Lessons from the Garden

We have been enjoying the outdoors for the last few weeks, learning that with the severe winters you enjoy the nice weather when you can! We are all slightly bronzed with the sun, and have our fair share of bug bites to prove it. We enjoyed the town's Memorial Parade, the lake's sandy beaches, the strawberries in the side yard, and gardening and outdoor fun as much as possible.

Safety first Noah!

We attended a birthday party at the Ft Rickey Game farm in Rome, NY and the kids enjoyed the hands on feeding and petting the animals.
Here is our garden in the back of the house. I have been noticing that pretty much everything I planted has been growing, and I am amazed!

As I was trying the weed in the heat today I found myself wondering why I was so surprised that things were actually growing. We worked hard to get the land cleared, pick out the seeds, plant them, and maintain. The only thing I couldn't control was the most important part, the growing of the seed. God in His wisdom used this illustration to point out a weakness that I have. I try very hard to keep control of the things around me, which I am sure has it's place, but overall God is still in control of everything. I have to admit, as much as I am ready for homeschooling, the thought of it scares me. I can prepare the material, the space, and set the goals, but only God can see inside the children's heart and grow and teach the most important parts. And there is where I need to let go, and let grow :-)

An Ode to a Hall of Famer

Rachel has been doing dance lessons for the last few months, and in two weeks she has her first recital. She is a pro! Here is a preview to a future post and more on that later.

Two weekends ago we were able to make a very quick trip to VA for Kevin's sister Renee. She was inducted into her college's hall of fame for her career as a basketball player. We were able to fit in some wedding stuff, I met her awesome fiance, and it was a break with just one kid. I was so proud of her! She has accomplished so much, and humbly thanked God and family for all that she has been able to do.

Here's Daniel with some one on one time with the Gagnier's

In the mean time I have started to really plant the garden and we have been enjoying a lot of outdoor time, and just take it one fast day at a time. Here we are enjoying some time at the lake. Not quite the ocean, but there are some good beaches we will check out this summer.

Morgan, Morgan, here we go again, how does your garden grow?

We are going to do a garden, and I have started the seeds. It has been amazing to watch the process, that what you put into the ground, with water and sunlight, will grow. We have planned out where we are going to have the garden now, and have some trees coming. Nothing like jumping right in!

I also have to admit, I can't take any credit for most of the landscaping at the house. Here are some beautiful tulips in the side yard.
This is the side yard inside the fence. I have some before pictures to compare to, and it is amazing how the flowers are coming in. It has been a beautiful illustration of not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord. I didn't do anything to create such beauty around me, but God is showing me how to rest in it and enjoy.
I have been enjoying the birds to that stop by. I have a hard time catching some of the bigger ones on camera, but I have seen blue jays, blue birds, cardinals, red winged black birds, and a variety of others.
The cousins are enjoying my brother's tractor.
We have been enjoying the yard and for Mother's Day went to Salmon River Falls. Growing up here I had never been before, and it was a great morning with Kevin and the kids. I love family time, I think quality time is my love language, and I have been getting that on the weekends with everyone.


Next weekend is a quick weekend to VA to see my awesome sis in law get inducted into her college's hall of fame, and I am excited to meet her fiance. The time is going fast, their wedding is only a few months away.

Catching up, and Ketchup

The last few weeks have been pretty quiet, it has been the weekends that are full of activity. Two weekends ago was my grandmother's memorial service that went very well, except for the very rainy weather. It was a little harder than I thought it would be revisiting the cemetery less than a year after my mom's death, but I feel a fresh start now and ready to move forward. That includes enjoying the kids and our family, taking care of my health, continuing to look to God daily for strength!

Last weekend we spent Easter weekend with Kevin's brother in Delaware. It was great to have some one on one time with them, and I look forward to meeting our new niece in the next few months. Traveling with the kids was great for the most part, and we'll really be good to go in another year or so with Noah. We spent an afternoon at the Children's Museum in Wilmington, and the kids loved it.

Noah and Rachel are the same weight, which I can feel every time Noah asks to be picked up.

Daniel got a tent that all the kids enjoyed as a birthday present.
Here Daniel is playing at the water table at the children's museum...he spent most of the time there. I love seeing the concentration on his face.

Noah and Lila are only a month apart. They seemed to have fun with each other, but also knew how to get at each other.
Rachel loved their pets, especial their dog Zoi....maybe a dog will be in our future?
Kristin took some great Easter pictures with her camera, and here is on of the kids from our camera.

The weather is finally turning around. Since moving here we have experienced one of the worst winters, and rainiest Aprils on record. I have some plants started in the back room and am making plans for a garden and doing some more things on the house.

Also, this past Tuesday was the last of the Co-op that we were apart of for the last 8 weeks, and it was great! They have a showcase this Friday night that Daniel is going sing in chorus in, and we look forward to participating in the co-op in the fall. I also look forward to meeting and getting to know some other mom's in the area.

Oh, and Ketchup is one of our favorite condiments (as in the title).

Rope Swing

We have been enjoying the weekends with family BBQ's, planning gardens, seeing what is growing around us, and letterboxing. If you haven't heard of the last thing then you really should check out this website (www.letterboxing.org). These are boxes placed all over the world (literally) and there are hints and clues to find the location of these boxes. You have a name and a stamp, you stamp and leave a note on the notepad you find, and put their stamp on your notepad. Here are some pictures from our adventure near the lake.

This is at a beach at the lake...not quite the ocean, but there is sand and will be worth checking out when it is a little warmer.
We have a wonderful fenced in yard with the playset...but we also found a rope swing in one of the trees behind the fenced in area. It has been fun swinging on that too, and Daniel wants to get a tire swing, maybe down the road.

The April shower are bringing in the May flowers now, but on the sunny days we spend most of the time outside!

A Chimney Fire

Last night was a long night. I had gone to bed around 10, and a short time later someone was knocking on our window downstairs. We were both scrambling to get glasses/warm clothes on and a man and a young woman were there alerting us that there was fire coming out of our chimney. Kevin had put some product in the chimney to help keep it clear, but it caused more fire instead at this instance.

We thanked them, they left, and after putting out the fire in the cellar we called the fire department and my dad as the fire died down. I didn't see any other problems, but they told us to get the kids out because it looked like there was smoke coming from the attic. I took the kids up to my dad's house and when I came back there were a few fire trucks, a police car, and an ambulance. They were being cautious, but I stayed parked outside of the house and was in a slight daze with what could have happened. They found there was a crack a few rows from the top of the chimney that made it look like there was more of a problem than there was, but it was better to be safe than sorry, and we learned a lot about our home, how things work a little better out here. They gave us the ok and we went back in, but won't use the wood stove again until things get fixed.

It got me thinking what if we lost everything. What if this was one of those worst case scenarios. I am thankful someone was there to wake us up, the kids had a place to go, and the local authorities got there in a good amount of time. But it is a good reminder again how fragile things are, and it is by God's grace that we get through life. And we are also smarter because of it.

Daniel is 5!

Before I chat on how life changing it feels to have a five year old, I'll share a few different pictures from the last few weeks. Kevin's company had a party to celebrate being in Forbes top 100 list of companies to work for, I think they were like 78th in the country. They had a nice semi formal event and Smashmouth come and play, and we made a fun evening of it.

For the last few weeks we have been involved in the Homeschooling Co-op. Here we are in the van on the first day and the next picture is of Daniel's class. It has been very refreshing being in this group, it is a very involved organization, and there are tons of activities. This week I took the older ones to a nature center where we learned how to make maple syrup, through the LEAH (loving education at home), and it has helped me get focused at home. I also see a wide range of families at different spectrums on the homeschooling journey. It has been great.

As I type the kids are playing in the backyard. It is sooooo great to have a yard the kids enjoy playing in, and as the snow melts it is exciting to see what is growing out there! We have some strawberries in the yard, beautiful flowers coming up, and I am in the beginning stages of a garden. It has been a long time since I even attempted a garden, but I have a lot of experienced folks around to help along the way.
And yes...I have a five year old in the family now. It seem the hardest with Daniel in the sense I am the most sentimental about him. He has such an amazing view of the world, and his creativity is endless. He is the best older brother Rachel and Noah could have, and he is just really opening up, but can be so focused. He is into Transformers now, and I decorated a cake for him, it has been a few years since I had done that.
I was thinking about Matt 6:34 where it says do not worry about tomorrow, and just how to take it one day at a time. The time really goes quickly, and I am so thankful for the time we do have with family and friends, and who God has put into our lives!