Happy Birthday, Mom!

It's been a crazy day. I've been trying to organize 100 CDs in my discgear...almost done. Also, there was a BIG refund check for Katie that has been misplaced. I have looked everywhere in the house and gone through ALL the trash bags outside twice (yuk!). I just don't know what has happened to it. I keep praying, because I know God knows where it is, but He isn't letting me in on the whereabouts as of yet. How about praying too...thanks.

Today is my Mom's birthday. I am so proud of her...she is the energizer bunny...although I think some days she has to head to the "charger" more often than she used to. I hope you had a great day Mom. Hugs and Kisses!

Lindsey flew home yesterday - it was good to have her here for 10 days. Hilary is at First Night Wolfeboro with friends. Katie and her Eastern U. gang should be back from First Night soon. Katie and International Toast sang from 8:30-10:00 PM. Here's the photo that was on the posters and in the newspaper this week.

John got home at 7 PM and was asleep in bed by 8 PM- I hate these long days for him. I guess I'm ringing in the new year alone...oh well. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

LONG POST WITH PICTURES AND A VIDEO...

So much has happened since my last post...school...One Voice...3 friends have died...my 50th birthday and Christmas. The photos, words and video below are just a glimpse of the craziness and blessing of December.

In the midst of the finals weeks of One Voice rehearsals we lost a friend and choir member, Dave Constant. What a blessing this man was. I remember him talking to John about the treatments they were going to try on him and not knowing if they would work. His comment to John was, "Either way I win...". Dave fought the good fight and glorified God through his life. This photo is from our Easter production, "Alive Forever". The song was, "We Followed the Man".

I have circled Dave, in my book He followed the man.

John offered to take me to the Nutcracker for my birthday. I decided what I really wanted was time with the family, so I asked to go to Wired for Christmas in Raymond, NH. This guy has tons of lights (check out the website) and music to go with the lights. It was a riot listening to Hilary, Katie and Andrew in the backseat on the trip down (they slept on the way home). We went to Applebee's for supper. It was exactly what I wanted - family and laughter.

The home of a die-hard Red Sox fan.

My 50th birthday present. An eternity band. The question then becomes does it mean John wants to be married to me for an eternity OR it feels like we've been married an eternity...LOL

One Voice was tiring, stressful, chaotic and an amazing blessing. One of the tech crew from the High School accepted the Lord last week. Welcome to the family Anna! The Drama was about a girl named Marissa who had made some poor choices, but finally came back to the Lord (and her family). After the last performance a woman came up to Karen (who played Marissa) and said, "You just told my story - that was my life...and by the way, my name is Marissa!!!"WOW!! Click on the photo below and it will take you to my photobucket account where you can see more photos and videos from the performance, then click on slideshow to view them. By the way that is John in the middle of this photo of the opening song...

Hilary's favorite photo as she prods the Hippo with my monopod...

The girls Christmas morning. Lindsey's hat says "Feliz Navidad" or as her Kindergartener's say, "Feliz Ladeda!"

Katie's gift to her sisters (and me). This painting is from a photo taken the day Katie was born. Lindsey and Hilary are in hospital gowns holding her in the hospital.

wii bowling

TURN OFF STANDALONE PLAYER BEFORE WATCHING VIDEO...SCROLL TO BOTTOM OF PAGE...
MARSHMALLOW WARS are compliments of the shooters my Mom sent the girls...

A Merry Christmas Chuckle for You

Not much time to share all that has happened since my last post. This is just a sample. Merry Christmas and enjoy the chuckle. Hit the pause button on the standalone player at the bottom of the page to be able to hear the girl singing in the video.

Busy...

It's been a busy few days. Katie made it home and we went to Bill's funeral on Friday AM. As expexted, the church was packed. It was interesting trying to understand the symbolism in some of the things they do in the Catholic church. I decided I wouldn't make a good Catholic - the incense gave me a headache (LOL). It was good to see all the kids I had watched grow and thrive under Bill's loving care and it was good for Katie to be with friends. After the funeral she went to jam with International Toast and eat Chicken Parm (thanks Johnny). I went to finish Christmas and grocery shopping. It snowed again on the ride home and the roads were quite slick. I was thankful for my Subaru and AWD. Satuday was a full day of One Voice rehearsal and my "secret" is now out (it's OK Mom, I had let it slip to Lindsey earlier in the week...). I am the dancing Hippo in the song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". Quite a claim to fame, huh?

Katie went to the Kingswood Christmas Concert last night - it was dedicated to Bill. They have had a long term sub for him and I guess the kids and staff really like him. Kate said there were a lot of tears shed during the concert. The part that got to me was when she told of the kids buying and presenting a directing baton to the teacher. The student who gave the baton to him was Bill's son, Michael. How symbolic of passing the baton...I got tears in my eyes just hearing her tell about it.

After church today, and a nice sit down lunch, I finally got some Oatmeal Raisin Cookies made for John and some sinfully chocolate brownies to take to school...well, Kate and I will need to sample them first. I have been working on the annual Christmas letter and hope to get that in the mail this week. Below is the picture/layout I chose to use. We are supposed to get snow/ice tonight so I may have a school delay in the AM...can't say I'd complain about that...

Teacher/Mentor/Friend...

Monday, December 3rd, a wonderful man, Bill Gibson, passed away after a year long battle with cancer. Bill was Katie's music teacher, mentor and friend. He was Katie's cheerleader. He stretched her and taught her. HE is the reason she chose to go to Eastern University to get a Music Ed. degree. She wants to be a High School music teacher...because of him. Bill was loved by so many students and parents and it will be very hard to fill the hole he has left in our hearts. His funeral is Friday. Katie was able to arrange to take her finals and vocal jury early so that she can fly home tomorrow and we can go to the funeral together. I am so glad she can come home. Below is a picture of Lindsey, Katie, Bill and Tasha. Bill called these three girls his "Divas". When Katie learned of Bill's cancer last year she decided to paint a portrait of him. Her AP Art teacher helped her add actual photographs of music concerts to the background. Bill was touched by her gift. I discovered today that this painting will be on display at the funeral home tomorrow. I had told Katie that the family would always have her gift and it would remind them of all the lives Bill had touched. You will be deeply missed Gib...

l to r: Lindsey, Katie, Bill, Tasha

The one and only GIB!

Umm...I was inspired...

OK - after watching Hilary and Andrew dance, I was inspired - I just couldn't resist this.

Anyone who knows John and Mark will understand this clip because it is typical of when they are together. This one would probably NOT be typical, but hey, maybe it should be...

Love you John, Melodie and Mom!

Belly Laugh...

OK - it's after midnight and I should be sound asleep, but Hilary just sent me this link and you have GOT to check it out... Presenting...HILARY and ANDREW

Now to bed...

Crazy week so far...

Well, I got up at 2:30 AM Sunday to take Katie to Portsmouth to catch a bus to South Station and from there another bus to King of Prussia, PA. I got back a 6 AM and slept for 2 hours, then went to church and also taught Sunday School. We went out to eat with some people and then I came home and crashed for an hour. I had planned to go to bed early, but the Patriots-Eagles game interrupted that...but it was a worthy cause (GO PATS!). Monday AM we had a 2 hour delay at school due to icy roads - yeah for resetting the alarm. I only stayed for part of One Voice practice Monday night and then came home and crashed. Tuesday was actually a normal day - well all is relative I guess. I woke up with a sinus headache this AM and was dreading getting out of bed. I took some Excedrin at 5:00 AM heated a rice pack and grabbed and ice pack. The dreaded alarm went off at 5:45 AM and I promptly hit the snooze alarm. At 6:00 AM the phone rang - it was ALERTNOW (I love that new system the school uses). I was shocked and dismayed to learn that our school had been broken into AGAIN! This time no one was to come to the school, not even to help clean up. As much as I hate the fact that this has happened two times in 3 months, I was delighted to go back to bed. Pippin was thrilled to be my bedfella (haha). When I finally got moving I accomplished a lot. All the Christmas decoration boxes have been pawed through and most of the decorations are where they belong. I hope to finish tomorrow.

I went to a superb concert put on by REACH OUT (40 voice childrens group from the Lakes Region). They presented "The Mystery of the Manger". It was wonderful. The kids were trying to prove to a reporter that God's Word was true and that all the promises about Jesus in the Old Testament had come true. I had to smile though - one of the songs was a blast from the past - reminded me of Northern Lights Youth Choir days. The kids sang Steven Curtis Chapman's..."A promise is a promise and a fact's a fact..." It was great!

My sister adopted/rescued a chocolate lab a few months ago and I helped her name him - WONKA! She sent pictures and I just decided to honor this chocolate with a page of his own. He's been through a lot the last few months, but he has a wonderful owner to love and care for him now - nice job Melodie. Pippin will have a chocolate playmate when we see them this summer.

Quickpage - ALPS Love in Bloom

As far as I know there is school tomorrow....

The Days in a Nutshell...

• Hilary arrived safely Tuesday - lots of homework
• Katie arrived safely at 6:15 AM and was surprised when Keith (beau) came with me
• Jack and Marge arrived safely on Wednesday
• Baked and baked etc. for Thanksgiving
• Jack broke his dental plate Thursday AM - Rite Aid had a repair kit and it worked so I didn't have to use the food processor on his turkey dinner ;0)
• Great fried turkey dinner
• Katie left with Jess R. at 4:30 AM Friday to go to Portsmouth shopping
• Jack broke his plate again Friday AM and Jack and Marge went home Friday
• I cleaned closets and spent a LONG time organizing CDs with the 100 Selector by Discgear - still not done, but almost
• Brought up Christmas stuff and set up Christmas tree - will finish tomorrow or Tuesday...then to prime and paint the dining room/kitchen...
• I leave at 3 AM tomorrow to take Katie back to Portsmouth to catch the bus to Boston and then back to school - Dan Edwards will be riding with her
• Hilary will leave after church to head back to Quincy
• I will take a LONG nap Sunday afternoon
• The Christmas Tree is missing Lindsey's touch, but here is a very poor photo of the tree and me
  
  

Busy Bee - - - ME!!!

Today:

• Played keyboard at church
• taught Sunday School at church (part of VeggieTales Madame Blueberry, "A Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart...") and made Quirky Turkeys with the kids
• picked up odds and ends for baking for Thanksgiving
• picked up a Steak Bomb and a wonderful steak and cheese sandwich at R & L Subs - which were thoroughly enjoyed by me and John
• LINDSEY - all of the following were done while listening to Christmas music - figured that would make you happy...LOL
• baked Christmas Sugar Cookies and used the wonderful Food Saver to package and freeze them for Christmas
• made a double batch of Party Mix for Thanksgiving munching
• tried a new recipe - Alton Brown's White Trash recipe (cereals, m & ms, pretzels, nuts, dried cranberries in a white chocolate mixture) - not bad - makes a HUGE batch but I'm sure it will be devoured while everyone is home for Thanksgiving
• did 3 loads of laundry
• typed up blocking sheets for One Voice
• WATCHING Patriots vs Bills (GO PATS!!!)

Can you tell I'm feeling better?

John painted the bathroom for me - hooray! Tomorrow we can hang my new shelves! NEXT project...paint dining room/kitchen, but that will wait until after Thanksgiving. John said he'd paint for me if I'd prime the walls. I want to have it done before Christmas.

Well, the football game is calling.

MIA and Delayed Stress Syndrome...

So, I've been out of the loop for awhile. We didn't have school Friday and Monday of last week so I had BIG plans for things I wanted to do...my body on the other hand decided it was time to be sick. I spent Sunday afternoon and Monday in bed. I went to school Tuesday and Wednesday, but by then knew it was a sinus infection. I see my Doctor Monday, so they agreed to call in an antibiotic. I stayed home from school and in bed on Thursday. That felt weird - it was the first time I've called in sick to work in 13+ years. I felt SO much better on Friday and am back to 98% now. Thank goodness. John took advantage of my being under the weather and went golfing Monday while I was in bed. It was warm enough to golf Monday and we had snow flurries yesterday...

I had great plans for cleaning and baking and freezing some things last week, but it just didn't happen. This morning I made Hermit cookies for John and some Peanut Butter Cookies (wanted those all week). I have sugar cookie dough mixed up, SO, if I can keep the energy level up, I'll make sugar cookies when I get back from One Voice and freeze them for Christmas.

When we took Lindsey to college we all bawled. When we took Hilary we all cried. When we took Katie things got a little crazy when we had to leave and she had to go to a meeting, so we didn't really have time to cry. I shed a silent tear, but that was about it. However, I suffered from Delayed Stress Syndrome while waiting for my prescription this week. All of the sudden the Jack Johnson song, "We're Better Together" starting playing in the store sound system. I wasn't hearing Jack Johnson though, I was hearing Katie and Johnny (Gallazelli) singing it and gentle tears started to flow. Thankfully I had myself back together when my prescription was finally ready. Anyway...

It is getting cooler here, but not bad. I have 2 days of school next week and lots of things to do before the girls arrive (minus Lindsey -boo) and John's folks are coming in Wednesday. If I don't get back on until after Thanksgiving I hope y'all have a wonderful day and please celebrate all the blessings God has given you.

Poor Baby...

So, my "baby" girl loves to dance. She joined Ethel's Swing Dance Club at Eastern and is loving it. We bought her black/white wing tipped swing dance shoes and sailor swing dance pants. She is learning all kinds of new steps and moves. She has also been to the ER today and has a stress fracture...She has to call an orthopedic doctor tomorrow and make an appointment...amazing that you can't get a real cast in the ER anymore...SOOO, the question is, how does KT get back and forth across campus on crutches? Just keep her in prayer and pray that she can get in this week to she the doctor. Love you Kate!

Life in Pictures...

I found someone to take Sunday School for me today, SO I got to go to S. Portland Church of the Nazarene to hear A Capella sing and to see Hilary! Yeah! The concert was great and I was surprised to see friends that used to live in "The County". Lindsey and Hali were friends in elementary and middle school. The Sirois' moved to southern ME when we moved to CT. I had not seen or heard from them in 7 years, yet here all 5 of them were plus the son-in-law! They call this church "home". God has richly blessed them and it was good to see that. I took a picture of Matt and Hali for Lindsey. This is a short week at school and I am psyched to have "me" time later in the week! The Pats gave us a huge scare tonight! John was screaming at the TV and Lindsey was on the phone screaming in my ears. Then Hilary got in on it through text messages! AGHHHH!! At least the Pats are still undefeated!

So, once again there are pictures. The first three Hilary took last weekend. I like them all, but the one of Andrew is my favorite - there is something "dreamy" about it.

Hali & Matt Fortin

I'm BAAAACKKK!

I am back up and running - our modem had died. I'm not sure why this is blue and can't get it to go away...oh well. I've been busy, but will just share photos of my kids that I have borrowed from facebook. Going to Portland tomorrow to hear Hilary sing in A Capella. Will catch you up later. Until then, enjoy the photos.

The birthday girl

Lindsey's small group had done something special for the guys who do all the set up at her church. They returned the favor by fixing a meal for them and they gave each of the girls a rose...aww....

Tinkerbell with pockets full of stuff..

Tink and Roomie

Tinkerbell and Peter Pan

Hook, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell

Great orthodontics on this vampire - thanks Dr. Greg...

Braveheart anyone?

ARGHH!!!

Long story - but Time Warner struck big time AND didn't fix our internet on Tuesday...SO they can't come back until Saturday. I have access to it at school, but not much time so there will be little if any posts until at least Saturday.

HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY

BINZO BABY!

DOUBLE DELIGHT!!!

WOO HOO!!! ENOUGH SAID...

AND PATRIOTS 52 - Redskins 7

Whew!

I can't believe how long it has been since I posted. I won't bore you with details except to say work, home, Red Sox, One Voice, Red Sox, church, Red Sox, kids home from college, work, Red Sox, home, Red Sox, One Voice, Red Sox,kids home from college, Patriots, Red Sox.

I was SO tired Wednesday that I laid down at 4:45 PM for a 15 minute nap and woke up at 6:30 PM only to find John asleep on the couch... Double Delight today with the Patriots playing this afternoon and the Red Sox playing tonight - will definitely need a nap. No One Voice rehearsal for me tomorrow night, but a Production Team meeting Thursday PM. Here are a few photos taken in the last week (with my phone...)

This is Mt. Chocorua, about 5 miles from the house.

Monday, while at One Voice my phone buzzed with a picture message. I figured it was the girls, but this was what I got from my husband. A 13 inch trout caught in Lake Chocorua!

And finally, this lovely picture of Hilary taken as she was loading her plate with beef brisket for lunch...

Do or Die...

That's what it is for the Red Sox tonight...problem is since Katie and I got in at 1:45 AM today and then I got up at 6:30 AM to go to work...they'll have to do or die without me. I am off to bed. Will Red Sox nation live on?

To quote my husband, "They played like the Red Sox the first game in the series. The last three they have just played like Boston..." Let's hope that tonight, they play like the Red Sox!!

Night.

I'm a Busy Bee...

Let's see...since last Friday I have:

• Spent 6 hours Saturday at a One Voice rehearsal/retreat - mostly dance
• Then spent way too much time stressing over Sunday School (like how to provide for children ages 5-11 in the same room and 3 of them with special needs) - God has taken care of it - or me anyway - and I'm doing the best I can with what I have...
• Stayed up TOO late watching the Red Sox..went to bed at midnight - glad I didn't stay up til 2 AM for the losing game...
• Sunday had 8 kids in Sunday School and all went OK
• After lunch John and I took a drive across the Kancamagus Highway to see the foliage and had hoped to hike...it started raining so we came home
• Monday made a fast trip to Walmart after school, to get Sunday School supplies; picked up a pizza for John and headed to Meredith for a 2 hour One Voice Rehearsal
• Yesterday tried to catch up on some hoursework and spent time working on a Veggietale Lagoon background for Sunday School
• Today - crazy day at school - worked on the "Lagoon" at church, fixed supper/cleaned up and went back to finish the "Lagoon"
• At supper realized that John can't go pick Katie up at the airport because he is on call...SOOO if her plane leaves on time I'll get home around 12:45 AM...oops - she just sent a text - plane's going to be at least 10 minutes late (ya gotta love the Philly airport - you can never get out of there on time...)

I am really glad Katie will be home for a few days, but I know she'll spend a good bit of it with friends. I am glad God is giving me peace about how much work this Sunday School thing is going to be for me...maybe in a few months I'll get a few more Units modified so someone else can teach...In the meantime, I think the kids will have fun and after this intial setup stuff it shouldn't be as stressful. I want these kids to see Jesus through what we do as a group and I want them to see Jesus in me.

Well, in about 15 minutes I hope to be in the car headed to Manchester Airport...pray for safety for the late night trip AND that I'll be able to survive school tomorrow on very little sleep...

A Day of Multi-Tasking...

It was a rainy day at school so the kids were wired...After school I finished the cake and salad I had started making for the Harvest Supper at church tonight. The supper was OK - not as many people as we had hoped though. I left after supper and headed to Meredith for a One Voice Production team meeting that was already underway. The Red Sox game had already started when I got there...so, since we needed to find a costume online anyway, I just happened to find another website that was showing the game... I left the site up and every now and then the guy next to me would "nudge" my computer to "wake it up" and we'd see what the score was...multi-tasking at it's finest. We got a lot done and I was home by 10:45 PM - good thing since we are there from 10 AM to 4 PM tomorrow for an all day dance retreat!

GO RED SOX!
10-3 victory tonight!

Long time no post...

My LATE night One Voice meeting last Monday (done at 11:30 PM and was in bed after midnight) seemed to wipe me out for the week. I was dragging! School went well last week. I made a banana cake for the staff on Wednesday and an Ice Cream Sandwich Cake for one of my 5th grade classes who had earned a game afternoon for filling their "Caught Red Handed" bulletin board for doing kind things to others. Since it was 80+ degrees on Thursday and Friday it was great! I found out Thursday night that John's folks were coming for the weekend, so I went into overdrive with cleaning etc. and made an apple coffeecake with Splenda for John's dad. I had presence of mind to bake meatballs Thursday night and put them in the crockpot with sauce for supper Friday. Hilary got home about 4 PM for the weekend and John's folks arrived about 5:30PM. It was nice to have them all here.

Saturday was Sandwich Fair day - no not a fair of sandwiches, but a fair in the town of Sandwich - it is my favorite fair. Hilary's idea of the fair is eating your way through the fair...We got there about noon and after checking out all the agricultural stuff did begin eating our way around. Blooming onions, fried dough, italian sausage with peppers and onions, chicken tenders, buffalo sausage, lobster roll, lemonade and strawberry shortcake were enjoyed by the 5 of us as well as LOTS of water - it was 85 degrees and full sun there! We were surprised to run into friends from ME, MA and NC while at the fair - all family members who were having a weekend together at Alton Bay. After 4+ hours we had worn John's folks out so headed to the house - no one was hungry for supper...

Sunday we went out to eat with John's folks after church and then they headed back to CT. John, Hilary and I braved the roads battling tourists to get to Conway so Hilary could check out a few cameras at Spectrum Photo. Later that night we went to Chocorua where John's youngest brother and his family and his wife's family were renting a house for the weekend. It was good to see them for a little bit.

Today John had to work, but Hilary and I got to sleep in. She left for MA after lunch; however, ended up changing her route due to the HIGH volume of traffic. I have begun the seasonal clothes change process since it is only about 55 degrees outside right now. I think I need something other than capris and sandals.

I realized how important family and relationships are to me as I visited with John's brother and his family (I love my sister in law, Terry) and her family who have always adopted me. I realized how miuch God blessed me with friends - no family - in the Helms Gang in NC. I've talked to Mary Elizabeth three times this week since 2 "family" members have had surgery and one is battling cancer. God has blessed me with all these folks in my life - I just wish I could see them more often than I do. These things also made me realize how much I miss having those kinds of relationships here...maybe someday God will bless me with those kinds of friends where I am living...

Off to finish laundry and maybe digiscrapping and maybe redo the blog header...so much for the doldrums of life...

Later that day...Got a header thrown together - not exactly what I wanted, but better than what was there. I have to get a website from Hilary that has more tempates. Night!

Busy...

We had a busy weekend and the week is starting off that way as well. I woke up Friday AM with a horrible headache - took some meds and went to school. I ended up taking a few more doses during the day, but it never went away. By the time I got home I just went to bed. John, on the other hand, went surf fishing with Mark at Hampton Beach - I'm glad he got to go. Saturday was a "get over the medicine buzz" morning and then a One Voice retreat from 10 AM-4PM in Meredith. John was there too. Sunday was church and then after lunch John and I took a drive back to Meredith to wander the craft show (his idea) and the shops. It was a BEAUTIFUL day! We left Meredith and drove to Alton to visit with our friends Bryce and Barb. We had a great time and Bryce had fun quizzing us with "New England Trivia" from Trivial Pursuit. I didn't do too bad, but not great. John does not like word games, but got the Tall Ships in Newport, RI question right...Monday was back to school (no headache though). After school I made a BIG salad, 2 batches of cookies (one with Splenda) and headed to Meredith (again) for a One Voice production team meeting...6:30 PM - 11:30 PM!!! I cannot do that on a Monday! It was midnight when I got home and later when to bed...hit the snooze alarm MANY times this morning.

Today was a great day at school. I love my job. I was a little dragging afterwards so made my way to my favorite coffee shop - The Moose is Loose - and had a wonderful raspberry iced coffee. It did the pick me up thing and I cooked supper, made a banana cake for school and tried a new healthy apple coffee cake recipe. The texture is different, but it is good - John likes it too. We start 3 weeks of NECAP testing tomorrow. It is exhausting for the kids; thankfully it is only an hour or two a day. Tomorrow night we have a Quarterly Business Meeting at church. Nothing earth shattering there, but I am curious as to where the church finances are right now...

Hope you've had a good start to your week...TTFN!

Thieves, Verizon and ISAIAH

Thankfully the damage to my school was not huge; however, items were stolen. I am praying that the culprits will be caught in a speedy manner.

Long story short...Katie's cell phone stopped charging...I made a phone call to Verizon. She went to a Verizon store where there was a technician...they checked her phone and then gave her a new phone...no questions...no cost...end of story. I applaud the customer service of Verizon - at least the cell phone department. I am always treated respectfully and my issues dealt with and corrected. Hooray for Verizon!

Over the past few years I have at times asked God for a glimpse of what He is doing and what He has in store for me and John and ministry. Interestingly enough, every time I have prayed that we have gotten a phone call or some form of contact about a new ministry situation within 72 hours. Each time we have wondered if this was what God had for us next...and each time we would get 3-5 steps into the process only to have the whole thing fall through. I've told God that at times it feels like the horse and carrot trick and I was tired of carrots. I KNOW God does not really play games or use carrots. Today when I was writing in my journal to God (thank you Becky Tirabassi), I told God I still would like a glimpse of what He was up to even though I realize that it could mean one of two options: 1) what He has in mind for us is not ready for us yet or 2) we are staying here (and yes, I honestly told Him I wasn't thrilled about what it appears option 2 means). Anyway, I began reading the passages for today and low and behold words from the prophet Isaiah spoke to me. Granted, I am nowhere neat as in touch with God as Isaiah was and I am only taking pieces, but it was those pieces that jumped off the page for me - I love how God speaks to me that way.

Here's my promise for the day and future from Isaiah 49:4 and 49:8a...

"I replied,'But my work all seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose at all, Yet, I leave it all in the Lord's hand; I will trust God for my reward.'" (4)
"This is what the Lord says: 'At just the right time, I will respond to you...'" (8a)

Busy Weekend...

Friday night we headed to Rhode Island for a surprise 25th anniversary party for Jim and Paula totally planned by their 4 children. We knew a few people, other than family, but not many. I applaud the kids for taking on the big job of planning the party.

Happy 25th Jim and Paula!

Saturday John got up early and rode his bike to his parents house in Connecticut for a visit and then came back around noon. That was about 40 miles round trip. I left around 10 AM to go get the food and etc. for the party. Ryan and Fud were at football practice and Terry was at a baby shower. Pippin and Tucker had a LAB party while we were gone. Hilary and Andrew arrived from Quincy, MA around 11:30. When I got back at 12:30 they were happy to help unload since I had brought New York System Weiner and a gallon of FRESH MADE A & W ROOT BEER! Woo Hoo!! John fell asleep after lunch, Hilary did some reading and then she and Andrew took a walk. I got the food ready and when Terry came home she made a big salad for us...and I do mean us...John, Fud, Terry and I like salad...the rest of his family are NOT big salad eaters. Everyone had arrived by 5:30ish and we had a BIG meal of Southern pulled pork BBQ, pizza strips (a Rhode Island specialty that Hilary loves), dip and chips, layered Mexican dip and chips, salad and Jack brought some of his beans left from the party the night before...Terry and I don't like them, but the boys grew up on them...THEN there was the cake...

On Thursday I had called the bakery and ordered a "50th Birthday cake", no real description of what I wanted. When I went to pick it up the lady said she thought it was the best cake she had ever seen...tell me what YOU think...

Hilary thought the Grim Reaper was the best part. Click on the link below to be taken to the rest of the photos from the party. Then set it to slideshow and enjoy.

We went to church Sunday and then headed home. Pippin had a great time running free with Tucker and I spoiled him and took him to the river for a swim after we got home.

The WORST news of the weekend came when I got home...my school was broken into!!! All staff has to be there early for a meeting. I hope there was not too much damage, but no matter how much there is it is sickening to think someone would break into a school...have a great week and enjoy the photos.

John's 50th Birthday Party with Family