5K, Wyatt’s Birthday, Resurrection Sunday- Never a Dull Moment!

 

I wanted to get this post about Wyatt’s Birthday, the 5K race, Easter, and this week of school written before today...but that’s life!

On Saturday, April 20, Wyatt turned ten years old! How did we arrive at the double digits so quickly?! This boy is our smack dab middle child. He is a perfectionist in a lot of ways. He enjoys school and learning, and he also enjoys the outdoors. He is quiet, but he has the sweetest smile. We had ice cream cake to celebrate in the evening. Wyatt picked to have hotdogs with chili for his birthday supper. The kids get to pick their birthday meal, and that’s what Wyatt chose to have for his supper. It was enjoyed by all!


Early on Saturday, April 20, we had participated in our schools 5K fundraiser race. It was a bit of a raining and dreary morning, but the spirits were high. Those that came to the event seemed to have a really good time and to enjoy the event. This was a very rare and special occasion that I didn’t have anything to do with the event! Roger had to work in the morning, so it was the kids and I at the race. I knew that Emma would not want to walk three miles, but I wasn’t sure what I would do with her as all the other kids would be out on the course. Thankfully a dear lady in our church offered to keep an eye on Emma while we ran in the race. Emma had another friend, Scarlett, who was also not walking in the race. They had a good time together while the rest of us ran. Garett is NOT the runner in our family, but he certainly had a good attitude about participating. He walked/jogged with some of his friends. Meanwhile, Chandler was the fourth runner to cross the finish line! He finished in 24: 36 for a three mile race without even training! I came in shortly after he did, and Wyatt and Travis were not far behind me. I’ve run better races, but I should be happy with a time of 26:46 since I just haven’t  had much time to get out and run lately. Wyatt and Travis both finished in under 30 minutes, and they
 did a great job. Garett was quite a bit ways back, but as usual, that didn’t bother him at all! Myself,
 Chandler, and Wyatt all placed first in our age divisions, and that totally put smiles on their faces. The kids had a good time with the event, and I think, for the first time the school has done that type of event, it went very well.

Sunday, April 21, was Resurrection Sunday. We started off the morning with a sunrise service (where the sun wasn’t shining). However, there were still quite a bit of people that came out for the service, and it was followed by a breakfast in the church building. After the breakfast, we came home and I finished putting together food for the lunch.



The kids did a great job on singing, playing bells, and the xylophone for the morning worship service. It’s such a blessing to my heart to see the kids serve the Lord through music and song. The church building was way more crowded than normal, and it was nice to see so many visitors. We left quite  quickly after church as we had people coming for lunch. My sister, Hannah, and her husband, Josh,  came to lunch as well as Roger’s boss, Kevin, his wife, Terri, and her sister, Sally. Although the kids
were a bit bummed because there were not any children for them to play with, it really was a great
afternoon. We enjoyed lots of food, laughter, stories, and savored our time around the table. It was nice that we didn’t have to rush back to church for a Sunday evening service or children’s program.

After our company left on Sunday afternoon, we took a quick trip out to our pastors house for dessert and coffee. Our children were so excited to go as they enjoy playing air-soft games with Austin. We didn’t stay very long, but the time of fellowship was sweet and good. A lot of the pastors family was there with their spouses and children, so there were plenty of people for the kids to play air-soft guns and games. It was a nice way to wrap up the Spring Break week.


Resurrection Sunday is usually a full and busy day and this year was no exception. I’m so thankful   that we have reason to celebrate this special day. Out of all the holidays, this one should make us the
most excited as Christians. Imagine a life without a risen Savior?! We’d have no hope! I’m so
thankful that Christ died for our sins, but I am beyond thankful that He rose again! Our hope lies in Christ, In Christ Alone!

 

  

 

Back to school on Monday, and no one was thrilled to be going back-except Emma! However, the boys had a bit of a different week as this week they took Terra Nova tests every morning. Not all of our children are great testers, but none of them minded the change of pace from regular learning. Each afternoon they had something different or fun, so the week was a bit different from normal.

Because of the testing in the mornings, I wasn’t able to teach during my regular music time. I needed to teach on Thursday, and that meant Emma wouldn’t be in school. Thankfully, my friend, Claire, offered to watch Emma while I taught music classes. Emma was THRILLED to play at Lucys house, and they even went on a little picnic (because the sun was shining for a change!) We’ve had so many dreary, rainy days that we are all a bit tired of them! Roger has not been able to fly as much as he  would like simply because the run ways are too wet or its been pouring rain!

After school on Thursday, I went to pick up Emma. Claire knows boys well, and she had provided a snack for them. We then went down to the harbor to watch the lobster boat come in. Claire’s husband harvests lobsters for a living, and the boys enjoyed seeing the boat with all the lobsters on it. Emma was a bit intimidated by the boat, but she enjoyed seeing the lobsters. It was another great experience for the children, and we are thankful!

Friday was chapel, hot lunch, a play date for Emma at our house, back to pick up the boys, and all the other adventures of Fridays!

We are dreaming of being done with school. We are praying that the sun will shine a bit more, and that the temperatures will rise some. We are thankful for so many blessings that God has bestowed upon us! May is almost here!

Oh, and Emma lost her first tooth! We are not quite sure that it was totally ready to come out, but an incident on the trampoline might have hurried that along a bit~!

Spring Break- Ferries, Islands, Friends...and Mud!

Last week was spring break from school! We had a wonderful week, and I have many memories to write about this week. I’ll have to probably divide my writings into two posts simply because I don’t have time to write about everything in one sitting!

We actually didn’t have any plans for spring break when we started off the week, but the week ended up being quite full and busy, not that I was worried about being bored!

On Monday, Travis and Wyatt had over a classmate to play for a bit. The weather was rainy and dreary (as it was for most of the week). Ethan’s mom dropped him off, but she stayed for a bit to visit with her younger two boys. Although I enjoy chatting with ladies at church, I do enjoy the deeper conversations that can stem from having people in our home. We had a great morning with a house full of children, lots of snacks, and muddy feet! Ethan stayed for part of the afternoon, and then Travis and I took him home. Travis and I don’t get a whole lot of one-on-one time, and I realized this as he started talking to me after dropping off his friend. I had some errands to do, but instead Travis and I went and got a small treat and talked for a while. Sometimes he has a lot to say! It was good to spend some time with him, and it was a reminder to me that I need to make sure Roger and I keep up with our individual dates with our kids.

Tuesday was dentist appointment day, which is no ones favorite thing to do! Only two of the kids had dentist appointments, but since the office is over an hour away, they all needed to come along. For a change the dentist office was ready for them early, so that was a pleasant surprise. We hurried home from the appointments because I had a school board meeting in the evening. Chandler and Garett were able to go to the teen group while I went to the board meeting. Every year brings about new
changes, struggles, joy and challenges for every Christian school and ours in no exception. As we
approach the end of the year, there are more things that need to be discussed, but thankfully we were done around the same time as the teen group. I certainly count it a privilege to serve on the school board as this ministry is very near and dear to our hearts.


Wednesday- is that sunshine?! Roger had off from work, and we planned to do something fun with our family. It was a beautiful day, so I packed a picnic lunch (which consisted of a cooler full of food!). We decided to take the kids out to one of the islands. Although we’ve been out to Vinalhaven before, this was the kids first time to take the ferry across. Roger’s boss borrowed us a bigger van so that we would have plenty of space for the kids and the bottles and cans that we were planning on collecting. We picked up some donuts and coffee, and we were waiting for the first ferry by 6:30 am. The ferry was full of vehicles, and we were the last vehicle to get on. It's about an hour and one-half to go across to the islands, but it was a good time with our family. We spent some time talking about prayer requests and praises, reading the Bible, and praying before disembarking on the other side.
 Of course the first stop was to find the bathroom! Thankfully, the ferry terminal had a bathroom. Then we were ready to collect cans and bottles. The island has 79 miles of roads, and a lot of them have lots of cans and bottles to collect. We had fifteen trash bags, and we filled eleven of them in 3.5 hours! The kids worked hard, and they were exhausted and muddy. In the first 30 minutes, Wyatt managed to find a puddle that went over the top of his rubber boot! His feet were soaked, so he wore his socks for most of the day. Emma stuck with it, and we all probably walked about four miles or more total that day. We stopped for lunch (and many snacks). We went to a land preserve on the island which had picnic benches to sit at. But why use a picnic bench!? The kids all went down to the beach, and made “stone” chairs with the rocks. That idea stems from reading The Boxcar Children books to the kids. The sun was shining, the weather was beautiful, and it was a fun day! Emma found a small skull of some kind in a ditch, and she was pretty impressed with her “dinosaur” head. Her
brothers kept telling her it was not a dinosaur head, but she was not convinced. It was pretty clear that
she has brothers though as she carried the thing around for most of the day, and had no qualms about  
picking it up right out of the ditch!  



It's not cheap to take a vehicle and a large family across on the ferry, and truthfully, we probably didn’t make any money. But that’s okay. We made a memory with our family; we spent quality time together; the kids had a great time; and I soaked up the delightful sounds of laughter and slopping, sloshing boots! We were surprised at how many full cans and bottles of alcohol we found. At one point, Chandler and I found four glass bottles that were full! Somehow I don’t think the “don’t drink and drive” law is effectively working!

The boys had a job to do on Thursday afternoon. One of my friends, Hannah, brought her three little ones over to play with the boys and Emma. Hannah had offered to let the boys watch her kids while she worked for a few hours (with me supervising, of course!). I was supervised at how well the boys did at babysitting! Garett helped the littlest one into a chair at the table, and then stood right next to him to make sure the little boy was safe. Chandler and Wyatt played farm with another of the children, and it really was a very smooth three hours.  I think my boys overfed Hannahs children on goldfish, but overall, it was a good afternoon for everyone. I’m thankful for friends that give our children opportunities to work and to be responsible. I told Roger that with the ages of Hannah’s children that is what our life would be like with eight kids! :)


Friday morning brought about nine boys and two girls at our house.  It was still a bit of an overcast day, and very wet outside, but that didn’t stop the boys! Chandler was able to have over the two classmates that had come last Saturday, and then a friend came by with her two boys and little daughter.  Was it wild and noisy? Oh, yes! However, no one was hurt, and everyone seemed to get along just fine. Travis did get a scrape above his eye, and two boys managed to get locked in the tree house, but it was all good. Garett and Wesley managed to  lock the door on the treehouse and they couldn’t get out. Emma came and reported it to Bethany and I, but when I looked out the window no one was crying. The tree house has a big see-through door in it, and Garett and Wesley didn’t seem to be too distressed. Bethany and I could’ve gone out to help them solve their problems, but Roger and I are big advocates of seeing if the kids can solve their own problems first. Sure enough, eventually
they got out of the tree house. Garett used  his knife to take the door handle off, and they managed to
solve their problem! Bethany and I enjoyed a good visit together. We’ve missed their family, and it was good to visit. My boys were thrilled to see her sons, and a good time was had by all...and lots of food was eaten! These boys!

I have more I’d like to write about Saturday (a 5K race and Wyatts birthday) and Resurrection Sunday, but it will have to wait. I have laundry that needs to get done, and other responsibilities to take care off. It was a good week for our family.

This was the week before Easter Sunday. We’ve been reading through the New Testament of the Bible in chronological order, but we took some time this past week to read through the crucifixion account in each of the four Gospels. The boys have been asking some challenging questions as of late, and Roger and I need great wisdom from God. Chandler asked us this week, “How do we know that what we believe about the Bible is right?”  That’s not an easy question to answer an 11 year old
boy without overwhelming him completely. Roger and I  pointed him first to  the facts. 1) The Bible is truth. 2) It is the written Word of God 3) Mankind and religions make mistakes, but God does not make mistakes 4) When we take God at His Word, we can rest in knowing the truth 5) We discern what is truth by finding out what God has said in His Word.

Oh my, we could’ve and maybe should’ve said so much more to answer his question. But  he seemed to have peace of mind, and Chandler said that made sense to him. I can not even imagine all the questions that the boys are going to need to ask as we enter these pre-teen years. However, I do know that God promises that His Word will not return void. We need and treasure the prayers that are prayed on behalf of our children. It’s not just about raising our children to KNOW Jesus, it’s about pointing them to their Savior and the RELATIONSHIP that they need to have with Jesus. ...and so do you.



Our love,
Sarah

Spring Break! Academic Fair!

This was an interesting week for us. However, Friday did eventually come, and with it came the arrival of a week of spring break! As much as the teachers and the students need a break, it’s a bit overwhelming to think that we still have over 8 weeks to go in the school year! My sister will finish up her school year around May 16, and we will be a month behind that! But since it is what it is, we will try to ignore the mud and enjoy the break!

We started off the week with a snow day on April 8. Another snow day means that we have used up all of our snow days and then some. The kids played outside for a while, but this snow was so wet and sloppy that everyone ended up soaked within minutes! The kids and I did some spring cleaning and sorting, and there is certainly something refreshing about getting rid of junk! With five kids, we seem to collect quite a bit at times!

Also on Monday Garett completed another step in his academic project by completing a phone interview. It was good to talk to our Alaskan friend, Damaris, for a few minutes. Garett had originally planned to talk with Mr. Mortvedt who is the one who piloted the plane to the North and South Pole, but Mr. Mortvedt was off in the bush. His wife, Damaris, is a good friend of ours and she was able to help Garett with some of his questions. We certainly love and appreciate them.

Tuesday was a day of grocery shopping and errands for Emma and I. The boys were happy to go to school. Roger had off on Tuesday, so he was able to help the boys wrap up the finishing touches on their academic fair projects.

It was a slow and cautious drive to school on Wednesday as we had projects, reports, and backboards that needed to arrive safely. I had music classes to teach, and Emma was able to go to a friends house for a bit. It was the pre-school open house day, so Emma did not have any school today. After teaching music classes, we had a short parents group meeting. Sometimes it gets a bit overwhelming
to be few in number, but God always provides the right hands to help in His perfect timing.

Thursday— Academic Fair night! After dropping off the boys, Emma and I got right to work setting up tables and sweeping floors in preparation for the academic fair. A few other moms helped as well,
 and in a few hours we had everything set up for the evening. This was the first year that two of our classes would have tables set up in the fellowship hall instead of their classrooms. It was a great night! All the academic fair projects were on one level of the building; the classes in the  fellowship hall had plenty of room; there was space for the visitors  to visit together; and the students did a fine job explaining all that they had learned. It was a great night, and we came home with five very tired children.

Also on Thursday, I made some “blessing boxes” for the kids teachers. It’s a time of year that can get a bit long, and we are so appreciative of those who pour their lives into our children. So Emma and I put together little gift boxes for the teachers with homemade treats, little delights, and a card. My love language is giving gifts to those I love, and I had such fun putting together those boxes with Emma.

Travis came home from school in tears. It took me a while to figure out the problem, but eventually he spilled it all out. He was terribly distraught because his academic fair project was right between two girls! He was going to have to stand there for an hour next to his project and next to girls! I tried...really, I did, to understand why this was so upsetting to him. I will admit that I also had a very hard time not smiling a little! However, this was clearly upsetting to him. I asked him why didn’t talk to his teach about his problem, and he just replied that he didn’t want to be a problem. I explained that sometimes it’s okay to politely ask those in authority about a situation. Wyatt piped up, “Yeah, I asked Mrs. Wheelis to not put me next to you, Travis! You could’ve just asked nicely!”  That did not help Travis feel better. You know what though, he made it through the entire night standing between those two girls!

Having tired children can make the following morning a bit rough for everyone! Friday was not the best morning in the world, but we did manage to get out the door on time. Since there were projects set up in the fellowship hall, the students would be having lunch in their classrooms. This meant no hot lunch! Hooray! I mean, I don’t mind at all, but I was pretty excited that I would get to go home after picking up Emma from preschool!

Emma was delighted to go to school on Friday. She was a bit confused as to why she only had one day of school this week. I played the piano for chapel, and I loved hearing the students sing “Here I  am to Worship”. Its a song that they know very well, and I couldn’t help but smile as I listened to  their voices singing. I’m pretty sure that sometimes I get the biggest blessing in playing the piano for chapel!

After chapel, Allison and I squeezed in a quick coffee date! Say what!? Who is this lady?! Sometimes we see each other almost every day, but don’t really get to have a meaningful conversation. It was a blessing to get coffee, pick up palm branches for Palm Sunday, and spend some time in deep conversations. We came back to the church and sat in the car for a bit just talking and visiting. We both have many particular prayer requests that we are praying for right now, and it is such a gift to have a friend to pray with and share our burdens and blessings.

Emma and I went home for a bit after she finished school at 11:30am, but we came back early to make sure that everything was put away from the academic fair night. Since the school and the church share some spaces, it’s important that everyone does their part to keep things neat and tidy for the next group. Allison and I whipped through organizing chairs and tables. I managed to find a  ladder and take down some hanging displays, and everything was back in order by 3:00pm, which  was time to pick up the boys. It was a busy 1/2 hour!

Finally....Spring break! Chandler has been asking me to talk to the parents of the boys in his class. He has been wanting to have them over to play. Chandler reminded me on Thursday that I needed to talk to their parents. We were able to set up a play date for Saturday. I don’t know either of these boys or their families extremely well, but Roger and I have always said that we want to meet and interact with our kids friends. It was raining on Saturday morning, but that didn’t stop the boys from playing outside! For four hours our backyard was a busy bee hive of swarming boys, airsoft guns, loud voices, and lots of food! We went through 16 hotdogs, 14 hotdog buns, 2 bags of chips, 1 cantaloupe, 1 pineapple, 2 containers of ice cream...and that was just for lunch! Chandler told me thank you several times, and I know it meant a lot to him to have his friends over. I sure do love these boys even though they are loud, smelly, noisy, and destructive!

Chandler made himself a pair of camouflage pants this week. He took a pair of jeans that had holes in them, and he gathered up a bunch of leaves and sticks. Then he hot glued all those leaves and sticks to his pants! He was thrilled with the outcome! He also discovered that the hot glue didn’t work as well as he would have thought once the pants were wet and muddy. Yes, he is learning in life too! Chandlers big news for this week is that he made honor role! He was so excited when he opened his report card! Language arts has been a challenge for him, but he brought up his grade in that and succeeded in making honor role for the first time. We are very thankful for all of his hard work, and thrilled to see his excitement over his achievement.


This week Emma was told to clean up the play room. Garett was in there playing with legos. Emma came back out a moment later saying that she couldn’t clean the play room. When I asked her why, she replied, “It stinks in there! It smells like a toilet!” I was sure she was exaggerating, so I went to the play room. Sure enough...it smelled terrible! We spent some time trying to figure out what the smell was, and Garett was trying to help us. All the sudden Emma announces, “Garett! It’s your feet that smell like a toilet!” Um...wow! Pre-puberty boys and their feet! Garett didn’t seem to bothered by the smell, but the rest of us sure were  bothered!

We don’t really have very many plans for this week of break. Wyatt would like to stay home as much as possible! Roger has off on Wednesday so we might try to do something fun with the kids, we will see.


A huge blessing this week: This is the time of year when we can go ahead and register the kids for the next school year. God has miraculously (and I do mean miraculously) provided for our kids to attend this Christian school. We had received some money from my parents to put towards the kids schooling. Roger and I had decided that we would put that towards the registration fees which would cost $875.00. I was getting ready to walk down to the school office on Friday, when my friend, Allison, handed me an envelope. She said that someone had given money for one of the registration fees for one of our children! I didn’t even have time to pray about it, and God answered a request! Our kids registration fees are paid in full for the next school year! How awesome is that!? God has provided above and beyond all that we could ask or think! Please continue to pray with us as we ask God to bring us 90 students for the 2019-2020 school year. We serve an amazing God!

As we look towards next Sunday, we will celebrate Resurrection Sunday. I had the opportunity to teach the children’s Sunday school class this morning, and I taught on the  crucifixion of Jesus. I am so thankful that Jesus was willing to die that horrific death. Its hard to even wrap our minds around all the facts in the Bible.  However, I can rest 100% assured that Jesus lives today!  What a promise!

“He is not here, but he is risen as he said.” Hallelujah!

Welcome April! Snow, Blessings, and Life!

Another week as well as a new month have arrived! We are hoping to welcome some spring weather this month, but we’ve woken up to snow on the ground twice this week. But “This is the day that the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Roger worked last Sunday so after church we took our lunch to the airport. I had instructed the kids to bring their rubber boots just in case we went and collected cans. It was a bit of a slow day at the airport, which meant that Roger could sit and eat lunch with us. He had a flight after lunch, but the kids and I put on our rubber boots and headed out to walk along the road. In about forty-five minutes we had two large garbage bags of bottles and cans. Emma has become such a good helper this year, and she’s fun to have along. There is a lot of trash out along the roads as well, but since we have to buy our trash bags for our local dump, its hard to make the effort to pick up that too. Garett found this little bike off in the weeds off the road, and the boys decided that we needed to bring that home. Well, I’m certainly not hauling that around while collecting cans! That was okay with them, they cheerfully dragged the little bike along all the while dreaming up ideas for all the tricks they could do with the bike. (Listening to them talk, it really is amazing that none of them have broken a bone!) I try not to tramp on their ideas too much as most of the time they will get all set up for their idea, and one of them will decide that maybe this isn’t the best idea ever! There was one instance when Garett and Chandler were about 4 and 3 years old and they decided to jump out of the tree using garabage bags for parachutes! That idea I did decided to nix!

We have about five weeks left of our children’s program on Sunday nights. As much as I enjoy working with the 3-5 year olds, I’m ready for a break. As the weather gets a little nicer (Hopefully) and the sun is out longer in the evenings, I think we are all ready to wrap it up for another year.

I had a funeral to attend this week on Tuesday. Roger was working, and I really didn’t want to take Emma to the funeral. My friend, Annah, graciously agreed to watch Emma while I attended the funeral. The funeral was for an older lady in our church. She had been married to her spouse for 70 years! What a testimony of Gods goodness and grace! We’ve had quite a few funerals for older people this winter, and it’s a reminder of how much we need to pray for God to bring new families to our congregation. It seems to be my observation that the church is missing a whole generation of people. We have the older people in our congration (70, 80, 90 year olds) and we have some approaching middle age families (I put myself in this category now! The 30 and 40 year olds) but where is the generation from 45 to 60 year olds? Maybe its just in our church, but as I look back at churches we’ve visited over the years, I don’t think so. I think that generation is largely missing from our church families...why? I don’t know. I’ll let you know if I figure it out!



 I think there is a younger generation that is seeking truth, but I also think they are largely being misled by thinking that church is another place for entertainment, coffee, visiting, and meeting of friends. If we are really going to raise up our generation of children to “stand in the gap” as it is referred to in Jeremiah, we need to prepare them for more than shallow music, comfy chairs, and a watering down of God’s Word. If anything, attending these funerals has refueled my desire to raise
our kids to be a beacon of God’s light in a dark and fallen world. The truth of the matter is that we are very spoiled in our country. Around the world, Christians are being martyred and truly persecuted for their faith. And I will pray fervently for our children and do our very best to raise them in the nuture and admonition of the Lord, but I know that ultimately God must do a work in their hearts. I would truly covet your prayers on this matter.

Wednesday is my normal music class teaching day, but Travis had a speech evaluation meeting. He
has made huge, huge strides in school this year. I am very pleased with all of his hard work. He will be dismissed from speech lessons, which he is absolutely delighted with that thought! He has never really enjoyed speech lessons, but his speech teacher said that Travis was a delight to work with. Even though it wasn’t his favorite thing, he gave the lessons 100% of his effort.

Since I needed to stay in town until the meeting for Travis, I had an opportunity to take Wyatt to have coffee with me. We dropped the other kids off at school, and then snuck away for a few minutes. Wyatt has been wanting to have a coffee date for a while now, and I was glad we could make it work. Wyatt is not a talker! But during the course of the conversation, he did share a few things with me. I’ve forgotten what it is like to be the middle child, and Wyatt brought some things to my attention that I needed to be reminded of. I am thankful that the kids go to a school where their teachers understand the importance of these “dates” in the lives of our children. It was a good morning with our sweet middle child.

Wednesday afternoon found my friend, Allison and I crawling around the choir loft at church. Why? Oh just because we had nothing else to do. I’m kidding! The students are prepping for an academic fair, and it was brought to my attention that there would be a need for power strips and extension cords. I was not really thrilled to have to try to find these things, but an unpleasant job is always more fun with a friend. So....I got Allison to help me! We did manage to come up with what we will need, and we laughed our way through it. Last week, we had taken the kids to get pizza after school as there was a fundraiser at one of our local restaurants. I am thankful for a friend to spend time with, pray with, and laugh together with.

Thursday was my music class teaching day, and Emma had to come along. She does really well, but its not her favorite thing to hang out at school while I teach music. We are well into the preparing and planning for the Patriotic Program. I am so pleased with all of the students hard work.

Friday was another day of chapel and hot lunch craziness. I had planned to squeeze in a short run after playing the piano for chapel, but God had other plans. As I finished playing the piano for chapel, I noticed a mom sitting in the back. I went over to chat for a few minutes, but we needed up visting for the next hour and one-half! It truly was a God appointed event as she needed to share some of her burdens, and I was able to help bear those burdens and share some of my own.    We spent time in prayer, and the sense of God’s presence was truly felt. I walked away to prepare for hot lunch with just a reminder of how big and how good our God is-  the God of the impossible!

I had a few other blessings over the course of this week as well. On Wednesday morning I found myself with about thirty minutes of extra time while waiting for Travis’ Meeting. It was not enough time to run, but no one was in the church sanctuary. I was able to sit at the piano and worship God through music for about thirty minutes. I know why music can refresh our soul as my soul was certainly refreshed.

On Tuesday afternoon the boys had a friend come home with them. I am so thankful for the friendship of this boy from Garett’s class. The boys played outside all afternoon with airsoft guns, loud voices, lots of food, and a good time of visting for them. Good fellowship and good friends are important for our children just they are important for Roger and I.

Today Roger has a day off of work,  but he has four boys that are needing his help! Chandler is begging Roger to take him to collect some scrap metal. Garett needs help putting together a model plane for his academic fair project, and Travis and Wyatt both need a little help with some of their projects. I try not to help if it involves painting, cutting things, or putting together something. Usually when I do, Wyatt will announce to me, “I don’t think that’s right. Never mind, mom, I can figure it out!” It doesn’t hurt my feelings in the least that they don’t want my help in this aspect!

We are preparing for special meeting at our church for tonight and tomorrow. I am singing in some special music, and I am very much looking forward to it. We are praying for God to be glorified through these special meetings.

Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty! 

A Birthday, Depression, and a Prayer Request

This is a challenging post to write simply because I’m having a hard time expressing my thoughts. It’s been a challenging and a bit daunting of a week. I’ve actually not been terribly busy this week, which has given me extra time to think and process through some recent events.

Last week Roger celebrated another birthday. I am so very, very thankful for this man who is my husband and best friend. We didn’t have any big plans as Roger worked on his birthday, and it was on a Friday, which means hot lunch, chapel, piano playing, and all the other Friday events. We did have a small celebration with our family, but no cake. The kids were fine with skipping the cake as long as we had ice cream!

On Saturday, I attended the funeral of my dear friend who passed away recently. Roger was unable to attend as he was working, and I left the kids at home. The funeral was at a local church and very close to our house. I was thankful that I had friends that were also attending the funeral, so I had someone to sit with during the service. The church building was packed, and it was just another affirmation that she was so very loved. The service was a beautiful one to honor her life and her testimony for Jesus Christ. One thing I know is that when I die I want the people who come to the funeral to know that they can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I also know that I want lots of music, and I’d definitely prefer no organ music. I mean, not that I will care, but still!

Sunday presented me with the opportunity to led our Childrens choir practice, led in handbell practice, teach Sunday school, play the piano for worship service, and teach Children’s church. I’m glad its not like that every week, but every once in a while, I surely don’t mind. God certainly knew that playing the piano would be like a balm to my weary soul. I chose to play “It is Well with my Soul” for the offeratory. As I reflected on the words while playing the song, I can truly say that yes, it is well with my soul. That’s not to say that I don’t struggle or fail in my walk with Christ, but I also know that He is not done working on me yet. The last verse states, “And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight. The clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The Lord shall descend, and the trump shall resound, even so, It is Well with my soul.” Oh, how I look forward to that day! I love to play that song declaring that the Lord will descend. What a promise!

Emma barely made it until Roger came home from work

On Sunday afternoon, the boys were invited to our Pastors house to play with their son. The boys always enjoy spending time with Austin, out in the woods, being wild, getting dirty, and just being boys. They came back to church a bit muddy, but oh so happy! Roger, Emma and I had lunch at McDonald’s before heading home, and we enjoyed some fellowship with some older folks from our church. The pastor and his family also stopped in to get hamburgers to feed all those boys. And yes, McDonald’s is about the only fast food place around here!

Also this week, we watched the movie, “Facing the Giants” with our family. If you haven’t seen it, I
highly recommend it. It’s such a great family movie with a powerful message about how God does the impossible. It was a good timely reminder that we serve the God of the impossible. As we look to wrapping up another school year, and we prepare for the next one, I am praying for my God to show
Himself strong to our little Christian school. I am specifically praying for 90 students to be enrolled in our school. Think this is impossible? Oh, yes, it is! It’s asking for above and beyond all that we could ask or hope, but that’s the amazing part- God can do it! We’ve already started praying as a family for this request. Could God choose to not answer our request? Oh, He surely could. However, how often do we as Christians sell God short because we simply do not ask?! I often think we don’t
see God work in miraculous ways because we simply do not ask. I think we often have to settle for  something other than God’s absolute best because we didn’t take the time, energy or effort to implore Him to answer our requests.


In addition to everything else, I’ve struggled with depression this week. There- I said it! It’s a big, ugly word that lots of people don’t seem to want to discuss, talk about or address. But the truth is, its a real thing! I’m not in the throws of despair or anything like that, but this week has been a struggle. I
find myself weary, short on patience, lacking grace with my children, lacking energy, and just a desire to do nothing, which is so not me! However, I know that God desires that I fellowship with Him, that I find my joy in Him, and allow Him to give me rest. It’s a daily battle sometimes. I don’t struggle with depression all the time, but every once in a while, it creeps upon me. I know its partially in part because I want spring weather to be here! I want to get outside and walk again and feel the sun rays. I’m a bit bogged down by trying to help four kids prepare for an academic fair. They are doing a great job, don’t get me wrong, but I often wish they could ask someone else how to spell something for the
four hundredth time! (We try to have the projects put away by the time Roger comes home.) I’m also adjusting to finding myself being more of a single parent than I would like sometimes as we are entering back into longer days for Roger. I’m not complaining as Roger has a wonderful boss and a great job. I need to adjust not Roger! I find myself being emotional, which has our poor children completely baffled! Emma tends to be a bit sympathetic, but the boys just tend to disappear! However, the truth of the matter is that God is still on the throne. He knows my name, He knows my heart, and He loves me. (I would certainly be appreciative of a few extra prayers also)

The snow is melting...slowly! The boys are anxious to get out on the roads and start collecting cans and bottles again. We are slowly building up our family vacation fund, and if we all work super hard at it this summer, we might succeed!

A great song that I’ve listened to often this week: https://youtu.be/jdDIjbiVkA4

Joy and Sadness

My parents are safely back in Wisconsin, and our lives continue to move by at a rapid pace! We are now entering what I refer to as M.M.M. or the Magnificent Mayhem Mud season! Although the nights have been chilly, the daytime temperatures have been reaching into the upper 30s. This has created lots of mud and slop! We still have quite a bit of snow that has not melted yet, so more mud is coming!

In other news, our parent group at school hosted a birthday party for Maine last Friday night. Maine turned 199 years old on March 15, and it seemed like a good time of year to have a family fun event! The event was well attended by our school families, and it was a good opportunity for fellowship and enjoying Maine food (whoopie pies, blueberry muffins, Moxie, and pink hotdogs). Roger missed it as he was working. Since we’ve “sprung” forward in the time, it means the start of longer days for Roger. The boys and Emma enjoyed the “Maine” event, and I’m thankful for those parents that helped in the event as well as those families that attended.

Emma is finishing up her last few days of her antibiotic for Lyme. The medicine is affecting her stomach though, so we’ve been trying to encourage lots of yogurt and probiotics! She seems to tire more easily as of late, and Roger asked if it was “just him or does she seem more emotional”!? We are thankful that she takes the medicine without complaining or whining, and she’s good at pretending that the flavor changes every time she takes it. She pretends it’s cherry, strawberry, blueberry or a variety of other flavors. Travis asked if the flavor really changes or is she using her imagination! Its her imagination, buddy!

We are coming down the homestretch in working on these academic fair reports and projects. I do
not think that there is another event that can show the differences in each of our children’s
personalities  more clearly! Wyatt is working on “The Green Mountian Boys”. He has most of his report done, the resource page completed, and he’s been brainstorming about his project. Travis is completely overwhelmed by the entire thing, and I think he’d like to crawl under the table and ignore everything! Chandler works independently, and he only asks for help if he can’t manage something on his own. Garett is in no hurry or rush, and seems to think that the deadline is ages away...he will think that right up until the day it’s due, if we allow that! The bright spot is that once the academic fair is over, we have spring break! While I do enjoy breaks from school, I do wish that the school year would get done a little sooner around here. But since we already have the week off, we might as well enjoy it!

I’ve been working with our school music classes on preparing for a Patriotic program in May. Some classes are working on poems, or handbells, or Bible verses. And they are all working on various patriotic songs. It is so important that we encourage the next generation to love Jesus, serve God, and
 love their country. So many brave women and men sacrificed so much for this great country, and yet so many people take these liberties and freedoms for granted. We cannot be slack in encouraging and training the next generation!

Also this week, I bought Garett his first pair of pants from the men’s department. Where did time go?! He’s been growing so much and change is happening. I was looking back over pictures from years ago when it was just the four boys...in four years. Those were some long moments, but wow did time ever fly! I am constantly reminded of the changes that are happening as the children grow older and face challenges far deeper than the struggles of years ago. I beg for wisdom on a daily, moment by moment basis. If our children grow up to love Jesus and serve Him, it will be in spite of their mama not because of their mama! I’m just reminded often to keep short accounts with them; to ask their forgiveness as needed; to pray intercessory prayers for them; to love them fervently, and to always point them to Jesus.


In other news this week we had a friend unexpectedly pass away.  In the very first church we visited in Maine, we met a dear pastor and his dear wife. She welcomed me and our children with open arms. Although we didn’t stay at the church where he pastored, we remained friends with them. We attended the church we are now involved with due to their suggestion and the fact that Pastor Welch had been the pastor there years ago. For the past three years, Mrs. Welch has loved on our children, remembered their birthdays, provided a listening ear for me, and has always opened the door to her home with a hug for me. This past Thursday, Mrs. Welch went to be with Jesus. She died unexpectedly of cardiac arrest. I feel like I’ve lost the very first friend I met when we moved to Maine. God knew that I needed an older lady to love our children and to help me through some of those first very long and very lonely months in Maine. We will miss her. Emma cried when I explained that “Grandma” Welch had gone to be with Jesus. She said, “But Mom, you were going to
call her and we were going to go visit.” Yes, the last few weeks have just been a bit crazy with coming back from Haiti, school, my parents visting, and our vacation. I struggle with the fact that I didn’t make time for one more visit. But as Roger so gently told me, “Honey, you can’t  possibly do everything. God knows your heart. And He knows that you can only stretch yourself so thin, and you can only put so many things on your to-do list.” True, but my heart still hurts. I also realized anew that salvation is something that only God can bring about. Emma had a very difficult time understanding how Mrs. Welch’s heart stopped working;  but yet, because she trusted Jesus and asked him into her heart, she is in heaven with Jesus.  I know that God is working in Emma’s heart too as she has asked many questions about heaven as a result of the events of the past week. Please pray that Emma would come to know Jesus as her personal Savior.

Today I had a much needed date with my friend, Allison. For a change we didn’t need to shop for 500
things for the the school, but could instead just spend some time together. Emma was with us too, but Emma is the only one of our children that doesn’t mind shopping. I had a return I needed to make, and Allison was such good company for the day. I am truly blessed by her friendship, our laughter, the memories, and her encouragement to me. God blessed me when He placed Allison in my life. I am blessed.

All that to say...God is still on the throne, where He was when Daniel was in the Lions den, when Paul and Silas prayed in jail at midnight. He’s on His throne, and He giveth songs in the night.

Love,
Sarah

Vacation and Emma’s Test Results!

I’ve been a bit absent from blogging for the past two weeks as we’ve been soaking up some much needed time away for Roger and I. My parents have also been visting for the past two weeks, and we have treasured our time together. Of course, time went by all too quickly, but we are thankful for the opportunity to spend time with them.

My parents arrived about two weeks ago, shortly after our adventure to the E.R. With Emma. Our kids had winter break for the first week my parents were here, so we spent lots of time ice skating, visting, enjoying the outdoors together, and making memories. Also during that week, I called the doctors office to find out about Emma’s bloodwork. Imagine my surprise when our doctor reported that no Lyme testing had been run! I was not a happy mama, and now we had to return to the lab to have Emma’s blood redrawn! Emma did much better this time around, but it still wasn’t very fun. I knew it would take a few days to see what the results were, but I definitely feel like the E.R. Department dropped the ball on doing that test with the first round of her blood!

Roger and I had plans to leave on Friday afternoon for a few days away together. 396 days ago we had saved enough money to book a cruise! Cruising is something we both enjoy, and we find it a very affordable vacation if you’re willing to be flexible! My parents agreed to watch our children while Roger and I went on a cruise. It’s been four years since our last cruise and time away together for longer than two days. As we strive to preserve, protect, strengthen and encourage our marriage, I firmly believe that time away together is a necessity!

Roger and I left on Friday afternoon to head down to Newark, New Jersey. Our cruise was departing from Cape Liberty on Saturday afternoon. Roger was able to get a good deal on a car rental for 24   hours through his work, so we drove down to Newark, dropped off the car, and headed to our hotel   for the evening. On Saturday morning, we met up with some dear friends from Wisconsin. We headed to our cruise ship, and we savored every moment of our time. It was truly a wonderful week!

Our first port stop was in Orlando, Florida. Roger and I did not go with our friends on their excursion to NASA, but instead did some walking and talking around town. The Lord’s hand was in it all, as the doctors office called me on Tuesday. Roger and I did not have cell reception or an internet package on board the ship, but since we were in Orlando on Tuesday, I was able to get in touch with the doctors office. Emma’s bloodwork results had come back. The tests confirmed that Emma does indeed have Lymes. The doctor had called in an antibiotic prescription to the pharmacy. I was able to get ahold of my parents so that Emma can get started on her treatment. It’s not wonderful news, but we rejoice in knowing that God knows all things. I’m thankful that the bloodwork did confirm the Lyme, and that this is probably what caused Emma’s ankle to swell. It was a blessing to be able to talk to the doctors office, and get ahold of my parents on Tuesday. God knew that we needed that day  
 in Orlando.


The weather was beautiful in the Bahamas! We enjoyed the sandy beaches, the water, the friendships, the sun and the soaking up of memories. We went on this cruise with some friends from our church in Wisconsin. Some we knew really well, and one couple was someone we knew but not really well. We enjoyed our time with all of them! We spent many hours in conversations and laughter as well as conversations about the deeper and more painful experiences that life can bring. We are truly blessed.

I’m thankful that my parents held down the fort at home, helped our kids with school work and chores, encouraged them in their walk with Jesus, and loved on them. While our kids were thrilled to see us, they had a great week with Nana and Papa.

It was good for Roger and I to get away and spend some much needed time together. It’s not often that we have the opportunities to discuss everything under the sun without ears in the cornfield ...if you know what I mean! Roger’s job in Maine is a wonderful blessing, but the hours are long. It was good to reconnect as a couple, talk through our dream and desires for our children, pray together, and savor the memories.