Birthdays, Teacher In-Service, and Changes

 Last Monday Emma celebrated her 9th birthday, and this Monday we are three days away from the start of school! I’ll be honest and tell you that I don’t feel like summer break was long enough this time. It was/is such a transitional time with moving, settling into new routines, finding a new school, looking for a church home, and everything else. I feel tired, and we haven’t even started the school year yet! I’m reminded that God has brought us this far, and He will continue to direct and lead. 

Last Sunday (8/7) we re-visited a local church in our area. It is close to home- that’s nice. The people are friendly- also nice. Several of the people that attend are actually people that live on our road- nice too. A few things that we aren’t crazy about are holding us back, but sometimes things that we aren’t crazy about aren’t doctrinal issues and sometimes they are doctrinal. We will probably have the pastor and his family over for dinner to get to know them as well as ask a few questions. We continue to wait and pray as well as visit other churches. 

As I mentioned, last Monday was Emma’s 9th birthday. I can’t even believe it! This girl celebrated her first birthday in Wisconsin, her second birthday in Arizona, her 3rd-8th birthdays in Maine, and her 9th birthday in North Carolina. It’s completely different raising a daughter than raising sons, but we do know that we still want her to grow up to love Jesus and serve Him with her whole heart. We had a simple birthday dinner for her, and then everyone had to rush off for sports practices. After sports practice we came home for ice cream cake and gifts. Emma enjoyed the Lego set the boys bought for her as well as a new lunch box from Aunt Jen and nine dollars from Nana and Papa.  Emma received a birthday box from her friend, Lucy, on Wednesday, and that was a really special surprise. It was kinda weird not having anyone over for her birthday dinner, but we haven’t made any close friends yet. We know a few people, but not people that we have established relationships with yet. It’ll come, it just takes time. 

Often on the kid’s birthdays, I ask them a few questions. Below is Emma’s birthday interview: 

Favorite color: rainbow

Best friends: Lucy, Olivia and Story 

Favorite food: shrimp and salmon

Favorite sweet: ice cream cake

What do you want to be when you grow up?  Answer: a teacher

Where would you like to visit? Maine

Favorite thing to do: gymnastics or go to a trampoline park 

Favorite activity to do with dad: fly in the airplane

Favorite activity to do with mom: shopping

 Favorite Restaurant: KFC and Dunkin Donuts

Favorite teacher: Mrs. Davis

Favorite Bible story: Jesus dying on the cross and rising again 

Our children are each so special and unique, and we thank God for them daily. It’s been a transitional year for them too, and we still have several major transitions- please continue to uphold them in your prayers. God is so good. 

I started teacher’s inservice on Wednesday. I know that I’ll be the librarian this year (soooo much to learn) and I’ll be doing a study hall. I’m not sure what else I’ll be doing, but doing a variety of things will give me an opportunity to meet a lot of people. We had three days of in-service last week, and two days this week. I’m not a huge fan of leaving the kids alone for six hours a day, even though they are fine. It’s just not my preference. For the past five years in Maine, we had multiple friends that the kids could go play with during in-service. Perhaps next year will be different. This week was a little more challenging altogether as the boys were needed to work on the farm for the neighbor. I ended up asking two boys to stay home so that Emma wouldn’t be by herself (obviously) and we’ve been getting by. Roger has been very busy with fires that aren’t supposed to be in existence as it’s not fire season! However, it’s been so dry that Roger has had to put in extra hours and he even was called in on Sunday due to a fire. 

It’s been a bit crazy around here as we try to figure out everyone’s schedules! Once school starts then the boys will be done working on the farm, and we will have school and sports to figure out. Chandler is planning on running cross-country and playing soccer. He wants to try anyways. It works out for Chandler as cross-country practice is right after school and then soccer after that. It’s going to make for some long days for our children, but one thing that they’ve been excited about is the opportunity to play sports. My prayer is that they will be able to adjust, maintain their grades, and that this will be a wonderful life experience for them. The four boys are playing on the same soccer team, and the soccer coach has been thrilled to have the four boys join the team. Chandler has his first cross-country practice tonight, and he’s looking forward to that. The sports season starts off with a bang as they have their first cross-country meet next Monday, and a soccer game on Tuesday with practice on Thursday and Friday. Emma and I will be doing lots of reading and hanging out together while the boys practice and compete! We are excited about this for them though, and I do think that so much can be learned through sports. I played sports in my middle school and high school years as well as in college, and I learned so much through those experiences. I’m excited that the boys will have opportunities for other coaches to mentor them as well as the boys to learn to work together with others (and yes, there are people more annoying than your sibling!). 

This past Sunday the kids and I visited another church. The people were friendly and kind, and the pastor preached a message on the power of our words. The songs were ones that we were familiar with, so that was nice. The thing that was a little disconcerting was how quiet the congregation sang the songs. I don’t mind a worship team, but sometimes it seems like the worship team overpowers the congregation singing and then no one seems to be singing! I don’t think there’s a need to be obnoxiously loud, but since God created singing, it brings Him delight when we worship Him with song- so sing! When you look around the congregation and only some of the people are moving their lips, it’s a bit concerning to me. Are they not singing because they don’t know the words? Or are they not singing because they really don’t think it’s that important? Or do they really not believe that there is “power in His name”? Just a curious church person over here! One of the boys made the comment on the way home about how he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be singing when the overhead said to “please stand and sing” because no one around him was singing! Just goes to show you that yes people are watching, so worship and praise His Holy name! 

We are going to be having parent/ teacher meetings tomorrow. This is an opportunity for the parents to meet their child’s teacher and for the child to meet the teacher. Emma is excited about meeting her teacher, but the boys said that they would meet their teacher on Thursday. (They have the opportunity to work tomorrow). One benefit of the teacher in-service has been the opportunity to get to meet some of the teachers ahead of time. Roger is hoping to take off tomorrow morning so that he can go with me to meet the teachers, but that remains to be seen. 

Thank you for your love and prayers! 

Mid- Life Crisis?!

 

Spring is coming! When? I have no idea! We’ve had a few days of chilly weather, but I keep hoping that by wearing spring clothes the weather will turn warmer. Instead, I’ve just been cold at recess all week! 

Roger asked me this week if we were having a mid-life crisis! To be honest, some days as of late have felt that way! Roger’s been working about three jobs between his job, the school board, and our family. Things haven’t been exactly easy at any of those three jobs, so lately we’ve been feeling like we are treading water and trying to keep from drowning. We are so thankful that God continues to wrap us in His arms of protection, the power of His love, and His steadfastness. Roger received several phone calls from a job in Alaska over spring break. We spent A LOT of time praying and waiting to see what God would do. The job was offered to Roger and then we had to make a decision about whether or not he should take the job. In the end, Roger said “no”. One, it was a seasonal job from May through September, and then Roger would need another job. Two, we wouldn’t all be going to this town in Alaska for the summer, so then it’d be like paying for two households. Three, Garett is graduating from eighth grade this year, and while it’s not a ginormous milestone, it won’t come around again. Four, Roger just didn’t have peace about leaving our family or his commitment to the school board for the summer. So at the end of the day, Roger said no to the job. So, we continue to wait...not my strong suit, but I’m learning to lean more and more on Jesus.

We had a teen activity for just boys at our house last Saturday night. While we didn’t have very many boys come out for the activity, we had a good time with those who came. Roger planned a Bible scavenger hunt for them, and the boys had fun tromping around in the yard and woods in search of various items from Bible references. The weather was beautiful, and the opportunity to interact with our own boys as well as a few others is always time well spent.  

Last week, I played the piano for a local area church, and I’m going to have the opportunity again on Sunday. Last week we faced several unexpected situations on Sunday morning, so I ended up going to church, and the kids stayed home. It wasn’t the ideal situation, and I’m glad it’s not that way very often, but it is comforting to know that the boys can manage on their own for a bit. We didn’t have teen group at our church in the evening due to the teen activity the night before, but there was a kids fun night planned for kids ages 6-12. Normally, we’d send our kids and participate in helping with the night, but Roger ended up home a little early due to weather, so we spent the evening at home. It was an evening of great family time and early bedtimes as we geared up to enter this week of school. 

It was a fast, crazy week! We have 28 days left of school, and we are all in count down mode! However, I keep reminding my kindergartners that we are not done learning yet! We are talking about prayer in our Bible lesson unit, and I mentioned to my class that I often pray when I’m out on my morning runs. One of my students raised his hand and asked, “Do you run into a lot of stuff every morning?” Haha! It was a good opportunity to tell my class that while we can bow our heads and close our eyes, God can also hear us when our eyes are open! I sure have enjoyed teaching this year, and I’m so thankful that God gave me the opportunity to do so. Travis has had a rough year at school. A very rough year. We’ve prayed a lot, cried, and struggled through, but he’s come home in tears several times. A few weeks ago, I was correcting him for something at home, and I asked him, “Why are you acting this way?” He responded, “I used up all my goodness at school!”. This past week he had another rough day. There are several classroom dynamics that make the school year rough, and we just keep reminding him that God knows exactly where Travis is at. God will give Travis the strength to make right choices and to be a leader in his classroom, etc. Anyways, Travis announced to me, “School was awful today. I’d rather sit on the toilet all day than go to school!” Okay, I might have had a very difficult time not laughing as he said this in his most serious voice! I can think of several other word pictures that I would’ve used, but anyways, I’m not Travis. I really sat and listened to his heart, asked questions, and tried to help him resolve some things. We’re not perfect by any means, and I’m learning more every day about parenting. I only write this here because I do want to remember these moments with my children. I want to them recognize that God is in their lives every day, and He is working. It’s not always as fast or as smoothly as we’d like, but God is working. 

Last Saturday Roger was able to take the boys golfing. All the boys were really excited to go, and it was fun to see them excited to do this together. There’s a golf course in our area that is allowing children under 16 to golf for free! Woot!! So for $20.00 the boys and Roger were able to play nine holes of golf. They had a great time, and I know that these memories are special for all of them. 

Today Roger spent the entire day, his day off from his primary job, at the school. I’m thankful for Roger’s support and involvement in our little Christian school. Since our administrator is due to have a baby any day, we are kinda trying to just get through the school year as smoothly as possible. Roger has been a positive mentor for several students in our school, and while he’s not loud or threatening in any way, his presence can lend a calming presence to many situations. I couldn’t have asked for a better life mate. I can’t think of very many men at all that would be willing to give of their day off to make someone else’s life easier! That’s a man of sacrifice, strength of character, and faithfulness. I’m so very thankful for him. He’s had a lot of rough days lately, but he keeps showing up, getting the job done, and loving even the difficult people. 

We signed up to send our boys to camp this summer, but in Wisconsin! I want our boys to have the opportunity to go to a good solid Bible camp, and God has provided them the opportunity to go out to Wisconsin for a few weeks this summer. Since our state is on their 14th State of Emergency...yes, the 14th, and many camps don’t know if they’ll be able to open this summer, we decided to send the boys to camp in Wisconsin. They are very much looking forward to the opportunity, and I’m excited for them! Roger and I both grew up in and around Bible camp, and camp can provide an excellent opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work in lives.  

Thank you for praying with us as we wait on the Lord. 

  

                                  Altamonte-family.com - photo credit. 

Thorns with the Roses OR Roses with the Thorns?!

Abraham Lincoln said, "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." 

Life is a journey with beautiful roses to enjoy and a few thorns also along the way. If we didn’t have the thorns, we wouldn’t appreciate the roses in our lives. In the Christian’s life, God uses these experiences to draw us to Himself...both the lows and the highs. I’m so thankful for both, but sometimes the thorns  seem a bit pokier and sharper than I’d prefer! However, I know that God is the Ultimate Planner and Director of my life, and I have no reason to  worry or fret.

 

 

This past week, (10/18) my college cross-country coach for two of the four years that I ran, finished his earthly journey. Coach was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer towards the end of September, and he is celebrating a brand new body in Heaven now. It happened so quickly, and I’m still pondering so much of it all. Jack Noonan was my cross-country coach for my first two years of college running. I couldn’t possibly relate all that I learned from him both in running, but more importantly, in life. Coach was also the head of the kitchen on our college campus, which is not a particularly recognized position. Yet he worked hard at what he did, and he tried to instill in his team the need to work hard regardless of recognition. I remember him telling me early on in my running years that cross-country was not the sport to be in if you were seeking recognition or fame. Runners run early in the morning, have practice in the afternoon, and very few people come to watch runners race. Yet he taught us to enjoy the sport, to take delight in the quiet morning runs, to spend that quiet time reflecting on the goodnesses of God and His Word. Coach always opened practice with Scripture and prayer, and I’ll never forget his mentorship in my life. He saw potential in a girl who had tried out for the volley ball team (and had not been chosen!), and he taught me to enjoy running...something I still enjoy to this day. I’m not running sub-twenty minutes for three miles any more, but I still appreciate the sport. I’ll miss his birthday blessings to me every year, and his smile. Heaven is a bit sweeter this week.

Last week we also had our first “snow day”. It was actually a storm day, as school was closed due to power outages. I’m thankful that our house has a generator, and it really didn’t seem that bad to me. I ended up at the school anyways as I needed to work on some stuff for school, and the kids came with me. They played while I worked for a bit, and then we headed home. It was a productive day as far as projects at home, so that was nice.

We played soccer with some other friends on Saturday morning, so that was a fun time for us. Roger had the day off, so it was nice to play together as a family. The boys really enjoy soccer, and it was a beautiful fall day. In the afternoon, I took Emma to a birthday party for one of her classmates. The two younger boys also came along, while Roger took the older boys to the airport to do some work. I  wasn’t exactly crazy about going back out on Saturday afternoon, but God provided me with wonderful opportunity to visit with one of the other moms of a student in Emma’s class. I had prayed  specifically before walking into the party that I would find someone to be a blessing to and to have a
conversation with someone. I don’t know if I blessed this mom, but I certainly received a blessing! I am so thankful for the opportunity that God gave to me to visit with this mom. My heart was certainly encouraged.


Sunday was a bit crazy and chaotic. I’m not big on disorganization and miscommunication, and I wasn’t feeling my best on Sunday morning. I’m thankful that Roger had the day off or I might have given into the flesh and just stayed home! Roger had the opportunity to help in the morning service  with the music, and I taught Childrens church. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to serve  Christ in our local church body, but does anyone else ever wonder if we do what we do because we are called to serve, but its not necessarily our gift or where we’d prefer to serve?! Every once in a while, I wonder if I’m serving because I’m using “my gifts” or just filling a need in the body of believers. I’m not necessarily  saying either are bad...sometimes I just need a nap to reset! So, I went  home and after lunch, I took a nap! God gives us rest, and sometimes that’s all it takes for a fresh perspective.

This week felt like a lot of  Mondays! I told Renee that I felt like every day this week was Monday! I taught music classes on Monday, and I attended a baby shower for a mama in our church in the evening. On Tuesday, my friend, Claire, offered to take Emma for the afternoon. That worked out well for me as I was able to get a lot done for our upcoming fundraiser auction. Emma is a great trooper, but going in and out of places asking for auction donations, is not really something she enjoys. (Me either...but I do it!)


On Wednesday, I received a text saying that someone had donated money for my Haiti Missions trip! This was a complete and total surprise to me, and I think God specifically waited to let me know about the gift to bless my heart on Wednesday. The gift came from some dear friends of ours in Alaska. I called Damaris in the afternoon to tell her thank you, and we had such a good visit. About this time of year, seven years ago, we were preparing to head to Alaska with our four young sons. We would spend a couple of months in a small village in Alaska to help in a church there. The experience has never been forgotten, and should God ever provide us with that opportunity again, I would definitely want to go. We made such wonderful memories, and God provided us with some dear friends that we still treasure to this day.


It’s been a busy and full week, but the weather has been mostly gorgeous! Roger is happy to be back to flying again as the plane needing the paint job is complete. God blessed Roger with a great job, and for the most part, he really enjoys what he does.

I have been enjoying the preschoolers as there is never a dull moment! It is hard to believe that we are finishing up week 8 this week! Even harder to believe that the Christmas Program is right around the corner! The students have been working hard, and I always start to wonder if Ive bitten off more than I can chew about this time of year! One day and one practice at a time, and I don’t want to do this for my glory, but that God will be magnified and glorified through this Christmas program.

We appreciate your love and prayers,
Sarah

New year...already behind!

Emma at Five months

Hmmm….well, I’m already behind on one of my goals for the new year! L I wanted to write on the blog at least twice a month, and I only posted on blog entry for January. I have about 500 or more excuses why I didn’t get a second one written, but no one wants to hear about excuses! J

At the end of January, Chandler turned six; however, since he hasn’t had a birthday party yet, I’m having a hard time convincing him that he is already SIX! J We usually give our children a small party on the year that they turn five, but since we were traveling back from Alaska last year, Chandler didn’t have a birthday party. So, I told him we would have a birthday party, but between all the company we’ve had at our house, the cold weather, the activities of everything else…it just hasn’t happened yet! At this rate, it’ll be spring! J

Birthday boy!

Earlier this month, we had two more boys at our house for a week, while their parents went on vacation. It really wasn’t too bad, but I think Roger and Sarah Robertson are good with five kids! J If we learned nothing else in the past month, we learned this: Every parent has a different style of parenting, it doesn’t make one better than the other…it’s just different! So, now we’re back into the swing of our own routines and schedules…or rather, we’re working on it! J

My new haircut and Emma!

For Valentines Day, my husband completely surprised me! AGAIN! J I thought that we were going to the church valentines banquet, but Roger had arranged for my parents to keep the boys over night. He also asked his brother and sister-in-law to keep Emma for a couple of hours while we went out to dinner. I’ll admit…at first, I was very disappointed to not be going to the banquet; but Roger went through all the effort to line up babysitters and coordinate our time away so I got over it. However, Roger had more than just dinner up his sleeve! After dinner, we took a drive for a few minutes, and then Roger stopped at a very nice hotel. When I asked what we were doing, he just said, “Let’s see if they have a room available for tonight.” But, Roger already had a room key, a reserved room, a bouquet of roses and a beautiful note all set up to surprise me! He told me that he too, had wanted to go to the banquet, but since we could really only afford the overnight stay or the banquet, he chose the overnight stay. He really did an outstanding job working at surprising me, lining up babysitters, getting flowers, etc…I am loved! (We did go get Emma, as she refuses to stay overnight anywhere without her mama!) J We enjoyed talking uninterrupted, breakfast to ourselves, a quiet ride home, and came home refreshed and ready to parent five children again! J (Until they’re all five in the same room…then I can’t think!) J

Six months!!!

Travis has been working on his ABC’s , and he’ll be starting 4K in the fall. This past week, he pointed to the letter “U” and asked Roger, “What’s that?” Roger replied, “That’s ‘U’”. Travis promptly replied, “Me?” I just shook my head and laughed! While at times the days seem LONG, the years are flying by! We were looking at picture albums together a few days ago, and the boys have grown so much! I wish I would’ve enjoyed them more when they were 4,3,2, and 1, but at the time all I could think about was getting through the day! And in some ways, those days were easier…we were learning about simple obedience, not lying, etc. Now the questions are getting harder! One of our children asked at Bible time, what he should do when Satan talks to him and tells him to do something wrong…a deep thought for a little person! Now we’re wading through why we should obey, learning about God’s grace, living for Jesus, treating others kindly, and other thoughts the boys have on a daily basis. It does keep me begging God for grace and wisdom, and challenges me to seek His Word.

Our children...love them so much!

Emma's first time with cereal!

Roger is leaving this Wednesday for a trip to South Carolina. He’ll be flying the Pacer down there by himself in preparation for getting more flight training in the future. Please be in prayer for good weather, safe travel, direction for our future, and myself and the kids as Roger will be gone through Sunday. We are gingerly stepping out in faith to see what God has for us. While Roger enjoys his job, God has greatly been moving in Roger’s heart directing him to pursue more aviation training. Whether that means God will move us back to Alaska, we don’t know; but we wanted to be preparing for whatever God has. Please pray with us for God’s direction and wisdom. Thank-you!

Apparently, the cereal was good enough to lick the table!

Pictures!

June Activities…in a nutshell! J

It would be absolutely impossible to fill in all the cracks in the last month, so I’m going to stick to mostly pictures! To give you the gist…we finished up speech lessons for Wyatt, 4K for Chandler, participated and helped in Vacation Bible School, enjoyed a visit from an Alaskan friend, canoed, camped, visited a little amusement park, took a trip to the zoo, went strawberry picking, hosted a college/career activity, numerous swimming activities, and a host of other daily events.

 I’m continuing to grow with baby Robertson J, and everything seems to be on track. The other day I commented that the baby must be sitting on my bladder, and a few moments later Wyatt stated that his “ladder” was full too! J

The days are very full, and summer is relatively short, so we are working to enjoy the moments to the fullest; and we are never bored! J

Boys and water!

Garett and Travis

More water!

Waiting for the ride

Our trip to Bay Beach

Wyatt having fun

The boys

Yeah, more water

Two little boys

Volcano project

The little strawberry picker

Our boys

The Strawberry picking crew

Successful picking

32 weeks!

 

 

Never a Dull Moment!

The love of my life!

Bahamas, Beaches and my Babies

Roger and I enjoyed a four-night cruise to the Bahamas this past week with another couple from our church. It was great to get away without the kids, and I’m so thankful that my parents are willing to watch them for us. The weather was beautiful and warm. The average temperature was between 70-80 degrees! J The beaches were beautiful and we enjoyed a boat ride, and banana boat tour and a snorkeling trip (on which we didn’t see any fish!). I have to admit I had a really bad headache most of the week, and I was cold a lot of the time. That might have had to do with a rather abrupt transition from Alaska to the Bahamas! J

Friends

It’s always nice to see the Lord at work, and we definitely saw His hand upon our cruise. First of all, when we came back from Alaska and saw where our room was located on the boat, we noticed that the room description said that the room could not be converted to a king bed! L After multiple phone calls and e-mails, it was confirmed that the ship was full and that we were stuck with the room that did not convert! I was very disappointed as I didn’t want to spend the week with a room like “I Love Lucy” (you know, the twin beds). We called the cruise line the night before we sailed, and the customer service representative said that we could upgrade as a room had opened up. The only problem with this plan was it was an extra $175.00 that we hadn’t budgeted for our cruise. After talking it over, we decided not to do it, and we would just live with the twin beds. When we boarded the ship, the lady mentioned that we could talk to guest services aboard the ship and see what could be done. So, Roger walks over to the desk and talks to the man in charge. He calls up housekeeping and they said, “Oh sure, it’s no problem to convert the beds!” WHAT!!! Apparently, if all else fails, talk to housekeeping! J So, the beds were converted to a king…happy wife, happy life! J (Just Kidding!)

The second area that we saw God’s hand was the blessing of the cruise. I’m thankful that we weren’t aboard the ship that was stranded at sea, and our cruise had a Southern Gospel Music Tour group aboard! None of the groups were on a pro-professional level, but more like church groups that had made cds and traveled in their surrounding areas. While I didn’t like every group that sang, I was delighted with many of the old Southern Gospel songs, and my heart was blessed and refreshed. It was just another reminder that God loves me!

We also met two older couples on board that ship that became good friends with us. We exchanged e-mail addresses and hope to stay in touch. It’s good to be around sweet older couples that still love their spouses and know how to have a good time. It was an encouragement to our hearts.

The Lord blessed and refreshed us with the company of our friends, Corey and Hannah. We enjoyed meals, spending time with them, and lots of laughter and memories. It was the first time we had traveled with another couple on vacation, and we would definitely do it again.

Thirteen weeks!

After a wonderful week away from the children, it was great to come home to them. I feel refreshed and renewed energy to take on the task of raising our children for the Lord. We also are announcing our newest addition to our family coming up in August! J The Lord has blessed us with another child, and I am 13 weeks along. We are excited about this addition and the boys have all declared that we have enough boys; they’d like a girl baby! J Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what God has in store. We’d appreciate your prayers as we continue to seek God’s will for our future and our family.

Our love to you,

Sarah

Home Sweet Home!

This is actually a road in Saskatchewan!

The Robertson family has arrived back in Wisconsin! J All the children managed to survive the trip, we survived with them! J We pulled into our driveway about 3:00pm on Saturday afternoon. Wisconsin has snow (at the moment) so the boys are thrilled about that. We spent the first few minutes enjoying our nice, clean home. (Some ladies from the church had spent some time cleaning and tidying up our house for our arrival.) Our house seems amazingly huge, and as I walked around I was amazed at all the junk we have collected that we honestly do not need! J

Frank and Vivian Kelly with the boys

Frank and Vivian from Yellowknife

The boys are thrilled with their “new” toys…actually, the toys that they haven’t seen for ten weeks! J Wyatt told me, “Mom, I like this house, can we stay here for a long time?” (That is one little boy who is tired of traveling!) Chandler told me that this house is nice, but so was the one in Alaska. J It’s a relief for our family to have a little space to ourselves after the long trip home!

I originally thought that we had traveled 63 hours to home, but the Roger reminded me that I had forgotten to add all the hours after Prince Albert. So, when it’s all said and done, we traveled over 80 hours in the truck and put over 6000 miles on the truck on the ride home! Needless to say, it’s a relief to not be traveling today! J

My parents brought us supper yesterday, and our friend, Sara Scherzer had made us a welcome home cake. We enjoyed visiting with our family, and then the Longsine family came over for dessert. It was nice to visit with much-loved family and friends, but bedtime was my favorite part! The boys went to bed without a fuss in their new bunkbeds that Papa made for them. And then the house was quiet! J I slept peacefully until about 1am. when Travis realized that his parents weren’t in the same room as him. J The first time I was able to put him back in his own bed; but when he came back again at 3am., I realized that we have some work to do in the next few weeks! J Nevertheless, it’s good to be home.

We went to church at Wyldewood Baptist Church. It was the official installment of our new pastor, Jason Brenenstuhl, and it was a blessing to be there. We praise the Lord for our church, and we will continue to be faithful to serve here until the Lord gives clear direction for our future. The boys were excited to be back in their Sunday School classes, with the exception of Travis. That little boy really struggled today! L The nursery worker finally came and brought him to us after about an hour and one-half of hearing him cry! He has been with us non-stop for the past 10 weeks, and we haven’t been out of his sight. The transition might be a little tough, but we will make it, Lord willing!  Roger mentioned that Travis seemed like he was in a little bit of pain, but I thought maybe it was due to leg cramps after the long drive. However, when we arrived home about 6:00pm. and took off his shoe, we realized the problem. Apparently his shoes were a little snug and one of his toes was bent in his shoe! It doesn’t appear to be broken, but he is definitely uncomfortable! L Hopefully, it will be a better day for him tomorrow! J

We praise the Lord for His traveling mercies and protection. We are thankful for each one of you that prayed, supported, and read our blog updates! We have much to do this week as far as returning items that we borrowed for the trip, cleaning out the pig pen truck, and sorting, organizing, and putting away! But for now, I’m going to snuggle my little boys and put them in bed. Tomorrow begins a new chapter in our lives, and we are looking forward to what the future holds.

Our love to you, Roger and Sarah

Praises for Birthdays!

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Today Chandler turned five! He is very excited about his birthday and has reminded us numerous times in the last few days that his birthday is coming up. We love this little boy so much and it’s hard to believe we are celebrating five years of life with him. This little boy is full of life and energy and gets into more scrapes, troubles, and mishaps than I could ever retell! When he is sweet, he is very sweet, and when he is naughty, he is VERY naughty! He’s a hard worker and can usually outwork his siblings. He has a hard time with being thankful at times and that is something we’re working on. He loves schooling, books, and puzzles. We are so thankful that God blessed us with this wonderful, little boy!

The weather was nice today at about -6 degrees, so we spent the day driving around Yellowknife and visiting a few places. We went to the ski plane base and got to see a Twin Otter there; then we went up to “Pilot Hill”, which is a spot you can climb the stairs and have  a view of many things. Following that we did a little more walking, drove on the ice road J and then went to the “Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Museum”. The kids really enjoyed it, and it was educational; but best of all-it was FREE! J The museum offers a discovery area for children where the kids can row a boat, see a cabin, live in a tent and put on dress-up clothes. It was a good time! Then we went to the grocery store and picked out a cake for Chandler’s birthday. He picked out a lemon-raspberry cake with lots of frosting! J The boys also got to ride on Frank’s snowmobile, so they really enjoyed that too. It was a very full day for them, and I sense some tired children. J

We are making home-made pizza for supper along with fruit salad. We are also having some friends for dinner that Roger has known from years gone by, Ann and Alicia. We are looking forward to a good time and Chandler is very excited about cake! J

We are planning on attending Central Artic Baptist Church tomorrow. Roger will be preaching the evening service, so I KNOW that he would appreciate your prayers!

On each birthday for the boys, I try to have an interview with them. I ask the same questions every year, but I love to see how their answers change from year to year. Tonight I asked Chandler his birthday interview questions and his answers were as follows:

1) What is your favorite thing to do? Go on a snowmobile ride

 2) What is your favorite food? Black olives

 3) Who are your favorite people to be with? Mom and Dad and Bernt (the black Lab that belongs to Art and Damaris from Manley) J

 4) What would be the best birthday present ever? A dog

 5) What is one new thing you learned this year? Got to go to Manley Hot Springs

 6) What would you like to be when you grow up? Maybe…a policeman

 7) If someone was to give you money for a birthday present, what would be the perfect amount? "maybe…six dollars”

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Yay for Yellowknife, NWT!

Sunset along the way

Really, I don't have any words to describe how relieved I am to be in Yellowknife! Knowing that we don't have to travel tomorrow, don't have to try to entertain bored children in the car, do not have to try to do another day of school in the car, all that leaves me in a very contented mood looking forward to a great night's rest!

We made excellent time from High Level, Alberta to Yellowknife, NWT. The roads were snowy, but clear and fairly well maintained. We got to cross over the McKenzie River on the new bridge! It's only been open a few weeks, so that was exciting! (Also, it meant that we didn't have to take the ice road across, which I know my mother is very relieved about!) We arrived in Yellowknife about 4:30pm. so the boys had plenty of time to try to burn off excess energy before bed time. It's a privilege and an honor to meet Frank and Vivian as these two people influenced my husband in so many positive ways. They've both accepted Christ as their Saviour so it is even more precious to visit with them. They've welcomed us to their home with open arms, lots of tea, delicious stew, and a very friendly dog, named Sparky! We are blessed!

The plan is to visit Roger's memories from long ago, enjoy our time here, and I'm trying to catch up on some schooling with Garett. The boys were relieved that the day today wasn't as long driving, but it was a little bit of a rough day. Travis was not happy with his car seat, so I gave him so M &M's. He had taken off his socks earlier and entertained himself for over 20 minutes with stuffing the M&M's between his toes! It made a mess, but he was one happy camper! Chandler is very excited about turning five on Saturday, so we are trying to plan something special for his day. Wyatt did not sleep at all today in the car so to say he is acting like a GROUCH is a gross understatement! Garett did not have any schooling today as I wasn't feeling well, but I am amazed at how much he's learned in life experiences. He can identify the difference between a caribou and an elk, he knows what a burned tree area looks like, he understands outhouses, and always dresses appropriately for cold weather. (Don't worry...I still plan to school him in Math, Reading, etc.!)

My eye infection starting draining today, although it is still very swollen. I'm hoping for some relief tomorrow since it is draining. I'm on an antibiotic now so that should help as well. Thanks for your prayers.

Sarah