This is the day.............

I'm alive!

2007-06-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Yup! I'm alive and doing very well thank you! From my last post until now (and still) we've been VERY busy. But now school is over, the play is but a memory, year end testing is done, books for next year are ready, gardens are pretty much caught up and summer projects are in full swing! Our "MO beach weekend has come and gone and we've even been to our favorite Maine ocean beach this week! Lobsters are us!

I also appreciate my wonderful son changing my blog so that it is easier to read! I didn't notice if he signed the 'blog designed by: my wonderful son' like he did last time.

I should have mentioned the mystery field trip we took too. We told the girls we would be going but not where! They had to guess by watching the 'geography' pass by. We took them on a camping trip to Gettysburg, PA. It was really fun and very educational. It was Mike's idea and a wonderful close to our school year and study on the Civil War. They have some summer reading on the Victorian era and some projects of the same. We've done a lot of work on a long time dream of a rose garden. It is complete with white wicker furniture and we're planning some tea parties this summer.

Both L&A are heading to camp this year for a week. Actually L is going for 2 weeks because she has been accepted as a counselor! They would have taken her for longer but we want her to have some free time too.

Now to get Bob & Mel to update!!!!!

This and That

2007-03-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

I'm working on getting our tax stuff to the accountant so my mind is not very focused on updating but I thought I'd just post a couple items that are current in our lives.
#1. Mud season has begun
#2. Snow and ice are still here
#3. It's suppose to rain for 3 days
#4. Lianna scheduled a sledding/skating party for Saturday
#5. I need to have all my book keeping stuff cleaned up before Saturday when I have to
come up with some really creative ways to entertain youth that had planned on sledding
and skating!
#6. We're studying the Civil War
#7. How DOES Ken Burns come up with SO MUCH info and pictures about the Civil War?
#8. Why did some of us cry after watching Gettysburg? We didn't know anyone! (That
is totally tongue in cheek but we were asked that)
#9. I've only about 19.25 hours left before my ENTIRE surgery bill is paid off !!!!!!!!
#10. I have 15 Civil War era costumes to make before April 20th
#11. What am I doing wasting time posting??????
:-)

My latest read

2007-02-11T05:48:00.000-08:00

Last week I finished ,or should I say started and finished, reading Karen Kingsbury's recent creation, "Ever After". She has not only done it again she has REALLY done it! I takes a lot to move me to tears at the end of a book but this one had me in tears about a third of the way through all the way to the end! It is a great read.
Now that I probably broke rules posting that endorsement let me explain why I chose to post it. When a book, especially a novel, can move one not only to tears but into action I believe it is a good read. This creation caused me to dig deep and think. I already agreed with Kingsbury's take on the situation but I still could not put it out of my mind. It caused me to ask myself why I believed thus. Was I told or indoctrinated this way as a child or are my political beliefs valid?
After much thought I sought out some WWII veterans (I'm not biased against Vietnam vets, I just haven't found any to talk with yet) and asked them to have lunch with my family and share their experiences. We haven't completed all the gentlemen we want to talk with but so far it has been a very successful experience. I must say I did wonder how my 11 and 15 year olds would take to this. Would the gentlemen avoid the conversation because it would bring up to much pain or would he talk on for so long and jump from one thing to another so that we couldn't follow his line of thinking? My husband and I decided to run the risk and go for it. So far my children have been thrilled and stated that they found it very interesting and want to talk with more veterans.
This came with multiple blessings. Not only did we have a learning opportunity but also emotional, spiritual etc... We got to know this man and his wife better, we made a tie between 3 generations that I think is so important in this day and they said that we were a blessing to them too.
How does your child view the older folks in their life. Are they just cranky old people who are always telling them to be quiet in church, or to be seen but not heard? Do your children see the connection from the past and our nation's history to these people?
A couple of years ago I was priviledged to give the eulogy at my Grandmother's funeral. She was 95 when she passed into Glory. I had spent alot of my childhood in her company and knew much about her childhood. What amazed me as I was putting my facts together and in order for this was what she had seen in her years. She had talked about courting in a horse and buggy! Her Mom died when she was 11 and she and one sister were alone during the winter and chipping cranberries out of the ice to survive on. They didn't have a phone etc.. and couldn't get out to get help. When she passed away many of the family corresponded by email and then traveled great distances to the funeral service in very comfy automobiles. Quite a span there isn't it?
Our wonderful Lord has provided us with "Free" living curriculum in our grandparents and other elderly folks around us. Don't let this opportunity go to waste. You can be a blessing a receive many blessings! Ever notice how the Lord does that?
When you read "Ever After" make sure you have a whole box of tissues with you. It won't read like you normally expect it. Even though it is a book you will say, "Oh, how could Kingsbury do this to me?"
Enjoy!

December !

2007-01-15T09:17:00.000-08:00

My son has made some remarks about the need for me to update. This is true but my problem has been -- WHEN? ! During December there was work, homeschooling, Friday night teen class, finishing fulfilling the Christmas list either by shop or make, we also attended a production of Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol" (2 hours away), "The Nutcracker" (1 hour), caroling, decorating, baking 10 different types of cookies for gifts, recording a CD of the girls, attending a Christmas Card contest awards night (Annie this year) and preparing for a whirlwind week of company/family not to mention the regular housework, music lessons, etc.... So WHEN, wonderful son did I have time?
We did have a wonderful month though making special time recognizing our Savior's birth. Our church had a 'lessons and carols' service Christmas eve that was beautiful.
The Saturday before arrived with Mike's sisters picking up Bobby and Sarah at the airport and descending here. From that point on things got a little crazy. It was a delightful weekend with all here and then the rest of the week with Bob and Sarah.
We celebrated Christmas with C&L on Sunday, first by all of us attending morning church together and then with our tree in the afternoon and started a new tradition of homemade gifts. It was fun to see what everyone came up with. Sarah is very gifted in beading/jewelry making and later that week found us checking out sales on bead supplies which in turn became an addiction for the girls especially! Melissa made fleece blankets and framed poems. Cookies, candles, snack-mix, firestarters, and personalized boxes were all present too. Bobby showed off some of his carpentry skills by making Mike a frame. I think he had to do something 'carpentry' to rationalize his recent shopping trip to the tool outlet sale!
Monday found C&L traveling home and the rest of us celebrating again. Mel had to work in the morning so we got a late start but I was very pleased to see everyone just wanting to be together and interacting rather than being impatient for the material part of the day.
Annie had saved wrapping paper tubes and other weapons of "Bobby destruction" and fencing became the new sport! I think the girls gave him a run for his money this year, they've grown up quite a bit.
Bobby had made a comment to me recently about not being able to make me a Grandma until he had a drawer full of Red Sox and Patriots onesies so I HAD to start that collection. Mike warned me not to go to extremes or to put pressure on them. Then HE bought them a homemade wooden firetruck!!!!!!! That's not only saying "baby" but "Boy" too!
We had lots of chuckles throughout the week. I kept busy cooking, cleaning, harrassing, making jerky etc while they were all here. I didn't want it to end but did need a rest!
We had a slippery trip to Portland to meet some friends there who were going to transport Bob&Sarah from there to Boston to the airport. It was nice to see them also if only for a very short lunch.
I thought January would quiet down but here it is the 15th and we've already been to another dramatic production, have a field trip planned, Annie had a brace/bracket break and I have to head to Portland this week to fix it and.... and.... and......
I NEED A VACATION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Taking time out to watch the Patriots play last night was NOT relaxing! I hate games like that, it's not good for my stress level! I was glad they won until I realized that next week will probably be a repeat performance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hmmmm, I'm surprised I didn't rate "Obsessive Compulsive"!

2006-11-27T19:10:00.000-08:00

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

2006-11-23T04:10:00.000-08:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!!!!!!!

Another Thankgiving memory

2006-11-06T03:48:00.000-08:00

Traditionally, when I was a kid, we had Thanksgiving at my maternal grandparents. Grandma was just a little woman but was spry and full of energy. She was, however, a little obsessive when it came to a clean house. You NEVER went into her house with shoes of any kind on. At one point I spent a few days with her that required me to do some laundry. The washer and dryer were in the basement and when my laundry was dry I brought it up to fold while I visited with her. OOooopss! That, I found out, would spread dust and lint! It was to be folded in the basement! Incidentally, I don't remember ever seeing dust in her house! HHmm
I digress. As the family increased by cousins and more cousins it was necessary for some to eat in the kitchen and others the dining room. The oldest, and therefore they thought, more trustworthy, were the boys. Grandma had a round table and horseshoe shaped bench built into a walled-in area in the kitchen. If you happened to be in the back part and needed to get out either everyone to one side of you had to slide out or you'd hear the infamous, "Crawl Under"! (It was with great relief when I was older and expecting that I was granted the end of the bench!)
Six boys were assigned to sit there. My Mom and aunts all dutifully served their boys and got them situated before settling themselves in the dining room. My Uncle would stand in the doorway to say the blessing. During the blessing my cousin, sitting next to me, decided to sneak a bite of a celery stick. Do you know what a bite of celery sounds like in a quiet room? Do you realize how hard it is as a 7 year old to stifle all the bubbling giggles? Do you realize the "Look" you get when you peek up at your parents? That stifled my giggles real quick! After the blessing we all dug in to a feast that is probably not outdone anywhere else. The normal conversations were taking place and everyone was happy... well for a few minutes until we heard some strange exclamations and 'shushing' from the kitchen area. Apparently one of my male cousins didn't like squash and turnip but in our generation we were told to eat everything on our plates. He, being full of 13 year old wisdom, asked the cousin at the end to grab a big can out of the trash. He proceeded to put this on his lap and scrape the unwanted vegetables into it. Great idea! No one would notice, right? WRONG! Grandma used to take both ends off the can and push the cranberry sauce out whole to slice it nicely! This is the can he had. You know what happened when he filled it and lifted it to pass along!
I was so THANKFUL I wasn't in the kitchen that year. I was also VERY thankful that it was a cousin and not one of my brothers!

Thanksgiving Day Memories

2006-10-30T19:22:00.000-08:00

Today my WONDERFUL Son and I got to chatting, laughing and bantering over an incident that happened years ago. He mentioned it in his recent blog entry and I commented that I needed equal time if he were to explain HIS side of the story. He suggested that I write an entry with the story from MY perspective and add other Thanksgiving Day memories. I guess that means that if you think this entry is lame you can visit his blog and tell him so OR you can comment on mine and I'll make sure he reads it!! Either way, he says I need to update my blog!
You know that time in life when, most likely, you are a fairly new wife and even newer Mom and for some reason you find yourself at home with just your WONDERFUL hubby ( now you know where my son gets it) and CHARMING children for the first time for a major holiday? For us I believe it was Thanksgiving. Now I LOVE to cook for others, it is very satisfying to me to see happy, contented faces enjoying fun, food and fellowship. I also am very sentimental. If someone I love or loved enjoyed a certain dish even if they're now deceased I'll still make it -- to remember them by.
So here I was at home making my first Thanksgiving dinner all by myself for my WONDERFUL family of 4. (at the time). I had the 20 lb turkey stuffed and roasting. Potatoes, squash, turnip, onions, peas and sweet potatoes were all cooking. The cranberry sauce, pickles, olives, home-made breads and mulled cider were all on the table. The pumpkin, squash, lemon merignue, mincemeat, cranberry, apple, blueberry, and crumb top apple pies were sitting on the counter next to the Indian pudding, grapenut pudding, bread pudding and cracker pudding. I had the table set with my very best china. I had the festive music playing and some cutesy place decorations set out. I mashed the potatoes, squash etc... and put everything on the table.
It was time. I called my precious family to the table. We all sat and put our matching cloth napkins in our laps. My husband prayed and told us that after we ate he wanted us to list things we were truly thankful for. (After the meal so it wouldn't get cold -- I was thankful for that!)
It was at that moment my WONDERFUL SON looks around at all the food and says, "If it's all the same to you could I have cheerios?"!
Now tell me, how would YOU react????? How would your WONDERFUL HUSBAND react???

I think I'll add more Thanksgiving memories between now and Thanksgiving.
I'll also be watching YOUR blog for your special memories.

a kiss is a kiss....

2006-10-08T02:39:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night Mike announced that Lianna and I needed to be clowns for his class object lesson on Friday night. Catch the FRIDAY night part? That meant we had Thursday and Friday to work into our schedules time to get costumes, make-up and come up with a skit that worked into his lesson theme! I do love my husband. Lianna needed to be an apathetic, bored, whiney clown and I a zany, hyper, crazy type clown. We both had a lot of work to do! Being October did make it a little easier in the remote sticks of Maine. Walmart had the make up and sponge noses very available. Our farmer neighbor needed his overalls mended and after I mended them I borrowed them for my costume. Lianna's costume and make up came out wonderful. She even had long glittery eyelashes and a wig. She played her part wonderfully, not even a smirk at her mother's antics! Our 'audience' was sitting down and when we finished I went over to Mike, put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Honey, I want to thank you for letting me serve this way." and proceeded to put a slimy clown make-up kiss on the top of his head! Now clown make-up isn't like other make up, it's thick and greasy. He immediately put his hand up and wiped his head which only smeared it across his forehead and made him look like he had been shot! He was a good sport though and was laughing as we skipped out of the room.

Even though we were asked how often we do a clown act (with the reply that this is the one and only) and told that we did an excellent job we are not planning on taking this on the road.

Saturday the weather was perfect for the youth group hike up Little Bigelow Mountain. Cool enough to make sweating a survivable activity and sunny enough to make the foliage gorgeous, or so the kids say! One younger boy was climbing into the car and said to his mom, "It was soooo beautiful!" They all seemed to have a good time. Mike is a little sore but what can you expect? Both Annie and Lianna went and loved it. Mike was a little nervous around the spots with sheer drop offs. He was afraid of some clown doing a daredevil stunt or something. Good thing he didn't have to worry about me!

Has anyone else noticed HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE MELISSA BLOGGED?

Human nature is weird

2006-10-03T03:52:00.000-07:00

If you read my last post, even though it was rather lengthy, you will know that Annie and her Dad built a mini guillotine. My observations are that people are strange. Okay, it's a guillotine, everyone knows what that is and what it was used for right? So WHY does one look at it, put their finger in it and say, "Will this cut my finger off?" or "Will this hurt?" DUH.... even though the blade isn't very sharp and neither is is weighted it will hurt when it hits the bone. I've observed that everyone places their finger in it in such a way that their knuckle is right where the metal piece will hit! What is it about this that is so fascinating and complicated when it's really a no-brainer?
Now before you say, "You really shouldn't have made this to begin with." Think about it, this concept is right up there with a few people standing outside and it starts to rain. One brilliant person states, "it's raining" and all the others, even though they can see it raining, stick their hands out! One of my favorites is when vacuuming and you run across a thread on the carpet that won't come up. You go over it a few times before picking it up and then after checking it out drop it back on the floor, in a sense ordering the vacuum to pick it up! Yes, I'm guilty of this too.

This starts at a very young age too. Kids. Inevitably in the church nursery you have to change a diaper. You have the baby on the changing table and realize you're surrounded by toddler munchkins. You open the diaper, holding your breath, and hear "eeeewwww, gross, eewwww" .
Yes, it is rather unpleasant BUT they stay there! You don't have a choice but they can walk away.

We are a strange bunch aren't we?

goings on

2006-09-28T03:42:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't updated daily but that is a whole lot better than MELISSA! She hasn't updated in months!! And she promised in her last update to do better!! shame on you! :-)

It has been very busy around here. School has started, I'm working one day a week, we're starting new ministries at church, we've had company etc... etc...

One of the most exciting things (which Bobby reprimaned me for not blogging about sooner) is that Annie won a 2nd place with some sewing at the Farmington fair and Lianna entered 2 paintings in 2 different categories and won 2 firsts! One of the paintings also won a Best In Show!! I think this is her 6th year winning the Best In Show!

Both girls had appts. in Portland last week, Lianna to see an orthopedic doctor and Annie to start the procedure for braces again. Lianna only needs to wear a lift in one of her shoes!! no more appts for that doctor which is a good thing because the appt. resembled the one Bobby blogged about! Annie's went well also except that I think she got fed up with them putting trays of plaster in her mouth and taking pictures and x-rays. The interesting thing was the trip down.

I got stopped by the state police! I was traveling south in the Subaru on RT 27 behind another car when a cruiser came screaming north with lights flashing and sirens going. We all pulled over for him to pass and then pulled out to continue. I looked in my rearview mirror to see him pull a"U-ey" ( how does one spell that?) and he pulled me over! I really wasn't speeding or anything! He came up to the car, gun drawn, bending a bit to look inside. When he got to the window it went like this:
"Good morning Ma'am"
"Good morning"
"Where are you coming from?"
"New Portland"
---he chuckles and smiles rather sheepishly--"We had an armed robbery in Waterville and your car matches the descriptionof the get-a-way car to a T! You're obviously not who we're looking for!Sorry to bother you."
He started to walk away but I was laughing at the thought of me pulling an armed robbery with the girls and the Lord hit me with the opportunity so I said:
"Excuse me, can I tell you something?"
"Sure"
"Well, I just wanted to thank you"
"For What?"
"Well you have a thankless and dangerous job and I wanted you to know that there are people out there that appreciate what you do and are praying for you, Keep safe today."
"Ah,,,,ah......ah....um.....ummmmm (mouth flapping) ahh well um thank you!"

I can only imagine what he was thinking!

In school we're studying The French Revolution and Napoleon. For the American part of that era in history we're looking at inventors, Eli Whitney and Robert Fulton. We made a working model of a cotton gin (okay, it's not an exact replica but it demonstrates the idea). Annie was supposed to make a model of the steam boat but said, "I'd really rather make a model of a guillotine!" Can you imagine? Sweet little Annie? ( I think Bobby and Dan Parrott) have had a negative influence here!!) So we now have a mini guillotine! Mike thought the idea was kind of gross but he was a trooper and helped her make it.

Both girls studied Bach for a composer during this Baroque Era study and then moved on to Beethoven. Lianna found it particularly interesting that Beethoven composed for Bonaparte and played for him until he became very pompous and crowned himself emporer at which time Beethoven removed the dedication on the concerto he had dedicated to Napoleone. (yes, that is actually the spelling. Lianna read that in her study and has corrected me many times!)

We are finishing this week with the French Revolution and reign of terror and moving our study more toward England and the Industrial Revolution. We're in the Romantic period continuing on with composers and artists of the time.

We changed quite a few of our curriculums this year and we're loving what we are using for Grammar!! The girls have commented that it is clearer and easier to understand. This is a good thing!

Italian is going well. Better for the girls than for me! I'm having trouble keeping up with it. We've also added Latin this year. They are also better at this than I am! I don't think I have a gift for languages! I am going to plug along though.

Math is going extremely well also except that Annie isn't impressed with geometry! Of course she has just been introduced to new concepts so maybe her impression will change. Lianna is doing so well that I've ordered the next level. It looks as though what I had bought for her was 85% review. She's still a little behind in math so I'm bumping her up. If she has difficulty we can go back to the concept and review it. She needed the challenge!

Annie is studying botany this year and is going to be classifying the house! Not really, just legos and currency. She'll soon be growing things and doing many experiments including making herbal soap out of some herbs she will grow!

Lianna is doing a heavy general science course that includes lots of experiments. I hope she doesn't blow up the house! Of course I can always use that explanation when the house is a wreck!

Mike is keeping busy on a new construction. We had to tear the existing house down before starting the new one. It is interesting but Maddy is doing a great job as foreman--- or is that foredog?

I think that is about it other than my baby boy is about to turn 24 !!!!!!!!Pretty impressive considering 20 years ago we weren't sure he would see 4 due to his severe asthma attacks!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIBBIT!!!!! WE LOVE YOU!! (now aren't you glad you told me to update?)

How time flies!

2006-09-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

HEY BOBBY!! HAVE YOU NOTICED HOW LONG IT HAS BEEN SINCE YOUR SISTER BLOGGED???????

2006-09-07T03:27:00.000-07:00

Before my son harrasses me about taking to long to blog I thought I'd best sit down and type an entry. Since I last made an entry a lot has happened. We've had our 28th (yes that is 28 Bobby not 30th) anniversary. We worked hard during the day having a wood bee and cookout/birthday party for some elderly neighbors. We asked their son and others from MA to come up as well as some neighbors to help cut their tree length firewood into stove length. There were only 4 show up but they got alot done. For coffee break the girls and I took treats down and the girls stayed to run the wood splitter and stack wood. They all, including the folks this was for, arrived here for lunch. We surprised the lady with cake and ice cream in celebration of her upcoming birthday.

Later Mike took me to Augusta to Home Depot where we picked out some lights for the porch. Augusta restaurants were VERY busy that night so Mike headed to Waterville for dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. Lianna and Annie are very creative! They wanted to do something for us but couldn't figure out how without asking me to take them to a specific place - then I'd know! They made a card and a 'gift certificate' to Olive Garden. The gift certificate was adorable and rather authentic looking right down to the UPC codes on the back (is that what they're called?). I think Olive Garden should have Lianna design theirs! Then they handed us cash. This didn't work out very well because there isn't an OG inWaterville. We called the girls and told them that we showed it to the manager of Ruby's and he said he'd take the gift card as long as he had their permission. There was dead silence on the other end then, "You mean you showed the gift card to him?" Lianna asked incredulously. We chuckled and told her we hadn't but explained the situation and she told us that, " You can go anywhere, we just wanted you to have a night off and be away from the worries and work at home to enjoy each other's company." Isn't that SOO thoughtful?

Sunday was Lianna and my first day at running jr. church. It was very interesting and we both learned and look forward to doing more. We were just getting the kids quiet and taking prayer requests when one pipes up and says, "Where's Tommy?" another replies, "With his Mom, he has diarrhea." !!!!! Lianna was trying not to bust a gut while explaining that we don't have to give all details.

Monday the 28th I worked. I leave at 5:15 a.m. to get there for a 6 hour shift. At 12:30 my replacement hadn't shown up and I was getting anxious to go. Come to find out there was a scheduling conflict and there wasn't a replacement. I have a few weeks off before filling 'snowbirds' shifts and I want to get my bill paid so I stayed for the second shift also. I was VERY tired that night.

Tuesday we started school and tried to get 3 good days under our belts. I said "tried" because we're using a whole new curriculum and style as well as adding Latin in. I usually don't start until after Labor Day but thought the 3 transition days would do us good. I'm very glad we did this. I think we're going to love this new process.

Friday our out of town guests arrived and we headed out for camping. One and a half hour drive, load canoes and kayak with all the gear and head for the island. It was a beautiful day and we got set up rather quickly. Mike was the first one off the rather weak looking rope swing. Someone had tied sticks into it to hold onto because the rope was so thin. One of them caught him just above the eye and there was blood everywhere. It didn't stop him though. The night air was quite chilly but we all kept warm. The weather Saturday was questionable and I resorted to---- I hate to admit this---but I used a cellphone and called Bobby to have him get the i'net forecast. He read that the hurricane that missed them would be hitting us, albeit weakly, Sunday morning. We decided to pack up Saturday evening and head home. We promised all the kids that if it were a nice day we'd take a day outing.

We woke Sunday to partly cloudy and headed to another lake and island where there is a great rope swing. Mike grabbed an older 'park canoe' (built like a kayak sized canoe but without any seat- you sit on the floor) to make sure we had enough watercraft. Bianca, the 17 year old wanted to try the park canoe. We didn't realize that it had sprung a leak and the further she got out the more water it took on. Lianna came along side in her kayak and was trying to play bilge pump with a water gun but couldn't keep up. That's when Bianca screamed! The very large spider family living in the tip of the canoe was getting wet and decided to crawl up her legs to safety! She's a lifeguard and doesn't mind the wet but the spiders were another story!
She was really taking on water and decided to hightail it out of the canoe entirely. She swam the rest of the way with us towing the canoe.

We were able to get a fire started in the firepit on the island for her. Did I mention she was dressed in capris and sweatshirt? She eventually changed into her bathing suit to be dry! Mike and Annie took turns using the rope swing and I took pictures. We hung around the fire for a while until the air changed and then headed back across the water. Lianna and Annie paddled together in a 1 man kayak and the other 4 of us went in the canoe and pulled the leaky canoe behind us. We almost made it! We were about 50 feet away when the skies opened up and let loose!

AFter that we all went for Pizza and then parted company as our friends headed back to MA. I was glad that I got to meet Bianca again. I had only met her once when she was about 2 weeks old. She's grown! She is a very sweet young lady and I hope we get to know her better in the future.

Back to school this week even though we found out Tuesday that we're housing the guest speaker and his wife for 6 days. We have teacher training sessions Saturday for a class our church is going to do. There will be 3 classes and Mike & I were asked to teach one. It's called "Set-Free" and is a program to deal with addictions. It looks to be a busy weekend!

So Bobby, how was that? Do you feel updated? The girls said yesterday that I was pulling a Bobby! Bianca left a couple things here and while I was grocery shopping I picked up some halloween decorations, a huge spider web and lots of little plastic spiders to put in her box before I send her stuff to her!!!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

2006-08-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

It may be "Christmas in August", school may be starting next week and nights may be very cool but it was still summer today! The girls and I met up with some friends to head to Popham Beach today. We headed out with questionable skies, sweatshirts and pants. We even took our chances heading down the boardwalk to the beach but 1/2 way to the sand the sun came out and it was beautiful until afternoon.
We played, ran, ate, swam, laughed etc.. We met up with some other friends (sort of planned) and laughed more. We fed a seagull who braved coming on my blanket with me and then spent the afternoon chasing him away when he got WAY to bold!
We all came home with burns and tired bodies but everyone is smiling! Ahhhh summer!

2006-08-23T03:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, I tried to be nice to my southern based son BUT he started it! When we were going camping, with his bestman, I heard a little emotion in his voice that he would really like to be with us. When I came home I waited and then blogged only the story of Sunshine being a snake killer. Not about the beautiful spot, the serene campfires, the exploring for hours, the loons, the girls fiddling on top of the rock outcropping, the swimming etc.. I was being sensitive to his feelings BUT have you read HIS recent entry? I mean was that at all sensitive to me? Books!!!! Oh dear and especially with our new curriculum this year being very 'book centered' ( no history, geography, literature textbooks). I've been melting my credit card at amazon and he writes about this monster book sale. Is that fair?
Well, we have another camping trip coming up WAIT until I write about that one. How about the beautiful crisp, colorful, moose hunting fall that is coming up? What about jerky??? Hmmmm.
I think the solution will be to all get together and decide what to do about this. That's it !! Let's all get together and discuss this! Mark your calendar!
What: solution to Bobby's book sale brag meeting
When: August 2007
Where: Easley, South Carolina
lodging: hehehehehehhe

No, Sam, the solution isn't to just slap him, that's saved entirely for you! :-)

Christmas in August !!!!

2006-08-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

Its August here in Maine, late-ah August that is. This means the nights are cooler and there is a definite snap in the air. Sadly the leaves are turning and some even falling! It puts me in such a melancholy mood, sometimes even sad. Fall has always been a season of goodbyes and changes. Whether it be when I was a child and had to say goodbye to the scouts, wondering which if any would be back the following year, bye to all our friends and family heading for southern destinations, leaving our summer place to ---- aaggghhh--- start prison, oops, school. Sorry but that's how we saw it. I mean who would want to leave the leisure and pleasure of a summer camp that was both relaxing and a blast? I was able to 'find myself' there each year and didn't want to lose myself again. It was more than that really but that isn't what this entry is about.
I am in the melancholy state of mind and although I've been thinking about and doing something about Christmas for the past week and a half, yesterday I received my first Christmas gift! Two plane tickets! Where to you ask? HERE !! These tickets aren't for me to travel, its better than that! They are for my wonderful son and daughter in law to come home for a week at Christmas!! Due to life it has been a while since they have both been here, in fact, she was visiting us before they were married. I have been praying about a simpler type Christmas and having my whole family around is perfect ! All of us here in this house were just a 'little' excited last night , except for Saffy the cat ! I may have to find Saffy a different lodging for a couple weeks. I don't think Gomer will bother Bobby's allergies but Saffy has such a different type of coat and he sheds ssooooooooo much that I'm worried. Something to pray about.
"L" worked with her dad yesterday and called home when they were leaving to tell me to start dinner. Little did they know it was already done, waiting in the crockpot for their arrival ! I told her the good news and she started yelling and was excited that she knew before her dad! Can you imagine the excitement come December? Annie's response was, "Ya, ya, ya, Merry Christmas" within earshot of the phone and Bobby but the grin on her face lit up the whole house for hours!
Just a warning Bobby, she's hiding empty wrapping paper tubes!
So as I am studying and preparing for the start of school I'm hearing Christmas carols playing in my mind.
Merry Christmas!

Camping adventures -- snakes

2006-08-01T05:08:00.000-07:00

We recently returned from one of our annual "Wales Family Camping Trips".
We like remote camping...very remote. We look for places that we have to canoe to and won't see others while we're there! Then we stay there for days --until the food starts running low. This also is a no electricity and sometimes not even an outhouse type place.
This year my older three darling children couldn't join us but my son's best friend and his wife came. We had a really great time. In light of the fact that one of our guests hadn't been camping before (unless you count crowded campgrounds with all the amenities) my wonderful husband built and lugged a nice little "throne" so she wouldn't have to use just a hole. We all have either tans or sunburns and memories of times shared. Even though big brother wasn't with the girls his buddy made sure they got thrown into the water, splashed and otherwised picked on. They wouldn't have it any other way!
The event I want to share though was with one of the dogs. Oh, we also took 2 of our 3 dogs with us. The older golden retriever, Sunshine, amazed me more than usual. Our camp spot was a peninsula that we had to canoe to. On one side there was a huge granite outcropping. It blocked the view but was great to jump off of and into the water. There was also a cave on the water side which made for interesting investigations. I digress. My hubby and I were sitting on the top of the 'cliff' basking in the sun and having prayer time. We were there for about an hour when I decided I needed to climb down and attend to something at the campfire. I had descended about 10 feet on just rock when a snake slithered across my foot! I'm not squeamish but a slithery snake on my bare skin did cause me to let out a scream.
Sunshine came running and I pointed to the snake. She dove at it, grabbed it and shook (more like snapped) her head back and forth so fast she literally broke the snake in two pieces. She looked at the pieces and the larger one was still moving so she grabbed it and shook it more until it too broke! I was speechless! (which doesn't happen much) Sunshine's mom got a stick (she wasn't touching it!) and flicked it away. Sunshine sauntered away and lay down to rest like nothing had happened. My hero was the dog that day!
My youngest daughter can run very fast. She has pencil legs but they can move. An Indian friend of ours has given her a name. I can't remember the tribal spelling but the English version is, "She who Runs with the wind." He has told us that it's not "Runs LIKE the wind" but "WITH". We have now nicknamed Sunshine, "She who kills snakes."
Keep in mind that we live in Maine. We have garter snakes, grass snakes and other non-poisonous snakes but the yarns being spun about this event already have this snake being a 6 foot long rattler! Ahhhhh the fun of camping!

Busy lives

2006-07-14T05:07:00.000-07:00

I try to keep a relatively calm pace at this point in life but recently things have been getting out of hand. I think it is due to the ages of the kiddos still at home. Lianna is much more involved in things. That would be things that are away from the 100 yard radius I like to travel in! Annie too, is becoming more involved in things. We have a policy that "if it isn't on the calendar, it don't happen!" (Yes, I realize that the previous quote is very poor English.)
I still try to organize and keep things relatively stress free.

I realized yesterday that busyness and confusion really is a part of the American lifestyle. We have so much to do and so many modern conveniences that it can play major mind games with us. Let me give an example here, I was talking to a wonderful person on the phone. (I know he is wonderful because he was doing dishes before going to work!) I had called him and knowing he was at home I called his landline phone and not his cell. I could hear the dishwater and he mentioned that he was doing dishes and cleaning up before leaving for work in about 5 minutes. We chatted away, him plotting to call his sister shortly after midnight this morning to wish her a happy birthday and discussed other matters when suddenly with no cutting in and out, he was gone. I tried calling back to no avail.

In a couple minutes my phone rang and it was the aforementioned wonderful person calling back. I asked what had happened thinking perhaps he dropped the phone into the dishwater when he hesitated. The hesitation was followed by a rather sheepish voice mentioning that I had called on the landline phone just before he was heading to work. Turns out that in his scurry to get to the car and head for work he forgot that his house phone would only reach about a hundred yards away! He wasn't talking on his cell phone!

Now I know that the aforementioned wonderful person may read this and think, just think, about writing and sharing some of my most embarrasing moments in retaliation for this post BUT !!! he should remember that my most embarrasing moments were when I had teens and their friends around and allowed them to have late nights and many activities. Perhaps the aforementioned wonderful person should consider having children to REALLY understand that state of mind!!! PLUS, I have more embarrassing moment stories about this previously mentioned wonderful person than he does about me!!
He is pretty wonderful! :-)

Now, onto OLDER things! Today is the 26th anniversary of my being in labor for 21 hours! Today is Melissa's birthday! She mentioned to me this morning that her job considers it a paid holiday! I suggested that they should pay me, afterall, I'm the one who worked hard to bring her into this world. Why is she getting paid? She replied, "Mom, they couldn't pay you enough to make up for that." AMEN to that!!
Happy birthday honey, we love you!

Isn't summer camp wonderful?

2006-07-13T05:33:00.000-07:00

I hated summer camp! I went twice. Once to a day camp which I detested going to and then to an overnight camp out of state. The day camp was only about a 10 minute drive from our summer cottage. The lady would come pick me up and I'd be dropped off later in the afternoon. Monday I was curious. Everyone talked so excitedly about it I thought it was going to be great.
I soon discovered that activities were done in 1/2 hour slots. Hey, I didn't want to make crafts I wanted to canoe and swim. When swimming time came I discovered that the water was really yucky. If I were at home I'd have clear water, sandy bottom and not 100 people shouting and kicking up gook. I decided I didn't want to swim afterall, well, there anyway but was told I had to. Canoeing became a problem because you had to go in a canoe with 4 people and take turns paddling. I got stuck on the floor for the first turn but those in the seats didn't have a clue what they were doing and by the time someone came and got us our canoeing time slot was up.
Tuesday morning my Mom told me it would be better - it wasn't. Wednesday I didn't want to go at all but was coerced and obeyed. Thursday I flat out refused and Friday they didn't bother coming to pick me up. I was very glad.
The camp away was slightly better but I suffered homesickness terribly. I still had the "I can do more of what I want to do on my summer vacation at home" syndrome. I signed up for the wrong activity and didn't have the guts to tell anyone until Wednesday night and it was to late to change.
The following year I won a trip back to the overnight camp but with a very giving heart (ya right) I gave it to someone less fortunate! Everyone thought I was so sweet......... truth be known I DIDN'T WANT TO GO!
Then comes my kids. I didn't encourage camp because I didn't want them to have a horrible time! When M & B asked to go I was shocked! I couldn't believe they would want to go. They went and had a good time. Mel even went a second time.
Now that Lianna and Annie are 'of age' they asked to go. Lianna went last year and was still talking about it this spring! She also went to the camp's winter retreat.
This is where my post really begins! At the winter retreat she was snowboarding and flipped. She suffered a concussion. She had swollen arm and leg on one side and a really bad headache - this being two days after the crash upon returning home! She seemed to get better but then started with severe dizzyness. ER here we come. About $1,200 later they told us that they really couldn't tell us anything! Yes, you read that right. She needed to lay low ( this is Lianna we're talking about) for a month, no horseback riding (she had just gained that privilege back after waiting a month after surgery), no sliding, snowboarding, skating etc... This didn't go over well with her but she complied.
This summer she's definitely back to normal and wants to go back to camp. She did and when she was returned to us guess what?????? Another concussion. They were playing a game tht was similiar to football without the ball! Complete with running across a field and tackling BUT without the safety equipment! Yup, she got tackled and wham! another concussion. She also took a soccer ball direct in the face but forgot to tell me that! She came home with a headache, fatigue, dizzyness etc... The head and dizzyness abated after some sleep and lots of water. Water? oh, that's right, she told me she didn't drink much water because it tasted really bad. It was in the 90's last week! With humidity! No water? She also had funny cold symptoms which I attributed to sinus trauma from the soccer ball. She is much better now and only has the cold symptoms BUT they're not from the soccer ball! It's a knock down drag out cold -- I know, I woke with it early this morning!
Annie is at the same camp this week, in fact, the same cabin! I can't wait until she gets home! I wonder what stories she'll have. They're not suppose to bring candy but we did let her take her raisins, she'd die without her power food!
Lianna says she had an awesome week and wants to go back, what will Annie think? This is her first year.
You want to know what I think?

Thoughts from a Golden

2006-07-05T01:41:00.000-07:00

Okay cousin Carina, I heard alot about your blog diary and the human they call "Mom" left the computer running so I thought I'd sneak in and give it a try. You are a couple months older than I so perhaps you have some answers. I asked the older golden, Sunshine, but she just sighed and said, "You have a lot to learn pup". So here goes,

I don't understand humans. They tell me I'm adorable, they teach me to 'come', they praise me when I do and give me cookies and hugs. One of my favorite things, maybe even better than cookies is when the "Mom" human scratches in that certain place on my chest. So today she's bent over, on her knees on the ground. She looked so sad. I mean she was tearing all the beautiful green stuff out of the ground. She had to have been upset because she waited for a long time until all that white stuff left the ground for the green stuff to show up and now she was pulling it up. I really don't understand humans. Anyway, I didn't want her sad so I ran over to her and tried to give her a big wet kiss but she yelled at me! "Okay", I thought, "I need to put on the cuteness". I flopped down and started squirming around, digging in with my paws and looking at her with the most adorable golden eyes imaginable. She still yelled. Then MY human, Annie, came running. "Oh," I thought, "She is going to make 'Mom' see how cute I am." I was shocked that she grabbed that thing they keep around my neck and hauled me off telling me "no, no, no"!

Sometimes this bathroom thing confuses me too. If I try to go inside they get mad and throw me out. "Okay", I think, "I've got it, go outside". Then I trot out the door to the long green stuff with the pretty smelling colorful things on them to ' go' figuring they don't like the smell and the pretty things will cover it and they start yelling at me to go! I mean, I'm trying to go!

So cousin Carina, can you in your 8 months of wisdom help me?

~Yoshi

Why the 4th?

2006-07-05T01:18:00.000-07:00

I was going to write yesterday, really! The problem was what to write. After 14 hours on the road Monday July 3, I awoke to an eleven year old peanut wanting to go to the parade. While getting ready I was preparing my mind by reminding myself of what the 4th of July was all about. The freedoms this country has are immense. There is so much we overlook. We can worship how we choose, work where we want and choose our profession, choose our college, vote, run for a political office, gripe about those who did run for office, say what we want about the state of affairs, walk through town without having a passport and buy whatever(just about) we want without said passport. The list grows and grows. We are the only country that enjoys these priviledges and while thinking about this my desire to celebrate by driving the distance to the parade was rising. I would go anyway because my little ladybug wanted to go.

While there my appreciation of what we were celebrating grew even more as we saw and heard all kinds of varying messages. What really threw me though was the woman passing out papers on why having military and war is wrong, why our present government was in shambles and corrupt etc... She was proposing that we should never go to war, never show force but have the strongest 'peace' policy ever to create peace in the world! I must interject here that among my good friends that I chose to stand with during the parade, one took her elbow and told her, "Yes, I agree, we need to have the strongest peace policy in the world and that would mean the top rated, most powerful firepower!" (can you guess who?)

The irony that she had the right to say this, choosing our country's independence celebration as her mode of 'getting the word out' was enormous. Why was it that she has this 'right'? Because of wars our forefathers fought, blood shed for her right to say there should be no war-ever!

One may not agree with a certain war or conflict but the basic truth is that if we have the ability to KEEP peace we stand strong. In a perfect world we wouldn't have to ever show force but that world isn't here yet.

I'm glad our country has the freedoms it does, we are quickly losing a lot of them and if America doesn't wake up and appreciate what we have we, as a nation, will fall. In the meantime think about what the 4th of July really stands for and how we achieved it, thank a veteran! Sure, watch for the hat and walk up to him and say thank-you!

The Great insurance fiasco

2006-06-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, I guess I need a study on business ethics. Why is it okay for an insurance company to quote you a great rate, promise you the world, bill you, accept the check, cash it, send you a policy, call about the guy coming to take pictures (who didn't come on the set date) , send you a statement with payment info and then before the picture guy comes send you a notice of cancellation? Yes, the check did clear, we've never had any claims etc.... Then two hours after you receive the cancellation notice the picture guy arrives? Incidentally, the cancellation notice doesn't offer a reason. It seems that they have 90 days by law to give us a written reason but we only have about ten days left to find another insurance policy.

After many calls to other agencies I have found out some things:
Chickens are aggressive
Ducks too
All horses are killers
People don't look before they walk and don't turn on outside lights before going out in the dark in a strange place. (This after being told we would need to put a deck up outside the sliding glass doors that we don't use because someone new visiting up might unlock the door, move the thick dowel and step out into the dark without turning on the light because they wanted to see the stars and fall the 14 inches to the ground, sue etc.....)
Gotta watch those cats too, they might have poor eyesight and mistake 450 lb aunt Matilda for a mouse.
roosters make too much noise to early in the morning and aggravate neighbors who get angry and it causes a feud and 'things' happen!
Also................

What is this world coming to? Where does this start? Do these things really happen or do we have insurance imaginers who sit around all day and get paid to dream up all the ludicrous possibilities then once it's put out there people think they should sue for all these silly things.

My older kids quite often referred to me as a mother bear, sometimes overprotective etc.... Even I can't possibly see what harm Annie's 3 little white ducks could do to someone. Geese yes, (that's why we don't have them) but ducks???

One company will insure up to 2 dogs of any breed but not us because we have 2 Golden Retrievers and a yellow lab which is 3. Which would you be more apt to get out of your car facing? 1 pit bull and 1 doberman or 3 retrievers. I suppose it would depend on whether you had on a suit of armor or not, after all, the pit bull wouldn't be able to bite through it but the goldens might rust it trying to lick you to death!

I remember some accidents happening when I was a kid and the resulting behavior.
#1 A friend came over to play. We were using the pogo sticks, she fell and that little piece of skin between your top teeth and lip got split off as well as her inner lip cut open. She needed stitches. RESULT: Her mom took her for stitches and came over to apologize for the commotion saying that no matter where her daughter went she managed to get hurt and she only hoped we'd allow her over again!
#2. I went to another friends house. She didn't have a bike and I did. We took turns riding double (which was breaking a rule made by my folks) She was 'driving' and I was on the back, I put my foot in the wrong place and received a little cut and abrasion. When I was 'driving' she got her foot caught in the spokes and really was hurt. Her parents took her to the ER where she got an ace bandage and was hobbling for a couple of weeks. I got grounded from my bike for a month and received a spanking and the even worse glares from my father for the next couple weeks.

Gee, I wonder if I should sue my friends parents for allowing me to ride double with their daughter on THEIR property, I mean, the damage I incurred from my parents has been detrimental to my pschye ever since............................
How about suing the girl that got blood on my pogostick? Cleaning it up was pretty gross......... You all know how squeamish I am!

First time for everything

2006-06-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

As one 'commences to think' about their life they tend to reflect on first times. One may think about the first time they went to school, the first time they tried to water ski or the first (and last for many) time they tried sushi. As a parent, one might think of their first child or the first steps of each child, the first day sending them off to prison ---er school-- first time letting them behind a wheel or even the first time rescuing them from wild turkeys or drowning in an outhouse! :-)
I recently had a new first and hopefully LAST!

Last Saturday evening my pastor called. He is a very cheerful guy and it was nice to hear from him...... for a bit.... until I was totally confused. The conversation went something like this:

Pastor (P): Hi Deb, I have an update for you.

Deb (D): Hi, great, what's up?
P: I thought I'd let you know the meeting time is 6:30 and I can give you more specifics then.
Don't worry because Becky has everything under control.
D: (very confused) Great, um..
P: Oh, when did you change to voice mail? You do have voice mail now right?
D: Yup, had it for a long time.
P: Really, I was thinking you had an answering machine.
D: I do, Lianna is on it.
P:Oh, you mean you DON'T have voice mail? (sounding somewhat panicked)
D: I guess I'm not up on all the techno lingo. I think of voicemail and answering machines as
the same thing. We have an answering machine with Lianna on it.
silence
P: You mean it's not a electronic pre recorded message?
D: Nope
P: uh oh....
D: Uhoh what?
P: I left a message earlier for you about all the plans and meeting time, did you get it?
D: no, and I need to ask you what on earth you're talking about, I'm sorry but I have to
admit I have no idea what meeting time you mean!
P: Well, someone in the area is probably panicking that a Pastor called and is meeting them with
5 college guys for them to feed tonight and house!
D: What guys?
P: Didn't you sign up to house the 5 guys from Fairhaven Baptist College?
D: Yup but when is that?
P: Tonight
D: Tonight??!?!??!?!? I thought it was in July!
P: (after a short silence) Do I need to try to find someone else?
D: er no, I can do it.... I am very flexible and can make this work. (thinking: The beds are all
made up with clean sheets, the house is relatively clean, while I go pick them up the girls can
do a few things and I can always pick up any food I need on the way out to get them) Yup I
can do this.
P: Great , see you at 6:30, oh, by the way, did you have a good time last weekend?
D:(very confused, mentally trying to plan tonight) Um what was last weekend?

I really did know that it was the MO Beach weekend but with the panic in my brain I couldn't remember that wonderful, relaxing, peaceful weekend!
Then later I checked my email and found a note from pastor confirming our call and I wrote back letting him know I had received it. I wrote him a sentence that after sending I realized sounded really stupid. I started laughing about it (after, while I waited for the college guys to show up a couple hours late!) Why, after a conversation like that would I write, "I'm sorry about the confusion, I am not usually like that in fact, I can't ever remember forgetting something like that. "..Can't ever remember forgetting..."?

We finally did connect and were blessed with 3 guys ( one was flying into Boston from CA later and the other going to get him so they found a closer place for them to stay) who we had wonderful fellowship with. We all chatted, the girls were asked to play violin and piano and we heard about the college. I hadn't heard of this college before but after housing the guys, meeting the girls and listening to the service the next morning I am very impressed and will be looking into the school.

When we left church Sunday after a spaghetti dinner one of the girls said, "I wish they were staying another night. That was really a blessing". To which Dad replied, "It always is a blessing to have people come through and stay with us."

Many 'firsts' in this event.....................

(note to my wonderful son: No, the questions posed in this blog aren't meant to be answered by you if they regard me!!!! LYB)

2006-05-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

On relaxing, chilling out and doing nothing!
Yes, it can be done. I think my wonderful sisters-in-law (Hey, Lianna, note what is plural!) are trying to establish a tradition. Three years agothe girls and I joined them at "Mo-Beach" for a weekend of no stress. It was wonderful ! We read, walked on the beach, played on the swings, ate easy meals and went out to dinner. Everyone pitched in for any work stuff and we laughed.
The following year my beloved son put the kibosh on the trip by.... can you believe it..... planning his wedding for that weekend! It was a hard decision but we chose the wedding over the beach weekend! (Sarah, if you're reading this you KNOW I'm only kidding on the hard decision part!!) Last year I was all packed and traveling when I realized my health was going to interfere BUT this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Even Mike joined us! We were a little skeptical about the weather because of the horrible weather we've been having but we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather.
Mike kept asking what we do and I'd reply with, "Nothing"! He didn't get it.
Now I've seen him relax many times. Just get him in a canoe, on an isolated island or a remote spot, put up a tent and start a campfire and you have----Mike-- Relaxed! A more formal atmosphere of a beach house on the cape threw him a little. It took us about 24 hours of doing inconsequential nothings to convince him. I think he thought I was a complete sluggard when he kept seeing me glued to the same book until I finished it!
He had received a kite for his birthday (this was given so Annie could fly her own and not have to ask Dad for it!) and we packed that. The first activity after unpacking was to get his kite up. I won't tell the "guy thing" story about the ropes here though (what do you think Cindy, should I?) but he had fun.
Day 2 he began to loosen up a bit more and went for fishing supplies to go with the sea pole we packed. He planned an evening fishing trip complete with a tiny dinghy. He and Lianna were gone for a few hours. He also took in many War movies. The Beach house has more channels than we do at home and being Memorial day weekend there was a War movie fest going on. I think it was a "John Wayne fest" in disguise!
Day 3 brought on another fishing expedition complete with a 'God thing'. Lianna and Mike were heading out to fish. Mike had dropped the line of the pole in and was trolling. Lianna only had a string line on a handle. Somehow ( I won't debate the blame here) the seapole got hit with the oar and knocked into the ocean to sink down out of sight. Mike was trying to control his frustration and be the spirit controlled guy by not verbalizing his thoughts and feelings. He told Lianna that they were returning back to the house. Lianna still had her little handle line out and decided to keep it trolling on the way back in hopes of catching a fish. As they proceeded beachward Lianna started getting a tug and thought she had something. Mike told her to start reeling it in but then they realized that she had snagged something pretty solid - not a fish. They backed up and Lianna pulled hard, winding in her handle only to discover that her hook had caught on to the hook on Mike's seapole! Two little hooks in that vast ocean 'happened' to snag onto each other!
That evening Annie and Mike went bike riding. The girls had decided that they really liked the paved bike trail along the Cape Cod Canal. Hey, I even rode it a little way!
We had quite the time finding a restaurant that night after the one we planned on going to had a power outage but because of it we were able to see more of the area and enjoy a wonderful dinner outside!
Day 4 while Annie and I were packing Mike and Lianna went to the canal to ride bikes. They did 13 miles! Mike said he wasn't sure what was going to give out first, his knees, feet or butt! While they were biking Annie and I finished packing and went for a long walk on the beach together.
The biggest evidence of Mike finally relaxing was when he cooperated with the family hula-hoop event (spectacle!!!!- I've seen the pictures- spectacle!!). Yes, folks, Mike hula-hooping! What a mental picture eh? (For purpses of health they better stay mental pictures Cindy!)

2006-05-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

On missions and missionaries..........
Recently we had a missions conference at our church. I've heard a lot of missionaries speak, fed a lot of them and housed many. (I was going to say 'put up with...' but 'housed' them sounded better!) I've never been part of a missions conference though. There were 3 families of missionaries coming to be involved with our conference. One, a family of five whose children didn't speak English! That is the family Mike told me we were housing one Sunday when I stayed home because of a migraine!
The children were approximately ages 2, 5 & 6. They were delightful children, very well-mannered and eager to learn English. The 6 yr. old loves horses and thought our home to be just about the best place to end up. Lianna faithfully gave rides to all. Both L & A played many games learning how to express thoughts with hand signals and demonstrations. They got a little taste of what we did in Russia and Ukraine! "Mr. Missionary" had that special glint in his eye and I recognized him as a prankster from the word go...er.... 'hi' ! Mrs. Missionary was a very sweet fun loving and delightful lady. The week went well and we really enjoyed the time together. I would be amiss however, to let the blog entry end there. Having had become familiar with other families that were a blessing in the past this family really stood out in their dedication not only to their Lord and ministry but to their children. Although all we have met love their children some try to 'cover-up' a child's fallen behavior rather than deal with it immediately.
Not that I'm comparing children and dogs but back when I was showing dogs in obedience we used a term called 'ring-wise'. It was against the rules to correct your dog while competing in the ring. Dogs are rather quick to learn this and will be perfect during training when they can be corrected but be little animals when in the ring and they know you can't do anything about it. How I appreciated the judge who would acknowledge the disobedience and then tell me to correct it! Later, is to late.
This couple would speak to their child then if the infraction continued they would remove the child and deal. When they returned to the meal or group they would apologize. I had mixed emotions over their apology and 'commenced to think' about why. After a couple of days I responded to Mr. Missionaries' apology by saying, ' Please don't apologize to me for training your child in a God honoring way, only apologize to me if you don't train them and they become beasts and then apologize to God who has entrusted you with these children." He grinned and told me that he has discovered that a lot of folks feel that because they are christians and children of missionaries that they are immune to the curse of the fallen nature we all have.
We need to hold our leaders and each other accountable for God given standards but do we inadvertantly put different standards on them that we ourselves are not following? Just a thought!

2006-05-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

WHY?!?!?!?
Why, is what I was asking myself as I was getting up on a cold, rainy, gray Saturday morning, earlier I might add than on a normal work day even! Why was I getting my sleeping cherubs up to ride for almost 2 hours to stand out in the rain and watch hubby and brother Bruce run a canoe race? Of course they weren't even racing! They claimed, "Aww, we can't race, it would make others look bad. We're just in it for fun." Ahem, do you believe that?
We arrived in Bangor and met Bruce, on time, sipping a cup of coffee. I questioned whether coffee was the best thing or if he should be drinking a V8 or something more energetic. He informed me that "Jeremiah Johnson" didn't drink V8! On we all traveled to the starting line of the race.
There was a myriad of canoe styles. We saw classic styles, racing, kayaks, aluminum, Fiberglas, and some like Bruce's, a little more...er....um.... well, as Bruce put it 'seasoned'.
We retrieved their number bib which Mike was to wear because he was to sit in front. Bruce incidentally, insisted on taking the rear because it was his 'seasoned' canoe. The girls thought that Dad and Uncle Bruce would win a prize for the ugliest canoe! The guys unloaded and we stood around in the rain watching and waiting.
It was really festive as folks were in various racing form, costume and attitude. There were the serious, "I'm gonna win" types. They didn't socialize much and kept their pristine canoes and gear away from those with, let's say, less than perfect (ugly) canoes. This included a team with an absolutely gorgeous canoe. 'Gorgeous' may seem like an inappropriate adjective for a canoe but it was sleek, pretty, shiny and new. These gentlemen didn't speak when spoken to, kept boundaries around their craft and didn't have much fun. Then there were father and son teams including a 5 year old boy and his dad. Although they didn't 'win' and get a prize the Dad sure won in the boy's eyes for taking the time and trouble.
I really felt bad for the older couple who, as they were putting in he slipped and tipped the canoe over dumping his wife and were eliminated from the race before starting! Did I mention the water was a mere 36 degrees? They were good sports and laughed about it. I believe they did run at the end though. There was the man who runs the whole race standing up! Yes, even the falls! He does crouch a little but he never sits! Then there was Mike and Bruce. After seeing everyone, the canoes, gear and attire Mike donned an old fashioned yellow raincoat with a red life jacket over it. Practical but not Cabela or LLBean racing attire. He wore sneakers and not fancy racing shoes. Bruce, on the other hand forgot his raincoat and donned an extra large black garbage bag under his black life jacket! It was quite the sight. We watched the guys put in, tip their hats to us and off they went. We trudged through the mud and wet grass, down the sidewalk to the car figuring to get to six mile falls and wait near the river in the car staying warm and dry. HA! A couple miles down was a bridge folks were standing at watching. We had to stop, walk and stand in the rain to wait for them to pass under. The camaraderie among the spectators was great. Folks would call out to those passing under the bridge and encourage them. You could really tell the purpose of the racers by how they responded. Those counting out strokes and instructions didn't respond at all. Those having fun hollered up and thanked us. Then there were the clown type or in one instance the pirates. There were 3 guys in the canoe dressed as pirates and whenever spectators (called river rats) called out to them they'd lift up a pirate flag and start the "yo-ho-ho" song. They were having fun!
Along come Bruce and Mike, wet but grinning. They slowed for me to take pictures and be cheered on. At this point Bruce was still using a nice yellow paddle.
Off to 6 mile falls, with a stop at a restroom! My theory of sitting in the car by the river was off by about 1 1/2 miles! We trudged through the rain and stood on the bridge to wait. Waiting was wet and cold but humorous. I now believe that IF I had the desire I could run the falls and not dump. Watching from my vantage point I could tell who would dump, who would take on water and who would get through by the way they went into the falls. God does have a sense of humor too. Remember the gorgeous canoe with the less than social team? They not only dumped, they dumped at the entry to the falls! They were not to happy.
We waited quite a while and almost missed the 'seasoned' team. They had shed their rain 'gear' and Bruce had a different paddle! Hmmm, I wonder what happened to the nice yellow one? It didn't matter, "After all," he said, it WAS Chuck's, not mine!" They made it through like pro's taking on some water but staying afloat. They stopped and emptied the water, chatted with us and ate a quick lunch then off they went.
We headed back to the car and on to the finish line soaking wet. We weren't even in the race but we could have made up a great story and convinced people we were by how wet we were. We found a decent parking space, sat a while in the warmth but I felt a little guilty that we would miss them crossing the finish line. We dug out some umbrellas to use and headed down to riverside. We felt a little wimpy using the umbrellas, after all this was an outdoor, show your stuff, sporting event but one man came and asked if he could share my umbrella. I felt rather chivalrous until he pulled out his camcorder and said he didn't want it to get wet! He filmed and commented for a few minutes and then left. We waited quite a while, although Mike tells me it couldn't have been long as they whipped through that race....., and then I noticed I was able to get the car closer to where they guys could load the canoe on and I moved it and sat in the warmth for a while. The girls watched for them and we ran down to greet them. I was chilled to the bone and knew they were too. I put the heat on full blast while they loaded the canoe and changed. The race committee doesn't tell you where you placed for a few weeks but Mike's comment was, "We may not have won but I came in ahead of Bruce!" By the time the race ended Bruce used 3 different paddles having lost 2. Mike had just the one he brought. I asked him why he didn't bring extras and he said, "I didn't need them." About this point Bruce asked me if the garbage bag raincoat made him look fat!
By the time we got Bruce's truck and headed to "Govenor's" to eat a HOT meal the race story had changed drastically. Every time I spoke with Bruce or Mike about it over the next week I didn't recognize the race or the results! I'm still trying to figure out why I stood in the rain etc... because the race they tell about wasn't the race I watched!
~~~~The results came in this week that for the category they were in they finished in 12th place! Not bad for two guys that were only doing it for fun, stopped to shed rain gear, eat etc... Bruce still asks if they get a huge trophy for winning 12th!

2006-04-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

IT ALL STARTED OUT QUITE SIMPLY BUT...............
The four of us were having a quiet, peaceful lunch when L's dog whined. Poor dog, she had rolled in something rather disgusting and had to have a bath. Now being a golden retriever she doesn't mind water but she didn't understand why she couldn't run through the house dripping and shaking and had to sit in a cage until dry. Trying to make L feel a little guilty about her dog I mentioned that the dog could have dealt with it better if L had taken her swimming and bathed her in the lake. Here it is, April 13th in Maine at a mere 53 degrees. L said, "I'd do that if you'd let me!" I chuckled and told her if she wanted to go swimming I'd take her. She didn't believe me and called my bluff. Then "A" piped up and wanted to go too! I told them I'd take them but they had to promise to go in up to their necks but not put their heads under water! I am, afterall, a cautious mom and didn't want the cold water to get in their ears and make them sick!
On the way we had a freak thunderstorm and when it stopped we were passing a field and saw an incredible rainbow. We stopped to take pictures of it and realized that the end of it was in a field. I was contemplating going onto this private property to find the pot of gold but looking into the field all I could see was a wild turkey! That's the kind of luck I have!
When we got to the lake we were the only ones there! I wasn't really surprised! A man did pull in as I was getting my camera ready and when he realized what the girls were going to do he started laughing. He told me that he comes there everyday after work and that there was ice there two days ago! 'A' ran in to her hip, turned around with a terrified look on her face and ran out saying, "It's freezing, to cold!" She then ran up on the dock and watched 'L'. 'L' went up to her knees and said, "Take my picture!" I told her that wasn't the deal and she went further, bent down and got wet to her neck and stayed there for a few seconds.
THEN as she started coming out 'A' suddenly jumped in off the dock! This would have been fine but she wasn't very deep. It was cold though and they came running out heading for the car and towels when I heard a pitiful sound. She hadn't felt it due to the cold but when she reached the car there was blood pouring down her leg. She had an impressive gash slightly under her knee a couple of inches long! The only things I could find in the car emergency kit was a baby wipe and a sanitary pad! I did remember my grandmother telling me that they were actually originally used on the battlefield for bandages and the nurses at the hospitals found them very useful as 'granny rags' so I grabbed that and wrapped her leg. When we got home I debated whether to deal with it myself and butterfly it or take her to the doctor's . How does one have a child's knee stitched up, showing care for the child, while telling the doctor she did it swimming---in April---in Maine----OUTSIDE? Would "She was jumping and landed on a rock" be deceitful?
All in all the girls are thrilled that they beat their older siblings April 20th ocean swim day and their Dad's April 15, 2006 swim day. " That hasn't happened yet" you say? It will, Dad and uncle are in the canoe race Saturday. It hasn't been cancelled!
All in all it has been an interesting day.
AND........... the girls invited quite a few friends to join them but they all mysteriously had something else to do!!!!!! Even big sister Mel !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! chickens.....

2006-04-10T04:26:00.001-07:00

It is definitely a Monday morning! BUT it is sunny, the birds are singing AND last night I heard a 'pre peeper insect'! This means spring peepers will follow soon! Peepers are such a milestone in Maine. It means that mud will soon be gone and warmer weather will be here. We try to forget what comes with warmer weather!
Chorazon (the new horse) is doing great. He has a birthday coming up. It is May 7th! Uncle Dan, if you're reading this, to farmers it is an honor to have an animal born on your birthday! I'm sure Lianna will always remember your birthday - even if she doesn't remember mine!
The girls are very eager to begin their school day ----- yeh, right! Didn't I just say it was mild temperatures and the sun is shining? They want to be outside! Soon though the school year will be over and freedom will reign! They do like school but days like this even I don't want to be in here!
Both girls are dealing with colds. 'A' is trying to get over one and 'L' is fighting not to let her sniffles graduate into a full fledged cold like her sister's.
Have a blessed day.

2006-04-10T04:26:00.000-07:00

2006-04-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

Now I know I'm nuts!
Okay, a few blogs ago I asked, "What am I? Nuts?!?!?!" to which my wonderful (haha) son sent me an email saying that I was!) Now I know, not because he said so but because somehow we've added another critter to our family. Not the cute adorable puppy but something larger. Another horse! (of course) I wanted a buffalo to raise for the freezer and I end up with another horse! Except for the joy on the kids faces and moments of relaxation what good is a horse? WHY do we do these things? L's current horse put in a rough winter. We mentioned to someone that we wondered how long he would be able to keep up to his owner who, as his ability is decreasing with age, hers is increasing. Next thing I know we're looking at a horse she heard about. It was a super blessing type deal. The woman paid alot for the horse but wanted to find just the right person for him. She has decided to give him to L. He will be arriving today.
Mud season abounds. I read a description of April in Maine that made me chuckle. Why do I look so forward to spring with this description is beyond me. "When the days are longer but nothing is green, everything is muddy, a snowstorm is still a threat and the blackflies are just around the corner." I guess we all look even further ahead to the most awesome summers in the country! It is just so hard to keep the floors even relatively clean.
Hubby and my brother are going to be in the K. stream river race next week. I'm making sure our life insurance is up to date! Brother asked hubby if they should get together for a practice run and hubby said, "No! Why get wet more than once?" THAT is positive thinking.
I just heard a truck and looked out the window. With no foliage I can see the road. The truck was slugging its way up the back road and it actually looked worse than any of our dogs after a romp in the field! Even the puppy!
It is Friday as Mel said but Fridays here have become the busiest day of the week. Sewing and Flute lessons in the morning then violin lessons(the instructor comes here) then L gives 2 piano lessons and then they all play video or computer games. On top of it we're having company for dinner. I always dream of sleeping in and being lazy on Saturday morning but that doesn't seem to happen. Today the sewing and 1 flute lesson cancelled due to flu but those hours filled in really quickly. 'A' is dealing with a cold and cough and sounds really funny talking but is still energetic.

2006-04-03T06:46:00.000-07:00

It's Monday April 3, a beautiful sunny spring day. The weekend was interesting but mostly yesterday. I had to stop twice and check the date. I thought it was April 1st and not April 2nd. First Mike started the day by telling me he was going to shave his beard off! It was April 2nd and he did shave it! Secondly we stopped in at Walmart after church. Mike looked at the list and said he and Lianna would get the felt floor savers and Annie and I could get the remaining itemS. Note the 'S'? We had 6 things to find to his 1. Half way through our list we bumped into Mike and Lianna. Mike said that he couldn't find the floor savers. I suggested where they would be and he said he had already looked there. (Lianna had a questionable look on her face) I suggested another place and we parted. Annie and I found what we needed and proceeded to the front of the store and waited for them to show. Then we walked back and forth across the front looking down aisles for them. We ran into friends who chatted with us for a minute. I told them we were waiting for Mike and Lianna who were only looking for floor savers. She replied that she knew exactly where the floor savers were because she had just bought some two days ago. Then her daughter spoke up saying that she had just seen Mike and Lianna leaving the store! Annie and I grabbed a few packages of floor savers, not knowing if Mike had found them or not, and checked out. We got to the car, unloaded and drove off. I asked him if he had found them and he said that he had. I said, "oops, I did too but we can return what we don't need".
It was then that the 2nd shock of the day came, Lianna piped up and said, "You know how he found them?........ HE ASKED!!!!!!!!" I'm so glad that it wasn't a case of him driving a car and stopping to ask directions because then, for sure, I'd be hospitalized!

2006-03-30T15:25:00.000-08:00

It all started as a joke.................
My wonderful son called this morning to tell me he found a house for us and had posted a picture of it on snapfish. I, his intelligent mom, asked many questions, some that he tactfully avoided. I sensed something and asked him if it was a joke. He chuckled and admitted that it was but that his dad would get a kick out of it. I excitedly told his younger sisters that he found us a house near to him and his beautiful wife. They were really excited and could barely contain themselves while waiting for our very slow dial-up service to connect. When the picture of the house came up I heard, "Wow, that's awesome! Do you think Dad will buy it?" and "That is a really cute house, I want to live there!" Keep in mind that this makes the house on "Little House on the Prairie" look like a mansion! I didn't notice any driveway, electric wires etc... etc... in the picture. Tonight my wonderful knight in shining armor (okay, dusty, dirty clothes) came home, saw it and said, "Tell the boy to make an offer for us! We're moving!" The ironic thing is, Bob doesn't even know if it's for sale!!!!!!!!!! He just saw it and thought he'd pull a joke!!
Watch out Mel, If he chose that house for a family of 4 (with critters) don't ask him to find you a place for 1 --- It would probably be just an outhouse!!
Now that anyone reading this sees what kind of joker my son is, you know that you don't have to believe anything crazy he says about it mom in his blog. He is the eternal joker!!!! :-) Gets it from his dad!
It was a glorious day in Maine. SIXTY-FIVE degrees!!! The sun was out, the birds singing, the brooks babbling and the mud, mudding! We took a break from school work and went for a walk with the neighbors. Although it was short it was a wonderful break. It is ONLY March so I'm not putting away the winter clothes yet. I'd feel a whole lot more confident if I would only see a robin!

2006-03-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

What am I? Nuts?!?!?!
We now have a new member to our household! "Yoshi" is an eight week old golden retriever puppy. She is adorable, cuddly, smart and belongs to Annie. I really needed another pet in the house. I mean, after all, it's mud season in Maine. Wouldn't one want another set of footprints bringing that mud inside? Even if they are little, cute puppy prints? Yup, I'm a sucker! When M&B were younger and they'd want something or they wanted me to load up the van with their friends and take them places they'd come to me and ask then when I'd agree they'd draw an invisible 's' on their forheads and flap their fingers and thumbs together signaling that I have 'sucker' written on my forhead in flashing neon lights.
Our pets now consist of 2 adult dogs, a puppy, two cats, a horse, 3 ducks, chickens and an aquarium with about 20 baby fish. The baby fish are a REAL joy! I mean who wouldn't enjoy watching an empty tank while these babies, which are very tiny, hide in the gravel to stay away from the big fish who AREN'T there?!? I know their instinct is strong and they heed their instincts, just like me! I mean I've learned to say "NO" !!!! (right)
Yoshi is adorable and already knows who her person is. She usually tries to make it to the door when she has to ...er... go out. She makes one of our older dogs nervous and the other jealous. Sunshine isn't impressed and has shown Yoshi what a beautiful set of teeth she has with her big smile! Today was heartwarming though. The girls were out working with Dad and Yoshi was in an outdoor pen for the first time. She was crying and trying to howl. It was pitiful. Sunshine's maternal instincts must have kicked in because she found a stick and took it to Yoshi and dropped it next to her pen. (No, I really don't think she had the intent of beating her into silence with it!) I think there is hope for a friendship here.
There is something about a puppy though.............................