jobs. Working for mom would not fall on their list of favorite things, but welcome to life! I’ve been doing some research regarding an art curriculum for elementary students, and there is so much out there! It’s so easy to be overwhelmed with it all. We’ve also looked for a library curriculum, but that’s a really hard one to come by because I’m picky about what we read and generally we don’t have the books on the list in our small library anyways. I’ve written our own lessons plans for the past two years, but it would be nice to be able to have the book, a game, and an activity all ready to go without searching all over creation for what I want…maybe I’m just too picky or my expectations are too high!? 

On Memorial Day, we went to Aunt Lisa and Uncle Ryan’s house out towards the western side of the state. It makes for a long day, but it was a fun day. All the kids got in the pool (multiple times) and Emma and Travis ended up with a sunburn! We took Sam (the dog) with us, and he did very well on the car ride so that was a blessing. The boys walked down to the pond to go fishing, and they caught a few fish. We enjoyed lots of delicious food, good fellowship and time outside. It was a good way to start summer break. 

Chandler had the opportunity to spend a few days at a lake with one of his friends from school and a few other boys as well. He left on Wednesday to go to the lake, and we came down on Saturday to pick him up. He had a great time fishing, kayaking, playing with air soft guns, and doing all kinds of activities. We came to pick him up on Saturday, and we enjoyed time at the lake as well. It was good to get to know Nicholas’s parents a little better, and we surely did appreciate the laughter and fellowship. It was a beautiful day to spend at the lake, and we were thankful for the invite. 

Garett is working full time with the gutter company this summer, and last week he got his drivers license! Yes, he is almost 18 (in August), but we were not in an anxious place for him to get his license and insurance is expensive! However, the timing was right and God arranged for all the details to fall into place. Roger took him to Jacksonville last Thursday for a 8:00 am appointment. They arrived in time, but there was an accident on the route that they normally take the drivers road test on. The DMV told Roger and Garett that they weren’t sure how long it would be before the route opened, but they would be given a “floating” appointment meaning that once the route opened back up, Garett could take his test as soon as they could squeeze him in. Well that was a bit of a bummer as Roger was missing work to take Garett to do his drivers test, and we weren’t sure if we should wait it out, reschedule or if I should come and wait with Garett. Roger and Garett went back into the DMV to talk to someone, and they said that they would allow Garett to take his road test on an old route that they didn’t use anymore. Praise the Lord! Within ten minutes, Garett was walking back into the DMV to get his drivers license permit! We are thankful that one of the boys now has his drivers license as this means that Garett can now help with getting other kids where they need to be! I didn’t think I’d be this excited about one of our kids having their drivers license, but it’s been so nice! 

I started working at a farmer’s market a few days a week, and it looks like Chandler will be able to earn a little money on the days that I work as he can come with me. The days are long at the farmer’s market, but it’s not hard work as it’s just being friendly and selling people produce. I think it’ll work out nicely for a few days a week and help provide a little extra money for a summer trip or the school bill. Chandler would still like to find a bit more work as he’d like to work closer to four or five days a week, but we are thankful for something! 

Travis finished up the soccer season with the rec team this past week. It’s been fun to watch him play, and he’s enjoyed it-mostly. I thought that Travis would be excited about being on a team without his brothers and getting a lot of playing time. He told my sister, Jen, that he enjoyed playing soccer but it would’ve been better if Wyatt could’ve been on his team. The Lord was good to Travis as Travis was placed on a team with Christian coaches, and it was a good experience. One of the coaches is also a coach for a soccer league team in the area. The coach sent us an email about Travis playing on a travel ball team, and then he came and talked to us. While the experience would be good, the cost is way too high, and we are already busy as a family. We don’t need one more event to haul kids to or cause us to split up our very valuable family time. We asked Travis what his opinion was about the travel ball team, and told him that it was nice of his coach to notice Travis’s skill level and offer him a position on the travel soccer team without Travis even going to tryouts. And all of that was and is true! It’s nice to be recognized for hard work and effort, but thankfully this was an easy decision to make. Travis was non-committal about it (he’s not one to talk a lot), but he said, “yeah, it’s nice to be asked to join the team. But I don’t want to. I wouldn’t really want to do it without one of my brothers, and I’ll get to play on the school team in the fall.” So that was that, and it was a good decision. The coaches held a little awards ceremony after the last game last week, and it was so refreshing and encouraging to hear these coaches talk about the “Christian character” award, and how that was being like Jesus. This is a non-Christian school team, and these kids are from all walks of life, but these coaches made a point to bring Jesus into the conversation and to pray over the players after the last game of the season. I doubt Travis thought much about it, but as his mama, I sure did appreciate the prayer and reference to Jesus Christ! 

This past week we’ve been dog siting for some friends of ours. I’ve decided that we are definitely a one dog family, and while we’ve not minded Marley being here, we are thankful for just one dog! We also have the three Hardison boys here, so that’s eight boys and Emma! It’s not been very quiet here, but it’s been fun. They eat a lot, but they also have played hours of basketball and golf. We are thankful for these moments and days. Life truly is a vapor, and if I accomplish nothing else with my life, I want my kids to know and serve Jesus. 

We’ve also had VBS (Vacation Bible School) this past week, so I took Jace and Emma in to VBS with me, while the boys spent time with Roger. They even got to go golfing a few times with the Hardison boys, so that was fun for all. 

Chandler has already gotten a pay raise at the farmer’s market, so that was exciting for him. He worked two days and got a pay raise on the third day. The disadvantage to the farmer’s market job is that it is a bit of a hike to the job, so he really can only work on days that I work, and I don’t want to work every day! This past week, Wyatt also worked at the farmers market for a day. Chandler, Wyatt and I all worked on Saturday, and it was a busy day. I prefer the busier days, as I’m not one for sitting around! The boys worked hard at keeping everything stocked and shucking corn. We always come home tired, but it’s been good to have a little employment this summer. 

This week is basketball camp for Chandler and Wyatt, and they’re looking forward to going to Bob Jones University with two of the Hardison boys for basketball camp. I’m excited that they have this opportunity, and Travis and Emma are looking forward to it as well. I’m going to take the two youngest, along with my sister, and we’re going to spend a few days in the Greenville area while the other two boys are at camp. It should be a good week, and I’m looking forward to spending some time with the youngest two kids. 

Today was Father’s Day, and we barely saw Roger! He spent the day at work flying patrol for the fires. We really, really need rain. The forecast for the next ten days is hot and without rain. Please pray that God will provide some rain. Many farmers are on the verge of losing their crops as the soil is so dry. We really need several days of a nice soaking rain. We missed having Roger around, but we are so thankful for him. He’s not the life of the party, and he doesn’t like to be the center of attention, but Roger is faithful, loyal, kind and a good friend. He loves his family, and he works hard to be present in our lives. I’m thankful for him, and I love him so very much. 

Life can also be heavy and hard, and sometimes it’s hard to know what God is doing. The pastor said something this morning that really resonated with me after this past week. He said, “What you believe in not only matters for eternity, but it also shapes your perspective on life.” And sometimes we just have to walk by faith. This past Tuesday, my friend, Beka, from Wisconsin called me. She told me that there had been an accident and the daughter of someone I knew had been killed in a tragic ATV accident. I was completely taken off guard. Emma is almost the same age as this little girl that passed away, and I was pregnant with Emma the same summer that my friend was pregnant with her daughter. I don’t know what God’s plan was in allowing this tragedy to happen, but I do know that God is in control. He is the God of all comfort, and His mercy never fails. I’ve cried several times this past week as we grieve the loss of life, and for the family left behind. Please do pray for my friend, Jen, and her family, as they grieve the loss of their daughter. 

News Article

As parents, we naturally expect our children to outlive us, and sometimes we are caught off guard by what happens in our lives. I look forward to the day when “He will wipe away all tears from our eyes.” Heaven is going to be an amazing place, and if you’re not sure about where you will spend eternity, please reach out to me. I’d love to show you how you can know for sure that you are on your way to Heaven. Jesus died for you, so that you can have eternal life in Heaven. We need to recognize that we cannot get to Heaven on our own, and we are all sinners. We have no hope of Heaven without Jesus. But..Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23 “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Believe that Jesus died for you. Recognize that you are a sinner. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and come into your life. Ephesians 2:8-9 states that “for by grace are ye saved, through faith, and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.” Salvation- that’s the best gift ever! 

  

Mountains and Valleys (Highlights and Lowlights)

Where to even begin?! We are quickly wrapping up the school year, and it’s been a year to remember. I still can’t wrap my around the fact that Garett will be a senior in the fall! Where has time gone? I want to soak up the moments and the memories, but sometimes I feel like I’d just like a moment to breathe! 

So much has happened in the month of May, and we are just a few days into the month. First, I want to capitalize on the highlights, cause ya’ll might run off if I start with the overwhelming stuff! So blessings and highlights are at the top of my list.

 Two of our boys, Chandler and Wyatt, competed in a golf tournament on April 29th. This was the final competition for the golf season, and the meet was held in Virginia. Travis and I were able to go to the tournament as we stayed overnight at the Everett’s house in Virginia. The meet started at noon, with it being a nine-hole round of golf. The golf team had come down on Sunday night as originally the meet was scheduled to start at 10:00am. This was the first meet that I had been able to attend as the golf meets are on Mondays, and I’m always busy teaching art classes on Mondays. I watched Wyatt hit his first golf ball, and I was like “oh dear!”. He was off to a really, really rough start, but he managed to overcome and he was the second place golfer for his team. I was thankful that both Justin Everett and his coach, Chance, were willing to talk to him during the meet to encourage him to “keep at it”.  I was proud of him because Wyatt struggles with defeat. Once he messes up or has a bad play, he often can’t overcome to make a comeback, but he did at this meet. The golf team placed third in the meet, so that was exciting for the golf team as this is the first time in a while that the school has had a team. I’m thankful that Chandler and Wyatt had the opportunity to play on the golf team, and they both said that it was kinda nice to be a part of a smaller team for a change. I’m thankful for their coaches that invest in them, help them enjoy the game, and are willing in to give of their time and energy to the golf team. Travis and I left a little early from the golf tournament, so that we could make it back to school for Emma’s piano recital. Wyatt was also supposed to be in the piano recital, but the golf team barely made it back in time. Since Wyatt was dressed in sweat pants and a stinky polo shirt, he escaped having to perform- and he wasn’t crying about it! I’m thankful that Jen was willing to pick up Emma from school to help her pick out a nice dress for the recital, get flowers for her piano teacher, and get Emma back to school for the recital. It was a long and tiring day, but we made it!  

Another highlight would be that the Elementary Fine Arts Competition is behind us! Whew! We entered 29 projects into the competition, and four received ribbons. This was my first year teaching art, and we learned a lot at the competition. Personally, I think the categories are way too broad for elementary students. All the painting is lumped together, but if you’ve ever painted, you know that acrylic paint and watercolor paint are not even close to the same! I was a bit disappointed in some of the placings (or lack thereof), but hopefully we will be a little better prepared in the future. Some of our students art underwent quite the transformation before the event. While their art still may not have placed, I know how hard they worked and how much they’ve improved. I also help with the Bible Sword Drill teams for 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. We made it into the second round of playoffs with all the teams except third grade. Our fourth grade team placed third in the competition, so that was exciting for them. And while third grade didn’t place, they’ve come a long ways in a short amount of time! When we first started practicing with them, they were using the table of contents to find the books of the Bible. They improved so much over the past few months! It was an exhausting few days, but I did learn a lot. Hopefully, we will be better prepared for future events. 

Last weekend was the baseball team’s tournament hosted by our school. It was a bit of a crazy weekend with the tournament on Friday and Saturday. The Everett’s came down for the tournament, and we all pitched in to help with concessions, taking admission, and helping pick up trash. Many hands make light work, and thankfully we had seven kids between us to help the Hardisons. The weather was beautiful for the tournament, and the baseball team made it to the championship game! It was a good game, probably my favorite one to watch all season. The team that they played had beaten our team earlier in the season. It was back and forth throughout the seven innings, but at the end of the game, our team won! The score was 8-7! It was fun to watch the team play in the game as they really did work hard and together to win the game. It was a bit of a long and tiring day, but it was a good day. 

Also last week (first week in May), Garett ran for student body president! He worked hard at helping create posters, coming up with ideas, and his brothers helped him come up with slogans for his campaign. Garett was up against some tough competition from two other girls also running for student body president, so he had his work cut out for him. He wrote a speech for his campaign, and I listened to him present it to the student body on Thursday afternoon. He did a good job, and while he didn’t win student body president, he did win Vice President. I asked him if he was disappointed, and he replied that he was a little disappointed, but “Kate is better at speaking to a bunch of people than I am. This way I can just back her up and still be involved. I’m really glad that I got picked for something.” Me too. I am proud of the man he is becoming, and while I often wish he was still a little boy, it’s exciting to see God at work in his life. 

An additional highlight in the past two weeks would be God’s protection over Emma as she ran into a tree with her bike. Her face was pretty scraped up on Saturday evening, and she stayed home from church on Sunday morning with a black eye, but God protected her as it could’ve been much worse! Boys get all excited about battle scars liked a scraped up face, but Emma was so nervous about school on Monday as she didn’t want to be the center of attention. Her face is almost completely healed up now, so we are thankful for that. God is good. 

Mother’s Day this year was also a highlight for me. We decided to take the day as a family, and do something a bit different as in visiting a different church, and going out to lunch on Mother’s Day. We went to a church in Wilmington, and then ate a nice lunch at a casual place, walked around on the riverwalk in Wilmington, and visited a few thrift stores. It was a very enjoyable day for all of us. The church service was a blessing to me as the pastor talked about moms (pretty typical for Mother’s Day), but he also had all the moms stand while he prayed over the moms. It was a special way to honor the moms, and I appreciated the intentionality of his prayer for moms. The message spoke to me too as the pastor spoke about not letting “your barrenness turn to bitterness”. He was referring to Hannah in First Samuel, and how she held her tongue when Peninnah was provoking her; Hannah waited; Hannah prayed; Hannah worshipped. To be completely honest, I have felt like I’m in a season of “barrenness”- waiting for God to move in a big way. I’m going to move on to touching on a few deep disappointments, so if you only want positive news, just stop reading here. 

Waiting on God and waiting for God to work in and through us to orchestrate His perfect plan is a challenge. As many of you know, we applied for the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship. Due to the number of hours I’ve worked in the past year, we were over the limit for Tier one families by a mere 4K. Early in April, we had been informed via email that there would not be enough funds for all the families in Award Tier Two, and that the families would be selected by a random drawing and notified via email. We prayed through much of April asking God to provide the scholarship funds for our family, and I really felt like that’s what God was going to do. I mean, why wouldn’t He want to help us continue to give our children Christian education, save for college and retirement, pay off bills, etc.? Surely, this is what God would do…but…it was not God’s perfect plan. Two Fridays ago, on April 26th, we received the email from the state notifying us that the scholarship funds had been depleted, and we had not been selected. I was stunned. But why? Roger and I have sacrificed much over the years (and many have helped along the way!) to keep our children in Christian education, and why wouldn’t God make this easier on us?! I cried - a lot. I’m tired and weary, and I just couldn’t understand God’s plan. I’m not saying that I understand it now, but I’m determined to continually give it over to God. Every.single.day. His plan is still perfect, and He didn’t forget where we are or what we need. I talked with my mom last Sunday morning and poured out my woes to her. She reminded me that we aren’t the only ones praying for God to work, and that they were praying too. And I know that many of you are as well. I guess my prayer in all of this would be that I would remain faithful to do whatever it is that God has for our family. If that means homeschooling, online learning or continuing on, then we will be faithful to do what God directs. Roger reminded me that we’ve wondered what God was doing before and God has always shown up right on time. (It’s also a reminder that I shouldn’t gamble. The opportunity scholarship families were selected through a random drawing, and since we weren’t selected, I clearly shouldn’t gamble- I’m not a lucky person! JK!) 

A lowlight for Travis would be that two of the chickens have disappeared! Somehow the chicken coop wasn’t quite latched, and two chickens escaped during the night. Travis was pretty upset that two chickens are now missing as he’s been so faithful to feed, water, and clean the coop. It may seem trivial to some, but it wasn’t to Travis. The chickens have given Travis something to pour some energy and attention into, and that has helped some with his school anxiety. He still asks me every single day if I will sign him out of school, but having the chickens has helped him press on to finish out the school year. 

There’s been a few other lowlights in the past few weeks, but none of which I’m going to mention currently. We are working to finish well. We are praying diligently for jobs for our children for the summer. Chandler was supposed to be notified on Friday about his job application, but we did not receive any news. So please pray that he will be able to figure out a job. 

Last week was teacher appreciation week, and we worked on teacher appreciation gifts. Emma’s love language is giving gifts, and thankfully her teacher never bats an eye at what Emma might bring for a gift! I had my art students work on teacher appreciation letters, and it was fun to read their responses! (We didn’t finish the letters as we had to get our Mother’s Day projects done, but I’m hoping it’ll provide some laughter and love for the teachers). It was nice to have lunch provided twice this past week and three students surprised me with a small gift- it’s always nice to be remembered. We are quickly approaching the end of the school year, and it’s hard to believe that we only have ten school days left. 

I received a sweet note in my mailbox from my other friend named  Laura this week. It was a good reminder that others are lifting my name before the Lord in prayer. Prayer truly is our greatest resource, and the older I get the more I realize what a special privilege it is to bring all our concerns and praises before our great God. “Heavenly Father help me to lean on you more. Thank you for the blessing of being able to boldly approach your throne.” This song has especially encouraged Roger and I over the past couple of weeks. 

New Life, New Memories and Moments!

 

(Started on 3/29)

Praise the Lord- spring break is finally here!!! It’s been a long time and coming, and I am looking forward to a bit of reprieve over the next few days. We are looking forward to celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Sunday. Our church is having a Good Friday service tomorrow night, a community outreach event on Saturday morning, and services on Sunday. We are looking forward to the opportunity to reflect on what Jesus has done as well as point others in our community to Jesus through our community event. Also on Saturday our oldest boys are coming home as well as my sister and my dad! Yay!!!! 

My parents arrived in North Carolina last Monday evening, and while my dad has been in the Dominican Republic, my mom has helped with getting the boys where they need to be, reading with Emma, and enjoying time with her family in the western side of the state. Last Tuesday afternoon my parent came to watch Garett play in his baseball game. However, Garett had said on Monday that his arm was hurting him a bit. By Tuesday afternoon, he was in quite a bit of pain, and he was unable to play in the game. That was disappointing to him and my parents, but clearly he had strained something in his arm. Hopefully he will have some time to rest his arm over spring break, and be ready to return to baseball after break. 

Last Wednesday my parents checked the younger three out of school a little early to take them to lunch. Whenever Papa is around, things happen! Jen and Travis have devised a plan to raise some chickens for eggs. Jen suggested to Travis that perhaps she would get some chickens after the missions trip. However, by the time Jen and I arrived home from school, the chicken coop was built and the chickens were in a tote with a heat lamp! The plan is for the chickens to live in Jen’s backyard, but currently, we are babysitting half a dozen chickens. Travis has done very well with taking care of them, watering them, cleaning out their pen, and even helping to find a different pen for them as they are growing quickly. The chicks cannot be outside yet, but thankfully, they’ve been moved to the shed at our house. Originally Travis had the chicks in the tote in our mudroom, but I told him the chickens were smelly. He replied, “It’s fine, Mom. They don’t smell that badly.” Um, son, the chicks are moving out! 

The boys stayed overnight at Jen’s house on Thursday night since they were leaving at 2:15am on Friday morning. Chandler did not want to miss his last golf practice, so I told him I would finish his packing as long as he didn’t care what he was wearing. He replied, “Oh, I already packed most of my clothes. Mr. Hardison (our athletic director) gave us some old jerseys and shorts. I’m just going to wear those and then leave the clothes there. Then I have less to pack!” However, in every picture I’ve seen of him on Facebook, he’s wearing the same orange shirt and gray shorts! I finally sent my sister a message and asked if he’s changed clothes this week. She said that outfit was his painting and concrete work outfit as he doesn’t want to wreck his other clothes. But he has showered and changed clothes this week- thank the Lord! They’ve been busy with moving lots of dirt, mixing and pouring cement, helping with Vacation Bible School, and a lot of other things. I’m sure they’ll come home exhausted, but we are so very thankful that Garett and Chandler have had this opportunity. We are praying for them to be a blessing and get a blessing. Missions trips can change your life. 

Emma has been praying about getting a dog for about a year now. She’s been praying specifically for a German Shepherd. Roger and I have been saying that God will provide a dog in His perfect timing. I couldn’t imagine adding a dog into our lives, but guess what? Here we are! A co-worker of Roger’s mentioned to him last week that she had a friend that was trying to get rid of some puppies. The puppies were pure-bred German shepherds, and they were selling them for $1,000 a piece! Um- no thank-you! However, the co-worker continued on to explain that this family had two (14 week) puppies that they just wanted to give away to good homes. I was pretty sure that I didn’t need a 14 week puppy in my life, but the pup would be free, and it was a German Shepherd- should we go look?! So on Friday, March 22, we went over to see the puppies or we tried! They had let the puppies out to run off some energy, and the puppies were no where to be found! The pups had run off with the two older 6 month dogs and there was one puppy left to see! The pup that was left at home had a hernia, and we knew we didn’t want to start off with vet visits. We decided that we would come back on Saturday to see the other puppies. Wyatt, Travis and Emma were thrilled with the thought of getting a dog, Roger thought it would be a good idea for our family, so I was the one holding out! We went back to see the pups on Saturday, and there was Sam. Sam was one of the 14 week old pups, and we could’ve chosen one of the six month old dogs, but at six month they’ve already learned a lot of bad habits. Sam was the one that we picked out, as he seemed calm and collected. Sam came home with us, and while the trip home was a bit rough as Sam got car sick, we made it home. Sam was very reserved the first few days, but he’s been a good change for our family. Roger has worked with Sam a lot, and Wyatt and Travis are very good with Sam. Emma loves Sam, and he puts up with her. God answered Emma’s prayer, and I hope that she never forgets that! 

My mom came back from visiting her family on the western side of the state on Tuesday, and we surprised her with showing her Sam! It was nice that my mom was around this week as she could take the boys and Emma right home after school to check on the pup, and the boys and Emma were excited to get out of school a little early twice this week! Also, since my mom has been in town this week, I asked her to come to read to my library classes. She was willing to read, and my assistant (Jen) and I were happy to have her read! It’s always nice to have a guest reader in the library, and I’m thankful that my mom was willing to read. 

(Continued 4/2) Friday was our first official day of Spring Break! It was a day of lots of activities as we prepared for guests in our home for Easter Dinner. The boys began their trip back to the U.S. on Friday, and arrived home on Saturday afternoon. Our church had sent out an email saying that there would be a baptismal service on Easter Sunday. Emma has been asking about baptism for a while, so we contacted Pastor. After the Good Friday service, Emma went to talk to Pastor Powell. Roger and I went with her, but she talked with Pastor Powell on her own. She cried a little as she talked about her salvation and how she knew that Jesus had died for her sins. After a short conversation, she asked about being baptized on Sunday. It was arranged that Emma would be one of the four to be baptized on Sunday. She was so excited (and nervous), but she wanted to surprise Papa, Nana and Aunt Jen. We tried to surprise her older brothers too, but Travis let the cat out of the bag on Sunday morning! 

Saturday morning found Emma and I back at church for a community event for Easter. I had been asked to face paint (something, I’ve never done before!). I was completely nervous for most of the time while painting faces, and I passed on anything harder than flowers and hearts to my friend, Kaycee. Yes, I teach elementary art, but it’s different when I’m following along to written directions, have practiced the art project, and it’s not on a person’s skin! Whew! We made it! I’m thankful for my friend, Kaycee, who was willing to help with the face painting. There were quite a few of us that were face painting, and there were a lot of kids that wanted their faces painted!! Emma enjoyed the morning playing with her friends on the inflatables, participating in the egg hunt, and enjoying the beautiful day. God blessed us with a beautiful day for the event, and there were a lot of people that came out for it. 

After the morning event, Emma and I went home to get Sam and Travis. Wyatt decided to stay home, but Sam needed to go to the walk-in clinic at Tractor Supply to get a rabies shot and a check-up. I wasn’t thrilled about the amount of time we spent waiting in line, and neither was Sam, but we made it! Sam now has the shots that he needed, and he probably won’t want to visit Tractor Supply again any time soon! On our way back from the clinic, we stopped at Jen’s to pick up Garett and Chandler. Yay! Both boys were completely surprised that we had gotten a pup while they were away, and it was a good surprise. Sam has been a good dog so far- he’s calm, gentle, and gets along with all the kids. I didn’t want a puppy, but Sam has fit in quite nicely. 

Sunday was a full, tiring, but great day! We were going to be having about 40 people over for lunch, which dropped to about 35, but still a full house! We had been praying that God would give us beautiful weather so that everyone could be outside, and He did! Our friends, the Everetts, came down on Saturday evening, and Laura and I were up early to prep and cook. We surprised ourselves with everyone being ready for church super early. Emma and I needed to be at church by 9:15am as she was singing with the kids choir. She was a little nervous about the baptism, but also excited. Emma and I headed to church, and the rest stopped for coffee before church. It was a full service with lots of singing (I love that part), the baptism, and preaching. It was a great service! 

Around 1:30pm, we had Easter dinner at our house. Our house was full, but so were our hearts. There was PLENTY of food, and it was all delicious! We had my parents, Jen, Everetts, Harrison’s, Tamela’s parents, Carrillos, and the Lee family over for lunch. The kids spent the entire afternoon outside with basetkball, golfing, and playing together. The adults fellowshipped together and kept track of little ones and puppies! The Everett’s had their dog, the Harrison’s had their pup, and we had Sam! The Hardison’s dog, Marley, and Sam wrestled and played together for hours and then would flop over for a nap. It was fun to watch them play, and the kids enjoyed holding the chicks, walking the dog and being outside. We are so thankful that God blessed us with a beautiful day, and I am thankful for Ressurrection Sunday. Food is good, fellowship is great, memories are wonderful, but the most precious and awesome part of it all is that Jesus Rose Again! What a day to celebrate! Death was defeated and Jesus conquered the grave! Praise the Lord! 

We are looking forward to a few days off of school! These first few days are supposed to be warm and beautiful, but then it’s supposed to turn chilly again. We will also be working on a few school projects that need to be finished up before we return- such as a science project, animal notebook, and fine arts project- never a dull moment!

In closing, God is good, so good. I’m starting a devotional book on the names of God, and the first one in the book is God- Elohim, meaning the Strong Creator. How much we have to be thankful for in this life! Looking at the choices of those in leadership in our country and what’s happening around the world, would cause me to be depressed in a hurry! But we can rejoice that our confidence is in God and not in mankind! 

February - The Longest-Short Month of the Year!

 Ya’ll! Basketball is almost over! Woohoo! This weekend will be the JV Tournament and the following weekend will be the varsity tournament. I’m excited about being home earlier and transitioning to spring sports. 

Last week we had two home basketball games and one away basketball game- it was a lot! We had basketball practice on Monday,  a game on Tuesday, church on Wednesday, and away game on Thursday, and a home game on Friday. Roger arrived home in time for the game on Friday, so that was a good blessing for all of us. Chandler has had the opportunity to start on the JV team a couple of times, and he’s improved a lot this season. Wyatt, Travis, and Emma all had junior team basketball on Saturday morning for the last time. 

It was a long week last week(actually two weeks ago now) with Roger away from home. It was deja’vu of when Roger was gone to Michigan last year and a good reminder of how I’m not very good a single parenting! We survived-by the grace of God!  

I’m currently behind on keeping updated with the blog, so this is going to be a post on highlights! 

We went to the JV Tournament last weekend on Friday/Saturday. I took the day off of school on Friday and took the kids with me to the tournament. Chandler was the one playing in the tournament, but of course, all the kids wanted to go watch! We haven’t missed very many days from school, and since Chandler would probably get to play in the tournament, we decided to let the kids miss school for the day. Chandler had to be at school at 8:00am on  Friday morning. The girls team played at 10:00am, and unfortunately they lost that game. It was a single elimination tournament so the girls were out of the tournament. After that game, Laura and I took our kids to lunch and to leave the tournament property for a little bit as the boys game wasn’t until 2:40pm! The boys won that game, so they played again- at 8:00pm! It was a long night! The boys team did win that game, so they advanced to the championship game scheduled for Saturday at 1:30 pm. Chandler didn’t have a great game on Friday night, and he made a few simple mistakes. He didn’t start for the championship game on Saturday, but for the most part, he still had a good attitude. The boys team worked hard and with 15.5 seconds to go the score was tied. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, another kid appeared to play for the opposing team! The ball was tossed in, and this fresh, new player bounded down the court to score a lay-up! Of course, the opposing team was ecstatic, but our team was so disappointed! It turns out that it was a totally legitimate player and play. Apparently, he had been somewhere else all morning and then had made it for the very tail end of the game! And while I get that it was a totally legitimate play, there were some very disappointed players who had worked so hard! Chandler doesn’t cry  easily, and he had a few tears over the outcome of the game. The team went out to eat after the game, but we just came home. It had been along few days, and we all needed to go home! 

This weekend we will be at the Varsity Basketball tournament. The tournament falls over Thursday- Saturday, but I am only going to be able to come for Friday/Saturday. The boys team doesn’t play until 8:00pm on Thursday night, so I can come to the tournament after school on Thursday and still make it for the game. Garett and Chandler both play on the varsity team, so they’re happy to miss two days of school this week! It’s been a long and tiring last two weeks, and I think we are all looking forward to basketball wrapping up. It’s been a good season, and the boys have learned a lot. I don’t think that Garett will play again, Chandler is unsure and Wyatt is hoping to play next year- we will see! This mama is ready for a break from all things basketball for a while!

Last Saturday, (2/11) Roger was called in for a fire in our area. There was a pile of railroad ties that had caught on fire, and the fire quickly spread to consume about thirty acres. Roger was called in, but since it was more of a structural fire and it was inside the Air Force base airspace, he was dismissed after a few hours. Generally around this time of year, the fire season has picked up. However, we’ve had quite a bit of rain in the past few weeks, so there’s not been much for fire activity. It’s both good and bad. We like having Roger home, but fighting fires is a way to build some “Comp” time for later in the year.  We do have a specific unspoken prayer request regarding Roger’s job, that we would appreciate you praying with us about. 

Two weeks ago, we had a bunch of boys over to our house on Wednesday afternoon. Since there’s no sports practices on Wednesday afternoon, it’s a good afternoon to have friends over to play. For supper we had 7 boys and one girl seated around our supper table. We went through a very large pot of spaghetti, and lots of bread! It was a fun afternoon, and we are thankful for friends for the boys. 

We’ve had a lot of blessings in the past few weeks. Someone purchased about $300.00 worth of books for our school library! We have a library with a lot of books, but unfortunately some of them are a bit dated and do not appeal to this generation of readers. We are always thankful for good book donations to the library! It’s a work in progress, and building a good library is a lot of work, effort, time and money. God is good. 

We are looking forward to a bit of warmer weather, more sunshine, and wrapping up the school year- in another 14 weeks! Our Maine friends have the week off due to Winter break, and part of me is just a tad bit jealous! However, I’m also glad to be wrapping up the school year in May and enjoying the summer months. The kids are hoping to work for our neighbor again, the boys are all going to camp, we are hoping to soak up some days at the beach, and some quality family time together. 

The older boys are off to their last and final Basketball tournament today! They play at 8:30pm tonight, which is about the time all our kids are off to bed- I know, we’re weird like that! Please pray that the team will do their best tonight, glorify God, and have good attitudes. 

God is good. Even through the storms of life, He is faithful and true. We are so very thankful for His new morning mercies! 

Summer Vacation!

 Our boys are in Wisconsin, so Emma’s an only child for a few weeks! She surely seems to be enjoying it!

 We have had our first full week of summer vacation, and I think I am done in my classroom. Last week, we spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the school as we decluttered, cleaned, and filled the dumpster. Two of the teachers and myself worked on decluttering stuff thats been hanging around the school for a while. With the continued growth of the school (Lord willing) its becoming imperative that we have a better system of organization for our resources. Karla is very, very good at decluttering. So while I’d sit there thinking about whether or not we should keep something, she’s hauling it off to the dumpster! We were a good pair as we both like organization! We worked until the dumpster was full on Monday, and then we really couldn’t continue on as we had no place to go with the trash. On Wednesday, Emma had the opportunity  to go over to a friends house on Wednesday afternoon, and that was such a blessing to me. I was able to finish up my classroom and get a few groceries before picking her up. 

On Wednesday evening, Roger brought home a friend, Andy, with him for supper. I actually really enjoying cooking for others, but Roger asked if I was up for having company for dinner. He said that his friend was gluten free so that might be hard to cook for him. Um…no, we eat a lot of gluten free meals, its just that the kids and Roger don’t realize that. We grilled out chicken, made salad, fresh fruit, and a fruit dip. It was a good evening to interact with a friend of Roger’s, and we do appreciate the opportunities to have people over in our home. 

Thursday was beach day! Emma and I met some moms at the beach for a morning of fun in the sun! Emma and some of the kids got in the ocean, but no way for this mama! I went down and stuck a toe in the water and that cooled me off! It was a fun morning of visiting and fellowshipping with other moms and their children. Those informal get-together are some of my favorite memories from summer vacations. 

Roger worked up in Millinocket on Friday, so Emma and I were on our own for the day. Emma and I went on a walk on the Breakwater with Allison in the morning. One of Allison’s spiritual gifts is discernment, and that is not my gift. I treasure her wisdom and insight, and her ability to tell me to “calm down and start praying!”  Our walk went by really quickly, but it was a beautiful morning spent with good company. On the way home, I saw that a few of the teachers cars where in the parking lot, so I went in to say hi. Becki and Karla have encouraged me and prayed for me so often over the school year, and I needed some prayers again. Roger and I are in the “waiting and praying” stage in many, many areas of our lives, and we so appreciate the extra prayers. As we prayed together once again, it was like feeling the spirit of God moving. There is such sweet fellowship in praying with fellow sisters in the Lord. I don’t always like what my friends might tell me, but I also know that these dear sisters have my best interest at heart, and their desire is to help me grow in the Lord. 

Roger, Emma and I were supposed to go to my sister’s house for supper on Friday night, but then Roger ended up working. So Emma and I decided to go up anyways to visit, but not stay for supper. We arrived at Hannah’s around 1:30pm, and we decided to go to Bangor to go to Mardens (discount store). We were getting ready to merge onto the highway (like on the on-ramp) when we heard a funny sound. That description is what drives Roger crazy when I tell him there’s something wrong with the vehicle. When he asks me to describe the noise, I use words like “thumping, funny, weird, etc.” and he’s like what type of description is that?! Ha! So that’s not my strong suit! Anyways, Hannah pulled over to the side of the road on the free way, and we got out of the vehicle to inspect it. One of the tires was leaking pretty badly, and Hannah thought that there was a rock in the tire. We wanted to get off the freeway, so we hopped back in the car. We made it to the next exit, and off the overpass, and even into a driveway of a store as  we knew that we weren’t going to make it to a car repair place. I haven’t changed a tire since my days in drivers ed, but we knew we needed to get the spare tire and the jack out. We were in the parking lot of a pool and spa place, so that was not much help in a tire repair option but at least Emma could use the bathroom. Hannah and I were reading directions, and getting started when a guy and his daughter came out of the pool store. He offered to help us change the tire, and we were so thankful for his help! It’s so nice to know that there are still guys out there that will offer to help those in need. I had a Dunkin Donuts gift card in my purse from one of my students, so I gave it to Hannah to give to the guy for his help. He didn’t want to take it, but we knew he went to Dunkin as his daughter had a drink from there! It wasn’t much, but it was a gesture of our appreciation. I always look back on moments like these and you can totally see God at work. First of all, we made it off the highway. Secondly, we made it into the parking lot of a store with a bathroom. Third, God sent someone to help us. Fourth, I had a gift card in my purse so we had something to give. God is so good!

Our van has also been in the shop, so we’ve been a one car family for a few days. It’s actually been a good time to have the van worked on as we have less people in our family that need a ride! On Saturday, Roger asked if Emma and I would want to take a drive up to Millinocket to see the place where he’d been working. We’ve been up there before, but it has been a while. We enjoyed the afternoon tromping around, eating wild strawberries, and creating memories. Emma went swimming in the lake, which was too cold for me! It was a good day spent together. 

It was quite the drive up there, but the time to talk together was much needed! Emma had on headphones for a while as she watched a movie on my ipad, so it gave Roger and I the opportunity to talk things out. Roger has been facing some challenges at work, and then those very same problems have been evident in a totally different area of his life. It’s one thing to face struggles in the secular workplace, but its almost twice as disheartening when those struggles are apparent in the Christian arena. It’s like the devil has been working overtime to sow discouragement and frustration in Roger’s life. Sometimes it’s hard as the spouse to know what role exactly God wants me to do- pray? Yes! Offer advice? Um, not always! Roger and I are complete opposites in some areas of our lives, and that has worked out well (for the most part) in almost 16 years of marriage. We all have mountains and valleys in our spiritual walks, and Roger is going through a valley. Good, Godly friends can be challenging for women to find, but it often seems like men have a harder time making those friendships. I’m not entirely sure if it’s because most men don’t talk as much as women; if there’s not enough Godly men; if they don’t seek each other out; I really don’t know. A few years ago, Roger was gone for over six months to do aviation training. In that time, very few men reached out to him to call him or to check on how he was doing mentally, spiritually, etc. (I could count the men that reached out on less than three fingers.) I’m thankful for men like Roger’s brother, Nate, who call him regularly to talk through things. I’m thankful that we are not “islands unto ourselves”, but that God does provide us with an encouraging word, a prayer, a friend, etc. exactly when we need it. We all need the body of Christ (the church). 

It’s been really quiet around our house! Emma told me for the first time today that she misses her brothers.  Garett and Chandler had the opportunity to attend camp last week. Wyatt and Travis will be attending this week. Our boys are not big phone talkers (or talkers in general!). We called the boys on Saturday on our way home from Millinocket. It was good to hear that Chandler and Garett had a positive camp experience. Chandler said that the food wasn’t his favorite, but he really enjoyed the competitive team events. Garett said that his favorite parts were the competitive events and the preaching. What a blessing to hear that the boys had the opportunity to attend a Bible camp! I know that the preaching was solid, and both boys mentioned how much they enjoyed the camp speaker and his chapel messages from Ephesians 4. We are praying for Wyatt and Travis this week as they attend camp. Camp was life changing for me around fifth grade, and I am so thankful that the boys have the opportunity to attend a Bible camp. We are so thankful for this opportunity for them. I miss them like crazy! I did not expect to miss them this much, but wow! I asked the boys if any of them missed me, and they all said “yes”. But Travis says, “Yeah, I miss you. But I haven’t cried because I don’t miss you that much!” Haha! Well, I’m glad that no one is crying tears cause they miss home so much. They are making good memories and having life experiences. 

Unexpected Blessings & Father's Day

Praise the Lord-it’s Sunday! Sunday has a whole new meaning for us now that we are going back to meeting in the church building. We will start back with children’s Sunday school next week, but to be totally honest, I have enjoyed the long morning before heading to church. It’s allowed for a run every Sunday, time in the Word, and breakfast all before the church service. (I can understand why church habits are so important!) The other side is that I think Sunday school is a special time to really dig into God’s Word, and it’s important for our children also. We will be gearing up for a special summer Sunday school series as we’ve missed out on Vacation Bible School. So, I know that once we reestablish the habits, it will be easier. I had the opportunity to sing along with some of the music at church today, and that was a special blessing. I’m also learning a lot. 1) I much prefer to have music to look at than slides to sing to! 2) Even if I know the songs, I do much better if I can sing through them ahead of time. 3) Music speaks to the soul (already knew that but today was a good reminder of that.) I was again blessed today through the music and the preaching of Gods Word. Our pastor is preaching on Nehemiah, and I’ve enjoyed the sermons in on Nehemiah. Talk about a man that faced opposition, fear and nay-sayers...yet he pressed on for the Glory of God! Don’t quit Christians! 

Yesterday was warm, no actually, it was hot! It felt like we were suddenly dumped into summer and the heat and humidity were both high! We did not go to the beach or the lake, as we had things that we needed to work on around home. Garett and I did trash, the boys created some pools in the back yard using tarps, and they spent time going in and out of the house. Travis realized that he had had a little too much sunshine as he has a bad sunburn on his shoulders. Roger came home from work exhausted from the heat, but yet he still went to pick up a bed that we had been given as well as a freezer (but not from the same people!). I had mentioned to my friend, Hannah, earlier this week that I was having such a hard time finding a freezer, but yet I would enjoy having one so that I could stock up on a few things -stock up- not HOARD! She stared at me for a second and then said, “oh, We have one you can have.” What?! I hadn’t even spent a whole lot of time even praying for a freezer as both Sams Club and Lowe’s said that they’ve been back ordered on freezers for at least fourteen weeks! It was an amazing answer to prayer, and one that I am very, very excited about! Then later this week when we were at Allison’s lake, Annah mentioned that they had been given a very nice king size bed, but they didn’t think that they wanted it. Annah asked if we would want it, and I’m happy to report that I said I’d ask Roger first!  So, Roger brought home the king size bed, frame, box spring, mattress pad and sheets on his way home from work. He and the boys unloaded that and then Roger and I went to pick up the freezer. It was a very, very late night, but both items were unexpected blessings! 

Roger was working today, so we did not stay after church for the picnic lunch this week. Instead we went to the airport to have lunch with Roger (and to pick up Travis). It’s not ideal-Roger working on Sundays, but we both know that this is just for a season. Since Roger spent the early part of the week with his brother, Nate, he worked the last half of the week. However, next Sunday we will all be planning on attending church together! (And then the next Sunday, I’ll be gone with the kids!) It was an interesting Father’s Day since Roger was working, but the kids all made him cards this afternoon. The boys also helped me take down the bed that was in our room, set up the king size bed and move the other bed all the way down to the basement. Now we have a nice guest room in the basement all ready for guests. Who’s coming?! 

Travis’s skin is blistered, and he was not able to go to church this morning as wearing a shirt was very difficult! Since Roger had to work today (Sunday) I dropped Travis off at the airport. He managed to put on a shirt when we came to the airport for lunch and for a picture, but he’s pretty much been shirtless all day. I feel really badly that he’s been so miserable, but we both learned a lesson to apply more sunscreen. I would probably do well to also invest in a water swim shirt for him. Chandler very rarely very gets a sunburn, and I don’t usually either. I did get a little red on Friday, but nothing that was too bothersome. I guess we all learned a lesson about easing into summer! (But summer here in Maine will probably disappear next week!) 

I’m thankful for Roger’s quiet leadership, hard working ethics, character traits of honesty and integrity and how he is trying to instill those in our boys. We fail....often miserably...at being parents, but Gods mercies are new every morning. We are thankful for children that forgive easily, enjoy life, and are a blessing to us. We are so blessed. Happy Father’s Day! 

Day# Free Food and Recording Lessons

The sunshine was lovely today, but the wind still makes it feel like spring is eluding  us! I guess it just means that when the temperatures do start to rise, we will be even more thankful!

Roger had another day off today, so that was nice for all of us. Roger and I were able to get in a walk together and by ourselves! That provided an opportunity to talk together without “ears in the cornfield”! I don’t know about any of you, but we have certain children that seem to perk right up when Roger and I are on the verge of an important conversation! So, I am thankful for the opportunity to walk together! Roger took the boys fishing tonight, and they were all very excited to go! Mom and Emma were happy to see them go off happily while we enjoyed books and some quiet time!

I spent the afternoon at the school working on recording preschool lessons. I’ve missed my co-worker and friend, Renee, so it was especially delightful to have the opportunity for face to face conversation. Neither of us were prepared for how exhausting recording lessons would be for us! You don’t realize how much you rely on student interaction until the students are not there! It is very tiring  and often overwhelming to try to record and film the lessons. Renee does a good job, but I know it’s tiring. I was happy to spend a good chunk of the afternoon just visiting with her, praying together, and asking God to continue to give us wisdom and grace. We miss our preschoolers so very much, and it’s very hard to walk through the empty classrooms at the school. I am looking with great anticipation to the day when the rooms are filled with joyful, happy voices of young children.

Our local grocery store had been playing this “monopoly game” in which you get these little paper things to open for certain items you buy. It’s a pain to open all the tickets to try to win something, but I’ve collected quite a few tickets for free items from the grocery store. Since I was already in town, I decided to try to go an collect some of my free grocery items. In our family, it is always worth it to spend time opening tickets to possibly win free food!!  I know that I had tickets for all the items to be free, but the total was $1.14. Somehow it doesn’t seem to be a wise decision to ask the sales clerk to go back through the thirty something coupons to see which one didn’t scan! It seemed like a much better choice to say “thank you” and pay the $1.14!

Batteries, taco seasoning, donuts, French bread, popsicles, yogurt, storage containers, three cans of fruit, one can of vegetables, pasta, salad dressing, sour cream, water, and ho-hos! The kids were very excited for popsicles, donuts and ho-hos! 

And we wait! Fear not and be of good courage! These days may seem long and monotonous (or maybe that’s just me!) but God has not forgotten us. I rejoice in the fact that God knows where we are and what we need.

Maine news: 44 deaths in our state. 937 cases. 485 have recovered.

I am not an expert on any thing. And yes, every single life is valuable! However, I have read multiple articles on how suicides, depression rates, and child abuse calls have all been on the rise while multiple states “shelter-at-home” and follow the “safer-at-home” mandates. I am also concerned about those lives! I feel “off balance” by it all as there seems to be no balance to be found. If a person posts about how they want to reopen the economy, someone blasts them for not caring about others lives. If a person tweets about how we should just stay in quarantine through the summer so that our loved ones don’t die, someone tweets back about how their livelihood and families health is also at stake! Words fly harsh and furious, and I just want to challenge you to be sure that you spend time with God and His Word. I’d challenge you to share your opinions with others with a soft word. We do not need to stir up anger or hot emotions...there is plenty of that flying around! Let’s not be the ones to spread division, but rather be ones that are fervent in prayer and love for our neighbors.

Haiti Missions Trip Day #4 (Adventures in Seguin)

Today’s entry will cover Tuesday, January 22, 2019, which was our second day of medical clinics.

Today’s clinic will be held right here in Seguin. The clinic will be in the basement of the mission house, so we wont have far to walk! That is probably a good thing because I’m pretty sure that most of the team is tired out from the 4+ hours of walking yesterday!  

I’ll have to wash some clothes today, which will be interesting! The water pressure pump hasn’t seemed to be able to keep up with the demand of water use. I’m sure something will be figured out! (Since we were in Seguin today, Moriah did the laundry) The mission house has a washing machine but before you get all excited, it’s not like your washer! The washing machine has to be moved to the shower and set up in the shower. It doesn’t make my laundry smell like home, but its way cleaner than it was! I’m thankful that Moriah was willing to do some laundry for Hannah and I along with laundry for their family. 

Garett seems to be doing just fine. I know he is tired too, but today will be a bit of a rest day for him as we will be here in Seguin. I know that the Faulde kids will be working on school work, so I’m sure that Garett will be able to sit down and do some reading. 

I forgot to write it down yesterday, but we did also see a child with what Hannah thinks is Cerebral Palsey. He is so incredibly tiny for his age and weak, and to be honest, there really is nothing that can be done. That’s the hard part for me. It hurts my heart, but this child will probably be seeing Jesus soon. It doesn’t hurt my heart that he will see Jesus soon, but the fact that our resources (and the resources in this country) are so limited. Even if we did pay to send him down to the hospital, they wouldn’t be able to help him either. He doesn’t walk, doesn’t chew, and seems to be a bit paralyzed on one side of his body. However, a peace floods over my soul to know that Jesus loves each of these Haitian children just as much as He loves mine. 

Ready to serve. Happy to help-another day of clinic is here!

Evening entry:
We are back from the clinic. We finished up with flashlights and lanterns and then the gernerator was turned on. What a day! By the time we started the clinic at about 7:30 am., people were lined up waiting. A few people had come from a bit of a distance away, and had spent the night at the pastors house. Hannah did some figuring, and she estimates that we saw about 280 people yesterday in Chota. 

Today was such a full, full day! We saw 445 people today in the clinic between 7;30am and 6:00pm. The people were eager to come to the clinic. The Haitian nurses did our triage again today and the people waited patiently for the most part. Hannah and Josh’s church in Maine had provided funds to help feed the people who came to clinics. A lot of the stomach problems probably stem from hunger (and worms). Today’s lunch for the patients of clinic went a little smoother than yesterday, and more people were fed. Word of mouth spreads about food available, so a lot of people waited around the mission house until they had a plate of rice and beans. Guess what? That meant more trash for us to pick up later! It just boggles my mind how trash is just thrown down! 

Tara had a patient today who was pregnant and experiencing labor pains. It was a bit scary as the mama was only at about 30 weeks. She was clearly uncomfortable and in pain. Before we went to lunch, Tara had her lay down on one of the bunk beds in the basement.  The mama was about 50% effaced and 1-2cm. We had her rest on the bed while we at lunch. She did have an infection so Tara gave her the first dose of antibiotics while she rested. The mama slept the majority of the afternoon even though she was in a room with lots of people talking and moving around. (It was a bed that was probably way more comfortable than her straw sleeping mat at home).

After lunch, we were all a bit tired. But the people were still coming at a steady pace. In the mid-afternoon, Pastor Kevin came to tell Hannah that a mama was coming in and she needed to be seen immediately. The problem wasn’t with the mama, but with her little daughter. This little girl had some very bad burns. The mama explained that her husband had told her to go work in the garden. The mom had already been gone for two days (probably taking food To market) but her husband made her go work in the garden. The mama had taken her little girl to the grandparents house. However the child had been left unattended as the grandparents had left her there and went somewhere. Its unsure whether or not the child had fallen onto the cooking fire grate or had been pushed, but either way she had fallen backwards unto the grate. This little four year old girl had terrible burns on the back of her lefts. Hannah cleaned and dressed the wounds, and the child hardly even whimpered! Hannah told the mom that she would need to bring the child to the mission house tomorrow evening. In the States the child would have been immediately admitted in the United States and treatments done instantly. Here all we can do is the best we can do and try to encourage the mom to help the child drink plenty of water. It was painful to watch the mama have tears in her eyes, and I had a hard time not crying too. 

Garett spent the day outside playing with the kids, passing out candy to the kids, writing in his journal (because all the other kids were doing school work) and helping to water the newly planted trees by the mission house. He’s got quite a sunburn, but he is still smiling. I am praying that God is working in his heart. 

I am also very thankful that although my suitcase is still missing, I did pack both our carry ons full of snacks. Ive been able to help provide snacks for Emelie’s kids and their friends. It also seems like the amount of food to the amount of people is not proportionate. If there are only 12 chicken legs and 16 people, well, someone is not having chicken. I’ve certainly got plenty of weight I don’t need, so I can certainly do without. Our cook does the best that she can, and if nothing else I could always fill up on rice and beans. (I’m also thankful that we have a lot of variety of food in our diet in the States!) so having the snacks has definitely come in handy. I gave Garett and Josiah a chunk of sausage. They disappeared to a closet and came back with noting but wrappers! But you know what? No one on our missions team is starving, and we all have plenty of food to go back to at home. However, these Haitian people really do know the meaning of hungry. They know it in a real and personal way that affects them every single day! 

Even though it was a long day, it was a good day. God provided wisdom, direction, and he allowed us to be having clinics on the day that the child was burned. Maybe through the medical help we can give the child the family can be reached for Jesus Christ. 

In the Gospel message today about nine people raised their hands saying that they wanted to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I praise the Lord for each person saved for eternity! 

Tara rechecked her pregnant lady at the end of the clinic day. She has stopped having labor pains, and she seems to be stable. That’s good because we really don’t want to deliver a baby that’s only 30 weeks! Its possibly that the labor pains came on due to dehydration, the infection, and a bumpy motorcycle ride to the clinic!

Prayer requests:
1) For discipleship for those who were saved today
2) For continued wisdom and strength 
3) For God to continue to meet our needs as we continue on without our bags

Praises:
1) Another good medical clinic
2)For the Gospel seeds that were planted
3) Unity and Harmony even as we are tired 

Depression, Joy, Anger, Peace, All the Emotions!

 Depression, joy, peace, disappointment, relief....all emotions that flowed out over the past week! A sigh of relief, a shout of joy, and a grateful and thankful heart are all at the top of my mind today! Last week felt like “survival of the fittest” and I didn’t feel like I was surviving very well! However, God showed Himself strong and mighty, and we praise Him. The students did an amazing job at the program on Friday, and I am still smiling about it!

  

 

 

Everything was not all roses last week, and to be completely honest, I struggled with depression. Yeah, that’s a real thing! I’ve known for a while now that the tendency towards depression runs in me, but it definitely hits me when I least expect it. I’m sure much of the feeling stemmed from being overwhelmed and overly stimulated last week, but by Thursday morning, I was struggling to get out of bed, find a cup of coffee, and spend time in God’s Word. Even after that I still felt down and out-of-sorts. I know that the kids were picking up on my feelings because their actions were speaking loudly in a manner that I did not approve of! I became angry and said some hurtful things. My children became defensive, and we were all a bit hurt and angry. I actually crawled back into bed, pulled up the covers and wanted to stay there...all before 7:00am.! But motherhood and life were screaming my name! Chandler is the most like me, and it seems like he has inherited my not-so-lovely traits.  By the time we left for school, Chandler was angry at everyone, and I certainly did not feel like helping him sort it out! But God reminded me of several verses on the very quiet ride to school. “Be ye angry, and sin not.” “A fool utterth all his mind.” “Think on things that are true.” “ Let your speech be always with grace” I knew I needed to apologize to my son, and I needed to help him sort through some things. As the other boys hopped out at school, I asked chandler to wait for a minute. I asked him if he would want to go have coffee with me. He was surprised and asked, “Right now? What about school?”  I told him that education is very important, but there are things in life that  are even more important than that like a right relationship with Jesus and others. I told him to wait in
 the vehicle while I went to talk to his teacher and explain that he would be late. Chandler also has a great teacher, and she immediately responded to take as much time as we needed. She gave me some good advice, a hug and a prayer. Although Emma had to come along on our date, it was a much needed time together. Chandler and I were able to clear the air, discuss some of his concerns and    feelings, and ask God to help us both. He explained that he was disappointed that he was the only one of two kids in his class to not make honor roll last quarter. While I told him that I could understand  his disappointment, the truth of the matter is that I don’t care too much about honor roll. What I do care about is...where you honest? Were you kind? Did you honor Christ with your words and your actions? Yes, honor roll would be nice, but that’s not the thing that matters in eternity! He made honor roll in all his subjects, except one, so therefore, no honor roll certificate. I explained to him that Roger and I expect him to do his best. And while we would enjoy seeing him get that temporal satisfaction in a job well done through a certificate, as his parents we are far more concerned with preparing him to build and improve upon the character traits that Christ desires us to have in our
lives! I apologized for getting angry, and Chandler apologized for not listening. The day started off as a terrible mess, but God has a way of making things new.


Later on Thursday afternoon, Emma was able to spend some time at a friends house, and I was able to finish up some last minute details for the program. Allison and I were actually able to squeeze in a quick lunch together before wrapping up some last minute prep details for Friday. I’m not sure I was much of a blessing to Allison, but she certainly was to me. I needed someone to listen to me, pray for me, and encourage me. I’m thankful for that opportunity.

Friday was upon us before we could even blink...were we ready?! Ready or not, today was THE day! The day that has been long anticipated, since before even the school year began. I was up early because well, I couldn’t sleep, and secondly, I wanted to make sure to get in God’s Word! We were at
school well before school started and that included a stop a Walmart to pick up something I needed  for the day! Breakfast was biscuits at McDonald’s, which aren’t the most nutritious choice, but everyone was fed. The students all looked so nice dressed up in their chapel attire, and they seemed excited and calm at the same time. The morning program went relatively smoothly, and the students remembered what to do for the most part. One young boy accidentally threw his handbell during their handbell song, but he picked it up and kept going! I was very proud watching all their hard work come to fruition! The seven boys in Garett’s class sang a song together during the program. While it might not be completely in unison, it was beautiful. They sang “Happy Birthday, Jesus” and they have come such a long way from the first time we practiced it. I know that God can do great things through the lives of these young men if they will be sold out to Jesus.

After the program, I helped prepare for hot lunch, and then Emma was able to spend the afternoon with Lucy! She certainly enjoys it, and I was able to go home. I got in a run, prepared a dessert for
after the Christmas program, and spent some time settling my mind. I felt like such a burden was lifted after the morning program, and I was excited to see the students perform that night.

Friday night, December 7, this was the night that we have worked towards the past twelve weeks. The auditorium started filling up well before six pm. Grandparents, parents, family and friends filled up most of the room. My kids all mentioned that they wished that Nana and Papa could’ve been there, but they were happy to see Mr. Kevin and Mrs. Teri there to watch their program. My sister and her husband came as well. Emma did a good job reciting Luke 2 with the preschool class, and then the students did their program. I had a hard time not crying as the program came to a close. These students had done what I had asked, and while they might not have always wanted to do what I asked, they did it. I am blessed to work alongside these students and staff. The staff poured their love on me through cards, flowers, and even a certificate for a massage. I am so blessed! Garett’s class gave me flowers, a card, chocolates and a coffee mug. Chandler’s teacher gave me a bouquet of roses, and
Wyatt and Travis class wrote out the sweetest card for me. I enjoyed reading through their notes to  me. Even the Kindergarten and First Grade wrote me a card! My friend, Claire blessed me with a  beautiful planter of flowers. It was truly a wonderful close to a very special event! I don’t know what the future holds, but I certainly treasure the memories that I’ve created while teaching music classes.

As with all big events, it’s not just the set up and event, but also the clean up! Who likes that part?! We tried to get a lot of it done before we went home on Friday evening, but we were all really tired. Roger had already worked the past three days and he was working on Saturday. I knew that the kids and I would have to come back to church on Saturday to pick up everything, but for now, we just headed home. We celebrated with a supper of cereal, reading through the cards, and getting a good nights sleep! What a blessing!

On Saturday Roger had to work, so the kids and I went to the church to put the sanctuary back together for worship services the next day. Definitely not something that any of us were excited about doing, but hey, that’s life! We actually accomplished the job fairly quickly, and it was nice to have the boys along to help. We spent the rest of the day in low and slow mode at home, which was great for all of us.

This week found me at the nursing home twice with our school students. I’m sure some of them were a bit intimidated to go to the nursing home, but they did a great job! Both days were on the chillier side, but it was invigorating to walk with our students to the nursing home. On Thursday morning, we had a student who arrived at the nursing home and promptly threw up! Poor child! I’m thankful for the staff that can help with that because I’m a mess when it comes to certain smells! All in all, the students did a great job.

I have one more event tonight, and then it’s a smooth sail into Christmas...if such a thing exists! Our kids and a few from the school will be participating in a Christmas service in a small old church building. The building is a historic one and it is used every Christmas for a special service. This year our kids will be a part of the quoting of Luke 2 and singing a few songs. I’m excited for this opportunity for our children and it’s another way for them to serve others.

Our family was also blessed this week through the generosity of one of our dear church members and friend . This lady has blessed our children by interacting in their lives. She also has blessed them with Christmas presents that are wrapped and under our tree! Our children are so excited!

I am spending some of the day with my sister tomorrow and I am very excited about that. It’s been a while since we’ve spent time together, and I’m looking forward to lunch and visiting. Emma will be coming with us, and she is very excited to go Christmas shopping. Emma picked Garett’s name in our family name drawing, and she has been dreaming of buying him a present.

We love you all!