Good idea . . in theory

We were making lemonade today: lemon juice, real maple syrup, and water. As usual, we weren't measuring anything. The "Guess and Taste" method works pretty well in our house. Well, the first attempt was rather sour and we were out of maple syrup. I went to the cabinet to find some stevia packets when Gavin shouts, "I know, through some flax seed in it!"
Ah, I have taught my kids well. They love their Omega 3's.

(I know what some of you are thinking . . . . No, I did NOT let him do it.)

Musician Max

This really needs no explanation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Max . . . .

Key Change

In the aftermath of Christmas morning presents Max and Gavin find their way to their instruments and begin to make magical tunes. Gavin thought the guitar needed a bit more tuning so watch closely and you will catch him giving big brother a hand.

Holiday Fun

We had a great holiday and we pray all of you did, too. We took advantage of family time on Christmas eve and the seven of us opened our gifts while L&L went to church. It was so fun watch the kids exchange gifts with each other. Gabe, Emma, and Beth used their own money to buy gifts for their siblings. Max and Gavin had a little parental help. The smiles, hugs and kisses we witnessed that night among the five of them was such a blessing.



We have always had this rule: one gift per kid. When you only have one shot to get it right it had better be the perfect gift. This year I don't know who was more excited about their gifts, us or them.







Beth opening earrings from Emma (Clip-ons Emma had gotten from Nana and saved for Beth)








Emma showing Gabe a little gratitude for the mood bracelet he bought her.







Max has wanted to learn guitar so he finally got his own.





Gavin was so excited for his eye-patch from Gabe - he didn't even seem to notice the tag on his nose.



All-in-all it was a musical Christmas. Max got a guitar, Beth got a how-to harmonica book (she has had the harmonica for a while), Emma got a sustain pedal for her keyboard, and Gabe can practice drums while he listens to his MP3 player. Gavin, well, he got an eye patch and he's missing a tooth - the perfect front man for the band.

Lexicology with Gavin

The other day the kids stumbled upon a really bad video recording of a musical I did in high school with the church youth group. The kids thought it was hilarious to watch. I was a bit embarrassed to hear for myself that my singing wasn't as good as I had thought back then. Emma was glad that I am not as large as I had been and glad I don't wear that much jewelry any more. Gavin just wanted to know what a youth group was. With his face a screwed up he demanded, "Mommy, what IS a youth group?" I answered very simply, "A group of youth who get together and do things." Annoyed he asked again, "What is a youth?" "Oh, a youth is a young person." Annoyed and exasperated he finished the conversation, "Uh! Why can't they just say young people!!"

Biology II with Gavin

Gavin complimented me on a dress I was wearing yesterday. I thanked him and told him Daddy liked my dress, too, and that I have had it along time. I even had it when Mommy and Daddy were dating.
"You mean like crickets, Mom, when they meet each other for the first time. You had that dress when you were mating?"

Biology with Gavin

The other day I was assisting Gavin in the bathroom when a discussion ensued about the differences between boys and girls. I pointed out that he and Daddy were boys, to which he quickly corrected me. "Daddy is not a boy. He is a man!" True enough. I then pointed out that he and Daddy were males, to which he responded, "Oh, we are males and you're a she-male!"

It was quite cute.

More Lovely Locks

Beth just got back from Grandma's shop . . . minus 10 inches of hair. We LOVE her new do. We will mail her ponytails off to Locks of Love this week.

We are proud of you, Beth.

For those of you who noticed - yes, her ponytail fell apart. The elastic fell off when she was shaking it around. We had to pick some of the hair up off the deck. She also managed to stab herself with the back end of an arrow yesterday - hence the mark on her neck. (That happened yesterday while we were on the phone, Nancy.) She is an apple that doesn't fall far from this tree (mom).

The Goat Kart

The kids love playing with the new go-kart they built with Daddy. The neighbor kids and the cousins like it too. Max mistakenly spent several days calling it a "goat kart" in stead of a go-kart before we realised the miss understanding.

A Day at Home

So, today was the first Saturday in months that we have not needed to attend a soccer game (or two or three). We ate in our jammies - well, mom did. Read stories, played Legos and cars, made jewelry, planned a birthday party and best of all . . . helped Daddy make the neatest go-kart/soap box derby car ever. I made three meals, finished the laundry and never set foot outside (it was raining and cold.) Tomorrow the schedule is full again but that fact only leads me to appreciate today all the more.

Lovely Locks

In the Spring of 2004 our girls had some very lovely long locks. Beth was not quite 4 and Emma was 5.

They each cut off 10 inches to donate to Locks of Love.

Well, here we are in 2007 and Emma did it again. Last week she cut off 10 inches of her hair to donate to Locks of Love.

It was a hard decision for her this time. She didn't have to do it but she chose to. We think she made a good choice. We are proud of you, Emma!!!

Emma's Baptism

I can't believe I didn't post this earlier. It could have something to do with the fact that I just down loaded the pictures off the camera. Any way . . . . . . .


Emma was baptised in August. It was so amazing. We have never approached our kids about baptism. They know what God has to say about the subject but we never asked or pushed. We want their faith to be entirely theirs. Emma has opted not to over the last few years whenever the opportunity presented itself. Well, our church was having its regularly scheduled picnic/baptism at a local park at the end of August. We never mentioned it. She never mentioned it. Then the day before the picnic I was helping Lorraine (my mother-in-law) frost a cake for the picnic and Gavin was watching us, cracking his usual jokes. Gabe went outside to find Emma and tell her what we were doing and about Gavin's silliness. She just said, "What, the baptism is tomorrow??" She scrambled out of the tree she was in, ran inside to find Christian, and told him she wanted to be baptised. We were a bit surprised but very happy for her. She was baptised by her dad in the lake the following day. (the other guy in the picture is the new pastor at FCC, Chuck Redfern.)

Truth, Lies, and Little Hearts

One of the reasons we home school is so we can speak truth into the lives of our kids. I have been ever so grateful for this privilege this week. I truly believe that God created us to be told who we are - BY HIM; yet we usually aren't tuned into what he is saying to us. We have our ears tuned to the fallen, imperfect people around us.

A few of our kids are struggling with some things this week. I was so thankful to be the one with whom they were talking, sharing their deepest secrets and hurts. I was was truly saddened at how much of what they were thinking and feeling were lies - untruths about themselves and others. The lies are nothing new to mankind, yet to see our little ones wrestle with their feelings and hurtful encounters with others it is really frustrating and heart wrenching. The worst part is that you can see the sparkle dim in their beautiful little eyes as some part of their heart believes the lie that was just spoken to or about them.

God wants us to allow him to tell us who we are - he already has. The God of heaven and Earth chose to die than to live eternity without us. That makes us very special and valuable. Yet I stand amazed at how we quickly exchange our value for the filth and lies our "friends", enemies, and others choose to toss our way.

You can't really learn first hand about God's ability to "bind up the broken hearted" unless you have a broken heart but where do you draw the line as a parent? No situation is going to be perfect but every situation is a learning experience about people, life, God and human nature. So tonight we struggle with knowing where to draw the line. Let them continue where they are, learn, and get wounded or pull them off the front lines?

Tuesday Nights

I don't know what the rest of you do on Tuesday nights but I spend mine on the couch at Dunkin Donuts in Marlborough. No, I don't go there for the coffee, the doughnuts, or the new pizza (although inside sources tell me the flat bread sandwiches are really quite good). I freeze to death every time I go there and sometimes have to listen to the likes of KORN (not my favorite band) - so why do I go there every week? - because I get to spend the evening with a group of great young women.

I think God was very serious when he asked the older women to teach the younger women how to be kind and love their husbands and children (Titus chapter 2) - God has shown me so much over the last several years - he has taught me things I wish I had know BEFORE I got married or involved in a relationship at all. I wanted to encourage, bless and teach the younger women. That is why I invited these women to get together to read scripture and talk about life. I never expected to be so blessed and take as much away from our Tuesday nights as I do.

I love where these girls are in life. Not the easiest time of life but so exciting. So many new things, so many unknowns, so many preconceived notions. I love watching their lives unfold and seeing God work in, bless and challenge them. They may not see him in their everyday but I do and am so encouraged. Talking with them and working through some of the issues that arise when you're 19 takes me back to when I was faced with some of the same issues. I can see now that God was there and helping me through all the trials and difficulties.


So why do I go on Tuesday nights - because of the people. I love the relationships and am so blessed by them.

"I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessing." - Paul 1Cor. 9:23

Anonymous Gift

Whoever left the envelope on our windshield last week, we want to thank you. God really blessed us and encouraged us through your actions. Thank you for letting him use you.

I Just Had to Share

I handle the check book in our house. I don't wear the pants or control the funds I just write the checks and keep track of where our money is and how much we have (or don't have.) God has never ceased to amaze me in the area of our finances. I can't tell you how many times our "ends" should not have met but they did. Do you have a budget? Do you stick to it? We don't really have a budget. We make one every year or so and review our spending but we usually don't bother with it because it doesn't work. Our expenses are more than our income - we don't spend frivolously. Toys, like motorcycles and race cars, are purchased with money that has been saved and set aside for that purpose over the last 12 years. We have no extras to cut out. Granted we live with in-laws right now but in the past we haven't had cable, cell phones, car payments . . . we had nothing to downsize or cut out. The only extras in the budget were a Grassroots Motor Sports subscription, soccer fees, and dining out (a few times a month). I am not sharing this info for any reason but to point out that other than the grocery bill there was no where to cut the budget. We would laugh every year because somehow there was always enough money. On paper our financial situation was truly impossible but God always provided and he still does!!!
I just finished paying our bills and God did it again. I have been preoccupied wondering how a certain bill would get paid on time with out taking money out of our savings account. I had just balanced the books two weeks ago - everything was up to date - no way for God to work a "mistake" in our favor that was forgotten about last month. Well, I am learning to NEVER underestimate what God can do. Some how I forgot to enter a deposit from last week - we had plenty of funds to pay bills. Funny thing is that deposit was made by me, not electronically (I found the receipt) but I have no idea where the money came from. GOD IS SO AMAZING AND FAITHFUL!!!!!!
I just needed to share that.

Edited post

Check out our Waxhaw post - I added some pictures of Candidate orientation.

A Craving for the Bitter-sweet

I (Amy) had a great conversation the other night with a friend of ours in MI. We chatted about life : school, marriage, and blind dates; and God: church, sanctification, and justification; and what the christian life should really look like. It is easy for me to see what those last things are NOT supposed to look like - but to get a true handle on those things is not easy for me. I still carry with me a very warped view of my creator and of myself. I am thankful that God is more patient and faithful than I ever thought he could be. He has been revealing more and more of himself to me and more and more of my brokenness and need for him. I am captivated and impassioned by the God I am encountering. I feel like Lucy, having returned to Narnia, and she sees Aslan again - the more I know of God the bigger He gets.

Jason, a pastor friend in MI, wrote about unspoken prayer requests in his blog awhile back. Some of you my have never heard of such a practice - it is when you ask people to pray for you but you won't tell them what for. What other good does the church serve then to come along side those in pain and difficult circumstances and empathize and pray. How else will others know that they are not the only ones struggling with sin if no one ever talks about it? How will anyone be encouraged by tales of God's power if no one mentions the what he triumphed over?

"Unspeakable sins are bred by unspoken requests." - Jason

That statement speaks so loudly to my heart. I grew up with the idea that to follow God meant that you were perfect - at least in the way every one else in the church was "perfect" - bored, unhappy and righteous in your own strength. Hypocrisy and lies were all I saw - so many "unspoken" requests. I thought God didn't deal with the real matters of the heart and of life. I regret the amount of years I spent in the presence of good meaning "godly" people but knew nothing of God. The God who made me, loves me, knows my inner most thoughts and desires and died for me anyway. All 13 years of church, 3 times a week and no one ever told me that my creator chose to die than to live eternity with out me.

It breaks my heart to watch people go in and out of church buildings week after week pretending life is just grand - maybe the occasional prayer for a better job or "traveling mercies" (what exactly does that mean any way?). Church goers come in and feel the need to hide their imperfections and shortcomings from everyone else. They role play what they think others want to see. Everyone pretends - Everywhere. I'm not speaking of my local area. I am speaking of the American Christian culture in general. It doesn't make any sense. If we are all just fine and dandy then we have no need for a savior and that just makes us all a bunch of idiots for getting up early for no good reason on Sunday mornings.

I so long for a place where people can come in and take a load off - they can drop the facade of perfection and goodness. We are all sinners. We all struggle with life, love and relationships. Why are people so afraid to be real? I long for sincerity. I long for a community where people can openly share about there problems with family, spouses, finances, pornography, addictions . . . . and find help and encouragement - not condemnation. I find it so bitter-sweet when some one shares their struggles. Bitter because the reality is the person is hurting and it is a reminder that we all are broken people. Sweet because I now have the privilege of seeing God do something amazing in their life.

Colorful Casts

Well, it has been close to a month and we have already been through three casts. The first one Beth got after the procedure at the hospital (which went very well, by the way) was bright orange, the following week she got her first waterproof one - blue. This past Tuesday she needed to get a new one since the blue one was falling apart. She now has a green one. The doctor told her it would glow in the dark. It doesn't. She was pretty disappointed. She gets it off for good on the 31st. We pray it has all healed properly so her finger will continue to grow along with the rest of her.

A Broken Finger

Beth broke her finger yesterday. She was running on the side walk, fell, and broke her fall with her pinky. It was quite unnerving when she picked her self up off the side walk and showed me her hand. Now, falling down is nothing new for Beth. Graceful is not on the list of adjectives for our sweet middle child. She tends to be a bit dramatic so I wasn’t to concerned when she got up crying. Then she screamed, "My finger!" and there was her right pinky twisted sideways and curved over her ring finger. I could feel the bone sticking out in the joint at her hand and knew we needed to head to the ER. The poor thing had to walk the rest of the way home from the play ground (about .3 of a mile). She needs to go next Thursday, after the swelling has gone down, to the hospital to have the finger externally manipulated and set - they will put her to sleep, pull it out and straighten it, and cast it. It is pretty smashed up at the growth plate. We pray they can fix it right. Meanwhile, she has a ½ cast or a splint to wear. She is not to thrilled with either one and hates the sling. Luckily the orthopedic Dr. Said she could go w/o the sling. She was so funny at the ER. She told me that she knew she was going to fall and had tried to make it to the grass but only her forehead made it. Also, she was glad her finger was broken and not dislocated so no had to pull on it. She may not be graceful but she is quite practical.