Away and Home Again!

 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!

Memories and Heat!

 

Summer break comes around but once a year, and we do our best to treasure the moments! (Most of them anyways!)

Last Wednesday, Emma and I took a trip to New Hampshire with my friend, Allison, and her two girls. Allison and I really went because we wanted to Aldi (a grocery store) and Trader Joe’s! The girls came along for the shopping and fun! It was a fun day as we wandered around with our girls, ate lunch together, and created memories. I’m glad we took the opportunity to do this day trip with them.

Roger, Emma and I played “tourist in our own state” on Saturday afternoon/evening. We went to Boothbay which is another quaint little seaside town. We wandered around the streets, peeking in the little touristy shops, and just visiting and talking together. The boys would probably not have enjoyed all the wandering around the little shops, but Emma enjoyed it! We bought ice cream and coffee, but other than that we just took in the sights, sounds and smells of another little spot in Maine.  

I’ve been working on some continuing education classes for school, and I’ve been learning a lot as I go. Emma and I have enjoyed lots of reading books together, outside time, and special moments with just her and I. 

This week we went to the beach with a bunch of mamas and kiddos on Monday. It was supposed to be a very hot day, but it wasn’t really hot when we were at the beach! I ended up wrapping up in my towel as it was not hot when the sun was behind the clouds. But by the time we were getting ready to leave the beach around noon, the sun was coming out and it was really starting to warm up. 

Tuesday was very hot, and Emma and I were able to spend part of the day at the lake with Allison. Emma was in and out of the lake all afternoon, while Allison, Annah and I visited together and watched the kids play. I’ve had a harder time keeping track of one kid over the past few weeks than I’ve ever had keeping track of five kids! I think it might be because I think “how can I possibly lose one kid?” So I don’t count as often, but with five kids, I count a lot!! 

And it has certainly warmed up! Par for the course, the week of Vacation Bible School always seems to be the hottest week of the summer. It was so, so warm on Monday and Tuesday night of Vacation Bible School, but we made it. I hadn’t planned to be really involved with Vacation Bible School this year as it was a crazy school year, and we are only two weeks removed from that! However, there was a need for help this week, and it was something that I could do, so I did. Emma and I have been going to VBS every night, and there has been a good turnout of kids! I had thought that the crazy heat might keep the kids home, but no, they’ve been steady at coming! Tonight (Wednesday) is the last night for VBS, and I know that the teachers and helpers are thankful that it is wrapping up.  Vacation Bible School can be an incredible evangelistic ministry for children and their families, and while it’s a lot of hard work, seeds have been planted to tell children about the love of God, the faithfulness of God, and that a home in Heaven can be theirs for the asking. 

Roger and I are still very much in a “waiting” stage of our lives. To be totally honest, I’m ready to be out of the waiting stage even if I don’t like the next thing God has planned. But…perhaps that is God’s perfect plan as He is working on my heart and Roger’s. We’ve been through some pretty rough days the last few weeks, but God prepared us for that also. Remember a few weeks ago, when Roger and I were able to get away for an overnight? I think that God allowed us that very special time to reconnect and bond together so that we would be better equipped to handle some difficult days. God has a way of giving us exactly what we need, even before we realize that we need it. Because of that spontaneous offer by a friend to watch Emma for an overnight, Roger and I were able to make sure that we were rooted and grounded. It feels like we’ve been in a “storm of life” for a while now, but I know that God sees the storm from the other side. 

I miss my boys! I cannot wait to see them again! Tomorrow will mark the third week that they’ve been gone, and I’m heading out to Wisconsin to get them next week. Emma and I will be driving out to pick up the boys from my parents house, and then driving back to Maine. Last week, Wyatt and Travis had the opportunity to go to camp, and it sounds like it was a wonderful experience for them. Our boys are not much for phone conversations as we talked with all four of the boys last Saturday night and the total length of the phone conversation was under twelve minutes! They all told me that they are missing home, but they are glad that they’ve had the opportunity to go to Wisconsin. This week they are headed out to my sister, Jen, in South Dakota. She plans to take them camping, to a water park, and to a rodeo. They are soaking up good solid memories with my family, and I know that these experiences are important to them. But…I can’t wait to get them back!  

Summer Vacation!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Graduation and Moments to Remember!

 

And just like that- another year is wrapped up for school! As I reflect back on the school year, it was one of different challenges unlike any every before, but God was faithful! Last June, as restrictions were being put in place by our governor regarding school rules, the school year stretched ahead long and daunting. There were those that said it couldn’t be done- there was no way that kids would be able to go to school in-person all year long. I’m here to shout it from the rooftops that we serve an amazing God! The God that I serve is so powerful that He could split the Red Sea; He’s so compassionate that He raised a 12 year old girl from the dead. He’s so merciful that He gave His only Son to die for my sins, and He’s so faithful in answering the prayers of His children that He protected our students for 175 days. WOW! God is Good!

Last week was  a long and emotional week. It was very hot in the first part of the week as it was practically in the 90s. But with only three days left of school, we did not want to miss out on the fun parts! Wyatt’s class had a field trip to an animal park on Monday, some classes were going to play mini golf, and I took my class to the beach. Another mom helped me out with my field trips all week long, and I am so thankful for parents that are willing to volunteer in the classrooms. It was a beautiful day to go to the beach, and my class had a great time playing. Travis’s class had a field trip to play mini golf, and my parents offered to help drive students for that field trip. It was an “all-hands” on deck kind of week as all of our kids were going off to various field trips, Garett was graduating from 8th grade, my parents were here, I had my own class field trips, and we had the end of the year wrapping up with field day on the last day! Praise the Lord we made it through!

Garett’s graduation was on Monday night. None of his siblings were real excited about going, but they came anyways. It was a small group on Monday night, but it was a bittersweet feeling watching our oldest son graduate from middle school. Roger was running late due to work, but he made it shortly after the program started. Garett had one of the best teachers in the world for the past two years, and he has improved so much in his education. Oh, it’s still really hard for him, but he has learned so much. I’m so thankful for all of his hard work, determination, and character traits that have been developing. He earned the “Knight Award” for Christian character all four quarters, and his gentle and helpful spirit has helped so many younger students. We are so proud of him. We don’t want to raise “church kids”, rather we want to raise “Jesus kids”. Kids who will mature into adults who are on fire for God, love their Savior, are committed and upstanding citizens and patriots. Garett is not perfect, by any means, but then his mama is full of faults also! We will continue to pray and give the Holy Spirit opportunities to work in the lives of our children. 

On Tuesday it was so hot! I had actually moved one of my field trips due to the heat. We were supposed to go on a hike, but instead we played water games at the school. It’s probably one of my favorite memories as almost the whole school jumped into playing water games with the kindergarten class! Chandler’s teacher had also bought a bunch of water squirters, so the air in the morning break was filled with the delighted shrieks and shrills of children loving life! My friend, Christine, came along on our next morning activity for kindergarten and that was to get ice cream! We took the kindergarten class to McDonald’s for ice cream, but then it was disappointing as their dining room still isn’t open. So instead we brought the kids back to school, and they ate their ice cream there. It wasn’t quite as much fun, in my opinion, but they certainly didn’t seem to mind! 

My dad has been busy working on raising the deck this week, so Wyatt came home with my parents on Wednesday after the awards program. It was still a very warm day, and we had a good number of parents show up for the awards program. Garett, Chandler, Travis and Emma all received the “Knight award” for their leadership and character, so we were rejoicing with them in that. It was a bit of an emotional morning as our kids received some awards and I handed out some awards to my class-what a year! My dad and Wyatt were able to get a lot done on the deck project, so that is another thing we are thankful for this week. My parents were planning on leaving right after the field day activities on Thursday to head back to Wisconsin. This meant that on top of all the school activities, we were also trying to get the boys packed for their trip to Wisconsin. I didn’t even have time to think last week, but by Thursday morning, I sure was emotional! 

Thursday came all too quickly, and we were out the door for our last and final day of the school year. I felt emotional just looking at my own children, plus the emotions of saying good by to my students. I’ve come to love and appreciate each one of my students, and saying “good bye” to them was hard! We spent the first half hour of the school day praising the Lord through music. I felt the tears on my face as I listened to the young voices of those around me worshiping the Lord through song. I’m happy for summer break, but I sure am going to miss these moments! 

It was a crazy morning with games, outside play, snack time, lunch, and taking home all the miscellaneous items! Garett had been roped into dressing up as a unicorn for the last day of school, and the students loved it. I think some of the 8th grade girls thought that Garett would be too embarrassed to actually follow through with it, but he did it, and the preschoolers loved every minute! School ended at 11:30, and my parents were waiting to pick up the kids. I hardly had time to cry, but when my boys hugged me good-by, it was hard to not cry. I’m going to miss them so much! I’m so thankful that they’ll have the opportunity to go to camp, spend time with my parents and my sister (Jen), and to create some fun memories. But, I’m going to miss them! We had a staff meeting to discuss the school calendar after school, and Emma was thrilled to have the opportunity to go over to her friend’s house to play. I was happy that Emma got the opportunity also as it would’ve been a long afternoon for her!

On Friday morning, I had plans to meet with two other teachers to clean up my classroom and pack up for the summer. My friend, Hannah, suggested that I drop Emma off at her house, and that I should send along pajamas for Emma to spend the night. Hannah said that then Roger and I could have a date night. Well that text came at 7:30am. And by 8:00am, I had messaged my two teacher friends to tell them that I was going on an over night with Roger and that the classroom could wait! I dropped Emma off around 9:30am, and Roger and I were on the road by 10:30am. We didn’t really have much of a plan, but we knew we wanted to make the most of the next 24 hours. We decided to go to New Hampshire as we really haven’t spent any time in that state, and they also have a lot of great parks and trails too. We ended up in North Conway where we spent the afternoon tromping around on hiking trails. We had so much fun hiking together, eating dinner, finding a place to stay for the night, and just being really spontaneous with everything we did- we are so not normally like that! It was a great 30 hour get away, and one that we made the most of together. We haven’t been away on an overnight together for over two years, so this was truly a wonderful opportunity for us. I’m so thankful for friends that love our children and are also willing to invest in their lives. Emma was very tired when I picked her up in the afternoon and she barely made it home with her eyes open. 

It’s been a totally different house around here with just Emma at home, but we are treasuring our time with her. She’s not the loud one in our home even though the boys say she’s so loud! She’s content to play on her own, but she does enjoy taking bike rides and trips to the park with me. On Sunday afternoon, we had another spontaneous trip. Roger needed to fly in the float plane, and he asked if Emma and I wanted to come along. So we did! We flew out to Isle au Haut, and Roger did a great job landing the plane. We hiked around on the island for about an hour, and then we flew back. It was such a spontaneous adventure, and a rare opportunity with just one kiddo! 

I already miss our boys! We are excited to have the school year wrapped up, but there is still plenty to do at the school. My classroom still needs packing up for the summer, and its amazing how many things I use to teach kindergarten! But, we are getting there. 

We are going to enjoy these moments and memories. What are your plans for the summer? 

Parents, Programs and Patriotism!

 

It’s been over two weeks since I last posted on the blog, and I’m reminded of why I don’t like to go that long between posts! We’ve been very busy…very! Between house projects, teaching kindergarten, planning and coordinating field trips, decorating for the Patriotic program, rehearsals for the program, my parents coming, planning for Garett’s graduation, preparing for the kids leaving for Wisconsin- well, it’s been a bit of a crazy house! 

Last Friday (6/4) was our Patriotic program. Our students worked so, so hard on this program, and it showed! When we started preparing and planning for this nearly five months ago, we had no idea how we were going to actually be able to have this program with the restrictions. But we serve a BIG GOD! Restrictions were lifted, and people came out with enthusiasm and love to show their support for the students. We had two performances on Friday, one at 1:00pm, and one at 6:00pm. The afternoon one was fairly well attended, but the evening one was a full house! The seventh and eighth graders did a stick drama set to the music of “God Bless the USA” and they got a standing ovation on Friday night, which delighted both Garett and Chandler. It was such a wonderful day, and truly one of the highlights of my year. I have a deep love and passion for the United States of America, and we truly need the grace of God in our lives. We need a revival and it needs to start with us, right now. I’m not planning on teaching music next year, but this is the part that I will deeply, deeply miss. While the practices, preparation and planning are tough and time consuming, I love this nation. I want to pass on that to my students. I taught the kindergarten, and 5-8th grades for music this year, while another teacher taught the other grades. It was so nice to have someone to work together with on this program. I do believe that God was honored and glorified, and perhaps we were able to encourage a few others to keep the faith that God is faithful. 

Last Tuesday Travis and Wyatt had the special opportunity to go with Roger for the day. Roger was flying the float plane, and then had a dentist appointment to go to later in the day. Travis and Wyatt jumped at the opportunity to go with Roger. Travis has had an especially hard year at school, so I was happy to see his smiling face at the opportunity to go with Roger. School is important-absolutely! However, so are moments like this. Life is about balance, relationships, experiences, work, fun, and so much more! I know that Wyatt and Travis will remember these times with Roger. 

My parents arrived also last Tuesday night. Roger and I were actually away at a meeting with a prospective administrator, and Garett was away baby sitting, and the other boys and Emma were at a friends house. But it was nice to see them when we came home. The children are always excited to see my parents, and my dad has been busy working on projects for me! My mom is going to drive for Travis’s field trip tomorrow. All the boys are leaving with my parents on Thursday at 11:30…as soon as school is out!  I’m already feeling like I’m going to deeply miss our boys, but I’m thankful for these opportunities for them. 

My dad handed me a note from someone in their church that was addressed to Roger and I. It was from a couple in their church that just wrote a note to encourage Roger and I. They told us that they were praying for us, and that they were thrilled to see us endeavoring to raise our children in the Lord. They enclosed a gift of money for a date night, and the whole note and gift just encouraged me so much. Roger and I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed as of late with the future, decisions, parenting, and it was such a blessing to read a note telling us that someone was praying for us and wanted to bless us. It’s a memory I’ll treasure as well as a reminder to encourage others around us. Just because someone is smiling and appears to be strong, that is certainly not always the case! I want to see the needs of those around me and live out Christ in me. 

The days have been warm here…very warm, which make us long even more to be done with school! We are close…3.5 days close! I’m taking my kindergartners on several field trips this week, and then on Thursday it’s a quick 1/2 day! 

Garett will graduate from eighth grade tomorrow night. I didn’t think I would be emotional about it, but this is our first born son. He’s matured and grown up so much in the last year, and we are very proud of all his hard work. School does not come easily to him, but he works hard at it. I don’t know what God has planned for Garett’s future, but I know that God knows what is best for him. We are planning on him attending high school at the school he currently attends. The school is planning on starting a ninth grade class, so Garett will be a part of that, Lord willing.  

The school year is almost complete, and that always brings with it a bittersweet feeling. I’ve learned so much this year, and I sure do love my kindergarten class. I’m going to miss them so much as they pass on to first grade. I know that God has great plans for them. 

Faith and Family

 We’ve been enjoying a few days of unusually warm Maine weather, which has been lovely for outside recess time! It has not been a lovely as teachers endeavor to teach a few more important things before school is wrapped up! However, this is the time of year where we indulge in a bit longer recess, more hands-on learning experiences, learning through writing letters outside with chalk or “Mother, May I?” while reviewing service words. We are getting there! Both the students and the teachers have started on a countdown to the end, and the Lord continues to give us grace and mercy. 

This past week I celebrated another birthday...each birthday is a gift from God and a reminder that He has a plan and purpose for my life. I spent the day teaching, covering lunch duty, and teaching music classes as we continue to prepare for our Patriotic program, and a staff meeting. I was blessed by so many sweet and simple gestures...a homemade note from a student; a friend, Hannah,  making me some mini cheesecakes and bringing some flowers; my friend, Bethany, giving me a beautiful plant, a few birthday cards from friends and family...it was a good day. Roger offered to take me out to dinner that evening, but by the time we got home, it was good to be home. We made plans to celebrate at a later time. Neither of us knows when that will happen, but the thought is there. Roger continues to be overwhelmed with work and school board responsibilities, but again, God continues to give grace. We continue to be in fervent prayer for whatever God has for us- it’s the waiting that’s hard! 

On Tuesday, my friend, Allison and I snuck away for lunch together. A few select restaurants have indoor seating now, so it was nice to be able to sit and chat for an hour. It’s amazing how fast time flies when it’s time spent with a dear friend. I’ve know Allison for almost five years now, and every year our friendship becomes dearer. She’s often the one that tells me “that’s a bad idea” or the one that comes up with a “simple” idea that we can do together and it morphs into a big project! I’m so thankful to have a friend to “do life” with here in Maine. We both attend the same church, and we both have students in the school. We both are passionate about several things in our lives, I’m just louder about it! :) 

Our last early-release day for the year was on Wednesday. My sister, Hannah, and her husband, Josh, invited us to come on their boat with them for the afternoon. It was a beautiful day in Maine, and it was a relaxing afternoon. If I’m not careful and intentional, I can easily become a work-alcoholic where I become controlled by my to-do list. But out on a boat in the afternoon sun leads it’s way to a relaxing atmosphere to enjoy time with family. Roger was working, but the boys had a great time fishing. Emma, Wyatt and Travis got in the lake...brrrr!! 

Because we had an early release day on Wednesday, I taught a quick music class on Thursday. We are getting to the nitty, gritty details of the program such as walking quietly, watching the teacher, re-doing small errors. Our school is currently without an administrator, (something to be praying about) but we had an applicant come and observe at the school on Thursday. This person is an amazing music teacher and has directed several big productions at area schools. And this person came to observe the music class! I was a little nervous as my degree is NOT in music, but it’s something that I’ve taught for the past four years. And I felt like the practice didn’t go as well as I would’ve liked, but oh well. Anyways, after the practice and the students were dismissed, this person came up to me and told me what a great job the 7/8 grade had done on their performance! “Moved to tears” were the words used as this person had observed the students working on practicing Patriotic music and speeches. I’m looking forward to having this program behind us, but oh so excited to see what God is going to do through the hard work of these students! 

Friday found us all excited to be wrapping up another week of school! Thank you, Jesus!  We have chapel on Friday mornings, and this morning we found out that the chapel speaker was not going to be able to make it for chapel. The school office found someone willing to fill in on short notice, but he wouldn’t need all the chapel time. Oh perfect! It was a golden opportunity for some whole school practice singing for the program! Another fellow teacher teaches the younger grades for music, so it provided an opportunity for students to perform for a live audience. While we missed our scheduled chapel speaker, I love how God works out so many details for us! In the afternoon, I helped with a beach cleanup that involved students in 1-8th grade. It was a great afternoon as the sun was shining, the students were happy to be out of class, and it provided a service opportunity. 

We have continued to stay at our friends house as we are house sitting for another few days. It’s been a good experience, but we will all be thankful to go home. But while we’ve been not sleeping at our house, we’ve continued to work on projects around our house. Roger and the boys have been working on some landscaping around the house, while I’ve been preparing to do some more painting. This time in the boys room! My parents are coming in a few days, so we’ve been extra busy as we anticipate that. I have a few projects that I need my dad’s help. The boys continue to mow at the neighbors every week, and that’s been a good job for them. 

We went to a work get together for Roger’s work in the evening as the whole family was invited. Things are never the same once someone passes away or leadership changes. It’s been a rough year, and last night was a reminder of how much we’ve missed Rogers boss. Hard on our children, harder on Roger. Life never stays the same, and as believers we know Who holds tomorrow. It’s easy to become anxious over what might happen or what might not happen, but we rest in the One who holds it all. What I really want our children to see through all of this is the faithfulness of God. Life isn’t fair, it’s not always easy, and changes are hard, but we can rest in the promises of a faithful, unchanging God. 

Almost...Almost!

 Trying to find a quiet or spare moment to write on the blog has been challenging at best, and when I do have a spare moment these days, my brain is going 500 directions! This week we have mid-quarter reports that need to be prepared, kindergarten screenings for next school year, pet-sitting for some friends of ours, Patriotic program practice, teaching gym class to some students, plus just the normal day to day activities in our family. But...we have only 20 days of school left! We are in the home stretch, and I think both the students and the teachers are feeling it! 

We’ve been pet sitting for some friends of ours, and while I miss my own bed, it’s been a good experience for the kids. The pond in their yard is an attraction for all our kids, and a lot of time is spent looking for frogs, turtles, and seeing who can fall in the most times in a day! It’s a little farther from school than our house, but we are making it all work. 

Sunday was Mother’s Day, and it was a blessing to be back with our church family. We went out for lunch after church, and then a quick stop at Lowe’s for a Mother’s Day present. Travis picked out my Mother’s Day present. A few weeks ago, I had seen a yeti cup that keeps your can cold. I had admired it because I like sparkling water and Diet Coke, but I’m always drinking it at room temperature by the time I finish it. I had mentioned it to the kids, and they decided to get it for Mother’s Day. Travis picked out the color of the cup, and it’s a beautiful teal color. He said, “I know you really like pink, and they had a pink cup there. But I know you like teal too, and if I get to use your cup, I’d rather it'd not be pink!” Alrighty then! I do enjoy the cup though! All our kids created cards for me too, and that was very special also. I love reading homemade cards. 

Last week was teacher appreciation week, and I found myself on both ends of the spectrum as parent and teacher! I worked with several moms in our parent group to help create some special events for our dear teachers. I ordered Amazon gift cards on behalf of the parent group and wrote out the thank you notes to our staff...didn’t write myself a note though! Tuesday the parent group handed out the teachers favorite candy bars, and I had my kindergarten class deliver those to the teachers. They really enjoyed that! Wednesday was a teacher’s luncheon. It was a special time for our teachers to enjoy lunch and visit together. Thursday was thankful Thursday with notes from the students to the teachers. And Friday we had coffee, fruit and yogurt for break time. My amazing friend, Bethany, coordinated some parents to help cover morning recess for the teachers. I made the teachers some blueberry muffins on Tuesday evening but I failed to tell my children that the muffins were not for them! Guess what? We did not have any blueberry muffins to take to the teachers on Wednesday morning! Instead we made more blueberry muffins on Wednesday evening and the kids took some to their teachers on Thursday.  Roger came to help out with playground recess on Friday as well handle some matters with the school board. He’s been working about three full time jobs with his regular job, the school board, and our family, as well as helping with teen group on Sunday nights.  We are waiting patiently...actually, I’m not waiting patiently, but I’m trying...as we continue to wait on God’s perfect timing.  

Last Sunday afternoon, the neighbors barn burned down. It was a fairly large fire, and we are thankful for the Lord’s protection. The family and pets are all safe, but it was quite the afternoon of excitement. Garett and Chandler have been hired by our neighbor to mow the grass once a week, so they started that job last week. They are very excited about their job, and the neighbor man told them that he was impressed with the boys mowing skills. He didn’t think that they’d do as good of a job as they did. Ha! I remember when Garett was about eight years old. I was trying to back my dads zero turn lawn mower out of the garage, and it wasn’t going well. Garett says, “Mom, I can do this. I’ve helped Papa (my dad) lots of times”. So I let him get on, and he proceeded to back it out carefully and correctly. Since then, I’ve never gotten on a riding lawn mower again as the boys just do it all. Now if it’s a push mower, I’ll do that because that’s great exercise! 

As with every year, we are faced with changes and challenges in our little Christian school also. It can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, but I am so thankful to rest in the promise that God goes before and beside us. Our administrator had her baby last week, and I snuck away from school today to go see the baby. Travis was having a very rough morning today and told me that he wanted to be done with school and that he didn’t like it at all. We chatted for a bit, and he told me that he just feels like he can’t get away from the difficult people in his class. I’ve really been trying to do better lately about LISTENING to my children instead of offering them a quick reply. I also recognize that I am WAY better about listening in the morning than I am in the evening! Anyways, I told Travis that I would take him with me to see the baby, but he would have to come back to school as I have kindergarten screenings. He was so excited about the opportunity, and he told me that he’d love to see the baby but he couldn’t hold the baby. I said yes, well the baby is really little. He said “That’s not it, mom. We boys had a playoff golf tournament to see who would get to hold the baby first, and I didn’t win.” This baby is so loved by our children already! It cracks me up that they created a way to see who would get to hold the baby first! 

While the week has been long, there is always something to rejoice in every day. I’m thankful for my salvation, my family, my spouse, my kindergarten class, our church and school. We are blessed.