Family Time, January Birthdays, & Life

 The entire month of January has been long- except for the five days that Roger was here! We’ve been in survival mode and not thriving mode, but the grace of God gets us through one day at a time. 

On Sunday, January 16th, my friend, Jess, helped me coordinate moving our vehicle to the car shop. The van was still running, but it was needing a tune-up. I have people that are willing to help me, it’s just hard sometimes to ask for help as I feel like I am inconveniencing someone. However, I’m thankful for Jess. She met me at the car shop, we took Emma and her daughter to a birthday party, and then Jess drove me out to the airport so that I could pick up a vehicle we were going to borrow. I am thankful for friends that allow us to use their vehicles- and their very nice vehicles! Roger contacted some of his dear island friends, and they agreed to let us borrow their nice truck. We were expecting to have our van back in a few days, but we ended up driving their vehicle for about a week. I am so thankful! God is good! 

I left school a little early on Friday with Travis and Emma. Garett and Chandler wanted to stay at school as they really enjoy having gym class on Fridays. Wyatt was going with a friend after school to go bowling. But Emma and Travis were happy to come along! It worked out well that the other boys stayed behind as we wouldn’t all fit in the vehicle. It was so good to see Roger, and we soaked up every minute! We attended a church dinner and bowling activity on Friday night, and it was good for Roger to reconnected with some of the people in our church family. 

On Saturday Roger took the boys to their soccer game, while Emma and I stayed at home to watch Hannah and Josh’s kids. Emma was so excited about gymnastics last Saturday, and we had paid for a month of lessons for her Christmas present. Emma enjoyed the class and she was looking forward to going  again this Saturday. However, we got an email this week stating that the gymnastics class would be moved to Sunday for the next seven weeks due to a coach conflict. Well, that certainly wouldn’t work for us. Emma was pretty disappointed, but she was happy to play with the little children on Saturday. We watched the kids for several hours so that Hannah and Josh could get away for a date. 

Sunday was a full day with church and teen group and spending time together. The days really did seem to fly by! Roger and I spent Monday together doing all kinds of fun stuff like laundry, banking, errands, etc. But it was good to spend time together, and I so appreciate having Roger available to pick up kids and participate in our family life. Roger and I went on a date with another couple on Monday evening. Allison and Jason invited us out to supper, so that was a nice treat. I can’t remember the last time we had a supper date with them! We enjoyed the food and fellowship, and it was especially nice as the restaurant is literally just a minute walk out the door. 

Dinner and sweet fellowship 

Roger took the day on Tuesday to spend with the boys. We had a delayed start on Tuesday, which was kinda nice as that gave us a little extra time together. Roger took the boys to Portland to look for a hockey stick for Chandler’s birthday. Wyatt decided not to go because his class was going to be doing a science experiment. We don’t let the boys miss school for every whim, but having Roger around is a big deal. It provided an opportunity for uninterrupted conversations with the boys, and a chance for them to talk to Roger about some of their challenges and struggles. The boys will talk to me, but the older two boys frequently tell me “Mom, you think like a girl!” Um- well! 

Roger had to leave on Wednesday morning. He spent some time with the boys and Emma in the morning, and then Emma and I took him to the airport around 10:00am. It was kind of a  rough morning for all of us. Having Roger leave is kinda like the let down after camp is over. Everyone feels a little out of sorts and grumpy. It takes us a few days to adjust to life without Roger for a few weeks, but we will get through. We’ve made it through the longest parts, I think. Roger plans to come back in February, March, April, May and then in June, we will begin the process of moving nineteen hours across the United States. 

God has been so faithful during these months. He’s provided friends to encourage me. He has allowed me to have deep conversations with our boys. He’s provided the boys with the opportunity to play soccer through the winter months. He’s given grace when I was sure I couldn’t conjure up another moment of patience. He’s given rest when we’ve been falling apart. He’s provided housing in a market where there isn’t any. He’s given Wyatt and Travis a teacher who really cares about them and wants to build a relationship with them. He’s given Chandler a teacher that loves him and prays for him regularly. He’s given Garett a depth of discernment that I haven’t seen prior to this year. He’s allowed Emma to grow and mature through challenges (although the boys would say she has a long ways to go!) 

The second quarter of school has closed and it’s on to the last two quarters. I just counted up the days today and we only have 76 school days left- and so much still to teach! Please continue to pray for me both as a teacher and a mom. I want to invest in the lives of my students, but I still need to have energy and patience with my own tribe. 

Chandler’s 14th birthday was on Wednesday. Fourteen years have flown by! He has matured so much in the last year, and I am so thankful for his work ethic,  entrepreneur spirit, his laughter, his determination, and his resilience. It’s been a hard, long year for him but in spite of tears of frustration and discouragement, he still plods along. Chandler sees the world in only two colors- black or white. He’s been this way since he was very, very young. He thrives on relationships and people taking the time to get to know him.  His love language is quality time. He can be head-strong, impatient, and outspoken, but he can also be sensitive, sweet and kind. I am so thankful for this boy of ours, and I pray for him daily that he will grow up to love Jesus and serve Him with his whole heart. His teacher at school brought him cupcakes for his birthday, and one of my teacher friends gave him an air-soft vest and in invitation to come over and play air-soft sometime- right up his alley! Despite the fact that Roger had to leave on his birthday, Chandler handled the day with maturity and a sweet spirit. He was thankful that Roger was there in the morning.  Happy Birthday, Chandler!

Roger made it back safely to Michigan, and we are thankful for that. It was so nice to have the opportunity to discuss many things in person rather than over the phone or FaceTime. There really is no substitute for actual real in-person conversations. I treasured our time and memories together. This morning one of my teacher friends, Shaina, gifted me with a sweet note and a gift card to Dunkin Donuts. She wrote that she can’t solve the problem of distance, but coffee could possibly help?! Oh, yes!!! I was so thankful for the note and gift to dunkin. I’ll definitely be putting that to use! 

I was so thankful for Friday to roll around! It was an emotionally draining week, and since we didn’t have all our regularly scheduled specials, the week seemed a little longer than others. I kinda was feeling like a broken record by Friday afternoon, but we made it through! I have a student teacher working with me for a couple of weeks, and I’ve savored the extra learning that we can get done by having an extra set of hands and ears. Kindergarten is a lot of sounding out letters/words, and most have not mastered the concept of silent reading! I love them dearly, and it’s going to be a change to not be teaching kindergarten next year. Kindergarten is one of my favorite ages, and I’ve enjoyed this class even when I’m exhausted. God is good. 

Thank you for your continued prayers. We don’t know what the future looks like, but I’m thankful that God sees the bigger picture!

Saturday was a snow day! It was windy and snowy all day long, and it was nice to have the day to catch up on lesson plans, schedules, reading and playing some games with the kids. We made chili and brownies and watched the snow fall. The kids went outside several times, but the cold wind drove them back inside before too long. I’m thankful for snow and seasons. I also wouldn’t mind if God moved us to a warm, sunny state sometime in our future! 

Snow day! 

                                          Emma loves to “teach” school! 

Bowling on Friday night 

 Our boys and the pastors son 

Welcome to January- the month of 31 Mondays! (Kidding!)

 We returned to school last Monday after two weeks of Christmas break. I think every day last week at school felt like a MONDAY! :) It was a long week for all of us, but by the grace of God, we made it through. I know our kids were feeling the effects of lots of driving, missing their daddy, too much sugar and junk food, and the challenges of starting school again. Like I said, by the grace of God, we made it through! 

My friend, Allison and I did get away from school for a bit on Monday, (1/3) to have lunch together. Our time always flies by, but she’s a gem of a friend and one I will miss deeply when we leave Maine. Garett and Wyatt both had healthy child visits last week. They are both healthy and strong, but Garett does have a fatty tumor growing on his arm that needs to be removed. He had an ultrasound done last year, and we decided to leave it alone. But a year later, he’s starting to hit the lump on objects, and we should probably get it removed. Garett is in the 95% for weight for kids his age and the 92% for height. Wyatt is in the 50% for weight and in the 37% for height. We are thankful for healthy and strong children. 

Roger has his ticket bought for the month of January! We are excited to see him next weekend actually! He will be coming home from January 21-26, so we are all looking forward to that. Chandler’s 14th birthday is on January 26th, so it’s nice that Roger will at least be here on the morning of his birthday. Roger has spent some time driving by some homes in Michigan, but that’s all we’ve done so far. There are not very many properties on the market, and per usual, Zillow can make all the properties look amazing! We are just trying to be patient and wait for God to provide us with the perfect property for our family. 

We had a snow day on Friday (our first one this year). We were all happy to have a snow day, and I was so happy with the opportunity to try to catch up on some things around our house. It felt like we came back from our trip and jumped right back into life/school/church/ so it was nice to be able to work on some home projects. The kids and I went over to my friend, Hannah’s house for a bit. My children love her kids dearly, and it was fun to see them all tromp around in the snow. Since we are living in an apartment, our outside space is minimal. The kids were happy to shovel off the yard and put the snow into one big pile to build a snow fort. I was happy to sit and talk with Hannah, hold her baby, and drink coffee. And…all that fresh air helps everyone sleep better at night! 

Last Saturday afternoon, we were able to go over to a friends house for a while. I teach at our school with Jess and Stef. We needed to have a curriculum planning meeting, but since we all have kids, it seemed easier to try to plan to do something not at school. We spend a LOT of time there already. Jess invited us all to come over to her house on Saturday, and the kids were excited about that. Since we had a snow day on Friday (YAY!) there was plenty of snow to play in. The kids (I think we had 12 of them all together) played outside and inside and all over while the three of us sat at the table and talked. It was an opportunity to talk and pray about many things. It’s an easy time of year to feel a little discouraged and sometimes a lot discouraged. We did talk about curriculum, but also about some of the challenges and joys of the school year. We wrapped up our time by praying about many things. If we really think that God can change things (and He can), it’s imperative that we ask Him to help us. I’m thankful for both Stef and Jess, and I count it a privilege to work alongside of them. This year has been different than any other. We’ve had multiple challenges, and it does feel like the Devil is fighting hard. I know that I will probably look back on this year as being a blur at moments and a complete drag at others. But through it all, God is faithful, kind and strong. I’m so thankful that we can always run to Jesus. 

Sunday is always a full day for us, and a day that I especially miss Roger. Going to church has always been a priority in our family, and it’s hard when we aren’t doing it as a family. I’m finding that Garett and Chandler are really struggling to enjoy going to Sunday school, and it’s a challenging age for young people. I think I’m going to have them start going to the adult class with me. It seems like no matter where you go to church some of the challenges are the same. The challenge for people to be committed is a hard one whether it’s church related, job related and sometimes even family related. Or the challenge is finding people that are really fitted for the job. If every person in the body of Christ was exercising their gifts and talents would the challenge still exist?I tend to think not. I’ve just finished reading a book called “Hearts on Fire” and it was the story of eight women who have lived through extreme persecution and difficulty yet are on fire for Jesus. It was such a convicting read for me, as well as a hard one. I don’t like pain or persecution and the thought of someone harming our children makes my stomach feel sick. I’m thankful that God promises to go beside us and before us, and I don’t need to dwell on what my response might be. God will provide strength as it’s needed. I do know that I want to be faithful. I want to be faithful to love God with all of my heart, to be faithful to my spouse, to strive to raise our children to love Jesus passionately, and to serve Him fervently. I don’t know what any of the future holds, but I know that I want God to use me in a mighty way. (Preferably without pain- if I’m going to die, I’d prefer it to be quick) I know that sounds morbid, but I know what eternity holds for me- do you!? 

Yesterday I had to step out of my classroom for a bit to take Travis home. He had come up to my classroom shortly before lunch to tell me that he had a bad headache. Per usual, I told him to drink some more water first. About 1:30 in the afternoon, he came up to my classroom again. He was white-faced and told me that his headache was so bad that he had thrown up in the bathroom. I knew he was having a migraine, and generally what helps a migraine is rest! Thankfully, our administrator and the secretary were able to cover my classroom for about ten minutes as I took Travis home. It’s miserable when you don’t feel good, and it’s always hard when it’s one of your kids. Travis slept the entire afternoon, but by the evening hours, he was feeling better. He doesn’t get headaches real often, but when he does, they are usually pretty bad. One of the highlights from this month so far has been the flowers that Roger ordered for me. He ordered some flowers and after school on Tuesday, Garett walked over to the flower shop to pick them up. It definitely brightened my day, and I was thankful for both Roger’s thoughtfulness and Garett’s willingness to serve me by walking over to pick up the flowers. 

Overall, we are surviving the month of January. It’s been more challenging than I would like, but God already knew what we would face this month. I’ve been reading through Lamentations and one of my favorite verses in that book is “His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.” 

Christmas Memories, Lots of Driving, and Time with Family!

 

Wisconsin memories! (I’ve played pond hockey on this pond more times than I could possibly count!) 

Two days until the start of a new year!? There were moments when I thought that 2021 was never going to end, but through it all God has been faithful and true. I am so thankful that in the moments of despair, discouragement, and fatigue, that God has brought us through. 

In 2021, we saw a job change for Roger, our house selling, lots of school and staffing changes, a move into an apartment for our family, Roger starting his new job in Michigan, and numerous other changes and challenges. Through it all, every morning God provided new mercies and grace for every moment. Oh, how I take heart in that! 

I’m looking forward to a new year -2022. I know that God will continue to show Himself strong and faithful. The first half of the school year has been rough on one of our children in particular, so I would appreciate prayers for a better second half of the school year. I am praying that this child, in particular, would see God do great and mighty things in their life over the remainder of the school year. This child has told me numerous times that they’d like to be homeschooled, they are ‘weary in well-doing’, and is just all around struggling. Roger and I have been daily asking God to provide us with wisdom in how to help this child. I firmly believe that God is using these experiences in this child’s life to shape and mold them into who God has created them to be, but at the same point in time, I am this child’s parent. God has given Roger and I the responsibility of parenting. Sometimes this means removing a child from a situation due to constant frustration and discouragement. Sometimes it means praying often and fervently that God will use this situation in their lives to help them understand that God can and will help them through hard things. All that to say- we need wisdom! 

It was a busy week of break, and I am not ready to go back to school -yet! First we have to drive back across the country and then I’ll think about school again! In the last ten days, we finished up school before Christmas break with the school Christmas program, the church Christmas program, and then the drive to Michigan for Christmas with Roger. School was supposed to not get out until Wednesday, December 22, but we unexpectedly had the week off. So the kids and I left on Monday to head to Michigan. 

God provided great weather and smooth driving conditions for almost the entire trip to Michigan (19.2 hours) The last 100 miles hosted terrible driving conditions in snow, blowing snow, and dark roads, but we made it! We arrived at the hotel in Mackinaw City on Tuesday evening- two whole days before we thought we would be there! That was a special gift for our family. One of Roger’s dear friends from one of the islands in Maine, had gifted our family with a gift of money which was especially timely as we had a longer hotel stay that originally anticipated. Roger had to work on Wednesday and Thursday but the kids and I spent the days swimming, walking around the town, and exploring the area. There are not a lot of hotel options in Mackinaw City this time of year, and the one hotel was open Monday thru Wednesdays and the other hotel was open Thursday thru Sunday. So we had to go across the street on Thursday afternoon to switch hotels which provided a humorous situation, but it was a memory! 

We found a local ice arena for the kids to skate at on Wednesday and Thursday, so that was a highlight for them. After six years of not having skates due to my kids wearing my size of ice skates, the boys decided to buy me a new pair of ice skates for Christmas. I got my gift early so that I could use them ice skating on Thursday with the boys. However, when we arrived at the ice arena for skating, Travis told me “Mom, I am really glad that you got new skates. I should’ve said something yesterday, but I didn’t want to say anything cause we were buying skates for you. But, Mom, I can’t get my ice skates on with my socks too.” I looked at Travis’s feet and noticed that he had blisters on his ankles. He had worn his skates on Wednesday without socks so that he could get them on! I told him that wearing skates with socks is very important, and that we would’ve happily have bought him skates if we had known that he needed some that badly! (The kids are constantly growing and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with who needs what!) Anyways, I offered to let him try on my new skates, and he insisted that I should go skating and that he would just watch. We compromised and shared the new skates. Travis wore them first (at my insistence) and then I went skating a little later. When I put on the skates and skated on the ice, Chandler told me, “Mom, you’re actually a pretty good skater for a girl and how old you are!” Um- thank you? I think! Oh, these kiddos surely keep me on my toes! 

On Christmas Eve, we drove down to a bigger city to do some shopping, wash the van, change the oil, eat lunch at Culver’s, and we bought a new pair of ice skates for Travis! It was a fun time as a family, and we will enjoy the memory. Our family likes to go to a Christmas Eve service, but I was having a hard time finding a church via online that was stating that they were having a Christmas Eve service. I found one area church that was having a Christmas Eve service with carols first and then a visit from Santa. Hmm…well, that didn’t sound like what we were looking for necessarily! The Baptist church didn’t have anything posted, but there was one community church that was having a Christmas Eve service at 7:00pm. I knew that it probably wouldn’t be exactly like our church in Maine. We arrived at the church building a little early, and the sanctuary had low lights, candles waiting to be lit, and music playing. That all seemed fairly traditional but as we sat down and listened to the music, one of my kids started snorting (like laughing). He said “Mom, the song that’s playing is “Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer”!” Sure enough it was! I’m kinda a traditionalist (Roger would say “not kinda, she is”) so I really wanted to hear more traditional Christmas music. Someone must have adjusted the playlist because the next song was “Mary, did you know?” And then other Christmas carols. The pastor was very nice and friendly, and the service opened with prayer and then some singing. We knew most of the congregational songs, but then before the message there was a special.  A dear old lady (probably in her 80s) got up to do “Interpretive song”. Basically she twirled and danced and did some sign language to the music. I dared not to look at the boys! I will say that the people at that church seemed to really love Jesus, they were excited to be in church, and they enjoyed worshipping. It wasn’t how I’d do it, but I can appreciate their sincerity! We enjoyed the candle lighting and singing “Silent Night”. When we were on our way back to our hotel, Chandler asked if we would be visiting that church on Sunday morning. I asked him if he wanted to go back. He replied, “Well, that wasn’t necessarily my style. But if you wanted to go, then we will go.” That was a very diplomatic response, but I think we will try another church on Sunday. 

Saturday was Christmas Day. We enjoyed the morning with a family walk, reading the Christmas story, and opening a few simple stocking gifts. We went to the airport for lunch with a few of Roger’s co-workers, and then we came back to the hotel for more swimming and Christmas movies. It was a day that was low-key, but well spent. 

Roger had to work on Sunday, but the kids and I made plans to visit one of the local churches. It’s often very hard to tell from a web-site or Facebook exactly what a church is like, and neither of those can tell you if the church family is welcoming and friendly. The kids and I visited a small church in Saint Ignace. The people were friendly, the music was songs that we had either heard before or sung in our church, and the Pastor preached from the Bible. All of the boys said that they wouldn’t mind visiting again. I enjoyed the few brief moments interacting with the church people. After church, we dropped Garett off at the airport and the rest of us started the 5.5 hour drive to my parents house. We’ve traveled a lot this Christmas break (and I’m tired!). 

We’ve enjoyed a few days at my parents house along with my sister, Jen. The boys and Emma have enjoyed the snow, ice skating, hunting, and other winter activities. It’s been a busy few days, and we start the trip back to Maine tomorrow morning bright and early. This was our last trip out here before moving. Roger will be coming to Maine every month from now until June, and we will be moving to Michigan in June, Lord willing. We do not have a house so that’s a definite prayer request. Also, we’d appreciate prayers for a safe trip back to Maine. Please pray that I feel refreshed and ready to return to school on Monday as well as our children. We want to glorify God with all of our lives. 

Praying that each one of you had a blessed and wonderful Christmas season. It’s an exciting time of year, but I pray that you will take the time to really reflect on Jesus. He is the greatest gift! He is not a helpless babe in a manger, He is the Lord of the Universe. All Glory to God!

Mom Fails and Craziness - but Christmas Break is Coming!

 This past week was one for the books that’s for sure! In a small Christian school, everyone learns to be flexible whether it’s their nature or not, and this was one of those weeks! I’m thankful for new morning mercies. I’m thankful for great co-workers. I’m thankful for cold cereal and pancakes. I’m thankful that my kids will eat about anything. I’m thankful for grace. 

On Monday when I woke up, I responded to the text that asked if I would be willing to sub in a different class. So on Monday, I did that. You can read about it here. This past week we were missing a lot of staff, so that meant we needed to be flexible. I really like structures, routines, and schedules, and most people do better when they have those. I knew it was going to be a long week for my kindergartners as well as my own children without having the “specials” classes (art, music, library,). I reached out to one of my kindergarten parents to see if she would be willing to come in to do an art project with my class. I have plenty of teaching that I could absolutely do, but it’s not teaching if you’re talking to air! My students can only process so much information at a time, so I knew that if they could do something different it would be better for them. 

My friend, Olyvia, said that she would be available on Wednesday morning to do a craft with my students. God orchestrated that! I woke up feeling “off” on Wednesday morning. I think it probably had to do with the weather changing, stress, life, etc. but by 8:15am, I had a migraine. My friend and co-worker, Jess, asked me if I was okay. I kept my head down and said “yes”. I knew if I stopped to talk, I’d probably end up in tears and for what reason I wouldn’t even know! My migraine was escalating all morning to the point that I had turned off the lights in our classroom, and we were using natural light and our Christmas lights. My friend, Allison, mercifully brought me coffee around 10am and along with several extra strength Tylenol, and the grace of God, we made it through the day! One of my kindergarteners did tell me I was kinda grouchy,  and one asked me why I was whispering, but we made it. I was happy to go to bed early, and thankfully our boys can put themselves to bed and find their own food if needed. 

Thursday brought about a little bit of snowfall, which delighted my students! I think the teachers were kinda hoping for a snow day, but off to school we went. I have sixteen kindergarteners, so thats a lot of coats, hats, mittens, boots and snow pants! “No, those are not your mittens.” You have to put on your snow pants first and then the boots.” “I’m sorry your coat is wet, but you did put it in that puddle.” “Your mom would want you to wear a coat.” We are figuring it all out, but it does take us a while to get ready and to get it all back off again. However, I am a firm believer that children need outside time every day! I’d rather spend the extra time to get them dressed than to have inside recess because it takes so long to get ready! We will get faster at it, and the snowfall was beautiful. 

Friday morning brought about some more school craziness as we realized that we were going to be short another teacher. It was definitely a moment where we needed to take a moment and just pray about what God would have us to do. Through a series of events, I ended up in third/fourth grade for the morning. While it was unexpected, I do appreciate the opportunity to get to know the students better. I don’t have any of my own kids in that classroom, so it was a good opportunity to get to know these students. My friend, Bethany, came in the afternoon to help out, so I went back to teaching kindergarten. One of my kindergarteners told me that “it was the best morning ever”! Haha! 

My mom fail: My younger boys and Emma both had play dates on Saturday afternoon, so that meant laundry for mom! Until our house officially closed, we were doing our laundry there. But now I take the laundry to the laundromat on Saturday afternoons. It’s nice to use several big washing machines and have it all done fairly quickly. However, when all the laundry is done on one day at one time, it’s plain to see what we have used for clothing. Towels-check. Mom-check. Emma- check. Garett- check. Chandler- check. Wyatt- check. Travis- TRAVIS! Why does Travis only have one pair of underwear, one t-shirt and one pair of pants in the laundry for the week!? I folded all the laundry, brought it back home, and started looking all over our apartment for Travis’s clothes. I found one more shirt and one more pair of pants. Um- what has this child been wearing?! Travis and Wyatt are similar in height, but Travis cannot wear Wyatt’s pants as Travis has to have the drawstring pants. I went to Walmart and bought underwear, another shirt, and another pair of pants. When Travis came home, I asked him about his wardrobe. He replied that he’s just been wearing the same clothes and rotating through the t-shirts and pants. I was horrified at his lack of clothes and I asked him what on earth happened to his clothes! He piped up, “I think when we were moving houses, my bag of clothes went to Goodwill”. What?! And you didn’t think to mention it to me that you only have about five pieces of clothes!? He replied that he wasn’t bothered by not having a lot of clothes, but sometimes he was taking off one dirty t-shirt for a day and then putting on the other dirty t-shirt….great. Well, several new articles of clothing were not in the budget for early December, but now the fourth son does have some clean clothes to wear. I told Roger the story and I was mortified. Roger just started laughing. He said that he remembers being that age and grubby clothes not bothering him. Gross- just gross. Oh well! Next week I expect to see more laundry for Travis come through the wash! 

We made it through the week, and God is faithful. We are excited about seeing Roger next week, and we are looking forward to Christmas break. As I looked at our family Christmas card, I was reminded again of how blessed I am. God has given me so many wonderful blessings. I am so thankful for Roger and our children.  God has given me a job that I really enjoy - teaching kindergarten. We have an apartment for the school year. God continues to supply our every need and right on time. While I become often frustrated with our children, a mom spoke to me this past week and told me what a blessing my older boys had been to her family. The boys have been given an unexpected opportunity to play soccer through the winter, and that has been such a blessing for them to get out some energy. Emma continues to bless me with her kisses and hugs. I am so blessed. This Christmas season is flying by, but I’m thankful that I can celebrate the real reason for the season every sing day. Jesus is the reason for the season, and He is my salvation. That’s something to celebrate every day! 

House Closings, Parades, Blessings

 

And with a hop, skip and a jump, we are in the month of December! I love this season, but I do not like how quickly the month flies by! We have an activity on almost every weekend, and the kids and I will be leaving for Michigan on December 22. We have 12.5 days of school left, and excitement is certainly in the air! The teachers are trying to pour in knowledge, and it often feels like pouring water in a strainer! We are all looking forward to Christmas break.

It’s been a busy week and one-half since I wrote on the blog. Roger flew back to Michigan last Saturday night. While Roger was here, we managed to haul a boat, a piano and a basketball hoop in the mini van- not all at the same time! On Thursday, we moved the piano to the church/school. Wyatt and Travis’s teacher has been wanting a piano, and we could supply that need. It needs to be tuned, and it was very, very heavy, but we got the job done. The boys have been extremely helpful in moving/hauling things, but for the piano, boat, and basketball hoop, we were thankful for some extra muscles! 

On Friday, we signed on the papers on our house. It was definitely a bittersweet feeling, but also a bit of relief to know that we were that much closer to being done with a very large project!  We certainly enjoyed the moments with him, and we are looking forward to being together again in just a few short weeks. I filled in on the piano at a local church on Sunday, so that always kinda makes Sunday feel a little different. I’m definitely not among the world’s great pianists, so I’m thankful that they put up with me! Travis and Emma went with me in the morning to practice at West Rockport Baptist Church, and Emma stayed for Sunday School. Travis and I made one last and final trip to our home to drop off a small gift for the new owners and to make sure that everything was good to go. That was a tad bit emotional for me, but also a relief to know that it’s done! 

Tuesday marked the official closing day on our house. The buyers had their final walk-through on Monday afternoon, and it was a relief to hear “the house looks great!” I would’ve enjoyed meeting our buyers, but it is what it is, and we are now ready to look for a property in Michigan. Please pray with us that God will provide the perfect place for us. 

This past week of school felt long and short at the same time! The students are excited, and the teachers are tired. But God’s grace is sufficient for every moment- praise the Lord for that! Friday night found us on a parade float for a local town representing our Christian school. It was a frigid night, and we were all very cold by the time the parade was over. It was a fun opportunity for the kids to be in the parade and the older boys did a good job helping prepare and then dismantle the float. It was an opportunity to let the community know that we are a Christian school in the area. But it was cold! 

On Saturday, our two oldest boys had the opportunity to spend some time with a friend and his family. That meant I had an afternoon with my younger three. We decided to go Christmas shopping. In our family, the kids pick names for each other. Then they are responsible for picking out a gift for that person. Sometimes I have to do some “steering in the right direction”, but as the kids all get older, they are getting a lot better about really putting some thought into gift giving. I had asked one of the kids earlier in the week what we should get their teacher. After thinking about it for a moment, he replied, “I’d like to get my teacher a new lunch cooler. His lunch cooler is old.” I was kinda surprised that this child even noticed, but it blessed my heart to know that he put some thought into what he’d like to get his teacher. Anyways, the three youngest and I went to Augusta to go Christmas shopping. The boys and Emma had a good time, and it was a good opportunity to spend some time with just a few kids. We saw several teachers from our school also in Augusta, so apparently we are all thinking the same thing- “Christmas is coming and we aren’t ready!” Wyatt is having a struggle to find something for the person whose name he has picked. We will come up with something, we hope! 

On Sunday morning, I woke up to a big surprise and unexpected blessing. Some dear friends of ours in Florida sent us a gift of money for Christmas! God’s timing is always so perfect, and sometimes He gives us blessings that we haven’t even asked for- we serve an amazing God! These Florida friends have blessed us in the past, and Roger and I have been so blessed by their prayers and generosity. 

Today was the start of a new school week. I generally use my Mondays to prepare for my week ahead as I have kindergarten on full days Tuesday through Thursday. So Monday is used for laundry, grading, grocery shopping etc. However, today I was supposed to spend some time with my friend, Allison. We were going to have coffee together and go to a consignment shop. But God had different plans. I woke up to a text on my phone asking if I would be willing to sub in a different classroom today. Thankfully, my friend, Allison, is flexible and understanding as we rescheduled. Today I subbed in the 5/6th grades classroom. Long division is a far cry from counting 1-50! When I looked at the sub plans, I noticed that the first thing on the list was devotions. I had randomly stuck my Advent Devotional book in my bag, which was totally of the Lord. I opened the devotional book to December 6th, and the devotional thought was on how Jesus was the Perfect Substitute! The devotional book gave an example of the authors experience with substitute teachers, etc. and I just could not get over how appropriate the devotional thought was for today. It was definitely a God thing! I’m not sure that the students learned a whole lot today, but I did try. I hope that above all else they know that Jesus loves them. I had the opportunity to play the YouTube video of one of my favorite songs “It’s about the Cross.” 

Around ten o’clock, Emma came down to find me in the 5/6th grade classroom. She had thrown up and she wasn’t feeling good. Um, now what?! I’m kinda tied up at the moment! I sent her up to my classroom for a bit. I had a twenty minute break at lunchtime, so I took Emma and Chandler home. I’m thankful that we live close to the school these days as I was able to get them dropped off and back to school to walk back into the classroom with my students. It was a crazy day to say the least, but God’s grace is sufficient. Now on to the rest of the week- one moment at a time!

“O Come Let Us Adore Him” 

A Year of Giving Thanks!

 

November is always a fast month, but this year it felt even faster than usual! (Perhaps that has to do with the fact that I’m getting older, and time flies faster!) This Thanksgiving Day was a bit different for us, as it was just our family spending the day together. I’m certainly not complaining by any means! 

As we look back over the course of the year, I can reflect on so many blessings that God has bestowed upon our family. 2021 was a year unlike any other, and there have been high point and low points for all of us. But through it all, God has been faithful. 

January: Garett and I were able to go to Haiti on a medical missions trip with Parakeleo International. It was a busy, full, and exhausting week, but what a blessing to see God at work. The US team will not be going to Haiti in January 2022, but I am so thankful for all that God continues to do around the world. 

February: We used up our winter break from school working on the house, and we are so thankful that we did! We poured in hours of time into new flooring, painting, and moving things around in our house. At the time, we didn’t know that God would want us to list our house in a few months, but His timing is ever perfect. 

March: We continue to see God’s hedge of protection around our school, church and families, as we are able to continue with in-person learning for our students. What a blessing to be able to attend school in-person! 

April: This year (2021) we were especially thankful for our Resurrection Sunday services. How thankful we were to be together in person to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! I am so thankful for salvation, hope in Jesus, and the promise of eternity spent with my Savior! 

May: Our capacity restrictions were lifted just in time to have our Patriotic Program! I am so thankful for the United States of America. I’ve seen and heard things that I never would’ve expected to in the last few years, but I am still thankful to be an American. Our Founding Fathers made huge sacrifices for our freedom, and I refuse to just throw it away. Liberty and freedoms are quickly being stripped away, but for as long as I am able, I will endeavor to be a Patriot of this country that loves America and loves Jesus, as well as raise up the generation behind me to be the same. 

June: We made it! School is over for another year! We are thankful for Garett’s 8th grade graduation. My parents came out for the Patriotic Program and Garett’s graduation. They took the boys back with them to Wisconsin so that the boys can attend camp and spend some time with them. My friend, Hannah, invited me to take a fitness class with her, and it’s been such a great experience for me. It’s provided an opportunity to interact with others in our community, an outlet to relieve some stresses, and an opportunity to grow stronger. I am thankful for the health that God has given me. 

July: We are all happy to be home! I went out to Wisconsin to pick up the boys, and we are thankful for our home in Maine. Roger made some difficult decisions regarding his job this month, and we spent much time in prayer. I am so thankful for a personal relationship with Jesus in which we can cast all our cares upon Him! I’d have never survived without prayer!

August: Back to school preparations are underway! We had many teacher positions to fill this fall, and God filled all of them with just the right people! I am thankful for the opportunity to work with some amazing teachers and friends. We have our share of struggles, but God continues to work in and through us and the school. I am so thankful that our children have had the opportunity to attend this Christian school for the past six years. 

September: I am thankful for my students. It’s a new year with a large class of kindergartners. I pray for them often that they will grow up to love God and serve Him passionately. Also, this month, God makes it clear that our family will be leaving Maine. As hard as change is, there is such peace in knowing that God goes beside us and before us. We talked with a realtor, and we will be listing our house on September 29th. It was a crazy month as we had just started school, Roger is getting ready to take the job in Michigan, and we are getting our house ready to list. My specific prayer for this month was that God would sell our house before Roger needs to leave for Michigan which is on October 5th. 

October: I am thankful for God’s blessings and answers to prayers. We could feel the prayers this month as our house was under contract within five days of being on the market! God did “exceeding abundantly” this month in answering our prayers. God provided an apartment for the kids and I for the school year through some dear friends. God provided housing for Roger in Michigan. God provided a storage company that would bring a pod to our house to load. God provided us with an amazing realtor to walk us through every step of our house closing. God provided financially when we were unsure if Roger would get paid for training at his new job. God provided sanity for me when it seemed like everything was getting crazy. God provided rest when He knew that I just needed to be able to sleep. God provided my children with extra forgiveness for a parent who was low on patience and grace. 

November: I’m thankful for family. I’m thankful that Roger is home for a few days, and that God made it possibly for him to get home a day early. I’m thankful for every moment that we can soak up together knowing that God will continue to carry us through. I’m thankful that the boys will have the opportunity to play soccer three time a week through these winter months. (God provided a miracle in allowing that to happen for them). I’m thankful that we have a church family with whom we can gather for a night of “Pie and Praise”. I’m thankful for our children, and I’m thankful that God has specifically created them for this era in history. We serve an amazing God- how can we not sing His praises?! 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

House Appraisals, Moving, Michigan!

 Every time I let two weeks go by without writing on the blog, I feel behind! (Story of my life these days!) November is always a fast month with Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, and events leading up to Thanksgiving and then it’s December before I can blink! I’ve never been this far behind in Christmas preparations, but since I couldn’t tell you where our Christmas decorations are if my life depended on it, it’s not something I’m going to worry about too much at the moment! 

Two weeks ago, on November 1st, we started back to school after having a few days off due to sickness in the school. I found a note on my desk along with a gift certificate to Dunkin Donuts! That was an especially encouraging way to start back to school! I’m thankful for good co-workers, laughter, lots of prayer, and friendships to encourage us through the rougher moments. 

We’ve almost completely finished up moving out of our house in Warren. I have a few trips to take to the thrift store this week, but the storage pod is full, and we are tired! Garett said that Dad would’ve packed the storage unit differently, and I definitely agree- but since he’s not here, just be careful when opening the door! We got almost all our earthly belongings in an 8x16 storage pod, and we found a lot of stuff that we definitely did not need! The boys and I have taken numerous trips to the dump, we’ve given away a lot of stuff, and we’ve paired down on a lot of what we own. And still, I probably couldn’t tell you exactly what is in most of those boxes in storage as it’s all a faint daze! I thought that the last ten percent of packing a house was hard, but come to find out, it’s actually the last three percent that is hard! The three percent that doesn’t fit anywhere, and I second guess myself so much on whether or not I’ll need something through the winter, but oh well! It is what it is! 

We live in town now for the rest of the school year, but the parking lot is empty on the weekends, so the boys have picked up street hockey, riding bikes and also riding bikes to and from school. One morning this past week, Chandler ran to school as his bike was there (at 6:30am). Then he rode his bike back from school to ride back to school with a friend! But the friend forgot to come so Chandler rode back to school on his own. I just had to laugh at all the trips to school! It’s nice that the boys are old enough to bike to and from school on their own, and it burns off some energy for them. 

We’ve had some significant rainfall lately, but it’s always nice when it doesn’t rain during school hours! On Friday, we were a bit short-stafffed, it was raining, and it felt like a long day. Sometimes when we come home, the boys spread out and find their own things to do out of each other’s space for a while and sometimes they do things together, and sometimes one of them will plop themselves down at the kitchen table to talk for a while. I LOVE the fact that they want to talk to me, but I’m not alway crazy about the timing! Sometimes when we come home, I’d like a few minutes to decompress too! But this past Friday, one of my sons sat at the table for a while sharing some of his frustrations with me. Rain, no gym class, substitute teachers, naughty kids, that makes for a long days for kids too! My child asked me “why is it that teachers are so quick to remove privileges on account of naughty kids, but we can’t earn an extra privilege because some kids are consistently doing the right thing?’ Um…I don’t have an answer! Consistency is hard for parents, teachers, all of us! I do think that we (teachers/parents) are trying to raise up kids that will do right regardless of what those around them are doing. Character is doing what is right even when no one is watching! However, I also think it’s easy to get bogged down by children that are disrespectful, interrupt, and rude. It’s easy to make a blanket statement, “You are all so naughty, or blah, blah, blah” But I know from my own parenting experiences (and it generally holds true in the classroom also) that generally it’s not ALL the kids making bad choices. It’s just that the kids making the bad choices are the loudest! 

Report cards came out on Friday, and Roger and I were happy with the report cards. The boys and Emma have been working hard this past quarter, and while they didn’t all make honor roll, that’s okay. Travis and I spent some time on Thursday working on an essay that he hadn’t done very well on. Wyatt told him all the things that he needed to fix, which didn’t necessarily help matters, but he meant well. Travis got the assignment orally, but writing it down was a whole new issue! We made it through, and Travis got ready to hand it back in. But then on the way to hand it in, he managed to spill something sticky on it! Ugh! I’m thankful for grace and for the teachers patience with our children! Each of the kids had positive remarks on their character and work ethic, and I just praise the Lord for that. I fail so often in pointing our kids to Jesus, but the positive remarks on their character are encouraging to my often weary heart. 

We are on the final (almost to one hand) countdown to Roger coming home next week for a few days! We are very much looking forward to this short visit. Our house appraisal happened last week and our water filtration system goes in next Tuesday. The house appraisal was a huge answer to prayer, so many thanks for all those who prayed for us on that! My next prayer request would be that perhaps we could close next week while Roger is here as that would be fantastic! 

A few other praises and random thoughts from the past two weeks: 

1) We are able to get mail at our apartment! My dad sent us a letter, and then one day when the boys were out in the parking lot the mailman asked if they were the Robertsons. The kids replied “yes”, and he brought us mail the next day. I love mail- especially when its not junk mail! 

2) Chandler had the opportunity to go deer hunting one morning this past week. He got up to go to exercise class with me at 4:30am, and then I dropped him off at our house in Warren with his bike. It was a drizzly, wet morning, and I had school to teach. I told him that he could ride his bike to school when he was done hunting. We are kinda old-fashioned in the fact that our kids don’t have cell phones, and they’ve survived just fine thus far! Chandler told me approximately what time he thought he would be at school, and I asked his teacher to text me when he arrived at school. Chandler is a responsible boy (most of the time), and I think we’ve done a fairly good job of teaching our children how to look out for themselves. Anyways, Chandler hunted for several hours, and he even had the opportunity to shoot at a buck. The arrow went into the tree directly above the deer, but it was an exciting experience. Then Chandler had to bike to school, which is about 11.5 miles. It’s not usually a hard ride, but it was raining. Chandler said he hadn’t even gone a mile when his feet were soaked as well as his clothes. He told me that he thought about turning around several times, but he knew that he had said that he would be at school around nine am. The only thing to do was to keep biking! He made it- a few minutes before nine am. Thankfully, he had dry  clothes at school, but Chandler said that it was a bike ride he won’t forget for a very long time! 

3) My friend, Claire, made supper for our family on Friday night. And on Wednesday, we had come home with leftovers from hot lunch! Not having to cook for two nights this week was an unexpected blessing! I am thankful for friends, food and generosity. 

4) On Saturday we spent a good chunk of the day hauling stuff to the dump, dropping items off at different places, and working hard! Chandler came with me on the first trip to the dump, and we explained that we would be back a few more times with other random items for the dump. We had this fiberglass boat in our yard that has a hole in it. Chandler was convinced that we could put the boat in the back of the van and haul it to the dump that way. Um- nope! It totally did not work like that, and Garett ended up hauling it around the yard and then into the woods. Maybe someone will use it for a garden bed who knows! But anyways, it was a humorous experience to watch the boys try to figure out a solution! We took the treadmill to a friend, gave the grill to our neighbors, gave the lamps away and I think we are down to trying to figure out a plan for one dresser and the piano- not too bad! 

Thank you for all your prayers and love for our family. These days are often long, and I feel ready for bed by around 7:00pm. I haven’t been sleeping that great, and I’m kinda “peopled” out sometimes. I’m not an introvert by any means, but I do need solitude and silence. On Sunday morning, a friend of mine asked how I was doing, and I said that I was weary. She replied, “Then go. You have an hour while the kids are at Sunday school. Go get some quiet time”. I felt about thirty seconds of guilt, but then left. I drove off down to the water with just my Bible, coffee and some quiet time. It was an hour well-spent. It’s easy to be consumed with “doing” sometimes it’s much hard to just “be still”.