Afternoon Activities

Today has been a slow day, but enjoyable as well. Alana isn't feeling very good (had a temp. yesterday of 102) so things are kind of best kept low key for her sake. Just the same the kids have need to do something to stay busy without being completely crazy and loud...ok, so that's basically impossible for a certain 6 year old, but we try! I'm not exactly creative but I don't want them watching TV all day just because they are sick so I tried to come up with something to keep them entertained.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of some things that they did!

Monica, our resident artist, painted the boys faces - Jesse was a "funny tiger", at least that's what he said.

And Logan was an "anaconda".Later on Mommy made them a tent in the dining room where they were able to take refuge from the lions, and striped hyenas...I hear those guys can be vicious!

Hopefully everyone is feeling good tomorrow as we have a long-planned and much-anticipated trip to Rapid!

To God Be The Glory

Last night the Lord answered another prayer.... When different struggles come up in our lives He uses them to perfect us, and I know that. But sometimes it's hard to get what I know in my head to come out in the reality of day to day living. Because, honestly...I'm pretty tired of this latest trial. I endure it happily it seems for a while, then I just get grouchy and tell the Lord that I'm ready to be done....why can't things go back to normal? I guess He gave us our answer last night - because He still has work left to do in us and amazing gifts still to bestow upon us. Not to mention another lesson in humility....

"Thank you, Heavenly Father, for providing for our needs and for giving us above and beyond what we deserve. We are like the grumbling children of Israel who you chose, though undeserving, to have the priviledge of being your people. Thank you for our friends, Tod and Tarin, for the gift of their friendship and for their amazing example of a giving heart!"

Diseased Silverware

This morning, as I was cleaning out the dishwasher from last nights supper dishes, I had Alana helping me. She's been learning to help Mommy do more and more things around the house. Well, we have two different kinds of silverware and they go in two separate places. As I was showing Alana how to tell between the two kinds I told her one was plain and the other had 'designs' on it. She worked away like I good little trooper and then came to one spoon, looked up at me and asked, "Where does this one go again, Mommy? It doesn't have any 'disease' on it." =)

Excerpts from #4

Today we received a letter from Kendrick. This makes 4 letters in the two months he's been gone. Honestly, I'd like better odds but I'm soooo glad to hear from him at all that I'm not complaining. I'm also aware of the fact that he's a tad busy! But, as I haven't mentioned him in a while, here is an update from Kendrick himself=) I took bit's and pieces from his letter and wrote them out below.

...so firing week was boring...but shooting was fun...I qualified as a sharpshooter...we were out in the field learning land nav...both day and night. There were flares and boomers (loud "grenade" explosions) and it was fun, though pretty exhausting. We ate a lot of MRE's...

I learned that being really white is not helpful when putting on cami paint....

Church was good this morning....all that were there heard the gospel....Please pray...that us Christians would have an opportunity to reinforce the truth...

The Lord has been teaching me that no matter what He is all I need....God keeps reminding me that if I am seeking Him and I am where He wants me to be then I am/should be content and at peace.

Please request that we have chocolate chip banana bread while in Maine, that would be awesome...

I will write again as soon as possible as time is not in abundance here unless we are standing in line for hours doing nothing, but oh well. That's the military "hurry up and wait."

Miss you all and can't wait to see you.....Kenny G

Kendrick graduates April 24th from bootcamp and although he is getting close to the end there is a still a lot of hard work left to get through between now and then so please continue to keep him in your prayers.

In case you forgot what he looks like...they'll both love this picture=)

The Picnic Table

Last Tuesday....This Tuesday...

Trip to Murdo

Yesterday was an exciting day for our family. We traveled about 3 hours to Murdo, SD and visited the Community Bible Church there to present Nehemiah Teams International. We've been to a couple of other churches before but we sort of feel like this was the 'real' beginning of our deputation - the sort of kick-off and start to, Lord willing, many more trips and churches to visit in the future. Of course a month from tomorrow we will begin our trek back to Maine and over the course of 5 Sundays we will visit 8 churches with a possibility of a few more added to the schedule once we get there. I plan to write a bit more about our upcoming trip soon but for now here's a few pictures from yesterday.

On our drive out there we hit a high of 80 degrees F. Today we are in the middle of a potential blizzard with a forecast of rain, snow, sleet and lots of wind. The current temp as I write this is 30.
Matthew as usual did all the driving and stayed in his Sunday clothes all day...I, on the other hand, wanted to be comfortable on the ride so the kids and I all changed into our jeans. We were sure the kids, at least the younger two, would take a nap on the drive out there...there we were cruising along in the warm vehicle, watching the mesmerizing landscape roll by...but they looked like this the whole time - and as it turns out the only one that napped was the oldest one!
Pastor Gwin and his wife had us into their home for a great supper before we headed over to the church to set up. Right about this time is when I realized I'd prepared and packed all of the kids clothes to change into and had forgotten my own. It wasn't like I was the only one in pants but it sure didn't feel right to be the 'visiting missionary wife' and wear jeans!!!!!!!!!! That is so me!!!! But, just the same, we had a great time of fellowship with the believers and especially enjoyed seeing Lavonne and her family. We thank the Lord for this opportunity and are excited to see what else He has in store for the future of NTI.

To the Park...Again

Once again we are enjoying a warm spell and with each one that comes our way I wonder if THIS time, it's here to stay...but I just looked at the forecast and its calling for freezing temperatures as well as a mix of snow and rain on Monday. Today it's calling for a high of 72...words fail me!

Anyway, yesterday the kids got together at the park with some other homeschooling families and played around for a while. As there was no structured game time I just watched the kids play and took pictures then came home when the excitement seemed to be over. As usual, my camera took some great pictures as long as it wasn't too bright, or too dark, or zoomed in to close, or too far away, and as long as the subjects weren't moving, or....well, you get the 'picture'.

King of the hill.... decades come and go and this game still lives on!

Of course there's just the plain old fun of all play ground equipment.

Climbing...swinging...spinning...smiling...posing...digging...hollering...sliding...sitting...more posing...then there's just plain old talking to friends!

The littlest three are still young enough to not find Mom's behaviour odd and crazy when she continually snaps pictures of them and are willing to go along with her silly poses and goofy grins without wondering what their friends will think=)

Yes, Helaine...we had a good time - even if we are a "Homeschool Family" =)

Last night Matthew and I had a 'play date' of our own as we had the Shively family over for supper and enjoyed a fun-filled evening with them. Thanks, Phil and Charlotte for the laughs!

What a good way to spend a Friday....and now for the Saturday chore list - UGH!

My Theory

I'm seriously beginning to wonder about something - let me explain. I have a theory that somewhere in this house the children have secretly installed some sort of warning device. My guess is that it is some kind of silent alarm, like a flashing light or something like that. It is set to go off when I head to the bathroom. Now, outside of the obvious reasons for going to the 'necessary', as a mother of young children I confess I'm often looking for just a short moment of uninterrupted quiet...a little minute alone...a small frame of time to myself. But you see, this does not happen - HARDLY EVER! And that is how I've come to this conclusion...when the bathroom door closes an alarm goes off throughout the house and the kids decide amongst themselves what the next step will be - they have options, they are creative! It might be someone starting a fight and arguing with increasing intensity, or perhaps it is time to fall down and get hurt and cry, then there's the straight forward knock on the door followed by the incessant chanting of "Mommy... Mommy... Mommy..." It never fails. Does anyone out there have any opinions on my theory - or am I alone in my insanity?

PS - I love my children...but I honestly think they are up to something=)

Countdowns....

I'm not a big fan of counting down to things....however, my children are. In reality, probably most children are, not just mine. (I once banned my 16 year old from counting down to her birthday until it was less than 30 days away =) So right now we are counting down to several things. The first one is spring break since it means the kids will have a long weekend and a break from school. The second one is Logan's birthday. On April 18th my baby will turn 7 years old! He's counting down but he's keeping it to himself most of the time=) The next thing is Kendrick's graduation from MCRD which will take place on April 24th - none of our crew will be there for that but we are still excited about that day for him. My parents, Helaine, and Jenna will go to San Diego for the ceremony while our family will climb into the Expedition and begin the 2,400 mile trip back to Maine. That brings me to the next item....On April 28th (Lord willing) we will arrive in Maine to visit our families after having been gone for almost SIX years. That will set into motion several weeks of events that we are REALLY excited about - family reunions are at the top of the list! Then there are the other events like potential trips to the coast, eating lobster, going fishing, hanging out with my cousins, etc.
So, like it or not, we are counting down to lots of things....personally the time seems to crawl by more slowly if I have to acknowledge every day as one more number to cross off, instead of letting it creep by unnoticed=) I try to remain blissfully unaware of how much longer I have to wait for these events and then suddenly look at the calendar and say, "WOW, we leave next week! Time is just flying by!" But then people say things like "42 days left until we're all in Maine" and my perfect plan goes out the window....Thanks, Sheena=) Oh well, it's a silly mind game that rarely works anyway....

Saturdays....Part 2

And here's another Saturday occurrence....too cute!

Saturdays....

Most of the chore list is done, the kids have all gone outside to play, I just got to chat with my best friend, my first attempt at a making homemade laundry soap is underway, the sun is shining.... What can I say, it's Saturday and I'm at relaxing at home=)

Sweet Thing

Last night was a big night for the kids at AWANA - it was the Awana Store when they are able to redeem the "money" they've earned over the last several weeks. As the kids will miss the final one (due to our trip to Maine), they were really excited about this one. Logan had "$110" to use at the store. Here's where the story gets good - he used $75 to buy his sister a fuzzy, purple teddy bear. Needless to say when he gave it to her when they got home she fell in love with it immediately. What a boy! I was SOOO proud. He saw that and couldn't refuse getting it for her, knowing she would love it. I foresee a knight-in-shinging-armor in the making=) He had no problem unselfishly getting something for his sister...posing for a 'thank-you kiss' was a completely different story!

Zach

Isaiah 43:10-21

10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior.
12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
14 Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.
15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
16 Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
20 The beast of the field shall honor me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.

Zach wanted me to post the above passage which he read and enjoyed this morning. He also wanted this picture of himself as "Zach from Orange County Choppers" =)

Fun just drove away

Early this morning Helaine and Phil hopped in his car and drove away - beginning the 16 hour trek back to Northland. Of course, then Phil has to turn around and make another trip back to his house in MN, which is another 4 - 5 hours or so....Pray for good weather!
I have to say again what a HUGE treat it was to have them here. I haven't been surprised like that in a long time, if ever, and it was definitely a good surprise. The last few days of the visit I didn't keep up with the blog and the basic reason for that was it came down to a choice...sleep or blog - and you can tell what won=)
Thursday night was where I left off and honestly - the less said about our girls night out the better. Let's just say it's comforting to know some secrets will go with us to our graves=) The tell-tale pictures have already been deleted and as Jenna so eloquently put it: "Well, at least the pictures are forever lost and left only in the etches of our minds to slowly fade with time!!!...now the rest of the night...that's another story!" Let me just say I haven't laughed like that in years! And I think we will leave it at that....
Friday we had a regular day just here at the house doing school work with the kids, pretending to catch up on housework and other things while Helaine and Phil spent the day together with his parents. The DeMarte's will only be here another few weeks before they head back to MN in anticipation of soon going back to Fiji.
Saturday we planned a morning trip to the park but it was soooo freezing cold we didn't even take pictures - our hands were too cold to come out of our pockets. We hung out at the library for a while and then came home - that evening I made homemade pizza (two veggie, two regular) and we filled our table again with our family and Chad, Helaine, Phil, and Jenna. We finished off the evening with a movie and went to bed late...as usual.
Sunday afternoon Phil and his parents came over for lunch, as well as Jenna, and we had a nice visit with them then lazed (is that a word?) and napped the rest of the afternoon. Last night I had Helaine to myself for the last little bit of her visit and it was fun again to get to have a sister around and enjoy some 'girl' time.
I think that pretty much sums up the last couple of days - so now we are looking forward to our trip to Maine when this same group of people will be together again BUT THIS TIME so will the rest of the family that we missed more than ever this past week.

"Can't wait to see you Dad and Mom, Lincoln, Sheena, Layla, and Elijah, Chad, Helaine and Phil, Kendrick and Jenna!!!"

A trip to Rankin' Ridge

Yesterday when the temperature gauge read 65* we packed up a lunch and headed to Rankin Ridge for a picnic and an afternoon hike. We've done this often as a family so it was fun to do it today and enjoy some of our spring weather with Helaine and Phil....but we really missed Daddy!

We ate our lunch as the buffalo looked on and then we started up the hill. The kids all really enjoy the chance to get outside.

The kids are at different stages of 'camera faces' - Alana is cute....Logan is a crazy poser....Zachery makes weird faces....Monica is sweet....And Jesse is usually a rascal!He and Alana did really well on the climb up. Alana went the whole way herself and I carried Jesse, but for only a little bit.Markie enjoyed herself and earned a gold star for her shockingly good behaviour=) On a sad note - George was left at home...his hips couldn't have handled it but he was pretty sad.I can't say enough how beautiful this spot is! If you could see this picture in it's full size you can see the moon at the top of the stairs.Monica and I fell a bit behind the others since we were helping Jesse and Alana - but we enjoyed taking our time and making frequent 'photo' stops=)Yes, this is what you think it it - but there is a story behind the picture - Jesse went running up to this pile and picked one up and said "Grapes!" He loves grapes so I quickly told him "No, it's poop!" to which he responded, "It's poop? No, it's rocks" then started chucking them down the hillside=)

And finally we reached the top!

The boys didn't need to stop and rest so they went around exploring while the rest of us sat and talked before we began the trip back down.Most of the way down Alana got to ride - Thanks, Phil!All in all it was a good time and we are so enjoying having Auntie Helaine around as well as Phil. From the views at the top, to all the breathtaking scenery on the way, even the buffalo who came and licked off the back of our vehicle while we parked on the side of the road to watch the herd - we had a great day!

And tonight - it's girls night out - Yeah!