VBS Week

As I mentioned in my last post, we had VBS this past week. Our theme this year was "CastleKids." Marshall & Shaylen have been looking forward to this week all summer. They look forward to every single aspect of the week: verse memorization, singing, games, crafts, skits (with Sir Trips-A-Lot), missionary story, Bible lesson, and even SNACK! They could hardly contain their excitement!

It was a fantastic week with several visitors. I was able to do the missionary story for the children, but after that, I could flutter around snapping up pictures of the kids enjoying themselves. You could sense the joy that the workers and children had.

My little Peanut memorized two full booklets of verses and another huge passage from a not-even-printed-off third booklet. She worked almost every afternoon & morning on those memory verses! I wish I knew exactly how many she memorized, and even though it was for points, I know those verses stick in their heads. We've already encountered times when we've mentioned a passage and they have said, "Oh! I know that one! I memorized it at Vacation Bible School!" Shaylen scored the highest for the week and Marshall placed third. We were both very pleased with their hard work.

 

 

 

Company To Keep

We had the great privilege of having dear, dear friends come up to New England! Kerry & AnnaGrace have been friends with us ever since college. Taigen & Kerry travelled together on a drama team from BJ and really hit it off. AnnaGrace blames all of Kerry's bad habits on Taigen, so we're thankful she even considered coming up. Ha!

Kerry was asked to preach in several churches (Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine), but he had some time in between and we were able to snag them to come to our church as well.  What really worked out was when he was able to bring his whole family! I hadn't seen AnnaGrace since we left BJ and I had never met the three girls. This WAS going to be a treat.

Marshall & Shaylen loved meeting new friends and I fell in love instantly with their girls. No only are they absolutely adorable, but they are very well behaved & polite. Kerry & AnnaGrace are doing a tremendous job with them.

I apologize for the lack of pictures from their trip. They were here during our VBS week and I kept leaving the camera at church!

What a tremendous encouragement Kerry & AnnaGrace were. I loved being able to pick up right where we left off. I had forgotten how hilarious Kerry can be when he tells a good story! We invited other dear friends, Matt, Amy, Beth & Gabe from Windham, over for dinner one night and our evening was filled with laughter. We are so thankful for good, godly friends!

Jehovah-Jireh - My God Provides!

With Taigen's we are limited at present with how many starches he can eat. That means lots of meat & lots of fresh veggies. We all just try and eat as similarly to his diet as possible that way we're not constantly cooking two meals every night. When starches are taken away from a diet, you quickly realize how much those starches fill you up. Maybe it's the All-American mindset that a perfectly rounded plate MUST contain meat, veggie & starch. We've quickly had to change that mindset in our home.

Another change has been with regards to The Casserole. Most casseroles have some sort of cream or cheese, so we avoid those. I have experimented with brown rice flour and gotten some success. Cream of celery & cream of mushroom soups have turned out nicely and are flavorful. I have yet to make a casserole using them, but the sauces that I've made to accompany chicken or pork have been yummy.

We have been so thankful to have had some friends who have had an over-abundance of some vegetables in their gardens this year. So much so, that they cannot possibly eat it all. God has used them to provide for us in a very tangible way. It's funny, but Taigen's naturopath wants him to eat as much organic vegetables as possible. Well, on our budget, organic doesn't happen, so we just try to eat smart. With our friends' gardens, we have been able to "eat organic." Isn't God good? We just might have to grow a garden next year ourselves!

One night, we got an email from church friends saying that a relative had given them a grocery bag full of green beans that they couldn't eat. They already had a garden and had an over-abundance of green beans themselves. Would we want them? Um...YES!!!

The next day I put the twins to work chopping up green beans (it was their first time for working with knives...they did a great job!). I blanched & shocked them (the BEANS, not the twins) and put them in the freezer. No green beans have ever tasted as good and we were so thankful for God's provision for us.

Summer Music Ministry - Marshall

Playdate With Twins

We just had some very special guests just drop by: a mom with her twins!

I love that our house borders on some woods. This means that deer are frequently dropping by. We don't always see them. Mostly you can hear them tromping through the leaves back there at night and see their shadows. OR, I see evidence in the morning that they were in my yard because the hostas have been eaten down to the ground. However, it is rare that we get to see a mama and her twin fawns!

I was sitting here updating the blog (yes, I know...long, long overdue!) and I heard something coming through the woods. I looked out to see the doe and one fawn. I quickly grabbed the camera and opened up the curtains on the side of the house to hopefully catch a picture of them from there. There were too many leaves so I quickly opened the front door to see where she was headed. I saw that she was going out onto our road. So, I ran out to the edge of our driveway in time to see her and her TWIN fawns. How exciting to see two fawns! She stopped and stared at me, as if she was posing. When I was all done snapping up photos, I just stood and stared back. Then, as if she knew I was done, she ran away, her twins in tow. It was a spectacular sight and I'm so thankful that I was able to get a couple of pictures.

The Jumper Project

Remember me mentioning that Cathy (my step-mom) was working on a project for us? Well, the finale came & we were able to wear them all to church tonight. It was a coordinated jumper for me so that I could match Shaylen, so that SHE could match Baby Shaylen. Every detail was carried out and we all love them. Well, we don't know if Baby Shaylen loves it, but we're assuming she does. My Shaylen thinks it is just the coolest thing that we all match.

Thank you, Cathy, for making a little Peanut happy. I love my jumper and especially appreciate every detail that you put into making it absolutely perfect. I know every stitch was put in with love.

Bookworm

This is just a picture of my little bookworm. If all is quiet, you can pretty much guarantee that this is what you'll find Shaylen doing. I caught her like this just before we left for church tonight. She is so beautiful!

O! What a Beautiful Day!

I thoroughly enjoy the lush, green leaves of the trees here in New England. You cannot see for miles like in my home state of Colorado. Now, granted, we don't have the Rockies, but we do have the ocean. The landscape here in New England is gorgeous.

It comes at a price however. In the summer, it can get hot and humid. How humid, you ask? Humid as in "Bad Hair Day" humid. Humid as in "Stay Inside or Melt" humid.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were not that humid this week, however. It was beautiful. We just could not stay inside. The cool breeze and slightly overcast skies were beckoning up to come out and join them. So we gave in and did.

More Basement Progress

The last time I posted about the basement I said it was looking more and more like a blank slate. Well, today I can gladly report that it is looking like a slate with a carefully placed closet & wall. I want to emphasize the "carefully" part because the walls that existed before didn't resemble anything remotely labeled "carefully placed." Ugh.

Dale & Taigen have been working hard in the basement and we're so excited that the new walls are in as well as a storage closet that will hide the main water & septic pipes. This closet will eventually house our freezer (that is currently in the garage), file cabinet, paint cans, as well as shelves to store some of the kids toys. The doors are in the garage, waiting to be hung when the time comes.

I'm so proud of the work that Taigen has done on this job. It is looking fantastic.


Closet from the side (you can see how far those septic pipes stick out)



Closet from the front (freezer will go on the left under the window)

New basement walls. I love how it will hide the Inspirational Sports Sayings wallpaper. UGLY!

Happy Independence Day!

Car Wash Time