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

Move the Couch and Deal With It

I have a group of ladies coming over for my Java at the Jooses get together tomorrow. It's a wonderful and relaxing time of fellowship, getting to know each other, and a time in God's Word together. I'm cleaning house today. There's a "cleaning of the house" that you probably do on a weekly basis (or at least we try, right?), and then there's a Cleaning The House that we do when ladies are coming over. It's not like my HBC ladies get on their hands and knees or put on their white gloves to check and see how I'm doing in the House Cleaning Department, but I just like to do a more thorough cleaning when they come.

One thing that I did this morning that I obviously hadn't done in a while, was vacuum underneath the couches. It's that hard-to-get area that requires more effort on my part to get to, so it doesn't get done often. But I know it is there. Waiting. Now my house gets dirty just like the rest of yours, but it can have the appearance of cleanliness, especially if I've hit all of my clutter. Just don't go poking about and actually looking for dirt because you just might find it. Sooo, today the couches got moved, I worked up a sweat, and it got vacuumed. It needed it. It was gross. Think: bugs, dust, marbles, Legos, paper, lint, strings, thread, small Playmobil parts, and even potting soil (how did that escape me?)! I was mortified that this had been lurking mere inches from my comfy cozy chair where I do my devotions every day. I couldn't see it, but it was definitely there.

And then it struck me. Many times we as Christians deal with problems in this very way. In my minimal years of experience (almost 13 years of full time ministry), I see this so often. Too often. There's conflict. Maybe there is a huge blow up (Mt. Vesuvius, maybe?), and then an Ice Age of silence. Or maybe there is a low & quiet seething coupled with surface-y friendliness until the heat dies down, and you just "forget it" (but not really). Guess what? It's all lurking there. It's in your comfy cozy chair where you spend time with the Lord. It's in your pew where you supposedly worship the Lord every time the church doors are opened. It's there beside you when you bow your head to pray. It's waiting for you to move the proverbial couch and clean it out. And we wonder why we have no spiritual victory?

It haunts you. It waits. And then something happens again. Feelings get hurt again and then the dirt is exposed. You see it, and everything (in HD detail) is brought back to your mind. It would be as if I had moved the couch, looked at all of the garbage there and just shrugged my shoulders (after all, vacuuming IS hard work, right?), and moved the couches back to where they were. That would be ridiculous, right? You're right. It is. We have to deal with it.

Just like my house might have a resemblance to cleanliness, I (you) might have an appearance of godliness or spirituality, and yet the sin is there all the time. Ladies, it's time to move the couches (i.e. prIde), confess this sin to the Lord with a heart of humility & true repentance, and then go to that brother or sister and tell them that you were wrong in having a spirit of unforgiveness. Wrong in being bitter toward them. Wrong in not glorifying God in your relationship with a fellow believer. Don't tell them that they hurt your feelings. Don't tell them how they wronged you. It could be that maybe, just maybe, it's your feelings that are wrong. You will not answer to God for your friend. You answer for you. You worry about YOU. I don't know about you, but I've got my hands full just taking care of me, my sinfulness, and my walk with the Lord.

"Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matt. 7:3-5)

"Put on then, as God's chosen one, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful." Col. 3:12-15

I pray that you will take some time with the Lord today and ask for forgiveness from the Lord for your sinful spirit with your brothers and sisters in Christ, and then immediately call, email, text, FB your friend and set up a time to make things right. Face to face.

Only then will your heart be really clean.

Basement Progress

Taigen has been using his spare time to work in the basement. It's looking really, really good. Or, maybe I should say that it is looking more and more like a blank slate. This is a good thing. A very good thing! After staring at a poorly completed sports bar/man cave for over four years, it was time to, as President Reagan would have probably said, "Tear down this wall!"

All of the walls have been torn down, most of the insulation has been pulled out, carpet remnants have been pitched, and the ugly carpeting has been torn off the stairs. It looks SO much better.

Dale (from church) has come over and helped build the new walls. They have spent countless hours down there. I cannot wait to see how the finished project will look, but we're looking forward to seeing it done.

Good job, Babe!

Pretty Peanut

This dress was a hand-me-down from Elise up at Cornerstone Baptist Church (Scarborough, ME). It is absolutely adorable. Shaylen put it on for the first time today and I just had to take a picture of her in it. Doesn't she look so pretty? And so grown up? (gulp)

Guess Who Was In Town?

We always love it when we can have the Pileggis up for a visit. Soon they will only be an hour away. Their house is almost finished. Joni & I will definitely have to be disciplined to work out a playdate more often than we get now. This every-great-once-in-a-while thing just isn't enough, in my opinion.

The whole gang

Precious Gianna

Julia

Lily

The original quartet. Look how they have grown!

Just look at these kids! Aren't they adorable? I want to gobble them up and slather them all with "joosey" kisses.

Fighting Children

This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "My kids have been fighting all day." I love seeing & hearing their imaginations at work.

Mysterious Feathered Friend

With our basement all packed up and in the garage, I don't have access to my bird book that was given to me by my friend Danette. Can anyone help me in identifying this adorable feathered friend that was on our deck today? I've never seen one before here. He is so beautiful!

Yard Pics

Time With A Faithful Friend

Our friend, Scott Aniol has been with us at Heritage briefly in the past to speak in our Wednesday evening service. We kept him up late yakking his ear off and peppering him with questions! I cannot say enough how much he has been a huge help and encouragement to us. Talk about an iron-sharpening-iron friend!

When we heard he was going to be back in New England, Taigen got on the phone with him, and with the help of Matt Fagan of Heritage Baptist Church in Windham, NH, we were able to procure him for a weekend! After much discussion between the three of them, we set up what we were going to call the Sound Worship Conference. Scott would preach all day for the conference on Saturday, teach Sunday school on Sunday, preach in the morning service & again in the evening service. It was a spiritually beneficial time for us. Not only could we listen to him several times, but we also got to spend a great deal of time with him in our home.

If you have not had Scott in your church, let me encourage you to talk with your pastor & ask him to contact him today and do whatever you can to have him come teach and preach on this very important topic of worship. On a personal level, no personal library would be complete without Scott's book Worship in Song and/or Sound Worship. They are both excellent reads. I highly recommend them.

Fly High In the Sky

We had a beautiful day today so I encouraged the kids to get out and play. They took their bouncy balls outside and were flying all over the lawn. It was hilarious to watch them. These balls have been one of those inexpensive gifts (from Sherry) that have provided hours and hours of entertainment! I absolutely love them.

Needless to say, they slept really, really well!