Academic Testing...Fun?

I just had to post these pictures from our first day of academic testing. The kids were looking forward to it believe it or not. Just from glancing over their shoulders periodically, I think they did well. Only time will tell.

New Friends and Old Friends

Several weeks ago (so sorry that I'm just now getting around to posting about this!) we had special meetings with Todd and Krista Sivnksty. Krista and I grew up together in CO and have many, many great memories tucked under our belts. This is the first time that they have been to Heritage and also the first time that our kids have ever met.

We had a wonderful week of services. It was such a blessing to spend time with them. The first week they were here, both Krista and I were doing school with our children, so we didn't get to do a whole bunch of stuff together. They were able to come over for a meal or two and we also helped Krista celebrate her 29th birthday (29, plus tax). The kids really enjoyed playing with Cameron and Ivy.

We were fortunate to get a second week with them. Instead of driving all the way back down South, they were able to park at the church and stay in New England until they had to drive to MI for their next set of meetings. This allowed us more time to reminisce and enjoy the time without rushing around. Todd and Taigen went golfing, Krista and I went out to dinner and chatted for well, um, quite a while. Krista and I took the kids to the beach one day and we then enjoyed pizza in their trailer the night before they left. I felt like I got a great shot in the arm from them. What a blessing good friends are!

'Tis The Season

May is a beautiful time of year. The trees explode with a vibrant lime green and our area wakes up to Spring. I love how we have a profusion of color on our property the first two weeks of May. We have white and pink (both dark and light) and green. It is beautiful. The jury is still out whether I prefer Spring or Fall here in New England, but either way I love how God made our neck of the woods to put on quite the display.

May is also a busy time of year. For me, this May meant Ladies' Banquet Season. It is such a blessing to go to different churches and get to know all of the ladies and then share a devotional with them from God's Word. It's also a great benefit for me to see how different churches "run" their ladies' ministries and glean great ideas for our own. The first Saturday in May, I was able to head down to Derry, NH (I had spoken there two years ago), the second I was in Oakdale, CT. Saturday the 15th, we had our own ladies' banquet and this past Saturday I spoke at a church in New Durham, NH. The study has been so good for me, stretching and pushing me to be clear and concise, kind but challenging.

Our own ladies' banquet went so well. I was more than pleased with how everything fell together. We had a camera theme for this entire year entitled "Through God's Lens." We "focused" in on what God has to say for wives, mothers, teens, single women, workers, caregivers & friends. One of my goals for my ladies to not just live, going through each day in the same way we did yesterday and the day before, but live as God has prescribed us to. The blessing of having a great cross-section of ages in our church is we can all "sharpen" each other and encourage each other to please the Lord more. We have ladies who have "been there, done that" and listening to them share what they've learned has been beneficial. Walking through a consistent theme this year, I think, helped us.

As a conclusion to our year we had a banquet with the theme of "Renewing Your Focus." I had spoken at a banquet in Manomet, MA last year that used that theme and I brought home a pocketful of ideas!

So how did it all come together in my mind? Well, (this is all going to seem very funny to you) I got a note from the Herbsters after our special meetings with them last September. The piece of stationery had a beautiful floral black and white design on it. Because it was a sweet note and so pretty, I set it on my dresser upstairs in my bedroom. (Let's see if you can follow this long train of thought...) On my dresser is an old pitcher with some pretty silk flowers. In the grouping is a hot pink gerber daisy. I saw it in combination with the black and white note card and liked it! It was a lightning bolt moment and I thought, "Wouldn't this be neat to use for our color scheme?" After all, it is a camera theme. Shouldn't we have black and white? Through the help of many of our ladies at church, it all came together beautifully.

The meal was catered by our own men in the church. Two men organized it all, four cooked it all, and several men including some of our teen guys served it all and cleaned it all up for us. What a luxury. We polished off the meal by saying, "Cheese...cake." Yummy!

The effect was simple, yet elegant. One thing I really enjoyed was that the ladies brought in baby pictures so we could play a photo guessing game. It was so fun to see my friends when they were little! With some extra oldish looking photos we decorated the church lobby and fellowship hall. Mrs. Sally Jones from Cornerstone Baptist Church in Oakdale, CT came and gave the devotional. Our ladies loved her.


Shaylen had been looking forward to the banquet for months. It was a wonderful time to sit and be with my little Peanut. It was a wonderful day, full of great fellowship and friends.

Friends Of Old

Back in the ol' days, I lived in a dormitory at college. Across the hall lived my good friend Becky. I called her Becky Heckadude, only because 1.) She was hilarious and wouldn't be offended, and 2.) Her real last name was Heckathorne. We always had a wonderful time when put together. Both of us have the capacity of throwing back our heads and heartily laughing.

Fast forward a decade. Yes, even over a decade. More like 14 years. That's how long it's been since I saw Becky Heckadude. How sad! The last time we can remember seeing each other was graduation from Bob Jones University in 1996. We're both now married and have two kids. Through the wonderful tool of Faceb*ok, we were able to reconnect. Her family is preparing to head to Romania as missionaries to try and reach the gypsies. Unfortunately for us, we were unable to have them at our church (we just had Dr. K and were currently in special meetings when they were trekking through New England), but they wanted to stop by and say "hello!" Boy was I excited!

They came over two Thursdays ago and joined us for lunch at the house. The kids had a wonderful time playing together and Becky and I pulled out the ol' BJU yearbooks and chatted about old times, new times and future times. It was just so sweet for me to spend time with her. She hasn't changed a bit and we had quite a few laughs. I met her husband for the first time, and aside from him telling me that I was old and gray (just kidding Travis, just kidding!) I really liked him. You can tell I liked him because within moments I started giving him a hard time. Poor guy!

I'm not sure when they'll have their full support and head over to Romania, but I was thankful for their little detour to our area. Hopefully we'll see each other before another decade and a half roll by.

My Favorite Kind of Math Equation

What do you get when you subtract television, add some great books (both audio and softbound), a pile of legos, a lego man, a Lincoln Log cowboy, two ginormous couch pillows, a dozen or so stuffed animals, a canvas storage bin and a cute little boy with a wonderful imagination? You get Marshall who entertained himself this way (see video below) for at least an hour yesterday afternoon while I worked on my devotional for this weekend's ladies' banquet down in CT.

I've talked before about how they play independently like this and provide a running commentary on what is taking place. I hear snippets of their books in their conversations, but I've never caught it on video. Sorry it's a little shaky, but I was trying to hide behind a corner so that he wouldn't see me, get embarrassed and stop.

And where was Shaylen during all of this? Lounging on the couch devouring an entire chapter book in a single afternoon (Tommy's Rocket by Sharon Hambrick, 83 pages, published by Journeyforth Books).

I love my kids!

So Grown Up

Out of the blue on Monday after swimming lessons were done and the kids were changing back into their clothes, Marshall asked me if I could spike his hair up slightly in the front. I played with his wet hair there in the bathroom and said, "Like this?" I asked Marshall why he wanted his hair slightly spiked. He thought it would make him look a little more like Chris (Taigen's cousin in WA). How sweet. It was especially neat because it was obvious he had been thinking about him, even though we hadn't even discussed Chris in a long time. We can't wait to see him in December when we travel out there for Christmas.

After discussing this with Taigen later on that day, we decided to give it a go. After finishing his hair, he turned to me and said, "I feel so grown up!"

You can't see the "spiky-ness" in this photo too well, but you can trust me that he is such a handsome little man.

A Stinky Problem

The kids have been plugging away at their school work. What hard workers they have been. One of the things I love about our house is that we have a large guest room. I've been able to use that space above the garage for a classroom these two years. I can literally say, "Let's go to school!" We have to leave the main part of the house, walk through the garage and up a separate staircase (18 stairs) to get to it. It separates me from the dishes, the dust and many of the distractions that stare at me in the main part of the house. I can devote myself fully to the education of our two munchkins.

On Wednesday, the kids and I were definitely separated from something for the entire morning, but when we walked into the main part of the house after school, we could smell it! It smelled TERRIBLE! I instantly thought it smelled like propane, but was puzzled because we have no gas line. Trying to be wise, I opened up the house (even though it was very, very chilly) in an attempt to air out the house. Instead of helping, it made things worse. Not only was the house more stinky, it was cold too! I went and stood by the back patio door and discovered that the smell was coming from the back. Taigen had grilled on Tuesday night, so I thought, "Maybe he didn't turn off the propane." I gave him a call, but he assured me that he had indeed made sure it was off. I closed up the house since I figured if the smell was outside, I wasn't going to let it in. Maybe one of the neighbors had a gas line problem.

When Taigen came home he went out and examined the propane tank off the grill. He soon realized that it had a leak! The tank wasn't old, so this was very surprising to us. He called the fire department to ask about what we were supposed to do.

Well, the fire department had to come. Not only did someone show up, lots showed up! The kids were so excited! I'm sure it provided entertainment for our neighbors as well. (It's a quiet neighborhood, so not much goes on 'round these parts!) They brought the big fire truck and several suited firemen (maybe it was the most exciting thing that had happened to them all day, who knows?). They agreed that the tank was the culprit. It had to go and they would take care of it right then and there. In addition to emptying the tank, they also came into the house and checked for explosive levels of the gas. All was safe, thankfully.

It was very interesting to watch the firemen empty the tank and hose it down with their big firehoses. Such a lot of fuss (and stink) for such a small tank! We all watched from the safety of the house, and me being the very diligent blogger that I am (cough! cough!), I was snapping away with the camera. Everything's a potential post, ya know!

When one of the fireman came to report that all was safe, Marshall and Shaylen had pictures drawn and colored to hand him as a thank-you. He asked the kids if they wanted to come and take a look at the truck. Did they ever! They ran to throw on their shoes and quickly went out. Taigen grabbed the camera and followed them.

These firefighters were so gracious with the kids. When one came inside, he greeted the kids and explained everything (probably to set them at ease). They took the time to show them the truck, lift them up into the driver's seat, and also pose for a group picture. I was extremely impressed with these guys. Marshall put it well when he said at the dinner table, "I am SO thankful for city workers!"

Made With Love

I don't know how much time Grandma Cathy's sewing machine was out before she had grandkids, but it's certainly getting some use now! A few years back she made Marshall and Shaylen some pajamas and blankets (along with the other grandkids). This past Christmas she bought Shaylen a beautiful doll and then proceeded to outfit the doll (whom Shaylen has named "Baby Shaylen") with some gorgeous clothes complete with buttons that belonged to my Grandma LeDoux. These are things that I treasure already and even though Shaylen loves the doll and doll clothes, I hope the more she matures, the more she'll appreciate each detail.

Cathy decided to be brave & industrious and branch out into big doll clothes, Shaylen-sized doll clothes. After all, Shaylen is quite a doll (or at least the grandparents and I think so). It took her no time at all to whip up this pretty dress. Shaylen was excited to wear it last night to church. It looked so beautiful on her too! I want you to notice one special thing about it though. See those bright burgundy buttons on the front? Those were my Grandma LeDoux's buttons. I'm so excited that Shaylen can wear her Great-Grandma's things and look at pictures and remember her too.

What Are Little Boys Made Of? Frog Eggs & Pond Scum

On Sunday, Renee brought over the frog eggs that we...well, SHE had gathered on our expedition last Monday. She had gotten enough to split between Marshall & Shaylen and her daughter Julia, but she needed to get another large jar so she could separate them.

So, we currently have a few dozen baby frogs sitting on our counter. Appetizing, don't you think? Aren't you eager right now to come over for supper? Tee hee!

It'll be fun to watch them progress, but equally fun to take a walk down the road to our little stream, set them free to go off on their own into the great big world. Does that mean we'll have Empty Jar Syndrome?

Marshall, Shaylen and I have enjoyed taking a peek at them every day. Here's hoping I don't accidentally kill them.

Children's Choirs

For those of you who don't know, I rehearse two (small) separate children's choirs on Wednesday nights at our church. They have classes going on, but I come in during half of those classes and have a music time with them. I do the youngest group (4yrs. through 1st grade) first from 7 until 7:30 and then the "big kids" (2nd-6th graders) from 7:30 until 8. They are wonderful kids and a joy to be with.

The past two months or so I've been rehearsing a piece with them with the intent of combining them to sing during April. Marshall and Shaylen have known for a while that they would get to sing this particular piece with the "big kids" and were very excited.

I'm looking forward to adding them to my choir next year when they bump up into 2nd grade. I'll be gaining three (Marshall, Shaylen and their friend Julia) and losing two to junior high.

It is such a blessing to work with children in this capacity.

New Little Visitors

This past Thursday, we got the opportunity to babysit our friends' (John and Laura) children. John recently got transferred to the Dover branch of the company he works for. They were going to be in town looking at houses and Laura finally took me up on my offer to spoil, uh, I mean babysit their kids.

They arrived on Thursday night. I wanted to gobble them up immediately. The kids that is. There's little Sophia who is going to be three this December, and then the twins, Jackson and Juliana who just turned one. They were SO good. They ate well, played well, slept well and were just so cute!

It brought back lots of memories to feed two at a time (both at dinner and then their bottle before bedtime). It's amazing how much I have forgotten of those long-ago days. Where has the time gone?

We enjoyed some great conversation when John and Laura came home and then I enjoyed Laura's company all day on Friday. The weather was nice and we decided to take the kids on a walk. Laura's kids are small in relation to Marshall and Shaylen, but when combined in a stroller headed UP the hill, they were h-e-a-v-y! I think both Laura and I got a good workout (Laura especially because she is expecting)!

All in all, I think Marshall and Shaylen enjoyed playing with their new friends, thinking they were soooo grown up and helping Mommy babysit (I think they secretly were excited to play with all their old baby toys again), and we enjoyed the extended time to chat with good friends.

We're praying earnestly for the sale of John & Laura's home. Can't wait until they can be in our neck of the woods.

A Mouse In the House (A Very BIG Mouse)

Knowing that the tail-end of our week was going to be busy, I tried to accomplish as much as possible within the first half. On Wednesday, I made a coffee cake and ginormous batch of cookie dough to bake later on when I would have the time.

When we went to bed that night, I was telling Taigen about my day and mentioned that I had made cookie dough. He said, "I know."

"You do? You mean, you discovered it already in the fridge?"

"I did."

I probed, "Did you eat any?"

Taigen looked sheepish. "I did. It's really good."

We laughed about it and went to bed. As I lay there, I plotted against him. I thought up a scenario and decided to play an itty bitty trick on Taigen in the morning. But first, I was going to try it out on the kids to see how they fell for it.

At breakfast the next morning, I threw on my acting skills and story-telling eyes and said to the kids, "I found out that we have a mouse in the house!"

"We do?" Their eyes were huge.

"Yes. I don't know how he did it, but he got into the house, opened the fridge and got into Mama's cookie dough. You want to see?"

"Yeeeeessss!"

I opened the fridge and peeled back the lid of the Rubbermaid container. There were the evidences from Taigen's little escapade the night before.

"Whoooooaaaa!" They believed it. Shaylen looked a little skeptical, but laughed when I told her that, no, indeed it had been Daddy. BUT, maybe, just maybe, Taigen would fall for it. After all, we have had some mice issues this past winter, but only in the garage and basement. So I sent him a brief email from my iTouch.

Subject: Mouse
"We have another one somewhere in the house."

TJ's quick reply: "Where did you see the evidence?" Tee hee! He fell for it!!!

CJ Reply: "I don't know how he got in, but I could tell he ate some cookie dough. At least he has good tastes!"

Friends, Frog Eggs and Peanut Butter Pie: A Delightful Combo

On Monday, we were invited to go over to our friends' house, the Fisteres, to spend some time with them and Dr. K. The Fisteres housed Dr. K while he was in town, and this was a nice chance to sit, relax and fellowship. The Fisteres have a teenage boy (not the infamous eight-cookie-eater one) who is graduating from high school this year and a little girl who is in the same grade as Marshall and Shaylen. Her name is Julia and she is a good little friend for them.

While dinner was baking in the oven, Renee invited the kids and me to go on a walk. We were going to go and feed/pet some horses and also go looking for frog eggs. If anyone knows me, they know that it was Renee who was going to find the eggs, because I wouldn't have had a clue what to even look for. The kids haven't had much exposure to horses either, so with camera in hand, I was eager for them to make some memories.

Our first stop was the little pond (emphasis on the little). Maybe it's more of an overgrown puddle, but regardless, it was big enough to function as a frog nursery. Renee threw on her mucky boots, waded in (this is good because I had on my linen skirt and sandals...not exactly frog fetching attire), grabbed them with her net and then dumped them in her jar with some pond water. I had never seen frog eggs before. Tadpoles, yes. Eggs, no. It was fascinating! We placed the lid on the jar and carried them along with us as we walked toward the stables of a neighbor. This was going to be our party favor from the evening! (I'm going to turn it into a science lesson for two munchkins.)

The neighbor was out feeding the horses and called to them. They came galloping toward the fence where the kids were waiting with apple wedges. After the wedges were gone, the grass was the next best thing. I'm thinking that between the three kiddos, the lawn on the outside of the fence got a pretty good clipping. I on the other hand got some great photos.

Once back "at the ranch," dinner was excellent and the conversation around the table was especially neat; hearing Dr. K talk about his trips to many different countries to see many different missionaries. It was great to reconnect after all these years. We polished dinner off with peanut butter pie and another great photo of the kids with Dr. K.

You might ask why I'm not using his full name. He asked that we post it this way. Why? Well, it is because some of the countries where Dr. K visits are not exactly rolling out the red carpet for Christianity. Just would rather be safe than sorry, if you know what I mean.

He was a blessing and I was thankful Marshall and Shaylen had the opportunity to meet him and get to know him.

Sunday Duds

My apologies for being the delinquent blogger lately. Life is rushing by. Thankfully, there are digital cameras that can capture moments and remind me of what's gone on in the past two weeks (when I get around to downloading them to the computer) so that I may relay it to you. Thanks for faithfully checking in to see if there is any new news.


Here are two pictures from Sunday, April 18th. Shaylen was wearing a new dress Aunt Karen gave her. It is adorable. (Mwa! to you Karen!) I'm thinking that Aunt Karen bought it with next summer in mind (it's a size 8), but I checked the length and determined that if she was going to get any use out of it, she had better wear it now. Some of these spring dresses were obviously made for the Caribbean because it is too chilly at this point here in New England for Shaylen to be wearing it sans sweater. Regardless, she looked so cute!

And how could I take a picture of Shaylen without taking one of my little man? Marshall is in need of a haircut (my neglect of the blog also is reflective of my neglect in cutting his hair! Ahhhh! Is there a pause button?). He looks cute nonetheless. I could just gobble him up. He's my tall skinny boy.

Last Sunday night we were able to have a S.N.A.C. Activity at our house for the teens. These are always a blast. S.N.A.C. stands for Sunday Night After Church. Of course, it does also mean food, and lots of it. Teens are bottomless pits. I made a layered chip dip and cookies and another mom also contributed cookies. I'm glad we had two batches for them to consume because I found out one of our teen boys (who will go nameless) ate eight of them! See what I mean about them being "bottomless pits?" We ate, played a game, and then enjoyed a devotional from "Dr. K," one of our visiting missionaries.

It was a busy but full day in the ministry here in New England.

Swim Class Super Slide

Marshall and Shaylen wrapped up their third session of swimming last week. On the last day of homeschool swim, they turn on the giant slide and let the kids go down. For the first time, the teachers said that Marshall and Shaylen could go down. That means they were confident that they would be able to go catapulting down the slide, plunge into a deeper pool and come up swimming rather than sputtering! The teacher's had forewarned me the week prior so I came with camera in hand. Marshall and Shaylen were so excited! They've been looking forward to this for eight weeks. (Pictured top left: Marshall and Shaylen are waiting at the top of the slide. They are about to head down.)

The twins are currently in level three. Their fourth session started yesterday and they swam in the lap pool for the first time. They had to swim the entire length! I am happy to report that they both did a great job. Of course, they have a ways to go before their strokes are smooth and satisfactory, but I think they have improved a ton (considering they didn't know how to swim this past fall)! They really enjoy swimming and I'm thankful for the local gym making these classes available for homeschoolers.

The twins aren't the only ones having a great time during swim class. Of course, being a proud mother, I enjoy watching the kids, but I have a friend from church whose son is also enrolled in the class. We pass the time chatting about various and sundry things. What fun! I especially cherish this time because it is approximately 45 minutes each week when I get to be still and enjoy conversation with a good friend.

Caution! Imaginations At Work

I thought I would post this hilarious picture from the other day. Many times you all will call (or email) and ask, "What are the twins up to?" This picture pretty much describes it all.

One of their favorite things to do is play with their stuffed animals. They like to load up all of the larger vehicles with the stuffed animals, line up all the couch pillows into "roads," and then make a large caravan. The caravan then goes through all of the house while they make up different scenarios to with them.

Shaylen will say something like, "...and Baby Snoopy didn't realize that Baby Bongo was hopelessly lost and following him very closely!" And Marshall will say something like, "Lil' Small Wee Bear gasped in astonishment that the bridge was gone and they were ready to fall down into the river!"

It's funny to hear snippets of their audiobooks make their way into their conversations, imaginations and free time. What a fun age!

Happy Easter!

Hopefully you all had a wonderful Easter. It is such a wonderful day for us. Without the Resurrection, there would be no joy, no hope, no eternal life. So thankful for what Christ did on the cross for us, but more importantly, that He rose from the grave conquering sin and death.

We enjoyed a great Sunrise service. This service starts at 7:30am. Believe it or not, we have a great turnout for this in spite of how early it is. This year, Marshall and Shaylen had learned a new hymn in their Bible class. It is entitled "Golden Harps Are Sounding." The words and music were written by Frances R. Havergal. As we sang it every day in school, the more I thought the words would be great for Resurrection Sunday. They read:

Golden harps are sounding,
Angel voices sing,
Gates of pearl are opened,
Opened for the King;
Christ the King of glory,
Jesus, King of love,
Is gone up in triumph
To His throne above.

Chorus: All His work is ended,
Joyfully we sing:
Jesus hath ascended! Glory to our King!

He who came to save us,
He who bled and died,
Now is crowned with glory
At His Father's side;
Nevermore to suffer,
Nevermore to die,
Jesus, King of glory,
Has gone up on high.

Praying for His children
In that blessed place,
Calling them to glory,
Sending them His grace;
His bright home preparing,
Faithful ones, for you;
Jesus ever liveth,
Ever loveth too.

So, to make a long story short (or longer), I talked to Taigen about it and we decided to sing it as a family during the sunrise service. We've sung lots of times together in nursing homes, and at home, but never before as a family in church. It was a special, memorable moment on this blessed day! The kids did a great job and sang right out.

Not only did they sound good, but they also looked fabulous. Thank yous go to Grandma Sherry who outfitted them with the beautiful and colorful outfits. I snapped up these photos of them in our backyard after the morning service. (I would have snapped them before we left for church, but it was cooler and very early...6:45am!)

After lunch today we went over to our friends' house. This makes the third Easter that we have spent with them. Our church does a sunrise service, Sunday school, a morning service and then no evening service. We enjoy going over to the Meroff's and enjoying a relaxing time all afternoon.

Amy is a great cook! We had ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, carrots, and rolls. For dessert, Taigen made his award-winning Reese's Peanut Butter Cake. That cake gets more and more delicious each time I eat it. I thought I would share this photo of this trio eating theirs. This is Matthew with the twins. He is seven and in second grade. Matthew is a great friend to Marshall and Shaylen (and, I might add, is super cute). We hardly see any of the five kids when we are there because they have so much fun together. Eventually though, they get hungry and then they make their presence known.

It was a wonderful day! After we came home from the Meroff's, we went outside and enjoyed the wonderful weather. We're seeing signs of life underneath dried leaves and old mulch. Thankful for the New Life which Christ gives. Happy Easter to you all.