Moving to Wordpress

Just a heads up - my daughters have convinced me to switch to Wordpress. I will get used to where things are on their dashboard. The girls are right, the templates look cleaner. I like the fact the people do not have to sign up for a google or blogger account. The new blog is here. In case the link dies it is: www.joyinhim.wordpress.com

Hope you had a great Saturday. We were very lazy. I got laundry done and some computer work and then we watched the movie, "Amazing Grace". It was very good.

Long...short week

It's amazing how a work week of two days can seem SOOOO long! I have been tired by 7 PM each night. I have no plans for the weekend, so that is nice...and we are back to two college girls here (our own). Hilary will leave Sunday afternoon to go back to ENC for J-Term.

I am learning that parenting is not easy. Not that I didn't already know that, I mean 24 years ago when Lindsey was whisked away after she was born and we didn't know if she was going to live or die...that has hard. There have been experiences with all the girls that have been difficult. This week I found myself struggling with letting go. Katie had to make an important decision about a relationship...it was a difficult one, but she felt the right one. I struggled to not ask too many questions; that's not easy for me. I process things verbally...guess I need to hear it for it to make sense. Katie (as well as the rest of my family, I think) are internal processors(or is it -ers when you talk about people?). Anyway, as I lay in bed struggling with letting go and having no control over how the situation/relationship was handled, I began to think about God. I mean He knows the choices we are going to make, yet He backs off and lets us make them. I wonder if it is a struggle for Him. Does His heart ache when the hearts of His children are aching, like a parent's heart does? I'm not sure I have all those answers, but it gave me a different perspective on God my Father... What I do know is I am glad that I have a perfect, loving Heavenly Father, who knows what the outcome of every situation I face will be and is there to guide me to it and through it.

Welcome 2008!

It was a lazy day here today. John worked half a day. I made some AWESOME cranberry orange scones (thank you Ina Garten/Barefoot Contessa and the Food Network). The kids slept in and just hung out most of the day. We took down the Christmas decorations. Katie and Jessica made chicken parmesan for supper.

It started snowing around 11:30 AM and didn't stop until about 8:30 PM. We got another foot of snow. Last year we couldn't BUY snow and since 12/1 we've had about 4-1/2 feet of it. Tommy, Kate's friend from Maryland, has never seen this much snow. After supper the five kids went out to play. Hilary took my camera and got some great shots. I love this first one.

The Photographer

Tommy, Jessica and Katie having a BLAST!

I hope you had a great day. I have one more day before I have to go back to school. I hope to make a tablecloth...whopee!!

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...