Nana and Papa's Visit

So I started this post on Tuesday and have just not been able to finish it!

We've had a great visit with Nana and Papa~ full of laughs, work, food, more work, and some relaxing. Dad (Papa) has been working on all our little projects around the house that we never seem to find time for.

For now I'll just share a few pics and captions until later when I can write everything out.

Caylyn posing in her princess outfit from Nana.

More posing...

A delectable new apple dessert we tried during Nana and Papa's visit.

Playing in the water... in her princess outfit.

More pictures and stories tomorrow afternoon... hopefully!

They're Coming Today!

Mom and Dad Pardee are coming to visit today!! We are so excited to have a whole week to visit with them... Caylyn is especially excited. This morning I told her that we were going to pick Nana and Papa up from the airport and she exclaimed, "Hurray! Let's go!"

Right now I have to hurry to finish all the last minute "details" before we leave... I will post pics throughout the week so check back often.

First Day of School

Caylyn and Josiah (a 2 year old boy we babysit) are starting "school" today. We had started a little last spring, but with the craziness of summer all organized learning took a back seat. A friend at church loaned me her K-4 ACE curriculum with coloring pages, teacher guide, activities and character development. Now, we are doing this with a 2 year old and 3 year old so it will be MUCH smaller scale and only about an hour each morning.

Tentative schedule:

8:00 Opening Prayer, pledge, Bible verse

8:10 Bible Story

8:20 Letter of the Week (A) and alphabet flash cards

8:35 Number of the week (1 and 2)

8:45 Character Development exercise

8:55 Game

I'm just looking for a little structure to teach them how to sit still and focus. It's 8 a.m. so here we go!

Thankfulness...

The Lord has blessed our family in so many ways and we have so much for which to be thankful. About a month ago, Chad and I sat down and decided to make some changes in the way we run our household. We made some challenging financial changes and decided to sit down every Sunday night, look over the upcoming events/bills/schedule and pray over them. What an INCREDIBLE difference! We have never seen the Lord bless us like he has in the past few weeks. Everytime I bring to mind each way he has provided in the last 4 weeks my eyes just fill with tears. We serve an awesome God.

I've been reading two book on child-rearing that have completely changed my outlook. I just wish I had read them sooner!

Don't Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Plowman

(A great perspective for moms, but keep you KJV handy as she uses another version!)

To Train Up a Child by Michael and Debi Pearl

(Still reading this one, but it offers great advice for training little ones.)

We also recommend Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp. He talks about addressing heart issues during discipline, but doesn't say HOW... Don't Make Me Count to Three is a great complement because Ginger Plowman gives several tools/passages to really reach the heart of your child.

Of course, none of these will ever replace the ultimate child-rearing manual. Read your Bible EVERY DAY for the best advice in training!

I would LOVE to hear about any books that you would recommend for child-rearing.!

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

'Tis the Season

It's that time of year... time for canning! Now, you may wonder why this post isn't in the gardening section. It just so happens that everything we've canned has been given to us. We've only gotten carrots so far. :) Either children, a small dog, or Hurricane Irene's wind have "done in" the rest of our plants. Thankfully, we were using this year as a learning year and not expecting too much. We've certainly learned a lot!!

Back to canning...

Last year was my first experience at canning and I loved it! When we arrived in Maine, a member of the church gave us at least 20 pounds of cucumbers!! Not being huge fans of cucumbers we had to do something to keep them from spoiling. When life gives you cucumbers... make pickles! It was SO rewarding and satisfying to take something that God created and preserve it for future use (hmmm... spiritual application there!).

This year, I was praying that we'd be able to do it again and trying not to get my hopes up. Then one day last week, an older gentleman from the church called up and asked if we could use some cucumbers! My emphatic "YES" took him by surprise! He gave us enough cucumbers for a whole batch of pickles. :)

Behind our house is a HUGE patch of blackberry bushes. Last year we froze a few, but most of them spoiled before we picked them. This year I was determined to put them to good use. Chad eats 2 PB&J sandwiches for lunch everyday at work so we go through a LOT of jam. So I've been picking and picking and picking blackberries! Last night I even dreamed about blackberries! We've made one batch of jam so far... it called for 8 cups of berries, but I only had 4 since most of the berries are still green. So I used 4 cups blackberries and 4 cups frozen blueberries (also given to us!). It turned out pretty good!! Chad loves it and that's all that matters to me. :)

This week the blackberries have been ripening so quickly that I can barely keep up! We go out picking everyday, but I still find some that have already gone by. :( Just in the last 2 days I've picked more than enough for a batch of blackberry jam... so that's on the agenda for today!

Bright and early this morning, the same gentleman that brought the cucumbers came by with a bucket of apples! So applesauce is also on today's agenda.

Pro 6:6-8 "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."

Summer Update

Where has the summer gone?! The temperatures are already cooling down, but I feel like the snow just melted!

This has been a very nice week at home, but still busy because we are potty training. Woohoo. Caylyn is slowly getting the hang of it. After she is trained, we might to get Trent started... if we feel ambitious. :)

Okay, so what have we been up to this summer? Well I'll tell you...

I've already shared the month of June so let's start with July 3. We headed down to Augusta after our morning service with plans to attend Church Hill Baptist that evening only to find out that it was Fellowship Sunday and they had no evening service! Chad called up Brandon Pelkey to find out the address for Bible Baptist in Unity (Nathan and Erika's church plant). What a blessing it was to see both of the Pelkey families and hear what God had been doing in their lives and in their church! Don't you have those special friends who, no matter how long it's been, you always can pick up right where you left off? That is what they are to us. So thankful for the bond we have in Christ that gives that sweet fellowship with other believers. They even had an ice cream fellowship after church to have more time to visit!

I also got a new camera on the way down because I had dropped the other one in the lake. :) We stopped at a park in Unity because we got there early. The kids had a great time playing with Daddy!

Caylyn and her instant friend, Elisabeth

Then we stayed in Augusta with Gramma and Grampa and Uncle Tim to celebrate the 4th of July. What a fun day was had by all! Chad and Grampa went out fishing in the morning while Tim and I played with the kids. We even caught a snake that Caylyn fell in love with... yes, a snake. Check out the video of he infatuation...

We had a yummy cookout with family for lunch and the kids played in the water... a very enjoyable day!

July 12 we took the Bickford girls' out of supper to their restaurant of choice. Where did they pick? Tim Horton's!! Easy to please... we had a great time of fellowship and some good laughs, too!

A couple of times this month we've gone to the park in Lincoln. Caylyn and Trent enjoy the playground, but for some reason they really enjoy playing in the rocks. Go figure. Chad has this picture as the desktop because he thinks it's hilarious. :)

Friday, July 15, Trent had his second eye surgery. Praise the Lord that it was successful and went very smoothly! I was able to go in the OR with him while they put him to sleep... that was the hardest part. :( It lasted about an hour with the IV taking the longest... he inherited my veins. We go back to Waterville in October to had the tube removed from his eye. It is such a blessing to have his eye cleared up!!

"The Good Ole Days" Family Camp started July 18. See the "Great Things" tab for more info!

The next day, the men (Chad, Tim, and Uncle Mitch) went down to Rumford (I think) to pick up a $19,000 boiler that was given to the church!! What a blessing!

The Tuesday after that we headed down to southern Maine for a little getaway. Caylyn and Trent stayed with Nannie and Papa (Chad's grandparents) and had a great time with them while we went away for 2 days! It was so refreshing to have time with my hubby!

Our first stop was the Rockport Diner for breakfast (yum!) followed by a 2 hour hike up Mt. Megunticook. The view of the coast was breathtaking!!

Next, we enjoyed a picnic lunch on a hiking trail by the coast, went shopping in Belfast, checked into our hotel, had dinner, and walked around some more.

Chad taking in the view on the secluded Maine Coast.

Breakfast in the gazebo at Mount Battie Motel.

Enjoying the harbor in Dowtown Camden. The parking lot is right on the water, thus the car-cluttered background.

The Mount Battie Motel... B&B hospitality (friendly owners) with motel privacy (ie. no shared bathrooms).

The next day we walked the Rockland Breakwater and took a lighthouse tour. We tried to get a picture on the breakwater to match a picture we took shortly after our engagement. Then we took a lighthouse tour out of Port Clyde. The tour included driving to 3 lighthouses that are only accessible and seen from the water. They also pulled a lobster trap in the harbor... it was so cool to see! Overall, a very fun day!!

August 21, 2006

July 28, 2011

Catch of the Day! (The lobster, that is.)

Friday evening, we had a family picnic at Walker Park in Rockland. Here are some of the grand/great-grandkids from the Colburn side (with Papa). :)

Well.....

Has it really been another month since I've blogged?! Does it count that I really do intend to blog every day? Oh well. Currently, I am in a state of shock and disbelief that today is AUGUST 1!!!! So much has happened in the month of July and I can't wait to tell you all about it....

However, we are leaving (once again) this morning for a week at Nannie and Papa's cottage at a camp in Washington. So all my tales with have to wait, but here is a preview:

July 3: Wonderful visit with friends at Bible Baptist in Unity

July 4: Family cookout in Augusta

July 12: Evening out with Bickford girls

July 15: Trent's eye surgery

July 18-22: Family Camp

July 27-30: Anniversary Getaway and visit with great-grandparents

I can't wait to tell you all about our adventures in July and what is coming up in August! Look for a post Friday or Saturday of this week. :)

Family Camp

Fun at the Park

Stylin' in her summer duds

Anniversary Getaway