Well…A, B, C, skip a lot, and Thanksgiving is here (and gone!) My dream and ambition of keeping up with the alphabet and naming things we are thankful for drifted off somewhere over the course of the last 16 days of just being busy with life. Just know…we are thankful!
Photo credit: freepik.com
We traveled to the western part of the state last Saturday to have Thanksgiving dinner with my aunt and family. The boys kept on driving towards Wisconsin for a week of deer hunting and to spend time with my parents. Jen, Emma and I put up a few Christmas decorations at my Aunts house, and then we went to the mountains for Saturday night/Sunday. We had a great time visiting with my aunt, her grandkids, and just relaxing in the mountains for a few hours. We did some walking, talking, and just sitting around enjoying the mountains. It was so good to get away for a just a bit before coming back for two crazy days of school.
It’s just been Emma and I this week at home, and Emma has loved every moment! We’ve cleaned house, taken several bags to thrift stores, put up Christmas decorations, and of course, we went to school on Monday and Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Jen, Emma and I went to the beach as it was about 73 degrees here! It was a beautiful day at the beach, and we enjoyed a long walk on the beach, time at the park, and we visited several thrift stores. We intentionally went on Wednesday as the weather has turned significantly cooler the past several days!
The boys enjoyed their week in Wisconsin, but I think they are all tired and ready to come home! Garett got three does for the freezer, and Wyatt got one. This was the first year that Chandler didn’t get any deer, but that’s the way that hunting goes sometimes. Travis would’ve liked to have shot a deer, but let’s be real, he went to Wisconsin so that he could get out of school! Roger said that the boys put wood in the basement for my dad, did several community service projects for some folks in the church, and they got up early every morning for hunting, so yes, they are tired!
I have missed the boys and Roger a lot this week, but it has been so relaxing and refreshing to be at home and get things done at home. (I hope the boys don’t notice how many items have vanished to the thrift store! Just Kidding!) It’s been a good week, and I am reminded of how much I have to be thankful for each and every day and not just at Thanksgiving. Jen, Emma and I grilled out hamburgers for Thanksgiving dinner. There was no way that we were going to make a turkey and all the fixins for the three of us, and since none of us are crazy about turkey anyways, that worked out just fine! I called our friends, the Mortvedt’s in Alaska on Thanksgiving day, and it was so good to just listen and visit with them. They’ve remained our friends for almost 13 years now, and I just really appreciate all their wisdom. I should really call them more often as it blessed my heart to speak to them. I was also reminded that we are all getting older, and it’s been almost thirteen years since we were in Alaska- time really does fly by! “Life is a vapor”, as the book of James tells us, and the older I get the more I realize that!
Roger and the boys left Wisconsin this morning to head back to North Carolina. They were planning on staying around to hunt one last time this morning, but since snow was in the forecast, Roger decided to get on the road. Garett is driving back a vehicle that my parents have given to the boys, and Roger is driving the mini van. Roger said that they probably didn’t get above 50 mph until they were somewhere in Indiana. Once the snow started coming down, the roads became snow covered very quickly. Roger told me that Garett did a great job driving the stick shift car on the roads, and that they passed about 19 cars in the ditch. I am thankful for the Lord’s protection, and the boys are somewhere in the state of Ohio for the night. They’ll have about seven hours to go tomorrow, but hopefully, without snow!
Photo credit: Chance Howard
We are certainly blessed to live in the United States of America. Almost every day there is something in the news that is heartbreaking, discouraging or just plain evil that is happening in our country. I am thankful that regardless of the craziness and chaos of this world, God has never relinquished His control. That doesn’t mean that I am going to just sit back and let “everything be what it will be”, but I can rest in the fact that God is in control. However, as long as I have breath, I plan to praise God and be a thankful American. (I will also vote, exercise my right to amendments, and raise our children to be involved and thankful Americans, Lord willing).
The next few weeks til Christmas break are going to be crazy in so many ways. We have been busy with what feels like 1000 ornaments in our art room, but it’s probably closer to just about 500-700. Let’s just say that there are ornaments everywhere, and I have to constantly remind my students to watch where they are stepping or putting something to dry. Someday, I’d love to have more shelves for drying ornaments and projects, but for now we just shuffle, slide, and shift everything from each class. My goal is always for each student to make two ornaments as many children come from split homes. I don’t want them to have to choose which parent they are going to give an ornament to, so we make two. It makes for a bit of craziness, but thankfully, I have an amazing art assistant, who just rolls her eyes and keeps on hot glueing or making piles for the next class. I am so blessed to have Kaycee in my art room. God knew that I would need her organizational skills!
Emma is going to be in the elementary Christmas program which is going to be in just a few short days! She’s in the choir, as she didn’t want to try out for a speaking part. I am sure that all the teachers and the music directors will be happy to have that performance behind them.
We will be having an art exhibit for the Middle School and High School students on the last day of school, so my mind has been busy with what that will look like for my students. It can keep me awake at night (so can a lot of other things) but I know I will be excited when it all comes together and is behind us. There’s always something!
As we wrap up November, and we head into the busyness of December, I want to make sure that I am intentional this month. It’s so easy to get caught up in the “doing” of this month, that it can be easy for the “reason” to take a back seat in my life. My sister, Jen, bought me a devotional book on Advent for this month, and I am going to work at being intentional in my time to really study out Advent. Don’t let this Christmas season just become one of busyness and activities, but let’s be intentional with our days!
Update: I started the post on the way to Wisconsin, and I’m trying to wrap it up on the way back to North Carolina. This post will feel a little “muddled” and messy, but I don’t really want to go back and change the subject and verb tenses in what I already wrote! :) Jen, Emma, Wyatt and I arrived in Wisconsin on Wednesday afternoon, and we froze for the entire time we were in Wisconsin! It was cold while we were there, and I no longer have the jackets and winter gear to be dressed for the elements. I went for a run on Thursday afternoon, and I was quickly reminded that it’s been a minute since I’ve run in 26 degree weather!
The other three boys and Roger arrived in Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, and the boys spent lots of time hunting this past week. We ended up with five deer total over the course of the week, and I am very thankful for that as it’s meat in the freezer. Wyatt got to shoot his first deer on Friday afternoon, so that was exciting for him. The older two boys are definitely more into hunting than the younger two. I’m pretty sure that Travis came along with his older brothers last weekend because he wanted to miss two days of school rather than the opportunity to go hunting! Wyatt had decided to stay behind until Jen and I and Emma left on Tuesday afternoon as he wanted to play in Monday night’s basketball game. We left on Tuesday afternoon, and we drove until a little after eleven pm. We turned around to leave Wisconsin around noon on Saturday afternoon. It was a quick visit, but I’m thankful for the opportunity to visit with my parents, and spend time with my family. My dad recently had an “unsettling” doctor’s report, and it was good to visit with my parents. Every time we visit, it is a reminder that we are all getting older and that time is fleeting.
A few highlights from the trip would include the fact that Chandler got a really nice buck on Wednesday morning. Garett had sat in that exact stand the previous two days, and he decided to switch stands with Chandler on Wednesday morning. Of course that was the morning that Chandler got the buck! Chandler ended up with two does and a buck. Wyatt shot an anterless buck, and Garett got a doe. Travis didn’t shoot at anything and neither did Roger. Garett and Chandler both missed a deer earlier in the week too, but we are thankful for a safe and successful hunt. It was a long and tiring week for the boys as they got up every morning at 4:30am to go sit in the stands for a few hours. They would come home and eat, process any deer that had been shot, and then go back out in the afternoon for a few hours. My dad has invested some time, energy and effort into making a few nice deer stands. I always tell the kids that times sure have changed! When I was a kid and went hunting, I had to sit on a metal tree stand in the woods that barely held me, and I remember dropping my book out of the tree stand and just having to sit there and count leaves! Now the boys have the opportunity to sit in an enclosed stands and a few of them even have a little heater in them! Times have changed! :) I’m thankful that the have the opportunity to hunt, but I’m more grateful that they have the opportunity to spend time with their dad and Papa in this way. They made good memories this past week, and I know they’ll look back on these moments with fondness. We are coming back to North Carolina with tired minds but full and grateful hearts. I’m thankful for my parents and their investment in the lives of our children.
One of Emma’s highlights from the trip would be getting a pair of Ugg boots! Now if you don’t know what those are, no worries! (I didn’t know until Emma told me about them a while ago) There’s a sweet dear lady who attends my dad’s church, and she loves on Emma. She was chatting with Emma over Thanksgiving dinner, and it came up about these Ugg boots that a lot of kids in Emma’s class have at school. Emma mentioned that someday she would like a pair, but her mama had said that they were too expensive (true story!). Well, this dear Grandma decided to get Emma a pair of Ugg boots. She gave Jen some money to take Emma to the store to pick out a pair of boots. Emma was over the moon excited, and when we took her to the store, Emma tried on several different pairs. I liked the black pair, but Emma picked the traditional brown pair. The boots cost about $65.00 on sale, which is more than I’d ever pay for a pair of shoes for a growing girl! However, Emma came right back to my parent’s house and asked for a thank you note to write to Miss Mary. I’m pretty sure Emma will get her use out of those boots as she’s hardly taken them off since she got them!
I had a short, very short, visit with one of my best friends on Friday morning. It was the fastest hour and forty-five minutes of the entire year. We rarely talk on the phone, and we aren’t even good at texting each other, but somehow we always fall back into quick conversations when we get together. I’m thankful for Jenna because we always have conversations that make me think. We don’t have superficial conversations, and we talk about things that really matter in life- personal relationships, our relationship with Jesus, deep personal struggles, and laughter and tears. It was a balm to my soul to sit and visit with Jenna, and it was a reminder of how deeply I’ve missed her. We would’ve needed about 24 hours to catch up, and we got less than two, but I’m thankful.
Roger mentioned on Thanksgiving day that he is thankful for his job. I don’t think I’ve been as thankful as I should be for his job, and it was a reminder that God has been so, so faithful. I didn’t want to leave Maine, but it was a necessity. Roger ended up in Michigan for about nine months while I was in Maine with the kids. The job in Michigan ended abruptly, and God quickly steered us to N.C. What I envisioned and what has been reality have been two very different things! However, God provided a job for Roger that brings him home every night. The job provides for the needs of our family, and maybe, just maybe someday N.C. Will feel more like home. The area that we live in is very much a culture of “born here, raised here, married here, and plan to die here”. It sometimes feels hard to make meaningful relationships because everyone already has enough friends, and truthfully, we don’t always fit in. We have created a few friendships with others, and friendships take time to grow…and I’m not always very patient! While the boys may fight and scrap with each other, they do have each other. Our family has become closer in the past few years, and I’m beginning to have a sliver of hope that maybe they’ll end up liking each other! We, as a family, are very thankful that Jen has moved to North Carolina. She’s invested in the lives of our children in an irreplaceable way, and I’ll forever be grateful for God’s mercy in moving her into our lives on a daily basis. We have so much to be thankful for on a regular daily basis, and sometimes I fail to be as thankful as I should be. My heart is filled with selfish tendencies that tend to outpour of me and into our children. Whew- if ever I see my shortcomings, it’s when I look at our children! I want them to be like Jesus, but so often I fail to point them to Jesus. I do know that He is the only One that can change hearts, and I have a child that I am find myself praying for more often. These teen years can be hard, and did you know that by the time a child is fourteen they will have mostly decided what they will believe in for the rest of their lives?! I have no time to waste, as I desire to help our children grow in their personal relationships with Jesus Christ. I am thankful for Roger. He’s a faithful and patient man, who loves his family with all his heart. He sacrifices for us on a regular basis, I am so thankful for his consistency. I am blessed to be his wife.
Thanksgiving is behind us now, and with just a mere three weeks til Christmas break, it’s going to be a wee bit crazy! The older I get, the faster time seems to fly. And I just want to hang on to all the memories, but it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season. I’m doing an Advent devotional book with our family, and I’m praying that our children will grasp the importance and significance of this season. There’s a lot of shiny, sparkly babbles dangling in front of us every day during this season, but I want to make sure that we spend time with Jesus.
The post below was written on the way TO Wisconsin:
Here we are almost through November, and it’s been a crazy busy month! Although to be fair, I feel like that is often my opening statement when I’ve gone a while without writing a post! I would love to do a better job of keeping up, but the truth of the matter is that I am often tired after a day at school- shocker!
In the past month, Roger and I went on a cruise with some dear friends of ours; we had dear friends from Wisconsin visit us; we started basketball season, hosted a book character day at our school library, made lots of lesson plans, started some Christmas baking, and did a bunch of other things that I have no hope of remembering!
The day that the boys wrapped up their soccer season is the day that Roger and I left along with Laura and Justin for a six night cruise in the western Caribbean. Some would say that it’s not ideal to cruise during the hurricane months of September and October, but I’m here to say that we had a fantastic experience! We had beautiful weather, the cruise was much cheaper because it was during hurricane season, and the ship was a great one. I’d definitely cruise again during hurricane season. Yes, I know that some people do have rough seas experiences, and that definitely could have happened to us. But since our anniversary is at the beginning of September, and we usually can’t get away to celebrate til after soccer season, I’ll just continue to take the cheap cruises and pray hard for nice weather! Roger and I are the most un-loyal cruise line people as we don’t base our trips around cruise lines, destinations, or the ships. We base it off what is cheapest around the time we’d like to go! This time we cruised with Carnival Cruise Lines, and for this particular cruise, it was nicer than the Royal Caribbean cruise we went with last time. We visited the ports of Ocho Rios, Jamaica as well as Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. My favorite stop was at Grand Cayman. It was very clean on the island, and it felt like a very safe environment. We did not book any excursions at any of the ports because this was a trip on a budget, but you don’t always have to have a plan to have a fun time! I kinda wanted to go snorkeling at one of our stops, and we were able to do that at Grand Cayman. We got off the ship and wandered around, and about a half-mile from the port, we came across a little dive/snorkeling shop. Justin asked about the cost, and the cost was $15.00 per person to snorkel for as long as we’d like. Yes, please! The water was beautiful and warm, and we saw so many colorful fish! It was one of the highlights of the trip for me, and I wouldn’t mind going back some day. Has anyone ever cruised with Margaritaville at Sea? They offer “free” cruises for emergency responders, which Roger is, and I’m tempted to check into it. Dreaming of my next cruise is always a fun things to do, but meanwhile, we are back in the thick of reality!
We came back from our cruise on a Saturday, and we jumped right back into the craziness of the winter sports season. The following weekend after our cruise, we had our friends, Jared and Beka, come for a visit for a few days. We don’t see them nearly often enough, and it was so good to catch up on each other’s lives for a bit. The hours went by way too quickly, but it was a reminder of how dear these friends are to us.
Our school library hosted a “Book Character Day”. This is our third year doing this event, and it’s always a fun one for the students. The students that are in fourth grade and up have to bring their book along with dressing up as their character. The younger students just get to pick a book character. The character can be real or fictional, and it’s so fun to see their creativity. I was “Anne of Green Gables” this year. We have the students go around in a “parade” on the outside of our school building, and the parents get to see all the costumes. It a fun, quick event that is relatively easy to do! I’m thankful for my library assistant, Jennifer. I know she’s taken on a lot this year as it’s been a challenge to balance lesson plans for both art and library. She’s been a blessing to me this year, and she has stepped up many time to help me prepare and plan for our library lessons.
Of course we also had a very important presidential election that took place in early November. This was Garett’s first time voting, so that was a special moment for him. His one question after doing early voting with me was “Why can’t the people writing the referendums use plain and simple English?” Haha! Well, I’ve also wondered that a few times over my voting experiences. Most of the time, not all the time, but a lot of the time, I feel like I can safely vote “no” on the referendums. I don’t want anything that states “ a million dollar bond over x amount of years”…that’s code for “your taxes will increase to pay for this”. Although, there was a referendum this time that we did want to vote “yes”on (at least in my opinion). I do think that you should need to be 18 years old to vote and that you should be a citizen of the United States of America. I’m very, very thankful for the opportunity to vote, and I think it’s a privilege that many American citizens take for granted. Garett has put in a request via the Senator’s office to attend the Presidential Inauguration, but I’d be shocked and amazed if he was able to get tickets to attend. But I think it’s pretty cool that he wanted to attend. We will see.
One person that I am also thankful for this Thanksgiving season would be my art assistant. Kaycee has put up with many, many crazy ideas as we teach art to 230 kids on a weekly basis! It’s important to me that our students realize that Christmas is not all about “getting”, so we try to help our students create an ornament that they can give at Christmas. This means craziness as we mixed up salt dough for our kindergartners thru second graders to make ornaments! But Kaycee supports me in this crazy adventure and just smiles and mixes more dough for each class. I didn’t know who would be my art assistant when I took over teaching art two years ago, but God brought Kaycee into my life. I pray that I’ve been able to pour into her, support her as she raises young children, and pray over her and her marriage. As I teach my students the names of God, or tie in Scripture to art projects, Kaycee and I have had many conversations about God and His Word. We need people to mentor us, and we need people to pour into. There are days when I know I exasperate Kaycee and drive her crazy, but I am thankful for a great co-worker. Sometimes it’s easy to feel not included as “just a specials teacher” as someone recently told me, but yet God gently and kindly points me back to what matters right in front of me and that’s pointing my students to Jesus on a daily basis.
In closing, we have much to be thankful for on a day to day basis, and when we take time to reflect back over the last year, we wouldn’t be able to remember all the goodness that God has bestowed upon us. May we have a grateful heart this season, and I’m praying for opportunities to show others the love of Jesus in tangible ways this Christmas season. I’m open to suggestions!
I know that I shared this song in a post not long ago, but I really have enjoyed this song.
Merry Christmas! (I feel like I don’t have enough hours in the day right now, so I better say Merry Christmas first!) It’s hard to believe that it is already December, and it’s been so warm around here! Today (Sunday, 12/3) it was about 76 degrees! This Northern girl has a hard time remembering that it’s December when it’s so warm outside!
The boys (and Roger) had a wonderful time hunting up in Wisconsin over Thanksgiving break. They are already making plans for next year, and they’d like to make it a yearly tradition! I don’t know about that, but I’m glad that they had a great time. Travis got two doe and Chandler also shot a doe. That was exciting for Travis as I figured he was the least likely to get a deer as sitting still isn’t his favorite! Roger said that he’s never seen two deer act so dumb as those two doe that Travis shot, but I think God was showing His love and grace to Travis. They arrived in Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, ate lunch, and went hunting. Travis sat in the deer stand with Roger, and eventually the first doe came into sight. Travis got his gun all lined up for the shot, and then leaned over to Roger and whispered, “Is this gun gonna kick hard?” Roger said he had a hard time not chuckling, but Travis shot the doe right through the lung. Since there was still some daylight left, and the deer dropped right down, they waited a little longer. About twenty minutes later, another deer walked into sight. The doe stopped about ten feet from the first dropped deer, so Travis shot that one! We were excited for him, and the next morning Travis slept in while the other boys got up to go hunting. He was pretty excited to have something to smugly remind his brothers that not only had he shot the first deer, he shot two deer! The next morning, Monday, Travis sent me a text from my mom’s phone. He said, “I’m smiling and you’re crying. I’m not at school, but you are. Love, Travis” Ahh! That boy! It was really, really good for him to have a few days off of school and be away from the stresses that he’s been facing. It was a good week for all of the boys, and they had a great time with my parents. My mom said that she had forgotten how much the boys could eat on a regular basis, and I just laughed. Our grocery bill was much lower that week with it just being Emma and I! We are so thankful that the boys had this opportunity to spend time hunting and with my parents. Education is important, and I absolutely believe that. But I also believe that life experiences, family, and relationships are also important. God is so good to allow the boys to have this privilege to travel to Wisconsin, and they’ll forever treasure the memories.
Emma and I also enjoyed Thanksgiving break. It was nice to have a little bit slower pace and to savor a few special moments with just one child. It was a weird week as our friends, the Everett’s were gone, the boys were gone, Roger was gone and Jen left on Wednesday for South Dakota. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do for Thanksgiving dinner, but I figured that even if we had just cereal, it was gonna be fine with me! However, my friend, Laura Guelfi, invited us over to her house for Thanksgiving dinner. That was a nice change for me as usually it’s my house that’s a bustling place on Thanksgiving day! It was nice to go over to their house, enjoy dinner and fellowship, and help clean up, and then go home. I’m thankful that they extended hospitality to Emma and I, and we are so very blessed to have friends to give thanks with and for.
Emma and I did go do some Black Friday shopping! We went to Michael’s art/craft store as I needed some supplies for the 500+ ornaments that the kids are making for gifts for their parents. Such is the life of a teacher- buy it when it’s on sale! But Emma and I ran into some freinds during our lunch at Chick-fil-a and Emma was thrilled to have lunch with another little girl from school. That was the highlight of her day, and I’m glad that God orchestrated that detail for Emma.
The boys got home on Sunday afternoon, and we whipped right into a busy and full week of school! We are on the countdown to Christmas break, but these are some long and full days with cheer practices, basketball practices for three of the boys, and the endless job of trying to keep up with all the school work and projects that are due. We’ve been very busy in the art room, and while my regular art assistant is filling in for another teacher, we’ve been busy! I am thankful for the TA’s that help on Monday and Tuesday with art as we’ve been in the middle of a million pieces of popsicle sticks, hot glue, pictures and ribbon! I’m thankful for help that is willing to pitch in and do whatever is necessary!
It was a mentally exhausting week for me. It felt like a dogfight to get up and go to work towards the end of the week, and I don’t like that feeling. We’ve faced some pretty serious attacks from Satan head-on this past week, and I’m still waiting for God to work out the details of what His perfect plan looks like. To be completely honest, Friday was a terrible, horrible no-good very bad day. Laura and I were both in tears on the bus ride back to school, and an older, much wiser coach looked at us and said, “You gotta let it roll like water off a duck’s back. Just remember Jesus loves you and press on.” It’s not that easy for me, but after going home and talking through a lot of it with Roger, I was able to get back up on Saturday morning and head to the basketball tournament. Chandler was playing in the tournament this past weekend, and they had a 9:00am game, which meant an early morning departing from the school! Roger and Garett came along to the tournament, but Emma and Travis stayed with Aunt Jen. Wyatt was at Brody’s house. We got home around 2:00pm, and it was good to catch up on some household chores that badly needed attention!
On Saturday evening, we had the opportunity to attend a “Night in Bethlehem” put on by a local church. We’ve been to something similar in Maine, but yet completely different! We met Jen and the Everett’s at the event at about 6:30pm. The church had set up “Bethlehem” in a field complete with many shops that would’ve been in Bethlehem, camels, sheep, the Inn, the stable, etc. It was really a cool interactive experience for Emma especially but we all enjoyed it. The weather was beautiful, and it was a fun, free activity. The kids all enjoyed it, and it was a good reminder of why we celebrate the season. It’s not just about the Baby, but about the cross! I am so very thanfkul that Jesus was willing to come as a baby in a manger, but He didn’t stay a helpless baby. He is indeed the Risen King of Kings and Lord of my life.
We had several families over for supper on Sunday night as well as to bake, cook, and create Christmas treats! Whew! It was the most chocolaty mess ever, but it was fun! The kids ran around outside, ate food, ran around some more, ate treats, and played hide-n-seek in the yard. About the time that the parents were ready to go, the kids had all disappeared! We spent some time looking for them, and then realized that they had walked down to the pond and around on the gravel road by our house. It was a flurry of activities with parents yelling for kids, car horns honking, and lots of excitement! Two of the neighbors checked in with us, but I was happy to tell them that the excitement was over. We had just temporarily lost 13 kids! Oh well! It was a fun memory and lots of baking, cooking, creating, and chocolate dipping! I am thankful for good friends to enjoy fellowship, laughter, and baking together.
The Middle School Basketball team had a game on Tuesday evening, and with some scheduling arrangements with Laura and the cheer schedule, I did make it to his game. Roger was able to get off early enough to watch the game too, and it’s fun to watch that age play basketball. None of them are very good, but for the most part they work hard and have good attitudes. Travis has been able to have quite a bit of playing time the last two games, and he works hard at it. We are thankful for the coaches for his team, and that Travis has this opportunity to play. Chandler has had a few games also, but not quite a much playing time. He tends to get nervous in the game, but I think part of that is just lack of experience. He is learning a lot, and we are thankful for his coach also.
This week Garett’s junior class is putting on a Christmas play, and wow- Garett has been stressed! He’s been in Christmas programs before and involved in lots of things on a stage, but this is a major responsibility for him, and he wants it to be well done. After many long conversations with him, helping him learn lines, and listening to him, we just told him that he is responsible for himself. He doesn’t like to be embarrassed and if he’s involved in something he wants it to be done well. So, he would appreciate your prayers for his class tomorrow night!
We are coming down the homestretch to Christmas break, and this mama is looking forward to break. For the first time in many years, I don’t have a Christmas card to send out or a letter. That was hard for me to accept as I like to stay connected with people, and I like to get and receive mail. However, at the end of the day, it’s not a priority this year. But I do need to make cards at some point because we had our family pictures done! I think most of the 500+ art ornaments are done, and other than picking up two more pictures from Walmart, we are wrapping that project up too. Literally on Monday, we will be wrapping and packaging the ornaments during our art class time for the kids to take home. Most of the kids have been really excited about having a present to give to their parents, and it’s a way to help the students understand that Christmas is definitely not all about getting something!
The cheer team is prepping for a pep rally on Friday, and whew! Laura and I have been working hard on a lot of details behind the scenes to help prepare for this, and we’d definitely appreciate your prayers! We want to glorify our Heavenly Father, encourage school spirit, have fun games, not have any injuries, and show a little Christmas spirit. (I think I’m tired already!)
December is such an exciting month, but it can also be an exhausting month. I’m learning that I can’t do it all, and that sometimes, I just have to let things go. It’s okay that Emma’s clothes don’t always match - she picked them out herself. It’s okay that we won’t send out a Christmas card- listening to Garett’s concerns was more important. It’s okay that I didn’t get up all the Christmas decorations- we have a tree and the real reason for Christmas is Jesus anyways! I’m thankful that God is always faithful. I am thankful that regardless of my “feelings”, God never stops loving me.
A favorite song of mine this Christmas season! Emmanuel, God with us!
November! Here and gone would be the title of this month’s book. We’ve survived our first basketball games, a tournament, a trip to see family on the other side of the state, a kids cooking competition, making Christmas ornaments, and lots of things that I don’t even remember doing!
Our family photos were taken the first weekend in November, and they turned out so well! The kids were happy that it didn’t take too long, and we’re happy that we have an updated family photo. As everyone gets older and busier, it gets harder and harder to squeeze in time for family photos. I don’t know when we will have the next one taken, so I’ll rejoice in the fact that we got it done this year.
We enjoyed having the day off for Veteran’s Day, and we set up a little cooking competition for our children. We divided them into teams with the Everett’s kids and gave them a budget. They had to come up with their own menu and cook for Roger, myself, Justin, Laura and Jen. It was so fun to watch them come up with their menus, shop for ingredients, and cook and prepare! We told them that they could use any ingredients that we already had on hand at our houses, so that helped them out with their budget a lot! Ava, Chandler and Travis were on a team together, and Savannah, Garett and Brody were on a team. Wyatt helped on both teams with a variety of things. One team had their menu planned early on and made minor changes. Another team made so many changes, we weren’t sure that they knew what they were going to make! Savannah and Garett were going to make a cheesecake for dessert, but then realized that they were not going to be able to get that done in four hours! So they made a cake instead. Laura and I had a hard time not commenting when we saw that self-rising flour was being used instead of all-purpose flour, but that’s part of the fun! (And the cake actually wasn’t too bad, but there was enough sugar in there to make your teeth chatter!) It was a fun evening, but whew! The cleanup! Every counter in Laura’s kitchen was covered with ingredients, pots, pans, and mess! But with everyone working together it didn’t take forever. Chandler and Ava and Travis won the event for the evening, but Garett and Savannah did pick much harder dishes to make. Next time I think we will give them the same menu and see what they do with making the meal. It was a good experience for all of us. We also realized that our kids need some additional instructions in the fine dining department. The table was not set correctly, they forgot to give us napkins and neither team served the dishes to the adults with utensils! They just picked up the biscuits, potatoes, etc. with their hands! Haha! Oh well. We love all those kids dearly, and we were thankful for the memory.
I’ve been busy in art classes with trying to help the students create Christmas ornaments for their parents. Since many children are coming from split homes these days, I felt it was important that we create at least two ornaments. Oh wow! Do you have any idea the amount of materials needed to create any ornament for 225 students!? And since I don’t want every grade to create the same ornament, it’s been a hot mess! I’ve been so thankful for my Art assistant, Kaycee, as she’s helped wash several 100 paintbrushes, hot glued together 100+ wooden popsicle sled ornaments, scrubbed tables, and endured all my crazy ideas! (But, I’m also excited for the kids to have these ornaments to give for Christmas presents) I am so thankful that God brought her to art this year, and I’m going to miss her as she fills in for Emma’s teacher who is leaving for maternity leave.
We’re into our third week of the sports season, and wow are we tired! This past week, we had our first basketball games. The cheer teams are responsible to cheer for the JV Girls, JV Boys, Varsity Girls and Varsity Boys teams, so it’s a full afternoon! The JV Cheer team cheers for the JV teams, and the Varsity cheer team cheers for the varsity teams, but since Laura and I coach both teams, we get to stay all evening! Twice last week, we had meals from the crock pot at school. I brought a crockpot of Taco Soup on Monday, and Jenn made potato soup for the kids on Tuesday, which was game day. Since we spend a lot of time at school, and going out is expensive so it’s better to just bring along the crock pot of food.
Wyatt got to start in the JV boys basketball game, so that was exciting for him! Chandler didn’t start, but he did get some playing time. He spends a lot of time trying to improve his game, but he does seem to get nervous when he plays. I’m guessing he probably just needs to get more comfortable with being in the game. The boys are enjoying playing basketball, but whew- it was about 9:30pm when we got home! Then there was a tournament this weekend, so the varsity boys had an 8:00pm game on Thursday! I didn’t know if the cheer coaches would be able to stay awake through it all! We made it. Thankfully, Jen took home the four kids that weren’t involved in the basketball game, so it was just Chandler and I with a super late night. Roger was happy to come get the kids, but they were all eager to stay the night at Aunt Jen’s so that’s what they did.
Friday was a crazy busy day with teaching library, a doctor’s appointment for Travis, and then heading to the basketball tournament to coach cheer with Laura. Laura and I have learned a lot about cheer, our team, different personalities, coaching these past few weeks. We’ve prayed (a lot), cried (quite a bit of that too), and have also laughed and created memories too. I’ve watched more cheer videos and read more articles on stunts and cheers in the past few weeks than I have at any other point in my life! Laura is an amazing cheer coach- I’m just kinda along to support, encourage, pray and and assist however I can. I try not to think about what’s going to happen when they need to move, and instead we just take it one day at a time. We’d appreciate your prayers as we continue to try to invest, pour into, and point our cheer girls to Jesus.
The boys and Roger left for Wisconsin on Saturday morning. The original plan was to leave on Friday, but Chandler had a basketball tournament, and it was a long week without a moment to get anything ready for the trip. I left at 6:15am to be at the basketball tournament with the cheer team, so I missed seeing them leave. (However, it was like the rapture had occurred when I came home as there were definitely signs that they had packed up and left! Haha!) Emma and Jen picked me up from the basketball tournament as we were headed to my Aunt Lisa’s house to celebrate and early Thanksgiving with them. We ate dinner with them, enjoyed some time outside soaking up the sun’s rays, and then decorated their house for Christmas. It was fun to decorate the Christmas tree, and we enjoyed the time together. (Emma wasn’t feeling well last week, so I had spent the afternoon decorating our house when I was home with her. I don’t usually decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving, but the season is so short and my time is very limited!) We’ve enjoyed having the Christmas lights shining on the tree as we prepare to celebrate the real reason for the season- Jesus.
My friend, Allison, told me that one of the older folks at our home church in Maine passed away this past week. Clayton Dorr was one of those “heroes of the faith” in my eyes. He was easy to talk to, had a ready smile, loved Jesus and really did seem interested in pouring into the next generation. Both of my older boys have fond memories of working with him at cleaning up his yard in the spring time or work days at church. Sometimes I fear that we aren’t being diligent enough to raise up the next generation to be “men and women of the faith”. We entrust the care of our children to perhaps good people, but are they vibrant and invested in pointing our children to Jesus? I want to be that person, whether it’s in teaching art, library, cheer or anything else, I want to be the person that is genuinely interested in others and points them to Jesus. Really there is nothing more important than preparing people for eternity because it’s going to happen…either eternity in heaven or eternity in hell, but those are the only options.
Also in news from Maine, the company that Roger worked with for the years we were in Maine is selling out to another person. So much changed in such a short amount of time, and I look back at our early years in Maine with some of the most precious memories. God brought along a job for Roger at Penobscot Island Air and working for Kevin Waters was a blessing. This is a quick video of a snapshot of what Roger did in Maine. God brought us to Maine for a reason, and I am just as sure that he has a purpose and a plan in bringing us to North Carolina.
The boys and Roger left for Wisconsin on Saturday morning. Oh boy! The boys were so excited about going to visit Nana and Papa and go deer hunting. I’m not sure if Travis went along because he wanted to see Nana and Papa and hunt deer or because he wanted to get out of school! However, he did finish his hunter’s safety course, and he was going deer hunting! They arrived in Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, and went out hunting on Sunday night before church. Guess who shot the first deer? Actually the first 2 deer? Well, it was Travis! He was in a hunting stand with Roger and they spotted a doe. Roger said that the doe meandered up close enough to shoot, and Travis got ready to aim. He was all set up and ready to shoot the deer when he leaned over to Roger and asked, “How badly is this gun going to kick?” Haha! He did just fine with one shot right through the lungs. The deer went right down, and there was still plenty of light, so they just sat and waited. Within the hour another doe walked right up and Travis dropped that one about 20 feet from the first deer! It was an exciting event for Travis! The other boys haven’t seen anything yet, but they are waiting and praying for more deer. Travis texted me on Monday morning from my mom’s phone. He said “Lights are up (referring to Christmas) and I’m smiling and you are crying because you’re working and I’m not at school.” It wasn’t the clearest sentence ever, but you get the idea. We are thankful for this opportunity for them, and I’m positive it will be a memory for the rest of their lives. Please pray that they will get a few more deer this week as all the boys would like to shoot one.
It’s a quiet week for Emma and I, and that is okay! I’ve made such a mess in the art room this week that I can’t imagine having left today’s activities for a substitute teacher. Emma’s not really in a good position to miss school, and I also work to provide for the school bill. There were a lot of reasons why Emma and I didn’t go to Wisconsin, but we are going to enjoy these moments at home together. Since our friends, the Everett’s, are also away for the week, Emma is watching their dog. Emma would love to get a dog- it’s the rest of us that don’t know if it’s a good idea! However, this is good for Emma as it shows her that having a pet is not all fun and games!
God is good. As we approach Thanksgiving Day, I hope you take a few moments to take some time to reflect on some of the many blessings that God has bestowed upon you. I’m thankful for salvation. My future is sure, and for that I am so very thankful. I’m thankful for Roger- not many men could put up with some of my crazy ideas and still be sane! I’m thankful for the five children that God has entrusted to our care, and I pray that they will grow in grace and knowledge of their Lord Jesus Christ. I’m thankful for meaningful friendships. I have a lot of acquaintances, but I’m thankful for the friends that pray for me, invest in me, and also encourage my walk with Jesus. I’m thankful for Roger’s job. It’s not been perfect, and there’s a few more challenges than we would’ve hope for, but God is good. I’m thankful for my sister, Jen, who helps out with feeding my kids, driving them where they need to be, and investing in their lives.
It’s mid-July and this is my first post for the month of July! We’ve had a busy month as we’ve enjoyed all the summer activities, and lots and lots of outside time. The boys have been gone for the past month visiting my parents in Wisconsin as well as my sister, Jen, in South Dakota. We are all home now- thank you, Jesus!
We started of the month of July with a very low-key holiday which was the Fourth of July. The Fourth of July has never been “low-key” and this was an entirely different experience for us. Since the Fourth was on a Sunday, that was a bit tricky already but it was also raining here. I don’t remember very many Fourth of July’s that have been raining, but this one was both rainy and cool! In fact, in many places in Maine it was colder on the Fourth of July than it was on Christmas Day 2020! After church, Emma, Roger and I came home and ate leftovers for lunch. We kinda just hung around home. We talked about our nation and it’s current state of affairs. We spent some time praying, and just kinda did “not much”.
Monday, July 5th
Today marked the one year anniversary of Kevin’s death. I’ve never had a year seem so short and so long all at the same time. We miss him more than words could ever describe, and Roger misses him more. So much has changed in a years time, and we surely miss his presence in our lives.
Emma and I left for Wisconsin today. We were on the road by 6:45am to begin the long hike of 1,304 miles to Wisconsin. We made good time as we made it to outside the east side of Cleveland, Ohio by 8:00pm. The van had been making a bit of a “funny” noise for the last 100 miles or so, so I was happy to get off the road to see if I could figure out the problem. (Funny, right!?) Emma had been such a good little traveler all day as she looked at books, played with her doll, watched a movie, and talked to me. One of her friends, Audrey, and Audrey’s mom had put together a little basket of “surprises” for Emma. It was filled with a bunch of stuff from the Dollar Tree that they had wrapped. Emma enjoyed opening a small gift after each stop for gas or a break. Anyways, I had booked this hotel online for us to stay at, and it stated that they had a pool and a breakfast. Emma was looking forward to swimming, but when we checked in they told us that the pool was down for maintenance! Then I asked about the breakfast in the morning to which the clerk replied that “Due to Covid, our breakfast supplies haven’t been getting delivered regularly. We probably wont have a breakfast tomorrow.” So the van was having some type of mechanical issue, the pool wasn’t working, and no breakfast! (Oh, and we later discovered that the air conditioner in our room was not working either!). I felt like crying, but Emma and I needed to find some supper, and we needed to come up with a plan for the van. Emma was a trooper for sure as she didn’t whine about being disappointed in the pool not being open. I called Roger, and we decided that I probably should not continue to drive the van until I was able to get it looked at.
Tuesday, July 6
Emma and I were up early as neither of us slept great. I was concerned about the van and it was very warm in our room. We left the hotel about 7:15am to try to find a place to get the van looked at and quickly. We went to the first place and then realized that it was just for trucks. Then we went across the street the the Honda dealer and automotive services. Our van isn’t a Honda, but according to my AAA app, they would look at our vehicle. The mechanic told me that they didn’t open until 8:00 am, but he would look at it as soon as possible. Emma and I sat around and waited until almost 9:30am, but they said that a bearing was causing the “funny”noise. They said it was safe to drive to Wisconsin, so back on the road we went! We made it to our friend, Jenna’s, house around 7:00pm. Jenna and I stayed up way too late talking, but we never run out of things to talk about and pray about in our lives. I’ve missed her dearly, and it was a wonderful time together.
Wednesday, July 7
Emma and I had breakfast, coffee, and fellowship with Jenna and our friend, Katie. It was a long over-due visit, and it was good to re-connect with dear friends. Emma made some poor decisions as a friend that disappointed me, but life goes on. We took the opportunity to discuss better choices to make in the future, and hopefully we both learn from our mistakes. Parenting is the hardest job we will ever do, and it’s also a very humbling job! It was a full morning, but I’m glad I was able to visit with Jenna and Katie. Jenna, Katie and I have a very dear friendship in that we talk about politics, Bible reading, children, parenting, and everything under the sun. It was so nice to discuss deep Bible topics and pray together. “Iron sharpening iron” friendships. Oh, none of us are perfect or have it all together, but we can surely pray for each other and our crazy kids!
Emma and I headed to my parents house around 12:30pm. The boys were going to be coming back from South Dakota the next day. Emma and I visited with my parents and attended Wednesday night church with them. It was also good to visit and fellowship with people from my parents church. Emma and I were very tired after two nights of not great sleep!
Thursday, July 8
My boys are back! I was so, so glad to see the boys pull into the yard this evening. Our day had been busy with visiting with my family. I had gone to have lunch with my friend, Amy, but it was cut a little bit short by Roger’s phone call. He had called a mechanic to look at our van, and I needed to drop it off. My mom and I took the van out to the mechanic, and he told us that the earliest he would be able to have the van done was Monday. I had been planning on leaving on Sunday afternoon, but it looks like my plans were changing. Oh well! I’d rather get home than be stuck somewhere with five kids in tow!
The boys were glad to see Emma and I. They have had so many fun adventures with my sister and my parents. Lots of fishing, four-wheelers, activities, swimming, camping, and even a visit to see a rodeo! I am so thrilled at the opportunities that they had, and I’m happy that they are all wanting to go home and see Roger.
Friday, July 9
We spent the day working on projects around my parents house, shopping for groceries and hosting a cookout in the evening. I had invited several of our friends to my parents house for a cookout and fellowship. We probably had about thirty people there on Friday night, but it was a good evening of fun, laughter and fellowship.
Saturday, July 10
We had a busy day today as we went to a park with the Shuberts. My kids love Jenna and Ryan’s kids so they enjoyed playing basketball with them, as well as with Ryan (Jenna’s husband). Jenna and I never have enough time to finish all of our conversations and we definitely have a “Jonathan and David” friendship. No matter how long it is between conversations, we can just pick up wherever we left off. I was holding back many tears as I hugged Jenna good by. It was a short visit as I needed to take the boys over to mow the grass at Mark and Allison’s house. We had made plans to play mini-golf with Mark (Roger’s brother) and Allison (Mark’s wife). Roger’s brother, David, as well as his wife, Gao, were also going to play mini golf with us. The boys made quick work of mowing the grass, and we headed to play mini golf. It was a good time together, and then Mark took Garett and Wyatt flying while Allison and I went to Hobby Lobby with the remaining kids. It was a fun afternoon, and I’m glad that we were able to spend some time with Roger’s brothers and their wives also. It’s always a challenge to figure out how to fit in visits with so many people that are so dear to us during a short stay in Wisconsin. After mini golf and flying, we went to have supper at the Longsine’s house-also dear friends to us. The hours flew by, and before we knew it, it was 9:30pm! We surely missed Roger during our visit, but the kids seemed to enjoy renewing their friendships with the Longsine children as well.
Sunday, July 11
Originally, I had planned to leave after Sunday morning church, but since our vehicle was not ready, that decision was taken out of my hands. The kids and I went to church at Wyldewood where it was good to see familiar faces and many new faces at church. It’s harder for the kids to jump back into friendships after a year of not seeing many of these people, but they did very well. I had no problem jumping back into conversations and seeing many of my dear friends was a very special part of my day. After church we headed to have lunch with the Schilder family. I’m always thankful for friends that are willing to feed an additional six people! We ended up taking the kids swimming, well the kids went swimming while Gretchen and I visited! We shared struggles in parenting, our hearts desire for our children, some of our dreams, and just treasured the few moments together. Gretchen has a very dear friend that is going through a very hard time in her life right now, and I cried as I listened to Gretchen talk about the devotional she had shared with her friend. The truth is that often and frequently we just don’t know what God has for us. In our short-sightedness, I have a hard time seeing how God can bring about something good from something that seems like a tragedy. Continually and often, I find myself giving something to God only to take it back a few minutes later and worry or fret over it. I’m certainly a work in progress, but my hearts desire is that I will lean on Jesus, trust Him completely; and even when it all seems unclear, I can rest in Him.
Monday, July 12
I had planned to be back in Wisconsin by this evening, but that was not God’s plan. The boys and my dad went to take a bow over to a hunting shop, they unloaded some wood, and they did some shooting. Emma and I went to pick up a friend, Abby, and then the girls played at my parents house for a bit. We made plans with my parents to have supper together at Pizza Ranch, and I was praying that the van would be done tonight so that we could leave early on Tuesday morning. It was an unexpected day to have, but it was a good day. The boys and Emma were able to go to the Schidlers to swim for a bit, while I snuck in a coffee date with Ginny. (Many friendships were made in our time in Wisconsin, and it’s super hard to connect with many of them over the course of only a few days!) The boys were happy to spend some time with their friends, but they are definitely ready to go home also! We enjoyed supper at Pizza Ranch with my parents, sister, and Gretchen and her family. Then Jen and I drove out to get our vehicle. The repairs cost way more than I would have liked, but the vehicle is repaired and ready to drive back to Maine. The mechanic is a friend of my dads and a sound and honest mechanic, so I know that he did the best job possible on our vehicle. We arrived back with the vehicle to my parents house around 9:00pm, and we are planning on an early start for Tuesday morning.
Tuesday, July 13
6:45am was when we began the trip back to Maine. The kids are tired, but ready to see their dad. Mama is tired, but also ready to get back to Maine. It was a good week for Emma and I, and the boys are ready to be back in their own yard. Chandler told me that it was a good vacation but he’s ready to get back to work. Wyatt told me that he wants to see Dad and he wants to sleep in his own bed. “Me too!” We made it to Erie, Pennsylvania, before stopping for the night. We stopped a little earlier than we normally do when traveling, but I wanted the kids to have time to swim before bed. Well, the pool was open, but the Covid restrictions were in place. While it was a bit irritating to have to sign up for a swim spot and then its only for 45 minutes, we were thankful that we could go swimming. Since we couldn’t go swimming until 9:00pm, we walked to get supper, wandered around a bit, and walked off some energy. I went to a grocery store to pick up snacks for our next day of traveling. We were a bit early for our swim spot, but we were able to go swimming early as the 8:15 people were already done swimming. The kids had the pool to themselves for the first fifteen minutes, but then the other people who had signed up for the 9:00 swim spot showed up. The limit was 16 people at a time, and there were 14 people in the pool area. It’s a bit crazy because generally when we stop at hotels we swim whenever the pool is empty. But when you have to sign up for a swim spot, then often you end up swimming with more people than you normally would. But oh well! Everyone got to go swimming, and then it was time for bed.
Wednesday, July 14
We made it home today! Thank the Lord! We made pretty good time on the way home today, and we were really only stuck in traffic for about forty minutes out of the whole 21 hour drive. We did make a stop at the Aldi grocery store in New Hampshire, but we were home by 9:00pm. Home sweet home! It was a long drive, but we made it back. We were all ready to sleep in our own beds!
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.
It would be truly impossible to capture all that we did and experienced this week in Wisconsin. We had a wonderful week at my parents home, and they graciously offered hospitality to our chaos and many of our dear friends. Since I had lived in Wisconsin for about thirty years, I have a lot of memory trails and some dear, dear friends. We tried to visit and see many of our friends, but unless I had a lot more time, it would be impossible to squeeze in anything more.
My dad took the kids fishing, let them sleep in the camper in the driveway, and put up with many hours of four-wheeling and gator noise in the yard! (As well as guns shooting!) My mom allowed my children to eat her out of house and home, and she said she just couldn’t believe how much our kids can yet! Yes, yes I know!! Milk is about $2.00 a gallon in Wisconsin and in Maine we pay just under $4.00 a gallon. I’m pretty sure that Garett drank about half a gallon a day! At home we have to sometimes limit milk consumption and we still go through about four gallons a week! The boys were delighted to be back in the Dairyland state!
My dad tried to take the boys on a camping trip on Friday, but instead he spent most of the day trying to move vehicles and equipment around! His truck broke down on the way up to the cabin in Wausau, and he had the trailer with the canoes and four-wheelers on it. My mom took our van to go get the kids and bring my dad back to find a friend with a truck he could borrow. Then my dad, Chandler, and Garett went back and got the canoe trailer. And then one more trip to put the broken truck on the trailer...whew! The boys were disappointed about not being able to go up north, but God had a plan. While my dad was driving my van back to get another truck, he realized that something was not right with the van. He asked the mechanic to look at it and the power steering pump was broken...ugh! Now in one day, two vehicles needed to go to the mechanic shop! Obviously, we needed our van to take back to Maine, and we had plans to go to the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter with my parents. My parents left on Monday morning (7/29) with our three older boys, while Travis, Emma and I waited for the van to be fixed. Thankfully, the mechanic was able to have our van fixed by around eleven, so we were all able to meet up at the hotel on Monday night. (We have two days planned. And my mom’s sister, Lisa, is bringing two of her grandchildren also.)
Anyways, back to the rest of the week. Every day was full to overflowing, but so is my heart. I had so many heart-to-heart conversations with several of my dear friends. I’m thankful for friends who ask the hard questions and are willing to engage with me about every topic under the sun. Many of my conversations these days revolve around parenting challenges and raising kids that love Jesus! Oh, my hearts desire is to see each of our children filled with the Holy Spirit and have a desire to love and serve Him! I had conversations about is there such a thing as too much Bible? What is the balance between sanctification and service? How do we encourage our kids to serve and to be involved in the local church without it becoming “loathesome” to their souls? What makes for a good Christian education? And so much more!
I was able to connect with one of my friends who I didn’t see last year. She and her husband have faithfully served in full time ministry and recently God brought them through some “refining fires”. They have continued to serve the Lord and wait patiently, and recently became involved in the church Roger and I were attended. Over and over throughout the week people mentioned to me what a blessing this couple has been to the church. The body of Christ has been encouraged and become stronger because of this dear couple. I’m so blessed to count them among our friends, and I loved hearing how God has orchestrated these events! Beka and Jared have been friends of ours for years (they can’t get rid of us!), and it was such a blessing to me to hear about how God has once again shown that His way is perfect.
Our children had a full and wonderful week. I so enjoyed seeing our older children interact and play with younger children. Garett has a special gift with young children, and many of them seem to
gravitate towards him. It happened in a flash, but now my kids are becoming the older kids!
Wyatt had several rough learning lessons this week. He accidentally broke the John Deere gator and had the hard job of telling Papa about it. However, he did it. Secondly, when he had a friend over, Wyatt was convinced to let his friend drive without asking Papa about it. Wyatt then needed to say “I’m sorry and will you forgive me?” Roger and I have continually worked with our kids that an apology is not complete until you ask for forgiveness. It’s sometimes easy to bark out “I’m sorry.” But...looking someone in the eye and asking for forgiveness is much harder! Wyatt struggles with wanting to please people, and sometimes that allows him to make poor decisions. If you think about it, I could surely use some prayers on how to help him! I sure do love that boy!
Emma had a friend over for a sleep over. Roger and I are totally not sleepover type parents, but every once in a while, we allow it to happen. Story is the daughter of one of my dearest and bestest (I know that’s not a word!) friends! Story and Emma have totally different personalities but yet they seem to really enjoy each other’s company. It was so sweet to see them playing together, and I hope their friendship continues over the years.
Truly God gave us a wonderful week. It was wild and crazy, but full of memories. We serve an amazing God. I am blessed with wonderful grandparents for our children, and I rejoice in serving a great God!
“Iron Sharpeneth Iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”
