Just one more thing

Hello all and welcome again.  I really don't have much to report this week.  It has been a pretty standard week.  Oh no wait, we still have no phone!!!  I finally called the company and there is a problem with our line.  They are sending someone out to check it out.  Hopefully I will have a home phone again soon.   I have been relying on my cell phone for a while and it is getting a little expensive.  I keep running out of minutes.I wanted to share some more pictures I came across.  These are all going to be updated really soon because we are beyond them but I thought you might enjoy them.  Tom and Sean are up in VT right now and I am going up this weekend with the Logan to whip Tom into shape.  We all know that nothing gets done when I am not around.  Right now they are still back filling on the north side with is a little tricky.  Tom is pouring the posts for the porch and Sean is on the tractor.  He almost ran over his father earlier on.  I guess he was a little distracted.   DON'T DRIVE THE TRACTOR AND TEXT!!!!! (There should be a law against that)   Sean is coming home on Saturday and staying here with Natasha.  Enjoy these pictures courtesy of Natasha.

Please ignore the grey hair.



Our cement mixer, Sean.  Runs on air!




I told you I was loving being up on the ladder





Yes, I am the tallest, for now




Tadaa




A foggy picture of Logan




Self picture




All snug and cozy.  Who needs a bed?





How cute




Adding the final touches to the cement




A boy and his dog




At the top of the neighbor's  





The Connecticut River





First Baptist Church of Chester steple




Cleaning up the leaves with new friend Kelly



Tom climbing up the look out tower

Okemo Valley

Chet is all right with going up but not down



I think I will stay on the ground, thank you very much!



Logan having fun on the mountain




What can I say?

 

What is up with them anyway?



The blue smurf!  All that blue is going
 to be covered with dirt.




The beam that hit Tom's finger was bigger!




Sean having a blast with the truck! 
This was before he wanted to push it down the ravine.



These are pictures of the day we got out power back, again thanks Tasha for these.



Yes that is Tom in the tree.  What can I say,
 but that he has found his true occupation.





Power!




That would not be a job for me




Good thing the power is not on



I hope you have enjoyed these pictures.  I am looking forward to a nice visit with my parents coming up over Thanksgiving.  Also, Sean is turning 21.  I can't believe that at all.  It seems like yesterday..........

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.   Bless God and give thanks.

Better not to fuss



Wow, this is a mess,and Tom and Sean didn't make it.









Hello again and welcome.  What a couple of days we have been experiencing.  For all who are not living in CT right now, let me fill you in.  We were hit by a really nasty winter storm last Saturday, that has left Bristol 99% out of power.  In the summer, not a problem, but now, well, it is kind of cold.  My in-laws were also out of power and so were about 800,000 people in CT.  This is worse than the Hurricane.  It reminds me of a series my sister-in-law Nichole lent me over the summer by a Christian author.  She thought I would enjoy it because in this series the whole world had lost power and so people were scrambling all over the place to be able to survive.  I enjoyed it because it reminded me of how we are living in VT.  I never thought that we would have to experience it at a more elaborate level.  Everything was shut down.  It was difficult to get gas, to find an open store and most of the lights are out.

A nice smuft blue for a smooth finish

We go from building in VT to this.  What a mess! Things in VT were going well.  After a really crazy morning last Thursday, Sean did not want to drive his truck home.  He was just not ready to take the 2 and a half hour drive without testing the truck on short distances.  So I had to jump into the car and speed home with Logan and Tasha to meet furnace guy at 12.  He was waiting for me as I pulled in but it worked out great since we now had heat.  We settled into the house and just relaxed, knowing the boys would be up there until a while.  I was planning on relieving Sean when he wanted to come home after he had his fill of tractor driving.  Then the storm approached and was going to smash us.  I received a call on Saturday morning, as the snow was falling, that the boys were on their way home.  Tom had smashed his finger and he was done!  Sean had bandaged it up nicely (but he didn't need to use his splint).  They were coming home, leaving everything in VT.  I asked about chain saws and dirty laundry and things like that, but all was left behind.  They got home late and by that time we were pretty much in the middle of the storm.  We lost power when our neighbor's tree blew out the power lines.  All around us we were hearing miniature explosions going off.  The transceivers were being knocked over and exploding in the roads.  It was interesting, to say the least.  We have a huge and old maple tree in the back of our house and all night long I was praying that none of the branches would snap and land on our roof.  I heard the creaking and groaning and snapping but none of the branches hit the ground.  The next day started with the house in the 60s.  Not too bad, you may say, and I would agree but Tash and I were feeling a little crummy and I still have a bird, who likes it warmish.  So we bundled up under the covers, Tom and Sean and Logan went to Tom's brother's house, who had gone and bought a generator that day.  We ate sandwiches that night and had lots of candles around.  I felt really blessed because really this was nice.  We still had water and a nice bed to sleep in.   Sunday was going to be more difficult.  Tom left early to go back and back fill, leaving me without power.  That was when I started fussing!!!  I was worried that the weather would get really cold, that the bird would freeze and that by the time the power came back we would all be peoplcicles.  I couldn't believe that Tom would just go up and leave us to deal with the mess here.  Then he informed me that I would be in charge of selling the house and that we need to sell it soon.  It is very difficult to maintain two properties.  Tom could get a job but then who would build the other house.  It would take us 10 years to get it up and running.  I could work, but I still have a job do.  I love my job and feel that it is my honor to be able to teach my kids.  So the house has to go.  Once the other house is up and running we see what God has in store for us.  We are sure He will lead us to a great opportunity.  

Oops, sorry that was a tangent.  Tom is the one who goes on tangents, not me.  So I spent a sleepless night worrying and fussing that Tom was gone and we would all freeze or we would just be left with nothing.  Tom left about 4 am and left me a note to check out the devotion he had marked.  When I got up and shivered my way around the living room I reluctantly opened the book and couldn't figure out which one he wanted me to read.  There are 3 on a page.  So I made my way through each until I came to the last one.  Fussing leads to sinning.  Great!!!!  Just what the Dr. ordered.  I was going to be getting a talking to again.  I read Psalm 37, which was the focus of the devotional.  I pointed out to me that fussing leads to sin.  Fussing is an indication that we really are not where God wants us to be, but that we are relying on ourselves to take care of problems, or worse yet, we don't think that Christ is big enough to deal with our problems.  It made me feel so humble and grateful again, that here is this Creator of the Universe.  He cares enough about me, me! personally, to tell me in a loving way, that He will take care of things.  All I have to do is to rely on Him and trust that He will put it right.  I have the choice to make and turn my back and say, yeah that was a real coincidence and ignore what I should be learning.  I chose to listen and to trust, once again, completely that God's way is better than my way.  It was hard, and again I needed to let go of my own importance and my self and trust.  I would love to tell you that the power turned on right then and there, but it did not.  Instead, the kids and I (with dog right snug in between and bird chirping away not really happily but still chirping) piled on our bed with tons of blankets.  We were doing school and after about 2 hours I started reading to them.  I read all day, and it was so much fun.  The room was nice and toasty ( I think 65*).  My cell phone was dead by that time but Sean still had his going.  Tom texted him saying that he was on his way home with the generator and chain saws and was going to meet him at his brother Doug's.  Sean was on his way out anyway to go help friends with tree issues and it was perfect timing for him.  

Long line at Dunkan Donuts

So the moral of this experience and rebuke is: don't fuss.  God has our back.  I can rest in Him.  We did not get power back until the following Saturday, but we were warm and even had TV.  I fell really bad in writing this because many people are still out of power.  People's homes were burnt because they were trying to stay warm.  The weather was beautiful, thanks to God's mercy and grace.  It stayed in the 60s during the day.  Yes, people had to wait a long time for their coffee, but we still have our houses and the power is really going to be back on soon.  These are things that are not lasting.  We have to think about things that are lasting. Love, hope and faith!!!!

Have a warm week.             







All good things

Hello to all from the sticks

I have blog fever today since we are at the library and the kids are doing school I'm going to endulge.  So many great things have happened since my last blog that I really want to share them.  Unfortunately we have not been able to take any pictures.  The batteries in Tasha's camera died when it got really cold here.

First of all, I feel really happy here.  Natasha said it on Sunday.  She said that Tom and I fit in here really well.  We have found a wonderful church.  Tasha and I got to go to a women's breakfast, which allowed us to get to know the women in the church and connect with them.  It was such a great time and the sharing was incredible.  I shared what I had shared with you last week, and it seemed that everyone was experiencing a similar lesson.  Natasha actually surprised me the most.  She said that she was beginning to like it here.  She loves the church.  The girls (well more like young ladies) seek her out and talk to her and she feels very welcomed by them.

This is not a picture of their house but an example of a timber frame like it

Friday the family was invited to dinner at a couple's house.  The mother and daughter run a horseback riding business together and Heidi, the mom, invited me on a leisurely trail ride.  That was canceled due to a lame horse.  But we went to dinner nevertheless.  Their home is beautiful.  They also built their own home and did the same thing as us, camping out on their land.  The only difference, the house is still not finished.  It took them 10 years to get to this point.  They have no walls in the bed rooms upstairs.  No, it is not going to take us 10 years!!!!  3 at the most (inside included and electricity).  They are also completely off grid, which is our goal too.  We spent a wonderful evening with them.  The kids had a blast, since they already know each other and get along really well.  Sean and the youngest son, Glen, hit it off very well already.  I was really touched when one of the boys (23 and 25) sat on the floor with Logan and played with the kitten together.  That is a total credit to homeschooling.

Our trees are not that big but you get the picture

When I last blogged, I had shared about the lesson in coveting I had learned.  And as always, when we learn lessons and put them into practice, we receive many blessings.  This week has been one big blessing.  To begin the week with, we were cutting the trees at the back end of our property.  There are some beautiful hemlocks up there that are the right thicknesses for our beams in the basement.  Hemlock is a lot stronger than pine and also a lot denser, therefore heavier.  Please keep that in mind.  You will see later why I mentioned the heaviness.  Also let me quantify we; it was Tom.  I was encouraging him with my kind words and wonderful food (for thought).  I am getting quite an expert at cooking on one propane stove!  You should see me heat those pasta noodles!  Julia Fairchild here I come!  So Tom and Sean, actually, had already cut those, I believe 4 trees, down and now Tom was waiting to get them cut into beams.  Our guy with the saw was supposed to come and do it some time this week but Tom thought it would save time and money, and we all know that that is important when building, if he did it himself.  So his chainsaw and him, along with Tasha and Logan, went up there and started shaping.  To all, this is an extremely muscle shaping activity.  Usually Tom can only do one a day, it is that time and energy draining.  That day, my muscle man did 2 or 3 beams, which is quite amazing.  Tasha was really happy since she got to drive the car back there all by herself.  She did very well!

We lifted the beam over the small wall

 So we had these beams which needed to be brought down to the house.  One of them, 10ft long by 10" by 10", was ready.  So my ingenious hubby had the tree of us lift one end and pivot it to get it closer to the car, and pick up the other end and do the same thing.  After huffing and puffing for about 45 minutes give or take, we had the thing on the ROW.  Then came the challenge; how to get it into the Subaru.  Remember, the Subaru now also goes by the name of truck, because it has carried everything from 2by4s to 28 sheets of foam insulation in windy weather (remember Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and tons of cement.  It is due for new shocks really soon!  This is where Logan came in to help.  We managed to wiggle the beam into a position so that when sitting on one end of it the other would go up.  Hence, Logan had a seasaw and he was having a great time with it.  Again, we huffed and puffed and finally shoved the beam into the trunk of the car.  Notice it is still a car!!!  Logan leaned on the end of it to keep it from falling out and Tom lay across it too and off we went down the ROW, very slowly!  Once at the house we decided that there was not way were were going to carry it from the car to the house.  And now the faithful little thing became an off roading vehicle.  I carefully maneuvered it over rocks and stumps as close as I could get.  At this time we needed Sean as well, and he came to help us get the monster out.  That took all of our strength.  We were about 20 ft from the back of the house so again, the maneuvering began.  Physics is really cool when it actually works!  We got it as close as we could and then we had to lift it over the 3 foot wall.  Impossible you say.  Not so, says my Tom!  With levers and lots of huffing we got it into the basement where it rested on cinder blocks awaiting shortening and mitering.  But that was a job for another day.  We were done for the day after that!    

The kids at the top of neighbor's property 

 Where was Sean, you want to know?  Poor Sean was in his engine.  Last time we were up here, he discovered that his head gasket was about to go on his truck.  Because he now has to be very careful with his cash, trucks cost a lot, he just couldn't afford to bring it to our mechanic friend in Chester.  Also he really didn't want to drive it.  So he took on the huge job of fixing the head gasket himself.  A trained mechanic needs about 12 hours to do the job.  He is not a trained mechanic.  He worked on it for 5 days, straight.  God be praised, because He really helped him out and even provided the weather for him.  We were supposed to get nasty weather yesterday, while he was finishing the job, and after fervent, and I mean fervent, prayer it turned out to be beautiful and cool.  He finished the job yesterday but when he turned the truck on the engine was knocking.  His lesson, I think, is several fold.  First, I think he is again being taught patience.  And then God is teaching him how to rejoice in his trials, because they will come.  He is teaching me that too because it is really hard to watch Sean struggle with this truck.  But it is a great lesson and he is learning it slowly.  He was in a great mood on Monday and Tuesday.  Today, not so much.

Aww, Anne, you must right about now be thinking.  This is nothing.  What is all that excitement about?  I am not done, yet.  Please be patient.  (Is there a lesson in this for you too?) On Sunday after church, the same guy who offered us the house in NH, which we still might take up on again, told Tom that he would be by on Monday to help with the backfill.  That was going to be a huge job because, well we just have a wheel barrow and shovel, so it would have taken us several days and a few bottles of Arnica ( an herbal pain reliever).  We were really thrilled.  At the same time another couple came up to us and offered us their house also to come and crash, if we needed it.  We will take them up on it, because it is getting cold.  They have a prison ministry here in Springfield.  So Monday came around and no Chris.  Later on in the afternoon he came and brought his tractor.  We had to start with making the gravel around the foundation a lot thicker to allow for really good drainage.  We just ordered a dump truck of gravel and I am thrilled to tell you, that gravel is now in its proper place.   Around the footing of the foundation.  It took Chris 3 hours to finish that job.  He didn't want any money for it, so that is a huge, huge blessing.  He was going to come back to backfill with sand but that would take at least a day or so.  He said he was available next week.  After looking at our backfill, he confirmed that we have really great dirt and that there is enough to backfill three times the amount.  God provides again.  The most exciting event about this tractor thing was that in the end, the men grabbed the remaining beams and they are now resting snugly in our basement.  Actually Tom is shaping them as we speak, I think.  The only sad thing I have to report is that while backfilling the gravel, our raised beds got destroyed, run over, demolished,..... or any other such word you want to use here.  It made me really sad because of the hard work that went into them.  But there is always next year! 

And now for the piece de resistance:  the hugest blessing of all!  We were at youth group last night, a wonderful time always, and of course we were the last to leave!  In the course of the evening we told the story of the heavy beam, and Roger, our host and mechanic, offered us his tractor to use for several weeks!  I still don't know what to think about that, I am so thrilled.  Here is the deal.  If we have that thing for a few weeks we will be able to: backfill, scrape the septic mount and prepare it, dig the trench for the septic pipes, dig the holes for the septic pipes, and put up the beams and rafters without killing our backs or trying to figure out how to lift them up.


I want to say that all these things didn't happen by circumstance or luck.  There is someone looking out for us, and He cares how we live our lives and wants to be part of that life.  Tom and I could not have put the huge amount of sand at the back of the property.  We could not have moved people's hearts to offer us their services or their equipment.  When we humble our hearts to the greatness of our Father, He is faithful to help us out.  That is one of the blessings I have in my life.  Have an awesome week.  Stay warm and don't think of  cold, white fluffy things.  It is in the forecast for tomorrow.  Think warm thoughts, think warm thoughts.


An update: PRAISE THE LORD, SEAN'S TRUCK IS FIXED!!!!!  And he did it on his own (mostly and of course with God's help) and with the encouragement of us.  They are going home.  We are staying here, and that is another story!     

Choices

I know you are shocked, two blogs in one week.  I have to say that I have been looking forward to writing this blog.  It has been on my heart for a while.  Every day we have choices to make and for me the choice is always, is this honoring to my Lord and Savior or is this something that me, myself and I want.  There have been many a times when I have made the wrong choices, and God in His wisdom has to spank me a little and redirect me.  The spankings are usually very loving and after I have gone through the ordeal, many times I will tell myself, Duuuh.  Well, God has just shown me something and it is on my heart to share it with you.


God promises to take care of us and supply our needs.  He showed me that when my little bird flew away in the fall and came back.  He took care of this little creature and me as we had asked Him.  Just to make sure I got that lesson, He repeated it, when Little Boy was swept out the door one stormy winter morning.  Sure enough, the little guy came back after an hour.  I had thought he was toast, or crow food.  So I have had a lot of experience with God's provision and I really shouldn't worry anymore.  The kids and I have been studying James and we just read something interesting.  Temptations are not from God.  Any temptations we are experiencing are because we want what we want and not what God has given us.  Very simple.  All  good things come from above.  Stay with me here, I am getting to the point. 

Our little haven

I have to take stock of what God has given me.  I have a dry place to put my head while we are here.  He has also provided a place for me to make simple meals for the family, and a place where we can sit at night.  He has provided a pretty nice shelter, I have to say.  One that we built as a family.   I have places to use the rest room as well as go swimming, which Logan loves.  He has provided that for us very nicely.  No, it is  not the Ritz Carlton, nor is it something that people look at and would like to stay at.  They are impressed with it, because we built it, but they would never spend a night in it, let alone a few nights.  Again, this is something we have been provided for by our Father.  It is not for everyone, and that's quite all right. 

On Sunday I thought God was answering one of my prayers.  A couple from church approached us and offered us their place to stay at.  They are in the process of selling it and they wanted us to be able to use it because they thought it would help us while we were up here.  I was so thankful.  Here we were going to have a kitchen, I was going to be able to make more nutritional meals than the ones I had been making.  A shower every day, what a luxury.  Not to mention a fire place to get nice and toasty and enjoy some fun with the kids.  We left the property rather late.  This place is in NH, just over the border about 45-50 minutes away.  When we finally got there, in the middle of nowhere, it was dark and cold and wet and I was really praising God.  We entered and I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  This was not a little place.  It was an old colonial house with 3 stories.  The kids took an hour to explore their surroundings.  Wow, the kitchen alone is as big as my home in Bristol.  As Tom was stoking the fire, making the place nice and warm I was finding room after room with the kids.  There were games, a TV with DVD and VCR, and movies to go along with it.  The beds looked heavenly and there were enough for each of us to choose one for one day and a different one the next.  The whole place was well decorated.  We got ourselves ready and as the downstairs heated up, we decided to sleep in the family room, because the heat was not really getting upstairs.  So we got blankets and pulled out the couch for Tom, Logan and myself.  The older kids grabbed the recliners.  As the night settled over us, we heard: click, click, click click, whimper, click....  The dog was not comfy.  He couldn't find a good spot.  Him being a short haired pointer meant that he gets cold quickly.  He was a little cold and wanted to sleep with Sean.  No chance.  Also the heat was, well, let's just say it wasn't really cutting it.  We were cold, the dog kept us up and well it was just kind of uncomfortable.  At 2 in the morning Tom got up and shivered his way to the stove which was now out.  He started the fire again and the dog wanted to rest with him in front of the warmth.  By three Tom was struggling to have a warm fire so  I took over and actually got the thing going well.  Chet settled down very nicely, finally.  By five I was bone tired and went back to bed, getting up every half hour to stoke the fire.  Tom came out and slept in front of the fire.  That was the night and as we all roused ourselves in the morning, the sun was already up.  It was a windy but nice day.  We were getting things in order, washing up and things like that, when I decided to call my friend Sharon and tell her about this really cool house.  Tom was busy talking to Tasha and asked me to go into the other room.  So I went, leaving the hall door open.  The hall leads to the rest of the house and we had kept it shut to keep the heat downstairs as well as the dog.  With the door open, Chet was free to sniff around upstairs.  As I was talking I was assaulted by a pungent, and not very welcome smell.  Yup, my lovely dog had left a package on the upstairs carpet.  I was mortified and cleaned it up right away. 

At this time it was 11 in the morning.  We had had no breakfast because I thought we were going back very early but with the cleaning up and Chet's present, we just didn't make it.  We had a 50 min drive back.  Tom made an executive decision that we were not going to stay at the house any more.  I seconded it, very reluctantly.  I kept telling Tom that it would get better the next day.  I began to wonder why God would give us this beautiful place and then take it away.  I got my answer that night, as we were sitting snugly in our 10 by10, reading together and hanging out, having fun.  I had all I needed and wanted.  I didn't need a big house, and my tribulation came when I coveted after what I really didn't need.  That is when that verse out of James struck me.  So often we overlook what is right in front of us and want bigger and better things.  That is when things go wrong for us.  I am really glad I am beginning to understand this.  I hope that in the future I will be happy with what I have been given, and not strive for bigger and better things.  The kids and I are studying what it means to be grateful.  It is so much more than being thankful.  It is making known to God and others in how they have benefited me.  I am grateful to God for giving me a family, and a shed.  I am thankful to the wonderful brother and sister in the Lord who provided this lesson for me.  It is very dear and precious and I hope that when I am put into this kind of situation again, I will be able to stand up before a righteous God with the correct actions.

Have a great day, and thank God for what He has given you right now.
Anne