Relaxing Saturday

I cannot BELIEVE that I actually have time to sit down and write a blog post on a Saturday! Absolutely unheard of...

Last night was the annual Harvest Supper at Lee Baptist. What a great turn-out! It was a great time of fellowship with lots of unfamiliar faces that we hope to see in church. :) Caylyn sang her first "solo" which actually turned into a duet with daddy. Our goal is not that she be "cute" but that she be willing to serve the Lord through song and be a blessing to others. Pastor Bickford brought a very encouraging devotional from Psalm 128 titled "How to Harvest a Godly Family". A godly family starts with the fear of the Lord followed by lots of work and training. Godly children don't just happen, they must be turned out and trained. Then shall that man be blessed because he feared the Lord and guided his family. It was a great encouragement, reminder and motivation to me to keep working hard in training and teaching. It's NOT an easy job... but it will be worth it.

But for right now, Chad and the kids are outside splitting and stacking wood, but they are taking it easy and just enjoying their time together. I love that my husband loves to work and has the patience to teach our littles to work, too! I have brownies in the oven, laundry in the washer and am gearing up to peel and slice apples to dehydrate. Yes, indeed, we were given MORE apples this morning!! Our family loves dried apples so most of these will be snacks but a friend told me about making applesauce in the crockpot and I definitely have to try that!

The rest of our day will be full of prepping for church tomorrow, a baby shower (me), crafting (me), resting (exhausted hubby) and just enjoying our day together. We hope that you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy worshipping the Lord tomorrow... we sure will!

This and That

First of all, I've started at least two blog posts and have been interrupted from finishing! So here is a conglomeration under the guise of a specified, individual post.

Last Monday (it was last Monday at the time of the original composition, now it should be "the Monday before last") I pulled out my food dehydrator to make potato chips from a 5 gallon bucket given to us by our neighbors. How's that for a run-on sentence?! loaded it up and flipped the switch. Nothing happened. So I called customer service. After a 5-minute conversation, they were sending me a brand-new dehydrator! Now THAT is what I call service!

Remember all those apples we had? Here's what they turned into...

On Saturday we went down to Augusta so Chad could help his dad put in some windows for a friend. The kids and I spent the day with Gramma and a dear friend. We all had a good time! Sunday was a great day in the Lord's house followed by a coffee date for the hubby and I. :) Thanks to Tim for watching our kidlets!

This week has been the usual chores and "school". We switched curriculums... the ACE was a little advanced and I was adding quite a bit to make it fit the kids. I found this great curriculum for preschoolers. It contains enough activities to teach ABC's and numbers to a child from 2-4 years old! Caylyn absolutely LOVED this activity of putting stickers in each circle. She was quite meticulous about it and would pull a sticker off if it wasn't exactly in the circle.

The curriculum also includes these handy-dandy teaching tools for the days of the week, weather, and seasons. Having a small home, we have to make do for school. Lessons are taught at the kitchen table and these charts are hung on the end of the kitchen counter. Caylyn loves the rainbow and Trent likes the "water" (rain).

After outside play yesterday, I pulled all the kids shoes off and set them on the rug. The sight made me stop in my tracks. What a sight. To think that I've been entrusted with these three little lives (two my own children and one borrowed) to protect them, teach them and train them. What an honor and what a responsibility. I am constantly reflecting on the magnitude of raising godly children in this wicked, corrupt world. We are bombarded by suggestive images, cursing, rock music, and materialism. So for just a moment, I'll look at these little shoes and cherish the innocent little ones who wear them.

Weekend in Review

What a beautiful day! It feels like spring instead of fall... :) We all slept in (except for Chad who was out the door at 4 a.m.), finished our morning chores and are enjoying the awesome weather. Last week I stopped by our local apple orchard and picked up a bushel of McIntosh apple 2nds for $5 with plans to can away as soon as possible. THEN Saturday morning a man in our church brought us ANOTHER bushel (from the same orchard)! I have lots of canning to do this week... can't wait!!!

So here is our weekend in review...

Friday night we headed down to Bucksport to spend the evening with two great families that recently moved up from PCC (Pensacola, FL). Between our three families are 5 kids ranging from 7 months to 3 years so you can imagine it wasn't a quiet evening! I was so busy enjoying the fellowship that I completely forgot to take any pictures! We had a great dinner of chili, salad and cornbread followed by apple crisp (YUM!) and a tour of their church. It's SO great to see other young families dedicated to ministry and serving the Lord. (Plus I have a new craft fair buddy... maybe two).

Saturday, bright and early, Chad and I headed off for our respective Saturday projects. He worked on some roofing for a friend and I went off to the church to work on some projects. Saturday afternoon we loaded up the kidlets for Sunday School visitation and finished the evening with prep for Sunday.

Sunday's are ALWAYS busy (but fun). Chad had the Sunday morning special and he sang "Thou True Vine that Heals the Nations". The message of this song is so powerful that church members were asking the name and page number before he even reached his seat! Here are the lyrics:

Thou true Vine, that heals the nations,

Tree of life, thy branches we.

They who leave thee fade and wither,

none bear fruit except in thee.

Cleanse us, make us sane and simple,

till we merge our lives in thine,

gain ourselves in thee, the Vintage,

give ourselves through thee, the Vine.

Nothing can we do without thee;

on thy life depends each one.

If we keep thy words and love thee,

all we ask for shall be done.

May we, loving one another,

radiant in thy light abide;

so through us, made fruitful by thee,

shall our God be glorified.

Praise the Lord for godly composers who pen lyrics and melodies that are good and acceptable in His sight.

Back to the weekend... I'm so thankful for a husband who lets me take a nice, long, restful nap on Sunday afternoon. :) Sunday evening service was great and we enjoyed dinner with the Bickfords and their company. Overall, a wonderful weekend of encouragement in the Lord!

John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Actions Produce Habits

Two and three years old is a great time to start incorporating chores into the daily routine. Kids love to help mom around the house! Even though mom can do it much faster and better without the help of little ones, it is important to let them contribute. Giving little ones their specific jobs will give them a sense of accomplishment and responsibility... it also lets mom feel that she can work on her own chores in peace!

Here's our plan...

Chore charts. No, I'm not creative enough to this on my own. I had help.

Don't rush! Help them along and don't begin with a full chart. Start with just a couple and add one as day as you feel comfortable. Let the child do the chore in his/her own way with simple instructions from you. After awhile, the child should be able to complete the task without you!

I made jars for each child and a jar for giving to others. When a child does a chore for money, he or she will be given the choice of putting the money in their own jar or the giving jar (with hopes that they will choose the giving jar!). We will tell the children to what need the money will be given when a specific need arises.

We are excited about this new phase in our home. The kids LOVE doing the chores and taking they cards off the chart and putting them in the bag... it's like a game for them and will eventually be a help for me! Happy chore-teaching!

It's Beginning to Smell like Fall

Fine. I'll admit it. I do like Fall... I like the leaves changing color and the crispness in the air. I absolutely love the color palette of Fall and don't even get me started on yummy Fall dishes. The only inhibition I have to throwing myself into the full celebration of the season is simply this: after Fall comes Winter. For now I'll just push that thought to the recesses of my mind and focus on the smell of apple pie baking, pumpkin candles, roasting squash and apple butter simering in the crockpot.

On that note, yesterday was a perfect Fall day. Trees shedding their leaves while I read a book and the kids played in the yard was a great way to spend the day... and did I mention that my brother and sister-in-law came to visit?!?! They flew up to Vermont to visit her family and then decided to come up for a visit. We're so glad they did! The kids warmed right up to them and really enjoyed their time together.

Caylyn with Aunt Sara and their matching Patriots t-shirts!

Thank you Aunt Sara!

They LOVED Uncle Scotty... because he tied their toys together and pulled them around.

I feel spoiled to see my parents and brother/sister-in-law with a few days!

Thank you Scotty and Sara for coming to visit!

We love you!

Out on the Lake

It was a great plan. We would have everything loaded in the boat so that we could get out on the water as soon as Chad got home at 4:30 (it's usually 7 when he gets home).

If there is one thing we can count on it is that plans always change.

First of all, Chad almost ran out of gas in the truck on his way to work so that would be an extra trip into town before we could launch the boat.

Then Chad had to work late and didn't get home til after 5.

So it was about 5:30 before we got the boat in the lake, but we still had a very nice evening. We took our supper with us and the kids loved just riding around the lake. We didn't stay out very long since the sun set at 6:30, but I did get a few good pics.

The Captain

First Mate

The guy who sits in the crow's nest.

Caylyn's favorite part of the trip... chocolate chip cookie crumbs.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Psalm 97:6 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.

Nana and Papa's Visit... Unabridged

We had such a wonderful visit with my parents last week. During their visit last fall we drove all over the state of Maine (it felt like it anyway). So this year we stayed home almost all week. It was heavenly!

Dad worked on lots of projects throughout the week. I kept saying "Dad, you are supposed to be relaxing" only to be met with the same response every time. "I am relaxing... I'm not doing anything that I don't want to do." Here's a list of projects he accomplished:

Fixed our chimney (replaced a pipe/damper/straightened the chimney)

Cleaned the ashes out of the woodstove

Bought a chainsaw!

Cut wood, split wood, stacked wood (2 1/2 cords stacked)

Fixed the boat

Played with the kids

Fixed the washer

Changed spark plugs on the car

Helped Chad put in doors at the church

I don't think my mom EVER slows down. Every time I turned around she was washing dishes or picking up something or helping with the kids. It may have been their vacation, but it certainly was relaxing for me! Every time we are together Chad wants her to fix brisket and ranch potato salad... so yummy! This time she also made pulled pork... delicious.

This week mom and I worked on two cakes together: one for a 90 year old man in our church and one for Caylyn. It was SO special to work along side her on these projects and I will cherish those memories forever!

Happy 90th Birthday, Mr. Staples!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were days of shopping, relaxing, working at the house.

Caylyn- the novice tiara wearer.

Headed out to play... or work.

Little helper

Yummy new apple recipe... definitely making this again!

Hauling wood.

Thursday, we took off for a ride and drove to Medway/Millinocket. We had a great time enjoying the scenery and looking at houses. We had lunch at a yummy little "hole-in-the-wall" place in Millinocket then walked around downtown.

Posing in dowtown Millinocket

Trying to get a picture of the matching girls!

Sweetest picture of Papa and Trent. :)

Nana kisses are the best!

Papa sure knows how to entertain a hungry boy waiting for his lunch.

Penobscot River (I think) in Medway.

Earlier in the week we'd been given a box of oranges. Dad bought a little hand juice squeezer (or whatever they're called) and we started squeezing orange juice. Mom, Dad, and I took turns and 2ish hours later we had a full gallon of freshly squeezed orange juice! It is SO much darker and tastier than store-bought!

Friday, Chad and dad put some new doors in at the church. We always laugh at their time estimates because you know it's going to take longer than they first think. As they were finishing up, Mom and I went over to help with cleanup.

Saturday morning we loaded up and headed to Augusta for a late birthday party for Caylyn. (This kid is going to think she gets 2 parties every year.) We had a very nice time with both sets of parents, Chad's grand-parents and two of his cousins.

Caylyn got a book from Gramma and Grampa, two dolls and home-made cards from cousin Lucy and family, stuffed animals from Nannie and Papa, and a Snow White dress and Princess beauty set (blowdryer, curling iron, straightener, brush, perfume bottle and lipstick) from Nana and Papa! She loved ALL her presents and gasped as she opened each one. :)

Giving the men advice on mechanics...

Helping Daddy do the man's work.

Visiting...

My favorite moments throughout the week consisted of watching my parents enjoy the kids and the kids enjoy them. As soon as we pulled up to the airport and Caylyn saw dad she started yelling "Papa! It's Papa!" They had such a great time together...

Thank you Nana and Papa for coming to visit!

We love you so much.