Another snow day!

WOW! Another snow day here in Vermont! God has an interesting way of working things out. I was supposed to teach in the Colchester school district today, and last night, my son was diagnosed YET AGAIN with strep throat (3rd time since the 3rd week of January). I was in a terrible position! I had to stay home with Adam, and couldn't let the school know that I wouldn't be able to teach until the morning, when I was supposed to BE there! Then came the snow! YAY! He took care of the problem for me! That's what I love about God! He is interested in the little details of my life! Yes, I can go to him in prayer for the big things, like healing of cancer and such, but He loves me so much, that He takes great delight in taking care of the little everyday things as well! What a great God we serve!

This also means that cub scouts is cancelled for tonight as well. Now we have all kinds of time to work on Adam's Pinewood Derby car. He has some great design ideas for his car... this should be fun!

Hope you all have a fun snow day! Blessings!
Michelle

Wonderful day :)

Hi! This will be a short, random little post. I just feel a need to express my content and satisfaction in writing. My husband was away for the weekend (I missed him). Today, HE HAS THE DAY OFF! The kids are at school, and we went out for a bagel and coffee together, ran errands, went bed shopping (can't do that alone.... and time together is a rarity for us!), and then had lunch together. It's a good day. *contented sigh*. I cherish our times together! Thank you, Lord, for the little blessings!

Michelle

Home Alone

Another new baby today! My pastor and his wife just had baby #7, and she is beautiful! Her name is Raina, which is also beautiful. That makes 5 babies born to friends since October, with 2 more to go... one March 28th, and one in May. Phew! We're having a population explosion around these parts! DON'T DRINK THE WATER!

Anyway, this is a luxurious evening for me. My husband is away for the weekend (that is NOT luxurious) and my children are spending the night at Grammie's house, and I have the entire house to myself! Wow! Only problem is... I spent nine hours on my feet at work, and my back is killing me. I need someone to give me a good backrub, or walk on my back, or something.... but no one is here! :( What's a girl to do??? Enter the heating pad. That'll work.... along with some Advil! I think I will just STOP blogging, set up said heating pad, and get out my Bible! I am doing a program called "B.R.E.A.D. - Bible Reading Enriches Any Day", which takes you through the entire Bible in one year. I am currently 2 months ahead. I really enjoy doing it. This will be my 5th year completing the B.R.E.A.D. If you are interested, here is a link to the program... http://www.alc1.org/forms/bread_form.htm . I highly recommend it!

Enough mindless jibberish. Time to medicate, lie down, and READ! Blessings to all!
Michelle

New Neighbor!

I am so excited! I have a new neighbor named Tyler... he was born yesterday at 4:45 pm! Right on his due date! What a smart kid! I am a substitute teacher (a busy one!) and it is very rare that I DON'T get a call to work... but no call this morning! So, it's off to the hospital to meet my new little neighbor! Mom and Dad and big brother are all very happy he is here!

Ok Kel, I read your comment about my withholding of information in my last post regarding my face showing up on the 6 o'clock news. So here is the scoop. The ice skating event we attended was FREE because it was sponsored by the VT Dept of Health, specifically promoting good dental health practices in young children (hence, the "tooth fairy" skating around on the ice the whole time with the kids). Of course, it was a big PR thing, and so Channel 3 and Channel 5 news were there, interviewing tons of people. I saw Stuart Ledbetter from Ch. 5, and I tried to avoid being noticed, but I was watching my 2 year old nephew Michael (who is totally adorable, outgoing, and loud), so it is a little tough to NOT be noticed when he's with you. I ended up being approached and interviewed for my opinions (boring as they are) on the significance of early dental health practices (zzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............). So there you have it. It was a non-event in my opinion, except for the phone calls and emails I got from people saying, "Hey! I saw you on the news!!!!" Yeah.

Anyway, that is all for this post. Must be off to the hospital! Blessings!
Michelle

TIRED APOSTOLIC MOM!!!

Well... my last post warned that youth week was upcoming. Youth week has come and gone, and I can honestly tell you that I have survived it yet again! Thank GOD it only comes around once a year! Having BARELY come out of having the flu, I dove in head first by baking like a mad woman for the bake sale. I made banana bread (2 loaves), brownies (1 pan), butterscotch chip cookies (5 dozen), Rice Krispie treats (2 dozen), and cupcakes (2 dozen). Then we went night sledding for 3 hours Monday evening. Tuesday was the bake sale (we made $141.50! YAY!), with DAYTIME sledding after that! Wednesday we went ice skating (with the tooth fairy... long story), and I ended up on the 6 o'clock evening news :( . Thursday, we went "driving for dollars", and made $55 (actually, Ali made $31 of that... she is amazing!). Thursday night, my husband took the boys night sledding at Casey's Hill in Underhill... they had a blast! Friday we went bowling, then to a bonfire. Now... Friday night there was a sleepover at church. I did NOT attend this, but I have to tell you that one of the girls had their underwear frozen solid in the freezer by a couple of culprits who will remain unnamed.... I understand they did not actually get to sleep until 4:30am, and were awake at 7:30! Can you say "TIRED"!??? So I imagine Saturday was spent sleeping by many of the youth. Not me! I cleaned the church then went to work from 2-11. Sunday (today), we closed out school vacation with not one, but TWO cousins' birthday parties! Trevor is 11, and had a pool party. Michael is 2, and had a BIG party at his house... he got a drum set... very cool!

As for me, I am totally exhausted. Why do they call this VACATION? I need a vacation to recover from my vacation! But my boys and the youth had a blast, and it kept them focused on what matters most... good, fun, Christian fellowship! It is FUN to be a Christian and live for Jesus Christ! We prove it every year! And every day! I wouldn't want to live any other way!

I will post again once I have regained my health and gotten fully rested! Blessings!
Michelle

Home with the flu

Wow... nothing like a good case of the flu to cause one to slow down and rest. I have gotten more than a weeks worth of sleep in the past 3-4 days. And I believe I could lie down and take a nap right now!

This week, I have learned the value of friends. It really is true that no man is an island, and that we cannot make it through this life alone. My friends are a treasure to me! I had one friend offer to take my oldest son for the afternoon, which turned into overnight, so I could rest. My next door neighbor took me to the doctor when I could barely breathe, and her husband watched my younger son and fed him pizza (which I'm sure he loved!). I had another friend offer to take my children to school. I could go on... so many friends who did the most loving thing you can do for someone... they PRAYED for me! I covet their prayers. My friends are the most wonderful people in the world!

Now we are embarking on a week of school vacation... that should give me plenty to blog about! Will be writing again soon!

Blessings to all!
Michelle

Wow! It has certainly been a while since I have been here to post! Been busy being an apostolic mom! And I am not sorry about it! :)

Anyway, tonight was an interesting evening. My husband was actually HOME (get out!) and so we decided to split up the homework duties... I help Nick, and Dad helps Adam. Well, that was all well and good, until things went awry in the Dad and Adam category. It is amazing to me how children get so accustomed to doing things one certain way with one certain person, that they can't seem to handle a change in tactics. Adam just melted down, and my husband tried his best to "bring the horse around" but to no avail. I ended up doing the homework with both boys like I normally do.

It is not that my husband couldn't handle the task... I'm sure he would have done great if I were not home. But routine is a powerful thing...it brings us security and comfort. We don't like stepping out of our comfort zone.... children don't and adults don't either! But Jesus calls us to a higher level. He calls us to "get out of the boat and come to me". He tells us not to be afraid... that we can do all things through HIM who strengthens us. Adam wasn't willing to do that tonight. I guess I can see where I need to pray for him. And I know what Jesus is trying to say to me through this. Be willing to step out. Be willing to do things differently so the task of reaching people can get done.

Tomorrow evening, we will be meeting in our regional life groups. This is something our church has been doing for the past 2 years. We meet in small groups in each others homes and build community and discuss topics of interest to the church. Tomorrow, we will be brainstorming ideas of how we can begin to reach out to non-church members and help them find their way to Jesus Christ through the fellowship and discussion and love of the life groups. Whatever we come up with, we will have to be willing to step out and reach these people in a different way than we have traditionally attempted. I am so excited about all the possibilities!!! Stay tuned! I will post our ideas here shortly.

By the way, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my mother in law and her husband Jack. Check out my mother in law's blog at www.greenmountaingrammie.blogspot.com .