Number Four...and Counting

Guess who lost another tooth this morning (looking at him, it's the bottom right empty space)? He has two front teeth on the top that are loose as well. He's getting SO big, SO fast.

Special Seamstress

Kids grow so quickly. It seems that no sooner do I pull out outfits that have been given or handed down to them, wash them, hang them up in their closets that I realize that they have outgrown them or are close to outgrowing them. It can be very frustrating at times! I think, "This was just purchased for them!" I'm sure you moms can relate with me, right?

We have a wonderful young lady in our church who sews. She is launching out into her own business and wondered if Shaylen could play model/first customer. She had some patterns that she recommended that were nice and long. The dresses will be sewn slightly larger with a tie in the back and with a longer hem so that when Shaylen grows, we can let it "out" and down in hopes of getting more life out of the dress.

Last week I went over to their house so that she could try her work thus far on Shaylen and make some adjustments. The dresses looked beautiful. She has really done a great job. In return, I offered to take some pictures of her for her senior portraits. I know, I know, I'm not a professional, but we sure had fun tromping through the woods, sitting in dew-laden grass and convincing a stubborn horse to come and pose for the picture. Hopefully there were some photos in the mix that they could use to send to family.

I'm so thankful to have this wonderful young lady (along with many other young ladies) in our church. Her ministry to Shaylen (and therefore me) has been a blessing.

Relief From the Heat

Tuesday was scheduled to have 90+ degree weather. Our air conditioning units weren't in the windows as it almost goes against our grain to put them in before Memorial Day. You could say it's our rule of thumb in order to try and save money.

My good friends Amy and Wendy invited me to join them & their kids on the beach so that we could escape the heat and stuffiness of our house. I took them up on their offer and am ever so thankful that I did.

I packed lunches for Marshall, Shaylen and myself along with lots of water, sunscreen and a huge beach umbrella that Taigen had bought to keep us out of the scorching sun. Even getting out of the house and into Amy's van was a relief. Her air conditioning felt really nice.

Amy has a fancy-schmancy van that tells her what the temperature is outside. As we neared the coast we watched the temperature drop. When we pulled up in the parking lot, the temperature read 67 degrees. We thought it was wrong, but when we stepped outside the van, we felt the wonderful sea breeze. It felt so good.

The kids enjoyed jumping in the waves, digging in the sand, experimenting with boogie-boarding and picnicking on the beach. I enjoyed the conversation and laughter all while digging my feet in the sand & sipping my raspberry iced tea beneath the shade of my beach umbrella. This is the life. Too bad life & reality eventually call, right? I could've stayed there all day.

Special Twelfth Year Date

Can you believe that Taigen and I have been married for 12 years? I can honestly say that it's been the best 12 years of my life. I couldn't have asked for a better husband.

Taigen had a bunch up his sleeve the week of our anniversary. He planned special little notes or small gifts throughout the week leading up to our 12 year anniversary. It was very creative and special. On Saturday the 15th he asked our good friends if Marshall and Shaylen could go over to their house and play so that Taigen and I could have a date here at our house. They were very sweet and said "yes."

Marshall and Shaylen love spending time with their kids. They are very sweet, good kids. Amy was good enough to snap up a few photos so I could keep them as memories. One thing the kids always love doing at their house is playing the Wii (it is a very special treat for them). They have yet to master the driving game, but sure love trying.

Our date was really nice, quiet and relaxing, and although we love our kids, it was nice to have the house to ourselves for just a little while.

End of the Year Celebration

Just like last year, we promised the kids that when the school year ended, we would all go out to Friendly's for ice cream. The kids looked forward to Friendly's with great anticipation. When we finished up with our academic testing at the beginning of May, the kids expected to go out that night, but we had a busy, busy week. We finally were able to go and reward their hard efforts Monday of last week.

Marshall and Shaylen looked at the menu in hopes of snagging the biggest ice cream amount possible. I think Taigen did the same because when his came along with the kids' our eyes popped. (Taigen must think that it takes a great deal of work to be school superintendent, because he rewarded himself accordingly. Tee hee!) Marshall and Shaylen's teacher/principal (i.e. ME) was rewarded with a peanut butter cup and vanilla ice cream blend that was tremendous.

And how did they really do this year? Well, they both got straight A's...and I'm not just saying that. They earned them.

We're so proud of Marshall and Shaylen and all of the diligence that they poured into their first grade year. They are honestly and truly a joy to homeschool.

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.