Hello everyone, and how is everyone today? Spring, I hear it approaching and dare I say that it is not far off? We will have to see. We just had a glorious week. The weather was wonderful and warm. Even the dog was happy on some of the days. He is still struggling with is a nasty cold and gets really cold at night. As you can see, I was even wearing a T-shirt (and a nice bright one). I figured both Natasha and I could be really illuminating if we both wore our glow-in-the-dark shirts. The room was quite brighter because of us.
This has been a very busy month for us, in terms of life. We are actually getting back to that, slowly but surely. Sad to say but my baby, Logan, had now joined the "Pre-teen" age. He has grown into a very sweet young person. As you can see, he is still very silly. He comes up with sayings, I can't possibly share. He usually has us cracking up at least once a day. He just celebrated his 11th birthday and it was a really nice time for him. I really didn't want to invite a lot of people because, well, our house is not finished and there are holes and such all over the place. The only thing Logan wanted was for his friend Eric to come and visit. We also got together with Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday (our thermometer in the car measured 63degrees) in Greenfield. After a nice lunch at Friendly's (Logan's favorite restaurant) we spent the day shopping. It was a gorgeous day and I actually walked around without a jacket.
Chet in snow
We shall conquer
Logan got to try out his present from Grandma and Grandpa. He went snow shoeing. He had a lot of fun. He didn't go very far but he had a better time than Tom, the dog and me, who kept on sinking into the snow. We had a nice time just walking around in the snow but it was a little chilly.
A Red tailed Hawk
Yes, those are eagles
Logan and I had a chance to go to the VINS, which is a bird of prey sanctuary. I hope Doug knows where this is going :) We had a nice time there. The facility was beautiful but boy it was ccccoooollllddddd. We spent quite some time there, looking at the different birds. We were the only people there, basically. But it gave us a chance to really come up close and personal with some of the birds. The hawk in the picture is a female and her handler brought her to a classroom to have her fly around and to do some training. She was not interested.
So as you can see and hear we are trying to get to a routine life here in VT. It is kind of hard but we are so blessed to be here and even though there are such inconveniences in our life, we are just living to the best of what God gives us.
Usually you know that I have the video at the end of my blog but I just felt that this time I would have it in the middle of the blog. Sean, Tasha and a friend of hers, Jo Ti, went to a concert last night given by Casting Crowns. I hope most of you know how much I love music. I credit my wonderfully talented mother for my love of music. That and God really speaks to me through His music. So, the concert was wonderful. We were late!!! And we hit a traffic jam (yes in VT) as we got to the place. Then we were wandering around for about 15 minutes (in really cold weather!) until we found the venue . It was held at the University of Norwich, and I was glad that Sean's friend Mac goes to the school. He was able to call him and get directions to the hall where the concert was(thanks Mac). So we got there and Casting Crowns was not on stage yet. The place was packed (it was in the gym). We got seats in the nose bleed section and really couldn't see too well (no small people jokes here). I was so blessed by the evening. The music was wonderful and it was almost as though we were all sitting around the fire and they were just jamming with us.
Tasha and Jo T
The reason I chose this song to share with you in because something Mark Hall shared with us. He had a friend who was going through a lot of stuff, this is when he was younger, and because of where Mark was at the time, he couldn't share how much Jesus loves us with him. It was too late for his friend, who committed suicide.
That is serious. I am not proposing religion here. Not at all. I don't care if you are Catholic, Mormon, Muslim, Protestant, or whatever religious congregation you favor. I want you to take a moment, please, please and listen to me. I would love to share this with you. You see, Jesus, the son of God, God Incarnate, loves YOU!!! It doesn't matter what you have done, whom you have hurt or how much hurt you have experienced. Jesus came not for me only or for my family. He doesn't care who goes to church every Sunday or how much money you give to the poor. He cares for YOU, not your "righteous" acts. He came to earth, became flesh and blood, for YOU and ME! However, He will NOT force Himself on you. He is quite the Gentleman. He is waiting for you to come and approach Him. And only when you have come and approached Him, the way you are with all you junk from the past, will He say: My Child, I will take your hand and we will go together. Don't fear, I have taken care of all the junk in your life. That was my job to take care of that. Please, please take a moment to really think about this. We don't know what tomorrow will bring. We only know that we will end up somewhere, and I have stated this before. Heaven or hell!!!!! Satan is real and he is fighting for your soul. The difference is, he is not a gentleman. He will do with you whatever he wants. Mind you, just because we don't come to Him, doesn't negate that He is waiting for us to come to Him.
This is my prayer for you. I hope you know I am in earnest. Each and every one of you is precious to me and trust me, I am nothing. Christ is much more real than I am and He is waiting for you. What are you waiting for?
Hello everyone again. I just thought I would update you on what is going on here. As usual, I am so glad we are here at this beautiful place. We have had some fun in the last couple of weeks but I want to continue a little on my last blog. When I left you guys I was lamenting that the cold weather had caused us to go through our supply of wood (hence heat) a little too quick, and that poor Tom was out there almost every other day chopping up our wood. I just wanted to give this testimony of how great our God is so that is why I'm coming back to that. I had finished the blog and was pulling up our ROW when I saw that Sean had parked his truck so that I couldn't pull in after him. I knew there was a major storm coming the next day or so and that we were going to have to move the car for the plow to be able to plow us out. As I got out of the car (yes I was grumbling a little), I saw a whole lot of wood behind his truck. I thought to myself, wow, Tom was busy while I was slouching off at the library. I felt a little bad and then I walked into the basement. The whole wall next of our stove was filled with wood and there was wood stored in front of the stove. Sean, Tom and Tasha were bringing in the wood. Tom told me where the wood had come from (stay with me for a little longer here:)). I had run into our pastor a week or so previous while buying a new handle for Tom's ax (he goes through them a lot) and had just told him how much time Tom spends on chopping. Pastor told me that if we ever get into trouble that we should call him and all the guys from church would come and help with the wood chopping. I assured him that we had enough wood around (10 acres worth), but it was just taking away from building while Tom was chopping. We agreed that it took time and he shared some horror stories of his childhood chopping wood. Well, I guess with the storm coming up, he really didn't want us to be chopping and finding ourselves without wood, so him and an elder came and dropped off a lot of dry, hard wood. I was really thankful and just want to say that, God knows what you are going through, whether you want to believe it or not. He is not some god that doesn't care what we are going through down here. He sent Christ, so that He would know the difficulties we are facing every day, so that God can sympathize with us. We are never alone. It just feels like it because we are so stubborn and want to do things our own way (been there, done that).
There was a lot more.
We weathered the storm better than CT did. We didn't lose power at all (hahaha) and were nice and toasty. It was beautiful just to watch the snow coming down. We got a bit and the next day the kids were all out there having a blast. The plow had made some impressive mounds and Logan sled down this for a little bit. Then Sean had the brilliant idea to have a mega sledding (up hill) behind the truck. They did this for about an hour and you should have heard Logan laughing. I tried to get a movie out of it but couldn't. Sean and Tasha spent a nice weekend with their cousins last weekend for a concert that was postponed from the weekend of the storm.
taking a ride on the sled
The rest of us were able to go and find out what Chester had to offer in terms of a winter carnival. We had a terrific time. They had two teams of sled dogs and were giving free rides. It took two hours before we were able to get on the sled and by that time my feet were huge chunks of ice. But I have to say it was a blast seeing the joy of those dogs when they were told to go. They were howling when they figured out that it would soon be time to get going. Very funny. Unfortunately for Sean, they had to leave before they were able to get on the sled, but I'm sure there will be another time for him to do that. After the excitement of the sledding (and hot chocolate), Logan and Tom attempted to slide down this rather large hill. The sled did not want to cooperate with them at all. So it was a bit of a downer but over all, we had a great day. I got to defrost my feet once we got home. The next day brought a cold and headache, but I would do it again.
Since then we actually have lights and plugs that work. I was thrilled when I was able to flip a switch for the first time and "Let there be light"! It was so much fun. The wall you see in the picture also now has wood paneling and no longer has the wonderful insulation motive. So things are moving along. We just had a couple of great days schooling (thanks Keisha) and are waiting for what is next.
I am glad to notice that the days are getting longer. The sun is out so much more and we just love that. I can't believe it is almost March. Logan is turning 11 in a couple of weeks. Have a wonderful day, and I say: To God be the glory!
Hello again my dear friends. I hope you are all staying nice and warm in this cold weather. The temp was 10 degrees this morning! Fun, fun. There are a lot of things going on here as there are everywhere in the world. We got to take a quick trip to CT a few weeks ago and I picked up a wonderful book on the way home. This book was a real inspiration to me and I want to share a few things God has shown me through that book and His word and how it has affected me. The book is called "Kisses from Katie" and is written by a young woman who was called to Uganda when she was 17 years old. She is now in her early 20s. As I started reading the book, I thought, wow, this is just like my life right now. This young lady had a burning desire to go to Uganda (of all places) in her senior year of high school. Her parents reluctantly allowed her to go of the Christmas holiday and it became clear that she had found her home. She came back after graduation and God has done some amazing things in her. And it is not the things she is doing that are amazing, although they are amazing too, it is what He is doing in her heart. She went to Uganda expecting something, but what she got was so different than what she expected. She came from an upscale area in the states, from wealthy parents who expected her to go to college, have a career and a happy marriage. What she got is a thriving ministry, and 15 adopted daughters! But again, more important she allowed God to change her while. She opened her heart to His wishes, even though she was tired, tired and spent.
Why am I sharing this with you? Because at this point in my life I am experiencing the blessings of opening up your heart to God completely, and allowing Him to do what He needs to do, with or without running water, electricity, and bathroom, etc. I love how she puts it: "I am human, and that means I have emotions. I can fear, laugh, cry,..." I like that, but what I have been learning is that even though we are human, we need to watch how we respond to the fear, laughter, and pain/sadness. If I let the fear take over, I have moved myself out of Christ's loving arms and I have basically told Him that He can't possibly manage to see me through my situation; I am in control, not Him. I know that He can get me through any situation I am in, but the question is am I letting Him be my Savior?
We were reading Ps 78 the other day and God started to talk to me as I sat down to journal about it (yes I have started to journal but I am not very diligent with it). What got me in this Psalm was that God gave the Israelites everything they needed while they were in the desert and yet they still complained and lusted for things that God had not provided. That is me over and over again! I get impatient waiting for God to provide just what He has desired for me. There is nothing wrong with asking God to provide for somethings, because He delights in giving us things, but when I get dissatisfied with what God is giving me and then going out to get the things He is not providing, there is a problem.
I do understand why the Israelites wandered. I only need to allow
myself to be distracted for a millisecond and my mind will start to
wander down paths I really shouldn't allow it to go. My job really is
to remember Christ's work. If I start to listen to the deceiver and my
mind is distracted, I can redirect it immediately and start to focus on
Christ. Remembering His promises allows me to be steadfast wherever He
puts me. As soon as I realized I'm allowing myself get freaked out I
have a choice. That is to take a deep breath and focus on Him or
continue my freaking out.
When I read this book but Katie Davis I was struck by how God provided everything, and I mean everything for her. She couldn't do anything for herself, but God provided what she needed, not wanted. One thing struck me and that was when she traveled back to the states after having adopted some of her daughters. She had been faced with extreme poverty, with relying on God 100% every waking moment of her day, and when she traveled back to the states, she was overwhelmed with a sense of loss. She couldn't rely on God the way she had in Uganda because everything was so available. There is nothing wrong with that and she was able to get through that but I know how she feels. When we are struggling through the day because there is no water, electricity or bathroom, I have to rely on Christ a lot more than if I could just turn on the switch and voila, light. I am not saying we should all live in the woods of VT, without water and electricity (I would love the company and so would Natasha:)) but the point God made in my heart was that even though Moses, Abraham, Joseph and a few of the others were extremely rich, they did not depend on their wealth, God still was able to use them because they were willing to let go of their own ideas and allow God to work His perfect will in them. That is how we are perfected. We allow God, through Christ and the Holy Spirit, to do whatever He sees fit. That is how we get joy, peace and love and live perfect lives.
For me, I can't do that in a place where everything is right there available for me right now. I have to struggle a little bit. That is why I, personally, feel that this experience is so good for me. I know that the kids are also being grown. He is stretching them and molding them into something that will be useful for Him, wherever He sees fit, doing whatever He wants them to do. For me it is amazing to experience that, even though we still don't have water, indoor plumbing or interior walls, He will give me the strength. I don't have to worry about wondering if we will have enough wood to make it through the winter. He already has provided because He knows we need to stay warm. I don't have to worry if my kids will have a job, because He is guiding their steps even more than I can.
I thank you for your time, that you are spending, reading this. I hope it helps you in some of the things you are going through, and if not, I hope you can rejoice with me in how God is growing me and maturing me. And it will give you a chance to better pray for me (I always appreciate that!).
Speaking of growing and maturing, the title of my blog is life continues and that it certainly does. Every day Tom gets up, starts the stove and does what he does every day. He chops wood for our fire so we can stay warm. I used to get so upset because nothing gets done on the house, but really God is providing the wood, the heat and right now that is really important. He keeps reminding me that the house will be finished. I feel so bad for Tom because chopping that wood is not easy and his skinny body goes through a lot when he chops the wood. I am so thankful that God provides and I totally rest in the fact that He is in control, no matter what. Ahhhh.
My wonderful daughter has been driving me around town a lot. It is kind of boring, because I haven't had to scream in fear or anything like that. The other day we were traveling into town and I actually complained
Starting just right
that she was not making this learning thing interesting for me. The audacity!! The other day, after a wonderful dusting of snow, we decided to drive around and have her take some pictures. The dog needed to have a good run and Logan was just itching to get out. To my, how should I put it, demise, Logan is getting really good at pitching snowballs, even through the window of the Subaru as I am trying to hide from him.
No you don't!
The day was wonderful because we were able to walk on the ice and have snowball fights and make snow angels. The dog had a blast! He ran next to the car and just had such a great time. We stopped by the new covered bridge and I can see that I will have even greater trouble crossing it, since the tracks are a lot farther apart. I shudder to think that I will have to cross that thing! The bridge is beautiful, though.
Logan on ice
Then we put in more windows!!! YES! Upstairs is now nice and light up.
Windows upstairs
Have a wonderful day, everyone.
By the way, the website to Amazina ministries is really good (the young woman who wrote the book). If you want to check it out, here it is: http://amazima.org/
Happy January, everyone. We only have a few more months until spring. Be happy!! How is everyone this fine crisp (6 degrees at this point but this morning at 7:30 it was -3) fine morning? I have to tell you, honestly, I did not want to get up this morning. I had been stuck between a snoring and moving dog and a hubby all night, making sure they were both warm enough. It didn't leave much for my own slumber.
5 more minutes, please.
I am glad to report that both the hubby and the dog were quite cozy and had a wonderful night sleep, thank you! That said, I had no choice to rise, since my bubbly daughter didn't give me much of a choice otherwise. She was up before me, the audacity!! But she also doesn't share her mattress with the huffing and puffing dog, who was continually moving around, trying to get a better, more comfi position. He started out at my feet and ended, well, you can see for yourself.
Logan and I were reading in Psalms 50 the other
day and what struck me was that God does not want our sacrifices of
good deeds or others. The most beautiful thing to God is our contrite
heart, a heart that is turned toward Him and Him alone. He wants our
thankfulness, our praises. My whole thinking has to be tuned toward Him
in thankfulness, even when I don't want to get up in the morning.
Is it morning already?
There are so many things to be thankful here. The beginning of the month started with rather balmy temperatures (upper 30's) and just beautiful weather. I kicked the kids outside one day to walk around and take pictures. It was a perfect day, there was a slight haze around the trees and the sun was just about to peek through. It was quite magical. Logan also took some amazing pictures. We were pretty busy with school the next couple of days, and putting up some wall paneling in the living room. No more insulation wallpaper!
Before
After
We have moved on to the side walls and really it totally fits with the house. This house is not going to be a really fancy, dancy house. Both Tom and I are not complicated and don't need anything fancy. Tom and I thought it would be nice if we could us mostly our own wood, cut and lumbered from our own trees. 99% of the joists, posts, beams, and panels are from our property. The walls definitely have added a homey feeling. Every step we are getting a teeny weensy step closer to a completed house. When that day comes only God knows but He does know and when the mornings are cold and it is hard to get out of bed I can trust that this will not last forever, and that He knows when it will end and that it will end. And then I will always have the memory of sleeping on an air mattress with the dog on one side and the hubby on the other (the dog actually snores a lot louder than Tom).
My wonderful sister and her husband were up twice now and we had a great time with them. They came up just for the day the other day and we were so blessed with their company. The dogs got along no problem (Chet is not a gentledog!) and we played charades in the evening. The men took some measurements and discussed some projects that are upcoming while Eiki, Tasha and I hit the Antique stores. We had a good time doing it, and I was able to keep my sister from spending her paycheck on antique tin cans. I think George was very happy about that.
The most exciting news and scary at the same time, is that Natasha is now amongst the legal drivers (under parental supervision until she gets her license). She passed her permit test after lots and lots of studying and praying. This has been something she has looked forward to for at least a year. When we took her to get her permit in CT she did not pass for several reasons. Once, she didn't pass because she needed new glasses and then she just wasn't prepared. I also believe that she wasn't ready to drive and God said, No, my child. It is not your time yet. This time she was prepared. Once Tom and I had switched our licenses and Logan was registered to be home schooled here, we told her that she had a definite green light to get her permit. She studied her little heart out. She was able to study online and things made sense to her. In the meanwhile, she was driving on our ROW and helping with lifting up massive beams and such (if you recall the car has done a lot of work on the house too). She has been looking forward to this so much but she also realized that it was not hers to hold onto. The night before her test she was able to surrender the whole thing to Him, who knows anyway. While taking the test she prayed for every answer, with the knowledge that if she didn't pass, it would be all right. Praise God she did pass and has driven twice on normal roads. I am still alive!!! So, all you who are driving in the Springfield/Chester area: beware!!! She actually did really well on the road and the squirrels were able to make it across the road. Wait, what am I saying, squirrels are not around much right now. So no squirrels were harmed in her first drive around town.
I do love sitting in our what will be living room in our nice and fluffy chairs. Ahhh, a cup of tea in my hand and my bible on my lap that is how I try to start the day (notice try) looking out the window. Most mornings like that are interrupted by the dog needing his peanut butter and medicine (he actually looks forward to it and sits and waits for his "treat") and trying to get Logan out of bed and lately wrapping up in a nice warm blanket since it takes a while to get the house warm. In the evening we gather here as Tom reads the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy to us. This is also where the young folk sit and chuckle at the comics their grandfather sent them. It took them an hour to laugh their way through.
Since we put up the sub floor, we now are eating in what will later be our kitchen. It is a lot nicer than before and I actually have places to store my cups and plates (we are still doing the good china thing: paper plates and cups. Easy peasy clean up!! Open the door of the fire place and voila, clean up accomplished.). Logan does school here but lately Natasha has been disappearing into the basement. She likes to stay nice and toasty and will sit along the "bench" for hours doing her school. I can only stay about 15 minutes before I have to move further and further away.
I kind of marvel at the change from this year to last. This year Logan goes outside but he is mostly inside (cold, cold!!). Last year we had to go to the library for school or he sat in the car reading his books. I remember he was doing a lot of listening to CDs on tape and one very cold day he drained the battery of the Subaru. Thank God for neighbors. This year he has a mattress and can play his DS at night (the blue light usually shines at night upstairs as the three of them are using their DS's or tablets). He is so content here and when he does go outside he has a great time. The kids were having a great time at the middle of the property the other day. Sean and Logan were having a snowball fight while Tom was cutting some firewood. Then they decided to gang up on Natasha. She actually turned it around and stalked them and almost ambushed them. I thought that was hilarious.
Speaking of Sean, he just received his official notice from the state of Vermont (by the way, this is a total tangent but Vermont is so much easier to spell than Connecticut) and he can now start his business. It is a very official certificate and he was really excited to receive it last night. He is also in the process of switching his license (finally, I think he is afraid Tash is going to have hers before he gets his switched). He was just lacking some letters sent to the house but he all set now.
Tom is doing well. He has caught us up on firewood (very important right now) and was planning on getting the upstairs windows prepped and ready. Next week we are suppose to have warmer weather and hopefully we can get some of the windows it. It would be great. This is his third year home from Iraq and I have to say, that it is a real blessing having him around all the time. Oh, we have our moments of heated discussions, but all in all I love having him around. He is kind of fun to be with, except when we are doing school and he makes comments. Its like having that one kid in your class that has to clown around and then the rest follow. It takes awhile to get the class (Logan) back into order and on task (Hey, you wanna go and play your DS?).
We are looking forward to having the whole inside
paneled and upstairs walls put up next, as well as the floors upstairs and downstairs done. Tom just contacted our friend
who lumbered most of our wood and he is able to lumber some more wood
for us. That will help a lot. The windows upstairs are ready to go in
but we just haven't done them because it is cold and putting them in
takes some time. I am looking forward to a concert in March. The kids
and I get to go to a Casting Crowns concert here in VT and Tasha is
praying that her friend Esther will come for that.
I hope all is well with you out there. I hope you still enjoy our little adventure, which has turned out to be not so little after all. I have to remind you to be careful what you pray for. God will use it to bring you closer to him, however He wants. I have learned, grown, gained weight, lost weight, added some more grey hair to my crown of wisdom, laughed and cried but I give all the glory and thanks to Him who knew me in my mother's womb.
Happy New Year everyone. I hope so far things have gone according your plans. As everyone knows things always go according to my plans. Well, yes, I think we need to move on here. We are feeling like it is a heat wave today after really, really cold weather. It was so cold one day, the generator didn't really want to start. Shame on it. But after a few persuasion techniques (I don't know if Tom used the thumb screws or the cold water torture on it) it coughed to life. That was very nice of it because we were able to listen to some story CD's and such while it was running.
We were getting ready for Christmas and I was feeling a little sad that we were not going to be having any lights or Christmas decoration around the house this time again. Last year, the house was on the market and our Christmas stuff was in boxes in VT. This year the Christmas things were within reach but without a sub-floor, we just didn't feel it was safe to have a tree. We also don't have any furniture around to put Christmas decorations. So I was just a little sad. To me, those things add a lot to Christmas. Sean and I went into town (yup, downtown) to pick up a shirt and pants for Logan for the play. When I got back, my wonderful hubby had strung the lights along our beams. They were lit up and gave the whole house a festive feeling. He had put the lovely manger on one of the window sills, which was just terrific. It brought me to tears because here is Tom with a thousand other things on his mind but still he too the time to string the lights and set up the manger because he knew it meant a lot to me. He even had Christmas music playing! That was a wonderful gift. Another wonderful gift was the pie. I wanted to have pie for Christmas day but of course couldn't bake. So I figured I would buy one. We had had a nice pie for Thanksgiving, which tasted really good. As I searched for this pie, on Sunday early afternoon, I was dismayed to find that they had all sold out; surprise, surprise. But I was told to go to this bakery at the outskirts of town. We did this after church only to find out that the proprietor had just baked her last pie for Christmas. I was pretty bummed and talking to her I shared that we are building and that the reason I couldn't just bake a pre-made pie was that I couldn't bake just yet. She told me not to worry about it that she would have a pie for me the next day. I was so happy the floodgates nearly opened again (I was a little emotional that week). The pie was really, really, really, really good.
Pastor Logan. Sounds good.
The Sunday before Christmas, Logan was in a play here at the church in
Chester. He did such a nice job. He was very serious about his role as
Pastor and God. We then spent a wonderful Christmas Eve with family in CT
and walked up the road to look at the old house. That was so strange.
It really wasn't our house anymore and I am glad. I felt no regret when
I walked past it only peace about where we are now. We visited with our neighbors really quickly before
we left and that was a nice treat. It was also a treat to see my friend
Theresa who lives across the street from Chris and Tracy. Before we
got to their house we were able to check out a wonderful dance
performance at Wintonburry
church. My niece Christina did a fabulous job with her fellow
dancers. Since we had the dog with us, we needed to get back and I
really wanted to spend Christmas day in VT. We even had a white Christmas and
spent a wonderfully relaxing day with good food, lots of snacks and pie!
Really beautiful
The mail was delivered that day.
These pictures were taken after the real snow we got a week or so later. We actually walked up to the top of our neighbor's property while it was snowing. Logan had issues with it because he was hot! The dog followed a deer trail, which was a lot of fun for him. The next day, my sister and her husband came and spent two days with us. We had such a great time and got to hike up again through the meters of snow (here I exaggerate which I do occasionally). The view from the top was absolutely worth the agonizing pain I felt in my legs as I hiked up, not to mention the breath coming out in spurts because of the exhaustion (again, a little exaggerated but my legs did hurt and my face was bright red). We ate dinner at Friendly's, Logan was really happy, which took about 2 hours. But really it didn't matter because we were chatting and taking it easy. Then they went back to their hotel and we joined them after putting more wood into the fire for the poor dog (teeth chattering when he gets cold). The next day, my sister and I wanted to venture out into the once again snowing area to go to some of the numerous Antique stores together. No, we needed chaperones. The men came, but in a different car, so Eiki and I got to spend some quality time together. It actually was a lot of fun to go around these stores. I found one store I actually really like. They build their own furniture and I really like what they have. Did I mention I really liked the store? Moving on.... They left in pretty stormy weather and made it to Cape Cod after 7 hours of bad driving. I was glad they made it and really enjoyed my time with them.
We had a fantastic time New Years Eve with fun games and food, lots of that. We spent it here and were invited to spend it with friends at the church. We played this game called 4 on a couch right before midnight. I don't know if any of you have heard of it, it is confusing . But it is such a holler. Logan played it for the first time this year and laughed so hard. I will not explain it because it is too confusing my brain will start hurting.
And then the great freeze!!!!! But you know, through it all, God kept us warm at night with lots and lots of fire wood to use. The house was pretty toasty, since Tom cut down a tree that had died standing up. The wood was so dry it went up beautifully and gave out some major heat. That has been one concern for us because we don't know how much wood we are going to be using. So far we have used a good amount. But after this weekend we will have windows in the bedroom area and that will help a little bit.
Keep the pup warm
I am so thankful we are up there. I get to gaze at the stars at night, and I love it. In the morning I get to shove the dog out of my bed and that is a lot of fun too. Because he is a pampered dog, yes I have to admit it, he does not do well when it gets cold. He can't go outside for a very long time because if he does, he comes back shivering with his teeth chattering. It is kind of funny but really not. At night the house does get colder but we don't feel it. He does.
Logan the builder
Logan got to build a small fort the other day (it was a balmy 10 degrees
that day!). He had a great time and was quite put out when I wanted
him to come in (darkness fell and need I say more). Today we had issues
with plywood but in the end it all worked out. Tomorrow is another
plywood day and Sean is not working so he can help us with that. Sunday
may be a window day, who knows.
I don't really have any words of wisdom to share. God is so faithful and merciful to us that I really can't add anything on top of that.
I hope you have a wonderful beginning of a new year.
Snow, snow everywhere
Logan as God, very well done.
Sunset
What can I say?
I leave you now with this funny Video from Tim Hawkins. Have a good laugh with him
Hello everyone again. I hope the preparations for Christmas is not too stressful. I remember when the kids were younger and Christmas was all about presents and such I would be going nuts trying to get them all squared away. Now I take quite a different look at Christmas. This year I take special pleasure in picking out just 3 special presents for our kids. Sharon, my wonderful friend, introduced me to this idea a few years ago and it has worked really well for me. I give three gifts, each representing the gifts of the magi to the Christ child. It is a lot of fun to figure out what to give for gold, frankincense (representing a gift for the body) and myrrh (representing spiritual growth). With each I take out some time to write a prayer for each gift and each kid. It is a lot of fun and much more rewarding for me and the kids (any gift is cool with them, really). That said, I am all set with Christmas and it was pretty painless. We had one incident where Natasha's gold gift was supposed to be a weekend at a concert with her friend Esther from PA. The girls were so looking forward to this but no matter what we couldn't get tickets, which was totally strange. I sent perfectly good links to my friend who sent back that the links either didn't work or were blank. After about 2 weeks or so of going back and forth, the Lord finally got my attention and I decided that we weren't going, for whatever reason. To come to find out they ended up having a family emergency and we would not have been able to go anyway. I didn't know, my friend didn't know, but the Lord knew!
Anything in there?
Mail call!!!
Up here in the north things are pretty much routine. School is school
and Logan did very well at his initial evaluation for special
education. He is now registered in VT to be home schooled and so we are
now on our way to becoming Vermonters. We won't be considered
Vermonters ever, since we were not born and raised here but we are
getting settled. The kids built a wonderful wooden mail box and we now
can get our mail right at home. I almost went to the post office today
to get our mail. Rather silly. Tom now has his driver's license and I am getting mine this week. I keep forgetting the paperwork and I had to bring
my green card and all. Soon the car will have her license changed to a green plate. That will be strange and it will be difficult for us to identify our car. There are about 1 million white Subaru in Springfield. Tasha is working hard to study for her permit. She wants to get it soon and I would be very glad for her to have it.
Singing together is great
Sean and I had the honor to sing a few tunes at church. The church has a
Friday night thing where they present different people. We had an art
show, and a comedian from Maine come to the church. One of the
wonderful ladies in the church, we sometimes do line dancing at her
house which is a lot fun, heard me and Sean talking and found out that
we sing/play guitar together. She really wanted for us to come and sing
on one of the Friday nights. Sean and I just thought it would be one
song and be done with it. It didn't work out for a few weeks but then
Sean was able to commit one Friday. Pastor Tom (yes his name is Tom)
came and showed me the calendar and on it we were the headliners for
that particular night! Right, I was a little nervous. I hadn't really
sung in a while, just in the shower (oh wait, we don't have one), and as
we were practicing my voice was getting quite hoarse after the third
song. After praying about it for a little bit, Sean I think, mentioned
that the lead singer for one of my favorite bands drinks hot milk with
honey. I tried it and my voice was just fine. My nerves weren't
though. It turned out to be a lot of fun.
Sean was excellent
I was a little nervous. Can you tell?
The windows in the church are all still intact as are the stained glass windows. We sang 5 songs all together and people were pleased. They thanked us after. I was so nervous as you might be able to tell from the picture. Sean was as calm as normal. Pastor Tom then interviewed us, which was a lot of fun. We haven't gotten kicked out yet, which is always good. The whole thing was a real blessing to me since I was able to do this with my oldest and still be able to show my face at church. Hopefully we will be able to do this again. No, Casting Crowns have not called and asked us to appear at their next concert, neither has Third Day. I don't know what they are waiting for! We didn't even get a high five from Chris Tomlin. I mean, come on!
Sean and I were just down in CT for him to shoe the horses at my friend Julie's. It was really great to see her and her husband for a moment. Sean is getting much better at shoeing. It took him a fraction of the first time he shod the horses. He is very sure of himself now, which is nice to see. He still wonders as he works whether he should proceed this way of that, but he is pretty sure of what he is doing. He just filed for a business name and is planning on starting in the spring. Right now is the worst time to start. The horses are not being used and people are broke. By spring people will recover and show season will start.
The hard wood is difficult to cut into boards
Tom is busy with several projects. One is the well, the other are still the floor boards and then we are waiting for the septic still. The weather is so so and he is pretty tired right now, so he is taking some time to recoup. I think we will have a well soon, God willing.
Tasha and Logan built the mailbox the other day and at first it was not easy for them to get together and do this, but they worked through their differences and came up with a pretty cool looking mail box. It is certainly different than our neighbor's. Does that mean anything?!?!?!?!
Just the other day I was alone at the house and I heard an impatient tapping on the door. I went and opened it and low and behold it was my old friend Fear coming for a visit. He had brought my old pal Depression. Following them was good old Discontent. They came right in and wanted to stay a while. They had started to make themselves at home, putting up the pot for tea and had the water almost boiling. I remembered that I had another friend waiting outside to come in. He didn't knock impatiently but just waited to be invited in. I threw open the door and in walked Jesus Christ, Emanuel. The party changed quite quickly. Instead of Fear, Depression, and Discontent controlling the party, they were quite meek and slunk out the back door. Instead of letting the hot water go to waste, I invited Christ to have a cup of delicious tea with me and He stayed and we had a wonderful time. In this time of holiday craze, remember, there is one who is waiting to be invited into the heart of the party. He is waiting for everyone but we have to invite Him in. He won't push His way through that door, like my other "friends". He is quite the gentleman, who will wait to be asked. And when He does come in what a party we have. And He doesn't leave. He stays and the party just gets better. There are times we may forget that He is around and we allow our circumstances to pull us down but He is always there, waiting to rescue us from our worldly "Friends". It is easy to let these circumstances pull us down. Well, we have an out in our Lord and Savior. Are we willing to let Him come in and turn our fleshly party into something beautiful?
Here is a song by "Casting Crowns", who still haven't called us by the way. When I heard this song the first time, I cried (I guess I do that a lot with songs). I hope you allow this song to speak to you. The message is wonderfully appropriate around this time of the year.
