Sister Trip

Martha and I took a lovely trip down to Angelica, NY yesterday. It was a really nice day. I hadn't spent that kind of time with my sister in a long time. We were sorry that Rachel couldn't make it too. Our first stop was this great coffee house for lunch. The pumpkin-apple soup is to die for! I strongly recommend stopping here if you are ever traveling along rout 17 in the southerntier of NY state. It has great atmosphere and very friendly service.

It happened to be the town's Harvest Festival in the the center of the circle yesterday. A lot of businesses along main street put up fall scarecrow displays. Some even were in front of houses. This one was in front of a house. I thought it was one of the better ones and comical. It is of a prisonbreak. Notice the escaped convict in stripes.

One of our last stops was to the local cemetary. We found a lot of familiar family names such as Shafer, Rice, Harwood, Jennings. We had a few pictures of some of our deceased relatives who are buried there. By placing them next to the gravestones and taking a picture...it really made it feel as if they were with us in some way.

Sweet Picture

I have stolen this picture off of Martha's computer. I found it while browsing. Isn't it a sweet picture of her and James cutting their wedding cake? I like it

Passing it on the the Children

Well...I guess I'm slowly adapting to a quieter life with the kids off to school. I made sure I did some work so as to feel useful around here. Gotta earn my keep! LOL!

Allen is very busy with the Cross Country team at his school. He seems to like it a lot. Alicia is taking Viola lessons at school starting on Monday. Audra has volunteered to be kindertgarten helper at the end of the school day. I think this makes her feel good about herself. Community Bible Study starts on Wednesday.

Awana started this past Wednesday. Audra is already working at memorizing her Bible verses for T&T(Truth & Training). Alicia graduated to T&T from Sparks and is looking forward to getting her book. We took Makaela...our next door neighbor to Awana. She doesn't go to church with her family. Sometimes she comes with us. Soon her brother will come to Awana as well...but right now, he has something else on Wednesdays. I feel like they are my ministry. Every morning they come to get on the bus. I always say a prayer with my girls and so I've included them. They are getting used to this routine. Hopefully I can build working on our verses into our routine in the morning...because I doubt Makaela will get a lot of that at her house.

By the way...I don't know this little "Sparks" boy. I searched Creative Commons on Flicker and found it. It just reminds me about what it's all about. Teaching kids to Praise the Lord!

We Remember...

A Whole Lot of Nothing

Kim asked me what I've been doing since the kids went to school. That would be yesterday and today. Well...I'm ashamed to admit that I really haven't been doing much. I've been a bit unproductive and lazy. Oh I've done a few dishes, a load of laundry, a couple of errands, a small amount of sewing, walked the dog, blogged, read a short novel...what else?

I need to get used to this again. It seems very quiet here. I've had a pretty full house all summer. Not only my kids, but other kids I've been watching. Now it's just me and Sherm. I know things'll start picking up. I do have things to do. Maybe I just needed a couple of days to catch my breath?

Isn't this picture horrible of me? Allen took it and I almost deleted it. It's certainly not very flattering...but I guess it's an honest look at the way I've been yesterday and today.

First Day of School

Today is the first day of school. Everyone seemed excited, although they insisted they didn't want to go back.

I'll be putting my little next door neighbors on the bus in the morning since their mom leaves for work a half hour before the bus comes. They are cute kids and they are used to me.

Allen did not want his picture taken.

I was chasing him while taking this one as he rode off on his bike. I think he was amused. He goes to the middle school and does not take a bus.

Time For a Fresh Box

The day after tomorrow is the first day of school for our town. Some of the districts go back tomorrow. My kids keep saying that they don't like school and that they don't want to go back...but I sense a little excitement in the air about it. (or maybe it's just me) Yes...it's time. It just feels like school should be starting. The summer has wound down and the kids are looking for new things to do. Allen started Cross Country practice today. Audra visited her class and picked out her desk and filled it with school supplies. Alicia will have her turn doing that tomorrow. Me? I'm looking forward to a more steady routine, my house being in a little more order, Bible Study starting up, and a little peace and quiet. (is that bad?)

Twister Championships

While we were in Long Island Audra challenged her 28 year old cousin Scott to a game of Twister.

Here's the face off!

Looks like Scott's got a pretty good handle on things. Audra got pretty twisted up. It didn't help that Scott was saying funny things the whole time to make her laugh.

Audra finally lost her balance and thus ended the challenge. I thought this made for a fun memory.

2nd Tri

Jamie competed in another triathlon on Sunday on Long Island. He came in 100th over all with over 200 participants. His time was 1:55:00. This was an off road triathlon this time so he packed up his mountain bike for the trip. The course included several obstacles such as logs, sand, and water. He really enjoyed it. We may be back here next year.

Visit to CT and L.I.

I don't have any picture to post. I visited Dunja Tuesday night. Stayed over night and left around 3:30 yesterday. It was so nice to see her again. Nice to see the kids too. I ate at "Old Heidelberg". Delicious is all I have to say!!! My husband was very jealous. I will have to make sure he gets there on another trip down. Dunja seems to be doing well. Don't forget to pray for here and her family. Grief is a long road.

I am on Long Island right now. I am pretty much doing nothing today...which is sort of nice. It is early and this could get old. I wish I brought my watercolors with me.

Audra at age 8

Here's one of my favorite photos of Audra in May 2005. We went to Star Lake up in the mountains. It's funny how little she looks. Two years has made quite a difference. My husband has a framed copy of this on his desk at his workplace.

Bad Boys!

Here are Jeff and Jamie ignoring the warning signs. I'm just glad they got home in one piece!

Flying Flower

My ten year old daughter took this picture at chimney bluffs on Saturday. I thought it was pretty good.

Chimney Bluffs

On Saturday our family hiked Chimney Bluffs up on Lake Ontario. There are these giant sandstone formations carved by years of wind and water.

Jamie's cousin Jeff was up visiting from Georgia. They were very close as kids. It was good to see him. Here Jamie is in white and Jeff snaps a picture of the bluffs.

You can get an idea of how big the bluffs are by clicking on this picture to enlarge it. You will see people on the beach.

God is quite a sandcastle builder, don't you think?

Old Family Photo

This is a picture of my grandparents, my Mother and 2 older brothers. Hanging out on the swingset in the back yard of the house I grew up in. I'm guessing it was taken in about 1959. Now a days, you can't even see the fence anymore. There are evergreens planted along it now and they have grown quite tall. Three of the people in this picture are in Heaven now. Grandma and Grandpa...and Dan(on the teeter-totter). My mother is almost 73 now and must be on oxygen 24 hours a day. She carries a tank of oxygen everywhere she goes. Wow. Time really changes things. It keeps marching on. Which is why I am glad I have hope in the Lord.

Off to Camp!

Yep. It's Allen's first week at a real summer camp. He went with his friend Sam to a Christian summer camp up in the Adirondack Mountains. Neither boys were at all cooperative in letting me take a good picture of them.
I think at this point the boys were anxious for their mothers to just leave. Anyway...I think it will be a great week for them.

Here's to them!

Camp Granada (Alan Sherman)

Hello muddah, hello faddah
Here I am at Camp Granada
Camp is very entertaining
And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.

I went hiking with Joe Spivy
He developed poison ivy
You remember Leonard Skinner
He got ptomaine poisoning last night after dinner.

Take me home, oh muddah, faddah
Take me home, I hate Granada
Don't leave me out in the forest where
I might get eaten by a bear.

All the counselors hate the waiters
And the lake has alligators
And the head coach wants no sissies
So he reads to us from something called Ulysses.

How I don't want this should scare ya
But my bunkmate has malaria
You remember Jeffrey Hardy
They're about to organize a searching party.

Take me home...I promise I will not make noise
Or mess the house with other boys.
Oh please don't make me stay
I've been here one whole day.

Dearest faddah, darling muddah,
How's my precious little bruddah
Let me come home, if you miss me
I would even let Aunt Bertha hug and kiss me.

Wait a minute, it's stopped hailing.
Guys are swimming, guys are sailing
Playing baseball, gee that's better
Muddah, faddah kindly disregard this letter.

Been Hot

It has been hot here lately. Too hot to do much of anything. I've managed to survive in various ways. Sealing up the house in the morning and hybernateing in front of a fan, going to a friend's pool, and of course there is the lake here in town. It has been crowded there and I am not much of a beach person. What I like to do lately is take the dog down to swim. He will chase a stick into the water, swim out and get it...bring it back to shore and shake off near me. I usually stand mid-calf in the water. Ok...it sounds lame...but it works.
Yesterday the kids spent a day at a friend's pool. Today they all seemed tired and mopey. Audra had a mild sunburn and said she didn't feel well. I was quite convinced that they all were suffering from dehydration so I kept encouraging them to drink water. We pretty much stayed inside all day and then in the evening we all went to the lake to swim and throw sticks for the dog. I didn't take any pictures. The one here has nothing to do with it...but I liked it. My kids look healthy and happy in this picture.
Besides that, I needed something different to look at on my blog.

Soccer boy

I took my camera to Allen's soccer game the other night. I got some pretty good shots. I have such a handsome son.

I never played any sports growing up...so it is interesting to be a soccer mom now. I really enjoy it.

Go number 5!

Timeless Friends

I got a surprise phone call from my friends Amy on Monday. She is a dear friend of mine who moved away from the area 2 years ago. She said, "We're coming into town this weekend and I want to have tea with you." So she came on Friday morning. Her husband was the worship pastor of our church for 11 years...then they moved to Jamestown to work in another church. We were sorry to see them go. I wasn't as sorry as I was a few years earlier when they moved to Cairns, Australia for a year and a half to do ministry there. Atleast Jamestown was reachable (3 hours by car).

So she and her kids came for a visit Friday. Her husband Jeff was somewhere else that morning, but we were able to catch up with him Friday night for dinner. We had a great time laughing and talking. Our friendship is timeless. No matter how much time goes by...we always seem to pick it up right where we left off.

They have just accepted a new position at a church in western Canada. That's a little far away for us...but not as far as Australia! This will be Amy's 5th country to live in (Zaire and Kenya as a child). She's lived on 3 different continents. How interesting how the Lord directs people so differently. I've never lived anywhere but NY state.

A Change of Plans

We were planning on going on a short trip to Long Island to see some family. On the way I was going to visit with Dunja in CT. But all our plans fell through because of several complications. Anyway, my husband had scheduled a few days off from work...so we have been doing family things close by. On Wednesday we took a trip out to Beaver Lake Nature Center near Syracuse.

We did a 3 mile hike around the Lake, had a picnic lunch and also went canoeing for an hour. I didn't take any pictures of us canoeing because I was paranoid that the camera would end up in the Lake...so I locked it in the car during that. Now I kind of regret it...but atleast my camera is safe and sound.

It was a pretty cool place to go. They have a nature building that has a bunch of stuffed and mounted animals in glass cases for people to look at. They also have a bird observing room. It was all very informative and educational.

I think it was worth the trip. They have guided canoe trips to see beaver habitats and other programs that we didn't sign up for. I think it would be particularly interesting and beautiful to go there in the autumn when all the leaves are at their peak.