February - The Longest-Short Month of the Year!

 Ya’ll! Basketball is almost over! Woohoo! This weekend will be the JV Tournament and the following weekend will be the varsity tournament. I’m excited about being home earlier and transitioning to spring sports. 

Last week we had two home basketball games and one away basketball game- it was a lot! We had basketball practice on Monday,  a game on Tuesday, church on Wednesday, and away game on Thursday, and a home game on Friday. Roger arrived home in time for the game on Friday, so that was a good blessing for all of us. Chandler has had the opportunity to start on the JV team a couple of times, and he’s improved a lot this season. Wyatt, Travis, and Emma all had junior team basketball on Saturday morning for the last time. 

It was a long week last week(actually two weeks ago now) with Roger away from home. It was deja’vu of when Roger was gone to Michigan last year and a good reminder of how I’m not very good a single parenting! We survived-by the grace of God!  

I’m currently behind on keeping updated with the blog, so this is going to be a post on highlights! 

We went to the JV Tournament last weekend on Friday/Saturday. I took the day off of school on Friday and took the kids with me to the tournament. Chandler was the one playing in the tournament, but of course, all the kids wanted to go watch! We haven’t missed very many days from school, and since Chandler would probably get to play in the tournament, we decided to let the kids miss school for the day. Chandler had to be at school at 8:00am on  Friday morning. The girls team played at 10:00am, and unfortunately they lost that game. It was a single elimination tournament so the girls were out of the tournament. After that game, Laura and I took our kids to lunch and to leave the tournament property for a little bit as the boys game wasn’t until 2:40pm! The boys won that game, so they played again- at 8:00pm! It was a long night! The boys team did win that game, so they advanced to the championship game scheduled for Saturday at 1:30 pm. Chandler didn’t have a great game on Friday night, and he made a few simple mistakes. He didn’t start for the championship game on Saturday, but for the most part, he still had a good attitude. The boys team worked hard and with 15.5 seconds to go the score was tied. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, another kid appeared to play for the opposing team! The ball was tossed in, and this fresh, new player bounded down the court to score a lay-up! Of course, the opposing team was ecstatic, but our team was so disappointed! It turns out that it was a totally legitimate player and play. Apparently, he had been somewhere else all morning and then had made it for the very tail end of the game! And while I get that it was a totally legitimate play, there were some very disappointed players who had worked so hard! Chandler doesn’t cry  easily, and he had a few tears over the outcome of the game. The team went out to eat after the game, but we just came home. It had been along few days, and we all needed to go home! 

This weekend we will be at the Varsity Basketball tournament. The tournament falls over Thursday- Saturday, but I am only going to be able to come for Friday/Saturday. The boys team doesn’t play until 8:00pm on Thursday night, so I can come to the tournament after school on Thursday and still make it for the game. Garett and Chandler both play on the varsity team, so they’re happy to miss two days of school this week! It’s been a long and tiring last two weeks, and I think we are all looking forward to basketball wrapping up. It’s been a good season, and the boys have learned a lot. I don’t think that Garett will play again, Chandler is unsure and Wyatt is hoping to play next year- we will see! This mama is ready for a break from all things basketball for a while!

Last Saturday, (2/11) Roger was called in for a fire in our area. There was a pile of railroad ties that had caught on fire, and the fire quickly spread to consume about thirty acres. Roger was called in, but since it was more of a structural fire and it was inside the Air Force base airspace, he was dismissed after a few hours. Generally around this time of year, the fire season has picked up. However, we’ve had quite a bit of rain in the past few weeks, so there’s not been much for fire activity. It’s both good and bad. We like having Roger home, but fighting fires is a way to build some “Comp” time for later in the year.  We do have a specific unspoken prayer request regarding Roger’s job, that we would appreciate you praying with us about. 

Two weeks ago, we had a bunch of boys over to our house on Wednesday afternoon. Since there’s no sports practices on Wednesday afternoon, it’s a good afternoon to have friends over to play. For supper we had 7 boys and one girl seated around our supper table. We went through a very large pot of spaghetti, and lots of bread! It was a fun afternoon, and we are thankful for friends for the boys. 

We’ve had a lot of blessings in the past few weeks. Someone purchased about $300.00 worth of books for our school library! We have a library with a lot of books, but unfortunately some of them are a bit dated and do not appeal to this generation of readers. We are always thankful for good book donations to the library! It’s a work in progress, and building a good library is a lot of work, effort, time and money. God is good. 

We are looking forward to a bit of warmer weather, more sunshine, and wrapping up the school year- in another 14 weeks! Our Maine friends have the week off due to Winter break, and part of me is just a tad bit jealous! However, I’m also glad to be wrapping up the school year in May and enjoying the summer months. The kids are hoping to work for our neighbor again, the boys are all going to camp, we are hoping to soak up some days at the beach, and some quality family time together. 

The older boys are off to their last and final Basketball tournament today! They play at 8:30pm tonight, which is about the time all our kids are off to bed- I know, we’re weird like that! Please pray that the team will do their best tonight, glorify God, and have good attitudes. 

God is good. Even through the storms of life, He is faithful and true. We are so very thankful for His new morning mercies! 

Memories from January!

 As I mentioned in my last post, Roger and I were able to get away to our church’s annual marriage retreat last weekend. It’s been a few years since we’ve been to a marriage retreat, and while it is good for our marriage for us to get away, sometimes it’s easier to talk about than to actually do! 

The retreat was in Myrtle Beach, SC. It was a bit on the cooler side as far as the weather goes, but we still enjoyed morning walks on the beach together. We were on the 8th floor, and we took the stairs every time! Roger likes to give me a hard time about it, but it’s one way that we can keep in shape (or at least try!). We  arrived in Myrtle Beach on Thursday night and we went out to eat with several other couples from our Sunday School class. It was a good time of fellowship and laughter. We then went back to the resort and we played games for a little while. It’s nice to be able to relax and not be on a time schedule. 

Friday was a free day as the evening session didn’t start until 7:00pm. Roger and I enjoyed a long walk on the beach and then a walk to get coffee! We met up with our friends, the Hardison’s, around 10:00am to do a little shopping, more eating, and just wandering around. It was a laid back afternoon, and it was a good time together. The speaker for this years retreat did a great job. He spoke on commitment, chemistry, and communication. After the Friday night session, we went out for dessert with a few other couples. It was a super late night for Roger and I, but we enjoyed our time away. It was nice to be able to sleep in -we did- until about 7:00am. We knew that our children were in good hands, so we were able to really relax and enjoy the time. 

Now the kids- they all had a great time! Wyatt and Travis went to their friend's, Gabe and Enzo’s house. They got to go watch a friend play basketball, play mini golf, lots of games of basketball, and a lot of fun memories for them. Chandler and Garett were at home by themselves, but on Friday they spent a good part of the day with our friends, the Everett’s. The boys did paintball, lots of eating, board games, axe throwing, and lots of fun memories. The Everett’s wanted to do something to celebrate Chandler’s 15th birthday, and they did a great job! It was nice for the boys to have the opportunity to have some fun events without the whole family. We love to be together as a family, but I’m thankful that each of our kids were able to enjoy creating memories with friends and just one sibling. Emma didn’t have a sibling with her at Lili’s house, but that didn’t seem to bother her! She came back with slime in her hair, an overflowing heart with all the fun that she had, and chattering away about her memories! We were all tired on Saturday night, so it was an early bedtime for all of us! We all went to bed with full hearts and happy minds. We are so thankful for each one that watched over our children, loved them, encouraged them, and created some fun memories with them. We are so blessed! 

We have about three weeks of basketball left. February are always seems to be a long month! I”m hoping that with basketball wrapping up and baseball starting that perhaps the month won’t seem quite so long. 

This past week, we had several basketball games. Chandler has been working hard all season long, and he had the opportunity to start on the JV team on Thursday! We were so excited for him. He’s come a LONG ways since the beginning of the season, and he even scored 21 points in the game. Basketball was not a game we were very familiar with prior to basketball tryouts, but the boys surely have learned a lot! Wyatt and Travis have had the opportunity to play on a Saturday morning team with church/school kids. They’ve really enjoyed that also. Emma gets to play on a team with second graders, and she definitely doesn’t enjoy sports as much as her brothers. However, she did get the ball a few times, and she’s improved too. 

This past week, we had a special treat when my friend, Laura, brought the kids and I lunch at school. Packing lunches is one of my least favorite things to do, and although the boys and Roger do help, there still has to be items to pack FOR lunches! It was so nice to be pleasantly surprised by lunch on Wednesday! 

Roger will be gone all this coming week for some fire training, so that always makes the week a little longer. He’s doing some training out in the Outer Banks area, so he’s staying out there. The boys have three basketball games this week, so that will definitely make the week go by a little faster. Chandler will be driving this week with a driving instructor as he’s preparing to get his driving permit. It’s hard to believe that our kids are growing up so quickly! Every time I turn around, we are facing new experiences and challenges as they grow. I was thinking about Garett graduating from high school the other day, and I could feel the tears welling up. Garett was like, “what is the matter with you?” I told him that the years were flying by too quickly and I wasn’t really ready for the boys to grow up so fast. He replied, “well, mom, it’s going to happen. I guess we will just have to make the best of it.” Boys! My mama’s heart will treasure these moments and savor the memories, as we work to raise them up to love and serve Jesus. 

While we work to raise our children to love and serve Jesus, we are trying to put opportunities for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives. The four boys will be heading to camp this summer at a Christian camp in Florida. This camp is highly recommended to us, as well as I am familiar with some of their ministries. We are excited for the boys to have this opportunity as we feel that camp can be influential in their lives. The boys will all be going during the same week, so Emma and I are planning some special activities for during that week. Garett will be heading into 11th grade, so I know that his summers at home are coming to a close. We are already praying that God will work in the lives of each of our sons during this week at camp. Camp changed my life during my teen years, and we are praying that God will use camp in the lives of our teens as well. 

Last Saturday we went ice skating after basketball for the younger kids. I think ice skating is one thing that the boys really miss about living in North Carolina. A few years ago, we had an ice skating rink in our back yard, but that’s not going to happen here! While it’s not the same as playing pond hockey, they were all excited to go ice skating with some friends. Emma improves every time she skates, and both the Everett girls picked up on skating fairly easily. Brody had a good time with Wyatt and Travis, but he sure did do a lot of “mopping the ice”! Oh to be young and not have a fear of falling and hurting something! It was a fun afternoon! We created memories, enjoyed time and fellowship together. Time is one things that we can never get back, so we need to use it wisely. I certainly don’t always use it wisely, but it’s one thing that we are working on to make a more conscious effort of how we use our time together. 

Yesterday we had a music ministry supper after Sunday night church. It was a dinner for those that have served in the music ministry, or those who would like to serve in the music ministry. The church is looking to re-instate the choir that has been missing for the last two years. They’ve had a music team every Sunday, but this would be for anyone interested in singing. The choir is for those in 7th grade and above. Myself, Garett and Chandler all plan to sing in the choir. Wyatt could sing in the choir, but he doesn’t really want to at this time. He is already in the school choir, so that’s okay. We are excited about the opportunity to be involved in music again. I helped out often with music in our church in Maine, and Garett did some also. The boys are growing up and choir is a simple way that they can serve others, practice getting outside of their comfort zone, and worship the Lord. God is good! 

Emma has been asking questions about getting baptized. She accepted the gift of salvation during our “remote” learning days in 2020, and she is now asking about being baptized. Please pray for us to have wisdom and to help her understand baptism. We are baptized to show others that we are serious about our walk with the Lord and our intentions to follow Him. 

We are past he 100th day of school, and we are in the middle of the “nitty gritty”. This is the time of year that school starts to drag, and the days seem to be forever long. Thankfully, the weather should start getting warmer, the four boys are hoping to play baseball, and the opportunity to be more outside is encouraging. 

We appreciate your prayers as as we work to love Jesus and love others.  We often fail at both, and I’m not great at always demonstrating Jesus’s love to my kids. I get easily frustrated, lose my temper, fail to have grace, and am not a good example of how I want to parent our kids. The teen years are hard- I find out every day that I have more and more shortcomings, and I see them fleshed out in our children. The spirit truly is willing but the flesh is weak! 

Laura and I have enjoyed walking and praying together over the last few weeks, and I’m thankful to have a friend to walk and pray with. We are certainly far from perfect, but we know that there is power in the name of Jesus. In His name, we bring our children, spouses, church, school, and so many other requests before Him. We serve an amazing God! 

January Activities and Garett’s Decision

 The month of January has actually gone by fairly quickly- usually this month can have a tendency to drag on and on! We are about six weeks from the end of basketball season, and then the start of baseball season. Garett and Chandler have enjoyed playing basketball, but I think they’re looking forward to baseball, the opportunity to be outside more, and a sport that they have a little more experience with playing. Chandler has improved a lot with his basketball skills, and he no longer looks quite so nervous when he gets out on the court. Hustling is not Garett’s strong suit nor is making quick decisions and basketball involves both! However, we’ve been faithfully attending games, and if nothing else, our children will remember our presence - I hope! 

                                            Happy 15th birthday Chandler! We love this young man! 

Last week, Garett made a big decision in his life. Last Friday, the student pastor asked me if Garett had talked to me about the decision he had made on Wednesday during chapel. I was like, “no, he has not.” The pastor encouraged me to ask Garett about his decision. The opportunity presented itself on Saturday night, as Roger and I were talking to Garett. I asked him about chapel on Wednesday and a decision he had made. At first he looked confused, and then his face cleared and he said, “Oh, yeah! I went forward at the invitation. Pastor Alex came over to talk to me and asked me if I had any questions. I said that I wasn’t sure about my salvation. Pastor Alex told me to come up to his office and he would answer my questions with Scripture. So after lunch, I did. Pastor Alex showed me from the Bible how I can be positive about my salvation. And now I’m sure.” I was about in tears over hearing Garett’s testimony and how the Holy Spirit was working in his life. I asked him why he didn’t come to Roger or I, and he said, “It’s not that I didn’t think you had the answers, but sometimes it’s nice to talk to someone other than my parents.” Well, I can agree with that. I asked him why he hadn’t mentioned it to us, and he was like, “well, it’s settled in my heart and mind. I don’t have any doubts anymore and I guess it just didn’t occur to me to mention it!” Um, my dear son, these are the types of things that I definitely want to hear about! We’ve been praying for all our teenage boys as of late. I know that both Roger and I made assurances of our salvation during our teen years, and we’ve been praying for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of our children. Sometimes we just have to keep putting opportunities in front of them where the Holy Spirit can  continue to nudge and prick their conscience. We are thankful for teachers, coaches, and those who provide mentorship and discipleship to our children. 

                                     Good fellowship makes the long nights of basketball a lot more fun!!

We’ve had a few late nights with basketball games, school events, and other things happening. Last weekend we had a few families from church over to our house for fellowship and food. We ten kids and six adults, so the house was full of excitement! Our friends, the Wades, brought some Chick-fil-A sweet tea, cookies and bread, and the Everetts brought some food as well. We had a good time of fellowship and the ladies spent some time praying for some things that have been trying in our lives. On Monday, it was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day so the students had off. I went in to school to work for a few hours as we are preparing for our school accreditation in a few short weeks- and that is a big undertaking! 

On Monday afternoon, we went bowling with the Everett family. I’m a terrible bowler and I hate to lose, but I definitely lost! I think even Emma beat me at bowling! Oh well! We had fun, lots of laughter and fellowship. We’ve enjoyed getting to know the Everett family and we are thankful for their friendship to our family. We have several children that are similar in ages, and Laura and I have also been getting together once a week to go walking and pray together. Usually we get in about three miles while waiting for our kids to finish up sports practice and then we spend some time praying. We’ve never run out of things to pray for or things to talk about. 

Chandler told me on Tuesday that there were some kids in his class that were teasing him about liking Ava (one of the Everett girls). I asked him how he felt about it. He replied, “those particular kids are always making dumb comments, so I guess they’ve just found one more thing to be dumb about.” Roger and I encouraged him to stay kind and gracious and to remember the feelings of others too. Roger and I have been working hard about encouraging our teens to have healthy relationships with the opposite sex. Since the Everett’s and us are good friends, I guess it stands to reason that our kids might be teased about something like this. However, both Chandler and Ava have continued to be kind and polite to each other, and they both seem to just let it roll like water off a duck’s back. I remember my dad making that statement when we were growing up, “Just let it roll off like water off a duck’s back. You don’t need to be easily offended.” 

God has provided multiple opportunities to pray with ladies in my life lately. On Thursday we had a very rough morning on the way to school. One of my children, in particular, does not like to admit when he is wrong. Instead of just admitting and apologizing, I about lose my sanctification while trying to have a conversation with him! We parted ways with both of us saying, “I love you,” but it wasn’t’ extremely heart felt. I felt the Holy Spirit convicting me, so I made my way to that son’s classroom to apologize for the way I handled the situation. When I arrived in the library, I found that my friend, Jen, had also had a very rough morning with her son. We were both practically in tears, and I said, “The only thing that I know to do is to keep praying.” So we spent some time in prayer before our library classes began. I’ve also been praying with one of the teachers at school every morning. She is facing a particular trial in her life, so I’ve been popping in every morning to pray. God hasn’t specifically answered our prayers yet, but we know that He is still working! We are trusting Him while we wait. I’m not the most patient person, and I want God to solve this situation right now, but while we wait, we will pray! 

While we know that our families, churches, and Christian schools are under constant attack from Satan, there are times where that force feels stronger. We are definitely in one of those trenches right now, and the only thing to do is to cling to the Rock. I am so thankful that God continues to be our shelter in the storm, our Fortress, our Deliverer, our Strong Tower, and the one in whom I trust! I am so thankful for opportunities to pray. We can come boldly to His Throne where we know that mercy abounds. 

This weekend Roger and I have the opportunity to attend a marriage retreat- it’s been a long time since we’ve been on one. When we committed to go, we weren’t sure who was going to watch our kids. We are very particular about who they can stay with and who can watch them. However, God worked out all the details! Chandler and Garett are staying home by themselves, but we have a friend who will be checking in with them. And today, Friday, Garett and Chandler will be spending the day with some great friends of ours, the Everett Family. Chandler’s 15th birthday was yesterday, and the Everett’s have some special plans for him today. Roger and I are so thankful for the mentorship and discipleship of other’s in our children’s lives. Roger and I left on Chandler’s birthday, so I told him we would celebrate at another time. He was totally fine with that especially as this is the son that does not like extra attention! Wyatt and Travis both went with some school friends while we are away. And Emma went home with a school friend also. I don’t know that the kids have ever been so spread apart while we are away, but we are thankful that God worked out the details so that Roger and I could get away for the marriage retreat. When I called Garett last night to let him know that we had arrived at the hotel, he said that he and chandler were eating supper. I asked him what they had made for supper- chicken. Okay, what else? He sounds surprised and said, “What’s wrong with chicken?” Well, nothing! But usually you have something to go with it! Oh well! They won’t starve, and they’re eating protein! It’s different than how I would do it, but that’s okay. This is the first time we’ve left the boys on their own for a few days, so I think my mama’s heart is struggling a little bit with how fast that creeped up on us! Time flies! 

This song has blessed me time and time again. I’ll never forget the voices of my kindergarten class singing “Jesus, thank you” last year. Regardless of the chaos around me, Jesus reigns supreme and I can thank Him! 

    Photo credit: bereaproject.org 

Back to School! January Praises and Prayers!

 Back to school! I’m not sure that any of our children were thrilled to be back in school last week, but every day gets us closer to summer break! The months of January and February can tend to drag on and on, but the basketball schedule keeps us busy, the boys have started practicing baseball a little, and sometimes the weather is really quite nice!

Last weekend the boys had a basketball tournament in Elizabeth City which is about three hours away. We originally were not planning on going to the tournament as its a drive away and Garett and Chandler don’t play a whole lot during a game. We try to make it to as many games/tournaments as possible even when they are bench warmers because we feel like it is important. However, we are trying to save money for some additional house projects, so we decided that we wouldn’t go to the tournament. However, on Friday morning, my friend, Laura, messaged me to say that they were not going to be able to go to the tournament and would we want their hotel room. After thinking about it for a few minutes, we decided that we would go to the tournament and use the provided hotel room. After school, I left immediately with the three younger kids to head home, pack some stuff for overnight and try to make it to the boys 7:30pm game. Roger told me to go ahead with the kids as he was off flying fire patrol and he wasn’t sure when he would make it home. So the three younger kids and I headed for Elizabeth City. There is not a direct road to that city, and it took us a while to get there! We arrived at 7:10pm, and we discovered that the game had started at 7:00pm! I was thankful that we had left immediately after packing up our stuff at home or we would’ve missed the game. The boys team did win their game which meant that they were headed for the championship game on Saturday at 2:00pm. That was exciting! In the end, it worked out that Roger wasn’t able to come as the hotel room had one king bed. So Wyatt and Travis slept on the floor and Emma and I slept in the bed. We all sleep best in our own beds, so I don’t think anyone got a great night’s sleep- read (crabby in the morning!). It was kinda a long day, and the boys and girls team both ended up with second place at the tournament. No need to mention that there were only four teams at the tournament! Garett and Chandler have never complained about sitting on the bench, but it’s nice to see that they are becoming more comfortable with being on the court. They don’t look as nervous to have the ball as they did at the beginning of the season, and we are thankful that they have had this opportunity to see if they’d like this sport. 

We were all a little tired on Sunday morning, but it was a blessing to be in the house of the Lord on Sunday morning. Roger and I have really been enjoying our sunday school class and the current topic is “visionary parenting”. Biblical parenting sessions are always encouraging but also so convicting. My spirit wants to do better but the flesh truly is weak. I am a wonderful mother and full of patience and kindness until my children get out of bed in the morning! However, it’s been good to be reminded of the things that we should be doing, and to love God more fervently and passionately. 

On Sunday afternoon we had the opportunity to host some dear friends of ours, the Falde Family. Garett and I have had the opportunity to go to Haiti with the Falde Family. The Falde’s have become dear friends of ours and they’ve been serving in Haiti for several years. They were visiting a church in the Wilmington area and then came to visit us for the afternoon. We enjoyed the opportunity to fellowship and catch up on what God is doing in Haiti. They are in the process of adopting a set of twins from Haiti, and I’m sure they would appreciate your prayers as they wait for the process. Nothing happens quickly in Haiti- ever, and we are praying for God to help the adoption process go smoothly. They received a wonderful Christmas gift when someone offered to pay for the rest of the adoption fees! That was an amazing gift, and now it’s the process of working through all the paperwork to adopt the twins. We had a great evening of food, fellowship and visiting together. 

Our school had spirit week this week, so excitement was high in the school! We’ve not had whole lot of experiences with spirit week, and trying to come up with outfits for each day was a challenge! We weren’t able to participate every day, but we did our best. It’s hard to be the new kids in a new school and not exactly know what is and what isn’t allowed. It’ll be nice to not be brand new next year to so many of these new experiences! Tuesday was “Rhyme without reason” day, and my friend, Jennifer, and I dressed up. We work in the library together on Tuesday, and Jennifer came up with the idea of using two acronyms (CFA and FCA). She’s worked at Chick-fil-a in the past, and I figured I could find a cheerleader outfit somewhere around the school. We forgot to take a picture of the two of us, but we did manage to come up with both outfits! Oftentimes spirit week is a lot of fun- until we need to try to find outfits for six people! 

Monday was a bit of a drag of a day, and that was compounded by a basketball game that was away. The JV teams both lost their games, but the varsity teams both won. Garett and Chandler didn’t play in the game, but it was a good game to watch. The varsity boys did win the game by one point!  It was a bit of long evening, but we are thankful  for these  opportunities to support our boys and their efforts. 

On Tuesdays I help out with choir for the elementary students. Normally I just tell students to listen, be quiet, run the PowerPoint, etc. but the piano player was not there for class. Tamela asked me if I was comfortable helping out with the piano aspect. Well, I was quickly reminded that it’s been about 8 months since I’ve played a note on the piano! I was not amazing, and I don’t think I was especially helpful, but it did remind me how much I miss playing the piano and how I need to get back into finding time to practice! 

Tuesday afternoon found our two younger boys at an informational meeting regarding a JV baseball team. It looks like there will be enough interest and enough boys to have a JV baseball team this year, and Wyatt and Travis are very thankful for that! The boys enjoy playing baseball and while they’ve never been formally on a team, they’ve played it in our backyard for years! The coach told both Wyatt and Travis that they did very well in the practice especially as they’ve never been on a team. They were both encouraged by that!

On Thursday afternoon, I had the opportunity to go walking with a new friend. Laura has become a good friend to me, and I am thankful for her. Since our kids have sports practice after school, we decided to walk for a while while they were at practice. It was a great use of our time as we walked three miles and then spent some time in prayer especially for our children, spouses, school and church. If we really want to change the world for Jesus, it’s going to happen first when we get on our knees. I want to be passionate and fervent in prayer, and it was nice to have a fellow mama and friend to pray with and share our burdens. While Laura and Justin have two girls and a boy, and we have four boys and a girl, our children seem to relate well to each other. As mamas, Laura and I are happy for our children to have friends that they can laugh and have conversations with each other. Laura and I are hoping to continue our walking/praying plan. We have a few specific prayer requests that we want to continue to pray for and see what God does. 

Friday was the longest day we’ve had in a while! It was the last day of spirit week, and the students were excited about it being Friday, a game day, and a pep rally! Today was also Homecoming day, which I don’t have any previous experience with, so we were excited to see what was going to happen. There were four basketball games after school, JV girls, JV boys, Varsity girls and Varsity boys! The JV teams both won their games yesterday, and both varsity teams lost. Chandler did get some playing time in the JV game, so that was exciting for him. At the close of all the basketball games, the school recognizes the two class representatives from grades 7-12. One boy and one girl from each class is chosen by classmates to represent Mr. And Mrs. *** for the school. These students have a good standing with their classmates and are to be chosen based on their character and reputation. The boys dress in a suit and the girls wear a formal dress. The whole ceremony takes about 20 minutes, but it’s a privilege to be chosen to represent your class. It was fun to watch the students and to listen to their testimonies. Wyatt’s friend, Gabe, was chosen for the 7th grade class, so that was especially cool. I did shed a few tears as I listened to the recording of Gabe’s voice telling about his salvation and how thankful he was for his parents, teachers and school. It was a super late night as we didn’t get home until around 11:00pm, so that made for a tired Saturday morning! 

We also have a huge praise to share- the kids school bill for this year is paid in full! Praise the Lord! Due to my parents generosity as well as my sister, Jen, we’ve been able to pay off this year’s school bill. That’s a huge, huge praise! Roger and I were just talking about how we’d like to think about sending the boys to a Christian camp this summer, and now we will be able to save some towards making that become a reality. God is so good to us, even though we don’t deserve it. We didn’t expect to be able to get the school bill paid off until closer to the end of April, so this is about three months earlier than we anticipated! 

Also, we have a prayer request. When we were at Wednesday night church, Roger and I were convicted about providing opportunities to our children to bless others. We are in the process of raising up third generation Christians, which is a huge responsibility! It’s easy to become lethargic in our praise of all that God has done, and I think our children need to be reminded that they are children of God and that they have the privilege to SERVE Him. We are looking for meaningful ways that our children can bless others. They could pick up trash alongside the road for several hours and that would be beneficial to our community. We are not opposed to that, but we’d rather have the kids have a face to go with their service. I’ve contacted a few people about ways that the kids could serve either by doing yard work, cleaning, serving food to the homeless, etc, but we are still praying about what would be best. We are SO blessed to live in America, and we are SO blessed to be the children of God. I want our children to be able to be a blessing to someone. Please pray with us that we will choose wisely. That our children would enjoy the opportunity to serve. That God would be glorified. We serve a great God!

Christmas Break!

 

After over a week of lots of sugar, rich foods, a different sleep schedule and lots of excitement, we are heading back to school tomorrow! We’ve  enjoyed some “down time” this past week with our family, extended family and friends. 

A little over a week ago, on Christmas “Adam” (the day before Christmas Eve), we went over to a friends house. We’ve become friends with the Everett family, and we always have good food and fellowship when we are together. We had dinner at their house as well as another family. Lisa and I went to school together - a long time ago! It was good to see Lisa again and meet her family. We had eleven kids between us, so there was a lot happening! It was a bit of a cold day (especially for North Carolina), but we went on a walk anyways! I wouldn’t say that all of the walkers were willing participants, but it was good to get out in God’s creation! It was good to see our teenage kids interact with other teenage kids with lots of laughter and fellowship for them too. We enjoyed a fun relaxing evening on the day before Christmas activities. 

Last Saturday (Christmas Eve), we were planning to go to Hickory to see some of my extended family. However, last week was cold in North Carolina, and we had a lot of wind come through our area. We had two trees that were blown down due to the wind, and just as we were getting ready to leave for Hickory, the power went out at our house! It was about 12 degrees, and we didn’t have any idea of how long the power would be out. It’s a four hour drive to Hickory, so we needed to decide what we were going to do. Roger ended up staying home to make sure the pipes didn’t freeze as well as he was the “on-call” patrol pilot for fires. We were disappointed that Roger wasnt able to come with us, but the kids and I had a good time anyways. It’s a bit of a hike from our house to Hickory, but we were there around eleven  in the morning. We enjoyed our time together, and my cousin, Brittany, and I even went on a walk. It was chilly, but I like to do something active every day if possible. We made it back home by around 9:00pm, and we are thankful for the Lord’s traveling mercies. 

This was our first year in a long while that we didn’t attend a Christmas Eve service, and I think that next year I’d like to find an area church that is having a Christmas Eve service and attend with our family. Christmas Day was a beautiful albeit still a chilly day for North Carolina. Our church was having a Christmas Day service, and we were looking forward to that. We opened our stockings, ate a delicious breakfast together, and then headed off for the 10 o’clock church service. I was surprised at how many people came out for the service! It was a good Christmas Day service, and I’m glad that we had the opportunity to actually be in the house of the Lord on Christmas Day! I do enjoy singing “Silent Night” with the candles lit, and I think there were even a few people that raised their hands for salvation during the invitation. It was a blessing to worship together. 

We spent Christmas Day gathered as a family at our home. We enjoyed a relaxed afternoon together, and we ate a lot of delicious food! (We’ve been eating lots of good food all week long!) 

On Tuesday morning we dropped Chandler off at the church building for his Freshman Focus trip. Chandler is not a big talker by any means, but he did tell me that he was excited about going on this trip with a few other freshmen in his class. Five boys went and four girls on a trip to Florida. They arrived back on Friday night so it was a whirlwind of a trip! Chandler said that he had a really good time, but he wished that the trip had been a little bit longer. He was just starting to become better friends with some of the freshman and then the trip was over. But it was a good experience for him, and God provided the perfect timing. It’s a hard adjustment on teenagers to move, and the rest of the freshman class has pretty much grown up together. It was a good opportunity for Chandler to get to know some of them a lot better as well as have other adults provide discipleship in his life. We are thankful that he had the opportunity to go. God is so good. 

Also on Tuesday, we went ice skating! Not outside- it’s not been THAT cold! Our friends, the Hardisons, invited us to come along with their family to an ice skating arena. Emma has the least amount of experience with ice skating, but we were all looking forward to going. The boys have missed playing pond hockey this year, and they were happy to see that their ice skates still fit them. We enjoyed the time together as well as dinner with the Hardisons afterwards. We are thankful that they thought to invite us, and we’ve enjoyed getting to know their family better. Emma was a little bummed as she was the only girls with six boys, but she survived! 

The weather continued to get warmer throughout the week, and  by Friday, it was about 65 degrees! We enjoyed a lot of time outside this past week. Emma enjoyed a play date with her friend, Cynthia, at Chuck E. Cheese on Friday. We had dinner at the Pastor’s house on Saturday along with another family. Emma was again the only girl with seven boys, but she’s used to it!  We enjoyed talking about many topics, and getting to know both the Pastor and his family better as well as another church family. It takes time to build relationships and friendships, and we are thankful for so many that have extended hospitality to our family. 

Sunday afternoon gave us the opportunity to host at our house! I was excited about having people over to our house, and while the boys were excited about having friends over, they were not excited about all the extra cleaning I made them help with!  But by three o’clock, we were ready for our friends to come. We had invited several families, but not every one was able to come. We ended up with 22 people at our house for a New Year’s Day get together. It was super informal, but I think we all had a good time! There were eleven young men, so they spend most of the time outside playing soccer and basketball until it was too dark to see. Emma and Cynthia were happy to have some teenage girls to interact with while the adults enjoyed fellowship too. We ate lots of food (again!), and played a bunch of games together. The Carillo Family brought over some sweet tamales, which is something none of us had tried before! We had lots of desserts, food, and laughter. Our last guests left around 10:00pm, so it was a good way to wrap up the night before our last day of Christmas break. Our kids went to bed encouraged by laughter and fellowship, and Roger and I had a great time also. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to have people over in our home, and no one even seemed to notice that the windows might not have trim or that the yard isn’t landscaped or that 100 other projects are waiting to get done. Instead we focused on building relationships, fellowshipping together and opening our home to our friends. My friend, Laura, and I sat at the kitchen table after everyone else had left and just spend some time talking and praying together. I think that the older I get, the more easily I cry! I cry when children are singing, or over someone’s heartache, or over a heart-felt prayer, or anything else! I’m thankful that we were able to have over friends that share our desire to raise up sons and daughters to fear the Lord and to be warriors in the Army of the Lord! We cannot falter or give up as we endeavor to press on to raise up a generation that will be steadfast, unmovable and abounding in Jesus! 

We also asked our children about some goals that they would want to set for the New Year. I’ll have to share some of those goals in another post, as I need to wrap this one up. We have another year ahead of us. Every day is a gift from God, and I certainly want to use each day wisely. God is so good to me and our family. We are so blessed. 

Happy New Year! 

 Photo credit; cdn.Shopify.com/files 

Christmas Break! Praise Jesus!

 

Christmas is almost here! I know that if I don’t write about the adventures and memories of the past few days, I’ll forget! We are so thankful that it is now Christmas break. Chandler has a “Freshman Focus” trip planned for next week (several of the freshman are going on a trip to encourage fellowship and hopefully deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ). Other than that trip for Chandler, we plan to stay around home. Last Christmas the kids and I drove from Maine to Michigan over Christmas break, so this Christmas I am thankful to be sticking around home! 

In the past week, we’ve done A LOT of Christmas baking! I think we made 39 little boxes of treats for our neighbors, teachers and friends. The most popular treats were peanut butter balls and Christmas crack, but we also dipped Oreos, made oreo truffles, caramels, chocolate chip cookies, and a bunch of other sugary treats! I am about sick of making peanut butter balls, but hopefully others will be blessed and encouraged by a box of Christmas treats! 

A few Sundays ago, our Sunday School teacher was talking about Random Acts of Kindness. I know it’s been on our hearts and minds (Roger and I) on how we could help teach this to our children. I printed several Random Acts of Christmas Kindness cards for our kids to hand out to strangers, and I was pleasantly surprised as to how much they seemed to enjoy the idea. Then I had the idea to print a bunch more of those same cards and challenge our 4th and 5th grade classes at school to pass out the cards! So I spent much of last Monday printing out the cards, attaching an invitation to our church’s Christmas service and a candy cane. Then Jennifer and I gave them out to our library classes on Tuesday. We didn’t make the students take a card, but we just encouraged them to take one if they would use it. The majority of the students did take a card, and I’ve been praying that God will specifically use those cards to encourage some spiritually weary people in our world and point them to Jesus. This world needs Jesus, and since we have our hope in Jesus, we need to share that with the world! 

The boys survived mid-term exams! I wasn’t sure that we would make it through the week, but by the Grace the God, we made it through! It was a long week, and it was more stressful that I would’ve liked, but it is behind us for now. Last Friday evening, the kids and I went over to a friends house to do some Christmas baking- including more peanut butter balls! This family has two teenage daughters and a fourth grader boy. It was refreshing to see the teens have conversations with each other and laugh together. I think that teens are often intimidated to talk to the opposite sex because then some one will tease them about “liking” that person! It’s annoying to them and it’s discouraging as a parent who’s trying to raise kids to have healthy relationships at their ages! 

We had over some friends last Saturday, and we did more Christmas baking! Maria and I made oreo truffles and more peanut butter balls! It’s fun to have them over as they have a bunch of boys too, and we enjoy fellowship with them. On Sunday, our Spanish church was having a potluck Christmas dinner and Maria invited our family to join the Spanish church dinner. It was a little odd to go to a potluck dinner knowing that I hadn’t made anything to contribute, but per usual for church dinners, there was plenty of food! It was a good opportunity to interact with families outside of our normal church circle and to be introduced to some ethnic Mexican food. It was delicious!

Monday began the last 1.5 days before Christmas break from school! The older kids (6th-12th grade) had a special day of games for them. The boys all agreed that it was far better than school, but they would’ve preferred more active games- sounds pretty typical for them! The more running, moving, and being active, the better in their opinion! Meanwhile, the younger grades had one last rehearsal for the Christmas program! I had the opportunity to be involved a little in the rehearsals, and it’s always fun to see it finally start to pull together. After weeks of instructing in music, drama, songs and telling students to be quiet on the stage, it’s nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel…either that or it’s an oncoming train! I had the opportunity to be involved in several years of music in Maine, and I’m glad that God continued to allow me to have a small part in this new Christian school. I worked with two great ladies, Lauren and Tamela, and we were all thankful to know that by Tuesday at 11:30am, this program would be behind us! The students did a fantastic job on Tuesday morning, and I think we are all relieved that we don’t have to hear those Christmas songs for a while! 

Roger’s parents came for a few days, so we were able to enjoy some time with them. They arrived on Monday afternoon and left on Wednesday morning. They are traveling a lot this Christmas season as they visit several of Roger’s siblings and families. We enjoyed conversations, laughter, lots of food, and opening gifts together with them. Mom and Dad were able to come to see the Christmas program on Tuesday morning, and we were thankful that they were able to spend some time with us. 

I’ll be honest- this Christmas season has been a rough one. I don’t know that I could adequately express how I feel, but tears have been close to the surface many times in the past few days. My heart hurts for those that have lost a loved one recently. One of my friends lost a son this past year, and we’ve shared many moments of watery eyes. My heart hurts for those that are hurting this season. It’s a season of joy as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but for some it’s a season of deep sadness and grief. 

Transitions are hard- even if they are good transitions. We are figuring out new friendships and relationships here in North Carolina, and it’s not without some rough moments on both Roger and I and our kids... especially Emma and Travis. We left behind six years of friendships in Maine, and some of those will remain life-long friends. I miss shopping trips and church events with Allison, laughing with Jess, and school and church Christmas programs. I miss deep conversations about things that really matter with some of those very close friends. I know that God is at work here too, and that He will bring about those friendships and conversations in His perfect timing. It’s hard not to feel sad about what was behind, but I also know that God will continue to work out His perfect will here too.  

But, we’ve made friends with a military family that’s also new to the area. Getting to know Justin and Laura and their family has been a blessing to our entire family. Laura and I have shared conversations about raising teenagers, and I’m thankful for another “like-minded” mama. Also, I’m thankful for friendships such as Jennifer and her family. Jennifer and I have been working together in the library, and she and her husband have been an encouragement to our whole family. They’ve shared fellowship with us, welcomed our family, and have encouraged both Roger and I.  Wyatt and Travis have made friends with Gabe and Enzo, and I have been encouraged by conversations with their mom, Laura, and we always have lots of laughs together! It’s been six months since we’ve moved, but God has been faithful. Even when I am weary or discouraged, He is still good. He never changes! 

Just this week, God provided several blessings for our family. 

*Garett got his driving permit! I can’t believe our son is old enough to drive! His brothers do not like him to drive because they say that he drives too slowly, but he is being responsible! We are thankful that he takes this responsibility seriously. 

*Christmas cards! We are still one of those weird families that send out Christmas cards, and we also enjoy receiving them! This week we received several cards from friends in the mail, and our kids pour over the pictures and letters also. “Look how big so and so is!” “Mom, did you know…?” Even if they don’t know or remember the family, they enjoy looking at the pictures on the cards also. Also this past week we received a special card and note from some dear friends in Maine. Roger has stayed in touch with them, and we were blessed by their thoughtfulness and generosity to our family. 

*Christmas break- oh, I am so thankful for Christmas break! We are looking forward to soaking up some time together as a family as well as just relaxing at home. 

Photo credit: seedsoffaithdesigns.com

Christmas Season and Blessings!!

Library decorations! 

 November is over, and now it’s starting to feel like the mad dash to Christmas break! My dad has been gone on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic, and my mom spent the week visiting her sister and family as well as time with us. My mom folded lots of laundry for me, matched socks, and played many games with the kids. It was a good week, but it went by quickly. 

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, a friend reached out to me to tell me that she was getting rid of some Christmas decorations. She asked if I would be interested in any of the decorations either for our home or the school library. We gave away a lot of our Christmas items when we moved to North Carolina, and the school library could definitely use some new decorations! Roger and I went over to pick up the Christmas decorations. We stayed for a visit and spent some time just talking with this friend. Christmas can be such a hard holiday on some people, and it’s good to be reminded to spend some extra time in prayer for friends that are hurting or grieving. When we came home and unpacked the decorations, we were thrilled to find that there was a very nice Christmas tree in the mix! We’ve ALWAYS have had a real tree in our 17 years of marriage, but Christmas trees are expensive here, and we weren’t sure about buying one. However, this tree is perfect for our house, and it was fun to decorate for Christmas while my parents were here. There was also a smaller Christmas tree, so the kids had a fun time putting on all the random decorations we’ve collected over the years on that tree. 

My dad was leaving for the DR on Monday morning, and on Sunday afternoon, I got a text from the missionary that my dad was going to be going with. They asked if I could help my dad get some information printed so that he could easily enter into the DR. After finally managing to get the paperwork filled out and completed, we needed to print it. However, last Sunday was a very windy day and the power went out at our house! Now what!? Well, thankfully, we could run the internet off the phone and Roger dragged out the generator to plug the printer into the generator cord! We looked like totally red-neck folks but we managed to print the paper! Whew! My parents headed to Raleigh to check into the hotel, and Emma was excited that she was able to go with Nana and Papa. Since my dad’s flight was so early on Monday, they went to Raleigh on Sunday afternoon. I was happy that Emma was able to have some one-on-one time with my parents. The boys enjoy all kids of outside activities with my dad, but Emma isn’t interested in deer stands, hunting, or shooting at targets. Thankfully, we were able to mend all relationships with our neighbors after Chandler shot the deer on the other neighbor’s land. My dad ended up helping the boys move the deer stands, and I think they might have ended up with a better spot than they were originally. They also met a new neighbor who was extreme helpful in  them figure out where to set up the stands. It was a blessing to have a neighbor help out the boys and give them a few hunting pointers. 

On Monday morning,  Chandler woke up with a rash on his skin. Apparently he had gotten into something while out in the woods. I didn’t think too much about it as the boys are always getting into something. However, by the time basketball practice was done on Monday evening, Chandler’s forearms were swollen and the skin was very irritated. Clearly, whatever he had gotten into wasn’t going away, and we needed to have a doctor look at his arms. So Tuesday morning found Roger and Chandler waiting outside a walk-in clinic in a near by town at about 7:15am. The clinic opened at 7:30am, and when they went to sign in for an appointment, the secretary told Roger that they weren’t taking any new patients. Say what? The walk-in clinic isn’t taking new patients?! I thought that was the purpose of a walk-in clinic. Roger was told that Chandler could come back in January to see if they were taking new patients then. Um- Chandler would have his skin scratched off by then! So they went to a different walk-in clinic. At that walk-in clinic they discovered that there was already about 20 people in line! Roger remembered that there was a clinic in our local town that opened a little later. So they headed there. Thankfully, Chandler was able to be seen by the nurse practitioner who prescribed prednisone and a cream for his skin. Roger picked up the cream and Chandler put it on. Roger had planned to take Chandler to school, but the cream caused his skin to start to “weep”. Clearly, he wasn’t going to be able to go to school like that. So he took Chandler home. A teenager on prednisone was a crazy week! Chandler is like the energizer bunny without a steroid, so he was really eating us out of house and home this past week! He was irritable, unable to sleep and ate so much food I don’t know where he put it! However, we made it through, and his skin does look a lot better. We are thankful that we found a clinic to go to and that Roger was able to adjust his work schedule so that he could take Chandler. 

Friday found me with a passel of kids to take home after school, which I absolutely do not mind in the least! Garett and Chandler had a basketball tournament for part of the day on Friday, so they were gone to that. Typically we go to all their games, but I had already planned a “baking for Christmas” evening with a few friends. Since I wasn’t going to the game, I ended up taking a few extra kids home with me as their parent was at the game. The kids had a great time running around in the yard and playing while I got ready to make a huge mess in the kitchen. Laura and her sister, Suzanne, arrived around 5:45pm with Suzanne’s son, Eli. Two of the other kids that I had brought home had already left, so there was just seven kids left. Laura, Suzanne and I made so many sweet things that we probably were close to a sugar induced coma! We made peanut butter balls, dipped Oreos, gingerbread cookies, caramels, dipped pretzels, reindeer pretzels, Christmas toffee, and I don’t even know what else! It was the perfect day to do it because we had to stay up late anyways waiting for the boys to get home from the basketball game. It was a late night, but such a fun night! Wyatt, Travis and Emma were thrilled to have friends to play with, and it was such a fun night of laughter and fellowship! 

Travis said on Saturday night that “We used up all our Saturday!” And he was rather dismayed about it! We went to watch the boys play in the basketball tournament on Saturday morning. It was a longer day than anticipated as all the games started later than they had anticipated. The boys ended up losing the game, so that was disappointing for them. The boys have learned a lot this season, but the late night are really late nights! We aren’t a late night family, so that’s been a total adjustment.  I’m thankful that they’ve had this opportunity to try, but I’ll be curious to see if they try out next year. 

This past week we also received a really big blessing regarding Emma’s school bill. When we moved to North Carolina, we discovered that the state of North Carolina offers an “Opportunity Scholarship” that will help pay for a student’s tuition bill. However, while we met the financial qualifications for the requirements, we didn’t mean the other requirements. A student has to be entering K, 1st or 2nd grade or be from a military family or be adopted or have been in a public school for at least a semester. Well, we didn’t meet any of those. God provided a job for me though and we’ve been slowing working through paying off the school bill. My parents and sister, Jen, have also given generously towards helping us with their tuition. Late September we made the decision to move Emma back to second grade. Once we made that decision, I decided to see if we could apply for the opportunity scholarship for the second semester of school. We received a reply almost immediately that we were eligible to receive at least a portion of the scholarship and we would be notified if funds became available. I didn’t think much about it after that, but then at the beginning of November, we received an email stating that Emma qualified for 90% of her tuition fees for the second semester! This was a huge, huge blessing to our family! Then we received and email stating that if our child had been enrolled in the same school since October 1st, we could ask for a tuition scholarship for that semester. I sent the email, the school secretary helped with a few phone calls, and a few days ago we were notified that Emma would receive 90% tuition assistance for this school year! Praise the Lord! While God has always provided, and always right on time, this tuition assistance does help relieve some of the financial concerns regarding the school bill. When the kids were enrolled in Maine, we received a significant discount since I was teaching, as well as the Christian school there had a policy that any family that had more than four children, the fifth was free. That worked out well for our family with five children! God has always been faithful and this past week was just another reminder of His goodness to us. So we will continue to pursue our children having a Christian education as we continue to trust Him to provide while we budget and work at it also! God is good. 

This has seemed like a long week, but tomorrow is Friday! Friday is my favorite day of the week. It’s the day that I anticipate all the many projects that I’ll accomplish over the weekend, which I never complete the list! But it’s still my favorite day of the week. 

As we prepare for Christmas, we are looking forward to some family time, making memories, and enjoying a few days off of school. We’ve started a devotional book for Advent season and it covers some of the many familiar Christmas carols. We are only a few days in, but we are enjoying it. I love music, and I am so thankful for music. We pray that you will enjoy this Christmas season. Take some time to read through the Christmas story in the Bible. A helpless babe - and the Savior of the World! 

Photo: cache.love thispic.com