Day trip to the air and space museum in VA

Well, this is how we spent our day today... it was very interesting... the boys LOVED IT! We went to the Air and Space museum on the mall in DC two years ago, but this one, in my opinion, was much more interesting! Take a look... (sorry for some of the dark pictures)


SR 71A blackbird...fastest jet in the world! Flew from LA to DC in 1 hour 4 minutes! It is a spy plane. Cool story about how we got the titanium to build it.


Concorde supersonic jet... crossed the Atlantic ocean in 4 hours... that's FAST.


Enola Gay ... our boys got quite an education here at this stop. Gives you pause...


WWI bomber...does this look like a BOMBER to you? Amazing to think where technology has come since the days of 1914! WOW!


Enterprise space shuttle ... this was MY personal favorite. There was LOTS to see here... the heat resistant tiles upclose... before and AFTER reentry... an O-Ring, and lots of little educational displays set up all around. Cool exhibit!


Cruise missle ... told the boys this was similar to what they are using over where Chanan is.

One of the hardest displays was of the Japanese "kamikaze" planes. I didn't know about them, and got a sober education... my boys had a hard time processing that information, because they have a post-9/11 perspective... where they saw terrorists use two commercial airplanes with innocent people on board as a sort of "kamikaze". How does a 6 year old, let alone a 9 year old, process horrors like that? What a sad, fallen world we live in. But the entire tour was EXCELLENT, and I would highly recommend it to anyone! There is just TONS to see in there!

Tomorrow is a low key day... last day here before heading home. We hate to leave, but it will be good to be home, too! We miss y'all up north! See you soon!

Surprise! Merry Harley Christmas!

OK, I told you I'd be back. Now that I have eaten like a glutton and gained about 25 pounds, I would like to tell you about the VERY cool Christmas present that Brianna gave to Matt last night. Matt has always gone out of his way to buy Brianna very special gifts, and she always has the "sparkle" in her eye as a result. So this year, she wanted to give Matt the "sparkle" in his eyes. OH BOY did it work!!! At the Christmas eve dinner, she got everyone to sit for her little speech, and she made the comment that every hero deserves a hog, so here's the keys to yours. And she tossed the keys to him. Note the expression of disbelief and confusion...


holding keys in disbelief... you ARE kidding...

After a few seconds, he RAN down the stairs and out the back door to where the motorcycle was parked. I might note here that JASON was the one who DROVE the Harley 1/3 of a mile from Matt's house to Alan's where the party was. Yes, ladies and gentlemen... JASON DROVE A HARLEY... his 60 seconds of heaven! Note the look on Matt's face now...

if this is a dream, DON'T wake me up.

Dream wears off, reality sets in... hop on and start her up!

2004 Harley Davidson Sportster... that's what I'M talkin' about baby!!

Honey, this is sooo cool! THANK YOU!!!

THANK YOU HONEY!!!!

A little chilly out, but they took her for a short spin anyway.


Let's ride!

So, I'm thinking Matt probably slept outside snuggled up to his new toy... LOL! Nah, just kidding... a little. Brianna, you make the rest of us who bought our husbands boxer shorts and a CD look bad!!!!!! But it was totally fun watching the "sparkle" in his eyes... mission accomplished.

Our beautiful niece... the Ravenator! Yay Raven!

Daht, dada daht, daht, DAAAAAA!


OUR CUTIE NIECE... THE RAVENATOR!

Christmas eve outfit

Raven eating ice...

LUMPY the heffalump!


Baby in a box!

What can we say? She has stolen our hearts... she LOVES the boys, and they love her too! But the fun is yet to be posted. Right now, we have to go to dinner at little Raven's house, but when I get back, I'll post the REALLY FUN stuff!!! Bye for now!

Some pics from the zoo

As promised, here are a few pics from the zoo...

We're actually here! YAY!



The star of the show... Tai Shan!

Last one was just a picture of a picture... hee hee hee... here is how we REALLY saw him. Asleep in a bucket! SO CUTE!

HUGE hippo!!!

That is all for now. It was so fun! I have a couple of gorgeous pictures of little Raven, but they are still on the camera... once I download, I'll show you our gorgeous neice! Merry Christmas everyone!

Safe arrival

Well, we made it to Maryland in good time. We arrived about an hour ahead of schedule (11pm). Yesterday we got a Christmas tree. Guess how much the price tag was? Just guess. $139.00!!!!!!! Yep, that's right. $139 for a DEAD TREE! Needless to say, we did NOT pay that much for it! No person in their right mind would! It is beautiful, with twinkling white lights and red pointsettas all over it! Al and Win did such a nice job decorating for christmas. We just love coming down here! Today, we are going to the Nat'l Zoo, and hopefully we'll have a peek at those pandas! Stay tuned here... maybe I'll even get to post some pictures while I'm here. Christmas eve, it is church, and then ...... CHRISTMAS DAY! Presents and football. Yep! Football is almost like a religion in this house! LOL! Oh well. I know where my heart lies (NOT in a football field). It is in Jesus Christ my Savior! Well, I'm going to go get my sudoku puzzle book and exercise my brain. Post later! Merry christmas!

New "baby" in the family!

Well! What a wonderful surprise we received this evening! My mother-in-law and her husband stopped by our place to introduce us to the newest member of the family... a 12 week old cocker spaniel puppy!! He is so adorable! We even got to help name him...

Introducing.... FRECKLES!!!

Is he ADORABLE or what????
Welcome to the family, Freckles!!!

Countdown to Christmas

Well... here we are... one week until Christmas! Woo Hoo! I am feeling much more relaxed today for a few reasons. 1. We got most of our shopping done Thurs. and Fri. 2. I wrapped and wrapped and wrapped until 3am this morning. So that is all done too. 3. I got all my "long distance" Christmas gifts mailed out at the post office today... can you say LONG LINES?? 4. I am feeling a little bit better today with regard to bronchitis. 5. My children and husband are all OUT today, leaving me alone to tackle the laundry, dishes, and housework. And what am I doing??? Blogging! Anyone who knows me knows that I will go to GREAT LENGTHS to avoid doing the dishes. Dishes are NOT of God.

Adam is at the movie theater with a friend this morning seeing the new Narnia movie. I will be curious to know his response. It is, I believe, a special showing for families of a local church assesmbly. So it may be preceded or followed by a discussion by church leadership. Will let you know. I prayed that Jesus would touch him as he watched.

My friend Kelly over at sanguinary blue posted a cute little thing that says:

The Four Phases of Life

1. You believe in Santa Claus
2. You don't believe in Santa Claus
3. You ARE Santa Claus
4. You look like Santa Claus

Thought that was kinda cute!

Well, I guess I cannot avoid the obvious any longer. Yuck. Have a blessed day! Peace!

Pictures to bless!

After my little Bible study post, I thought I would bless you with a couple of pictures that have blessed ME this week! First, is a picture of a man that our family has great admiration for... Steven Curtis Chapman. He is a wonderful role model and a man whose faith in God is rock solid and REAL... he lives it. He walks the walk and talks the talk, and has an incredibly anointed music ministry. Here is a picture of Steven in concert, with his lead pianist Scott Sherrif praying for him in the middle of his concert.

And next, I'd like to show you a picture of another powerful music ministry, occuring right in our own church congregation here in VT! It is our children's choir! Here, they are singing a fun song called "Making Melodies in my Heart". THUMBS UP! Praising God is FUN!


Have a blessed day!

Hegellian Dialectics

Let me start by saying I love and appreciate my pastor! He is a thinker, a learner, an analyzer, and a man in touch with the Spirit of God in a very deep way. He has been sounding the alarm to our congregation lately, a watchman letting the people of God know that danger isn't just coming, it is HERE.

He has been teaching about the tremendous pressures being faced by the 21st century church to CONFORM to the ways of the world. Tonight's lesson was about the influence that culture is having on the people of God; an influence that we may not even realize. It was an awesome lesson. I will be doing some self-examination during my prayer time, to see just how much influence I have allowed in my own life from the post modern culture we are living in (can you say "Santa Claus"? Hello?) . He made his point by teaching us the philosophy of Hegellian Dialectics (see diagram below), which is actually very simple. Two people with differing viewpoints come together to talk. They are in total disagreement. They begin to try to find common ground by each conceding a little until they come to a completely new viewpoint that is not true to the starting viewpoint of either person. Then they begin a new conversation based on this newly created viewpoint, and eventually come to total agreement on something that doesn't even come close to what either party originally stood for. The world is TRYING to do that to the church. "Can't you just give up this belief here? Can't you just accept this little belief of ours here?" Can't you just give up your holiness standards a little? Can't you just accept our belief in a triune God? Can't you just accept the gay lifestyle as okay? Can't you just accept that there is more than one way to God? Your way is okay, my way is okay? Huh? Can you say "interfaithism"? Hegellian dialectics are impacting the church more than we realize. WHO KNEW?? Church is just a great place to learn... learn how to STAND for what God's Word has to say about YOUR LIFE. Isn't God good? :) Thanks, Pastor!

Hegellian Dialectic concept (see above)

What God wants for Christmas

Hello all! I am home sick with bronchitis today. Been sleeping for what seems like a million hours... need to get up and do something. So blogging sounds like a good diversion. If this sounds a little messed up grammatically, it is probably the Robitussin with codeine.

I finally picked up the prize I won from our local Christian radio station. I just opened it to take a look at it. It's pretty cool. It is called "What God wants for Christmas"... an interactive, kid-friendly nativity. It is a family thing that you do every night for 7 nights in a row, telling the story of Jesus' birth. It's pretty neat! Guess we will start with ours this evening. What I REALLY want to do is invite the two children from upstairs, CJ and Taylor, who have been coming to Sunday school with us, but don't really UNDERSTAND the whole concept of Jesus as God yet. They will when we are done with this! Pray for their hearts and minds to be receptive!

Well, I'm thinking it's time to head back to bed. I just want to feel better. Blessings! TTYL!

Coughing

Is it possible to ACTUALLY cough up a lung? I am afraid of finding out! If I do NOT stop coughing soon, I may have a report on that topic for you! Even my Robitussin with codeine is NOT helping! Grrrr...

If you want to see something cute, go to www.whitehouse.gov , and see the cute video on there of the White House dogs, Barney and Beazley. It is called "A Very Beazley Christmas". If you have children, they will like it! My boys did! :)

12 days till we leave for Maryland! YAY!

Time for bed... hopefully a FEW winks in between coughs..... *gasp* *gasp* zzzzzzzzzzz

"the talk"

Tonight was interesting. Adam came home from school today and told his little brother "There's no such thing as Santa". We knew it would happen sooner or later. Adam is nine and going to a new school with 4th and 5th graders. So tonight after Nick was asleep, mom and dad had to have "the talk" with Adam about Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc, all being fairy tale characters. We also made sure he knew that Jesus is VERY REAL and not at all like the others, even though you can't see Him. He told us he KNEW Jesus was real, because we have proof with the miracles he does, and His Word to us tells us he's real. That was encouraging! It was a bittersweet conversation, really. Adam knows that Santa is not real, although he's not sure he's ready to know.... he cried a little at the end of our talk as it began to sink in. But he'll be fine. Christmas morning may be a little rough, though, especially having a little brother who still passionately believes! We will just give him a little extra love and encouragement, and really focus in on the REAL reason for the season! Here is an interesting page I found this evening... just thought it interesting, that's all...

Tigger

I'm not sure why, but I went back to work today... feeling about as lousy as I felt Thursday and Friday. I have an appt. with my doctor tomorrow.

My wonderful brother-in-law called me this afternoon. He sounded very upset and was wanting to talk to his brother, who, unfortunately, was on a firecall. So he told me what was up. One of their cats, named Tigger, was outside today, and apparently was shot. The cat made its way back to the house (over a mile) with his back left leg barely hanging on by a thread of muscle. Needless to say, Stacy was VERY upset, but she handled it like a pro. And their daughter Meghan prayed for Tigger and comforted him, telling him, "It's OK Tigger, Jesus will take care of you. You will be fine." Ah, the faith of a child! I believe that is why Tigger, minus one leg, is still alive. The vet was clear that there was NO reason this cat should still be alive. Even he called it a miracle. So, although the leg had to be amputated, Tigger is a healthy, strong cat who is expected to make a full recovery. Ben says that now he will be living up to his namesake... BOUNCING around the house in true Tigger fashion! We will be going up to visit Tigger soon. Poor kitty! :(

Helen Keller

Jason and I watched a movie tonight called "The Miracle Worker". It has been around a long time, I know, but I've never had the chance to see it until now. WOW! What a powerful story!



It is the story of a little deaf blind mute girl named Helen and her teacher Annie Sullivan. The story itself is amazing enough, but how wonderfully refreshing to see women modestly dressed and Scripture being recited at the dinner table in a DISNEY MOVIE! WOW! And equally refreshing to see obedience and self-control being taught to a child. A must see movie! I am re-renting it so my children can watch it this weekend... after they learn who Helen Keller is and what an amazing woman she was, and all the incredible things she accomplished in life IN SPITE of her disabilities!

Well, time for bed... this girl is NOT feeling well...every muscle in my body hurts from coughing so hard all day. Muscles I didn't even know I HAD are hurting! Night night. Blog ya later.

Michelle

Blogger MIA

Hey everyone... for anyone who's counting, and I believe that would be NO ONE, I haven't posted here in 10 days. I'm such a slacker! I am not feeling so hot... that is what happens when the weather goes from 60 degrees, to 18 degrees, to 60 degrees, to 33 degrees.... everyone in our house is coughing their lungs up! Sheesh! Anyway, I have to get to work, so I can't "really" blog right now. Just had to post my formal apology. We have church this evening, so not sure if I will blog tonight, or wait until tomorrow. Guess what???

WE LEAVE FOR MARYLAND THREE WEEKS FROM TODAY!!!!! But who's counting? LOL! We can't wait! Talk to y'all later!

pile management becomes overwhelming

I can't take it! The piles of junk and stuff in my house are officially unmanageable! DAN AND SARAH! I need to borrow your book again... I cannot remember the title, but I must reconnect with the THROW IT OUT message in your book! AHHHHH!!!!! It is so hard to come home from a fabulous church service where the Holy Ghost moved and ministered so powerfully, to a home that is too cluttered to function on a basic level! And what's worse, is that this thanksgiving vacation, my children are off but I am not. Not even a chance to get a head start on the pile busting! Grrrr.... I want to decorate for christmas, but how can I with all the JUNK?!?!?!?!? I feel the urge to invest in 30 gallon trash bags and go to town. Anyone wanna come help??

Turkey Catapult and other tidbits

I must admit that I have been having a bit of trouble finding the motivation to post here on the northern apostolic mom blog lately. I feel like the mundane things of life no one wants to read, the frustrating things in life (like my husband's recent car accident... which was NOT his fault) are too frustrating to revisit in blog format, and besides... I've just been flat out too busy to sit here and BLOG! So, what's a blogging mom to do?

Tonight, I feel like I can actually share some things.

1. Earlier this week, my sons' pack meeting was a blast! It was the turkey catapult competition! If you want to see 6-11 year old boys get excited about something, give them a catapult and ANYTHING to launch! LOL! What a blast we had! There was also the "shoes built for two" contest, the balloon popping game, and the very cool indian arrow head necklaces they made. Cub scouts is cool. Adam is working on his Bear badge, and one of his requirements is to complete the "God and Me" project. He will be earning a special pendant to wear on his uniform that has a cross on a shield, with the words God and Me on a bar at the top. It is different, in that it's not awarded by the den leader, but by his pastor IN CHURCH. Adam is excited to invite his den leader and the boys in his den to church to see him receive the award! We are praying for each of them!

2. Wed. evening, our church had a thanksgiving dinner together, and it was absolutely wonderful! The fellowship was wonderful, the food was fabulous, and I want the people who worked at setting up and serving to know how much we all appreciate them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!! Thank you Monica and Monica, Ben and Stacy, Sue Hazen, Shueh Ling, and everyone else I didn't know about! It was really a great time! Our pastor took many photos, and probably has some new "blackmail" pictures to post on our annual watch night service "year in review" slide show! I LOVE the year in review slide show!!!!!

3. Tonight was my stepdad's birthday party, and we had a wonderful time celebrating with him! He and my mom are retiring the end of Dec. They are counting down days of work left...only 25 days of barbering left for my stepdad! Amazing! He's been cutting hair for around 40 something years. My mom is retiring from the Dept. of Homeland Security (formerly Immigration). She can't WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are going to Florida, we are sad but happy for them. They deserve NOT to have to endure the cold winters here anymore! LUCKY DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :P

4. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Our family is doing a cool thing right now as part of Adam's "God and Me" project. We are playing the Prayer Rock game. We have a rock (it's supposed to be a real rock, but Adam made one out of paper.... colored like a rainbow). It is a prayer rock. The person with the rock prays for someone in the family, then puts it somewhere where that person only will definitely find it (i.e. on their pillow, on their dresser, in their shoe, etc.) You can't put it in a general space like the refrigerator... everyone uses that, and no one would know who got prayed for. So, you find the rock on your pillow... you know that person prayed for you... now it is time for you to pray for someone else in the family and then put the rock in a spot THEY will find it... etc. etc. It is working beautifully. We all love this game, and may just keep doing it after a week is up!

5. My friend Lisa lost her mom this week. I will be attending the funeral. Lisa used to serve the Lord in the truth, but she and her sister both left the church. It will be good to reconnect with them this weekend, albeit under sad circumstances.

Well, I was going to close with a couple of pictures, but it seems that the Hello/Picasa program is non-functioning this evening. So you will have to wait. Sorry.

Bye Kevin

By the way... I decided to delete my virtual pet penguin Kevin. He was too big and I couldn't figure out how to make him fit the sidebar better.... so if you liked playing with him, I'm sorry.

God provides

How amazing is my God? He handed me a job on a silver platter today, that I wasn't even pursuing! I am a substitute teacher in two different schools (K-2). One little school I just really love being at. The staff are all so sweet and fun to be around, and the kids have my heart wrapped around their finger. Well... Polly called me to ask me if I wanted to "sub" a few days in a position that hasn't been officially created yet... working with a student in a 2nd grade class. "Sure!" I said. Little did I know that the prinipal and the special ed staff had already pinpointed me to FILL this not-yet-created position. Today after working with the child, the prinipal came to me in the lunchroom and said, "So, do you want the position? It's yours if you want it." WOW! How often does this happen? Not often in my realm! God literally dropped this job in my lap. It couldn't be more perfectly suited to my needs! What an amazing God I serve!

In other fun news, my son Nick and his tiger cub den went to visit the local rescue squad tonight as part of a "go see it" , which is required to earn the tiger cub badge. It was so fun for the boys... they were backboarded and collared, they had blood pressures and O2 sats done, they had their heart monitored, they toured the rescue garage, they played with the lights on the ambulance, etc etc. How cool is that for 6 year old boys?? Of course, it was OLD OLD hat for Nicolas... he's been playing in ambulances and hanging out in rescue garages since he was BORN! But he had fun being the "expert" in the group. :)

I am noticing that I haven't posted any pictures in a long time.... let's see what fun stuff I have available to post this evening....

OH! Here are a couple of pictures of my boys as seeds... they did a sunday school skit about the parable of the sower, and they were seeds of the fruits of the Spirit. They were cute!

Adam as the seed of peace.

Nick as the seed of joy.

View of most of the "seeds". Our upstairs neighbor Taylor is the seed of righteousness! (First yellow seed on left).


And here are a couple pictures from Adam's ninth birthday celebrations...

Eight darth vaders with light sabers... I sense a disturbance in the force!

The Darth Vader cake with very cool star candles "from a galaxy far, far away..."

Adam and his friends having fun and being goofy!


Opening presents at the family party... like the bow in his hair??


There. All updated. Will chat with you again soon. Blessings!
Michelle

Bullying

I had an interesting, revealing conversation with my oldest son this evening. It was not a new conversation. In fact, these types of talks are becoming more common... a fact I am concerned about. It seems Adam is being teased and bullied at school, on the playground and in the lunch room. Now, I know there is a fair amount of this that is considered "normal growing up". But today's world is a lot different than the one we grew up in, and the spiritual climate is much darker today than it was 30 years ago. The enemy is taking full advantage of the weak in these last days, and I refuse to let my son be his prey! A verse I found in the Bible tonight says,

Psalm 12:5 “Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” (NIV)

Another says:

2 Corinthians 12:10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (NIV)

And my favorite verse:

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

I will be praying these and other scriptures for my son, and with the help of the Lord, we will overcome this issue. There can't be many things more painful for a mom than to see others hurt and mistreat the child they love so dearly. Please pray for me to use wisdom in helping Adam through all this... to come out on top, more confident and sure of who he is and what he is about.

Missionary to Hong Kong

All I can say is... we are spoiled rotten here in the American church. We are babies. We don't even know what it is to fellowship with Him in His suffering. The church in China is undergoing incredible persecution... persecution we could never IMAGINE having to endure, and the Christians over there just say, "Don't feel sorry for me! Don't worry about me! I have joy and strength from the Lord that you can't imagine!" True. They have an intensely deep-rooted faith that most Americans can only wish they had. But that kind of faith came at a very high price. Bro. O'Donnell told us tonight that when communism took over China in 1949, ALL churches of every religion, and ALL religious literature of any faith were completely banned, closed, burned, and erased from the nation of China. Every pastor, minister, priest, rabbi, of every faith was lined up before a firing squad from 1949 to 1958 and shot. The Chinese government told the people, "There is no God. Anything you need, the government will provide for you." Complete darkness overtook the nation of China. He likened it to Genesis chapter one... where the earth was without form and void and DARKNESS covered the face of the deep. Void of all knowledge of God. But He was there. Moving on the face of the deep... His Spirit was there. And He was moving in China the whole time... rooting out thousands of years of Chinese tradition that was so deeply rooted, this was the ONLY way to get rid of it. And so the people of China have lived in darkness for decades, wondering if this is all there is to life. And an intensely deep spiritual hunger developed in the hearts of the Chinese, so that when God spoke and said "Let there be light in China", the effect was such that the people didn't even WONDER if what they heard was true! They read it or heard it, believed it, and acted on it. They are receiving God's truth in China like we've never seen here in the states. No arguing, no second guessing, no church hopping due to itching ears... just eager ready acceptance of His Word! Their soul recognizes the God-breathed Word of Life! If only it would be so here in America! You tell your friends and family about the Lord, and they just say, "YES! I BELIEVE! I WANT IT!" Does that happen to you every day??? Me neither. But I am determined to be much more bold than I have ever been before. Bro. O'Donnell told us of one lady who had the Holy Ghost two weeks, and she already had 40 people in her home that she was teaching Bible studies to... and she had NO Bible, NO tracts, No anything! Just her testimony! Praise God!!! My neighbors are going to be hearing from me this week.......... Thank you Bro. and Sis. O'Donnell, for your willingness to GO and reach the lost of China!

THE SUN! THE SUN!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen! THE SUN IS OUT!!!! It is a natural phenomenon that Vermont hasn't experienced in two weeks! My children are playing INSIDE!! What gives??? I'm booting them out!

I am trying to find an old friend from Sheldon, VT named Anna Hayden. She has obviously moved out of state... am praying that God will lead me to her. Nothing is too hard for my God!

We had a friend from church over last night for dinner and a hilarious movie! It was so much fun! My boys were laughing so hard they could hardly breathe. Prov. 17:22 says "a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones (NIV)". No crushed spirits around here last night. And the christian fellowship was great too!

Well, gotta get going. Blessings to everyone!

Virtual pet

By the way, if you haven't noticed him yet, scroll down and look at my sidebar... I have a virtual pet penguin named Kevin (named after Kevin from the 3-2-1 Penguins cartoon). If you click on him, you can knock him off his iceburg and into the water. Hee hee hee! Cute!

Astros are stressing me out!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK... I am a die-hard Red Sox fan! Anyone who knows me knows that. But when they did the typical "fall choke", I had to find someone else to route for. I routed for the White Sox, and they came through with flying colors! The National League, however, has become a source of stress this evening! AAAHHHH!!!! I have become a temporary Astros fan, partly because of the intense enthusiasm of fellow blogger Bradley McDonald over at the Bench Warmer (reading his blog... how can you NOT route for the 'Stros???) and partly because of my next door neighbor's affection for them. Tonight, at the top of the 9th inning, they were ONE OUT AWAY from going to the world series..... but they choked! They lost the game! Have mercy! Tell me this is not happening....

In other, less stressful news, I had a wonderful visit this afternoon with a new friend named Melissa. She is an EMT in Bennington, and her husband is a methodist pastor down there. We had a wonderful time talking about family, the Lord, and teaching (which was why she came up here... to teach at Jason's EMT-B class this evening). We discussed the daughter work we have started down there, and she commented how Bennington is a "tough nut to crack" spiritually. As a pastor's wife, she should know... we should both pray in agreement that Bennington belongs to Jesus Christ!!! AMEN! I think I will email her and make that suggestion.

Please pray that I get a phone call to substitute tomorrow. PLEASE pray that the teacher strike where I usually work will come to an END soon! I need to get back to work!!! $$$$

Blessings!

can you say DRENCHED?

Yes.... we are not the brightest people on the planet. We just stood in the pouring rain for two hours watching the boys play 3 games of soccer each. We are all going to be sick next week! We came home, and the boys jumped into a hot bathtub to warm up. Ahhh........

Now that we are warm and dry, we are off to the open house at the fire department. My husband is already there. Hot dogs and hamburgers, and soda and popcorn, and lots of fun stuff to do!!!! INSIDE!!!!

Fun and exciting week!

Wow... sorry. It's beena while since I've been here to post. What an exciting week it has been! While the teachers at the school I usually substitute teach in have been on strike all week (not good), I managed to pick up three days in the Early Essential Education program at my son's school. We had a very exciting moment in the EEE room! We have a few children with autism, most of them are non-verbal. We were working with one such little girl on Thursday, giving her her lunch. She did really well, and when she was full, she began playing with her food. I took it away and signed "all done". The other teacher sitting beside her said, "Time to clean up." I began singing the cleanup song, and suddenly, as clear as a bell, the little girl sang "CLEANUP". Every teacher in the room (there were 4 of us), stopped dead in our tracks with our jaws on the ground. DID SHE JUST SAY CLEANUP????? And then she said it again!!!!! WOW! What dancing, jumping, hugging and rejoicing we had in that room! We had just been talking about how with autistic children, you celebrate everything... all the little things. But this was a HUGE thing! We celebrated BIG time! It was so rewarding.

Another fun thing... my mom's 60th birthday was on Tuesday. We have a dear family friend in Illinois who wanted to give my mom a plant with 60 blossoms on it. She called me up, and we decided on a mum... far more than 60 blossoms, but it got the point across. She called and gave the local florist her cc number, then I went to pick it up. It was GIGANTIC! It barely fit in the back of my Volvo hatchback! HUGE! On Monday night at midnight, I made the stealth delivery to her driveway at midnight, so it would be there when she woke up. What a fun surprise! She was thrilled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My sister, brother, and I also planned a card shower for her, she has received at least 100 birthday cards so far, showering her with love. She is thoroughly enjoying that as well.

We have 6 soccer games today in the pouring rain... that should be fun... ahem... not. But it is the jamboree... last day of the season. After today, it's over, and I have my Saturdays back. Can someone say PRAISE THE LORD!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I'll endure two hours of rain to have it over. I love soccer, and so do the boys, but it will be nice to be able to SLEEP IN on a Saturday once in a while.

Well, time to get ready for the day. Blessings to all!

Physical vs. Spiritual rest

Well, forget about the nap... I did something WAY better! I dug out some old old tapes from under my bed and had myself a Holy Ghost worship hoedown! WOW! I am so refreshed and invigorated and READY for the evening service! And I've been singing, clapping, shouting, and DANCING with all my might for the past hour and a half! If I had to choose between the two kinds of rest, spiritual rest wins hands down! Even though it is physically exhausting! Here are a few of the songs I have been worshipping to:

• Heart Set on Heaven - Dan Dean
• Thank you Lord for the Sunshine - Dan Dean
• I Choose to be a Christian - Dan Dean
• Take it to Jesus - Alexandria Sanctuary Choir
• Hallowed Be Your Name - Ron Kenoly
• Anointing - Ron Kenoly
• All Honor - Ron Kenoly
• Goin' Up to the High Places - Ron Kenoly
• Who's report will you believe? - Ron Kenoly
• Stop by the Church Sometime - Babbie Mason
• This is the Life - Babbie Mason
• Unity - Babbie Mason
• What Can Separate You? - Babbie Mason

It's just so exciting to go to church already primed in the Holy Ghost... yee ha! Leaving in about 15 minutes! Can't wait! Bye again!

Day of rest

I love Sundays. But I am especially loving today... this particular Sunday. I have only one son home with me (no fighting), my husband is working, it is cold and rainy, I don't have to GO anywhere until evening service, and my other son is upstairs playing with his best friend. So why am I blogging instead of taking a nap? Good question. I could really use a nap. I'm thinking about hitting the pillow for about an hour or so. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Guess I'll blog later. Bye.

The good and the not so good

Ok, no pictures in this post! They are too much work, and I am just too tired! I thought that once the whirlwind weekend was over, I'd be able to relax! HA HA HA HA HA! Still tons occurring in life... some good, some not so good, but all in the hands of Jesus Christ.

First the exciting news! Monday evening as I was herding the boys toward the bedroom for bed, Adam turned the radio on before climing up to the top bunk. I grabbed the devotion book we read from every night, and began flipping the pages, looking for the correct page. Suddenly, I hear Adam sniffling up on the top bunk. I look up, and his hands are raised up in worship, with big tears rolling down his cheeks. Evidently, the song on the radio hit his heart like a torpedo! I continued looking for my page, when suddenly, he began to cry out to God, "Lord, I'm ready! I want the gift of the Holy Ghost! I want it NOW! Here, in my room! I don't have to be at church or general conference! You are here now, and I am ready!" I nearly had a heart attack! He has NEVER prayed out loud except for grace at meals! And he was praying deep prayer, FOR AN HOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He got stammering lips a couple times, and I was SURE he was going to start speaking in tongues! But he always reverted back to English. It was awesome to see! I know he will receive the Holy Ghost soon! Thank you, Jesus!

In other, more stressful news, my place of employment is in turmoil. I am a substitute teacher at 3 local schools in two school districts. The one I work at MOST OFTEN is currently planning a teacher strike beginning on Monday morning. This is bad for me. They will be closing all the schools in the district until they can reach a reasonable agreement. Although I will be way short on income now, I support the teachers as they battle the ridiculous attempts of the school board to essentially eliminate their health care coverage. I know that if I had to pay 20% of my health care premium, and then pay the first $3,000 in medical bills before they paid a dime, I'd be AHEAD if I just didn't have health insurance. THAT is ridiculous. The atmosphere at the school I work in is very very tense. I also feel bad for the kids. They will be making up all these strike days in the summer. NOT FAIR to them either. The school board needs to get their act together. For EVERYONE'S sake!

What else can I share? At 12:36 am, probably not much! I'm getting way too tired. Time to log off and GO TO BED. Blessings to you all!

Pictures from the birthday bash

As promised... some pictures from the second half of our busy weekend... my mom's surprise birthday party.


Surprise! Note the red face... neighbor in background (Karen) was instrumental in getting her to the scene of the crime!


Make a wish....

Opening presents

Birthday girl "Elaine" and husband Ray

The "culprits" responsible for blowing mom away with surprise...

My sister Charlene and husband Scott

My brother Tim and girlfriend Kazmin

Me and my husband Jason (with neice Sarah)

And finally, the picture I couldn't wait to post... the "other" set of cousins... from my side of the family...

Oh what a time we had! My grandparents and Aunt and Uncle, and sister and her family all made the trip from Maine to pull this off... thanks to EVERYONE who made it possible!

Pictures from cousin gathering #1

Hello! Here are some pictures from the first gathering of the cousins... on Jason's side of the family! What a fun day!


The "west coast cousins", Katie and Emily (a.k.a. Emma) ... are they gorgeous or what?

The "west coast parents" of Katie and Emma... Matt and Terry!

The 8 cousins in a wagon... say cheese!

The 8 cousins with their great gramma Rheuby