First Flying Lesson

Last night we were so excited to have company over. Two couples from church were able to come over and help us consume the chicken parmigiana and the homemade peanut butter cheesecake (another Taste of Home hit!). This is the first time we've had them over and the Irelands and Tocks were such a joy to fellowship with (but I say that about everyone). The kids were looking forward to having them since we've spent a considerable amount of time with both in their homes.

Mr. Tock brought along a special treat for the kids, but especially for Marshall. He brought one of his remote control helicopters. You should have seen Marshall watching over Dale's shoulder as it was charging. He kept waiting for the green light to turn on. I think that was probably the longest ten minutes of Marshall's life.

Well, it finally did get charged and the boys (and Shaylen) had fun playing. I think I know what to put on Marshall's Christmas list this year!

The Good Samaritan

Many of you are familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan taken from Luke 10:25-37. Marshall and Shaylen heard about this story in Bible class this week. During Bible class several people dressed up acted out the story. It must have made an impression on them because yesterday as I was making dinner the kids started acting out the story and took turns being the good Samaritan. I whipped out the camera and got a few shots. I loved how they tried to make the story real (all except for the man being "stripped," "wounded," and left "half dead").

Simple Joys

Li'l Cheddar Meat Loaves

Okay, meatloaf despisers (i.e. Janelle), this post is NOT for you. But for those of you who want an easy dinner for you and your kids, this recipe is a must have. Let's just say that Marshall ate two of these last night and was eying the last one on the platter. I got this recipe out of the 2000 Taste of Home Annual Recipes book (p. 89). It has become a favorite in our family.

Here's what you'll need:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 lb ground beef
Sauce:
2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp prepared mustard

In a bowl, beat the egg and milk. Stir in cheese, oats, onion and salt. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 8 loaves; place on a large cookie sheet (I line mine with foil and then grease it for easy clean-up) or in a greased 13x9x2 baking dish. Combine ketchup, brown sugar and mustard; spoon over loaves. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for approximately 45 minutes.

These are so moist and full of flavor, and a great way to stretch one pound of hamburger to feed your family and friends (that is, unless you have a Marshall-man like we do!) I hope you enjoy these as much as our family does. (Side note: If Janelle can eat caterpillars in Zambia, surely she could stomach some meatloaf, don't you think?)

Last Week's Events

We had a busy week last week. Isn't that how I'm starting out most posts these days? At the beginning of February our calendar looked fairly empty. Amazing how it fills up isn't it?

This past Monday we drove to Salem to spend some time with our good friends Pastor Matt Fagan, his wife Amy and their three children. Matt is the pastor of Heritage Baptist Church, a church he started in June of 2001. They took us to see their church. It is amazing to see what all they have done (really, what God has done!) on the inside of their building. They have transformed a house into a beautiful sanctuary and lots of classroom space! Spending time with them was so encouraging. We all had a great time and the kids didn't want to come home.

Another thing that happened last week was that Shaylen got her hair cut for the first time since September! It had been getting very long and the struggles with tangles each morning brought tears to the corners of Shaylen's eyes. Poor thing. The lady that cut it took off about two inches. It was fun to listen to them discuss Charlotte's Web. Marshall was content to sit in the lobby and look at his airplane book.

On Thursday, Taigen and I finally got to enjoy our Christmas present to each other: tickets to hear Yo-Yo Ma at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, ME. For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Ma, he is a cellist (the greatest there is), and not a rapper, as our neighbor thought. (Seriously, do we look like the rapping type? Taigen even had a suit on. Tee Hee!) The stage was empty except for a vase of flowers and a single chair. Yo-Yo sat and played three Bach pieces for us. It was a most relaxing evening, especially after a chaotic day for Taigen.

On Saturday, I packed up the kids and drove down to Massachusetts to surprise my friend Joni for her 30th birthday. Unfortunately, Taigen was unable to go with us.We definitely surprised her! One of the first things Enzo said was, "Marshall and Shaylen are here!" We're so thankful that the kids are good friends. They had fun playing together outside, getting all wet and muddy in the process. It was a wonderful party. It was a two hour drive, but soooo worth it!

Last night we had a huge storm blow through New England and dump about 10 inches on us. We went out and played for over an hour. Being the diligent mom and blogger that I am, I took the camera and took about 35 pictures. There were some great ones of each of the kids, ones of the kids together, ones of the kids with Taigen and some with the kids and me too. However, I am not necessarily the best multi-tasker and I accidentally deleted them while attempting to download them to the computer AND talk on the phone at the same time! I wanted to kick myself to the moon! Oh well. Lamenting won't bring them back. I'll just have to get outside and take some more in the near future.

Many of you have asked how my hand is doing. I am back at the piano and it's feeling fine. It's not as flexible yet, but that will come with time. I can tell when I've done a lot (especially on Sundays) because it aches ever-so-slightly. Thank you so much for all of your prayers.

I think that is all of our Joosey news. I hope you all are doing well. Feel free to leave a comment. I've detailed out how to do that here. It's free and we love hearing from you.

Sweethearts, Singing, Snow & Surgery

We've had a busy past couple of days. On Friday we had our Valentine's banquet at church and it was a huge success. One of our deacons and wife planned the whole thing out and they did a tremendous job. It was a French theme, complete with a French menu. The food was delicious. We were honored to have Dr. and Gracie Endean come down and speak to us. They were such a blessing and I think our church folks enjoyed seeing them again.

On Sunday the Pee Wee class sang the song that they had been working on. Marshall was a bit nervous, but went up and sang anyway. Shaylen had on a beautiful velvety blue dress that was handed down to her. I don't know who gave her this one (maybe the Gauthiers or McIlwaines?). Regardless, she looked like a million bucks and was so cute singing up there. I'm glad Taigen recorded it so I can enjoy it later and so can you.

Sunday night we got dumped on again with another huge snowstorm. Taigen said we got about 6-7 inches. The snow pilings on the side of the road in front of the house are almost as tall as our minivan! It will not be melting anytime soon.

Grandma Rutledge had her hip surgery and is recovering nicely. She is so glad to have it over with. Please continue to pray for her to get her strength back. She is eager to get home. (Plus, she's probably having withdrawal issues since she can't see this blog where she is! She's probably my biggest fan.)

Mama Is A Crook

I posted last week that the kids and I went and picked up some small things to give to Taigen as a Valentine's gift. One of those items was a bag of M&M's. The kids and I wanted Taigen to be able to fill the M&M dispenser in his office.

When we were at Wal-Mart and picking out which kind of M&M's to buy, Marshall asked if they were on sale (Good boy! I've trained him right!). I told him "no" but that it was okay this time since it was for something special and they didn't cost that much. He said, "But won't the police put you in jail?" I quickly, and obviously inadequately, explained to him that just because they aren't on sale doesn't mean we cannot buy them. I reassured him that I would pay for them and then forgot all about the conversation.

Fast forward. It's been seven days since we purchased them and Marshall was obviously still concerned about the purchase. Today at lunch he asked me, "When are the police going to come and get us because the M&M's weren't on sale?" Poor kid! He's been thinking all this time that we weren't supposed to buy them! I had to launch into a lengthy discussion on the difference between full price vs. sale price and "for sale" vs. "on sale." I don't know how much soaked into his cute little head, but hopefully he won't think evil of his mama anymore. Who can blame the little guy for worrying when Mommy and Daddy have said, "No, we can't buy that right now. Maybe we can when it's on sale." Oh boy.

More NH Road Terms & Other News

On our way home from church tonight, we hit a pothole. It was big enough to jostle the kids a bit in their carseats and Marshall piped up from the back, "What was that?!?"

I said, "It was a pothole."

Silence. "Is that where pots go?"

I thought I would start off this post with a bit of humor. On a totally different note, please pray for dear Grandma Rutledge. She is having hip replacement surgery tomorrow morning. Obviously, she is NOT looking forward to it, but hopefully this will alleviate some of the pain she's been experiencing and will free her up to do the things she loves. We would appreciate your prayers for her and I'm sure she will too. Many thanks.

Happy Valentine's Day!

May I just start off this blog entry by saying how thankful we are for our friends, adopted family members and wonderful families? God has truly blessed us well beyond what we could ever ask or think! Valentine's Day is a wonderful day to not only focus on your love for your spouse, but also on your children and extended family & friends.

Last night Taigen & I were honored to be invited up to Cornerstone's Couples' Banquet. The assistant pastor, Rob, asked if Taigen might speak and graciously allowed me to tag along. They had a wonderful Italian feast of lasagna and chicken rotini (catered by Amatos), salad, breadsticks, and cheesecake! It was delicious. It's always great to see our dear families up in ME and catch up on all their news. I'm always amazed at how many of them mention that they keep up with our news via this blog. What meant the world to me is that many told us how they have been praying for us. Thank you so much. We cherish those prayers.

The kids were excited to have Ellen come and babysit again. They looked forward to it all week. Marshall woke up on Wednesday morning and said to me first thing, "Only two more sleeps!" Ellen came with a bag full of fun. She planned to work on a "secret project" with them. The kids were bursting with excitement this morning to show me their hard work for us (Valentine's Day cards). What fun they had! They went on and on about what all she did with them. We are thankful for a dependable babysitter who is also a great example for our kids.

When Taigen came home from church today, the kids ran upstairs to find their secret stash that we had purchased for him. It wasn't anything much, just some special treats the kids picked and two cards to let him know we were thinking of him and loved him. I had fun taking the kids shopping for it all. They are so cute!

I took off for church this afternoon to work and while I was gone, Taigen whipped up this wonderful cookie for me (us)! I have to admit that I didn't believe Shaylen when she told me that "Daddy made it." It looked too perfect and it had also been edged with frosting using decorator tips! Sure enough, Taigen had gotten "in touch" with his "inner creative self" and had made the masterpiece. Didn't he do a great job? It was delicious too. What a guy!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day. We appreciate and love you all so much.

Heave Ho!

There comes a time in the life of all New Englanders when they begin to experience frost heaves. Contrary to my early definition (about 9 years ago), this is not when you finally get sick of snow (although I've been hearing people start to gripe about it). It is when the soil expands and contracts during the winter. The result is a bunch of huge bumps in the road. This makes for an interesting road trip! We have several frost heaves that we hit on our way home, but one in particular is so large, it makes the kids and me laugh each time we go over it. So far there has been no sign posted warning the unsuspecting driver of the approaching heave, but the kids and I know it's there and always look forward to it. I have thrill issues, I know...

As Promised...

As promised last week, I took pictures today of the kids after they had learned about the Statue of Liberty. Their unit is focusing on America and today they were learning about American symbols. They had so much fun making their crown and torch. Marshall was even able to regurgitate a bit of the lesson and tell Taigen that the Statue of Liberty was in "Yew Nork City!" (They always have had difficulty saying that one.)

I also got these cute shots yesterday of Shaylen in her snowman outfit. I cannot recall who handed this one down to her, but I'm wondering if it was maybe Renee from one of her girls? Anyone know? She looked like a million bucks on Sunday, especially with those piggy tails.

Lastly, here is cute shot of Marshall from today. He decided to build a wall out of all of his stuffed dogs (and Curious George) spanning from his dresser to the bed. You cannot imagine the hours of fun our kids get from all of their stuffed animals, and I honestly mean all of them. Each and every one of those animals hold services, go hang gliding, go to school, sing, build homes and often assume the personalities of Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe, Mr. Phillips (the school teacher), Marilla, Matthew and Mrs. Lynde! With imaginations like these, who needs TV?

Today is the first Monday in a while that Taigen has not worked on a household project. That is, unless you count vacuuming. We just got our vacuum back from the Vacuum Doctor and our house needed it! Taigen decided to get that done while I was in school with the kids. Wasn't that nice?

We're supposed to get up to the 50's this week! What a change that will be! Hopefully that will mean outside time and lots more pictures of two cuties.

Our Peaceful Household

And this is what I was listening to for about a half an hour today. Gotta love my job!

Present Dust Collector and Other News

I thought I had better write something on here today otherwise Grandma Rutledge and my dear friend Marie are going to think some great calamity has befallen the Joos household!

We've had a great week so far. Taigen got busy on Monday morning first thing. He tore apart our room (including the ceiling fan) and started painting. It's not a drastic change, but the new cream color cleans things up a ton. Taigen had to paint everything: trim, ceiling and walls. Everything was very beaten up. Poor guy! It was an all day project. He was so happy though that the project got done. Our bedroom finally looks like it belongs with a nine year old home.

Tuesday I went and got my stitches taken out. That is a relatively painless process (ahem, Nate Perdue!) though I did bleed some. While in the office the P.A. came in and firmly instructed me that I am not to play the piano for another two weeks. Gulp. Thankfully, we have some dear ladies who are willing to step in at this time and help. It's nice being able to sing in the congregation and even in the choir, at least for a while. Aside from Marshall, the piano is collecting dust at present. Marshall loves to go and "play," though "bang" is probably the more accurate term. It's hard because he loves the bombastic and loud sounds. (I have a feeling he'll prefer Rachmaninoff & Stravinsky rather than Debussy and Chopin.)

The kids are continuing to do well in school. In Math they've started working on subtraction.We've just finished up a unit in their main class that was focusing on Spain and other Spanish speaking countries. They had so much fun trying to speak Spanish. This next unit they'll be focusing on different parts of our country. I'm excited to discuss Hawaii and especially Alaska! I'll have pictures to post on Monday when they discuss New York. I can't wait.

Until then...

So Much Trouble For Such a Small Thing

The bandage was able to come off on Wednesday and I finally got a peek at what all the trouble was about. It's such a small incision and it was such a small nodule. By the way, the surgeon showed it to me while I was still on the operating table. He said, "Hey, Crystal. Would you like to see it?" It was just a pea-sized white object. And for those of you who know me well, the answer is: No. I didn't faint.

My hand is doing great. I haven't had to take the pain medication since Thursday. Part of that might be because the church ladies have been bringing in meals for us and Taigen & the kids have been waiting on me like I was a queen or something. I have not done much this week and feel like a bum!

I went to see the surgeon yesterday and he gave me permission to go without a band-aid and take a shower without having grocery sacks taped around my hand. THAT is a blessing. I still can't stretch my hand out completely and I can't grab anything hard, but I'm thankful that it's feeling pretty good. I drove for the first time today, but I have to admit that my right hand didn't even touch the steering wheel.

Thank all of you for your prayers and encouraging emails & phone calls.

100th Day Celebration!

We have successfully completed 100 days of school! So much has been accomplished in the first 100 days of their next 16 years of schooling (that includes college, of course)! Although Kindergarten is not required (at least in NH), I'm thankful for the wonderful foundation it is giving them. Based solely off of Marshall and Shaylen's performance with the BJU Press curriculum, they are doing very well indeed and I'm so thankful to be a small part of it.

Taigen and I chuckle at the news when they discuss how far into the summer the public schools are going to have to go in order to make up these snow days. I guess that's the glory of home-schooling. At this rate (60 days left), we're scheduled to be done by the end of April.

Desperate Little Porkers

Some squirrels will go to great lengths to eat what's in the feeder. It was funny to watch them try to get at it this summer. You could almost see them think of how to get around the baffle.

We've gotten so much snow though, that it has decreased the distance to the top of the baffle and they can now jump to the top and them shimmy up and then drop. Fortunately for me, the feeder was just about empty.

Post-Surgery Update

Since typing is a chore at present, I won't wax eloquent.

1.Surgery went smoothly. It was the IV's that gave us grief. This has got to be the absolute worst part about these things. The room instantly got hot and I was trying very hard to breathe d-e-e-p-l-y!

2.They gave me meds to help with the post-anesthesia nausea, but that didn't seem to make a difference.

3.I am now sporting a lovely shade of yellow from the elbow down and a much-padded hand. No luck on getting a sticker OR a coupon to Starbucks from the nurse!

4.I felt my first bit of pain today during school, but waited until afterwards to take the meds. I didn't want to fall asleep during their lessons. My first Vicadin was taken today at noon and I'm thankful I did.

5.Tomorrow I get to take off the bandage and take a peek at the dr's handiwork. Let's hope I don't faint at the sight.

Thanks for all of your prayers.

Surgery

Tomorrow is the day the doctor chose to reschedule my hand surgery. I'm sorry to be posting this so late, but honestly, this week has been jam-packed with "stuff." I am to report to the hospital at 6:30 a.m. It's a good thing they told me to not wear make-up because at that hour, I wouldn't want to throw any on anyway!

The nurse that called me must be very stringent on the regulations (either that or the hospital is) because she told me I couldn't bring the iPod (I was originally told I could), I couldn't wear make-up (I was never told before that I couldn't) and in addition to that, I cannot have any hair-spray or gel in my hair. So basically, I'll look terrible. Hee hee! Cracks me up that I can have a c-section and deliver two babies in the O.R. with all that on, but they can't take a pea-sized nodule out of my tendon with any make-up, fingernail polish, gel or hairspray. Oh well, it saves me the trouble. As long as it gets taken care of, I'll be happy.

I'm not looking forward to all of the pricks and pokes, but I've told Marshall and Shaylen that I will try to be brave and not cry. Shaylen says I should ask for a sticker when we're all done. I think a coupon to Starbucks might be better.

Sarah Whitcher's Story

I have another book to recommend to you! This was another one of those old books I found at the Dyer Library book sale one year and we pulled it off the shelf this morning. I didn't have to rehearse for choir so I had some free time to snuggle with the kids.

This book is also written by Elizabeth Yates and illustrated by Nora S. Unwin. 84 pages. You will love the depiction of an early American family who trusts in the Lord even through difficult circumstances. It brought up some great conversations with the kids about fear, trust, and the fact that God is always in control.

Here is the Author's Note from inside:
"The story of Sarah Whitcher is found in History of Warren, New Hampshire by William Little. It was published in Manchester, New Hampshire, by W.E. Moore, a printer, in 1870, as Chapter VII, pp.322.328, with this heading: How Sarah Whitcher Was Lost in the Woods; What Happened and How They Hunted for Her. Together with a Remarkable Dream, and How a Bushel of Beans Suddenly Disappeared."

(How's that for a title, eh?)

Art & Ellen

Today was a day we all looked forward to. Taigen and I looked forward to it because it was "Date Night." We hadn't had one in a while. Between ice storms, programs, snowstorms, freezing pipes and just plain life, it's been hard to squeeze one in. The kids were looking forward to it because it meant one thing: Ellen. I've mentioned her before. She is a dear friend to our children and they love her dearly in return. Marshall said last night, "Only one more sleep!" We knew what he meant. They had been counting down the days all week during school when they changed the days on our pocket chart and put an "X" on the calendar. I think they were looking forward to this more than Christmas!

We also had our very first art class today with our group of home-school families. We met in a home and a retired art teacher worked with the older kids in the dining room and one of our moms had the four younger ones at the kitchen table. Marshall and Shaylen had so much fun learning to draw a bear, a fox and a fish. I admire my friend Karen for being willing to take on the young ones. We were both hoping that Marshall would be excited about branching away from just airplane illustrations. Thankfully, he was!

After art we went home and made chocolate chip cookies for the kids and Ellen to enjoy and then went to go pick her up. All of us had a great time. Ellen brought books to read to the kids, they pulled out the Play-Doh and puzzles were put together. As it was with the infamous Auntie Janelle, it's so nice to go away and know the kids are in good hands.