Boy, it's been awhile since I've been on to read blogs, or blog myself. Time just got away from me. Plus I was frustrated by my slow dial-up connection. Well, we just converted to DSL and I'm hoping to spend a little more time here.

What have I been up to? Back in the end of April I started a part time job. My sister-in-law was the secretary at our church and she had to give up her job for health reasons. I had filled in for her each year while she took her vacation so they asked me to fill in for her while they found a replacement.  It was initially going to be a 3 to 6 month stint. However, they are still discussing how they want to fill the position, so I am still there.

I love the job. I almost wish I could keep it, but my house is falling apart, and it's hard to keep up with lessons even just being gone four hours a day. However, it looks like I will be there for a few more months and the extra money has been such a blessing. The kids are also loving the extra time they get to spend with Gramma, Grampa and Nana. They also have the choice of going to work with me if they want to and no one minds. It's really the perfect job.

Beyond that, it's been life as usual. A little bit of gardening, a few day trips with the family and running the kids around to various activities. More about that in another blog. For now I just wanted to get back into blogging, and catch you up on why I haven't been blogging. Hope to talk to you all again soon.

     "Our Creator has given us women a glorious station where we are to employ and invest the talents He has given us. When we recognize and fully embrace our calling, we are finally free to truly enjoy it; we're able to experience contentment in the uniqueness of our role and achieve overwhelming victory in our homes and lives!"

     "Using our gifts and talents to glorify God in our role as helpers to our husbands, all within the well-choreographed dance of home life, imparts a quiet lesson to a watching world and communicates true contentment in the loveliness of womanhood." (pg.35)

     "Jesus made himself of no reputation. He did not seek after degrees or recognition. He was content to stay in a tiny area and minister to a miniscule group of people whom the world viewed as insignificant. Kind of like a homemaker, under the authority of her loving husband, ministering to the children who need her." (pg. 40 - 41)

     His Bible is a testament to this fact. His Bible was full of bookmarks, 44 to be exact as well as many highlighted and underlined passages. He read the Bible. He studied the Bible. He had a passion for God’s word.

     Whenever he came to our house, he would always ask me what I thought about this or that. He was full of questions about the truths in God’s word. Sometimes I thought I knew the answers he was seeking and would share what I thought. Other times we would open the Bible and search for answers together. He was always seeking, always asking and today I am confident that he is directing all of his questions to Christ and finally being truly satisfied with the answers he is receiving. He is receiving the perfect answers from the mouth of his savior and not the flawed answers that our finite minds could offer.

     He was at peace with God and knew in his heart that when he died he would go to heaven. He wants that for all of us that are here today. He wants us all to turn to God in our grief and seek His comfort. I found a poem among his possessions that I want to share that I hope you’ll find as comforting as I do. The comfort is just in the knowledge that God is always there.

People will fail us, but God never does.

Hello God,

      Then, two days ago, our 11 year old son took the dog for a walk in the woods. He does this everyday.  There's a little brook out behind our house and he just loves to go and explore it. This time, as he was crossing it, he slipped and fell, landing with his left hand on another rock. He managed to get himself to the door and rang the doorbell than sat down at the picnic table. I could tell immediately that it was going to require an E.R. visit.

      I called DH who was out on a job just to let him know what was going on. Then I called my parents who live right next door to see if  DD8 and DS5 could come over while I took him to the hospital. When we got to the Emergency Room, we only had to wait about 5 minutes before they took him in to be seen. In that five minutes my wonderful husband showed up. He said he had a feeling that it was more than just a sprain and thought he should be there too.

      The x-ray confirmed that he had broken both wrist bones and they were at an angle so the doctor was going to have to set them before he could cast them. DS11 was so brave through the whole thing. The pain was very obvious in his features but not in his actions. He remained calm, though his body was shaking from the pain.

      The whole process of setting the bones only took about ten minutes. They gave him some anesthesia, sent us out of the room and called us back in within just a few minutes and already had the arm in a full arm cast. by Friday morning there was a lot of swelling so we had to go back to the doctors and have them split the cast up both sides to make more room.

      Other than that, the worst thing about the whole broken wrist is that he's had to quit soccer for the rest of the season. He is very disappointed about that. We did go to their game today and watch about half of it before he decided his arm was hurting too much and he wanted to go home. I think he was sad about not being able to play.

     In my mind this description should be what blogging on homeschoolblogger is all about; Uplifting and Encouraging one another to greatness in our homeschooling and family life. Therefore, everyone should qualify for the award. Thanks to those who read my blog. I pray that it will always reflect Christ's Glory and be an encouragement to you and that in some small way I can be a blessing to those who read on a regular basis or just stop by once on their way somewhere else.

       Inside the envelope was a beautiful white card with gold embossed lettering. On the front it says "You Are My Happiness". On the inside it says "In this world of responsibilities and realities, having you to dream with and play with, to laugh with and love with, makes everything more beautiful... (tearing up). Isn't he awesome! Then he wrote "You are the Best! My mate for life!! I must be the luckiest woman in the world.

     I was tagged this time by Christlike, and was asked to list eight random things about myself. Oh well...I'll try.

1.  I'm not overly adventurous, but I love spontanaity. I once planned a getaway weekend for my husband, well...the plan was we would just take off and let the weekend plan itself. I loved it, he hated it...He likes to have everything planned out to the letter, whereas I like to take life as it comes, it's more exciting that way.

2.  I really don't like pets. I enjoy animals at farms, in the wild, at the zoo and at other people's houses, but I don't like having to take care of them, clean up after them, etc. We do however have a dog, a cat, and two rabbits. We've also had chickens, pheasants, guinea pigs, ducks, and parakeets in the past.

3.  I've always wanted to learn Spanish and Sign Language. When I was in highschool, I tried for several years to get the administration to introduce Spanish as a foreign language course. They finally did, the last half of my senior year when it was too late to start it as a highschool course. However, now that my husband and two oldest sons have been to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip, I have new motivation for all of us to learn Spanish, as it is a possibility that they, and I even I may return there for another mission trip.

4.  As a teen I had a crush on the driver of a UPS truck that frequented our neighborhood. I used to order things from catalogs and choose UPS shipping just so he would deliver it to our house.

5.  I have second generation dreams. After I graduated from highschool I used to have dreams that I wasn't going to be able to graduate because I hadn't completed my courses. When my first son graduated homeschool, I began having dreams that he wasn't going to be able to graduate because I hadn't gotten all of his portfolio work turned in.

6.  I love the water. As a kid I used to take every opportunity to explore or just sit by the brook that ran nearby my home. Now, I still love to sit by the water, whether it be ocean, lake or stream they all provide me with  a sense of peace and tranquility.

7.  I'm afraid of thunder, even more than the lightening. There's just something about the loud crashing of the thunder that sends me undercover everytime. Last year we went camping, and a thunderstorm struck in the evening. I felt perfectly safe in our flimsy little tent, but it was at that time that my daughter decided she needed to use the outhouse. "You want me to walk you to the outhouse in this storm, no way!" I finally relented and we ran to and from the outhouse as quickly as possible.

8.  My greatest desire, is to simplify our lives, get rid of most of our possessions, pay off all of our debt and be free to serve God without the pull of materialism.

      There were many other testimonies, but the one that touched me the most was the testimony of my very own 16 year old son. In today's world where youth are taught to "look out for number one," etc. he is thinking about how he can serve others. He wrote out his testimony on Friday, but told me he didn't want me to read it until he shared it on Sunday night. I was a little skeptical but waited. Below is the testimony he wrote and it touched my heart and I hope it also touches yours...

 “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again-rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about any thing; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Jesus Christ. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your need from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Now glory be to God our Father forever and ever amen”-Philippians 4:4-8,13,19-20 NLT

             Hola! My name is Sheldon I’m really glad you all could come to night. I am part of an awesome mission team that just a few weeks ago got back from the Dominican Republic. So many things happened that was so amazing, pretty much mind blowing for me to have been down there. It had such an impact on me that I could talk for hours on end. But lucky for you Adam only gave me five minutes. Something that the trip has made me think about the most is what I want to do next summer, but a little bit more important is what my whole life?

      Some of you are probably aware that I wanted to be a professional chef. But I’m not sure any more. It’s a really good career and I’m already making some good money from it. One thing I’ve decided this summer is that I don’t want to have a job that’s just for the money. It just doesn’t make sense. I mean, life’s too short to just make money. I know we all need it, it’s how we live and eat. To be able to do anything,  always seems to cost money.  It never really satisfies though.

      Just like the food I cook. It seems like it satisfies you but when the next meal time comes around you’re still hungry. To tell you the truth, it’s almost the same with this trip. I’m still hungry for more, to do more, to help more. I guess the only real permanent satisfaction I will ever have is when I’m at those pearly gates and Jesus says, “well done good and faithful servant”. So for me doing something for money alone is a waste of time and energy. I’d rather work for minimum wage or nothing at all and help others and just feel good knowing that, “hey you know what? I did something and it pleased God,” which fills me with peace and joy every time I think about it.  

      The verse I read at the beginning, sums up every thing I just said. But just remember sometimes it’s the smaller things that people notice and remember the most! That is one of many things this trip made me realize.

      This song has been near and dear to my heart for a very long time, but especially so in the last two weeks. I got my family back and the first two days were spent catching up and listening to story after story of the trip. The energy and excitement in my husband was just amazing. He was so full of joy and excitement and the trip was everything I prayed it would be for him.

      Then, quite unexpectedly, I was caught off guard by the little green monster of envy. Why, Lord? What do I have to be jealous of. Please forgive me and help me to get through this. I was completely and totally consumed and couldn't figure out why. God answered my prayers about the trip and all the worries I had concerning it were completely answered.

      Nevertheless, the homecoming was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. My husband experienced great joy on his trip, something he has not truly experienced, but I've prayed for, for many long years. I haven't seen this joy in him since early in our marriage and his acceptance of Christ as Savior. It made me sad and jealous that I had not been on the trip to experience it with him and to see this joy first hand, and that someone else was there to share it with him. When he got home he was a little depressed because he missed the D.R. and the friends he'd made, and yet all I wanted from him was for him to be totally excited to be back home with us. It was very difficult for him too, because he struggled with the same thing, wanting to be home with his family, yet truly missing the team he worked with and the people he ministered among.

      I tried to keep my jealousy from him because I didn't want to take any joy about the trip away from him. I didn't want to get him down. Yet, that's exactly what I did.  He asked me a question one night, that I had to answer honestly and I know it hurt him and it began a long time of discussion and tears and pain for both of us. He began to feel guilty about going on the trip, even though I assured him he had done nothing wrong, and that Satan was just trying to use me to  ruin the trip for him and I was weak.

      Tears flowed everyday for the first week. We had some good discussions and in many ways have been brought even closer than we ever were before. We had one major disagreement, in which I truly made him angry, though I didn't mean to and I just about lost it. I went for a drive alone crying and screaming at God and telling Him I couldn't live this way anymore. When I didn't get the immediate answers I wanted I told God I hated him and didn't want Him in my life anymore.

      Not a very proud moment for me. I got home and went to bed. As soon as the kids were in bed, my husband pulled me close, apologized and held me while I cried and told him about my drive. I  begged God's forgiveness and my dear hubby assured me God had already forgiven me. What a truly awesome man he is. This was the beginning of some more very special time for us and growing closer to each other and closer to God.

      However, he is still in a place where he needs to find the joy back in the reality of our world, where work is tough, he comes home exhausted every night, and money is tight, just covering our bills with nothing extra to spare. I need to be more understanding, and less needy. I'm not usually a very needy person. I am usually the strong one. However, these past two weeks I have felt so needy and have not truly placed it in God's hands as I really need to do.

      This was a tough post to write because I had to make some confessions about the struggles I have been experiencing of late. However, I felt so alone during this time, like no one has ever felt this way before or could possibly understand. I believed that if I wrote this post honestly it may be a blessing to someone else out there who is feeling alone and desperate in their own struggles. God is listening. He feels every teardrop that you cry, and he wants to remind you that for those tears he died.

    Remember too: Tears are the materials from which God weaves the brightest rainbows.

     Yesterday morning while my daughter was out playing, our yellow lab kept barking and it was becoming increasingly annoying. I went out and asked her to let her out of her kennel to play while she was out there to watch her. She always barks at the kids when they are outside because she just wants to be out playing with them.

     DD8 did what I asked but the barking didn't stop as it usually does. Finally she came inside and said that Lilly, that's our dogs name, was just standing in back of her kennel barking like something was there. I followed her out to see what was going on.

    There in the yard was a huge snapping turtle. It must have crawled up from the little pond next door. My daughter quickly ran in to tell her three brothers about the turtle so that they could come out and see it. DS16 came out with a large metal curtain rod and a one gallon bucket. After watching the turtle for a little while he caught it and put it in the bucket. It was way too big for the bucket. It was about two feet long from the tip of its tail to it's head.

     We decided to put the turtle in the wheelbarrow and call my husband to see what we should do with it. He said to leave it and he would drive it down to the lake when he got home. The kids thougth we should put some water in the wheelbarrow so the turtle wouldn't get too dried out. DS11 went to get  a small bucket of water and DS16 proceeded to pour the water into the wheelbarrow. At one point he decided to pour a little onto the back of the turtle's shell. This didn't go over very well because the turtle very ferociously and at a great rate of speed snapped at him. Scared us all. It was a good lesson to the kids though to stay away from it. None of us realized they could move so fast and that their necks could stretch so far.

     We went back inside and eventually heard Lilly barking again. We went outside only to discover the turtle had climbed out of the wheelbarrow. DS16 was no longer home so it was up to me to catch the turtle and return it to the wheelbarrow. I wasn't looking forward to it because I did not want to make the turtle angry. However, it wasn't too difficult to get him back in the bucket and back into the wheelbarrow. Only a few minutes later, though, he had escaped again.

     This time I decided to put him in the bucket, carry him across the road and point him in the direction of the lake so he could find it himself. I didn't want to take the chance of him crossing the street himself and getting run over.

 Look at the size of those claws!

    Earlier today as I was cleaning up I picked up a pair of kids binoculars that my four year old got this weekend at a lawnsale. I decided to take them outside and try them out. Surprisingly, they are very good. While I was outside I heard baby birds chirping in the blue spruce next to our house. I knew there was a bluejay's nest there because I heard the birds earlier in the week.

      Prompted by my good friend Maggieraye about six months ago, I finally decided to redo my blog and add the rainbow colors that go along with my blog name, Rainbows from Heaven. Now I'd like to know what you think. Is it too bright? Can you read the font? Do you know of any great clip-art sites that I can use to change some of the pictures on my sidebar to go along with the theme? I'd love to hear what you think.

     On another note. I was over visiting Blogboy, and he posted about his two year blogging anniversary. So I decided to check to see when my anniversary was and I missed it. As of April 29th I have been blogging for one year. I began blogging because I love to write and needed an audience to share my writing with. It's not very often that I'm inspired to write something great, but it does happen once in awhile and I had no outlet, other than a notebook and pen that only I was reading.

     Now I get a few comments on what I write and can tell if it's worthwhile or if I'm wasting precious time that God has given me. I also like to journal for my kids. In the beginning I was keeping separate journals for each of my kids. However, with five kids, it became overwhelming to keep up with. Now I keep this journal for them and hope someday to print out the different posts and add them to a keepsake book for them.

     The third reason I blog is because I think some of what I write will be an encouragement to others and that has proven true. Thanks to those of you who have commented and let me know that something I wrote was a blessing to you. That's what makes blogging really worthwhile, being able to draw sisters in Christ into a deeper and more meaningful relationship with our Savior. However, I have received so much more blessing from the blogs I've read and it has helped me to re-evaluate my relationship with Christ and the areas in which I need to grow. So far I find myself falling far short.

     If you feel lead to tell me what you think of my new blog design and give me suggestions on how to make it better, I'd love to hear from you. Have a blessed day!

     Friday night DS16 was discouraged and ready to quit a job he just began on Wednesday. The reason being that his new boss told him he had to work all of Memorial Weekend ~ Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  He was upset because his Ultimate Frisbee Team placed in the states and are now eligible to go to the regional championships, to be held, he thought on Sunday, May 27th. He told his immediate supervisor about the problem and she said in no uncertain terms that if he told the boss he couldn't work that day he would probably be fired on the spot. Don't get me wrong, this seems to be the perfect job for him at this point in his life, as it will be experience that will prepare him for a career. I do not condone working on Sundays! However, I really believe God fashioned this job especially for him and will work out all the details.

     Anyway, we prayed, and he got pep talks from both his father and I and our ministers wife who is always a great encouragement to me and my kids. She loves them, and they love her a great deal. He decided he would need to call the team and tell them he couldn't attend with them.

     Sunday night, he went to the community frisbee game and some of his teammates were there. He actually found out that the championships aren't until June 3rd, and he shouldn't have to work that Sunday. For the most part his job requires him to be available Wednesday through Saturday, so, at this point Sundays aren't really an issue. Praise God, if his team does in fact get to go to championships, he should be able to go. However, he is finding out that some of his team has a band concert that day and may not be able to attend, which may keep the others from being able to go.

     Secondly, I went to church yesterday and the first person I saw was my ministers wife. She said she'd been thinking of me and praying for me. Knowing my oldest son, is on a European tour, she has been remembering me more often in her prayers. It's hard to have him away. I do have more peace about this trip, than I did about his last, but I still pray that God will place his angels between my son and any danger that may come his way. When I got home Sunday afternoon, there was a message on my answering machine from my son. He is in Athens, Greece, getting ready to go to an Island to take a break from his vacation. LOL! He was also going to go and "philosophize" where Socrates and Aristotle had. He said he's learning more history than we could have possibly covered in schooling. I missed his call, and I was extremely bummed that I couldn't talk to him personally, but God did again answer my prayers, and give me peace about his safety.

     Currently DS 19 is enjoying an all expense paid trip to Europe. He emailed me yesterday from the Cotswolds which is northeast of London. It all started a year ago January. He lost a job that he really liked due to after Christmas decline in business and the need to downsize. He was low man on the totem pole, so he was the one who had to leave. A man that he had met there offered him some work the first week, and by the second week he was employed as an apprentice to a sailmaker. Another job which he loved. He only lost about two days work ~ it was amazing at how quickly God blessed him with another job. However, he also blessed him with a friendship.

     In April of last year he decided he was ready to go to College. Talk about a flurry of activity, trying to get a school to accept him for the fall semester that late in the game was a challenge. He wrote letters to five different schools that he was interested in. Only one replied and told him to go ahead and send an application. Then we had the Financial Aid Forms, and last minute scholarship forms, etc. He did get accepted, the school gave him $17,500 in scholarships which is almost half of tuition. After reviewing his transcript, resume etc., they asked him to join the Wesson Honors program.

     Anyway, the hard part of getting accepted was over, and we now had to come up with funds. We came up with what we could, he got a good financial aid package, was allowed $4600 in student loans but still fell short of what was needed. The man who gave him work for that first week of his unemployment, took an interest in his education and paid the rest of his tuition for that year and has offered to help with tuition for as long as he stays in school. What a blessing.

     This same man, who happens to be a lawyer in town, loves to travel. Most of the time he travels alone. However, when he found out that one of my sons' passions was to see more of the world, he offered to take him on his next trip to Europe. That is where they are now, currently enjoying London, off to Greece tomorrow and them making their way back to France, Italy, Corsica, the Amalfi Coast and Switzerland.

     DS16 has always struggled with everything he's tried to do. He was 9 before he was reading well. He used to sit for hours at the table trying to complete just a few math problems. He hates to write. Coming up with the right program for him was impossible. I was at a loss as to how to help him feel successful at anything.

     A little over a year ago he started playing Ultimate Frisbee with a community group that met every Sunday evening. He loved it and began to get better and better at playing. When he heard that practice was starting up at the local high school, he started showing up to practice with the team. He was more faithful than most of the players and was accepted as part of the team. Saturday, the team came in second in the state championships for the second year in a row and will be going to regionals in the near future. This was the start of his successes.

     This year he expressed an interest in the Culinary program at Mid-Coast School of Technology. By the end of the first quarter his teacher called me to tell me what a pleasure he was to have in class and that he was at the top of the class for grades. She said he made it look so easy. Wow! He will be inducted into the National Technical Honor Society on Wednesday, and was voted student of the month for the whole school in April. What a joy to see him finding something he loves and does well, after all the years of struggle.

     Because of this same program, he met a man who happens to be a caterer. This man heard of a job opening up for the summer and recommended my son for it. After meeting with the employers, he got the job and starts Wednesday as headcook/manager of a small diner that a wealthy man opens on his personal property just for his staff. And his pay will be twice minimum wage. It is on a trial basis to start so I am praying that he is successful in this venture as well.

     The lesson in all of this is that there will be times of famine in your life when everything seems to be a struggle and nothing seems to be going right. Keep your eyes on Him who can do more than you could ever hope or imagine and he will guide you through and through obedience to Him the blessings will flow.

     I am very serious about my commitment to my primary church. The one in which I have been a member for 30 some years. However, I started taking my kids to the Awana program at this other church 11 years ago because our church did not have a program for them.  Eventually, because I couldn't just leave my babies in the hands of strangers and always stayed at the church during club time, I was asked to be a helper. I started out as a helper in the nursery. I watched the babies so their mothers could lead groups. Then I moved up to listening to them recite verses, to becoming Sparks helper, and finally to the primary Sparks teacher. I currently have 15 very active Sparks clubbers. I love being involved there. The other leaders are wonderful, Godly people who have a passion for children's ministry. I love working with them.

     Two years ago a new pastor was voted into this church. It was his belief that only church members should be primary leaders and teachers in the programs of the church. I understood and didn't try to fight it. However, many of my co-workers were upset and sent him several emails saying they needed me and would he please reconsider. Reconsider he did. He called me in for an interview and decided that I could continue working in their program with the understanding that if he could find someone else that was a member of the church to take the position I would still be welcome to help, but would not be teaching.  No problem.

    Well, two years later I am still there and our two churches are beginning to plan some events together. Recently, their was a Share Your Faith Workshop that both of our churches participated in. Some of the members from this other church also come to our church to participate in our annual "Walk Through Bethlehem" in which we give actual tours through the series of events that lead up to the birth of Christ. We also put on a re-enactment of the book "Between Heaven and Hell."

     Sunday night, the children's choir put on a concert and it was absolutely incredible. But even more incredible was the number of people who came up to me afterward and asked how I was doing and expressed that they had been praying for me through my recent hospital stay. I hadn't realized that I had the prayer chain of both churches praying for me to have a quick recovery, with no lasting or scary results to look forward to. What a blessing to be a part of two amazing church families.

     After talking to the receptionist for a few minutes, she put me through to the nurse. The nurse asked about my symptoms and I explained about my fatigue, shortness of breath, and a little bit of chest pressure. She said the office was closing for the day and recommended I go to the emergency room. I asked if I couldn't just make an appointment for later in the week, as I wasn't really feeling that bad. She said, I could, but that she was going to mark in my chart that I go to the emergency room that day.

     When my husband asked what she said, I told him and of course he was concerned. I also, began to feel a little afraid. The nurse said that heart disease in women can creep up on you and because the symptoms were vague she thought I should have a complete work-up.

     At the ER, I had blood tests, and a chest x-ray. They gave me a nitro patch, and made me chew some baby aspirin. Everything came back normal. Sigh of relief inserted here. However, the doctor came in to speak to me and said that he wanted to monitor me overnight, but that they had no beds with monitors and he wanted to transfer me to another local hospital. He checked with the two closest hospitals and they too said they had no room. He wanted me go to EMMC, one of the two best hospitals in the state when it comes to heart disease. They said they didn't have a room, but would have. (Yeah right!)

     I asked if all this was really necessary. He said that just because I hadn't had a heart attack, didn't mean I wasn't fixin' to and he just wanted to have my enzyme levels checked at regular intervals for the next 12 - 18 hours. Next day was my daughter's 8th birthday and the last thing I wanted to do was spend it in the hopsital.

     My husband came to check on me, just as they were getting me ready for transport. He asked if there was anything he should bring up to me. I told him that I was fine and not to bother coming to the hospital that night because there really wasn't anything he could do. Then I broke down and cried and told him just to make sure that our daughter had a good birthday.

     I got to ride in the back of an ambulance for an hour and a half, then spend the next 24 hours in the ER at EMMC. They didn't have any room either and they had 7 patients in ER waiting for a room. They did a complete work-up with echo cardiograms, x-rays, a stress test and blood work and everything came back normal, Praise God! I was able to leave the hospital a little after noon and spend the rest of the day with my daughter. 

     Tomorrow I have a follow-up with my primary care physician.  While I don't knowfor sure  the cause of my symptoms, or the reason God had for having me spend the night in ER, I do know that he answered one of my concerns. The previous week I was having thoughts about death and what would happen to my children if anything happened to me. I know they would be well taken care of, but I also know the struggle and pain and difficulty they would have to face and I want to protect them from that pain. This visit assured me I was in no immediate danger of leaving them, but also that He is in control and I just need to trust Him with life and death. I am trying, but it's still a struggle.

snowdrops

     Nestled safely beneath the branches of our long ago forsaken Christmas tree, I found these little beauties yesterday. The refuge they found in this tree protected them from the tumultuous winds and torrential rains of the storm we had here on Monday and Tuesday.

     It reminds me of our refuge in Christ, who holds us in his hand, when the storms rage all around us. He is my protector, my refuge, my strength, my hightower. In Him will I rest. I will snuggle down in the protection of His salvation and "I will lie down in peace and sleep for my mind is stayed on thee."

     Over 80 kids and 20 adults got together on April 16^th   to discover who did it? What they did? and Why they did it.?  They looked for clues and gathered evidence as they made their way from house to house and interrogated Rahab, Achan, Jairus’ daughter, and an eyewitness to the feeding of the 5000.

     They also participated in games like footprint follow, jump and crawl, tent search, finger print match, cliff edge, sand pit search, skip, duck and roll, and reach for it. At the tent search game they were instructed to run to the tent, take a look inside and come back for one of their team members. That team member then stayed in the tent while the second member went back for someone else. This continued until all teammates were in the tent. They were then told to find the envelope with their team number on it and return to the starting line. Here they proceeded to match the missionaries with the country in which they serve. At other games the kids collected puzzle pieces that they had to put together. The puzzles were of different parts of the world with all countries named but one. They had to guess the name of the missing country and attribute it to one of the Good News Club missionaries.

     A special visit was made by Peter, one of Jesus disciples who portrayed through drama what happened the night of the Passover meal. He told the whole ugly story of his denial of Jesus, and how he swore that though all the rest fall away, he would not. He told of how Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried and that He rose again and now lives in Heaven with Father God, preparing a place for those who choose to follow Him.

    In the end they discovered the “who” of who did it was Jesus and that he died on the cross for each and everyone of them because He loves them.

     It started last Tuesday morning when ds4 came in to my bedroom and said "Happy Birthday Hatchling."

     If anything can make you feel younger, instead of older that can. It was so precious. Following that, dh made me a fabulous fruit salad. Something I recently discovered to be my new favorite breakfast item, sometimes accompanied by an egg and a slice of toast. But this morning, the fruit salad was enough. He also made chocolate chip pancakes for all the others, one of their favorite birthday treats.

     Then the calls began to come in. My mom asked what we were doing to celebrate and I told her nothing special because ds19 was coming home over the weekend and we wanted to celebrate with him. To this came an offer to watch my kiddos so that my hubby could at least take me out to lunch. It was unthinkable to her that we would not do something to celebrate on my birthday.

     As the week went on, as is the custom at our house, the celebrating also went on. Friday evening ds16 brought home dinner that he had planned, purchased and  then prepared at my mother-in-laws house so that he could surprise me. I was only told that dh was bringing something home for dinner so don"t cook anything. The dinner consisted of bacon wrapped filet mignon, stuffed mushrooms, devilled eggs, garlic mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, topped off with my all time favorite chocolate peanut butter pie. Yum!!! I am so glad he's taking the hospitality class this year. It has really paid off. It was all fabulous.

      Saturday, ds19 came home and prepared a homemade pizza at my mother-in-laws to accompany a spaghetti pie, that she had made for dinner. Two sons that can cook and counting. I couldn't be happier and their wives will be thrilled as well. My mother, father, brother, mother-in-law, brother and sister-in-law were also invited for dinner. It was a great time of visiting. Following dinner this night, ds19 told me he was taking me to a  concert. He had already arranged with his dad to watch the others so we could have this time together. He took me to a classical concert by world renowned musicians Jim Kennedy playing the violoncello, and Chiharu Naruse playing the piano. It was amazing.

     I have a wonderful family. I am so blessed and honored that they would spend these surprises on me. God is good.

This is what we woke up to this fine spring day on the coast of Maine.

     For the second time in four weeks ds4 has been ill with some sort of stomach bug. That coupled with the inability to access my blog for, unknown reasons, has kept me from posting.

     Welcome to the party. Come on in. Just kick the shoes and coats out of the way and make yourself at home. I've put out my best paper plates for you and dusted off the mugs. So pour yourself a cup of tea, or cocoa and come and chat awhile. The food is ready and if you don't see what you like, you can probably find a few left overs under the table.

     Welcome to our world. A world of wonder and color as we examine this beautiful and miraculous world that God  has created. A world of laughter and fun as we play games, and lovingly pick on each other. A world of trial and triumph as we learn to trust God in the midst of difficult times and praise and thank Him when the victory comes.

     I'm Connie and this is my husband Patrick. Patrick works real hard each and every day so that I can stay home and train our children in Godliness. He works at landscaping, snow removal, painting, custodial cleaning and repair, caretaking and various other strenuous jobs. He is suffering from arthritis, degenerative bone disease in his back and yet he still goes, working, struggling for the love of his family and because he knows that this is what's best for our kiddos.

     You're fortunate, my son Scott came home from College just for the party. He's leaving Saturday for a trip to the Caribbean so you better catch him while you can. He completed his first semester in the Honors program with a 3.74 grade point average. He's now decided that this particular school is not challenging him enough so he's decided to apply to Cornell University with the possibility of majoring in Environmental Engineering. I'm excited to see where God may be leading him.

     DS16 is also here, though he's about to leave for his hospitality class. They've opened a cafe and have started serving breakfast and lunch. So if you're hungry, he's the one to ask to make it for you. He makes fabulous bacon stuffed mushrooms, marinated steak, and my personal favorite peanut butter pie. He loves to cook and is hoping to get a job in that area this summer. He's already had a couple of possible offers.

     DS11 is busy at his art class right now, but will be returning soon. This is his second year and he's been painting up a storm. You can see his two ofhis pictures just a few posts down. He's also started his very own blog here at homeschoolblogger, Mainekid1, so why not pop over and introduce yourself. He loves hiking, fishing, camping, anything to do with outdoors as do his two older brothers. You can often find him wandering in the woods with his dog, Lilly.

     DD7 is trying hard to grow up and keep up with her brothers. Though I keep telling her to slow down and enjoy the age she's at. She's still learning to read but getting better everyday. She loves her Awana program and is excellent at memorizing the verses. She knows the books of the Bible almost better than the rest of us, and certainly better than most of the adults at Awanas. She loves to draw and is especially enjoying the Draw Write Now program that she started this week.

     DS4 is my baby and I always tell him that even when he's fifty he'll still be my baby. He is a dinosaur expert. Want to know anything about dinosaurs, ask him, he'll tell you. We've been reading about them since he was two. He's even been known to sit through those boring documentaries. He has, finally started letting me read other books to him, as long as we include one about dinosaurs as well. Right now he's discovered the books by Stephen Cosgrove. These are some of my favorites and we'll read one or two of those at night.

     Well, that's us and I'm so glad you stopped by the party. I hope you'll come back often and stay longer. So long for now.