Some things are way more important than medals

Today my husband and several of his friends competed in the Black Diamond Duathlon. He has competed in this race for several years in a row and it is one he looks forward to.

Today during the last leg of the race, he saw a man laying on the trail ahead of him. A few other runners were crouched around the man. As Jamie came up to them, he overheard one say, "Does he have a pulse?" Jamie is a certified lifeguard and has taken courses in CPR. In fact, he just took a refresher course a month ago. God is good, because Jamie was called upon to administer his skills to this man, who certainly would have died otherwise. Another runner friend of ours, Sarah, is a nurse. She ran up shortly after Jamie did. The two of them administered CPR on him for about 15-20 minutes until some paramedics were able to come and intervene. The man was rushed away in an ambulance. None of us know the man's name, but he looked to be in his fifties and was believed to be taken to Strong Memorial Hospital. Perhaps you could say a prayer for him.

The photo is from last year's race. Jamie is not in this photo but Sarah is. She is second from the left. Pale green shirt and black hat. (My son Allen is #11)

I am very proud of Jamie and Sarah for rising to the occasion!

Photo source: Ed Martin

The Invisible Blogger is back

Things have been crazy busy. I honestly don't know how I can accomplish everything that I need to do successfully. I would appreciate your prayers. My library internship is going very well. I feel a little overwhelmed at times because there is so much to know and learn. I vacillate between a strong confidence and being completely filled with fear of taking on this role, several times a day.

This is "Library Gator" as he is affectionately referred to by my supervising librarian. He's also a favorite with the kids. Several years ago, he was won at a fair by one of the teachers in the school. She donated him to the library and he has been here ever since. I really wish that I could take a picture of the kids, but I think there are some rules about that and needing to get permission from parents to put pictures up of them. They are gorgeous children of every race. I just love the mix of colors and cultures of the children in this school. Today I got a chance to use my extremely limited Spanish on a child who just moved here and does not speak English. I was able to establish her name and to communicate that she is only allowed to take out 2 books, not 3 as she wanted. I think if I was to get a job here, I would definitely try to become much more fluent in Spanish than I am now.

I had one observation so far and it went very good. So that makes me happy.

"Good, but busy"

I sent a message to a friend last night. This friend is a classmate of mine and is doing her internship at an elementary school library in the city of Rochester. I wrote, "How are you doing?" She wrote back: "Good, but busy." Yes, that about sums it up, folks!

So far, it has been great. I am trying hard to soak up all the knowledge that I possibly can and make a good impression! I want to take a picture of the school, but haven't managed to do so yet. Maybe tomorrow!

Changes...

I just found this picture on my computer. It was in a folder marked "photos by Allen." I think he did a good job. I loved our trip to New Hampshire last year. This was taken from a mountain top less than a week before Dad went into the hospital and our lives were changed forever. I really miss my father very much.

This week school starts for the kids. Audra is looking forward to it. Alicia will be going to a new school and is a little apprehensive. Allen has been very busy with the cross country team already. Next week, I start my first library practicum at a primary school in Geneva.

Grime's Glen...twice

Yesterday I went to Grimes Glen for the first time with Rachel and her boys. Allen came along and brought his friend, Sam. It was such a beautiful place and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to go back again today with Alicia and her friend Elise. Of course Sherman came along both days. He loved it, but is exhausted now! I can't believe that I've lived near this beautiful place for 18 years now and never went to it!
Yesterday I took photos and Rachel sent me even more. Today I didn't take any because I had left the camera home. I am sad that I didn't get any pictures of the girls. They had so much fun and I missed so many great photo opportunities!

Here are pictures from yesterday. Grime's Glen is my new favorite place to go!

These last days of summer

I've been trying to enjoy these last days of summer. They are quickly coming to and end. On Sunday we went up to Charlotte for a BBQ to benefit a little girl with cerebral palsy. She is the daughter of a client that my husband's company works with. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Here's the old Charlotte beach house. Click on it to see the details of people on the beach.
We walked to the end of the pier and back. The pier is about a half a mile in length.
On the way home we stopped in Pittsford for ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. Allen did not come with us since he spent the day with some friends in Hopewell. Next week is the first day of school for the kids.

A day out

Went to Corbett's Glen yesterday with Martha and some of our kids.
Corbett's Glen is a little nature oasis in the middle of the busy suburbs of Rochester. It is a pretty little place that seems like a secret to me.
After having a picnic lunch, Martha showed me where the dog park is in Ellison Park.
It was great to be at a place where I could let my dog off of the leash, see him romp freely in the water without having to look over my shoulder for whoever might come along and scold me for taking him off of his line. There were about 5 other dogs there besides him. I will definitely take him back there!

Photos are thanks to Martha!

New Blog

I have created a new blog...if anyone is interested. I have been having very poor quality and inconsistent quiet times with God. I am challenging myself to do at the very least, a devotional each day. I would like accountability and that is why I am inviting you to come look at it and comment. Any encouragement is welcome. Here is the link to it.

My Utmost

Winding down

Do you like my "new" porch furniture? Amazing what a few cans of spray paint can do.
I am trying to spend a little more time out here...just enjoying my summer because the time is winding down. Soon I will be starting my final semester of library school. I will be doing a practicum in the library of two local schools. Both schools are within a half an hour drive of where I live.
I'm looking forward to this time of learning under some very experienced and good school librarians. Soon my degree will be completed and hopefully I will find a position of my own.

Allen...home from teen camp

Went to get our handsome teenage son from teen camp on Friday.
He stayed in Red Pine...one of the older cabins. He had such a great week that he didn't want to come home and is seriously considering doing the teen leader in training next summer. I am very proud of how my boy is turning out. He truly has a heart to follow the Lord!

Hiking in Lowville area

On our way up to pick Allen up from Beaver camp, Jamie and I went hiking. My only regret is that we didn't bring Sherman along. He would have loved it. However, it is a tradition that we stop at Cracker Barrel for a bite to eat on the way home and figured having the dog along wouldn't work well. Here is Jamie looking over the edge of a rock cliff. You can't tell from the photo, but it was about 30 feet up. There was a nice waterfall at the end of the hike.

Had a wild time...

Got many cool pictures of the animals at the African Lion Safari. One of my favorites was the dancing camel! He moved at the very second I snapped the picture and this is how it turned out! LOL!






And then there was this strange animal that we saw towards the end of our tour! She was friendly, so we took her with us when we left!

Water for Elephants

On the way through Ontario, Canada we stopped by the African Lion Safari. I had gone there once when I was about 13. It has really come a long way since then! One of my favorite events of this visit was watching the elephants parade down to the lake for a swim.
I think there were about 6 or 7 elephants. When they saw the water, they ran into it! You could tell that they were filled with joy at the prospect of swimming. They reminded me a little of the way Sherman acts when I take him swimming somewhere.
The lake is deep enough that they actually do swim. They are very social animals and several came over to where the crowd was standing to say hello.

On our way

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line...which is why we cut through Canada on our way to Michigan. This naturally calls for a stop at Niagara Falls.
It never ceases to amaze me that although I only live 2 hours away from this marvel, I have come here only a few times.

Been Away!

On Thursday morning, the girls and I took off with Jamie's sister Laurie and her husband Kevin to go to Michigan for a family wedding. (Allen was scheduled to go to Beaver Camp so Jamie stayed home to take him there.) We had a wonderful time! I will post more about our trip soon. Here we are on the way home from Michigan today when we stopped in Ohio for some eats. We brought home an extra kid. Paige, one of the girls' cousins who lives in Maryland came home with us. She is staying at our house tonight. Tomorrow, my girls, Paige and two other girl cousins who were not able to make it to the wedding, are gathering together at Laurie's house for "Camp Butler"-a girl cousin camp for a good share of the week!

There is a winner!

Thank you to all who participated in the Mina Project board game drawing. Thanks to you, $225 will be going to Haiti Relief efforts!

Congratulations to Ben and Karen!

Projects...

It started out as a curbside find. It is a wicker table that I decided would look good with my other wicker furniture on my front porch. It was blue (no before picture). I primed it...
and spray painted it a dark forest green. I'm planning on spray painting the rest of the porch furniture to match.

Check out my kid

Audra is home from camp now. She and Abby had an absolute blast! There are some pictures online of her at camp. This one picture in particular is my favorite of her doing the ropes course (click on link to see it)! Aren't summer camps the best?

Photo of Audra on ropes course Here

And another of her rock climbing HERE!

Wish I were a kid again!

Full Moon Over Canandaigua Lake

When I dropped Abby's mother off at her house, I drove down West Lake Rd and saw the full moon. I just had to stop and get a picture.

Audra goes to Camp

On Sunday, I drove my daughter and her friend Abby to a camp in the Adirondacks. Abby's mother came along for the ride too. The girls are there for the week and I'm sure they are having a great time. Audra has been looking forward to going since she left camp last summer. This is her third year going. I'm glad she has the opportunity to do this...but I must say that I miss her and that the house seems very different without her here!