Starting Again

Hello, it's been a long time! I am starting to blog again after a long break. We are starting our new school year and our 11th year of homeschooling. Today was our official first day of school complete with a yummy breakfast and devotions around the breakfast table. I have missed that time of connecting each morning with the kids. Everyone worked on organizing their school areas, cleaning out notebooks, cubbies and file folders. There is something so wonderful about new beginnings. The fresh school supplies are piled up on the table ready to be distributed to the dare I say it, eager students! I have the honor of leading the homeschool association that our family is a member of in our area. I serve with an amazing board of women that are all volunteers! We had our family kick-off picnic for our association at a local park with over 100 people attending. It was a lot of fun, with a lemonade stand complete with yummy cookies. Ladder ball, water balloons and a parachute were among some of the activities enjoyed by people who came to the picnic. It was a great way to see lots of people and for everyone to connect before the busyness of the school year begins. There are many new challenges for this year for our family both individually and collectively. One of the biggest challenges we all face is the new diagnosis of our youngest son as being a type 1 diabetic. It is tough, working out routines, dealing with frustrations and learning to balance this new part of our family life. We are trying to make things as normal as possible for everyone, but sometimes they are just not. I am going to try to blog more regularly, if not for any other reason than for a sort of therapy for me. I don't have any grand ideas that I have a huge following, but I do think it is important to document what God is doing in my life as a reminder of His faithfulness and His goodness to me. Looking forward to more posts.

A different kind of spring break

A chance to catch my breath for a few days has offered me the opportunity to write a little bit. Our area has been hit with tornadoes in an extraordinary manner, not seen for over 20 years in NC. As the aftermath unfolds,many have lost their lives and many more their homes and things that were precious to them. I still cannot believe how close the tornadoes were to our home and yet how far away they were at the same time. Drive up the street and take a right turn and the devastation unfolds. Our family was talking about how remarkable the destruction of a tornado is, how it dessimates one home and leaves another right next to it untouched. Unexplainable... It serves as a reminder once again to hold on to things loosely in this world and to love your family and those you hold dear, magnificently, every day, even when they are not lovely and you don't want to do it, because you never know what the next turn in life's path will bring your way. Lavish the love on them! I am grateful for the pause in school for this week, but seek now to make it more meaningful. I want our family to help the ones around us that are suffering from the destruction left behind after the tornadoes. We are so fortunate to have been spared from the tragedy so close to us. Friends have been effected, we will start, of course, with them. This could be a huge marker stone in my kids lives', where they see faith in action helping the hurting,trying to make a difference in Jesus' name. I am so grieved over the families whose lives have been so tragically touched by Saturday's events. I want it to make a difference in what we do this spring break with our days. I want it to make a lasting difference in how we are as a family, how we relate to one another, to those around us. Praying for all of those across North Carolina that are hurting and suffering. Psalm 34:18 "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit..."

Together At Last!

Dear husband and I are actually together for the first time in three years to celebrate our wedding anniversary. This year we are celebrating nineteen years of marriage! For the last three years he has been deployed in Iraq or training to go to Iraq. We are very thankful to be able to actually be together this year. There is something special about still being excited about our anniversary even though we were so far away from each other. It has made this year's anniversary more poignant in the fact that we made it through those separations and now are reunited. My prayer is that we never get so use to being "married" that it does not matter to us that we are apart on our anniversary. Happy Anniversary soldier boy! I love you.

Two Days in a Row

I was trying to create a blog signature after being inspired by my friend Beth at http://nclighthousekeeper.blogspot.com/, but I was not successful! I can't get the background of my signature to match my blog background. Oh well, it was fun trying to get it to work.

I am however successful at posting two days in a row. I don't have anything exciting to update about this morning. I had a nice early morning walk, made a pot of steaming coffee, and now I am going to enjoy a cup out on the deck before it gets too hot today.

We are planning a game day inside for the family. Our youngest is going to get a lesson in how to play RISK on the dining room table. I am not sure what else is in store for our last day of family vacation, maybe a little family ROCK Band. I am going to go make waffles and cook some link sausage now. I think I will make some brownies and some more sweet tea and maybe we will grill out marinated chicken breasts tonight. I have loved our five days of family vacation. Great food, lots of laughter and fun times this family vacation, and all at home! We also got to see more fireworks last night at the top of our street.

Tonight we will top it all off with new episodes of American Pickers and Pawn Stars! Happy July 5th and happy second day in a row blogging!

Seize the Day! Remembering Gracie

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. ~Abraham Lincoln  

Over the course of the last several days I have been reminded once again of a very important lesson that I began to really understand over 2 years ago and that is the lesson of living each day to the fullest. My sister and her husband just had to put their precious Golden Retriever, Gracie, down late last night. The dog was not yet two years old, but in her brief time with them she had lived large! She was so well taken care of and went everywhere with them and touched many,many people's lives and hearts. She was gentle and sweet and intuitive.  

One of my lessons from this loss for our family is to remember to love deeply and live each day completely. Also, to do the things you dream of doing today or begin to make a plan to do them right now. I heard a story about a man who was dying from cancer and he scheduled a trip that his family had always wanted to do, to swim with the dolphins,only after realizing he was going to die. The host of the show that interviewed this man went out the next day and booked the same trip for his family not wanting to wait another day for the some day to arrive to take this dream trip. My dear daughter and I are traveling in a few weeks to NYC to realize a dream she has had to visit the American Girl doll store...soon, before I am ready she will have left her dolls on the shelf and be moving on to other things. I don't want her to miss out on this dream. So, I encourage you to seize the day! Carpe Diem! God has blessed me with another day of life and I am going to fill it to the brim. Live your life in largeness.You will not regret it!

To change one's life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions. ~William James 

 May you live all the days of your life. ~Jonathan Swift

Anticipation

Sweet husband has started the long Army journey home for 15 days of R&R, which in the past was called rest and relaxation, now it has some other name, but it means the same thing! His first flight on the first leg of the journey was canceled due to dust storms. The new plan was convoy! After much prayer and trusting, I received the call this morning at 4:45am, safe and sound. Now the next part of the journey begins. I do not know when or where for sure, and that is o.k., because I do know ultimately whose hands he rests in, always.

We wait with great anticipation for the final phone call, saying come pick me up, I am HOME! Preparations are going on, cleaning, grocery shopping, making sure that all the comforts of home are in tip top shape for his homecoming. I know that everything to him will seem wonderful, and I don't have to make a big fuss over him. He never has asked that of me, but I want everything to be just right.

He needs the rest. He needs the relaxation. He still has to return and finish the rest of the time of his deployment. Praying for strength and wisdom to know when to do what and how to minister to him. Thank you Lord for this homecoming. I will always remember these 15 days!

Ginger's Return

Our 10 month old yellow lab mix Ginger has returned from her extended time away at doggie boot camp! We are very happy to have her home once again with us. She is now peacefully sleeping in her crate...content to be with her family once again. 

She got to hang out with a lot of really cool dogs, and I think she learned a thing or two from them! She sure has better manners. We ventured to the Millbrook Exchange dog park with her today. She loved running around with all of the other dogs during the work day for the park. She came back to us when it was time to go! I was very impressed! When we got her home we gave her a very long and soapy bath with Dawn dish washing detergent! She is squeaky clean and smells great. She had a compressed raw hide bone and lots of hugs and pats and some ice cubes too! 

Now I have to continue all of her training at home with a firm hand and authority. We will see...I believe I have it in me...I just have to find my pack leader mentality and we will be set! Welcome home Ginger baby! We missed you so much! Sandy even missed you, I think!

Rainy Day Reminders

I am grateful for the rain. Today is a reminder of how much I thirst for God's love, to show it to my children, to feel it from Christian friends, to give it with graciousness to all the people in my life. Thank you Lord for the rain. My sweet husband needs to feel the "rain" of God's love in the dry desert land he is in right now. He is weary, he is parched from long hours,sleep that is hard to come by and separation from his family. He would be receiving words of encouragement and rest if he were here with us in his normal daily life. Please pray for his comfort, for him to feel God's love all around him in a dry and barren place that sees dust storms, not rain storms. Pray for him to see the "rain" in the desert. Thank you and hold on sweetie, the rain is coming for you too!

Summer Time and the Livin' is Easy!

We have been going pretty fast through the month of June and the start of summer with all kinds of fun and adventures. I want to catalog the events of June before we get too far into July! First, we finished up Ginger's obedience classes for puppies. She did graduate, but she is a handful and then some! I cannot believe how much she has grown. She weighs 40 lbs. and is much taller than Sandy our 15 year old hound mix. Ginger is a sweet dog and fills Sandy's days with lots of boisterous puppy behavior!


Youngest son has been playing coach pitch baseball this summer and has had a blast. He has never played before so it has been an experience watching him learn to run the bases and when to run and when to stay. He has mostly played in the outfield but he can really field a ball. It has been great to watch him as he plays and learns more about the sport. He has gotten at least one hit every game and has been able to bring in some runs as well. It has been a great first year of ball. Go Volcanoes!



My dear daughter had her friend birthday get together this month as well. Just could not pull it together during the month of April so the slumber party to end all slumber parties was held in June. There was swimming, jewelry making, blindfolded makeovers,silly string and more! It was lots of fun for the girls and for this Mom! She chose a luau theme, just perfect for a warm summer night!





Finally at the end of the month, after a week of teaching Missions on the Boomerang Express in VBS at our church with 450 kidderos. It was time to help pack up oldest son and send him off for a week of Boy Scout summer camp. I have received reports of low humidity and cool evenings, a campsite by the lake and night time owl hunts. Sounds like fun to me! It was quite a feat getting him to hold still and actually let me get a picture to document this outing, but I did get one. Hope he had a great time! He comes home July 4th so we will see. He looks extremely happy to be having his picture taken doesn't he? I do what I gotta do to capture the moment!

The Boys Of Summer

I cannot believe May is just about done and June and summer time is upon us! This last month has really been a blur of activity. We are finishing up with school and getting ready for next year as well. I need to get some new bookshelves so I have started to look into that. I would love to get some heavy duty ones that will hold all of the books that we are collecting with our Tapestry of Grace studies. I love books and I thought I had a bunch, but now I really am getting more because of our Tapestry curriculum. I want to find just the right bookshelves to hold the books.

I have also been really sick this week. I think I must have picked up something at the NC Homeschool Conference last week in Winston-Salem. The kids and I had a great time. Dear son went to many of the Teen track classes, the kids swam in the indoor pool and went to the Talent showcase one night as well. We stayed right next to the convention center so once we arrived the car stayed parked for the entire time. It was a great conference, very different from the other two times I have gone. This year was very laid back because of having the children with me, I did not make every session I wanted to do, but I got to the ones I needed to hear. The kids got to experience the book fair, but I did not buy a lot in the way of curriculum this year. I bought just a few handwriting books and phonics books. I did make one major purchase from Summit Ministries. Bradley and I listened to the a speaker from Summit named John Stonestreet. He was amazing to listen to as he lectured about world views and the importance of having a Biblical world view as a Christian and what that really means. I also enjoyed talking to him in the book fair at great length. I got the curriculum to work through at home with dear son. We are both excited about it.

After the conference crazy Mom decided we should fit some time in at the beach as well. We drove from Winston-Salem to Pine Knoll Shores for some beach fun with the my in-laws. The kids had fun with cousins and we got a little too much sun. The weather was cloudy and some showers so we kept wiping on and off the sunscreen and ended up a little crispy! It was a good peaceful time, and I enjoyed the Sunday Memorial Day service at Bogue Baptist church. I had a difficult time over the holiday weekend and going to the beach and being at the service at Bogue Baptist were the things God used to show me His love for me as I walked through this stressful time. He is such an amazing God, so intimate and personal to me. Even the music on the radio made me feel loved and held by Him.

I praise God as we head into this new month and into the summer time... I know He has much to show us as we start off our summer. I hope that I can embrace all that He has to teach us with as much enthusiasm as the boys of summer in this great picture!

The Blues Brothers...

The brothers got in on the fun at the birthday party, one was forced. I think they could pass for the Brothers Blue, well maybe not, but they sure make my life an interesting adventure with all the craziness having 2 boys can bring. What a blessing it is to have some boys mixed in with my girly girl. A good time was had by all!

Scattered Pictures...

We celebrated another birthday at the end of April. Dear daughter is now in double digits! She was so looking forward to this birthday. She got a special call from her dear Dad. What a present that was. The family celebration included all of the usual suspects, plus dinner at one of dear daughter's favorite restaurants. She was definitely the birthday princess!

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You

Today is Dear husband's birthday. I am honored to have celebrated 19 of his birthday days with him! I hope he enjoys his Baskin Robbins today. I am remembering his special day and how much I love and appreciate him today and every day. We will not be together for the traditional candle wish, but I bet I can guess what that wish would be! Happy, happy sweetie!!

Easter and a Special Birthday

We celebrated Easter with family this past weekend. The kids dyed Easter eggs at Grandmommy and Granddaddy's house with their cousins.
We went to a huge Easter egg hunt and Spring festival sponsored by our church. We are talking over 10,000 eggs for the hunting! It was fun and a great distraction for me. My niece and nephew were with us as well and so was my Mom. Dear son and daughter climbed the rock wall, ringing the buzzer at the top and ate some cotton candy and snow cones. We had a great day outdoors. Easter Sunday was beautiful. We went to church and enjoyed Easter dinner out at a special restaurant with family.

I love Easter and the renewing of all of life around us during the Spring. It reminds me of the new life we have in Christ because of His resurrection Easter Sunday. I love the sense of new beginnings that Spring brings. Easter is a time to reflect on God's love for us and His overwhelming sacrifice on the Cross.

We also celebrated a very special birthday. Dear son's 13th Birthday fell on Easter Sunday this year. We our now blessed with a teenager in our family! I remember that feeling of growing up so well! Good times, good times... We celebrated in grand style with balloons, a guitar cupcake cake and all of the trimmings. Really, he will do his celebrating with his friends in the days ahead. The family party was sweet and special with everyone reminiscing about the day he was born. This birthday day was special and started off with a special and unexpected call from Kuwait. What a present! Dear son never lost that smile all day long! What a great birthday. I am so happy to be the Mom of a Teenager!

Catch Me If You Can! Part 2

This is part 2 of our great adventure doing lots of fun things with Dad, like eating at the Kanki and throwing baseball at Fort Bragg. We also gathered with family and church friends for a farewell barbecue supper! We packed in as much as possible in just a short amount of time. We have collected more memories for our mental scrapbook to help sustain all of us in the time ahead. Here are some more photos from some of the adventures including our time at Fort Bragg with dear Husband. It has been quite a ride!

We were stuffed after eating lunch at the Kanki. I think that lunch will go down in history as the most exciting and the quietest lunch ever! The kids were awestruck. Maybe I should take up Japanese cooking! I am not sure about those sharp knives...

Dear husband celebrating his birthday a little early, surprise honey, I got you! HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Always connected, no matter where he is...amazing.

Our son learned the finer points of baseball catching and throwing from Dear Dad. He will start baseball in a couple of weeks and Dad wanted to get in some practicing with him


A quick photo with my sweetie!

Catch Me If You Can!

Talk about losing track of time! I haven't posted since March 21! So much has happened in such a short time period. I have a lot of catching up to do. First, our trip to Charlottesville with John while he went the JAG school was super. We had the best time staying in the downtown Charlottesville area and walking around the UVA campus in the snow. It was really cold the first part of the week and then it was in the 70's at the week's end. We visited beautiful Monticello while we were there. I fell in love with all things Charlottesville! The pizza escapes at Mellow Mushroom were yummy and fun for Mom and Dad. Our puppy Ginger did great on the trip. She is becoming quite the traveler and added to the adventure! Here are some photos of our fun filled and snowy adventure! My next post will be a continuation of catching up on events.

The Final Four

I know this title is a teaser, I am not talking basketball right now. I love the NCAA tournament and all of the excitement it brings this time of year, especially since I am a TARHEEL! I am referring to the final four days that my dear husband will be spending with our family before deployment. I have heard through the Army wives' grapevine that it may begin sometime this upcoming week, but as with everything Army you have to be flexible. So I have started thinking of all that I want to do in the final four days with him. Go out to eat at favorite restaurants, play with the kids, get together with friends, watch a favorite movie, TALK, laugh, go for walks, do laundry...pack again and repack, TALK, go over lists of to dos and not to dos...

I am apprehensive about the time coming so quickly too. I know once it is here, it will be gone and that is it! So now I need to get a plan, ask God for guidance, get preparing for the joyous homecoming/departure and get my love tank full by spending time with God in preparation for my husband's four days here. Four days, they will feel so normal, like nothing has changed, but they will be so different, a hello and a good-bye at the same time. What would you do with your sweetie if you had four days? What would matter, what would fall away, what little things would you over look if you only had four days?

My Prayer:
Please Lord equip me, give me wisdom, let us soak up every minute of the time, help me to watch out for too high of expectations, but also not take for granted what time we have. Help me Lord to see the "stressers" for him and the encouragement he needs. Help us to know how to help the kids, what to say, how to say it...Lord just walk with us as I know you will and let's do this the FINAL FOUR!


I will be posting pictures later of our trip to Charlottesville and some neat pictures from our Tapestry of Grace co-op dialectic class and the display board projects the students completed, oh and some Upward photos thrown in as well.

Anticipation

The kids and I are getting ready to spend time with dear husband for the next week or so and I am so excited. Anticipation could not be greater right now! We will be in beautiful Charlottesville some of the time and looking forward to lots of field trips to Monticello, Mitchie's Tavern, Montpelier and more! The trip fits in great with what we are getting ready to study in Tapestry of Grace Y2. The revolutionary war is coming up and then all the way up to the Constitution. We will be walking around where Thomas Jefferson did, and I get so excited about these kinds of field trips. I love to feel and see and experience our great country's history. We will fill our days with the field trips while dear husband is in class at UVA.

Oh if you could slow time down and just live in slow motion for a little bit. I know that as we begin this trip before I know it the time will be over and we will be back to the normal routine. I have purposed to live in every minute so that I can really enjoy everything. There is a fine line between trying to make everything perfect, which can drive you crazy, and just trying to relax and enjoy the time together. I want all the usual things a mom wants, everyone to be kind and loving, to be well from sickness and to pay attention on the field trips, and to soak up the time with one another. Just a few things on my list that I am trying to "control" which is impossible!

So I will get on my knees and turn this precious gift of time with dear husband over to God and let it be what He makes it and rest in Him for the strength and knowledge to know what to do and when to do it. The list is so long... all the things we want to do and say and share. We will make great memories and have fun and it will be like he has never even been away from us. I am thankful for this gift. I will hold on to the memories of the time together and replay them over and over in my mind. I will post some fun pictures of the trip and time together later.

The Snow That Didn't Show!

This week we were suppose to get more snow. I was hoping for some more pretty pictures like this one from a few weeks ago. The weather man had even thought we would get a pretty good amount again for NC. It did not happen for us in Wake Forest. We just got a light dusting, and it has been very cold the last couple of days. It was pretty interesting how it worked out because my oldest dear son was praying that we would not get a big snow because of some plans he had. I had a good time showing him the snow fall total all around us, as some in our state did get snow, just not our area! He was amazed. Thank you God for this illustration for him.

We have been getting back to our regular schedule of daily life since returning from my Grandmother's funeral. The trip went well, and the kids were able to see some of the things that I did when I spent time with my grandparents in the summer. The flexibility of homeschooling is wonderful. I was so thankful the kids could go on this trip and not be concerned about all the school work they were missing. The trip became school for a few days. We learned among other things about several states, coal mining, rail roads, weather, hot springs and my dear son and I had some excellent talks about major events in history. Homeschooling is great!

Our school schedule is getting back to normal as well. We are enjoying our adventures in TOG land week 23. I am learning so much about the founding of the colonies. I really do enjoy this curriculum. I will be ordering my Unit 4 books later on this evening, and I have already ordered Year 3 of Tapestry of Grace for next year.

Well, I am going to finish up now with a some more pictures of our snow days a couple of weeks ago. I never got to post them, so I thought now would be a good time!

Ginger, our new puppy loved the snow and so did the old hound dog Sandy. Enjoy the snow scenes!

A Life Well-Lived

November 29, 1919-January 22, 2009

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15

Today my blog is dedicated to Juanita Lee Hansrote, my dear Grandma, "Nana" who passed away early Thursday morning in her sleep. I was given her middle name and it has always meant so much to me. She was an exceptional, Godly woman that inspired me all of my life. She was 90 years old this past November. She lived an ordinary life in an extraordinary way. This is a verse that was in a card that a dear friend sent to me...

"A Life Well-Lived"

"A life well-lived is a precious gift
of hope and strength and grace
from someone who has made our world
a brighter, better place.
It's filled with moments sweet and sad,
with smiles and sometimes tears,
with friendships formed
and good times shared
and laughter through the years.
A life well-lived is a legacy
of joy and pride and pleasure,
a loving, lasting memory
our grateful hearts will treasure."

One of her favorite passages of Scripture was all of Psalm 139.
Psalm 139:17
"How precious also are Thy thoughts me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"
One of her favorite hymns was "I Come to the Garden Alone"

I love you Nana and can't wait to walk the streets of Heaven with you.