Crazy Cutey Patutey Season

I had a bunch of scrap paper which was uniform in size. These scraps were left over from making photo booth strip envelopes for customers. What could I do with them? I decided to try my hand at making note pads. Surely I could print them, bind them together with padding compound and then sell them! I decided to give it a try.

Boy, did they take off! I have been selling notepads by the dozen! They started taking off immediately as Lunchbox Loveys (to include in your kids' lunchbox), but then folks started ordering personalized ones for their teachers and coworkers as thoughtful gifts for Christmas. This made for some pretty long nights and lots of printing (and a bunch of help tying baker's twine by the kids and packaging by Taigen). Let's just say that all of my white scrap paper is gone and I've ordered lots more in hopes of getting me through the Christmas season!

Marshall's 2017 YOC Field Trip - Part 3

Our last stop for this year's field trip was at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. I could instantly tell why this one was saved for last. The room itself was impressive, but the organ...WOW.

This is an 1864 E. & G. G. Hook organ. We have an organ builder on the YOC Committee. He and his dad came with us and they were just one hair shy of shaking with excitement over this organ. It was neat to hear a bit of its history and then send the kids off for an organ crawl inside with the organ technician that maintains this beauty! The following pictures Marshall took with my phone (I opted to stay out).

You can see out into the hall in this picture.

Don't look down!!!

You cannot be afraid of heights inside this organ!

Marshall had been saving his Vierne piece for this final stop on the field trip. We knew it to be an historic and wonderful organ that needed a bigger piece. The co-chairs of the YOC were assisting Marshall with the stops...and I think they pulled all of them. It sounded phenomenal!

Marshall's 2017 YOC Field Trip - Part 2

Our second stop was the beautiful St. Joseph, Holy Family Parish in Worcester, MA. They not only have a beautiful historic building (it was shocking to hear that they were actually considering tearing it down years ago), but a beautiful 1928 Casavant pipe organ. It looked small, but the sound it produced was significant.

Marshall's 2017 YOC Field Trip - Part 1

Every fall, the Young Organist Collaborative organizes a field trip for the students to go and see, play, and explore some of the great organs in New England. This year's field trip was a phenomenal experience for Marshall. Because there are a lot of photos and a few videos, I will break this post into three parts, since we went and saw three separate organs.

The first organ was in Auburn, MA at the Pakachoag Church. It is a 1997 Dobson pipe organ. Isn't it beautiful?!?! It had a sweet sound to match. We had a special treat in that the organ builder himself was there to talk about it.

The Sands of Time Are Sinking

Chinese Fellowship Ministry

We have a lovely couple in our church that help in a Friday evening Chinese Bible study. For years they've had someone come in and "babysit" the kids, but as time has gone on, there have been more and more children, and some of them have never heard about Jesus, His love, and His gift of salvation. The burden grew for them to do something for these kids in a formal way. Would there be someone from our church who would be willing to help them get this children's ministry going?

For the past year, I have worked closely with the Lams in developing a solid program implementing Bible songs, crafts, games, and a Bible lesson (complete with visuals) for these sweet children. The Lams have worked with the younger children and I have had a wonderful class of the older kids. It was such rewarding work. China is a "closed country," meaning, it will not allow formal missionaries into the country. However, the mission field of China has come to NH.

After about a year, this ministry is off and running on its own. I was so thankful to have played a small part.

My sister, Steph, was a HUGE help to me in our class!

These two kids didn't speak much English, but were clearly grasping the jist of the Gospel. How exciting!

Dental "Frequent Flyer Miles"

The kids are both getting orthodontic work done, which means we seem to be racking up our "frequent flyer miles" at the dentist's office. The office is full of a wonderful team and our kids really don't mind being in there often.

Christmas Eve Breakfast Tradition

I love our tradition of going out to breakfast on Christmas Eve morning. It's something that Taigen and Kyle did with their mom when they were younger, so we've continued with it!

Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted Hymn Arrangement

Marshall's piano teacher started working with the kids on hymn playing techniques. This didn't seem too difficult for Marshall, so she posed a new challenge to him: create your own arrangement of a hymn you love. This is the fruit of his labor.

My Poor Sick Little Man!

When you're not feeling well, you just want to curl up in a ball and sleep...even if it's on the floor! My poor little man did just that today. One day it will be mortifying to him that I posted this video, but I love the sweet sound of his deep breathing. I could just smooch those warm nap cheeks of his!

Easter With Friends

Our sweet friend, Sarah Joy, is visiting us from SC. What a special treat to have her with us on Easter Morning too!

Work for the Night Is Coming

2013 Men's Dessert Contest

One of the most awesome events at the church is the Annual Spaghetti Dinner & Men's Dessert Contest. They say it's a friendly competition, but these guys take it very seriously! I love the smack-talking and jabs!