Glorious Hand-Me-Downs

This past Sunday the kids looked so grown up. Can you believe that they are 5 1/2? Only 5 months until they are 6 years old and an even shorter amount of time before they are 1st graders. I know I'm sounding like a nostalgic mother when I say, "Where has the time gone?" You mothers can relate to me, can't you? I got all choked up when I saw my new niece Lydia all neatly wrapped up in one of Shaylen's pink blankets. Was Shaylen really that small once? I know it's true...it's just hard to believe.

Looking at the kids on Sunday made me especially thankful for all of the wonderful hand-me-downs that people so graciously give to us. Marshall had on a shirt from his friend Michael who goes to our church. His mommy, Amy, was kind enough to offer some of his dress shirts for our growing boy. Marshall has a long torso, so keeping those dress shirts tucked in seems to be a continual problem. Amy gave us some dress shirts that are in the next size up to help remedy the situation.

Shaylen had on an outfit that we think came from Elise McIlwaine from up in Maine. Her mommy, Dana, also has been sending down sacks full of clothes and shoes periodically (for both Marshall & Shaylen). Dana always looks so classy and put together and her daughter is her spitting image. They wear the same styles too...which is why we were pretty confident that this outfit came from them. (Am I right?)

God provides. There's no doubt about it. We're so thankful for the channels He uses as well to help us out. We lack nothing. I love it when the kids ask me in the morning whose outfit it was that they were wearing or who gave it to them. It's an exciting thought for them as they dress that this belonged at some point to some of their friends that they look up to.

It's an exciting thought for me too.

Campin' Out This Summer

Spending the night at Ralph & Karen's gave the kids a terrific idea. Why not camp out in the living room?

Marshall and Shaylen have been bringing up all of the blankets from the basement, spreading them out as neatly as they can and then carting down their pillows and loveys from their bedrooms. It's a lot of fun to hear them encourage their animals to go to sleep and not worry about wild animals at night.

No, they haven't been sleeping down here at night in case you were wondering. That will probably come soon enough. For now, they just camp during the day when their imaginations dictate that it is time.

Introducing My First Niece!!!

We got a call early Sunday morning from Mom saying that Steph's water had broken at 2am and she was in the hospital (Stephanie, that is. Not Mom. Though, now that I think of it...Mom probably could've used some sort of sedative & a cozy bed after all of the running around and excitement at O'Dark Thirty.). What a Father's Day it must've been for Steve and an unusual birthday for my nephew, David.

However, the baby had other plans. "It's so warm and cozy inside here...why not stay a bit longer?" Like...two days longer! I got a call from a very tired Stephanie yesterday morning saying that the nurse was headed in to give her some Pitocin in order to help usher this new little one OUT. It was time.

I waited and prayed all day and eagerly waited for the phone to ring. It finally did last night at 9:09pm. I had a new niece! Both Stephanie and baby are doing well and Steve is already showing signs of being wrapped around his little girl's finger. In the 9 years I've been an auntie to the Schaglette boys (all four of them), I don't think I've received quite so many pictures and videos all at once! Personally, I don't think Steve knows what hit him, but I'm not complaining.

So, without further ado...Introducing (finally) Steve and Steph's beautiful little girl!

Welcome, welcome, Little one!Lydia Jael
4:30pm
5lbs. 9oz.
18 1/2"
(not bad for 5 weeks early, eh?)

Sand Sculpture Contest

Yesterday as Taigen was looking up the local weather online he saw a story for a sand sculpture contest nearby at Hampton Beach. We decided to drive down after church last night and check them out. It was further than we had ever been down Highway 1A (Coastal Route), but the drive was well worth it. We had a spectacular view out both sides of the car. There are gorgeous homes on the right (the kind you can only dream of living in because they are so huge and expensive), and big crashing waves on the left. The weather was cold, rainy and windy which makes the ocean very moody! We love watching that!

It was starting to get dark, but we could still see the scultures easily. They were amazing! I was blown away by all of the detail. I apologize for the fuzziness of some of the pictures. I had to compromise. It was too dark to get a clear photo without the flash and too light to get a clear picture of all the detail with the flash. Oh well. I think you'll still get to see the great work the sculptors did.

A Couple With Obvious Issues

It's sobering, but they must have been on the outs with each other. We had never seen them together. They each came to our home on separate occasions. Maybe they needed some counseling. (I happen to know a great pastor who would be willing to sit down with them and talk.) However, they must have been able to put aside their problems because we finally saw Mr. & Mrs. Brown Headed Cowbird together at our feeders this week.

(Note: I snapped the best shot of Mrs. Cowbird earlier this week. She tends to sit at the feeder with her backside facing me. Her husband finally showed his face on Sunday, not too far away from his lovely wife...It's about time.)

Hula Hoops

While I had my ladies' function on Saturday, Taigen took the kids out. There was supposed to be a practice session for an airplane stunt team at the Skyhaven Airport in Rochester at 10:00. My friend Amy, forwarded us the information and thought Marshall might enjoy watching it. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperative. That was a bit disappointing. Taigen took them to Target instead. After spoiling them with strawberry frapuccinos, he found them some hula hoops. They had enjoyed those in homeschool gym class. The kids brought them home and have been practicing ever since. Here are two videos of their first few attempts.

Java at the Jooses

Today we had the first of our summer ladies' fellowships in our home. Instead of the "Moms and Muffins" theme like last year, I decided to go with a more user friendly title of "Java at the Jooses." It seemed like last year I was always explaining away that really, honestly, any lady could come. "If you are a mom, know a mom or have a mom..." The title had to go.

We had a wonderful time together gathered in our living room. I played a trick and made the ladies participate in a game (involving clothespins) where they couldn't say the word "like." It proved to be quite entertaining, especially for those of us who have grown up throwing the word around all too freely. You will not be surprised when I tell you that the lady who won is a great-grandma!

The ladies were excited to see the Mocha Punch (thank you Renee Wright!) in the punch bowl. It's become a summer tradition. One lady even asked me on Wednesday if there was going to be the "coffee stuff." I knew exactly what she meant.

I love using the glass plates with matching cups that I acquired from a dear friend in the San Diego area (Cheri Rohrer). The box of dishes were carted around the entire West coast while we were out on tour with our BJU ministry team. She graciously gave them to me knowing that I was headed into the ministry and would be entertaining. I cannot tell you how many times I've used those dishes! What's interesting too is that I have similar glass cups that go with a punch bowl that was my mom's. The punch bowl (for the mocha punch) is also used frequently. (Thanks Mom!) It sat in her garage for years and was never used. It was even put in a garage sale once but never sold...thankfully. So glad she handed it down to me. It makes a pretty edition to the counter and holds that all-important punch perfectly.

My Little Friends

The hummingbirds are back and frequenting the feeder. They are such cute little friends and we enjoy watching them zoom in and out.

A Day At the Beach

The past two Mondays have been spent doing things around the house so last week we promised the kids that if the weather was nice, we could try to go to the beach and fly their kites that Grandma Cathy gave them. We'd take a picnic and take some time to "smell a wave" (as my mother in law, Sherry, puts it). The kids were looking forward to it!

After I went to a meeting and ordered the kids 1st grade curriculum (hooray!), we loaded up the van and took off. It was not the best day to go to the beach...it was sprinkling on the way, but the sun peeked out while we were there. We all wore sweatshirts, and it was cold. Apparently not too cold for Shaylen. She wanted to go and jump the waves like she did with Auntie Janelle and Aunt Karen. Taigen was a brave and daring soul and went with her. I did my part by snapping up pictures.

We need to do this more often. It was a relaxing day for all of us and particularly memorable for the kids.

Got Girls?

While we were out in Washington, our dear friend Kathy Turner gave me a book and handmade bookmark. She had said in an earlier conversation that this book had made a huge impact on some ladies/daughters that she knew. It was coming to me highly recommended. I started reading it that Wednesday night and and finished it on the Monday night after we returned home. This was an easy and quick read.

The book is entitled Girl Talk: Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood by Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Mahaney Whitacre.

From the back cover: "Mothers and daughters have a lot to talk about. That's how God designed it. A mother is her daughter's first role model, teacher, and friend, and she carries the responsibility of passing on to her daughter a legacy of biblical womanhood.

Join mother-daughter team Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Whitacre as they give you insights and suggestions on how to talk - really talk - to each other about what it means to become a godly woman. Tips and study questions make it easy for moms and their pre-teen daughters to read, share, discuss, and grow."

This book has many valuable topics for any mother/daughter to consider as they grow together through life. (discipline, modesty, homemaking, dating, true beauty, passing on your love for the Lord, etc.) If you have a girl, you need to read this. If your daughter is preparing to be or already is in her teens, I would recommend you buying this book and setting a regular time to go through it together. (Not to mention, it has a hot pink cover so your younger teen might think it's "cool.") It just might spark a deep conversation (*GASP*...imagine that!) between the two of you. While I don't agree with everything the authors' ministry stands for, this book is a great tool to have on hand in any Christian's home library.

Why The Silence?

Before I get in trouble with my prayer warriors (i.e. Marie & Grandma Rutledge), I thought I had better write something...anything on here!

Just kidding. It's been a beautiful week here! Most would probably have done without the rain, but it kept things nice and cool, and cool = savings on the electricity bill. This is the latest ever that we have not put the A/C units in some windows. We've been in New England now since 2000 and they've always been in by Memorial Day. That doesn't mean we use them non-stop from Memorial Day on, but it gets hot and humid often enough to warrant putting them in.

With the weather being so nice, we've been able to get outside and do quite a bit of landscaping. There are a number of "flower" beds on our property. I put "flower" in quotations because there aren't too many flowers in those beds. There are a lot of bushes, trees & a lot of weeds, but not too many flowers. We've been saving money for the past year knowing that we were going to be changing that this spring.

Last year we purposely didn't do much with our yard. We wanted to see what was going to come up before we made any changes.I went over to a local greenhouse and found some nice perennials to go in our front & back gardens: peonies, hydrangeas, poppies, daisies, coneflowers & black eyed susans (and some strawberry plants too...I couldn't resist!). Before we could plant them we needed to weed! There used to be a path in our front "Cinderella" garden (called the Cinderella garden due to the stone bench that has been placed there), but it had disappeared over time and some spreading plant had taken over. Those got pulled up and Taigen and I put down a black barrier to hopefully keep the weeds at bay.

We ordered five, yes, FIVE yards of mulch to go in the various beds around the house. It came on Monday and with two buckets and the kids' wagon, the kids and I mulched the front bed. Don't feel sorry for me, the wheelbarrow was coming that evening with Taigen on his way home from dropping the teens off at The WILDS of New England Christian Camp. Plus...the exercise was good! It was a beautiful afternoon and there was no reason why the kids and I couldn't do it and get completely filthy while helping (& surprising Daddy) get the job done. Marshall and Shaylen were HUGE helpers. They were the best spreader-outers and never complained of the work. They only ditched me right at the end when their scooters started calling for them. While they were happy and entertained I did a smaller flower bed near the house. Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we went in to eat dinner.

We've since finished the front of the house and Taigen will be getting the back flower bed this afternoon while I am speaking at a ladies' banquet down in Manomet Bible Church in Massachusetts. I'm thinking the mulch will finally be gone by the time I get home.

I'll try to post some pictures in the near future.

Muchas Gracias to the Burrito!

Much to the relief of this blogger, I did not have to pull out my son's tooth. I encouraged Marshall to wiggle it as often as he could in hopes that his father would be readily available (i.e. with us 24/7 on vacation!) should any pulling have to take place. Just the thought of the tooth holding on for dear life by one teeny tiny edge of Marshall's gums and one of us having to yank it out makes my face cringe and a funny feeling to come over me. Am I alone in this utterly disgusting thought? Ew! Ew! Ew!

I would check in on Marshall often throughout the day to check on the progress of the tooth. Today when I looked at it, I didn't get my hopes up of it coming out. I actually wiggled it myself to see (aren't you proud of me?).

Before dinner I told Marshall that he should show our guests his wiggly tooth. He opened his mouth and wiggled it for me. He thought it was a good idea!

For dinner we had homemade Mexican burritos, complete with pork green chile. It was, as my Peruvian guest told us, "muy rico!" We love this meal. The kids do to. This was made apparent by two things: their polished plates and, much to my dismay, a missing tooth!

Marshall and Shaylen ate their dinner and dessert and got up to play. When Marshall bounded around the corner at one point to tell me something, he made some huge facial expression and I noticed it. The tooth was gone. I said, "Marshall, let me see your mouth." I looked. There was now a gap where the baby tooth had been.

We looked everywhere. Upstairs, downstairs, on the cream carpet in our living room (yeah...try looking for a tooth in that!), but we've come to the conclusion that it came out while Marshall was eating his burrito. In his haste to swallow the good Mexican food, he swallowed the tooth too. (Boy did I luck out!)

Marshall is a dollar richer (though maybe he would've gotten more if Mrs. Turner had pulled it...we may never know) and I am breathing a sigh of relief. I'm thinking this "Lost in the Food" business is pretty good. He has that second loose tooth...I better plan the menu accordingly.

Since We've Been Back

Well, I'd like to say we were able to leisurely get back into the swing of things once we got back, but we really hit the ground running. The time change always makes you want to sleep in a little later, but I cannot sleep until 7:30am every day (Seattle time). That would be 10:30am here. I'd get nothing done.

One of the things we've started since we got back were Vacation Stations. These are workbooks put out by BJU Press to keep the mind of your child/student engaged during the summer months. The kids have been begging every day to work on them. This is a good thing!

I face the same temptations with these that I did with school. "Mommy, can we do more?" They are little sponges. The object is to have them do a little something every day of the week. How do you explain that to a 5 1/2 year old? "No, you can't do more schoolwork" just doesn't seem normal for me to say as a school teacher. I do have some other things up my sleeves for the summer: workbooks that Dad and Cathy bought for us at the beginning of this school year and enrolling Marshall & Shaylen in the summer reading program at the local library. AND of course, fun outside! It is summer vacation after all.