Spring at Our Home

After a long, cold and dreary winter spring has finally arrived.  I am most thankful to be outside soaking up the sun, before it turns to sweltering air-conditioning weather.  We now spend most of our days outside in the yard, garden, woods or park, which in turn makes it difficult to get any school done.  I have grown to love the outdoors and now take the time to feast upon all the scents and sights that God has created around us. 

Joseph hauled wood and rocks over the fence to build a "Civil War" camp in the backyard.  Of course Elise has to add her green chair and pool slide. Thanks to some dear friends who helped us move five years ago, we acquired a moving blanket.  I don't think they are ever getting it back. 

During Rachel's spring break I swapped kids with my sister in law.   Rachel went to PA to spend time with her cousin and my niece spent time with us.  A rare warm day at the park.

Driver's Ed. Clarke County style.  Dave said this year it's time for Rachel to start cutting the grass.

A beautiful display of Easter dresses.  A soft spot remains for the dress Elise is wearing.  The two flower girls in my wedding wore this dress 16 years ago and it is still in perfect condition.  Nicole had no interest in wearing the other one.  Guess she's too old for matching her little sister.

 

End of the Year Celebration with our co-op Classical Conversations. 

When did this beautiful girl of mine become so tall?  She's even wearing flat sandals.  Celebrating End of the Year "memory work."

 

 

Saved the best for last. 

 

I really have no explanation for GI Joe looking like this except that I have four kids and a dog.  Maybe it was the dog. 

Fender Bender

Backing out of the garage something just didn't feel or sound right. 

Rachel said, "You just backed out too fast, or it's a bike." 

I proceeded to pull forward a bit and then back again.  Then there was an odd noise that normally isn't there at 7am when I take her to school. 

So this is what I found.  I am awesome!  Even if I wanted to, I couldn't do this again.

14 Inches of Proof

This post is dedicated to all of our family and friends living in Utah.  The questions we are most often asked when it comes to weather are:

Does it snow?  How much?  and When? 

Well that is sometimes difficult to answer because everyone's definition of snow is different.  Yes it does snow, but it is more often mixed with sleet, freezing rain, then rain and back to more freezing rain.  It may appear to look like snow but in fact is layer upon layer of ice.  This is what we receive more often than the fluffy, snowball, snowman, sledding kind of snow. 



what we don't want

So last week we actually received a true snowstorm.  Thursday morning we woke to 11 inches of the real live fluffy stuff with 3 additional inches falling throughout the day. The kids were in heaven.  This meant snow days (after math and reading is done of course), hours playing outside, hot chocolate and movies. Knowing we would be house-bound for several days I made a grocery and library trip the day before the storm hit the region.  We wouldn't want one particular child to go a day without some milk. A library run meant lots of movies to check out, a great place to rent movies for free. 


Feb. 13th what we want

Why Joseph is shoveling in his pajamas and robe I have no idea.  We're homeschoolers, maybe that explains it. 

Because of where Dave works he is able to attach a plow to his truck, resulting in a cleared driveway.  The only downside is sometimes there's no where to put the snow, thus blocking my van in the garage.

During snow days we always bake something yummy.  It may be cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies, homemade bread, or cut-out cookies.  So in honor of Valentine's Day we decided on sugar cookies with frosting colors that have nothing to do with Valentine's Day because we didn't have those colors. 

For three evenings in a row Rachel and I spent some girl time together and stayed up late watching The Vow, The Help, and While You Were Sleeping. Total chick flicks.
Tonight we'll watch Sabrina, and watch Dave quickly leave the room.

That's how we survived the storm and Valentine's Day!  

New Year Goals for 2014

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17

Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.  That is my theme for this year! By His strength, I desire to take small intentional steps towards growing in godliness and living a Christ-centered life.  If my life is not centered on trying to glorify God, then all efforts become futile.

Truth be told, I have never, ever made any New Year's Resolutions or goals.  I always thought they were silly and besides no one ever seems to keep or accomplish them.  For whatever reason this year I wanted to set some goals.  So I sat down to intentionally write them out and decided to post them here as a means of accountability. 

Spiritual/Personal

• Deliberately commit all areas of my life to the will of Jesus Christ This particular goal will be the most difficult, I can already tell.  Simply because of my attempt to commit ALL areas, not just the easy ones.
• Become more diligent about my quiet time in the morning
• Read through the Bible
• Heed God's voice and direction.  Not just listen but put into action what He tells me to do or not to do. 
• Be more gentle in my response to my children and husband Pause and think before I speak.
• Develop a boldness for sharing my faith

Health/Diet

• Drink more water  I do! Not! Like! Water!
• Drink less coffee  As you know, this one will be excruciating.  It is totally my crutch in the morning.
• Eat more raw food. Veggies, fruits, etc.
• Eat more fish and less red meat This is more of a family goal than anything.  Hopefully Dave is not reading this.
• Exercise 3-4 times a week  Either P90X or the NordicTrack 
• Plan out menus more efficiently I was doing this for several years and then fell out of habit. Truthfully, I really became lazy!

School

• Stay on top of memory work
• Start school at 8:30 instead of 9  Ouch!
• Use time wisely Be consciously aware of distractions i.e. computer, email, phone, appointments.

Family/Ministry

• Invite people over for dinner once a month
• Take meals to people in need

Fall, Christmas and End of Year

Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year!

Love, Dave, Carrie, Rachel, Joseph, Nicole and Elise

2013 is over?  How is it that times goes by so fast?  I am not ready to write "2014" on my checks.

Here's looking back over the past month and a half since my previous post. 

We've attended weddings! Dave loves them, he looks forward to them.

The first wedding was of our nephew Andrew and Kara in York, PA.

The second wedding was our niece Lauren and Nate in Charlottesville, VA.  Rachel was honored to stand as one of her many bridesmaids. 

Lauren and Nate's Wedding

It's extremely rare that all five Gay children are in one location together and with their parents.  So my bright idea was to have a picture taken.  Do you think any of them took it seriously?  I should have known better.

Girls night out with all the moms from our co-op.  Rosemont a local bed and breakfast and stunning wedding venue opens up to the public for tours during the Christmas season.  All proceeds from the tours go to The Laurel Center, which is intervention for domestic and sexual violence and AbbaCare, a non-profit organization serving women who find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy.

 

This grocery cart was given to Elise for Christmas.  For months she has been saying, "I really, really want a food cart for Christmas."  Clearly, Rachel and I had way too much time on our hands Christmas Eve.  It was Rachel's idea, I'll blame her.

Finished product.  Yes, we made Rachel peel off all of the tape on Christmas morning.

Bright and early Christmas morning.  I think Rach would rather be sleeping.

This picture does not do justice to how big the tree was.  Anytime someone would walk into the room they always said, "That is the biggest tree ever."

On our way over to Grammy and Grandad's Christmas afternoon.  Elise received Bullseye from Toy Story for Christmas.  Jesse was from two Christmas' ago.

Of course we can't miss our holiday time with our dear friends (aka the girls I was a nanny for).  Elizabeth is now living in Norfolk and spending most of her time out on a Coast Guard Cutter.  Sarah is finishing her senior year of college in Chicago and will begin working as a nurse.  The baby Sam, is a junior in high school and continues to play soccer and swim competitively.  We all enjoyed a steaming hot pot of chili and the girls took all my kids to see the movie Frozen.  We LOVE visiting them.  My kids now refer to the girls as their cousins. 

Joseph's latest kill four days ago, a 9-point buck.  This one we are having made into a full mount. 

 

One Proud Momma

With hunting season upon us Rachel decided she didn't want to hunt this year.  I guess she's become too girly to be sporting camo, boots, guns, and any other hunting paraphernalia.  I can't say I blame her. 

Of course Joseph jumped at the opportunity to possibly use her .243 that Dave purchased last year.  So this past weekend Dave took him out for the very first time.  He was beyond excited.  Telling everyone he was "hunting with his Dad this weekend."  He talked about it constantly.

While waiting for dinner to appear this was the spot they sat in for several hours. 

Then this six-point buck appeared out of nowhere.  First time hunting, first shot, first kill.

 

Not only was Joseph thrilled about killing his first deer but also surprised that it was a piebald.

 

What's a piebald?  An animal, typically a mammal, that has a pattern consisting of white and brown patches.  The result of a genetic defect.

 

I am so proud of my redneck boy and thankful for my redneck husband who is teaching him the sport.



Our 'Went By Way Too Fast" Summer

As I look back on the last few months and welcome the coming of cool autumn weather I am thankful for the many adventures God granted us this past summer.

We've been busy with gardening, swim team, chartered fishing trips, camping, trips to the beach and best of all a trip to see my family in Utah.  Occasionally we have family  travel this way to see us, but the last time we were in Utah was June of 2010, quite a while ago.

Last school year ended in May with the Challenge B campuses participating in a Mock Trial at the county courthouse.  Rachel played the role of a housekeeper who witnessed a battered woman murder her husband.

Almost every time we travel to the beach we make our way to Rehoboth and eat lunch at Nicola's Pizza and then head over to the arcade for an afternoon of skeeball. Elise is OBSESSED with skeeball!  There's a better chance of winning if you stick out your tongue.

A view of the garden from the front porch.  This year for the first time we planted red potatoes and were blessed abundantly.  A week and a half after planting nine tomato plants temperatures reached below freezing.  Of course we lost them all and had to start over.  This spring was also a first for growing lettuce, boy did we have lettuce.  I couldn't give it away fast enough and Dave claimed I was trying to kill him with it.

Lift up the window shade, pull it down.  Lift it up, pull it down.  Tray table down, tray table up. Tray table down, tray table up!  Spilling a full cup of ice and Sprite all over yourself and the seat.

 

You get the idea!  Traveling with four children to Utah, oh so fun!  Thankfully we had a direct flight into SLC.  This time was the first for NO changing diapers on my lap in the tiny bathroom on the aircraft.

Rachel, Paige and Rylie enjoying some cousin time together.

A huge shout out to Amber (far left) who so bravely took on the activity of tie-dye with ten kids.  My sister Robin on the right.

My very own tie-dye.  I've lived a sheltered and deprived life.  My best friend Keri in the blue dress.

At the 1950's sock hop, which my hubby refused to dance at. 

From the looks of Rachel's face I don't think she wants a hug from me.  He still won't dance with me! 

Daddy rescued her from the clutches of my arms. He still won't dance.

Of course Grandma and Grandpa have to participate in the Chicken Dance.

Dave's mid-life crisis, a 1944 Willy's Jeep.  He wants one so bad he drools whenever he speaks of it!

 My brother Mike and his family posing in front of Grandpa's beloved '56, during the Cache Valley Cruise-In.

Only Dave would bat one handed.

My siblings, their spouses and fifteen grandkids.  Goodness, too many to name! 

Rachel, Joseph and for the first time this summer Nicole swam for the Piranhas Swim Team.  Because of the different age groups we were at the pool every morning from 7:45-10:00am.  When summer swim ended Nicole promptly informed us she is NOT swimming next summer!  We'll see about that!

Bragging rights!  Joseph caught the biggest rockfish during a chartered fishing trip on the Chesapeake Bay.

 

Thanks for joining me on this journey!  What did you all do this summer?

 

The New Harry Potter

This is what happens when you give two little girls free range of scissors and card
stock. 

They make Harry Potter glasses.

JAM 2013

Posted by Rachel

I was fortunate enough to participate with my church, Fellowship Bible Church, in Junior High Adventures in Ministry (or better known as JAM).

The purpose of JAM is to glorify God by equipping Jr. High students to serve Jesus Christ by giving them training and "hands-on" ministry experience.

FBC rented a huge bus to travel to Cairn University in Philadelphia, PA.

We drove for four hours then stopped at a rest stop for lunch. After we ate, we drove for another hour and finally arrived at Cairn University. During the trip, we traveled through West Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Figure that one out.

My dorm, Room 161.

Kid's Day on Saturday! My "buddy" was Catherine. She was soooo sweet!

On Saturday, every JAM student receives a child to hang out with for the day. After participating in different planned activities, every student sits down with their "buddy" and shares the gospel of Jesus Christ with them.

The kids typically come from low income neighborhoods, inner-city Philadelphia and most have never seen a Bible or have been to church.  One of my friends relayed to me that her "buddy" told her that he is never fed breakfast. That's when I realized how fortunate I am.

One thing that is cool about JAM is that you see a bunch of teenage guys interact with little kids in a way you've never seen before!

One of the activities was a puppet show. But not any puppet show! They shut off the lights and used a blue light to make the puppets glow. The puppets sang Christian songs. I heard my friend's little girl behind me singing along at the top of her lungs! It was so cute!

 

Another activity was watching professional skateboarders, well, skate!

 

This is the DJ for the boarders. Why does he have a comb in his hair?

This is why you wear your helmet. Seriously! Wear your helmet!

They were getting pretty high! But it gets better!

Two boarders spread the ramps apart and laid down in between. Don't ask me to do that.

This boarder had a Duck Dynasty beard. I wonder if he would have a tan line if he shaved it off...just wondering.

Afterwards, we made our way over to BINGO! All the stuffed animals in the front were prizes for the winners! (everyone is a winner at JAM!)

After BINGO we left the nice air conditioned building for the petting zoo. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of that. While at the petting zoo, I saw something I didn't think I'd see. My little girl from JAM 2012!! I went up to Indyia and asked her if she remembered me. She said yes! She's seven now! I remember when she was trying to climb up my leg to get away from the petting zoo animals! I feel like a proud mama!

After the animals, we sat down with our "buddies" and shared the Good News of Jesus Christ with them. Catherine had heard the gospel before and her family was trying to go to church every Sunday. After talking with her, she gave her life to the Lord!

After our kids boarded their buses, we all met back at our training rooms to discuss what happened with our "buddies".

Later that night at chapel, the number of students who gave their lives to the Lord was announced. Ready for this? 81 kids accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

The ride home on Sunday was fun to say the least! After one hour of driving we stopped at a rest stop. My friends and I split a very doughy pizza. I needed something else to eat, so I bought something from Starbucks. I'm convinced that's what made the ride home fun....110 calories of awesomeness....is that a word? During the last four hours of the trip, we all sang, "Wheels on the Bus", but replaced the first letter of every word with a V. Please, please, please, don't ask.