tellin' it on the mountain

Still Here

2008-07-01T09:46:00.002-04:00

I go back and forth about blogging anymore. In the mountains the isolation seemed to lend itself to the time and purpose for posting pictures and such of our life. Normal has taken on a new definition since returning to Ohio. Although we are finally into somewhat of a routine of life, life is a much fuller and busier thing. That is good though. We wanted to be involved with people and involved in living beyond ourselves, which we are. But with that comes less time for other things. The pieces of the pie can only be cut so thin. Often I walk by my scrapbook boxes (many still unpacked) and think that one day again I'll dig in and scrap. I still have my fabric that is waiting for my creative energy. Books are still stacked to be read. Yes, it is a busy season. I'm not unhappy in my priorities but rather have finally come to understand that the time I'm in now is not forever. I know when the oldest kids were preschoolers I often felt overwhelmed with all the needyness that little children bring with them. I was certain life would always consist of that craziness. But as older, wiser woman assured me, this time did pass. Quin is on the verge of potty training and is too big for his crib. Before long we will once again be a "no diaper" family. He needs to be out of his crib but the search for a free mattress thus far has turned up nothing. (Why is it that there are a million free beds when we don't need one but none when we do?). So life does move on and change. There will be time for other pursuits (old ones even) ahead. We work now though.

My evenings are consumed with working Dragons' games and at Fraze. I enjoy the Fraze work and find being in the middle of the concerts quite a diversion to the other stresses in life. I was pleasantly surprised to run into Bev from Dingleberries who works concessions. Since losing Greg, she has found solstice in the old music and the people. I was glad to see her doing well after such a sudden loss.

Unbelievably, Jot broke his arm again. That is twice in less than a year now. This time the break is up near his shoulder and thankfully only requires a splint. He goes back for a checkup in a couple weeks.

Hannah completed her summer school Health class enabling her to use her school year schedule for other courses. She is signed up to take JROTC. We tried to let her choose all her own classes with minimal counsel from us. Both Tim and I had regrets for the classes we took in school and hoped to avoid that with her. There were things I wish I'd taken but just didn't think I was allowed to, so for Hannah, we want her to explore the interests she has. Personally I think the History and a leadership skills ROTC will offer her will be quite appealing to her. She doesn't mind the uniform requirement which I thought would be the excluding factor. We'll see how she likes it.

Emma and Jot both finished the school year well and are enjoying their more relaxed schedule this summer. Faith is as eager as ever to begin Kindergarten and I'm wondering what life will be like with just one at home. It's been 10 years since there's only been one here :)

Taking pictures is one area that I've also cut back on. Therefore, I don't have any to post at the moment. My computer required reimaging a couple of weeks ago and I've yet to reload any of my pictures. Eventually I'll get to it and appreciate your patience :)

It's March now....

2008-03-19T11:16:00.003-04:00

My goodness, I sure fell off the blogging bandwagon didn't I? We were inundated with birthdays as usually happens each year ;) I'm sharing a few pictures of the adventures. Forgive the blurry one of Quin, but I couldn't resist the adorable smile.

Life has been full of late. Hannah has had several guard competitions. Their group is doing quite well this season taking 2nd place at most of their events. Hannah has signed on for fall guard which means she'll march with the band at football games and competitions as well. It seems early to be thinking of next school year already but we've had our "welcome to high school" meeting for 8th grade parents and the official marching band meetings as well. Hannah has to have her course requests in the computer by last week. It'll be here before we know it!

Quin is still getting into everything, but still cute as ever. He loves playing in the mud and I discovered paying full price for rain boots at Target was a worthy purchase. Washing off rubber boots is way easier than washing and drying sneakers several times a day. He and Kelly are destroying the backyard, but at least they're having fun right? He gets daily baths, occasionally several and goes through clothes like a teen-ager. He gives mess a whole new meaning. Talking is finally overtaking him too... he'll mimic most everything. His latest daily interaction with Faith is to say "-ock, -ock" to which Faith replies with the typical "Who's there?" and Quin just laughs himself silly with no reply. I think these Knock-Knock jokes are better than the ones that make no sense that we hear from Faith ;)

Jot just finished up "business day" at school where he made Grandma Alexander's hamburger cookies. He established his small business and kept records for expenses, etc. as well as creating his own marketing signs and posters. It was a fun project for him and he seemed to really understand the business concepts that were taught. He continues to do well in school even though he still pushes Emma and Faith around.

Emma is also doing fabulously at school and just loves Mrs. Miller's second grade class. She went to a slumber party for a classmate over the weekend and had a fun time at that brave mom's house. The girls were up most of the night and Emma ended up napping nearly all of Sunday. Too much birthday, as the Berenstein's would say. Her own birthday was a more subdued affair with grandparent's and family. After weeks of indecisiveness, she choose Max and Erma's carryout for her birthday dinner. I will admit that it had been a very long time since I'd had a Max and Erma's burger and it was yummy! She enjoyed her special day and now she is 8!

I began training for my summer part-time job at The Fraze. I'll be working in the box office selling tickets and handling the cash office duties for the pavilion. A few shows have already been announced with the first of those going on sale this Saturday. So far the biggest named event is Crosby, Stills and Nash. I imagine it'll sell out quite quickly. I think I'll enjoy the work and it will be some nice added income to help with expenses.

Tim and I will also both be working a concession stand at the Dayton Dragons games to raise money for the Band Boosters. We earn voucher credits for each game we work toward Hannah's guard fees. It will also be a great way for us to meet other families in the area. From what others say, it is an absolute blast working these games. I'll be available for more games that Tim, but we've signed up for several together so if you're in the area, stop by :)

If you are not local to me, you might have read in the news about our big snowstorm/possible blizzard that hit a couple weeks ago. I guess it has been decided that there wasn't enough wind to classify it as an official blizzard, but it was a lot of snow for here. Not much compared to the mountains, but good enough :) It was pretty, but didn't last hardly at all. I've included a picture of Kelly at the back fence to give you an idea of the depth. I think we topped out at 14 inches. It is gone now though and we're currently, as I type getting a ridiculous amount of rain. Over 4 inches in just over 24 hours.... thank God for our two sump pumps. They are both running about every 15 minutes now. Amazing!

Yes, I'm still alive.

2008-02-19T10:53:00.002-05:00

The kids have not killed me yet I just continue to find myself incredibly busy with our new schedule. Well... Quin is giving a good effort at killing me. He is a mess looking for a place to destroy. Unfortunately for Kelly, she has been the recipient of much of the mess Quin creates. Knives, cheese, whipped cream, mud, syrup... the imaginative methods to create chaos are infinite in number for the little one.

Hannah's winter guard team has been doing quite well and took first place in their last competition. Jot has been annoying his sisters at a daily pace and Tim and I find ourselves befuddled in what to do to get his attention about the matter. TV restriction doesn't seem to affect him anymore (yes, we too are shocked). Emma has given up her dream of a life of cheerleading since she saw her first guard competition. She has decided 'THAT is what I want to do!" Miamisburg has elementary guard (thus their excellence at the high school level), but as for Springboro, she has several years to wait, so perhaps cheerleading will have to tide her over. Faith is ever eager to begin school and finds being at home boring...especially with Quin. Was I ever bored at her age? Seems to me I was rarely at a loss for stuff to do. Maybe that is where Quin gets it from....

Speaking of which, he has been awfully quiet for some time. I need to go find him.

It's January again

2008-01-09T08:49:00.000-05:00

Here is the picture we sent out with our Christmas cards. I will post Tim's letter soon too. It is saved on his computer and I don't have access to it just now. I still have a couple cards that were sent to wrong addresses that need to be redirected... if you are one of them perhaps you'll have it by Easter ;)

Jot is now 11 and so far he seems to be enjoying being so. Last night we had pizza, cake and ice cream. I have to say that I took advantage of the Papa John's deal of three medium pizza's with unlimited topping for $7 each. I picked chicken, bacon, roma tomatoes and mushrooms and boy was it delicious! Anyhow... Dad and Sharon came for presents, cake and ice cream which was nice. I can't remember the last time another of our relatives was at our home for a birthday. Jot has a decisively Cars birthday getting several cars, two playsets (Flo's and Guito's) and a sheet/comforter set (from Mom and Ron). He also got Brother Bear (one and two), clothes and a new bike helmet. Fun was had by all.

I have been overwhelmed with unpacking boxes and trying to find places for things. Christmas/birthdays that seem to fall at the busyiest times of the year! One down and three more to go before the big summer break of birthdays. I began tackling the boys room yesterday trying to get stuff sorted and put away. We need to either thin out the toys or begin rotating them. Poor Quin's toys get pushed behind the Command Station, Fire Engine, TWO police cars, Space Ship and the zillions of big-footed nightmares aka Rescue Heroes. Kelly is finding various gourds, tomatoes and cucumbers in different costumes aka Veggie Tale playsets. The Cars avalanche of last night will only add to this mess so some order is in desperate need. We recently got an additional loft bed/desk/dresser for the room (Craigslist) that matched Jot's old bed so the room will be set for Quin leaving his crib at some point. Now that that furniture is set I can begin finding homes in there for all the stuff. We need to hang another rode in the closet and possible some shelves, but eventually there will be a place for everything (I hope). I'll tackle the little girls' room next. Pollies, Barbies and Doll clothes will be the foe in there.

Christmas was quite enjoyable. Mom and Ron were here a good portion of the time in between their hopping around to visit other folks (and gaining an appreciation for what we endured on trips to Ohio for years). It was wonderful to have them here as well as being able to visit family ourselves. We hosted Tim's family the day after Christmas which went fine for the first time doing that. I'd change a few things for next time, but all in all it went well. Christmas eve was spent at my Granny's with all my aunts/uncles/cousins from my dad's side of the family. It has been over 20 years since I've attended and it was a very fun night for us. Seeing everyone after such a long time was so nice. We were well received and left feeling quite loved and appreciated. A nice thing indeed.

We've continued to visit churches with not much in the way of a good fit. We seem plagued to walk into "if you're a visitor excuse us because this is not the normal service we'd be having".... ugh. I guess it is to be expected around the holidays but it does seem that many people go to a great effort to make church more difficult than it need be. We have intentions of heading up to Faircreek again this weekend. It is a drive and hard to manage with the little ones, but there are good friends there. The encouragement is a valuable thing at this point in time. We are looking forward to hearing the pastor there too (relatively new). We were married in that church (in a different location and different name), served for many years there and have a deep love for many that are still attending 2o-some years later. We continue to pray about when to begin the home study here. There is a desire among some we've talked to for some simple verse-by-verse teaching which is exactly the thing in which Tim excells.

I have rejoined Weight Watchers (actually did last month) and am enjoying my journey back to goal. I attained my Lifetime status back in Philly and then fell into old habits when we moved to the mountians. Without the meetings I tumbled down. I really need, I've discovered, the face to face encouragement of those at the meetings. The support and sharing of ideas cannot be done on my own. The leader I've found here is excellent and reminds me a great deal of two of my favorites from Philly. She is enthusiatic, knowledgable and fun. I think I'll do quite well with her. I've learned that the leaders are a really important part of a good meeting. I've always said if you don't click with your leader, find another one. I've been fortunate to find a leader that is close (a mile maybe) that I like. Go me!

Nearing the end of 2007

2007-12-17T07:42:00.001-05:00

I can safely say I have not felt more exhausted on a daily basis ever in my entire life. My body is fighting tooth and nail to getting up early and going to bed early. My years of staying up late with Tim and enjoying the quiet of the house seem to be a thing of the past. I am confident that eventually I WILL adjust, but as of yet, I'm still groggy in the morning. My to-do list seems rather lenghty and while I really am trying to not be perfectionistic in everything I do, it is hard to go to bed knowing so much remains undone. There are still boxes... lots of boxes! Our routines are not yet established for things like paying bills and going to the grocery. Christmas seems to be coming at a very inconvienant time :) Honestly, I think being sick right after we moved threw a wrench into my ability to get stuff done early on and then Faith's birthday, Thanksgiving and now Christmas are upon us. All that said, I do love the house and the neighborhood. The schools are better than we could have hoped and things are really good in all that regard.

I hoped to share some pictures and will do so soon, but off-loading them from my camera is one of the things on my list that I haven't quite gotten to yet :) We got the Christmas card photo taken and back from the printers. The letter is written and waiting to print and the cards are sitting on my dresser ready to be addressed and mailed... I even have the stamps! I intend to focus on all that today in hopes we can get them out before Christmas. Most of our Christmas shopping is done and just a few items remain to be purchased. I know what they are, it is just a matter of going and getting them. Some of my baking is complete and if I can, I will do a bit more this week. Kelly begins "doggie day care/training" today with Mike. His "learn to obey while you stay" has gotten rave reviews from fellow dog owners, so this week is Kelly's induction into the realm of obedience training. We sat in on a class already and we beyond impress with Mike and his program. I expect it to be a fun time for us all. Anyhow, having Kelly out of the house during the day will making baking quite a bit easier, so hopefully I will accomplish great things this week. Wishful thinking anyhow....

The church hunts still continues. We visited two more churches since my last post. Nothing quite feels like home, but perhaps that is God designed. We met another couple looking for verse by verse teaching while visiting one church. Actually, it was someone I graduated with and her family who also just returned to the area. We are pretty certain we'll begin a home study in January... probably on Friday nights. We will continue to look for a place to fellowship and serve, but we need to move ahead with what the Lord seems to have put on our hearts. We'll have to see what becomes of it!

Well, I need to get the kids out the door for school this morning!

Sickness and the Humane Society

2007-11-27T08:40:00.000-05:00

We have all been passing around a sore throat, cough and stuffy head mess but at this point I think we are nearing the end. (PTL!) There are still boxes everywhere and I feel like I'm running from the moment my sleepy head is out of bed. My body seems to be fighting tooth and nail to continue to be a night person. Life necessitates me being a morning person during this season and I'm beginning to wonder just how long it will be before my body and mind will cooperate with the alarm clock :)

Tim is settling in at work and all that seems to be going well. He has some certifications to get but they are providing the study materials so he picks away at that as he is able. The kids are settled into school as well. All three are enjoying their new schools and we are quite pleased with the entire situation. Communication between parents and teachers is amazingly good and so unlike what we had in the mountains. We really feel blessed to be here.

We visited at CCA again two Sundays ago and hit another special service so we have yet to hear the pastor teach. It was a bit discouraging. That Thursday we went to the Calvary in Dayton for their midweek study. It was good we went that week as that was the last midweek meeting before the New Year. Evidently they take a break over the holidays. The study was good and reminded me of Frank's Tuesday morning study. The kids were downstairs and enjoyed the evening as well. They have an old church building that reminds me a lot of Bill Faehl's place in Pottstown. It was refreshing to be among familiar teaching and welcoming people. Tim actually had lunch yesterday with a guy we met that night who also works on the base. Tim and the kids (sans Quin) went to their Sunday morning service last weekend. I stayed home with Quin and his runny nose. It is a bit farther to drive than we hoped but thus far seems to be the closest church teaching verse by verse. Tim and I went to a home fellowship in Kettering Sunday evening that was enjoyable as well. Since I missed services that morning, it was good to go to a study. We are praying about begining a study after the New Year. Stay tuned for more....

When we thought everyone was finally well last week, Tim, Quin and I visited the Humane Society to see what kind of dogs they had. It is a new facility and very nice. We looked at several dogs until they closed. I went back alone the next day (the kids were off school so Hannah watched the others while I went out). I looked at five more and found a sweet tempered young shepherd mix. I put a hold on her and brought the kids back to meet her. What a gentle dog. She rolled over and let everyone pet her belly and was friendly and very tolerant of all the hands and attention. So, Saturday we picked her up and now we have a dog :) She has just been great. Her previous owner released her (allergy evidently) and she has obviously had some training. She is house broken and seems to know "sit". She is a bit hesitant with her crate and I wonder if she spent a lot of time in one before. She definately likes to be near someone and follows us around where ever we go. Last night she seemed to finally relax some about following us from room to room. Going across the room to the kitchen didn't require her to actually get up... she just watched to make sure we'd be back. Her first vet appointment was last night and she got a clean bill of health and several comments of "you got a good dog"! We have a consulation appointment next week with the trainer to set up some obedience classes for her (and us). Anyhow, her is the blurry photo from her petfinder listing:

Landed

2007-11-13T09:32:00.000-05:00

After much ado, we have arrived in Ohio. The closing in the Poconos went much longer than expected due to some issues with the buyer's bank. The drive was nearly more than I could bear and shortly after arriving I came down with laryngitis and Faith had croup BUT I love our house, the schools thus far are better than we could even hope for and the community is wonderful. I think we will be very happy here.

Tim had an interview the Friday after we moved in and was offerred a position, which he accepted. He is working at the air force base for a computer support contractor. The pay is less than we hoped for, but the benefits seem to be quite good and there is plenty of room for advancement. They have tuition reimbursement as well, so Tim plans to finish his degree while there.

Our first Sunday we visited Calvary Chapel Tri-State (in Cincinnati). It was a nice little congregation very much like we had in the Poconos and the teaching was good. They are a very mission/outreach focused church which was nice. The pastor was saved in prison, so there is an obvious love for that type of ministry. It would be a fine place to get plugged in however the distance and time is a bit prohibitive. Last Sunday we visited Clearcreek Assembly which is a larger group and much closer. It went well there also. The teaching isn't what we are used to at all, but seemed fine for what it was. They also have seem to have a lot going on, especially for the teens, which is nice. I miss the verse by verse teaching I've become accustomed to for the last 18 years. We are still praying about what the Lord would have us do in the church regard... where to attend and serve as well as if/when to start a home study. Not many churches have a Sunday evening service, so perhaps that would be a good time to have a home study. At this point, we'll wait until after the holidays.

School is going quite well. Emma and Hannah are both a bit behind where they should be which was expected. They seem to be working hard to get caught up though and I don't doubt that they will. Hannah and I attended a winter guard informational meeting and she has decided to join. I'm excited for her and hope she finds it as fun and challenging as I remember it. Practice starts after Thanksgiving and she can hardly wait.

Jot's resource room teacher and helpers are just what we hoped for and more. He is finally being challenged and pushed to work hard and learn. We are so thankful to have found a place where they are willing to put in the effort to get results from him. His main teacher doesn't buy his "it's too much/hard/confusing" line that other's before her have given in to. Jot is excited to be reading "real" books rather than photocopies of younger readers. The class just began Holes yesterday. I really appreciate that they are stretching him up to the materials/curriculum rather than simplifying everything to the point of not challenging him at all. Thus far we are quite pleased.

I still have not quite gotten my voice back but am trying to push on and get the boxes unpacked. It seems to take six times as long when Quin keeps getting into everything and requires my attention. My goal is to unpack five boxes a day at least. Eventually it will get done. (I hope.)

I have lots of pictures but haven't spent the time uploading them yet. Eventually it'll get done... :)

Totally forgot...

2007-10-25T21:19:00.001-04:00

I began this Belle dress nearly four years ago for Emma. Then we moved and it got pushed aside. Well, I'm thrilled to report that I finally finished the Belle dress. Now it belongs to Faith because it's too small for Emma. My guilt over that is nearly unbearable, but I have already begun (with Hannah's help) a Cinderella dress for Emma. I think it is very appropriate that this dress' completion was interupted by a move and now has been finished before a move :) It isn't for Halloween, it is just for dress up. Faith has declared she will wear it for her birthday too. Maybe after it fits better, I'll consider letting her wear it out and about... maybe.

Update on the post below (wow, two posts in one day!)... Jot did get a cast put on. A nice bright red fiberglass cast... just the color of Lightening McQueen. I knew he'd pick red. Six more weeks.

Never a dull moment...

2007-10-25T14:30:00.001-04:00

Not that we don't already have a lot going on this week, but Monday evening, Jot fell and broke his arm. If there is a blessing in this, it has to be that it was a week before we move rather than a day before and that it is his right arm rather than his left. His right side is the weaker side so he still has the use of his domant, left hand. It happened just before bed on Monday night. He was outside running around and I guess he slipped in the leaves... he doesn't completely explain much when asked "what happened". "I fell down." So we fill in the blanks. He was up a few times that night and Tim took him to the urgent care first thing Tuesday. They x-rayed it, put a temporary splint on it and sent us to an Orthopedic specialist. This seems to be the norm nowdays... they did the same thing when I broke my arm a few years ago. Evidently, gone are the days of them casting it at the hospital. Anyhow, Jot and Tim are, as of this writing, on their way to the specialist to see if a hard cast is needed or if an air splint will suffice. It is two hairline fractures across both the radius and the ulna (thank you Mr. Holderman for my knowledge of the bones that I still remember from Physiology... flash cards work!) Anyhow, if you look at the picture above, the fracture is at the little outside bump of the left bone (the radius) and goes straight across the bone. The ulna fracture is just a bit higher along the same line. X-rays are so cool. We have a whole bunch on a disc.

Soooo... Jot has a broken arm.

In other news, we are nearly packed entirely. Only the things we are still using remain out. Tim is getting the truck early Saturday and we'll pack over the weekend. The forecast calls for rain on Saturday which won't make loading a truck any fun, but it has to get done. We are going to leave town here on the 30th, stop over near State College and arrive at my dad's in Miamisburg on the 31st. We will really hit the ground running then because I register the kids for school at 9am on the 1st while Tim and the kids start unloading the truck. (If you are in town, feel free to meet us at the house to help!). That will likely take most of the day and then at 8am on Friday Tim has another interview. He has gotten four more calls in the last two days from people interested in him. He has several phone calls to make once we're in town. Everyone wants him to "give us a call when you are here". Yes, we are very thankful for that. He will still telecommute for Philadelphia as necessary, but having a "real" job would sure be handy ;) I've tried not to stress too much about it as I know the Lord will provide for our needs. My comfort level is much better though when all things are neatly in line weeks ahead of time. I think I've grown considerably in my obsession to have my ducks in a row, but I've learned this week that there will always be room for improvement.

Hannah and I are going to attempt to drive to Lancaster Friday to meet Beverly Lewis. I'm really psyched about it. I finished her newest book, The Parting which confirms that she is still my favorite author. Unexpected endings and amazing story lines. Love her. Her book's settings are in Lancaster County which will make her book signing in Lancaster extra special for me and what a great ending to our time here in Pennsylvania. I'm really looking forward to it.

It's Fall

2007-10-11T13:10:00.000-04:00

We took the kids to Country Junction, or what is there during the rebuilding process, on Monday. If you recall from a previous post, there was a huge fire that destroyed then entire, amazingly fun building. The kids were off school due to the holiday and we wanted to find something to do out of the house. It was a fun trip even though the place is just a shadow of it's former greatness. They are rebuilding though, so eventually it will stand again. They have rebuilt the petting zoo area and the kids enjoyed playing with the goats, alpacas (a new addition), geese, ducks and various other barnyard fowl. There is also an enlarged play area in the midst of the petting zoo, so evidently they are making some nice improvements as they rebuild. Inside the enourmous tent that is being used as the "store" part of the place it is still just as confusing as ever to get around in. It must be their trademark to have isles and stock strewn everywhichway making it easy to get lost. Getting lost in this place is fun though, so perhaps it is a marketing plan. The primary stock seems to be the home decor and holiday decor items, which I assume was always their biggest sellers. I miss the zillions of stuffed animals (the elephant!) and the "themed" areas of furniture, decor and the like... but it is what it is and we still got our $3 pumpkins. We try to get pumpkins each year. We don't celebrate Halloween (various reasons why and a post for another time) but I do love fall and harvest time, so the pumpkins add to our enjoyment of the season.

Another traditional fall event: Hannah and I picked apples on Saturday. I only got about half of what I got last year since moving will interupt things for a time. I have already made several batches of applesauce and two rounds of dry apple pies (think Hostess pies). Hannah made a pie and I also made crisp. We still have a good amount left, but they are dwindling.

All seems in order for our move. The inspections, mortgage and appraisal are all fine so it is really down to just waiting for the closing. Less than three weeks to go. We began making the calls to have the utilities turned on and set up phone and internet services... no cable TV though. Except for the three free months we got when we set up internet (cable) service here, we have been TVfree for over 10 years. I don't miss it at all and I don't think we will ever have TV again. The only time there has even been an urge for it is during World Cup time when Tim wants to see the games. We decided that is a perfect time to visit friends though ;) We do own a television set, but we only watch DVDs on it. Have I talked about our TV Picks jar? The kids each pick ten movies they want to see (from our collection here), Hannah only picks five because she occasionally gets to watch her own choices after the other kids are in bed. So all the picks go into a jar. During the school year, the kids get to draw one pick to watch after school on Friday, two after lunch on Saturday and two after lunch on Sunday. During the summer, it was one on Tuesday, one on Thursday, and 2 each on Saturday and Sunday. This has seriously cut down on the arguments over who gets a pick and the continual nagging of "can we watch a movie?". Anything that cuts down on arguments is a great thing in my book. So... anyhow, we are getting utilities set up.

I've been packing at least a box a day for several weeks now. It has helped me slow down and not freak out over all there is to do. We are getting down to the bare bones of it all though in that most of the stuff that is still out is stuff we are still using. The last couple of days will surely create several "panic pack" boxes, but hopefully it will be kept to a minimum.

Here are some pictures from Monday at Country Junction and one of Quin's first time to feed the deer...

The Land of the Disenchanted; aka Boring Might be Better (warning: this is long!).

2007-10-02T13:38:00.000-04:00

I began scrapbooking almost exactly seven years ago. I had always loved to take pictures and had several slip-in albums full, all in chronological order (a nesting project just before Jot was born). Often Tim and I, as well as others, would pull an album off the shelf and flip through it, enjoying the fun and seeing the changes in ourselves and the kids. I always ordered doubles and shared the seconds with family and friends. Never did I attend play group without my camera. As an aside, 13 years later, I’ve still had fellow playgroup moms thank me for all those pictures of their little ones. Fun days indeed! Well, anyhow, I attended a Creative Memories party as a substitute for someone who couldn’t go. I honestly never had really been into scrapbooking or even remotely interested because my system was working fine. Occasionally I would wander the isles of AC Moore but just never grasped the need to spend more money to display the photos that I already was displaying happily. SO… anyhow, I went to the CM party.

Backing up a bit for reference, I was just a few months into my light bulb moment of diagnosis of PPD from Emma’s birth. That is another story for another time, but I mention it here only to point out that I was very into getting breaks from the kids and finding things that “I” enjoyed to relax and help me cope. I had begun volunteering at the school and at church two days a week (and developed my theory that the best antidepressant is serving others) while Emma spent some time at the daycare for staff there. I was beginning to discover that after dealing so intensely with Jot’s medical concerns and then having a very surprising and difficult emergency c-section with Emma, I was hyper focused on everything and had forgotten to feed my soul, so-to-speak. Getting some time to remember that I had valuable skills to offer in other settings was very therapeutic and I really became better at all the things I was doing. In some ways I guess I remembered myself, in a non-selfish way if that makes sense. It was a group effort though and not something I did alone at all. I was encouraged greatly to find things that were purposely not about my “mom” role, especially in regards to Jot and his therapists and doctors and issues that I’d been juggling for over three years at that point. Seeing him go off to pre-school left me with a LOT of free time and the first revelation of how much time and energy had been involved in his full time care. I was ready to find something more enjoyable to do with some of my time. I was primed for the invitation to the party.

When the opportunity arose to go to the Creative Memories party, I decided that I would continue with this trend of trying new and different things. I went, knowing no one nor nothing about what would happen there. As it turned out I really enjoyed meeting new people and it was quite fun to actually work with my hands in a sort of arts and crafts type of way. I knew I had some creative abilities at one point in my life, but discovered they had become dormant after not really using them too much. In short, I really had a good time. I liked the project I came home with and proudly showed it off to Tim. “This is something I enjoy”, I remember telling him. He was very encouraging (still is :) ).

Basically, I was excited and I was hooked. I figured that even if I was relatively happy with how I had been storing and displaying my pictures (which I was), this would be a fun, relaxing way to continue the process that I had already been doing. Carolyn, the consultant who presented the party, and I soon became good friends and I was at her house about once a week for quite awhile just cropping and talking and having a great time. I continued to take pictures in the same ways I had and I enjoyed displaying them on the big pages with a bit of color here and there. I thought it was fun to sit and talk while working with my hands to create a nice album to look through. Then things began to get out of control.

I discovered a couple of scrap booking message boards and began seeing new and different ways to scrapbook. I saw unbelievably beautiful layouts. I saw pages without any photos at all but just journaling about thoughts and feelings. I saw gorgeous photos and amazing paper art projects. I had to get in on this! I could do that, I thought. And I did. I got major “product envy” and started straying from just displaying my photos in a relaxing and interesting way. I made that jump from putting photos in albums, to creating little pieces of art. Fine for awhile for sure, and I did do well. I began submitting my layouts to magazines (another big deal among many in the scrapping community) and was even published a few times. What a thrill. I joined a design team to promote a company’s products to the scrapbooking world! But it didn’t end. Soon more products were hitting this booming market and at an ever increasing rate (and price). There was no end to the embellishments and the papers and the styles. It was totally out of control, and in my opinion still is today.

Recently, I woke up to this stray path I found myself on. No one was looking at pictures in my house anymore. Piles and piles of layouts were lying around being enjoyed by no one. I considered that if I ever scrapped all my pictures the number of albums would be insane at the rate I was going. Lumpy pages with one or two pictures on the page took up an enormous amount of space. Where would I put all these albums? Would anyone even read any of the in-depth journaling? Would anyone even see the pictures in the middle of all the “art”? I hesitated even taking pictures anymore because I knew it would add to the pile of pictures I already had that weren’t in albums nor were likely to make it in albums anytime soon. And goodness, just how much money had I invested in all this stuff that was taking up enormous amounts of space? I missed just looking at pictures.

Attempting to find some meaning in all this madness I found myself in, I took a class (actually several) about the whole organizational process for storing pictures and how to scrapbook in meaningful ways to capture memories for all eternity… blah blah blah. I really thought it would work for me too. It did for a bit. I began to see a higher meaning behind scrapbooking. I believed that telling the stories of my life was important and that I could do away with the accepted rules of the industry. It seemed OK for awhile. I still wasn’t enjoying the process much and I really wasn’t getting much done though. I was still spending too much money on the tools and the stuff. I still wan’t happy with this “new” meaning.

That is until I had my scrapbook epiphany. That epiphany is this… I NEVER scrapbooked for the memories, not in the sense that those memories went beyond the pictures themselves. I began scrapbooking ONLY for the pictures. Now, yes, just the pictures do have memories attached to them, but I truly just wanted to display my pictures in a way that they could be enjoyed. For me, it has always been about the pictures. I understand others have different reasons for scrapbooking. For some it is a way to keep a family history journal and recording generations and generations of memories and life stories. That is fine, but that isn’t what I wanted to do or ever wanted to do. I keep journals, and those serve a purpose in my life. But this thing with pictures was something all together different. I discovered that the way I display pictures (or want to display pictures) doesn’t line up with the capturing memories and making art projects and recording life stories. Essentially, I became quite disenchanted with the entire scrapbooking industry. I was overwhelmed to the point of frustration and I have never been more thankful. I also felt a considerable amount of guilt for not seeing all this sooner and essentially for being so gullible as to fall for the whole “thing” in the first place. How could I be so out of touch with who I am and what I enjoy?

Well, I am happy to say, that after several months of this thinking (if not a year or more), I am on the path back to my picture displaying roots! I took (and am taking) all my “un” chronological photos and put them back into chronological order. My orderly, linear, detailed, perfectionist, self is so much more at ease now. I literally am less stressed over such a simple thing. Putting pictures in an album was supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable, yet it had become anxiety ridden and incredibly frustrating. Having my pictures in chronological order brings a great sense of peace and stability to my life and in the words of one of those scrapbook celebrities… it makes me happy. A bit odd that something so weird can bring joy to my life, but I have always liked order and do find a sense of peace in it. Remember, I once said that the dryer running was one of the most calming sounds I know. I freely admit, I might be a bit abnormal in that. But, I am old enough to do what makes me happy regardless of the association with weirdness (and assuming it is within the boundaries of Godliness, which I think this is probably OK in that regard ;) ). Loads of products, always newer and always more, doesn’t make me happy. Spending time agonizing over the ins and outs of design and style doesn’t make me happy. Rubbing elbows with people that irritate me for the sake of artistic expression really doesn’t make me happy either. Life really is too short to wear uncomfortable shoes and the scrapbooking industry is way too uncomfortable for me lately.

So where does this leave me? One place it leaves me is with a LOT more room for living… physically and figuratively. I have sold nearly every scrapbook embelisment that I don’t LOVE. That alone has freed up large amounts physical space. I’ve created boxes of doubles for the kid’s albums and am finishing up putting all my pictures and existing layouts back into chronological order. Aaaahh that feels good! I will still do the occasional theme album and have some planned already. Primarily though my albums will be about a LOT less “stuff” and a lot more pictures. Insanely boring? Perhaps. But it makes me happy.

I liked the creative outlet of making elaborate pages, but I’ve rediscovered a former creative outlet. I’m back to sewing and enjoying the feel of the fabric and the true utilitarian uses for creating with fabric. I am finishing some projects from long ago and planning some new ones. My picture taking will always be a joy of mine and I will display my photos in my home and in albums. The pictures will be preserved safely and with a few notes to help me remember the times and the places. But the days of spending hours and fortunes for something that doesn’t bring me joy but in fact brings me guilt from the wasted (?) time and money is over.

What a freeing feeling I have from finally typing out these thoughts that I’ve been cementing in my mind these last several months, rambling though they may be :)

More on the move and life with the kids coming soon. By the way… any ideas for a change to the blog title? After all, I won’t be telling it on the mountain much longer!

Sale Pending

2007-09-25T21:08:00.000-04:00

Tim found a house for us and put together an offer yesterday late afternoon. By noon today we had gotten the call that our offer was accepted as written and we our on our way to buying a house. It has really been an exciting few months. Our house sold in record time and we found the perfect house for us and we are shooting for closing on the same day. Amazing! God really seems to be working in all this. We felt it was His leading that called us back to Ohio and it would sure seem that there is great confirmation of that. We are all eager to move and get settle in our new "old" town. I have just a couple of pictures to share. This one is obviously the front :) It backs up to the Community Park. There is a lot of landscaping and the home it super clean inside. I think we will do very well here. The space is a different than here in the mountains but the square footage might actually be a bit more. It is what is called a quad level. On the left side is the ground floor with a basement under it. The middle section is a split level up to the bedrooms and a split level down to a bonus room area (likely will end up as Tim and my's bedroom). The basement is reached through this bonus area. Then the two car garage is also reached through the bonus area and is actually six steps up from the bonus room to the garage. I really like the seperate spaces and we've found that this type of layout works really well for us. The kids will have the upstairs bedrooms. The back yard is fenced with a deck and several trees, shrubs and the like. It is a great "kid" yard, but I'm going to love it as well. There is already a little garden so I can once again grow some veggies and not worry that the deer will eat them all!! And here is one of the really wondeful aspects of the house....

Yes, I will never again have to drive to the post office to get my mail. I will never have to struggle filling out an online shipping address form because I don't have a street address. My PO Box will be obsolete and I will rejoice greatly. This wondeful mail box will only be shadowed by my great joy in never having to drive my trash to the dumpster again. Someone will bring me my mail and someone will take away my trash. Life doesn't get much better!!

Going on a House Hunt

2007-09-23T22:00:00.000-04:00

Tim is currently driving to Ohio (nearly there as of this writing) and has an appointment tomorrow morning to walk through seven or so houses. Yes, he is going to buy a house without me :) With the wonderful invention of the internet however, I feel as though I already have a good idea of the houses he's going to see tomorrow. There are pictures galore available of these homes, so we've narrowed the choices together here. Growing up there, I am familiar with the area and though it has been 20 years or so, I have a general idea of the layout of the houses and the community. There are several good homes and any of them would meet our needs (assuming that upon walking through them Tim doesn't find a missing roof or anything horrid). I hope that by this time tomorrow night, I'll know which house we plan to write an offer for and that by the end of the week, we'll know what our new address will be. I can hardly believe we are already at this next step. It is very exciting. Tim also will be interviewing for work, which is the other reason he will be in town. We trust that God is the one who has led us here and He will continue to provide what we need or close a door... we're welcoming whatever He happens to have for us. Stay tuned :)

Sold

2007-09-16T10:08:00.000-04:00

We accepted an offer on the house and are quite happy to have the house officially sold. We still have to get to settlement, but it would seem that there isn't anything that will stop that from happening. Overall the house sold is just about 1 month, which is wonderful in this market. We feel quite blessed by that.

Now things step up a notch in the "moving along" arena. Tim is planning a trip to Ohio (most likely a week from today) and will buy a house and hopefully find a job too. We've been watching several homes since May on some realty sites and have seven good possibilities. Tim has talked to a few mortgage companies and we are in good shape in that regard, so it will be a matter of actually looking at the houses and putting together an offer. Tim is a bit anxious about buying a house without me there (understandably so) but it really does seem best all around to have just him go. I can tell much from the pictures online and after 18 years of marriage, I trust him to make a fine choice. Each possibility has good and bad, so it is really just narrowing things down.

It is nice to not have to stress over keeping the house spotless for awhile. We can soon begin packing more things. We'd already packed several boxes in preparation to sell, so we are already down to bare necessities, but it will all have to get done. We close on October 30th which is about six weeks from now.

I'm home this morning from church with Emma who isn't feeling well. I kept Quin home as well to give the nursery volunteers a break. Emma and Hannah both got haircuts yesterday... Hannah got layers (that look really nice) and Emma got all hers cut off. She's been begging for month to go really short. Last haircut she went with bangs again and a short bob, but still not above her ears. She now has a definate pixie cut. It looks really cute and she loves it. I'm glad she doesn't hate it, 'cause it would take awhile to grow back out. I'll need to take some pictures and post them.

Well, since I'm home this morning, I guess I should do some laundry :)

Things are progressing...

2007-09-12T21:42:00.001-04:00

First, I have to share some really great news! Last summer I began searching for a copy of The Big Tidy-Up by Norah Smaridge. I actually have this from my own childhood. It is one of my very favorite books about a girl named Jenny and her horribly messy room. In the end, she cleans her room and all is right with the world.... such a happy story that I can SO relate to! So anyway, my copy (a first edition I learned) had one page that was torn and the binding is very loose. I thought it worth the effort to replace this book as I had done with another favorite childhood book (Peter's Wagon). I found the other on ebay for about $3.00, so I thought surely I'd find some used book seller that had The Big Tidy-Up for a reasonable price. Oh my goodness was I in for a surprise. There were two listed on ebay and both were over $500.00! Evidently I had quite a rare and expensive book on my hands. I immediately removed it from the shelf and put it up for safe keeping. Now before you judge me for keeping good books from the kids, I do take it down and read it to them quite often, but we always read it together. After all, one page is already ripped! And until recently, I thought this was the last copy I'd ever see! Well, tonight I found this! In May of next year, the book is being re-released!! All for only $8.99! I can hardly wait. I will be on the pre-order list. In fact I would have ordered it tonight but since I have no idea where my address will be in May, I thought it best to wait a bit.

Next bit of good news is that we have an offer on the house. We knew it was coming last Friday as there was some verbal negotiations already (the offer is through another agent in the same office) but we actually have it in hand now. It is not the best offer in the world, but in this poor housing market, we have decided to accept it. In the end, it will give us what we need and enable us to get into another house. If all proceeds as planned, we will close the end of October. I'm hopeful that all will go through and we'll be on our way.

School for Jot has been difficult. The district isn't implementing his IEP as it is written and each night seems like another struggle to overcome. We are quite discouraged and even more eager to get out of this district and this state. He isn't getting the services and support that we spent so many hours on last spring trying to get straighten out. It is so frustrating. Hannah is doing quite well in her classes and Emma is progressing along as well, though neither situation is what we would like it to be. At least we have a plan to move on. I only pray that it is better elsewhere. We've tried to do our homework and have talked to several people, so I feel much more informed than when we came here. All that has to be good right? I haven't yet abandoned all hope that a good public school education still exists somewhere. I'm close to that giving up point, but haven't yet crossed that line. A return to homeschooling may yet be in our future. Only time will tell. If we do return to it, at least we'll be in a state that isn't considered the second worst homeschooling state in the nation!

Cool weather is here and the leaves are changing. I love this time of year!

September begins....

2007-09-05T14:39:00.000-04:00

School started last week for the oldest three. Hannah is now in 8th grade, Jot is in 4th and Emma has begun 2nd. We managed to get everyone off for the new academic year without any major trouble. School supplies were purchased and thankfully, only two of the five kids needed boat loads of new clothes. Thank the Lord for hand-me-downs. Hannah and Jot, however, being at the top of the hand-me-down chain were in desperate need. I was able to outfit Jot completely for the year (I hope) at Target. Hannah and I spent a good part of last Saturday shopping for her. It went very well though. Five of the first six pairs of jeans she tried on actually fit. I was stunned and amazed! Early this year we went on a hunt for jeans and had to go to five different places before we found anything acceptable. We started on Saturday at Kohl's and found nearly everything she needed in less than an hour. Miracles do still happen. We made some rounds to JoAnns and Target (and Taco Bell) but were home in time for dinner with everything we went out to get. It is a rare thing indeed. Emma needs some new tights and Jot will soon need shoes, but for now we are all set in the clothing for kids department.

Although I haven't mentioned it here, most of you reading this know we are moving. The house has been for sale for a few weeks and even in the bad market, we've had a handful of showings. Today was a second showing and we are quite hopeful that we'll soon get an offer. Tim has made some very good contacts and had a couple of promising phone interviews as well. I'm praying that all the timing of sell the house/get a job/buy a house all works out. It seems unlikely for it all to come together perfectly but God is able I'm certain, so we'll just wait and see what unfolds. We are headed back home to Ohio. So many things have led to the decision and we are finally at a peace about where to go and what to do. Now we wait out the details.

I wanted to share this picture of dirty belly boy. Doesn't he look like a complete wreck in this picture? His milk gut is really getting the better of him. He also has a unique relationship with dirt. If it exists, he will find it and eat it and roll in it and cry when you wash it off. We find ourselves pulling his shirt down quite often throughout the day now. He still is cute though, even if a bit smelly :)

We are enjoying much cooler days here and the nights are getting down right cold. I absolutely love it. I adore the fall and especially here where the leaves are changing and the air is crisp. I'll miss the weather here that is for sure.

We had some friends from church here for Labor Day and enjoyed a beautiful day. It was fun to not have to clean the house because it is so clean already from showings. In fact it has honestly never looked better since we've lived here. Isn't that always the truth? Looks wonderful just in time to leave! We are trying to enjoy it and trying to maintain order throughout the day. I figure if we learn how to keep it spotless while selling it, perhaps we'll get used to it and keep our next house just as nice.

Big Black Bugs

2007-08-18T17:59:00.001-04:00

No, I did NOT take this picture. And NO that is not anyone I know or am related to holding it. Read on to understand why not. In real life these Broad Neck Root Borer Beetles are 2-3" long and ugly as sin. Why am I telling you this?

Well I have a little story. It rained for quite awhile yesterday and as you can read in my previous post, Quinton enjoys playing in the mud. In a failed effort to keep him from totally covering himself in mud again, he found other ways to amuse himself. I was inside reading a book and Tim and the little girls were outside. I hear Emma shrieking that Quin has a bug... "DAD, HELP!! HE HAS A BIG BUG!!!" She was really yelling good, so I thought this had to be interesting. Silly me, thinking he had a Daddy Longleg or a stink bug, put down my book and casually went outside. Tim also must not have thought it was too much of an emergency as neither of us were really hurrying to see what the commotion was all about. We met outside the garage on our way out back toward Quinton. Faith and Emma, at this point, were literally jumping up and down. Quin walked around the corner of the house with his prize. Yes, as you might already have guessed, he had one of these big ugly nasty bugs. Tim picked up Quin and pried the bug out of his hand. Once in the grass it immediately tried to bury (bore?) down under the grass. Can you blame it? It was probably as freaked out as Emma and Faith (and me.). So what does Quin do next? He screamed and cried to be let down and then picked the ugly thing back up. I couldn't believe it. The bug was bigger than his hand. When he grasped it the thing looked like a guinea pig in an adult's hand. He was not the least bit scared of this thing and quite to the contrary, was rather mad that we took his new toy. Finally something that doesn't require batteries! We had to pick the ugly bug up (with a shovel) and carry it back into the woods so Quin wouldn't chase it down. Of course, as soon as he was back on the ground, Quinton headed for the woods on a bug hunt. Yuck, ick, ick. So, I do not have an actual picture of this thing because I was too grossed out to go get my camera. I'm still shocked the thing didn't pinch him. Ick. Ick. Ick. It was really big and really creepy. When I know that everything he touches he also tastes, my imagination runs wild and I feel a bit weak in the stomach. Can you imagine??? EEEwww.

Let's Talk About the Weather

2007-07-30T15:14:00.000-04:00

So, it's been raining here.

Disclaimer: Emma was watching him, not me.

He was really mad when we took him in....

look at the compassionate dad face compared to the muddy mad face.

Aren't they both just too stinkin' cute?

Feeling Rather Thankful for Crocklings (Thanks Mom)

2007-07-22T14:08:00.001-04:00

This cute little shoe is one of the pair that my Mom bought for Quinton. She also got a pair for all the other kids, but I am especially thankful for these. They are the real deal Crocs for toddlers, aka as Crocklings. Quin just adores them. He wears them all the time and when they are on his feet he instantly assumes that means we are either going somewhere in the car or going out to play in the yard. He has his little routine of bringing them to you and holding them up for you to take. Once you have them, he immediately flops down on his back side and waits for you to put them on. Once they are on, he toddles straight for the door and attempts to open it on his own. SO cute!

We had a brief time of distress when one went missing a few weeks ago. I think I was more upset than Quin was. I was quite afraid he had thrown it in the trash (which is where my long lost, but since replaced, mixer attachments ended up I fear). Well, there was great rejoicing when the lost shoe was discovered in the box of Barbies. I hear they like shoes, so they obviously were hording Quin's crocklings.

Crocs, I have discovered are the nearest thing to a perfect shoe for our family. All of our kids would go barefoot everywhere if it were acceptable. Crocs are close to going barefoot and they live in them. They don't need tying, so that saves time when we are all running out the door and are late. They are easily rinsed off when they get sandy or dirty. And they don't require socks so that cuts down on the laundry I have to do... definately a plus in my book.

Mom, thanks so much for the Crocs for the kids. They love them. I love them. I have less socks to fold. You are wonderful.

I may hit you up next year for another round for everyone :)

Mid July Checking In

2007-07-20T12:56:00.000-04:00

Well it is nearing the end of July and work on the house continues. I am happy to announce that all the room painting is done!! We have some touch up work in the family room and three doors to paint but the complete end of painting is so close I can see it. In the last three years Tim and I have nearly perfected our painting skills. Every room in this house has been painted and some twice. We've spackled and painted more in the last three years than I ever thought possible. And do you know what? I STILL don't like to paint. I love the look of fresh color on the walls but I really have gotten to the place of not liking the process. But, it's nearly done and that makes me very happy.

We have the floors to put in the laundry room and the bathroom.... purchased and ready to go. The heaters need to be put back in and one light needs to be installed. Our punch list is getting shorter and it is a good thing.

Tim and I are continuing our journey through the DVDs at the library and are into the second season of All Creatures Great and Small. We are enjoying them and have found ourselves wrapped up in the stories. A nice break from all the craziness of life.

Everyone is well here and for that I am quite thankful. We've gotten to the pool a few times and seem to be managing the summer for the most part. The annual baptism and church picnic was last weekend. Only one person was dunked this year, but it was a celebration none-the-less. The weather threatened to ruin the day, but it held off until the festivities were over.

Sorry, no pictures this time... I haven't spent any time downloading them yet :)

Chasing Chipmunks and a new author....

2007-07-07T21:08:00.001-04:00

Look carefully at the above photo. I have attempted to highlight the little chipmunk running under the step by leaving it in color and making everything else black and white. Now, see that blurry little boy on the right there? That is Quinton. He has discovered that chipmunks live under our front deck steps. All that white stuff spread by the step is corn. The corn is actually purchased to put in our deer feeder, but the girls felt bad that the chipmunks were missing out, so they feed them too. Well joy of joys these chipmunks are. I'll insert here that the little girls consistantly call them "chick"munks which just cracks me up. I'll always have a picture in my mind of a hooded, cloaked svelt cheerleader type woman... the really religous chick. Anyhow... Quin will sit on the step of the garage which is about 12 feet from the deck steps and wait and watch with great patience. Soon, a little chipmunk peeks out and begins to gather some corn (which really is hilarous to watch them fill their cheeks), then Quin hops up and toddles as fast as he can toward the chipmunk. The little animal really is pretty brave as he (or she... I can't really tell :) ) waits until Quin is nearly on top of it before it scoots back under the step. Sometimes it'll run into the downspout thing which totally delights Quin as he pounds on it until it runs out and across the driveway. Poor Quinton isn't quite quick enough! You would think Quin would tire of this game, but as of yet he hasn't. In fact, he followed this routine for over an hour the other day. He also has discovered the joy of sitting in puddles.

I go to the library all the time and I just love to read. Sadly, my reading does keep me from other important things like laundry and housework and other not-so-important things like scrapbooking and sewing. But, I enjoy it and find that relaxing in our fluffy chair with a book helps me make it through another day sometimes, so I do indulge occasionally. Well a few weeks back when browsing the new titles, I came across Jennifer Chiaverini's book, Circle of Quilters. Being a quilt lover, the cover caught me right away, so I grabbed it and thought I'd give it a try. Well let me tell you.... I couldn't put it down. What a wonderful story and what a fabulous writing style she has. Her books all have quilting and quilters intertwined in the storylines and let me warn you, you'll want to quilt if you don't already! On the inside covers of her newer books are the designs of the quilts mentioned in the story. On her website you can find the actual photographs of the quilts that she as made to go along with the stories. Beautiful quilts! I finished Circle of Quilters eager for more! I was a bit concerned that I had jumped into the middle of a series, however after looking at her website I found that evidently, the order of the books doesn't much matter. I went back to the library and got her first book, The Quilter's Apprentice. Fabulous!! It is rare to find a book that holds my attention but still is "G" rated. I can't stand reading filth. I am so afraid to read a book that I've not gotten a trusted review on so I began this new book with some caution. Cover to cover it was good wholesome reading. I can't wait to read them all. I have her second book on hold and in the meantime the library got in her newest release, The Quilter's Homecoming, so I picked up and enjoyed it just as much. So while I am attempting to read them in order, the two that were out of order really didn't seem to be problematic at all. At this point I think Jennifer Chiaverini has moved into the second spot as my favorite author. My all time favorite is still Beverly Lewis. I am impatiently waiting for her new series as I have already read everything she has written... even most of the children's titles :) I've gotten Hannah hooked on her too, so you know I trust her writing. Beverly Lewis is technically classified as a Christian author, but I believe her Amish based stories would be very attractive to many audiences. Therein ends my author reviews for tonight!

Now, if you take my advice and begin reading some of Jennifer Chiaverini's books and get inspire to quilt, let me leave you with this fabulous website I discovered, Quilt Blocks Galore. There are over 1000 quilt blocks with instructions for free! I spent over an hour just browsing and dreaming!

2007-06-26T22:32:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of the floor in progress, it is now complete but I haven't taken a more recent photo :) I like how it turned out and definately improves the look of the entire space. We have all the baseboards back up and are prepping to paint those (again.). I began cutting baseboards for downstairs which has honestly been a real thrill for me. We had to replace several pieces from when we first moved in and I figured out how to measure them and cut them. Tim showed me how to use his cut-off mitre saw thing and it's really cool. What a feeling of accomplishment to cut wood and have it fit correctly :)

This next picture is proof that Quinton loves Strawberries. If he even sees a berry he cried until he gets some. Using a fork is a new skill of late and he is really excelling in it. Though he has gotten quite frustrated that you cannot eat pretzel sticks with a fork. And evidently, everything tastes better when on a fork.

School is officially out and the kids have been finding things to keep busy with. They covered the entire driveway with people pictures to the point that it resembled a mass murder scene with body outlines everywhere. Thankfully they colored them all in and it turned out very nicely. Of course they asked me to take a picture. How could I resist?

It has been lovely weather the last few days. The evening have gotten quite cool and it makes for great sleeping weather. Working on the house is the main thing on our schedule for the near future, but we are trying to plan a few day trips and some other short outings to add some excitement to the summer. More on those plans as they come together.

Everyone is well and we are thankful for that. Nothing much to report really :)

Home Today

2007-06-10T13:46:00.001-04:00

I was on the schedule for the nursery this morning and actually made it to church... but, came back home. Earlier this week Quin's nose started running. He is getting more teeth (his canines... oh those are so fun :/) and allergies have been bad, so we just figured it was a combination of both things. Well, this morning he had a fever and the crusty yellow junk in his nose didn't look good. I took everyone in, got Tim's opinion on the matter and brought Quin back home. A sub was found for my nursery spot. He nearly fell asleep in the five minute drive so I just put him to bed. He slept for over two hours! Now I'm not sure if he'll take another nap later this afternoon (he normally only takes one after lunch) but he does seem to be feeling a bit better. Perhaps he was just worn out.

Tim and I started installing the floor upstairs yesterday. I now remember how frustrating putting in the first two rows are, but now that we are on our third row, it does seem to be going in easier. We had a later start due to some door frames that were still in need of more trimming, but at least we are on our way. What is down so far does look nice though :)

Hannah and I went and picked some strawberries last night after dinner. I got two batches of jam done last night and another two made this morning (when I wasn't at church). I've eaten a good amount already too. I love strawberries and fresh picked are just beyond good. Quin loves them too.

Today is the Pocono 500, so the trails are full and the traffic is heavy. I had planned to go to Kohl's and look for shoes for Hannah but had forgotten about all the traffic. It will likely wait until tomorrow night. The raceway is about 10 minutes from our house so this is a popular place for all the fans to stay. It wasn't too bad last night noise-wise. The Pennsylvania 500 (in July) is usually worse for fireworks (illegal here) and loud parties, but I'm still thankful for the quiet night.

We had what was supposed to be an IEP meeting for Jot on Friday. We actually were not able to have the meeting though due to so many changes necessary to the evaluation report. The actual IEP meeting was re-scheduled for Tuesday. I went into the meeting fearing it was going to be a huge argument, us vs. them, about services and needs for Jot. Granted, we are already at 80+ days of something that is to take no more than 60 days to complete, so I was primed for an argument. Nothing much was said about the late time, but we did manage to have some good discussions about Jot and his schooling. More thought on it is necessary before we can sign off on anything, but at least we made some progress. I'm still rather conflicted about the benefits of public school for our family and the benefits of homeschooling on the individual child. What is best for them and best for "us as a whole" seem to be different. All of it goes into our bucket of concerns and our prayers for guidance and wisdom. The issues this week with watching movies in school wasn't super encouraging either. Anyone that has seen The Princess Bride, please feel free to leave a comment as to the educational significance of this movie for a history class . The lack of reply to an email or return phone call sort of gets my back up too.

SO, in summary.... this week was full. Next week will be even more so (three doctors appointments, and IEP meeting and the last days of school), but our floor is going in :)

2007-06-03T18:43:00.001-04:00

Well it sure has been awhile hasn’t it? Lots to catch up on I guess…

First of all, I was able to tape together my Bible and for now anyway it will be fine. And in case anyone was wondering, the missing corners were from Job :) How funny is that?

The play went very well. The sound drove us all nuts and Tim's expertise in that area could have been utilized well, but all in all it was good. Everyone did great and fun was had by all. Hannah is the third from the left in the picture (which didn't turn out too good but is what I have to offer :) ).

My mom came to visit over Mother’s Day. It was a short visit but we all had a nice time. We went to Boulder Field (That great picture of my mom is from there) and on Saturday spent the day at Knoebel’s. I’m so glad we decided to go. It is a really fun place. Just like the old time town carnivals. The crowds really weren’t too bad and everyone got to ride several things. I will eternally remember Faith on the little race cars. Oh my goodness… right out of the gate she ran straight into the wall. The workers hopped on board to help and she just let go of the wheel and let them take her around the track. Definitely a princess in the making. Which does remind me of a latest quote of hers. Tim: “Faith are you going to grow up to be a responsible citizen?” Faith: “No, I’m going to be a cheerleader”.

We are continuing to work on the house (nothing new in that statement). It is safe to say that I’m getting rather tired of living in a remodel, but the end is in sight. After much deliberation, we decided to go with a Mohawk laminate in the entire upstairs area (living room, dining room, hallway and kitchen). We got a great deal on a discontinued oak look that matches the kitchen cabinets and have it all ready to go. The last several days have been spent pulling up the remaining wood tiles. These, for some unknown reason, were glued (with what seemed like gallons) to the subfloor. It took much patience but all the tiles are up. Next we began work on the very crooked, very ugly, very pink-grouted kitchen floor. This had a ½ inch concrete backer board on it on top of a ¼ inch subfloor. All in all the “step” up into the kitchen was about an inch. It has been an eyesore since we moved in. Prying up the tile has taken longer than we thought (doesn’t everything?) but it is all up and already looks a million times better. It made a huge mess and we (Tim) carried around 20 boxes of debris downstairs. Thankfully a guy from church in Philly is letting us throw the mess in the dumpster, so we don’t have to pay to take the stuff to the dump.

The Memorial Day weekend was rather quiet in the Trails here. It bulged with renters, who in past years have been rather loud and disruptive, but we made out pretty good this time. We held a yard sale on Friday and Saturday which made us over $300. A nice little bit of money for a couple days of sitting in a chair talking to people. Lots of stuff left our house which was the point and for which I’m happy :) I took the profits and paid for some summer clothes for the kids, Chinese carry-out and Tim and I went to see the new Pirates movie.

As far as the Pirates movie goes, I enjoyed it. I held off watching any of these movies until just before we left for Disney. I have to say I enjoyed the first one WAY more than I thought I would. It is actually now one of my favorite movies. Tim picked up the Jack Sparrow accent immediately and continues to make me laugh with his lines. Anyhow, about the third one… I read several very negative reviews. They said it was too long, too confusing, even too dark. I found it quite fun. Of course it’s a confusing story line, that is part of the point. No one is on anyone’s side…. for me, that is much of the fun of it. It was a bit on the dark side, but no more so than the second one in my opinion. I was quite surprised by the ending, which I liked. I hate knowing what is going to happen. There were some great lines and some classic Johnny Depp. My only gripe might be that there was not enough scenes with Keith Richards. He was a hoot and does have the best line of the movie (again, in my opinion.). So in conclusion… if you are after great drama and serious story lines, choose Lord of the Rings. If you are after Princess Bride laughs and a fun movie, go see At World’s End. So much for my movie review :)

It’s a stormy raining night and I am worn out from prying up tiles. I think I’ll go finish cleaning up and take a shower :)

The last picture is of all of us with Mom. We stopped to look at the lake at Hickory Run after our trek on the boulders. Mom got a big glob of tree sap in her hair from leaning into the tree. Oops.

Oh, I nearly forgot. I broke down and bought new mixer attachments. Mom tried to bring me some from the KitchenAide outlet near her, but they sold her the wrong size. Evidently all of the parts do NOT work on all of the mixers, contrary to what the salesman thought. Anyhow, I found them on ebay and am now back to being able to mix things :) My oven is fixed too :) Things do appear to be looking up again, one month later.

Horrible Rotten Very Bad Day(s)

2007-05-02T09:42:00.000-04:00

Monday went pretty well. Tuesday got worse. So far today is even worse. Why is it when Tim leaves town all manner of things happen? I so very much want to be "with it" and keep the world spinning while Tim is away, but the honest truth is is that it usually is very difficult and I usually end up feeling like a complete failure as far as a mother and human being. Gone are my ideals of having Tim walk in and reporting that we had a marvelous time and all is well with the children and the world. I'd really stink at being a single mom. If God decides to take Tim, he had better take me with him 'cause I can't do this alone.

Last week before I left for the conference, the dryer and the oven broke. Actually I broke the oven trying to clean it (talk about guilt). Evidently that is what I get for trying to clean the oven. I lifted the heating element to wipe the junk out of the bottom before using the self cleaning function (just as the instructions tell you to do). Well, it shorted out, tripped the breaker, shocked and created a huge spark (neato.). A wire totally fried and we are now waiting on the replacement part (thank God for RepairClinic.com). Thankfully the stove top and the broiler work... but I do miss baking. We've grilled quite a lot this last week or so :) The dryer's heating element was on it's last leg for nearly a year, but at least we had the forethought to order a new part before (again Thanks to RepairClinic.com) and Tim repaired that last week. I'm ever so thankful for a handy husband. He has saved us fortunes by fixing stuff himself.

The kids all go nuts when Tim isn't here. His stabilizing force keeps the calm. Hannah and this play with the ever increasing practice times and every increasing lack of information has been very tiring. We had to arrange help to get her home while Tim was away since the kids are all in bed and I can't leave them to go get her (20 minutes one way... gotta love the boon docks!). So now, not only is she having to be there earilier and earlier, and getting home at Lord-knows-when, she is making our friends have to wait at the curb for nearly an hour. Not a good thing in our house. We are trying to be understanding, but keeping kids out after ten on a school night is really pushing it in my opinion. The play is this weekend, so at least the end is in sight. God help us make it through tonight's rehearsal.

So far today Quin was up at 12:30 AM hungry because he wouldn't eat dinner last night. So I fed him. I didn't get to bed until after 1:00 AM due to being a worried, angry mess that Hannah wasn't home and I had no idea where she was and then feeding Quin. Quin was up again at 3:30 AM with his leg twisted through his crib slat (not hurt, just stuck). Then he got up at 6:30 wanting breakfast, that he wouldn't eat. Perhaps it is still his teeth, but I have little sympathy at this point. Read on. I've not had much sleep (not a good ingredient). Hannah was up late, of course, because she didn't get home until after 10:00. She rushed through a shower and tried to wear her dirty clothes to school... that was a molehill I would really have rather done without this morning. Jot spilled jelly all down the front of him and gave me an attitude when I told him he'd have to change his shirt. What is it with wearing dirty clothes to school? At least Emma was dressed in something clean (probably too cold for shorts, but at least it was clean... she'll learn). Quin refused breakfast. I ate mine and his and then somemore. Somehow it seems as though food does help stress, though I know with my head that isn't true. I sat down with my tea and got ready to read my Bible. Got up to do something (bathroom maybe? I don't remember now), put my Bible in the middle of the kitchen table (what I thought was well out of reach) and came back a few minutes later to Quin tearing the pages into little bits. I had to take a quick walk to calm down and I'm still upset about it. 15 years worth of notes in that Bible and several parts of Psalms are now in bitty pieces. I actually screamed something totally unintelligible to no one in particular. It seemed to help some.

I have since tried to tape and glue the pages back in, though I still have two parts that I cannot find where they came from. I imagine this is a lot like what the guys that found the Dead Sea Scrolls had to do. I'll use BlueletterBible.org and try to locate the passages so I can find where they are supposed to go. Now I need to decide if I try to make do with this or buy a new Bible. I hate the idea of both options. I really, really love my Bible. It is a Cambridge Concord and hard to find (and not real cheap even though I only have to pay cost). I know the bookstore in Philly can order another, but what about all my years and years worth of margin notes? Ugh. It just makes me sick. I know Quin doesn't have the ability to know what he was doing, but gosh I hate it. This is worse than when I lost three roles of film in the mail. That sick feeling stuck around for months but there was nothing anyone could do to fix it.

For a bit more than a week now, I'm also missing my KitchenAid mixer attachments. I found the dough hook but cannot find the whisk and the flat mixer thing. We've looked everywhere, twice. Quin loved to bang them with the pots and pans and I just have this sinking feeling they made it into the trash (a new game Quin plays). Emma's chore is to empty the trash and she would never have considered that it was heavier than normal or there was anything amiss. We put the trash behind a closed door for safety, but it has been out a lot recently with all the painting and work we've been doing in the living room and the kitchen (and another reason a heavier-than-normal bag wouldn't create suspicion). I'm looking at $35 plus shipping to replace them. I just can't give in yet, I still think they might be somewhere here. I know if I do order replacements, we'll find the originals the day the replacements arrive.

So this whine and vent post is nearly over. I put Quin back to bed and I think he is actually sleeping. I'm sure I'll be trading in his afternoon nap, but at least Tim will be home by bedtime and I can have some quiet now. I'm breaking our house rule and letting Faith watch a movie on a school day. Gosh, am I pathetic or what?

It's Wednesday Night

2007-04-18T22:37:00.000-04:00

Tim is rolling the paint in the hallway and I've finished cleaning brushes, so I thought I'd take a second (or few) to check in here. We've been working like crazy on the house and are really seeing results. It is a good feeling. We are motivated and taking advantage of that motivation. The hallway and kitchen ceiling was completed yesterday by me and today Tim did the trim and taped for the final color... what looks like coffee with lots of creme :) We replaced the kitchen light too. I finally took down the ugly wooden thing that spanned the cabinets over the sink. Is there a name for those things? It served no purpose other than to loom over my head as I washed dishes... but it's gone now!

We had snow over the weekend. I kept walking by the window in disbelief that it was really snowing this late in April. The kids even were off school Monday. Who would have thought of having a snow day after spring break? I guess that is life in the mountains. There is still snow on the ground, but at least the afternoons are a bit above freezing. Saturday before the weather hit, we headed over to the playground at the lake for a little while. Quin loves to swing and Faith still loves to swing. We spent a good portion of our time pushing the little ones. It was nice for us all to get out for a bit. Especially knowing what that weather brought. I have some pictures that aren't loading to the blog at this point, so I guess I'll have to share them later.

We got some bad news last week too. Hannah's Mexico trip has been cancelled. Gil (the youth pastor) talked to Tim in the hall at church in Philly and was pretty upset about having to cancel. There were not enough men signed up to go and after asking many guys, it just wasn't coming together. So for the first time in eight years, he had to cancel it. It was such a hard decision for him and I feel bad for him and the kids that were looking forward to it. But I trust that God has His reasoning for not allowing it this time. I told Tim that for the sake of the young people, I hope that reason is made evident. I think seeing an obvious reason that comes to light would be encouraging for them. However, certainly God knows what he is doing and we'll just go with that. Hannah was, as expected, disappointed and now rather bummed about her "boring summer". I have hopes that Gil will plan some local outreaches and other events for the group though, so maybe her summer won't be as boring as she thinks. I'm still waiting for spring to truly arrive, so it has been rather difficult to think too much about summer yet!

All's Well

2007-04-10T12:20:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Quin's surgery went fine. He went in at 7AM for 8AM surgery and was done by 8:13. No IV, no surprises, no trouble at all. He was quite the trooper and didn't even cry at all. He crawled and climbed all over everything while he was supposed to be "recovering quietly" and seems to feel better than fine. We are home now and he is napping nicely. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes!

“He is not here: he is risen, as he said.” Matthew 28:6

2007-04-08T08:52:00.000-04:00

On March 14th in 1987, over 20 years ago, in my driveway with a co-worker, I opened my life to Jesus. I had sat on the fence for many months, refusing to admit that I was in need of a Savior... that I had sin in my life that I could not make go away. That night, I gave up and asked Jesus to take over. And did He ever. More than just headed for death, I was headed toward a lifetime of selfishness, living only for me and what I wanted, without a care for anyone else in the world. He saved me from much more than my destiny in hell. He saved me from a life here of misery, lonliness and pain. He put my feet on a path of life. He gave me true joy and a life I could not have even dreamed. Not easy all the time, as this blog can attest, but full... an abundant life of direction, reason and significance. From that moment forward, I am blessed to say that I've never walked away from Him. I've had valleys and difficulties, but none so great that God wasn't there. Take time today to read John 3. On the original Good Friday Jesus was lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in Numbers 21. That all that look to Him would be cleansed and saved... just as all that looked at the serpent of Moses were healed from their snake bites. We've all been bitten by sin and each of us, as individuals... just like those in the desert with Moses, must look to Jesus' completed work on the cross to be healed. But don't leave Jesus on the cross. As today reminds us... He is not there anymore, He is risen.

So many songs are so special to me, but these few in particular.

Because He Lives (Bill Gaither)

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus
He came to love, heal and forgive
He lived and died to buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby
And feel the pride and joy he gives
But greater still the calm assurance
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives!

And then one day, I'll cross the river
I'll fight life's final war with pain
And then, as death gives way to vict'ry
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives!

In Christ Alone (Keith Getty & Stuart Townend)

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all—Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine—Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home—Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Baby Got Book

2007-04-06T09:05:00.000-04:00

This video is absolutely hilarious! It was sent to Tim by a friend from Ohio. Go and listen :)

Last Supper Thursday

2007-04-05T20:30:00.000-04:00

I often am at a loss as to how much of our country celebrates various holidays. The conversations often arise when I overhear someone saying something about a certain holiday or tradition. I heard today referred to as Holy Thursday and felt rather dumb that I'd never heard the term before. I understand why it is referred to as that, but really shouldn't every day be holy for the believer? Holy means set apart for a specific use. Can a day really be holy? Maybe so. I think today is more of a memorial for me. To me, today is the anniversary of The Last Supper as described in Mathew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and John 13 and beyond. I think I am quite glad that I don't have a lot of tradition about the passion week. I don't know the "rules" for what to do and what to eat or not eat. I wonder sometimes if any of that "stuff" makes a difference to the doer. I hope so, for them. But for me, I'm quite content knowing that I walk with God every day of every year, without regard for seasons or holidays. I'm thankful that I don't require a lot of liturgy. I mess up enough without breaking liturgical tradition as well. I take the holiday for what it is based on what I've learned from the Bible. Simply taught and simply believed. A lot happened on that first "Holy Thursday". I think most memorable to me is the way Jesus washed the feet of the diciples. We pick up so much dirt trudging through this world. We do need our feet washed. I also love the example Jesus provides for us in this account. Peter is always an encouragement to me as well... it's so good to know that even someone so close to Jesus didn't quite "get it" all the time. So, I still don't have a clue what the Easter Bunny has to do with The Ressurection, but I try to take it in stride. We don't "do" the Easter Bunny....just like we don't "do" Santa Claus. Our kids know the culture and what these things are about, but we don't get caught up in it. I'm sure some would call us extreme or even abusive by depriving our children in such a way. Oh well. We're used to it. Oddly perhaps, to me, Easter seems to be the more appropriate time for giving gifts. What better reason to celebrate than our risen Savior? So Sunday, churches across the nation and the world will be filled to the doors with well dressed children and adults, tired from arising earlier than normal on the weekend. Messages will be spoken from the pulpits about what Easter really is. Some will have heard it before, some may not. Some will listen and others will not. Most will never return to that church until December. Oh if they only knew what they were missing! It is my prayer that many lives will be changed this Sunday.

Quin update:
He returned to the ENT and his ears were worse than before the antibiotics. We cut out dairy hoping it would have an affect, but as of yet, it has not. The fluid in his ears is thick and cannot drain. The scariest part for me what the hearing tests they did. Quin's eardrums are not moving and he is not hearing most of the things around him. Obviously, we are quite concerned. His newborn screening for hearing was well above normal, so it is definately the fluid that is causing the hearing loss. He is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday next week. They will drain his ears and put in tubes. A short procedure (and one that Jot successfully had at this exact same age), but still a hard thing to hand over your baby for. Prayers are appreciated.

Other stuff:
Hannah was accepted onto the M2M team. That is, the mission trip to Mexico. She will need to raise all her support to go since we cannot afford to give much toward the trip. There are some opportunities for her to work for some ladies in the church and God has already provided her deposit, so we will trust Him to provide the rest. She will send out a support letter in the next week or so. It has been a great lesson already for Hannah in prayer and seeking direction. More to come on that!

Report cards came home this week. Emma and Jot both did great and Hannah did outstanding, earning a spot on the Honor Roll. We are quite proud of them all and pleased that the stressful decision to return to public school seems to be going OK... not perfect, but OK.

Thoughts on Circumstances and Sufferings

2007-03-23T21:01:00.000-04:00

The next chapter for our Ladies Study is Lies Women Believe About Circumstances. I came across some powerful quotes in this section that I felt led to share.

[When we say I wouldn't be...if he/she/they didn't/weren't....] we are saying someone or something made me the way I am. We feel that if our circumstance were different - our upbringing, our environment, the people around us - we would be different. We would be more patient, more loving, more content, easier to live with.
If our circumstances make us what we are, then we are all victims. And that's just what the Enemy wants us to believe. Because if we are victims, then we aren't responsible - we can't help the way we are. But God says we are responsible - not for the failures of others, but for our own responses and lives. The Truth is, our
circumstances do not make us what we are. They merely reveal what we are.

I just love how Nancy Leigh DeMoss sums this up. It is so true. And it is so easy to fall into the cycle of blame shifting. The culture seems to continually feed us lies about how victimized we are in all areas. I know there are true victims among us, but too often we (I) blame my sinful response on someone else's behavior (be it right or wrong). One example she gives in her book is the mother of twins who claims, in exasperation, that she was never an impatient person until she had twins. The truth is, that she was always an impatient person. She just didn't realize how impatient she was until God introduced the circumstances to show her what she was really like... and I love this part.... so He could change her.
Nancy goes on...

The Truth is, if we are not content within our present circumstances, we are not likely to be happy in any other set of circumstances.

Then she quotes Elizabeth Prentiss (I love her writing!) who wrote to a friend upon learning that she and her husband were leaving all they knew behind and moving from New York to Chicago in the midst of her own health concerns.

We want to know no will but God's in this question...The experience of the past winter would impress upon me the fact that place and position have next to nothing to do with happiness; that we can be wretched in a palace, radiant in a dungeon...perhaps this heartbreaking is exactly what we need to remind us... that we are pilgrims and strangers on the earth.

Then of course we can't forget Paul. In Philippians 4:11-12 he reminds us that "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances, I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."
The next section goes into suffering. Does this sound like a dismal, depressing book? It really isn't, trust me! Arthur Mathews served as a missionary in China and was one of the last to leave in 1953. He wrote this powerful stuff:

We tend to look at the circumstances of life in terms of what they may do to our cherished hopes and convenience, and we shape our decisions and reactions accordingly. When a problem threatens, we rush to God, not to seek his perspective, but to ask him to deflect the trouble. Our self-concern takes priority over whatever it is that God might be trying to do through the trouble...
An escapist generation reads security, prosperity, and physical well-being as evidences of God's blessing. Thus when he puts suffering and affliction into our hands, we misread his signals and misinterpret his intentions.

Wow. That just blows me away because I see it is so true. It is all around us and even in me more often than I care to admit. Don't we read into suffering just as Job's friends did? Too often we rush to judgement against God for allowing such things, but how often do we (I) go to him seeking wisdom, perspective and instruction through the suffering?
Just a few more closing quotes from Nancy:

God is far more interested in our holiness than in our immediate, temporal happiness - He knows that apart from being holy, we can never be truly happy. The Truth is, it is impossible to be holy apart from suffering. Even Jesus Himself, during His years here on earth, was in some unexplainable way made "perfect through suffering" (Hebrews 2:10) and "although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). We say we want to be like Jesus, and then we resist the very instrument God chooses to fulfill that desire.
...there is a redemptive, sanctifying fruit that cannot be produced in our lives apart from suffering. "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps" (I Peter 2:21)
True joy is not the absence of pain but the sanctifying, sustaining presence of the Lord Jesus in the midst of the pain. "The God of all Grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." (I Peter 5:10)

I can't say why all this especially touched me as I studied this week. It isn't anything exactly new and unique to me, but it does seem to be a great reminder for me. I struggle quite often with seeing others in similar places that seem to have little if any suffering. I think it was Elizabeth Elliot that said suffering is any lack of something desired. I sometimes feel as though we are the only ones that go with unfulfilled desires. Perhaps the reminder for me is: rather than comparing my sufferings to other people, I ought to compare my sufferings to Christ's as I take up my own cross and follow Him (Matthew 10: 38).

Proof that I don't have it all together (in case anyone thought I did).

2007-03-19T19:02:00.000-04:00

brag (v): to praise or express pride in one's own possessions, qualities, or accomplishments often to excess.

I'm in a mood and am finding there isn't an appropriate way to express this directly, so I'll use my blog to vent and hope that eases the frustration some. God help me. I'll get it out this way. Do you ever feel like telling someone... OK, ENOUGH ALREADY!! I'm sure there is some psychological aspect of jealousy at play here in some regard, but honestly after days and days and days I just am sick of hearing about it. Is this the appropriate time to reply "How nice for you!" ? I guess just saying "shut up" isn't a very polite response either is it?

I think I could use some sunshine and warm weather today. It is snowing though.

Birthday Kids and New Snow

2007-03-17T18:33:00.000-04:00

First up in the photo category is Master Quin. This is one from his actual birthday (if that weren't obvious). It took us five kids before we figured out the easiest way to do cake was in nothing but a diaper. The hat was an impulse purchase at Party City, but I thought it'd be cute. And it is. Isn't it? Wouldn't it be fun to get a picture of him every birthday in his prince hat? I can see him at 27 complaining that his dorky mom insists on doing this every year. Well maybe.

He is doing considerably better in the health department. We saw the ENT Wednesday who, thankfully, has a conservative approach. He determined that indeed he still had fluid in his ears (though he had just completed a round of Augmentin). Evidently the fluid has turned to a glue type stuff that, though not infected, isn't draining in time to miss getting infected again with the next bug that happens to land on poor Quin. This has been going on since Thanksgiving, and therefore, it was not my imagination that he has been miserable for months. The thing we're trying now is another two week round of heavier antibiotics to give the gluey-fluid time to actually fully drain in hopes that a combination of spring weather (eventually) and a growing child will result in no new infections. We go back in three weeks to re-evaluate. At that time if fluid is still there, we'll talk tubes. In just the couple of days since then I can tell he feels better though. He's happy again and he is babbling endlessly. I think the fluid was surely begining to affect his hearing, so I'm even more glad that we proceeded with the ENT guy. Maybe he will feel good enough to tackle walking soon too :)

Next we have Emma. She loves to be photographed and is becoming quite the poser! This is one of many that came out well. I purposely tried to scale back on her birthday pictures as I usually takes way too many. It is so easy when you have such a willing subject :)

I am sure many of you reading watch the weather occasionally. I guess you probably saw the huge snowstorm that hit yesterday into this morning. Yes it is all true. We got the biggest snow of the year. At least 18 inches is our guess. The wind is blowing it everywhere and there was a drift over the tail of Tim's car. It is pretty though, that is for certain. I do love the snow. Last year we got snow in April, so we can get more. The old snow had just begun to melt last week and I even went out without a coat on Thursday, but I didn't think it was really spring yet. Tim and the kids shoveled most of the morning and the walk is done and the van is uncovered. Tim cancelled church Thursday night when the icing first began and then we had to cancel the Pizza Night at church last night. This snow sure can throw a wrench into plans pretty quickly! It still has been a very mild winter this season.

I forgot to mention that today is the first day since last Sunday that I'm not coughing! I went to the doctor on Monday and am finally feeling better. The top of the microwave looked like a pharmacy this week. Faith, Quin, Me, Tim and Hannah were all on something this week. For that reason alone, I do hope spring is coming. The mild winter seems to have allowed all those germs to survive and infect my family. It has been a difficult time and I'll be glad to see health restored to us all.

Catching Up

2007-03-12T10:44:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe that over a month has passed since my last post. Actually, with the way things have been going I think maybe I can. After looking at a calendar, we determined that, other than about 10 days, Quinton has been sick since Thanksgiving. He sees an ENT this Wednesday to discuss putting tubes in his ears. I'd like to wait to see if spring brings health to him, but on the other hand, I'm tired of him feeling bad. I'm sleep deprived and feeling overwhelmed with life lately, so perhaps my judgement is a bit skewed. I guess five kids do that to a person. Faith is currently recovering from a double ear infection and Tim and I both have horrible coughs that won't go away. I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon and Tim is going to Urgent Care in Philly. Hannah began coughing over the weekend, but so far Jot and Emma seem alright. It has been such a horrible winter for illness. That alone, makes me ready for spring.

Tim and I have discovered our library's A&E's Horatio Hornblower series... fabulous! I was literally on the edge of the couch. We've watched the first 3 of 4 from the first series. There are two more sets after this one, so we have several date nights worth of Horatio to watch.

Quinton celebrated his first birthday on the 2nd. He wasn't feeling very well, and therefore I have no good photos to post just yet. I hope to get some portrait type pictures after he is fully well again. Emma marked 7 years last Friday (the 9th). I have no pictures to share of her either, but that is because they are still on my camera. It's added to my ever-increasing to-do list.

Having the kids out the house has enabled me to reclaim some cleanliness, but the process is far from complete. Those of you familiar with Messies Anonymous will understand when I say that I am about 1/3 of the way through Mount Vernon-izing the house. I'm eager to tackle the kitchen, but am trying to keep that until last so as not to be discouraged.

Our taxes are complete and we try to patiently wait our refund. After much discussion and looking at some of Mary Hunt's recommendations, we will pay down some on the mortgage and spread some over the year to make up for the ridiculous school tax increase ($200+ a month) and use the remainder to replace the sliding doors upstairs. The cost of living here has increased so much in the last year. It's quite discouraging to not be able to just have the money to finish the house. I am trusting that patience will win out and all will be well. I'm thankful for the space we have here and I do like the house. It is the continual lesson that our lives are on God's schedule, not mine.

The book study went well last night. We are nearly finished with the book (Lies Women Believe) and many of the ladies have expressed how enjoyable and challenging the study has been. That is good to hear! We have a retreat opportunity this spring, but it looks like most of the ladies will wait for the one in the fall. I won't be going this spring either as the school play is that weekend. Of course I need to be there for Hannah's debue!

Well that is a quick update of life here. I will try to post some pictures soon and keep more "current" with things.

Seasons do change....

2007-02-07T19:05:00.000-05:00

Well winter has finally come to the Poconos. After and incredibly mild October, November and December, we finally began to get some snow. It started in late January, but the temperatures have allowed it to hang around for awhile. We got a bit more last week so I would estimate about five inches on the ground. Did I mention cold temperatures?? It’s frigid cold…like so cold the salt doesn’t even melt the ice on the roads. It is beautiful though, especially before the wind blows all the snow from the branches. I also love seeing all the animal tracks. I know they are all there during the “non snow” days, but what a fun reminder that we live in the midst of wildlife. Even the birds are leaving little tracks under the feeders. I do love snow.

Another change in seasons is our schooling. After months of praying and discussing “life”, we came to the decision last week to put the kids back in school. This was such a difficult decision. Since last fall the Lord has really been working on us, particularly in the area of fear and faith. Said simply, “best” has more than one meaning depending on perspective.

We met with the special education team last Tuesday to discuss Jot’s placement and give approval for a new evaluation. Technically he should not start until his eval and IEP are complete, but because they know us and have worked with us before, the team agreed to get him a temporary placement with some support until all the other stuff can be completed. It will still be a couple of weeks before his placement, so the girls will start before him. I’ll continue to work on Math and Phonics with Jot at home in the meantime. He is rather middle-of-the-road as far as opinions on the matter. He likes being home because there are more breaks, says he. We’ve come to so many brick walls with him academically at home recently, that the change of scenery may be just what he needs. We pray his placement is a good fit. Right now they want to try inclusion again with an in-class special ed teacher and pull out for math and reading. Tim and I are not confident inclusion will work for him and hasn’t in the past, but we are willing to give it a try and make adjustments as necessary. I expect his evaluation to show that a resource room situation will be a better fit, but we will see. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised. Actual registration was last Thursday and Hannah and Emma begin tomorrow. I might be more nervous than they are.

Emma is very excited to go to school, but a bit anxious about such a big building and not really knowing anyone yet. She actually will know a couple of kids from her Sunday School class, but to her it is all new and a bit scary. I’m confident she will do fine though. She makes friends easily and works hard. She’ll have a great time. As we expected. At the other extreme, as we expected is Hannah. She realized that a change is needed for the benefit of the entire family, but she is very nervous about returning to public school. She, rightly so, is concerned that she doesn’t know anyone and won’t fit in. This is a hard thing to parent through honestly… because on the one hand, as Christians, we never fully “fit in” with the culture, but as a teenager, she obviously wants friends. She has lots of friends in Philadelphia and she does things with them through youth group and whatnot, but up here, she only has a couple of friends. One is a grade younger and one is in the other building. We’ve been talking with her and working through some of the fears she has. I really think she is going to do well and enjoy the freedom of changing classes and electives.

Another great thing that we hope will help Hannah meet some new friends is the drama production. Sort of on a whim, she auditioned for The Wizard of Oz last Saturday. Auditions were open for Kindergarten through high school (they needed Munchkins *Ü*). She had to read, sing and dance. She was number 24 out of about 80 or so that showed up. For her first experience with a real audition, I think she did well considering she got a part! She will be playing one of the citizens of the Emerald City… singing and dancing. I’m sure future entries will rave on the performance of this 7^th grader!

And we cannot forget the change of seasons from “tween” to “teen”. Yes, on Sunday, Hannah turned 13. We had steak and French fries for dinner (her choice), confetti cake and ice cream. Hannah got a bunch of clothes (that she and I went shopping for on Saturday and I wrapped up), an Adventures in Odyssey CD set, Narnias 4-disc set and cold hard cash. She decided tonight to use the cash to buy herself and iPod… she chose green :) We also discussed getting her a cell phone. I never thought I’d agree to a cell phone for a 13 year old, but with us not having a land line, the play and her going back to school it seems like a sensible thing to get. We can add her to our family plan for around $10 a month. It seems worth it, but we’ll make the final decision later this week. The fact that she is currently talking on MY phone right now is quite a persuasive component as well!

And as a bonus picture, here is Quin at 11 months! No, he isn't smiling crooked, he still has lopsided teeth on the bottom... two in the middle and one on his left. The right one finally poked through, but still isn't in enough to even things out *Ü*

Our trip... there and back!

2007-01-18T20:28:00.000-05:00

Well, we are home and recovered from our Disney trip. It was such a great time!

The trip was wonderful. Weather was perfect... a tad cold on Tuesday and Wednesday but sunny and clear the entire week. We really could not have asked for better. Off course we didn't get everything we wanted to do done, but the kids all got their top three "wants" accomplished and I’d say that is pretty good!

The characters were some of the most loved parts of the trip for the kids. We did three character meals and they were just great for meeting lots of character up close (and the food was good too!) We were one of only about five tables at one of the meals (all others were empty), so needless-to-say, we had the attention of the character for a long time! Much of our time was spent hunting down other characters in the park, which was fine with me. It was fun seeing the kids having such a good time (which is a lot of what I was looking forward to). The Cars characters were probably my favorite (and Jots), but all of them were enjoyed…the Incredibles, Buzz and of course the Princesses among others. Our entire family wore Incredibles shirts to MGM and had our picture taken with both Mr. and Mrs. Incredible... that was especially fun! Mr. Incredible was on an upper level of the gallery and Mrs. Incredible was on the lower level. We met Mr. Incredible first and when we were down meeting “Mrs. I”, we looked up to see “Mr. I” running down the stairs so we could all be together. That was quite a thrill! I’m glad I found those shirts on that clearance rack ;) (I think the most expensive one was $4.00!). Dressing alike paid off earlier in the week as well when we wore matching blue shirts on Tuesday to the Magic Kingdom. I had ordered them online before Christmas and were Mom and Ron’s gifts to us and the kids. Mom and Ron matched us too for that day and upon entering the park, we were selected to be the Grand Marshals of the Parade... what a thrill! They took pictures for us of that, so I’ll have to post a few later when we get them.

In all I took about 300 pictures, not including all the ones the park photographers took that were uploaded to the internet for us. (A CD has been order of all those). We had the park hopper passes that really paid off and enabled us to go to more than one park per day. It was especially nice for when we had dinner reservations at a different park than were we planned to spend the day. Each day we went to one park for most of the day and made it to the big four. The water parks weren’t included on our passes and it was a bit cold for that anyhow :). We spend the least amount of time at Animal Kingdom, but it might have been my favorite park…maybe, I really liked MGM too. Maybe because those were both brand new to me… I’ve been to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot before. I liked all the foliage at Animal Kingdom and the way the park was arranged. We didn’t even see all of it, but I saw enough to like it :) The Lion King show was spectacular! Definitely the best show we saw. Mom, Tim and I rode the big coaster there, Expedition Everest, and it was good. I think, as even mom commented, we are all a bit tainted for roller coasters after being exposed to so many good ones at Kings Island. The Beast is still the best, but Everest was quite fun and the Disney touch always makes it an adventure. Hannah wanted to ride the Kali River Rapids, so Tim, Emma and I joined her. We all got wet…Emma got soaked. Thankfully it was a warmer day :)

At the Magic Kingdom, Emma got quite courageous and rode Space Mountain. She said she liked it, but also added that she probably wouldn't go again. Faith rode the Goofy Barnstormer roller coaster thing about five times... definitely her favorite. I was surprised that Hannah didn't want to ride more of the "big thrill" rides, but she enjoyed what she did ride. She had a good time taking Faith on the “Goofy Planes”. Hannah’s favorite park was EPCOT and I was able to take her back one night after the others were in bed (they had late hours). She loved Soarin’ and we were able to go on it twice :) Jot's favorite was the Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom. That was the first thing we all rode together (even Quin!). He and Tim were able to return and ride it several more times toward the end of the week. It was Buzz Lightyear, how could he not love it? The first day at the park after riding it, Buzz was just outside the exit, so he got to meet him that first day too. What a great way to begin!

The food was delicious and I was very pleased with the food plan that we had. It worked out very well. We had tons of food and often were able to split a quick service meal between two (or more) people. All of the food we had was delicious and I really was impressed with the portions! It was so nice not having to think about money for food or tips (included) with the meal plan. I’d definitely recommend it.

We stayed at the All Star Movies in the Buzz Lightyear building - his belt was just outside our doors... Jot about died to see the four/five story Buzz. I was glad that the beds were comfortable because by the time I made it there, I was tired! Though the rooms were on the small side, we really weren't there much except to sleep, so they worked fine for us. Clean and comfortable…just what you’d want in a hotel :) All the toys in the courtyard were too cute. We had wonderful rooms.

Now for the downside….all was wonderful until we got back on the bus to return to the airport.
We initially thought that it was nerves, but we soon found out otherwise. Emma had been pretty scared all week about getting back on the plane and worried herself sick (so we thought)... throwing up on the bus as we were being transported back to the airport for our return trip. Things went downhill from there. We were all on the plane ready to go, when there was a security breech in the airport. We all had to deplane and que up for security again (the entire airport). That was at least a four hour delay... then one of the flight attendants couldn't fly (she had gone over her hours) so we had to wait for another plane to arrive to get another attendant. By this time Emma had worried herself into a mess. She and her flight sick bag spent much time together. She was such a trooper though. And looking back, I know just how horrible she felt and yet she kept going. Anyhow, by midnight, we were back to loading the plane. Thankfully, Emma was sleeping, so she did OK on the plane. The others soon followed suit and even Tim and I caught a nap. Traveling with five kids was definitely NOT fun at this point. But we arrived safely, though quite later than expected. At least there wasn’t any traffic on the drive home :)

Tim slept for about three hours and went to teach at church Sunday morning. Hannah was up and went along too...I stayed home with the others who all worn out. By about 3PM, the rest of the family, one by one came down with what we are supposing was some strand of flu. By 1AM, each of us had it and it was just horrid. It is times like this that I sometimes doubt God really knew what He was doing in giving us five kids! Even in the middle of it, I tried to remain thankful that we were not in Florida or all sick on the plane… we were home and we had what we needed to get through it. By today, Thursday, we all are still feeling a bit weak and dehydrated, but much, much better than before. God saw us through, though the WHY question may still be a question in my mind.

I said to Tim last night that I’d just once like to go through something where, even I – the perpetual pessimist (not a good thing by the way), can’t imagine anything better… he reminded me that that would be Heaven. Well, after days like this weekend, I’m ready. Revelation 20:22 Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

2006-12-25T15:29:00.000-05:00

For those who may not have gotten our Christmas letter this year, I provide it now :) Merry Christmas to all!
(by the way, Tim is the author of our annual letter)

December 18, 2006

Perhaps it would have been wise to include a tardy slip from the principals office with this years Christmas letter. I suppose it would be just as appropriate to write a theme paper on the topic of tardiness, as it seems the arrival of annual inspiration for this letter is somewhat later than usual. Today is rather wet and brown and very Monday; hardly an inspiration of Christmas joy. But, the good news in all of this regularness and plainness is that Christmas is a simple celebration of a birthday. Feelings are nice, sentiments often enjoyable, but the fact of the matter is that God Himself became a little baby and was born into our world with all of its everyday brownness. Majesty reaching into Monday mud; a cheerful thought indeed.

This year is marked by a number of contrasts: ending of life and beginning of life. On December 25 of last year Dad called to let me know Mom was in the hospital with pneumonia. Thirty days later on January 25 we laid Mom to rest at the end of her earthly journey. Her body was simply rendered unusable by the feisty spirit it contained. The cancer in her lungs made life here too un-life-like. Among her last words to me a week or so before her passing were “…my Jesus will see me through this…”. Clearly, He did. Trivial words to some perhaps, but eternal treasures to me, her youngest son, now overlooking age forty. I am glad Jesus makes it possible for me to say “See ya later Mom.” As you read this, please have the wisdom and courage to own Christ as the one “…to save His people from their sins.”

This local branch of Bergeron Inc. received child five into the fold on March 2 of this year. Quinton Thaddaeus Bergeron (“Fifth Courageous Shepherd” or “you need guts to have five nowadays”) came from nearly the same mold as Jot and Emma; blond hair, blue eyes and of considerable size. He crawls now and shows a clear preference for real food over that yucky baby stuff. Hannah walked on her first birthday and Quin may just do the same. The lad is healthy and fits in with the rest of the crew pretty well. We plan to keep him.

Faith passed the four year mark about a month ago. Her vocabulary is on the way to catching up with her zeal for life. Dresses and tights and hair pulled up “like bear ears” identify this smaller version of Hannah. Brown eyes add to the attitude don’t they? Faith is likely the most independent of the lot. She will disappear for hours on end simply to play with her ponies or Barbies. Never short on opinion or the eyebrow action to back it up, Faith will be one to stand on her own regardless of what you think of her. (Rental contracts for Faith are available on the family website. Reduced rates for ’07.)

Emma continues to live out her middle name ‘Joy’ most of the time. She is in constant transition between Faith and Jot (typical for a middle child?). The teams switch back and forth regularly, but it is unlikely her allegiance to Jot will ever be truly swayed very far. Jot was away from home recently for a few days and Emma spent most of the time worrying over him. “Will he get enough to eat? Does he have his pillow and blanket?” I guess if neither of them finds good matches for marriage they will have each other. They certainly squabble like old married people now, so they have plenty of practice and would do just fine it seems to me. Emma is facing birthday seven in Mid-March and carries herself pretty well for being six-almost-seven.

Everyone needs a Jot. We have one and I can’t imagine life without this nearly-ten-year-old. He is still devoted to the essentials of life and shows no signs of wavering. Cereal, toast, Buzz Lightyear, Rescue Heroes, Sunday School and evening Bible stories are the life sustainers for the second of five in our home. He is tender hearted and mostly gentle (unless he can get his hands on sticks from the woods). He is reading like a champ and does pretty well during the school day in our home. Medical issues are still a part of life for Jot and consequently the rest of us. It is about time to revisit some of the issues with his left eye area now that nearly nine years have passed since his initial big surgery. No major concerns at the moment, but it’s time to have a look again to see how he is doing.

Still commanding the position of eldest is the tall and slender Hannah. She is growing into quite the responsible young lady as she rounds the corner to age thirteen in early February. Hannah is occasionally left in charge of the others while Mom & Dad get a few minutes out of the house. Quilting, baking, making, inventing and the like are still a big part of Hannah’s favorite activities. She also has opportunity to hang out with some folks her age a few times each month in Philly at the Junior High activities at church. She seems to like those quite a bit. Occasional part-time work for a lady in the Pocono church puts a few dollars in her pocket. She is a terrific help to everyone and a good kid all around. The little ones in the church nursery like her as do the adults she helps each month. She is coming along in her school work and learning how to learn here in the Bergeron home school. Seventh grade is just about half-way over at this point.

The entire family still functions best on regular routines. School happens during the week at the kitchen table. Jen has everything organized and running pretty well. In spite of our best efforts, there always seems to be something out of the ordinary happening that keeps us all on our toes. Church, school, chores and the like fill our week and keep us grounded in reality. This season of life sees a lot of the same stuff each week. We have made some excursions here and there. A visit to Ohio over the summer was full of sitting around, crafting, quilting and coloring. The heat kept us indoors nearly the entire time. It was good to simply spend time with people. We have hopes of a trip or two in 2007 but those details have to wait until next year’s letter.

Anniversary seventeen was the marker for Tim and Jen this year. The Lord has been gracious and has allowed us to grow and learn together for these years. We are approaching the 20th year of knowing one another. Married life is terrific and gets better with each passing year. We are learning from past mistakes and hopefully gaining wisdom as we move forward. Date nights are a regular part of our week and are often just a few hours of togetherness with a book or a game after the gaggle is in bed for the night. In fact, tonight we may actually go out somewhere and leave Sgt. Hannah in charge.

As I close the annual epistle, I hear little feet thumping, the dryer running and the rhythmic sounds of math and phonics lessons upstairs. This is the good life, carefully hidden directly in front of us. There is belonging, purpose and plenty to do. All of that goodness is granted to us by our Maker. Please set aside a little bit of time today as you read this fine piece of literature and assess what is happening around you. Are you pleased with how your life is going right now? Are you ready for eternity? The contrasts of life have faced us this year and by the grace of God we have grown in the midst of it all. Our prayer for you is for the free operation of God’s loving-kindness and mercy to overflow into each area of your life. May God richly bless you in the upcoming year.

With love and fond affection,

The Bergeron Family

The Nativity Story and Jot Update

2006-12-19T18:09:00.000-05:00

Tim wrote:
Dear Friends,

Thanks so very much for covering our family in prayer. We deeply appreciate your efforts and concerns.

Jot and I saw several doctors earlier today with good result. In a nutshell, the bleeding Jot experienced in his eye was explained pretty easily. His long standing condition (venous lymphatic malformation) can occasionally cause blood to spread to various neighboring tissues around his body. This time the blood presented itself in the layers of the left eye. A little bit of blood is released and then compressed between the clear covering of the eye and the white portion of the eye. A small amount of blood looks terrible but will be reabsorbed by the body over time. There is no immediate danger or concern with this issue. Watch and wait is our current mode.

The MRI results were reviewed today. The optic nerve is supported and surrounded by the proper type of tissues and does not appear to be compressed at all. That is just about the best we could have hoped for in this case. Jot may experience some more bleeding episodes from time to time, but they are not a very, very serious concern presently. This may change over the next few months as we watch and wait. An additional MRI is tentatively planned for sometime in a few months.

For now, Jot is permitted to ride most of the fun stuff at Disney World with the exception of really intense stuff like super big roller coasters and Mission Space.

Again, please accept our most sincere thanks for your prayers and concerns over the last week or so. It is a privilege to be a part of the body of Christ and receive His love through your lives.

Tim and Jen Bergeron

Now about The Nativity Story ...wow! I really enjoyed this movie. Tim and I went and saw it (at the ONLY showtime) last night. One review I read said it focused too much on Mary??? Umm, how can the story of Jesus' birth NOT include a lot about Mary? In truth, there was only one small thing that could have been criticized and that is that they had the wise men at the stable at the time of the birth, which is sort of inaccurate. But you know what? to show the family waiting a few years for the wise men to appear would have made the movie really long! Honesty, to me it wasn't a big thing at all, it made it a nice picture ending and didn't distract from the main point of the story in my opinion. I thought the casting was super and really liked the characters a lot. For one thing, they were actually Israeli-looking...not a blonde in the bunch (contrary to many pictures we see of Jesus and Mary!) My favorite parts I think were Mary and Joseph's conversations on their travels to Bethlehem. In one, Mary asked Joseph to tell her about his dream. Joseph details that the angel told him to not be afraid and that the child was conceived of the Holy Spirit, etc. Mary then asks Joseph, "So are you afraid?" to which he replies "Yes, are you?". She says, "Yes." It was so realistic. I think they did a great job of showing how real these people were... the relationship of Mary and her parents....their response to their pregnant daughter. Lots of neat details that I was pleased to see. I was as touched by this movie as I was by The Passion, really. I think mostly because of the fearfulness and almost despair Mary seemed to feel at times. I could relate. The pains she felt at disappointing people and not being understood. We all can see ourselves in that. And even Joseph and his doubts. At one point he wonders aloud, "Will I be able to teach him anything?" Human emotions... from real human beings walking in faith. I think we too often think Mary went through her life skipping for joy that she was called to this enormous responsibility, when I believe more often she was unsure, confused and feeling alone. Anyhow, for what it's worth, I give it a thumbs up. I think it is one to have in our DVD collection of Christmas movies. Go see it :) I wouldn't recommend it for young children though. Herod's orders to kill all the young boys of Bethlehem is pretty powerful as is Rome's treatment of the Israelites. There are also some images of crucified people and violence.

A Visit to CHOP

2006-12-16T14:18:00.000-05:00

I'm recovering from the week. I haven't really felt too great all week, but managed through. Jot's eye has been giving him trouble and Tim took him to the ER at CHOP Thursday morning. Most of you reading this probably got updates on all that... but in a nutshell: they admitted him for testing, he had a CT scan and an MRI and was released late on Friday. Essentially, there is concern, but nothing critically urgent, so he will see his specialists on Tuesday morning. I drove all the kids down to Philly last night to drop off Hannah and pick up Jot. Hannah and Tim had planned to spend the night in Philly so he could work and she could attend the junior high gym night last night and the Salvation Army innercity outreach this morning... so I took her down and Tim stayed too. It was a lot of driving last night. I didn't sleep too great but we're doing OK. I'm looking forward to having everyone home tonight.

All the medical stuff has pushed our Christmas cards off again. I had hoped to have them out last week, but Tim hasn't had time to write our letter and I haven't made time to sit down and get the things addressed. Some are nearly done now as I worked some this morning on them and Tim said he'd do the letter tomorrow, so hopefully all will go out on Monday. I still have gifts to mail as well. Oh well, it'll get done eventually.

It has been unseasonably warm here and it is starting to be depressing :) It has been in the 60s and for December in the mountains that just isn't right! I'm ready for cold weather and snow. We've usually had a big snowfall by now. Maybe next week?

I've been hit.

2006-12-09T18:51:00.000-05:00

Well it was bound to happen. I've been hit with the sickness invading our home. My throat aches and I feel run down. The run down part might be lack of sleep, but the sore throat seems to indicate illness :( I don't feel totally out of it yet and am praying I pull through quickly, but if not, at least I've got my Christmas shopping done :)
Today the ladies from our church were invited to a Christmas Tea in Pottstown with the Calvary Chapel down there. It was a wonderful event: the food was amazingly good, Jean McClure wonderful as always and worship was beautiful. It was a nice day out even if I am feeling sick now. I had some good conversation on the drive and though we did get lost on the way down, weren't so late to have missed too much.
Nothing much more to say really. I just felt like writing a bit.

Oh I nearly forgot... Quin's latest weight from the doctor is 24 pounds. I really thought he weighed more than that but evidently not!

2006-12-07T14:54:00.000-05:00

Wow, I have fallen in with those who forget to blog :)
Life has been busy lately. Most of the kids have been sick and we've been working on the house again. You know... normal stuff for us.

First we had Faith's fourth birthday. It's hard to believe she is four already. She is just a hoot to listen to. She comes up with the most profound and hilarious comments. "Dad, we could kill a rooster and put it on the roof to see which way the wind blows". And just today, as she scurries to her room... "you'll have to excuse me, I have important business to return to". Love her.
This picture is her with "bear ears". It began with Mulan II. One of the princesses has her hair in these little ponytail bun things and Hannah showed Faith how cute they look on her. And don't they? Faith now calls them bear ears and requests them quite often. The grin is just too much too. What a beauty! The dress she is wearing is actually a hand-me-down from her cousin Megan. It has been featured prominently in many photos over the years!

Our little man is now crawling and so enjoying his new freedom. For a time, he hated to sit and would purposely just fall over so he could crawl. Poor thing had bruises for days! Well now he is quite happy to sit and crawl and even beginning to pull up. Tim dubbed him "touch-it" as his little hands have to feel everything. It's a good thing he is so stinking cute, because he started waking up in the middle of the night again and it is driving us nuts!

He eats and eats and eats... just like Jot at that age. Loves mom's chicken and noodles and pretty much anything else we are eating. Baby food is quickly becoming a thing of the past. He chews his food and is eating table food way earlier than I remember any of the others doing. He has six teeth at this point, the two center ones and one upper and one lower both on his left. The sort of lopsided grin is too much.

Our tree is up and all of my gift buying is complete. It is a great feeling of satisfaction. Nothing bought on credit and everything within our budgeted plan... what a feeling of freedom and power. I've made one batch of peanut brittle but nothing else at this point. The sick kids and housework has invaded my holdiay baking. I might get some more stuff done this weekend, but I'm not stressing about it. Lord knows my body doesn't need any extra calories.

The kids may very well forget that Christmas is even coming this year, because after the new year, we are all going to Disneyworld. They are beyond thrilled. Mom and Ron are giving us the trip as a gift and joining us for nearly a week. We leave on Jot's birthday (he'll just be unglued I'm sure) and return the following Saturday. Reservations and plans are made... and certainly a good time will be had by all. I'm sure I'll have pleanty to share!

2006-10-30T18:48:00.000-05:00

Here is Hannah and some of the apples we picked a couple of weekends ago. Yes, it has been awhile since I've posted :) Jeanne, Nancy, Hannah and I went to the orchard near us and picked apples. It was a cold morning, but thankfully it doesn't take long to pick apples. Hannah and I got over 100 pounds in less than an hour. You read that right, one hundred pounds. And yes, it is a lot of apples, but they are nearly all gone now. I have a freezer full of sauce, some cut for pies and frozen, some was made into apple crisp and we even ate a few as they are (and with caramel dip... yum.)

It has been a busy few weeks here. School always keeps us busy, but there has also been a lot of extra stuff going on. Nothing earth-shattering, but just stuff of life. I had a dentist appointment, Tim had a men's retreat, there were a couple of Ladies Book studies, a visit from the Swansens.... just stuff that keeps me going.

It has definately cooled off here. We have had a couple episodes of flurries, but nothing has stuck yet. It is a wonderful time of year in my opinion. I love wearing my bulky sweaters and my boots. I love the smell of Joe and Joanne's wood stove (across the street neighbors). The leaves are always pretty too. We had a lot of wind over the weekend, so nearly all the leaves are down at this point, but they were nice while they lasted.

Hannah enjoyed her first Junior High event with the Philadelphia youth group last Saturday. They went to a camp in New Jersey for a really cool event. She saw kids that she hasn't seen since we moved, so of course that was a joy for her (and them). We prayed about ways of getting her involved with some kids her own age since the church here just doesn't have much for youth. While looking at Philly's website I came across the dates for the Junior High winter retreat. We thought sending her on that for her birthday might be a fun surprise (it is the weekend after her birthday in February). After emailing Gil (the youth pastor) he also suggested the monthly Bible Study group and the occasional activity (like Saturday). So we are giving it a try. The retreat will be a surprise, but just going to the studies and these events has been a thrill for her I think. She has kept in touch writing letters and talking ont he phone, but actually hanging out with friends will be even better. I spent the time scrapping with Dorothy, so it was fun for me too.

And finally, we have Mr. Quin. He is up and rocking, but as of yet, not going forward. He managed to get himself under just about everything, but still goes backwards. He is quite frustrated by it and for some reason seems to think he needs to put his head down and his arms up in the air. He may do a flip-flop before really crawling.

Interesting Article

2006-10-05T18:30:00.000-04:00

Cal Thomas' article today was brought to my attention... here it is in part:

As one who watches some - but less and less - TV, I observe a growing acceptance and promotion of violence in network "entertainment" programs.
The "CSI" series, which enjoys high ratings on CBS, as well as other crime shows on other networks, depicts graphic violence, blood and smashed brains. In an apparent effort to capture the necrophilia demographic, autopsies present naked bodies for the medical examiner (and the camera) to go over. In fact, murders appear to be rivaling situation comedies in the competition for our attention. One is banal, the other brutal. Local TV news is drenched in crime and blood.
Roberts did not have a profile that might have caused merchants who sold him the weapons and ammunition, or the police, to become suspicious. He had no criminal record, no documented history of mental illness and police say he methodically purchased his weapons and ammunition at local stores over a period of time, so as not to draw attention.
The 2006 school year is barely a month old and already there have been three fatal shootings, all within the last week.
The Bush administration has announced it will shortly convene a school violence summit to discuss possible federal action to help communities prevent violence and deal with its aftermath. Short of placing metal detectors and armed guards in every public and private school in the country it does not appear much can be done to guarantee the safety and security of students from sick minds that look for vulnerable schools to prey upon.
The danger now is that other unstable people will see this horror on television and think they can replicate the carnage in their towns to redress some past grievance or to give themselves a few seconds of significance or notoriety.
People who educate their children at home are likely to think they made the right decision in the face of tragedies like this one. Not even a seemingly safe Amish school can guarantee a child's protection from outside threats. Perhaps in addition to exploring ways to make schools safer, the Bush administration's summit on school violence might also recommend ways to make it easier for parents to educate their children at home. Individual states might join in by giving tax credits for home-school parents, since children educated at home do not cost taxpayers money in public schools.
Any analysis has to conclude that life is uncertain and that protection against evil is always problematic. No parent knows what might happen after a child leaves home for school and no child can be protected from every possible threat. But one does not expect something like this to happen in Amish country where education is an extension of the home.

Tax credit for homeschooling? Oh that it would be so. I've gotten so used to paying for something that we take no part in (public school) it seems hard to imagine that common sense would take over. We pay for public service for Jot, but legally the state does not have to provide them if they don't want to do so. They require us to jump through hoops to educate him at home because of his special ed label; the distict gets more tax money for him because of that label; but they won't provide any services. How is that right?

Co-Op and County Junction

2006-10-03T18:52:00.000-04:00

We visited a new homeschool co-op today and I think we finally have found one that will work for us. It was a beautiful day to be outside. The group met for a monthly organizational meeting while the kids played at the park. It seems like a good group of folks and I'm encouraged that it might be something we can fit into our schedule. We had tried one last year, but it just was too far and too rigid in their structure to work for our needs. This one is very family driven and full of opportunities for just about any interest one might come up with and be willing to plan. There is a good sized "senior" group which is essentially middle and high school age and tons of elementary students. I think I was told that there were about 35 families involved. That seems like a good size to me.

It was at this meeting that I was shocked and sadded to learn that Country Junction had burned down this morning. We were planning to go there and get our pumpkins again this year. It was such a cool place and I actually did several layouts of our trips there. We even bought our leather recliner there. It is totally gone and so sad. Many of the animals both outside and inside died. It's sad to know that the $1.00 hot dogs and free movies won't be there now... not too mention all the cool stuff there was to see just wandering around. It was the first and largest of the Country Junctions. I hope they do rebuild, but even so, I can't imagine it could be the same.

Food and Fall

2006-09-28T16:04:00.000-04:00

Quin has graduated to Cheerios (well, actually the generic ones from ShopRite). For the last few weeks, his intake of solid food has sharply increased (in direct proportion to his increase in size). He's been downing two containers of baby food with oatmeal pretty quickly and it's just getting out of hand! So at lunch today, after his regular baby food, I decided to attempt something else. Tim gave him a cookie earlier this week, but I thought the nutritional value of Cheerios was probably a bit higher than cookies, so I opted for those. Quinton is not even 7 months old yet and has no teeth... he is barely sitting. All of these are good reasons to not give him finger foods. Perhaps the fact that he still hasn't developed a pincher grasp is a good reason for not giving finger foods either. But, he cries when we eat and seems to always be hungry... so, Cheerios he got. He loved them. Ate a small custard cup of them... one at a time. I put them in his mouth and he chewed/gummed away. He cried when the bowl was empty. So I gave him some cheese. He liked that too. He likes lasagna also.

Tim is at a pastor's conference in New York until tomorrow night. When we spoke last night he said it was very good and he was eager for me to hear the teachings. I am sure I will also enjoy them as they are typically very good.

We've been plugging away with school and it is going pretty well. Planning ahead has definately made for a better year already. It took some time to pull together, but using this new software for record keeping is already wonderful. Homeschool Tracker Plus is what we bought. They have a free version that is good too, but we opted for the Plus version that includes Lesson Planning, which is a great time saver when you will be reusing curriculum with other children... which with five, we will be doing that. It was a bargain at $35, which includes lifetime updates and customer support. It was a bit of work getting it all set up, but I now feel pretty confident using it. Since Hannah is now in 7th grade, I want to make sure our record keeping is stellar. All of her work will appear on her transcripts and aid in acheiving her diploma (which will probably come from a state program in which we will enroll her).

The leaves are changing and I'm daily reminded of the beauty of fall. This is my favorite time of year and I'm trying to be out and enjoy it as I'm able. We all are out on the deck for several lessons during the day. Quin loves it outside too. We put his exersaucer out on the deck and he watches the birds and the leaves for hours. I tried him in his backpack carrier yesterday and he loved it, so that will open up more hiking for us as a family :) I'd love to get to Bushkill Falls in the next few weeks to see the falls and the folliage. And take some pictures!

Also, a note for family and friends that still use the telephone... we cancelled our landline service effective October 6th (I think) and will only be using our cells. Look for an email or letter with our numbers if you don't have them already. We have a Cingular plan, so if you also have Cingular, it shoudl be a free call!

I was editing some pictures...

2006-09-22T22:14:00.000-04:00

It's Friday night which means my weekend officially has begun. Not that I'm too excited about it, 'cause I have a horrible cold. But, nonetheless, I don't have to teach school tomorrow and have hopes of getting some "non"school items knocked off my to-do list. That has me feeling pretty good. I spend an hour or so, unloading and manipulating pictures from August and thus far into September. I'm uploading to Winkflash as I type (gotta love multitasking :) ). This is one I took a few days ago on a rather warm afternoon (it's been in the 50s!). Would you believe this is the only one that came out where one of the kids isn't looking at themselves in the sliding glass door? Do we have vain children or what? *Ü*
It was library day today. Everyone picked out a few books and Hannah did some school work while there as well. She had some reference materials to look up in the various resources available... sort of a "get to know how your library works". I loved all the indexes and cross referencing; just hordes of information. I think I would love being a librarian. Not only would I get to be around books and information all day, but for the most part it would be quiet! Especially lately, that aspect is looking mighty good.
I actually scrapbooked a layout last night. It was the first one in over a month, if not more. This was for a ad challenge at LifetimeMoments. I like how it came out and it was nice to actually get something done after such a long time... I guess I didn't entirely forget how to scrap, eh? For some reason the scan is crooked, but you get the idea.
If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I (we actually, as everyone will help) plan to work in the yard getting things cleaned up before winter. I have more rocks to move and would like to get some more dug out from near the shed. I keep twisting my ankle on them as I take stuff to the compost bin. If anyone has a dumptruck full of topsoil handy, please send it our way. The mountain is in desperate need of dirt :) I'll gladly trade rocks for it. Maybe if we compost long enough, we'll make our own dirt?

Wow... where did that month go?

2006-09-19T22:14:00.000-04:00

No, I didn't fall off the planet.
Guess what? School started. And with it, nearly all of my time is spoken for... yes this is the life of a homeschooling mom. As we are settling into routines things will become easier, but this new year stuff is so tiring! By dinnertime, I'm exhausted and just want to sit and enjoy a good book. Which is exactly what I've been doing. I've not been online much at all and have scrapped next to nothing. That is, at times, depressing, but I know this is just a season and it will pass.
We finally made it to Rickett's Glen on the 1st. It was chilly, but we had a lovely afternoon with the Gauglers and the McAndrews. Hannah and I hiked the back mile or so of the Falls Trail and saw several of the many, many falls at the park. It really is a beautiful place!
I had a birthday (38) and we had an anniversary (17 years)... I don't really feel sad at getting older, but I do feel tired at the thought! Tim bought me a dozen roses for my b-day, and we went to a super, nice dinner on the Friday before our anniversary. Many people had recommended Terra Cottage, but we hadn't gone and decided to give a try. It's off of Lake Harmony just a few miles from us. The food was fabulous (I had lobster ravioli with skewered shrimp and Tim had Mountain Fillet... raw meat served on a hot stone... you cook it yourself as you eat it and wow, it was tender!) and the place was really nice. It is done is a Victorian style and was comfortable and fun. We will surely go back. It was Hannah's first try at babysitting in the evening... she did great and was paid nicely for it :)
So that is some of what I've been up to the last few weeks. Quin is working on teeth and has been up at night (another reason for me being worn out I think). Faith hurt herself this morning on the corner of her bedside table... cut open a big spot inside her mouth... but required no stitches (it'll grow back on it's own) and the dentist thinks her teeth will be fine too... that's a good thing. The others are all well. No complaints at this point :)

Ohio and Life Thus Far into August

2006-08-18T13:01:00.000-04:00

Well we made it to Ohio and home again. Though it was insanly hot while we were there (and most everywhere in the NE of the US) we did have a nice trip. Getting there was longer than we anticipated, though we should have expected as much with five kids and five little bladders. We did end up leaving on Saturday and also missed the wedding. It was disappointing to not be there, but everyone seemed to understand and obviously it couldn't be helped.

The surprise for my Dad (his 60th + six months b-day) went well. Again, it was hot, but the shade from Dad's trees and an occasional breeze made it bearable. My sister and her family, two sets of uncle/aunts, my Granny and my step-brother and his wife were in attendance. It was fun to see everyone and catch up. I hadn't seen some of them in 7 years. Sad isn't it? I guess that is how it is though when we live this far away. Dad loved the album I made for him. It was so quick and simple to put together since taking the Big Picture class. I made it using a slip in style photo album. I like how it turned out and was pleased that he like it as well. I had included several pictures made from our childhood slides and they prompted many stories from Dad. That in itself was well worth the time to make the album.

The party was on Sunday. We spent the next several days indoors mostly because of the unbearible heat, but found fun things to occupy our time. Hannah and Sharon (my Dad's wife) spend most of the time sewing on antique machines (which seem to run much nicer than our newer ones). They made doll clothes, some quilting things and Sharon worked on pillows for the kids (with a bit of help from Emma). Jot watched TV and ventured outside for a few minutes at a time to play in the fort and wander through the barn. Tim and I set up croquet which usually draws the kids outside, but even Emma said it was too hot to play and went back in. Obviously the air conditioning spoiled them :) . Tim managed OK with the cats and his allergies weren't too bad...stuffy but OK. He went to Andy's and spent some good time with him and also stopped by to see his Dad. Tim and I took Quiton out to his Dad's for a few hours and had a nice visit. It was a shame that everyone wasn't able to get together and I think Dad B. would have enjoyed it, but it just wasn't planned this time. I felt a bit bad about it but realized that there was just no more we could have done to plan something from out here. We tried, but it seemed to come to nothing, so we made the best of the time we had. Dad B. seems to be doing well, or as well as can be expected, since Mom's death. He is playing music more often and has friends that he gets together with regularly... all that seems helpful. He did offer us their china, which we happily accepted. It was interesting packing it all to get it home, but everything fit (barely) and made the trip unscathed. It is a 12 place setting of Noritake "Bessie". Dad bought it in Japan and had it shipped home. It really is lovely and I'm so glad to have it. He also gave us the old Singer sewing machine which I'm thrilled to have! It was another interesting item to get back in the van, but we managed.

I love this picture I took of my Dad's neighbors bees. They have an orchard and along the back are several rows of bee hives (or whatever the box things are called). The kids thought they were fascinating to watch; I did too :) I'm not exactly sure why I like the picture so much other than it is just interesting to look at with all the angles and colors.

Tim and I took Quin out to the mall one afternoon. Nothing too exciting really, but he needed new pajamas, so we found some on sale at The Children's Place. Nothing at Target or Wal-Mart was big enough for him. I still wanted sleeper type jamzies (as Emma calls them) with zips (which is what Faith calls them...just zips). We found what we needed and stopped at Guitar Center to get new strings for Tim's guitar. Exciting stuff isn't it? Well, maybe not, but it was nice to have a few days without a ton to do.

Wedensday evening we drove up to Julie and Paul's house in Columbus. We got there in time for a snack and got everyone settled in bed. On Thursday we took the kids to the Waterpark... came home in a torrential downpour and then returned when it stopped. The kids, as always, had a great time.

Here is one of the pictures I took before the rain began. Emma and Faith were obviously elsewhere, but there is Jot, Alex, Megan and Hannah. I ended up not returning after the rain as Quin was napping (finally) so I stayed with him and read a book while he slept. He hadn't been feeling well and was just exhausted. It all turned out fine though.

We left early Friday and made good time getting home. It was a busy week and took me that long to get caught back up on laundry. I had good intentions of starting school, but that just fizzled when the week began to play out as it did.

Tim was asked to do a sight survey for the sound system at Calvary Chapel of Chester Springs. We've known the pastor and his wife since before the church and before kids, so it turned into an all family event. The kids and I stayed and swam at their place while Tim went to work at the building. We stayed for church and drove home late that night (it is about 2 hours away). They gave Tim a generous honoriarium, which was very appreicated (and helpful). That was Wednesday. Thursday we went to the Carbon County Fair for the day which was fun for all, though by that evening we were completely exhausted. We rested up on Friday and headed to a birthday party on Saturday and then another after church on Sunday. Needless to say, we were worn out and have been playing catch up this week.

Yesterday Jot saw a new opthomologist for some issues that resurfaced with his left eye. Everyone went to Wilkes-Barre and we got some necessary shopping done while there for the appointment. With gas over $3 a gallon, we're trying to group our shots! Tim had to do an emergency repair on the hot water heater that began leaking 45 minutes before we left... but thankfully was able to get a replacement part for $5 and take care of it last night. We discovered a broken seal on the refrigerator too...ugh. It never ends does it? Tim planned to finished Jot's room today (yes, it still isn't complete... the black hole of home repair is what we have here), but was offered two or more days work doing some network wiring and set-up at the O'tooles new office (drywall business... friends from Philly who moved up here a couple of years before us). So the work is appreciated and needed, so Jot's room will wait.

I'm trying to get scrapworld cleaned up and the house in some kind of order. We emptied my scrap closet to hang the shelves and it is still all over everywhere. I'd like to get some scrapping done, but working in the mess is just impossible... so I must clean first. The entryway still needs major attention too. I moved the cedar chest out of the closet to put the china in (since I don't have a china hutch) and need to pick up/sort/throw out all the junk that was being stored there. This post was intended to be a break from cleaning. Sorry it is so long, hopefully it makes up for the lack of any posts lately :)

by the way.... 23 ladies are signed up for our Book Study. While I'm totally excited to have that many ladies interested, I'm going to have to find another group leader. Leading a discussion group of 23, 24 including me, seems like too much for little ol' me. I continue to pray that this book is as powerful for them as it was for me when I first read the book. Yikes though, 23 people!

Our plans changed...

2006-07-28T14:21:00.000-04:00

What a week. As you may have read below, we were to be on our way to Ohio today. However, as sometimes happens... our plans were changed. Monday evening the mother of a lady at church was found dead. She was only 51 and obviously, the family was quite shocked and surprised. This is the part where "the job" takes priority of necessity. Tim is doing the memorial service and burial today so we will leave tomorrow for Ohio. It means we will miss the wedding, which is a shame but under the circumstances, it is really unavoidable. We talked about driving part way tonight, getting a hotel and then finishing the drive tomorrow but there are several problems with that... 1. Tim won't be home until dinnertime, so we really couldn't get on the road until 6:30 or 7 tonight.... driving at night with the kids, we could only go three, maybe four hours... then spend a fortune for two hotel rooms (7 people can't stay in one room)... get up and rush out the door in order to make it in time to shower and leave for the wedding... it'd be crazy. I'd feel beyond stressed to get there in time and everyone would be miserable. So, we are not spending the money for the hotel (which we don't have anyway), not killing ourselves by packing for a hotel stay (which is more involved than packing to stay with my dad) taking a leisure drive tomorrow and not worrying about getting there. We'll get there after dinner tomorrow and call it good enough.
I have thus far today, finished the laundry and finished packing the kids things (with Hannah's help). My stuff is packed as well... mostly. I have cleaned the camera of pictures so I have fresh, empty cards to fill and charged batteries. I need to load and charge my iPod and print the bulletin for church on Sunday (Frank from Philly is teaching for Tim).
We plan to return late next Friday and I'm sure I'll have pictures and stories to share!

He Rolls!

2006-07-22T16:20:00.000-04:00

This was from Wednesday. He first rolled over the Wednesday previous (the 12th), but I was only able to do the sequence pictures this week. He's getting incredibly big, but still cute as anything!

The Mountains are Good

2006-07-20T20:47:00.000-04:00

This is one of the best things about living in the mountains. I just adore the fawns at this time of year. Their little spots are too cute and if you've never seen a real live baby deer, go watch Disney's Bambie, because that is just how they behave. They bounce and bounce and bounce everywhere. Most does give birth to two fawns and I've decided it is so they have someone to chase besides their mother, because that is what they do. This one's little brother or sister was more shy and stayed back a bit when I got out my camera. The deer feeder that Tim and the kids made last fall has been great! I'll never get tired of seeing the deer :) I need to go dig up my picture of the eagle's nest too.... another very cool thing!

Here is the promised picture of Jot's room. The lighting makes it hard to tell the color, so you'll just have to take my word for it. It looks better! The baseboards will be done this weekend (hopefully) and then we'll do the big move.
We will be traveling to Ohio next weekend for Tim's niece's wedding. We're staying with my Dad and the kids are beyond excited to go. On the way back home, we'll stop and stay with Julie and Paul in Columbus. We'll take the kids to the waterpark and great fun will no doubt be had by all. I'm not looking forward to hours in the car with five kids, but I am looking forward to seeing my family again.

Lastly, I'll leave you with the picture of my beautiful cherry pie. I was quite proud of it, even if the crust didn't bake entirely :) It was mooshy, but still good. And with some ice cream, how can anything not be good?

The Paint Saga

2006-07-16T12:41:00.000-04:00

This is our attempt at using what we have :) The time has come to move Quinton into the room with Jot and this picture tells the story for me. I'll share it with you too... It began when I saw a room with a horizontal stripe painted in it and like it. When we moved, Jot wanted an orange room with red carpet. Tim and I vetoed that choice. I suggested blue with an orange stripe to which Jot liked the idea. So off I went to Lowes and chose some colors. Well the blue I picked was too dark in hindsight and the horizontal orange stripe made the room look small and confining. It was that way for nearly two years though, so at least it wasn't a total waste. Before moving Quinton in, we decided now was the opportunity to repaint. Tim primed and rerolled the ceiling while we discussed colors (this time only giving Jot a bit of choice in the matter). I thought we should paint it the green tea color like the family room since we had three gallons left over and wouldn't be wasting the money on more paint. Tim agreed that we shouldn't spend more money on paint when we had so much, but wasn't keen on the green. He liked blue better. The only blue we had was really bright (the left over of what I chose before) or a nice blue (from our bedroom) but not much of it.... so we set out to begin mixing colors. We lined up all the paint we owned and played for a couple of hours... finally mixing our bedroom blue, with some green tinted ceiling paint and the green tea to get a nice very subtle teal color... what a compromise! His room is now painted (pictures forthcoming)and is only waiting for baseboards, new closet doors and a new door. We are replacing all the luan doors with white panel doors as we do each room. I will say the his room already looks tons bigger and better. Soon Quinton will join him in there and Tim can finally reclaim the office. We have already begun (well Tim has) to repaint the office as well. I had painted it a lovely teal and yellow (2 walls of each) when it was my scrapbook room, but Tim wants it tan. It will be another home mixing job to get his paint right, but we have the paint already and are determined to use what we have! I have two gallons of $5 oops paint from Lowes in a light tan to which we will add the left over Ralph Lauren Burlap from his study closet... all together it should be a nice color (I hope.). It's been a busy few weekends, but as we keep reminding ourselves, progress is being made. I look at pictures of the final walk through on the house and am reminded that as disorganized and unfinished as it looks now, it is a zillion times better than when we first moved in.

The Pictures From Before

2006-07-16T12:36:00.000-04:00

Look I got them to load! Here's Hannah and her cherry picking adventure picture....

Tim talking to the group before beginning the baptism...

And our friend Cathy. Lou is helping Tim here...

So Far This July....

2006-07-10T21:30:00.000-04:00

I'll begin by saying that I've been working on this blog entry for about four days now. Evidently there is a problem getting my pictures to imbed within my entry and I kept getting frustrated with it and giving up. So I finally decided to just post the thing without pictures and later add them if I can get it figured out. I also thought it a good idea to post this before it got any longer!

So I come back from some errands on Tuesday and Tim says to me that Michele Wysong called. I at first though he was just making up some name and kidding around as he is known to do, but I'm a bit taken aback because I actually know a Michele Wysong. In fact I graduated with her and indeed she did call. After thinking about it, I'm shocked to realize that 20 years ago I graduated from high school. Wow. Michele called back a bit later and we had a nice chat. It was rather odd talking to someone you haven't seen or spoken to in 20 years, but we managed a 30 minute conversation so I'd say I did OK :) She caught me up a bit on the plans and after we hung up I got to thinking. I haven't stayed in touch with one single person I went to high school with. And I wonder, is that odd? In so many ways I feel so, so different than who I was 20 years ago, but after speaking with Michele, I realized that everyone else is somewhat different as well. It was kind of fun to catch up a bit and remember my friends from school. I'm not sure if we'll attend the reunion or not, but it made me think I might have fun if we do go. Does that mean I've arrived at a comfort place with myself that I'm not afraid to "return"? Hmmmmm....?

The fourth of July came and went here with just a handful of calls to security. I'll not bore your with the details of our reckless weekender neighbors.

Thursday night, Tim had finished verse by verse through Exodus and did an overview of the Old Testament. It was fabulous and I recommend anyone that is reading to listen to it online . This week he's doing the New Testament. This stuff was so helpful to me as a new beleiver. I was amazed that I had gone to church for much of my early life and didn't know some of the most basic information about the Bible. Hannah stayed upstairs in the sanctuary for it and said she learned a lot even. Good stuff.

The next day, Friday the 7th, Hannah, Jeanne and Nancy went cherry picking. Sour cherries fresh from the tree...mmmm. Hannah made a pie that night and I made one a couple of days ago. More good stuff.

Saturday Tim had men's prayer in the morning and I got a head start on totally emptying the garage. By the time he got home, the kids and I had it about a quarter of the way empty. We all cleaned and sorted everything and boy what a lot of stuff! Tim and I removed the back shelf that the previous owner had put in and moved his work benches around. It took nearly 12 hours to get everything back in and cleaned up, but it does look a ton better. Tim seems glad to have his garage in more workable order. I had a pile of stuff to freecycle and thankfully, nearly everyone has already picked up their items. Everyone was very tired that night.

Sunday was the church picnic and baptism after the service. There was a chance of rain forecast, but the day turned out beautifully. Sunny, warm and perfect. In all, eight people were dunked this year. I love baptisms. It is so neat to see people take that step of obedience. It always makes me think back to my own baptism 19 years ago and how new it all was then... even more good stuff. The pictures here (that should be here :) ) are of Tim explaining to the people what baptism is all about and what was going to happen. Then there is one of our friend Cathy. Cathy is such a neat person and she was able to have much of her family there with her. She has had some difficult times these last few months and this day was so important to her. We were all glad to be there with her. Soon the other pictures will be on the website if you'd like to check them out. The guy helping Tim is Lou. Tim baptized Lou and his wife, Danielle, two years ago. What a glorious thing it is to see him serving now. God is really cool. I need to remember when things are difficult that days like this are great reminders of His faithfulness to complete the work He has begun.

The Sun, History and Geography

2006-06-28T10:16:00.000-04:00

Amazingly, I woke up this morning to birds singing. I haven't heard that in several days with all this rain! If you a weather follower (like me), you'll know that we've had something like 110 inches of rain in the last several days...OK, really it is around 4 inches but seems like feet!. Torrential downpour is an understatement. It does make me wonder where all that water comes from! I am very thankful that we are on the top of the mountain, because the plateaus and those on the side are really getting hit hard with flooding. The Lehigh River was four feet above flood level (forecast to be nearly six feet above by this afternoon) and Jim Thorpe (the town, not the guy :) ) declared a city emergency. Roads are destroyed and homes are full of water. It is just a mess. Up on the other end of the county, the Tobyhanna is flooding in Blakeslee too. We are safely here in the middle, but going anywhere is quite an adventure. I wanted to go to the Salvation Army this afternoon for their half-off day, but I don't know of a way there that isn't closed. It is just weird weather.

Yesterday we were all stick indoors again. Now I might occasionally let the kids go play in the rain, but it was actually storming with lightning and wind and black skies, so inside we all were. Cabin fever in the summer... who would have thougt?

I spent the majority of the day planning out our school schedule for next year and researching history and geography curriculum and materials. I just haven't settled into a history curriculum I'm in love with yet and that works for us. We started with The Mystery of History last fall and though I thought there was some great stuff in it, I didn't LOVE it. It was a bit too puffy. I know that doesn't mean much, but it is hard to explain so the word puffy meets the need for a word. I actually like the premise of the book and the author has done an amazing job gathering information into one place, but the activities were pretty involved in my opinion but also pretty necessary to get the information into the kids. It bordered closely to twadle for us. I loved the timeline idea, but the method describe (using a big sewing board) just wasn't working for us.

I love this part of homeschooling! We can change whenever we need to do so until we find what works best for us. The freedom to tailor to the needs is a big reason we are doing this. If something isn't working, we find something that will! Yes, it is work, but necessary. I will interject here, that if the local school was better or there was a local Christian school (and that if there was, we could afford it), our kids would most likely be there. We are not a militant homeschooling family :) We've done private school, public school, charter school and homeschool... each has advantages and disadvantages. There are things I really don't like about homeschooling and I'd be lying if I said otherwise, but for our family, for this place in life, this is the best thing for now. Nothing is perfect this side of heaven. Just thought I should clarify that point...

back to my rainy Tuesday and the hunt for history....

Mid-year, we moved Jot and Emma to The Story of the World which is a nice curriculum if used with the Activity Book. It is similiar to the k12 curriculum they had in the charter school but still came close to busy work and wasn't covering American History for many years which I wanted them to have. I love chronological history, but the Story of the World was repeating much that they had already been through and since Jot will soon study PA history, I felt some American history was needed and would be a bit more enjoyable.

Also mid-year, we moved Hannah into using the A History of US series. This is an awesome series. I love the way Joy Hakim writes and the material covered is balanced and thourough in the series. Hannah began using this when she was enrolled in the charter school, so I was familiar with it. Personally, since I love history, I knew these books would get used. I got the teacher's guides that Amazon sells too and these are working to some extent for us. The material is interesting, but Hannah seems to not like it too much. Now that doesn't necessarily mean we need to change anything, but having her enjoy history is more important to me that forcing information into her. I want to develop a love of learning and an enjoyment of history in her. I've seen her excitement with historical fiction and non-fiction as well, so I'm leaning more towards going with a literary based curriculum... in other words: real books. There are tons of book lists broken down by time periods, but I was looking for a bit more guidedance until I have more confidence of my ability to put together enough real books to fill out a year. And there is always the PA homeschool law of "the portfolio" and having something more than just a book list in there seems safe. Not that I think real and substantial learning isn't occurring without "paper evidence", because I know it is... but I really don't want the district on our case about anything and having a few worksheets in a portfolio is easy enough to do and satisfy the state as well. I also need some structure in the planning for my own sanity... so off I went to search history curriculums with a literature base.

Cathy Duffy's Top Picks book and website have been so helpful to me for various things and I highly recommend her stuff. In her book, I found TruthQuest History and we are considering giving this a try. I like that it provides an overview of the historical time period (chronological) and lots of information about the books that are listed (it includes some films as well). It is very flexible for our schedule and also has some writing activity ideas and quesitons for our use (and the portfolio). I think we'll start Hannah on Ancient Egypt/Ancient Greece mvoing her through a six year track and begin Emma and Jot with American History for Young Students at a slower pace so Jot can begin the second level stuff in sixth grade. Emma will repeat the lower level stuff with Faith or possible join Jot for the second level stuff...time will tell. Hannah will revisit American History in her later High School years so we will be reading our "A History of US" books still. I may use them for her composition copying work as well. I'll be reading them for my own enjoyment regardless!

We considered having them all work together for history, but the gap is so great between Jot and Hannah and it hadn't worked well for Science last year, so we're leaning toward two different tracks for history. It does make me wonder if everyone second guesses curriculum as much as I do?? All this was just over history... geography was another mess. I'm leaning at this point towards the Trail Guide series from Geography Matters , World for Hannah (to go along with her history) and U.S. for Jot and Emma. Thankfully, I think we're settled on the other subjects. For now anyway ;)

Another time perhaps, I'll blog about the stress we endured to initially decide on other subjects :) Nothing has created more sweat in prayer thus far in my life than how to educate our children. I often wish the Bible were more clear on which of the options was right and which was wrong.... would it be easier that way? All this decision making is hard work. Being grown up is much more trouble than I ever thought it would be than when I was 12.

Rained Out and Rambling

2006-06-23T12:53:00.000-04:00

Our day at Ricket's Glen had to be cancelled. Bummer. A big cold front is moving in and bringing storms from today through the weekend. Everyone was a bit disappointed (me especially... I was looking forward to seeing this park) but we'll reschedule for another time. Instead, Tim took the kids (the oldest four) to see Cars. They were beside themselves and barely ate any lunch. I stayed home with Quin. Though I would have liked to gone, no one was available on such short notice to watch the baby and taking an infant to a theater is just something I won't do. We'll head to the library afterwards as the kids have been itching to go for two weeks since we missed our last trip there.

I'm sorting pictures still for my BPS class... totally loving it too. Our assignment this week is to find two of our categorized photos and make a connection that you wouldn't have been able to make if everything was chronological. This is mine. Hannah and Jot both had the same injury at nearly the same age and honestly I do believe that both bandaides came out of the same box. The experience I had when Hannah had stitches directly led to Tim banishing me from the exam room when Jot had his. Stitches on the kids was worse than Jot's surgery for me. Eventually this will become a layout. For now, it's just one of many connections I made in categorizing my first 100 pictures for class. This is just an amazing class and I'm so impressed with Stacy's commitment to her students. She replies to emails quickly, is incredibly encouraging and open with her own struggles and ideas AND she has broken down into manageable sizes what took her years to put together on her own. This was definitely money well spent.

I tried to get some cool lightening pictures last night but we have too many trees to get a good view of the sky. Not complaining about the trees because I do love them, but I am eager to try to get some lightning shots too. If the expected storms are still around tonight, I think I'll try going out to the shed and seeing if I can get a better angle there.

My First Post

2006-06-19T20:11:00.000-04:00

Well, I've jumped into the world of blogging evidently. Not that I have loads of time to keep up with this but we'll see how it goes. My thinking is thus... I have family all over the place with none being near here, maybe this will be a way to keep in touch. I hope to keep everyone supplied with pictures of the kids and peeks into our life here in the mountains.

Currently life is moving along here in the mountains. Quinton is pushing himself around on his back and no longer stays where you put him. Faith can't decide if she wants to nap still or not and often we find her rocking on the couch (she's rocked since birth) and eventually she is out cold for 45 minutes or so. Emma is adjusting to being the true middle of the five kids and alternates between being Jot's best friend or Faith's best friend. Hannah is discovering more freedom with her new bike and is now allowed to ride to our friend Jeanne's house. Tim is still working in Philadelphia about one day and then gets his remaining hours in at home the rest of the time. What a blessing it is for him to be able to work from home. Computers can be good! Me? I'm enjoying my time off from teaching school and trying to get a few projects completed around the house... though truly just keeping up with laundry is sometimes a full time job lately. I'm taking Stacy Julian's Library of Memories class at Big Picture Scrapbooking and just loving it. We're in our second week and I already feel like I've learned so much. I'm enjoying scrapbooking again!

This Friday we are supposed to be going to Rickets Glen State Park. We hope to meet up with the Guaglers and the McAndrews, both pastors and families from North of here. I roomed with Maryann and Julie at the East Coast Pastor's Wives Conference for the second time this spring, so it will be nice for us all to get together again. We've planned to grill lunch and just hang out. The forecast if for rain so I'm hoping that we don't have to reschedule.

Here's a couple of pictures, this first one is the kids at Boulder Field and a recent one of Quin just for fun.