STILL HERE!

On October 15th, Jim and I were married 15 years!!

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post! There's nothing out of the ordinary going on, I've just been lazy about blogging! What's going to make it tough for me now is: MY CAMERA IS BROKEN! I haven't been able to take a picture for almost 2 weeks! At first the error message was "focus error". Then it changed to "card error". It's not reading my card. The drop (I dropped it) caused the card to not stay down into the slot as far as it needs to. Then today I figured out that I could use a folded-up piece of paper and wedge it between the card and the flap/door. It worked! I even took a few pictures of the boys outside! Then as I was taking pictures, it got blurry. Now "focus error" comes up. I can't use the camera! It's strange how the focus was fine a couple of minutes before! VERY Frustrating!

Even though the date at the top of this post says something different, today is October 31st. We do not participate in the tradition of celebrating Halloween. The Lord convicted me of that long before we had children. We are to be "set apart" from the world and not participate in the things that would offend God. If we don't feel "in the wilderness" (out there) much of the time, then I wonder if we truly are "set apart". If we're comfortable being part "of the world", then maybe a re-examination of the heart is necessary. As far as Halloween goes--is dressing up offensive to God? No, I don't think so. But why is Halloween the only time we or our kids can do that? Why not be different and have a costume/birthday party? Or a dress up party in the middle of the winter when we all have cabin fever?!! I've also heard the argument, "we have to be a 'light' on Halloween. How is participating by giving out candy or trick or treating being a "light"? I'd much rather be a "light" by gently telling someone that we don't celebrate it and explaining why we don't IF they ask! I have to leave that up to God. I know that some people don't want to offend family and friends by not being a part of things. It's just easier to go along with things and "not make any waves". Let me tell you, when Nathan was little, he told a grandparent that he knew Santa Claus wasn't real. He was almost 3. That person was so upset. Jim and I listened to a 1/2 hour of angry words over it. We had to endure that. We lived through it, and eventually that person accepted it. That doesn't mean that family or friends LIKE it, but they have to agree to disagree at some point. We don't compromise on these issues. We don't rub it in their faces either! It's been hard over the years because the boys have shared with other kids about Santa Claus and that has caused some friction (even though we've told them not to). I am finding that it's more difficult to talk with Christians about these issues. Listen, the enemy is hard at work here! He loves it when we make excuses for the things we do!

Having said all that... I have posted a bunch of pictures in random order, so I'll note what each picture is as I go along!

Owen with the remote control of his new dragon fly (that the boys convinced him to get with his birthday money!)

The dragon fly flying

Owen writes all the time! This is so cute! (Of course, someone told him how to write this)

Autumn in our little part of the world--on the way to church!

Fishing at the Harrises in early October

If there's a tree to be climbed, Jared's there! (at the Harrises)

Owen with Mr. Harris! He told me later that he didn't really like it; it was too scary! Nathan and Jared rode with the girls, but I forgot to take pictures!

Our friends Lori-Ann and Graeme were passing through town. So they called us, and we met for lunch. They live in Maine. We had lunch with our boys. Jim happened to get out of work early.

I'm having fun taking pictures of food we make!! This is Apple Crisp (w/ an oatmeal topping)

The boys sang with their cousin, Rebecca, and 2 other girls WITH the adult choir for special music, kicking off Mission's Week at our church.

Jared's long-time dream--to carry a flag during the opening ceremonies of Mission's Week! Nathan carried a flag too, but the pictures are so blurry! Didn't plan that well...

A few weeks ago, Nathan and Jared started Christian Service Brigade at our church. They're loving it!

Until next time (hopefully, not long from now!)...

blessings, joie

Goings On

Late last week, I caught a 9" trout. We went fishing Sunday, and Jim caught 2 crayfish (crawdads) I can't believe that they look exactly like a lobster only little! The ones we got were about 3" and 4". We kept them for a couple of days in a bucket. Nothing exciting happened! We fished again today, and things were really slow. Owen caught one small trout and Jared caught a crayfish. Actually Jim and Jared didn't exactly "catch" them, THEY caught on to the worm and just held on tight! The creek is so low. We watched Owen's fish hiding under a rock for a while. His tail was sticking out about 2". It was like a little kid hiding with just his head under a blanket! He would turn around and snatch the worm (but not the hook). He did that a couple times, all the while we watched him! Finally he grabbed onto the hook. It's weird for me. I'm used to fishing in the St. Lawrence River (as a kid) and not being able to see anything in the water and being surprised when we caught a fish.

9" trout that I caught

Last week, Jim drove through town. He's done it a few times in the past, but it's been quite a while. Of course, he called me a few minutes before he was coming into town. It's always a thrill to see him!

Jim coming down the hill into town

THIS is a bummer! On Friday our trampoline broke! The boys had just gotten on it the day before for the first time since May! They were out alone for a while, and I decided to go out and sit on the back porch. A minute later, they called to me and said they needed help (not in an urgent tone). I couldn't figure out what the problem was at first. All three boys were in the part that collapsed. It turns out that a screw (actually there were 2 others around the trampoline) had come out on one part of the U-leg. The other half of the U-leg has a nut and bolt and is attached to the upper enclosure. And this happens when they jump on it?!!!! I'm angry, disturbed, sad, and furious about this! I have to call or email the company to see what they have to say. It's $350 thrown away!!

Here's Owen with his new friend Crystal! She helped out in his VBS class. This picture was taken during VBS week.

Please add yourself as a follower of my blog! Then I can send you an email each time I update it! I also love to read comments that you leave! It inspires and motivates me! (I need that!)

Until next time...

blessings, joie

LIFE IN MY HOUSE

Nathan's been makng some yummy things lately! Here are our favorite chocolate chip cookies! They're thick and chewy! Usually, I prefer chocolate chip cookie dough over the cookies, but these were the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted!! {Nathan will be the first to tell you that I'm his toughest critic-seriously. If I think that something doesn't taste good, I'll tell him. How can he improve on something if he doesn't know the truth about it! Afterall, I'm his teacher!} Then you see Herb Wine Chicken (a dump chicken recipe). With dump chicken, you just whisk up a few ingredients in a bowl, place chicken {we use 8-10 bone-in thighs} in a zip lock freezer bag, pour whisked ingredients over the bagged chicken and freeze! When you're ready to use, thaw for a day or two in refrigerator, DUMP into a baking dish--we use a 9 x 13 large glass Pyrex baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for about an hour. Your baking time will change, of course, with boneless chicken. If you have a larger baking dish and want to use 12+ pcs. of chicken, the liquid ingredients should be plenty!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Herb Wine Chicken

We're back to homeschooling--starting out slow. I'm working into our social studies subject of New York State History. I'm still collecting books from the library. (yes, I know I should've already done that. Sometimes I have to wait for books, if they're not in the libary that we regularly go to) I think I have enough to started. I'm looking forward to some field trips. I'm considering the Iroquois museum and Fort Ticonderoga. I welcome any suggestions!!

Below are some photos of how we've used these inexpensive bookcases from Big Lots! I just bought another one yesterday to keep my books close by me. I sit at the desk a lot, and I like to have things at my fingertips: Teacher guides for correcting work and tests, unit study guides, devotionals, homeschool books, library books about homeschooling, etc. All of our library books have been in a basket in the livingroom, and I was never reading the books that I took out for myself! Now, I have them right next to me, so I'll remember that they're here!

I'm looking for function--we're a homeschool family, so matching, beautiful [expensive] furniture isn't a priority. This is our former dining room. We gave it up YEARS ago for a homeschool room. We bought a "school table" for Nathan and Jared when they were K and pre-school age. It ALWAYS had stuff on it, and they hated to clean it! So they gave up the school room, so they didn't have to clean it! It's since been a playroom and now the office. It also houses my scrapbook supplies and work area. (the playroom is where the office used to be). It's important for us that the computer and desk are in the main area of the house. That puts me and/or Jim in the center of daily life. And when Nathan and Jared are on the computer, they're right where I can see them. And where my scrapbook area is, I can look up and a tiny bit to the left and I can see what's on the computer screen.

My new bookcase!

desk with bookcases used for hutch

scrapbook area with book cases used as hutch

My 5 yo cutie after a cider donut

Owen playing on swingset

Please add yourself as a follower of my blog! Then I can send you an email each time I update it! I also love to read comments that you leave! It inspires and motivates me! (I need that!)

Until next time...

blessings, joie

BOY, OH BOY, OH BOY!

Today Stacy, Roger, Christopher, and Peter came to visit us. The weather wasn't nice, so we had 6 boys in my small house!!! The weather has been picture perfect...until today! They did fine though. They played and watched Veggie Tales. The boys really enjoyed the visit; and Stacy and I had some nice Mommy-fellowship time, talking about homeschooling and BOYS!!

Peter (just about 2 yo)

Roger (4 3/4 yo)

Christopher (3 3/4 yo)

Peter--all worn out!

Please add yourself as a follower of my blog! Then I can send you an email each time I update it! I also love to read comments that you leave! It inspires and motivates me!

Until next time...

blessings, joie

FISHING SOME MORE!

Lately, we've been a fishing family! Now that we've discovered that we can fish in the creek behind our house, we've fished 4 times in the last week and a half! The quest has been for Nathan to catch his first fish! So today, he finally did! Yesterday we fished, and fished, and fished, and got at least 100 bites/tugs, but we caught nothing! Smart fish! Nathan got his fish today.

Owen got a little bored, so he moved a few rocks and found worms. We all got so excited that he was finding FREE worms! (they do cost money in the store!) He found one after another. I think he got 10! We used a couple right away, so the picture you see below doesn't have all that he caught.




Owen fishing yesterday

Nathan's first fish, today!

WORM HUNTERS!

Ewww!
That night crawler is a little creepy! I wonder how long he is when he's stretched out!




We're gearing up to start our school year on Monday. Tomorrow I have a friend coming over with her 3 boys (4 and under!) to visit AND to learn about how we've homeschooled over the years. I have lots of resources, so it'll be cool to share ideas with her! Every child learns differently, so these are just ideas for her to work with.

Soon Nathan is going to learn how to bow hunt from an avid, experienced bow hunter (the husband of a woman I know from church--Nathan's first VBS teacher). John's excited, Nathan's excited, and I'm excited about it! Plus it's also great how they live only a few miles from us!

Car's in the shop, so we're homebound this week.

I found a storage cabinet at a local warehouse store that will work great for the extra storage I need for kitchen stuff. Problem is, I can't pick it up with the Escort. So I have to depend on Jim to do that. And he doesn't have time at all. He worked a lot of hours last week, working 6 days.

Please add yourself as a follower of my blog! Then I can send you an email each time I update it! I also love to read comments that you leave! It inspires and motivates me!

Until next time...

blessings, joie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OWEN!

Monday, September 7, was Owen's 5th birthday. We started celebrating on Sunday, because Jim had to work on Monday. After fishing in the creek, and only Jared catching one fish, we had grilled burgers for dinner. Afterward, we did cupcakes and presents. He was pretty happy, as you can tell by the expression.

Then on Monday, Meema & Peepa came to visit. They had lunch with us and left in the late afternoon. For Owen's birthday dinner, we had homemade pizza, made mostly by Nathan.

Enjoy the photos!

Please add yourself as a follower of my blog! Then I can send you an email each time I update it! I also love to read comments that you leave! It inspires and motivates me!

Until next time...

blessings, joie

PRAYER REQUEST & FISHING!

Prayer request for Jim: He deals with migraines regularly, as some of you know. Because he ends up taking his meds so much, it has caused a skin reaction (this happened on a smaller scale years ago) -- all over his body. Last week he went to the dr. and got meds for helping to stop the migraines, so he wouldn't need to take his pain meds, and the rash would go away. He took the new medicine Friday night before bed. At 3am he woke up with tightness in him chest and had that and some soreness in his chest throughout Saturday. He contacted the dr. and told him to stop it immediately. It was very disturbing and unnerving for Jim. Of course, he didn't plan on taking it again. By Sunday morning, the tightness was gone. Now we're back to square one. Thank you, in advance, for lifting Jim up in prayer.

Sunday, we decided to go fishing--in a spot that was recommended to us. No luck. A couple of bites, but nobody caught anything. The next day, we still had worms, so the boys begged to go fishing in our own creek. Now mind you, we've lived here for 14 years and we've never gone fishing in our creek! I couldn't legally fish--no license, but I helped Owen, who caught 3+ fish!! They were little trout, as you can see below. I say 3+ because the third fish caught, I had JUST put the line in the water for him, and I could feel a tug before I even had a chance to hand him the pole!! He caught a fourth one after that. Jared caught one, and Nathan... nothin'. I've got the fishing bug. I've wanted to fish for a while, but the few times that Jim has taken N & J, they haven't caught anything. Jim bought his license last Sunday--for 30 days; fishing licenses expire Sept. 30. I hate to waste the money for that short a time, so I plan to get mine Oct. 1st. This way, I'll have it for a full year! (of course it's going up $10!--the state needs money, so fees for EVERYTHING imaginable are going up!) After Owen caught the first fish, I struggled a little getting the hook out of his mouth. I haven't done it in YEARS and years! I was explaining to Nathan & Jared that sometimes they swallow the hook ,and you end up killing them to get your line back. This was not the case, of course. The next thing I knew I looked up to see tears rolling down Owen's cheeks! He was crying because he thought the fish was going to die! Of course, a little while before, he was hoping to catch one so we could eat it that night!

Enjoy our pictures!

Owen's last fish, I think

Nathan & Jared untangling someone's line!




my serious one--he loved wading in the creek!

my little guy with his little fish--okay, so it's probably BIG to him!

Owen, fishin'

don't remember when he changed to pants... or did he change to shorts and I just have things out of order?? Whatever!

Jared's catch--these trout were so little!

These guys were cute!

My guys--just fishing. Once Owen and I found a spot that worked, of course, N & J wanted to fish there too! The 4 of us sat next to each other in a space of 5 ft. with 3 lines in the water!

Please add yourself as a follower of my blog! Then I can send you an email each time I update it! I also love to read comments that you leave! It inspires and motivates me!

Until next time...

blessings, joie