Pinsen5 on Xanga

Weblog

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

The world is our classroom.

A buttefly landed right on Lydia's hand! It couldn't fly anymore. She cared for it for a few days and then it wa able to fly high up in the sky! Thanks Astaire for the fieldtrip to Cox Aroboretum's butterfly house as we knew what to feed our little "patient."
October means Soccer! This was Todd and Lydia's first year on the full size field. Todd's skill and co-ordination was right on. Lydia's speed and agression was impressive... put them together and ......

Ryan was one of the coaches again this year. He does a great job. Ronald can hardly wait until it will be his turn. One of the games he ran out to dad and the ref had to stop play while I ran out to retrieve him!

Poppy was the loyal fan for Todd and Lydia .. and the jungle gym for Lisa and Ron! Ron is off having his snack in this picture :)

October is a great month for fieldtrips! Our favorite annual trip is to Windmill Farms in Centerville. We call it the "pumpkin farm" and this year was super special beacuse Ryan was with us! Ronald got to see and hear his "cock a doos," Lisa got to drag poppy to all the play areas (thanks Gordon!), we enjoyed visiting with church friends, and we all loved the best hay ride ever!

Another awesome fieldtrip was our family going for a fall hike at John Bryant State Park. We explored a dry inlet and found an awesome sink hole with a small recess cave! A great spot for our picnic lunch!

There were several logs across the trails. So, we reviewed over, under, and around!

A trip to John Bryant is not complete without stopping at Young's Dairy Farm! We all enjoyed our ice cream: strawberry, pumpkin, cookies and cream, peach, banana, and cinnamon (tasted like snickerdoodles!)

I will close with a few pictures from our more typical school days! Todd and Lydia are working hard, Lisa is learning her alphabet, and Ronald is doing awesome with carpet time! Not all days go smoothly and every day has it's challenges, but we really love being able to home school our covenant blessings. Praise God for the freedom and opportunity we have to live our beliefs!

Sunday, 20 September 2009

Northeast Adventures!

The first two weeks of September we spent traveling :) We camped in PA for 3 nights, stayed at an Outdoor World cabin in Moody Beach, ME for 5 nights, next visited friends in MA and CT, and then for the grand finale.... onto Clifton, NJ for Ray and Sue's Wedding and our last visit to my childhood home! We were blessed with good health and great weather. We really had a wonderful time.. esp. after I was able to adjust my expectations that this "vacation" was not to be restful; but rather a taking of my work with me to enjoy new sights and experience the joy of being with friends and family. Our calling as parents doesn't get easier because our location changes! So we worked and played and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation.... from the beaches of Maine to the smiles on our own children's faces to the giggles of a new bride filled with joy. We would like to share a few of our pictures below. Thanks to those who prayed for us along the way!!!
Our campsite in PA; Grandma Linda and Grandpa Roy come for the day; We all loved the water park- here Lydia is on the slide!

On our way to Maine, we stopped for a quick dinner at Rye Beach, NH. The beach was covered in totally smooth rocks. We all enjoyed it, but the boys especially. Todd wanted to fill bags with the rocks to bring home and Ronald kept picking up rocks and throwing them into the water. Such a nice first exposure to the Northeast's Atlantic Coast.

In Maine we had a small trailer type cabin and enjoyed several of the beaches. Ron loved to chase the birds which he called, "Cock a dos." Todd and Lydia made sand forts and tried to "defend" them as the tide waters came in. We also ate fresh lobster, visited Portland Head Light, and explored tidal pools.

Our last day in Maine we did an awesome "hike" called the Marginal Way taking us from Perkins Cove to Ogunquit Beach. The path provided a nice walk with the stroller while the older kids loved climbing the rocks and exploring the little coves.

In MA we visited Minute Men National Park between Lexington and Concord. We saw a film ellaborating on the history of the start of the Revolutionary War. Here the kids are in front of a 1700s tavern. Next we went to Glocester to visit Lorraine's friends from college, Jessica and Gerry and their 5 great little boys! Our children played so well with them and we wish we could have stayed longer. We were blessed and encouraged to talk with them as they prepare to go to Coasta Rica as missionaries.

Then on Thursday we drove south and stopped to visit Dave and Laura and their daughter Shari. They were on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ while I was in college. They were so helpful in encouraging me as a young believer and I am forever grateful to them for their faith and example of how a Godly family lives. Their daughter, Shari did such a great job at playing with our children that we actually we able to talk and visit for over 2 hours!

Now in NJ: Friday night we helped out with Ray and Sue's Rehearsal Dinner. Lydia gave them a sweet gift which included plastic teeth. Remember last Christmas when Lydia was missing her two front teeth? Well they got her fake teeth as a joke and she took this opportunity to get them back :) We also celebrated Sue's sister's, Loretta's, and my dad's birthdays!

Saturday was Ray and Sue's Wedding!!!! It was such a happy time and a fun party. The kids were so cute and had a great time. Ron was a little fussy during the ceremony, but then he danced it up with the rest of them during the reception. Here are some fun shots of the celebration! Welcome to the family, Sue!!!!!

"Puppy and Paci" and ready for a good night's sleep!

Friday, 24 July 2009

July Flew By!

With these summer weeks passing quickly by, we must be sure to enjoy our covenant blessings. We have worked hard and now it is time to play hard! Here some quick peaks at our July:

Mammoth Cave, KY trip. Mom and Gordon did the Historic tour with Todd, Lydia and Lorraine. Then the next day, Uncle Ben and Ryan took to the underground for the Wild Cave Tour! 6 hours of spelunking- they returned a little sore, a lot dirty and with big smiles :)

Enjoying the rest of the Vilkas' summer visit. We all enjoy them being here and were sad to see them have to go. All the kids adore their little cousins; and Lisa and Jenna were especially sweet together!

Last week to traveled to Illinois. We stopped at Miller Park Zoo and had a great time- above Ron and Lisa check out the giant cockroach and then we heard the roar of a real tiger just several feet away!

Then onto Rock Island, IL to visit with Ryan's best man and friend from college, Glen. We enjoyed being with his family and visiting the John Deere show room.

Lastly, our next stop was suppose to be tent camping.. but the rain and forecast for thunderstorms drove us home instead. We were all a little disappointed.... but then we spied a Chuck E Cheese somewhere in Indiana and stopped for some spontaneous laughter! Whack that mole Ronald! So, we are back home with smiles and thanksgiving for safety, friends, and family!

Wednesday, 17 June 2009

Man in Yellow

Yesterday Ronald had surgery at Children's Medical Center to drain the fluid from his ears and put in ventalation tubes. He did very well! The Dr. said there was thick fluid behind both ear drums and he should instantly hear better now that the fluid is gone. We are hopeful that he will sleep better at night and have clearer speech as well! Thank you for all the prayers on his behalf. The Lord was faithful to direct Ryan and I and provide for our little man.

His recovery was very quick and the very next day he was ready for outerspace!!!

Friday, 29 May 2009

3 Bears and a New Transmission!

What do 3 black bears and a new transmission have in common? They were both unexpected parts of our vacation! Overall our family had a wonderful time on vacation. First we were in a chalet outside of Great Smoky Mtn National Park, TN. Then we went to North Carolina and stayed in a rustic cabin at Forest Lake with some dear friends. I will run you through the hightlights:
Here is our chalet. It was awesome and we loved it! The view of Mt. Le Conte was great. The 3 older kids had a loft and we all enjoyed the hot tub!

On the first day Ryan noticed our van's transmission was not working properly. Then as we ascended the mountain, it would not go beyond first gear! The next day we took the van to a transmission shop... and long story but we ended upneeding a new transmission, a rental van, and having to get a hotel to extend our stay while they finished working on our van! God was so good to give us timely blessings such as our one week old cell phone, and the grace to trust in Him. We realized that this vacation would be joyful if we choose to make it that way and it would be awful if we let the circumstances dictate our feelings. Enough about the tansmission... here are some joyful memories in the Smokies:
Eating lunch in a hallowed out log on the Trillum Gap Trail.

Walking behind Grotto Falls.

A little time out of the backpack on a footbridge on the Met Calf Bottoms trail.

My favorite waterfall: The Falls at Tremont. Here we were walking on the rocks and Lydia fell in the water. No harm, except the water was really cold. So, to help her warm up, Lydia and I switched shirts! Her shirt was really tight on me, so glad it was a just us on the trail back!

Yummy ice cream!

The 3 Bears! It was 8:15pm and we were at our chalet and had just put the kids to bed. Ryan went out to the rental car to check something and came back in saying, "Bears by the garbage!" "You get the kids and I will get the camera!." We all watched from the safety of the loft balcony while 3 black bears (2 large ones) finished rummaging through our trash. They lifted the can right from the bear cage! Then they walked passed us down the road. It was great! It was also getting dark, so we couldn't get good pictures. With digital brightening, this is the best picture.

The second half of our trip was at Forest Lake, Thousand Trails in NC. This part was more relaxing as we stayed on the campground most of the time. It was also special as we were with good friends of ours. We played lots of games and had a great time. Lisa's favorite was the canoe, Lydia the pool and Todd playing with Benjamin!

Yeah for Chee-po-pos! Praise God for special time with our covenant blessings!!!