Saturday ...Day # Hang in There!

Saturday...Day # Hang in There!

Papa and Wyatt

Emma on the trail 

Climbing rocks...a favorite part of the hike. 

Psalm 4:8 “I will both lay me down in peace,  and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest  me to dwell in safety.” 

I‘ve been reading though the Psalms for part of my devotions every morning, and the Psalms always bring me such great comfort. I’ve been highlighting the promises of God as I go through, and in each chapter He give comfort. We’ve got no other recourse, but to cling to the Word right now, and to pray, pray, pray!


Today the sun was shining....Thank you, Jesus! While it was a bit on the chilly side, we still managed a hike, fishing, and I even got in a short run. So, many reasons to be thankful despite the dire circumstances around our world.

In Maine today: our updated number for the Coronavirus is 70, with 41 of those cases being in the same county. I would love to see these number stop rising, and I firmly believe that God can and will do that. Do you? Did you pray fervently about it today? Even when it seems like God is not listening, He promises that He hears our cry. I have to cling to the promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and that He knows exactly where we are, and what we need.

This morning I woke up around 6:00 am. When I came downstairs, Chandler told me that he had finished up all his schoolwork reading for the day, and he had done some of his math lesson. I stared at him and said, “You do know this is Saturday, right?” He gaped at me, and then replied, “I don’t know any of the days anymore!” I felt so badly for him as our life has been turned upside down, and our kids struggle to know which day is which. We stay at home, go out to public places only when necessary, and we go outside...a lot!

This morning we fed everyone breakfast which consisted of twenty eggs, a pound of sausage, and half a loaf of bread! Everyone surely seems to get hungry often around here! Eating is not cancelled on account of the Coronavirus!

A hike in the morning, lunch, and Roger and my dad took the boys fishing this afternoon. I sat down and wrote letters to some of the older folks in our church. If I’m lonely at times, I can’t imagine how some of them must feel! Since we won’t be able to have church tomorrow due to the limit of ten per group setting, some of our older folks must be very lonely. I know many of them look forward to Sundays as it is their outing of the week, and they get to visit with many of the friends. My heart goes out to them, and if anyone has any creative idea other than writing notes or phone calls, I’d love to hear them.

While Roger was gone taking the boys fishing, the man who owns the other empty lots came up our driveway. I went out to see who it was, and we stood a significant distance apart, and didn’t shake hands...so weird! He told me that an older couple has bought the lot next to us, and they are planning to put a house up on the lot. So it looks like neighbors will be moving in sometime this summer, Lord willing. Please pray with us that this older couple will enjoy children and that we can be a blessing to our new neighbors when they move in.

Roger’s birthday is tomorrow, and I am so not prepared! My parents ordered pizza for his birthday, so we enjoyed that, but I think I’ll be making a card tomorrow! We will be making home-made cinnamon rolls for breakfast as a treat. We will certainly miss being with our church family tomorrow, and we pray for the day when we can all get together again. Wyatt made chocolate chip cookies today, and he did a great job. I’m thankful to teach the boys how to cook and bake, as these are also important life skills. I’m completely baffled by the lack of groceries in the grocery stores these days....excuse me, If you didn’t know how to cook and bake before, that is not going to magically happen simply because you have a bunch of staples in your cupboards! How about leaving some food for those of us that have large families to feed every day?! I realize that people can learn how to cook via the internet and videos, but people are definitely in a food-buying panic!

So, what good has happened today?
1) I hug my children more these days, and I love the “I love yous” I get from our children.

2) I have had time to write about our activities every day, and someday, Lord willing, we will look back on these days at a time that the Lord showed Himself strong and mighty.

3) God is still faithfully watching over us, and I have come to crave my prayer time with the Lord. I missed praying with one of our staff ladies as today is the weekend, so I look forward to resuming our phone call prayers on Monday. Generally, I am not at all a fan of phone prayers as they often feel stilted and awkward. But lately when I’ve prayed on the phone, I‘Ve felt connected and intimate with the Lord.

4) My parents are here for a few days, and I’m thankful that my kids have the opportunity to visit with them.

5) God love me...and you!

Funny moment: Garett was eating a cookie before lunch, and I asked him why he was eating a snack before lunch. Wyatt replied, “Mom, he’s having an advertisement.” It took me a moment, but I realized that the word that Wyatt was looking for was “appetizer”! I got a good chuckle out of that. I’m thankful for moments of laughter.

Psalm 6:11 “But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them; let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.”

Day #4 or whatever Day it is Now!

Emma and Nana

Garett working on a project 

Chandler collecting cans

“Freedom” That was the devotional word for our staff devotions. Seems fitting in a day when everyone is wondering where their freedom went and when will they return?! However, true freedom isn’t found in circumstances or situations, but rather in the power of Jesus name!

2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Galatians 5:13  For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

John 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Again, as I look at these verses, I am just in awe of how truly good God is to me. His promises are not based on the acts of mankind or their responses, but He offers freedom in Him. 

What did we do today? Today wrapped up our fifth day of no school...it’s Friday, but it didn’t feel nearly as exciting as when we were going to school! However, my parents arrived last night, so that provided a wonderful distraction for our tribe today. My mom patiently listened to Emma read and practice her numbers. Chandler had a migraine for some of the day, but we did get to go on a walk to collect cans. 

The day was dreary today, and that does not help me feel bright and sunny! Our kids still spent hours outside on the trampoline that they set up yesterday, and anything that they do outside helps them get along better together-more space, maybe?! 

We went through a lot of food today. Emma ate a lot of food! I’m guessing she is going through a growth spurt. Garett has actually lost a few pounds recently, and he told me its because he hasn’t eaten as much lately. Well, if thats true, it doesn’t seem like it! Oh well, he’s happy.

We don’t have a television that gives us news in our home, and I’ve never been more thankful! I do not want our children exposed to all the fear that world is allowing to consume and rule them lately. While we do give our children information, I’m thankful that we can monitor how much they know. I do not want their tender hearts to be overwhelmed, nervous or scared. They know that life is not “normal” right now, and that is conveyed in their prayer requests, but oh, how I love to hear them pray. 

This morning a friend, Sharon, dropped of a whole bag of music for me. That brought such delight to my heart, and I am excited to have a bag filled with older Christian  music and newer Christian music. Playing the piano always brings calmness to my soul, and I enjoy the opportunity to play through new music. It was the timing from the Lord to have that bag dropped off today. 

This afternoon I had the opportunity to pray with our pastor’s wife. I had to go to the school/church for something, and she was also there. The empty church building and school building make my heart so sad. It’s been nearly impossible for me to hold back the tears as I wander down the empty halls and sanctuary. However, it was a special time of prayer to pray fervently before the Lord with Beth. Pray, pray, pray! We can only arm ourselves with the prayers of Christians to get through this Coronavirus that is affecting our world. I have never felt the urgency of prayer as I have in these last few days. The world around us is changing, and we have no power to do anything about it. This isn’t one state, one nation, one city...this is world wide fear. We must prevail through prayer and storm the gates of Heaven begging our Heavenly Father to intercede. I truly, truly believe that God can bring great revival through this, but are we praying for that to happen!? 

Prayed this morning with one of our staff ladies from school, prayed this afternoon with our pastor’s wife, and prayed with our school administrator this evening. I beg of you to find someone to pray with! Find someone that you will set a phone date with to pray together! I know this feels like a soap box I’m standing on right now, but I promise it is the cry of my heart. For the sake of our children, for the sake of our nation, and our world-PRAY! Ask God to heal our land, ask Him to give wisdom to leadership, ask Him to bring revival to many-beginning with us. 

Our pastor’s family dropped off two bags of flour to our house tonight. They couldn’t come in because we have too many people between us. I had mentioned to my pastor’s wife that I was having such trouble finding flour. We are a family of seven, so we go through flour not because we are stockpiling, but rather because we eat a lot! So tonight, they came for a drive to bring us flour. That was an act of kindness towards our family, and I am thankful for our body of Christ. 

So besides praying, eating, school and outside time, well, thats about what we did today! What did you do today? What special blessings did you give or receive today?

Blessings, 

Sarah 

Journal writing

A folder full of music! 

Flour! Wyatt immediately asked Garett to make more cookies! :) 

Day # 3 of “At-Home” Schooling

“When my heart is overwhelmed, led me to the Rock that is higher than I.” I’ve been searching out the Psalms lately for promises from God. He promises often that He is with us...I rejoice in that today!

So, this is only the third day of “at-home” schooling, and it’s truly not the homeschooling thats been hard. It’s been hard watching family and friends go through hard times, and everyone wondering when the change will come towards the “better”. I’ll be honest, I already miss my close friends, our dear church family, our school staff, and it’s only the third day!

What to do when your home ...a lot? First of all, I am busy with my family. This tribe that lives here has not given up laundry for the sake of the Coronavirus! They also haven’t given up eating, squabbling, or using toilet paper! I am soaking up the extra time with our children, but being thrust into five kids homeschooling is a situation that I’m still trying to make heads and tails of! Emma requires the most one-on-one time...obviously! Keeping up with her numbers, sounds, reading, and writing at a kindergarten level is a lot of work. Travis is fairly independent, except school is not his favorite thing. He tends to shout out,”Mom, how do you spell....?” A lot! Wyatt is independent and a quiet worker. I have to seek him out to see if he needs help, and he usually does not. Chandler would rather hurry up and get the work done than to take the time to make sure its all done correctly! And Garett ....well, he disappeared outside for over three hours today just tromping around outside and collecting things for the journal he is working on. I had him make cookies for part of his math lessons, and he quickly realized that ingredients were not something to make estimates on! Wyatt and Travis have added a bit of online learning to their additional school work. Emma’s cousin, Charity, called her today via FaceTime, so that was a fun experience for Emma. The girls colored pictures via long distance, and seemed to have a great conversation together. I think I need to see up a Face Time phone call with a friend too!

The weather was dreary today...colder, and no sunshine. That totally does not make the situation any better. But, our staff devotional word today was “Joy”! Joy is not found in my circumstances, but rather in Jesus. Sometimes the chaos and situations can threaten to steal my joy, but I don’t have to let my joy be stolen! God is still God, and He’s on the throne where He’s always been. For part of our family devotions as of late, we’ve been singing all the old children’s Bible choruses. The truths found in these children’s Bible songs is still relevant many year later. “Jesus is the Rock of my salvation, His banner over me is Love.” “Jesus Loves Me”. “The Wordless Book Chorus” and so many more. I love to hear my children sing, and although none of them would admit it, I’m sure its comforting to them also.

March always seems like a long month, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks that this is like the longest month EVER! I’ve even started marking off the days on the calendar, just so I can remember what day of the week and what the date is for today! We spend a lot of time outside when the weather is nice, but I’m not a huge fan of tromping around in the cold and mud. However, the boys took down the ice skating rink today, and set up the trampoline instead. They were wet, but they definitely seem to get along better in the great outdoors rather than all in the floor of the living room!

My dad was supposed to go on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic, but the Dominican is closed until 4/3. While it’s disappointing, I’m thankful that my dad is not in the Dominican for the next three weeks because he cant come back to the States. My mom and dad had driven to North Carolina to catch a flight, but then the flight was cancelled to the missions trip. My parents have decided to come up to Maine for a few days. Thankfully, my dad likes the outdoors because that’s what we have to offer right now! My kids are excited to see my parents, and I’m sure that we can find plenty to do outside.

Americans are all in a tough spot, but not just Americans, all over the globe lives have been changed and impacted. Faith, love, joy, peace, oh, those are not just words to fly off the tip of our tongues. Those are life-changing words for us as believers. It means that we don’t have to have fear while the world is overrun with fear. We can love those around us, even while selfishness runs rampant. We can find joy in Jesus because we do not depend on our circumstances to bring us joy. And peace, oh what wonderful peace. I’m clinging to that tonight. Ive enjoyed my prayer time with one of our staff ladies the past few days, and its refreshing to bring those burdens to the feet of the cross.

Journal writing

Garett’s cookies

Garett is baking!

Laundry is never cancelled!

Emma is working on a writing project

Emma’s school outfit for today. 

Day #2! We are still here!

Beautiful Ocean

Our “treasures”

Fun in the sand

Our pile at home

Beautiful spot

Thankful for this girl and the sun!

Emma and “Annie” 

Whew! Here we are on day two of  “at-home” schooling! We are settling in much better today, but I wouldn’t say that it’s anyone’s favorite thing ever. But, the grace of God still extends to us, and we will rejoice in that.

Our state is closing down -basically. All groups larger than ten are prohibited, and we already have seven in our family! All non-essential businesses are closing and social distancing is strongly suggested. I don’t like pain, and this feel very painful. However, I could endure the pain better if I knew that there would be a light at the end of the tunnel! The governor has mandated these rules in effect until March 31. It is my heart’s cry, along with many others, that at this point in time (March 31) we will be able to uncover some semblance of normal again- what is normal?! Across our nation, school are closed; people are fearful; and the uncertainty of the unknown looms ominously. I have never felt the need to prayer greater than I have these last few days, and I implore you to pray for our nation, our world, our president, our communities, our churches, and of course, our very dear small school.  What a God we serve though...if He can move mountains, than He’s got this too.

In other brighter news, I love the sound of the ocean water. We went to the airport to run in to pick up Roger’s boss’s dog. Then we headed on a hike down to the ocean shore. Really, there is something amazing and calming about the vast, vast ocean water and the endless, never ending waves. I am always reminded of the verse, “I am your God. I change not” whenever I see the ocean. Oh wait...there’s another promise from God! We tromped along the beach shore gathering up sea glass, sea shells, and as happy as clams. It was such a calming sensation to my heart to see our children laugh and be children on the beach. For just a moment, life’s worries and concerns fell away. Emma gathered up a lot of sea glass, and we found a lot of that today. Emma also hauled home a broken lobster buoy, a bunch of driftwood, and pockets full of shells.

This morning, I called one of our school teachers at 6:30am, so that we could pray together. In these times of uncertainty and social distancing, I welcomed the opportunity to pray with one of our dear staff ladies, Mrs. Wheelis. We had a time of burden bearing and concerns, but also a time of laying those burdens at the feet of Jesus. Time spent in prayer is never wasted, and I know that the God of eternity past is also the God of eternity future. I hope that you were encouraged in prayer today.

After coming back from our hike at the beach, the kids played outside yet again. We worked on cleaning up the yard, and Emma did a little more reading. Being thrust back into teaching kindergarten was totally unexpected, so we are wading through it together. I’m thankful for the opportunity to be home with our children, and I rejoice in days that are sunny!

I called my friend, Allison, later this afternoon as I have certainly missed seeing her this week- even though I last saw her on Monday! Again a time of burden bearing, and bringing our fervent and ceaseless requests before our Heavenly Father. The only ONE Who can bring something good out of something that seems a mess is the God that we depend upon.

How about you? What encouraging thing happened in your life today? What are you thankful for?

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not on thy own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6. Have you ever noticed that the word “path” is plural. It’s not just one path for our life (although only ONE way to heaven) but our lives have more than one path. Thankful that God sees all our paths!

Emma’s school outfit choice today. 

March Monotony Turned into March MAYHEM!

Garett is journaling for part of a school assignment 

Well, that escalated quickly! Not even a week ago, I wrote about how March can sometimes seem monotonous! Not even a week later, I seriously wish I had some March Monotony! We went from low-key to mayhem in less than a week. If you're anything like me, you're still wondering if this is a bad dream or what on earth just happened!?

There has never been a moment in my life that I have not been more thankful for God's sovereignty and the many attributes that declare WHO He is...faithful, true, our Rock, Deliverer, strong tower, merciful, slow to anger, full of compassion, loving, gentle, patient, and the list could go on and on! I've spent much time in the last few days reminding myself and our children of WHO God is-real and personal in our lives! I feel like much of our community and world is reeling from the pandemonium over the Corona Virus (COVID-19), and we need to be a light in the world around us. Last Saturday (March 7) we took a family trip to Sam's Club, and ate samples and in the food court. This weekend there is no toilet paper to be found in the county, and I can't think of a single restaurant that is open for in-house dining! Our current world situation reminds me of the story about the little chicken that had a nut fall on her head. Then she went and told all the farm animals that, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" She worked all of her farm friends up into a frenzy, until one animal suggested that perhaps she had made a mistake. Does anyone else remember this story?!

Do we need to be careful? Absolutely! Should we avoid having compassion and kindness towards others? Absolutely Not! "Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." We have power that the world does not even know exists...the power of prayer.  If I did not believe that prayer has the power to change lives and outcomes, life would be really bleak indeed. Our world is changing in quick moments lately, but we still have the ability to pray. We have the promise that God hears the prayers of His people-let that encourage you today. I do think it is a time to fast and pray for our nation, and I would seriously ask you to consider doing a fast to take extra time to pray. "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I  hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land." Second Chronicles 7:14 I have gotten so much comfort from this verse in recent days. It's my motivation to continue to pray and to intercede on behalf of our children. I am not worried about my future, but the future of our children is where sometimes my faith and confidence can become shaky. God knows- from eternity past to eternity present. Let's not give up on the power of prayer simply because situations seem so bleak. Oh, we serve a big, big God!

Life changed for our entire family just since Friday. On Friday evening, we had a family event at the school to celebrate Maine's 200th birthday. It was a fun time with a  few of our schools families, but little did we know that our school would be shutting its doors come Monday morning. On Saturday, I tried to do my normal grocery shopping, but there was nothing normal about the experience! The shelves at Walmart were unsettling empty, and the lines were crazy long. I felt so bad for the older folks that were trying to do their weekly shopping, as all I could offer was a smile and a word of encouragement. One older man told me that the water was all sold out, so he was going to stock up on beer...oh dear! Another older couple that I chatted with in the empty toilet paper aisle said that they had never seen the likes of the people and empty shelves at Wal-mart. The man made the comment that we better hope the trees get leaves early this year as we might need them for toilet paper! At least we could laugh and chuckle about it, rather than sit there and whine and complain! Travis told me that he already has a stash of pine cones in the woods and we can use those for toilet paper if needed! Emma promptly told him that she was NOT using pine cones on her bum, and that there are ticks out there, Travis! Oh, I'm thankful for moments of laughter and light heartedness. We will be doing some improvising in our meal planning the next few weeks, but none of us will starve!

Empty shelves

Travis’s creative project...no idea what it is! 

Emma’s creative project

My heart had a hard time with this as all the parents lined up to get their child’s at home school packets

Early morning learning

Letters and learning

Chandler is working on another project 

Garett was helping Emma with numbers this morning 

Travis’s working on school this morning

These are truly "Uncharted" waters for all of us, and if I had a choice, I'd choose to not be doing this white-water rafting experience! We met for a staff meeting on Monday with the school staff and the pastor of our church. Given the recommendations of those in leadership, surrounding schools, and our government, it was decided to close the school at least for the next two weeks. The staff spent the day preparing school packets for each student to do work at home. The goal is not to necessarily learn more or new material, but to prevent regression. Everyone is thrown into this experience, and the time to prepare packets and materials was short. We are fervently praying that God will make a way for us to re-open in two weeks, but only God can do miracles...so we trust and pray for that end. Our children were left at home while I went to school to meet with our staff, and to prepare a newsletter and some at-home papers for our preschoolers. I came home for a short while, and then turned around to go back to school to pick up the packets for each of our children.

Teaching five children in five grades for the next few weeks is again a change that I would not choose to make- but again- that's life! I had such a hard time holding back the tears as we pulled into the pickup line of vehicles at the school. Parents were in line to get packets from their child's teacher, and the lives of each of our students was changed this past week. I am so thankful for the work of each teacher to prepare at home lessons, papers, and activities. Garett's teacher is requiring him to keep a journal over the next few weeks. He will write down his feelings, thoughts, and activities during this time. I had already decided that each of our children (except Emma) would keep a journal over this period of time.
 This is history in the making, and someday they will appreciate looking back on their thoughts and feelings...I hope!

This morning marked our first day of "at-home" school. Wyatt was up before six am, to work on his school work assignments. He is a very independent learning, and I don't think he asked me very many questions at all. Travis, on the other hand, was full of questions! He also started immediately on his work when he woke up at 6! I was still trying to finish my coffee and devotions, and Travis is asking me how to spell 500 things, getting out glue for a project, and trying to do his math paper-all at the same time, I think! Anyways, we managed day one. It was a cold and dreary day, so that was a damper on the day. I can tell our children are a bit restless in spirit, and I have to work harder than ever to just remain calm and have patience and grace-something I'm not always good at!

Yesterday, when I was at school working, I gave the kids a few assignments to do while I was gone. One of the requirements was to make something creative...paint, draw, craft, write a note, etc. I had written a note to our preschool families, and the verse I had chosen was "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee". Chandler had decided to paint on a seashell while I was gone for his creative project, and the verse he wrote on the shell was that exact verse. It seems very fitting for this time in our lives! It brings great comfort to me to hear my children implement Scripture in their lives or to have Emma walk around singing the Bible songs that she has learned in school. I am thankful.

March Madness or March Monotony?!

Guess what season it is here? MUD Season! I’m pretty sure this is one of my kids favorite seasons, but it’s not exactly Mom’s favorite season! However...”this is the day that the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

We are pushing on through this month of March, which in truth, is a bit of a wearying month for me. There’s academic fair projects galore, lots of days of school, some warmer days, some colder days, and sometimes just a lot of the same things! I am very thankful that the bit of warmer days have allowed me to get outside to go running again. Chandler has been going with me sometimes, and it’s been nice to have him along. I’m pretty sure that his motivation for running is so that he can beat me in our school’s 5k race next month, but oh well! He is going to be a fast runner someday if he keeps it up. Chandler is the most competitive of all our children, which can be both good and bad. It can drive him to keep working at something until he is good at it, but it can also be a hinderance when playing with younger children. Hmm...balance!  I am happy to have him run with me. I don’t usually listen to music or podcasts when I run, simply because its another opportunity just to pray and enjoy God’s creation. I certainly don’t have anything against music or podcasts, but our society is so inundated with noise, that it’s sometimes nice just to be in silence!

Last Friday, we attended a bowling event with our church family. We had a good turnout, and it was fun to fellowship with those in our church body as well as a few other families. All of our children are better bowlers than I am, except may be Emma! I’m very good a rolling the ball into the gutter, and if I think of bowling as a game of golf (lowest score wins), I’m very, very good at it!

Saturday night was “spring forward” in time. I truly do not like the days following either spring forward or fall back! I think the state of Arizona has it right in the fact that they don’t do daylight savings time! The first day does not seem to bad, but this week of getting up has been hard on all of us. I usually bound out of bed, but I’ve been dragging all week. Even our kids have been sleeping in until about 6:15, and they are usually all up by 5:30am. I do like the longer afternoons of daylight, but I have mixed feelings about the longer days. Roger is until later in the evenings, so it makes it much harder to hold off the piranhas (children) for a later supper. Its okay though as I am very, very thankful for Roger’s job! We have to take the good with the not so good, and just be content regardless!

Roger and I have been enjoying our time with the teens on Sunday nights, and we’ve had a steady group of teens that keep coming. Roger would admit that he is not a gifted speaker by nature, but he has been studying hard for the lessons that he teaches. I’m thankful for this season that we get to work with the teens especially as we now have kids old enough to go!

 I don’t think that teen group or any other ministry should be a substitute for good family time around God’s Word, but it is a ministry that can come alongside a family to encourage teens in their walk with God. I don’t want our children to see church as something that is optional or that we go to as long as nothing better has come along. I just recently read an article this week about driving teens away or towards church fellowship. I’m referring to this article. I certainly do not agree with everything I read, but this article certainly did catch my attention.

Monday we paraded back to school again...another week! We have seen great progress with Emma and her school progression. Her teacher has been tutoring her some, and Emma seems to be grasping the concepts more clearly. I am so thankful for each teacher and person that invests in the lives of our children. While we attend a small Christian school, I am thankful that our children have the opportunity to be taught by well-educated teachers that not only have a passion for teaching but also for pointing our children to Jesus. We are blessed.

Hannah (my sister) and I had the rare opportunity to get together on Tuesday afternoon. Originally I was going to have Emma with me, but my friend, Claire, offered to let Emma come over to her house for the afternoon. Emma was excited about that, and I was delighted to have some one-on-one time with my sister. We squeezed in a run, a trip to T.J. Max and Goodwill, and lunch...all in a short afternoon! It was a good time, and I was able to pick her brain about Haiti and such. I am thankful for siblings.

Haiti currently has a travel advisory in effect. They are at a travel advisory level four which means travel is not advised. But praise the Lord, we serve a big God! He knows all about our needs, and the needs of those we are going to serve. Please pray for Haiti, as well as for the travel advisory level to go down. I’m certainly not going to worry about it, but instead to pray diligently. We serve a big God!

Making beef jerky 

Roger took Emma on a date to get her hair cut....Emma loves her time with her daddy! 

So true!

My running partner these days! 

Bountiful Blessings!

This past week, we finally caught a sick bug in our house. We had made it up to this point without so much as a sniffle, but by Friday afternoon, I was losing my voice! I had begun to feel a bit tired and run down earlier in the week, but by the weekend, I was just low on energy. I spent Sunday at home resting, and I have continued to feel better every day. Roger caught a bit of sickness, but he’s on the mend too. My personal opinion is that we escape a lot of sicknesses because of so much time spent outside in the fresh air. Also, working in the preschool has probably helped my immunities also! Lots of sniffles and sneezes in that space sometimes!

We’ve experienced a bit of warmer weather this past week, so I think the ice skating rink is done for the year. The boys were disappointed that they did not have more opportunities to use it, but I know that they skated well over 100 hours on that rink! I’d say we got our monies worth for this year!


Allison and I were able to get away for a quick lunch on Friday afternoon. We both seem to be short on time these days, but it makes me treasure the moments we have together that much more. Chandler and Wyatt were invited to go with some friends on Friday night to a Christian music event. Wesley and Levi have been good friends with our boys since our first school year here, so they were thrilled to get to go with them. The event was in Portland, so it was a late, late night! Roger stayed up to wait for them to get home safely, while I crawled in bed way earlier! Chandler and Wyatt both spoke with great excitement on Saturday morning. Chandler went with me to go grocery shopping later in the day, and it was such a blessing to hear him talk about how so many Christians were raising their voices to sing to Jesus. Music is such a powerful, powerful way of conveying a message, which is why we try to be selective in what the boys can listen to. Not all “Christian music” is worthy of listening to, in my opinion. The flip side of that is that I also don’t think that every hymn in the hymn book are also worth singing. Sometimes I read the words to some popular Christian song and think, “Well, maybe it’s just me, but that song is very doctrinally shaky!” And the same with some very old songs also. It why I’m trying to teach our children that we must measure everything by the Word of God. We teach a song in preschool called the “Bible is the the Word of God, Word of God, Word of God. The Bible is the Word of God, and God’s Word is true!” Therefore the standard of truth is God’s Word. It doesn’t matter what someone says, what the media states, etc. the truth of the matter is...what does God’s Word say?!

I think it’s especially crucial to teach our next generation to seek out truth in God’s Word as we live in a world that says “truth is whatever you want it to be”! What nonsense! Roger and I just voted yesterday in our state primary, and it was disheartening. I’m thankful that my confidence is in the Lord and not in mankind. We (as a state...not me!) voted to instill mandatory vaccinations in order for children to attend schools (private or public) and even online colleges. I actually think vaccinations are a good thing, but its a very slippery slope when the government gets to tell me what I MUST do! As I grow older,  I realize that I am not fearful for myself, but if I was to be fearful about something, it would be the future of our children. Will they know America as I know it? Will they have the opportunity to vote? Will their right to bear arms be permanently revoked? Thankfully, we are give a mandate to not live in fear. “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” So we will pray, and we will work and we will fight against growing weary!

We are now about five weeks away from our Academic Fair night for school, and the ideas are flying around our house! I’ve got one that seems to think that if he just puts it off long enough, it’ll go away.  One that has tried to change his mind a billion times; one that is anxious; one that is carefree...oh, just another day in paradise! I’m thankful for baby steps in the process and that it doesn’t all have to come together tonight!

Three children had follow-up dentist appointments on Monday afternoon. Emma had a tooth that had lost its filling, and Wyatt and Garett had small cavities to take care of. We spent the afternoon in the dentist office! I had brought plenty of work to do with me, but the office did not have internet. I should’ve brought my book instead! I think I read about every magazine there, and there were some pretty stupid magazines there. I was particularly appalled by the celebrity magazines! One, wow...some hideous outfits in those pages. Secondly, the cost of their outfit or jewelry was listed. I have a hard time reading about a charity they support or organization that needs recognition when their jewelry costs over $50,000! Ridiculous! And people in other countries actually are starving! Okay, rant over!


Garett had an adverse reaction to the numbing medicine at the dentist, and by the time we arrived home on Wednesday evening, he was pretty miserable. I know this because Roger grilled out some meats on the grill, and Garett resisted the meat and only ate rice! For Garett to eat only rice-He is not feeling well! He ended up staying home on Tuesday as he did not sleep well the night before. I took him out the airport before school started since Roger was working. I picked up Garett after preschool, and brought him home. He stayed home with Emma while I went to get some blood drawn for some labs Ive needed to get done. I’m so thankful that Garett is now old enough to watch Emma for a bit if needed!

I derailed about the dentist appointment, but truthfully, I was blown away by someone’s generosity towards me and our family. When we came home from the dentist, there was a letter in our mailbox. I love to get mail, so I opened the letter right in the driveway. A friend had written me to tell me that she had been praying and thinking about me, our trip to Haiti, and our family. She was not going to be able to go to Haiti, but she felt that God wanted her to give towards my trip to Haiti or a need that we had. God is so, so good and right on time! We had just dished out several hundred dollars last week for the vehicle inspection, excise tax, and registration on our van. And also, our first installment of money for the missions trip is due by March 10. Ever have those moments where your breath is taken away by the goodness of God?! Yeah, that was a moment on Monday afternoon. As tears flooded my eyes, it was the perfect opportunity to tell my kids that we serve a big, big God Who is always faithful! Kristen was used of God in a mighty way, and it’s a moment that I will never forget. The airline tickets were purchased today, and the countdown has begun! We have a Patriotic Program first, and then two days later, we leave for Haiti...much to get done!

Memories;
*Emma has been asking Roger for a “date” to go get her hair cut. On Tuesday afternoon, she “wrote” these notes for a scavenger hunt. When Roger came home from work, she told Roger she had a scavenger hunt for him. He followed the clues to one where Chandler had helped Emma write a note saying that she was going on a date with Daddy to get her hair cut! It was very creative! I know she got the idea from Aunt Jenn who did a scavenger hunt with them for a Christmas present.

*We base our meals and what meat we eat based on what is on sale, what’s been given us, and what’s in the freezer. While out grocery shopping, Chandler and I were looking at meat. Chandler told me that he liked pork meat. I was like, “Oh, what kind of pork meat do you like?” Chandler replied, “I like the pork that does karate.” What in the world?! I could not figure it out, until Chandler says, “Mom, like pork chops!” (Ah, the pig that does karate!) Needless to say, I certainly got a chuckle out of our conversation!

Our love,
Sarah