Busy Summer

Lately I haven't come close to completing a post (shame on me!) with everything going on.  Lots of our friends are returning to public and private school next Monday, so we needed to squeeze one last trip to see friends.  We needed to hug them and visit and let the kids play.

While we were at our friends' house, my youngest was riding his bike carrying his "Rip Stick" to the skate park to ride it.  When he tried to ride his bike with Rip Stick in hand, through the portal/gate/doorway, his foot hit the pole and some sort of wire went through the top of his foot.  We quickly got him cleaned & bandaged up and headed home.  We didn't go to a local hospital because none of the ones in the area knew his shot history and my husband was not comfortable taking him anywhere else other than our family Dr.  I forgot when his last tetanus shot was and I knew our Dr's office would know, so it's all fine and well.

We called Friday morning, got him in early, tetanus shot administered, x-rays taken, cheeseburger ordered and antibiotics taken.  We were home by about 12:30PM.  Everything was taken care of, he needed to keep it up and iced off-and-on throughout the day, so they watched cop shows for the rest of the day.  The older two children had completed chores and school work while I was gone in the morning, so I didn't mind.

I tried napping as well, but just couldn't bring myself to do so.  I decided my time would be better served by doing some planning for our vacation next year.  I decided which route to take based on my husband's preferences, my own needs to get up and walk around a bit, make sure we're at our destination at a reasonable hour, and so that we're not traveling 13 hours a day.  Those long days of travel are torturous on my knees and ankles.  They swell up as big as balloons and it isn't good for me.  As much as my husband doesn't like the shorter traveling times, he'd just like to get there and get home, he's quickly realizing that we're getting older and need to make concessions for our own personal physiological needs.  Yes, the vacation is going to be longer than our trips to Florida, but it's full of rest, relaxation, visiting, hugging family, seeing sights, reading, snoozing, walking and making lots of food over a campfire!  :)   Besides, with all the family and friends within a reasonable drive for us, it makes sense to utilize the distance to our advantage. We need to stop regardless, so we have a wonderful plus of being able to see family and friends along the way.

All of these plans are causing me to ache to see my family again.  Many of the family we're planning to visit I haven't seen since before my parents divorced in 1983.  Thirty years is a very long time!  I've reconnected with family on Facebook, which has been a complete blessing to me.  I get to see how they've changed, how their kids, grand kids and great grand kids have come along.  It is simply amazing to me how God has drawn all of us back together.  It blesses me so much.  I'm excited to see each one, hug them, catch up and pray for them.

If there is nothing else that is earth shattering that I do in my life, I count it a privilege and a blessing to my soul to be able to hug a loved one and pray with them.  There are lots of cousins, aunts and uncles on both sides of my parents' families, so there's lots of hugs to give and lots of prayers to be shared.  I want my husband and my children to meet all these wonderful people who are a part of our family history.  My children have asked me about my side of our family and they fill the dry erase board with names connected to Grandma and Grandpa.  Now they want to put faces to names and make connections with family.  I don't blame them.  Family is important.  We've lived virtually alone without family around us almost all of our 23 years of marriage, so it's time to see family and invite them to come see us too.    

With that, I'll leave you today with a picture I took of my black-eyed susans this morning.

A "double" or is it a "triple" eyed Susan?  

God is good, all the time!

Blessings,

Regina

July Fourth-Two-Thousand-Thirteen

I'm finding myself a bit melancholy lately.  I guess it probably doesn't help much that an upper level "Low" has stationed itself above us and is keeping the area cloudy with lots of rain and thunderstorms.

My work continues inside regardless of the weather, but when my work is done inside and it is raining outside, I've been looking on Google maps in preparation for our vacation next year.

I've looked at how to get to Dinosaur Park in Rapid City, SD so that my family can see what I use to see as a child from Skyline Drive while we enjoy a picnic lunch.  I love watching their faces when they see lovely and glorious things!

I've looked up a variety of campgrounds and I find myself faced with a difficult decision of which one to stay at for however many days for this stop or that stop.  I'll need to do the majority of the research, then present my findings to Mr. G to see what he'd like to do.  Here are a few that I've found:

Lake Park Campground--Located 30 minutes from Sturgis and 30 minutes from Mount Rushmore.

Days End Campground--Located in Sturgis.

Whistler Gulch Campground--Located in Deadwood.

Sleepy Hollow Campground--Located in Wall, SD.

I know he'd like to visit the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum.  I'd like to see it as well since my great uncle Al was one of the founders since he use to live in Sturgis.  =0)

I'd love to take the family to Lead & Deadwood, SD to see where Black Hills Gold is mined.  My mother use to work in the gold mines when I was 8 years old, so it has a bit of historical significance for me.

Of course Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Custer State Park would be visited. =0)

Why all these preparations now?

Every time I'm around a pine tree the scent of the Black Hills comes flooding back to my memories.  The west is calling me greatly.  The search on Google maps has brought me blue skies and glorious scenery of the west.  The memories of God's magnificent beauty and the experiences there--both good and bad--come flooding back to me.  I want to replace the bad with new memories, and I want to share those things with my beloved husband and my wonderful children.  I feel as if my time is running out with my kids at home and it is time to hasten the trip.

Does this seem unreasonable?  I don't think so.  Things like this are very attainable, if prepared for ahead of time and as many details worked out as possible, right down to the miles driven daily and planning how many times you'll go out to eat, adding 10-20% for tips.  Additionally, what foods you'll pack in the cooler, bottles of spring water to bring, right down to which rest stop you'll be at when you eat your sandwiches or salads.

I need to plan very well for this trip, for the sake of my husband, for the sake of my children, for my own sanity, right down to where and when we'll do our laundry.  Why so meticulous?

In the planning, there is peace.

Summer Plans

One of those things we have not really ever done is taken a vacation during the summer.  We've stayed locally to where ever we've lived and done day trips and outings, but nothing on a grand scale.  We've pretty much kept our vacations and trips away during the late fall, early winter or late spring.

Our summer plans are very simple.  When we return from whatever trips we take in the spring, if any, we get to work like busy little beavers on our yard, garden, flower beds, herb beds, transplanting, pruning, planting and tilling the dirt.  We generally do not put anything in the ground until June 1st.  We know full well that in most cases, June 1st is so very late.  However, we live in an area where we JUST had frost last week!  Yes, FROST!  We just put our plants in the ground on June 1st to make sure the danger of frost is past.  So, with that said, it doesn't make sense to concern ourselves too much with things until then.  Once the weather breaks from the winter weather, but it is still cold, we usually plan to go on vacation.  Why wait when we can go south where it is warm while we wait for the warmth to come to PA?  LOL

I spent quite a bit of time outside planting my flowers, pruning and weeding today as well.  My youngest son came out and just started helping me weed.  What a wonderful time working side by side with him!  We talked about the Rapture, science and when technology makes so many mind boggling advances that it's the sign of the times when Jesus comes again.  We need to be ready in our hearts for His return, but still busy going about our daily tasks and the work He has given us.  What a wonderful time of fellowship!

I plan to do bunches more tomorrow in my herb bed.  I plan to dig up shoots off my thyme, oregano, and chives tomorrow to swap with others who have perennials that I'm looking for.  If anyone wants any other perennials, I'll dig those up as they request because the others are a bit more transplant "shocky" so it makes more sense to get them out of the ground and back in to the ground quickly complete with lots of water for about a week. Black Eyed Susans and Purple Cone Flowers are that way.

At some point, we'll be waiting on the garden to yield it's lovely fruit.  What we plan to do is take the camper to a campground for a couple days, then come home to tend to things, kind of like a "mini-vacation".  Nothing overly spectacular, it's nothing overly expensive, just a couple days at a campground.  It should be a nice time away.

In July we plan to help as a family in our church's VBS.  This is a first for us since my  hubby will be joining us this year.  What a blessing!  He'll be doing the games, I'll be teaching Kindergarten and the kids will each help where they can.

After VBS, I'll begin my lesson plans for teaching Physical Science Lab for 8th graders in preparation for the 2013-2014 school year with our home school group.  I'll be canning in between everything, picking blueberries and freezing them, making all kinds of jams from our own black raspberry bushes, peaches, and whatever else I can get my hands on.  I'm hoping to can 3 batches of salsa this year.  We ran out of salsa in April, so it's time to increase how much I make.

I'd like to go down to Georgia for a few days in August this year, but I don't think that is going to happen, unfortunately.  It's a long story as to why, and it's one that I don't understand well enough to explain--since it is vehicle gear related [and that's all I know]--so suffice it to say that we'll try to get down there soon!

August is also the time of year when we settle in and begin school in earnest.  I count school days from July 1st because we're learning every day, but book work and computerized school work will start in August this year.

Of course, we'll have our Family Birthday Bash in August and have fun with everyone then.

Then, there are the festivals, yard sales and chicken barbecues that we'll attend.

I'll make my sauce again this year, Lord willing.  We've got green beans coming up in the garden that we'll can as well.  I hope to get even more to fill our shelves this year.  Take a look at the side bar and see what's in the plans for this year.  I'll begin dehydrating very soon, if not tomorrow!  :)

Golly!  I guess we're just a little busier than I originally thought.  LOL

What are your summer plans?

Maiden Voyage

This past week my husband took vacation days off work to spend time with us, me and him alone and to go camping.  Our maiden voyage of the USS "G" camper.  

Monday started with excited packing of the camper while Mr. G did  tests on all of the electrical systems, camper brakes and hook ups.  After 45 minutes of working on things, he got it all hooked together, showered and finished gathering the jeans he wanted to take (I didn't know which ones were his preference, so he told me to not worry about it.)  I got the kids, dogs and everything else ready to go and in the vehicle waiting for Mr. G who wanted to clean up before we left.  

We went through Smethport, Port Allegheny, Roulette and Coudersport to our destination. We went up and down some pretty big inclines until we arrived at Potter County Family Campground.  This campground is at the Allegheny Summit at 2,424 ft above sea level.  I know it isn't the Rocky Mountains by any stretch of the imagination, but it is still absolutely beautiful!  

This was our campsite once my beloved parked the camper.  We got everything situated and ready for good times.  We got in to the vehicle to go get something, Mr. G put his foot in the brake and the pedal went all the way to the floor.  We didn't have any brakes!!!!  We got out and looked on the ground in front of the vehicle thinking it was radiator fluid (that it had a hole in it), but it wasn't.  Brake fluid had sprayed everywhere!

Here is Mr. G beginning to take everything apart to look inside where he found a bigger problem than he would have liked, but so very thankful that it decided to not burst until we backed the camper in to the space.  God is so good!  He answered our prayers for safe journeys!

Mr. Frustrated at the moment.  It was definitely NOT in his plan to work on the brakes during his mini vacation!  Whew!  

BUT!!!  

We had friends who lived close by who helped us through all this predicament.  What a blessing Lisa and Dale were to us!  We'd planned to have them over for s'mores and fun that evening, then off to their house for more fun the following day, so we just altered things a little.

The kids and I made hot dogs over the fire.

Beautiful daughter making hot dogs.

Daddy...diligently working on figuring out the problem.

(As it turns out, the brake line that went clear underneath a few things had ruptured.  The next day he ended up replacing it with regular brake hose and it worked well.  God was so gracious to us!  We didn't have cell phone service, it was raining, so Dale come up to get us, then went with Mr. G to get parts for the vehicle, work on the brakes, then came back to their house.  What a wonderful answer to prayer!  I'd prayed for them to be done before 5PM and they pulled in to the driveway around 4:10!!!)

Oldest son, DA doing what he likes to best when camping--roasting hot dogs.  

All but 2 of the kids walking/running/hiking around.

Lisa and the other missing 2 children from the picture above.

He was so excited about getting to go through this tube!  Such cuteness!

Lisa's husband, Dale and their beautiful daughter working on her crossed stitch.

Lisa's 2 oldest boys, then my youngest son JL on the right.

Another of Lisa's beautiful daughters...blurry, but that's ok.  She doesn't like getting her picture taken.

My daughter, HJ, making moose ears behind Dale.  Must be a fun thing to do, huh?!  LOL

More horsing around.  

Watching everyone play computer games while it rained.  I tried snapping this picture just a few seconds before when Lisa's youngest boy was sitting on JL's lap snuggling while they watched, but he hopped down really quick!  

The men got back, Mr. G showered and they both got something to eat.  Mr. G fell asleep in the recliner--something I'm sure he thought he'd NEVER do with 10 children playing around him!  LOL

After he woke we had Lisa's wonderful Split Pea Soup, we brought pasta salad and my daughter made No Bake Coconut Macaroon Bars that fell apart, so we sprinkled it over some ice cream.  Darn!  LOL

We walked around while the kids rode bikes and generally had a blast playing since the rain cleared up.  After returning we visited on the porch a little while until the kids returned from riding so we could go sing.

What a wonderful time we had inside having a wonderful hymn sing, praising God for His goodness toward each one of us.  

After we were done singing, we needed to head out because it was getting late.

This morning, my beloved told me that he was going to take me to a yarn shop in Coudersport.

Just so we could look at all the beautiful yarns and crafty things they had to offer.

We waited until opening time, but no one came to open the door.  *sniff*  *sniff*  I guess we'll have to go back some time?!

Yes, this is what my hair looks like after the heat and humidity rises & camping!  LOL   But, sitting next to my beloved was wonderful nonetheless.

Handsome young man.

One picture and it really shows their personalities!

We love old buildings and architecture.

We love quaint old towns!

So here we are, home at last.   Dinner has been consumed, laundry is going and we're relaxing and beginning to think of our next camping trip.  It was a lovely trip, in spite of the brake issues.  God was gracious and kind walking with us each step of the way.  

We were so blessed! 

Beginning Preparations

God has such a sense of humor with His creation!  Since we purchased a "new to us" Suburban, it has a reflective quality around the bottom of it and a robin has found it very bothersome!  How dare that other robin show itself like that!  So, it pecks, poops and flutters all over the reflective area.  It gives Mr. G and I quite a chuckle.  We really don't mind because quite honestly, the robin will eventually "get a clue" and go away to do their own thing, eat worms, build a nest and get on with it's life.  

Our youngest son, however, thinks of things a bit differently.   He was trying to scare it off by shooting his Air Soft gun in the air.  Not hitting the bird, but just trying to scare it off.  After trying to convince him that the robin would find it a futile pursuit--trying to fight the robin in the reflection--he/she would leave and get on with their life, he wasn't convinced.  He was more bothered by the poop on the running boards and the bird pecking at the vehicle than just letting the robin decide for itself that the robin in the reflection wasn't so bothersome after all. 

That was yesterday.

Today, I sent my oldest out to see if he could video tape the robin.  The above video is what the robin has been doing.  However, today has been a bit different.  The robin is taking more time away from the vehicle, turning away from the robin in the reflection and just beginning to settle down and accept the reflection.

(seems that each of us could do that, huh?)

...not waxing philosophic--just glean what you will...

Anyway, all of this hilarity has occurred throughout our daily preparations for our first 

camping trip in 8 years.  

There's more, believe me!  

...this was just one instance of hilariousness...

Blessings--New Pictures Added

Crocuses popping up through the leaves.

We've been going through some very roller coaster like times lately, so it helps to focus on the blessings.

For those of you who do not know, we had a house fire that started in our basement in March of 2005. 

This is what our basement looked like. 

God took this mess and not only blessed us through it, but also the lady who bought our house.  Everything was fixed up nicely for her with a new furnace, hot water heater, electrical, duct work and everything was painted fresh for her.

Our prayers were answered!  

During that time, we'd lived in a campground in a camper so that our children would have room to ride their bikes and play.

We started out in an 18 foot camper with 3 kids and 2 dogs.  Yes, things were cramped!  We traded up to a 35 foot 5th wheel and spent 4 more months in it.  Needless to say, we were ready to move in to our house, which seemed so roomy and spacious when we first moved in.  

During the past 8 years my husband has had no desire whatsoever to do any more camping.  He didn't even want to consider a camper unless it was a drive-able Winnebago type RV.  He was so very disgusted with the thought of camping that we just stayed in motels whenever we went somewhere and didn't have friends to stay with.

Last year when we went to the end of the school year field trip to Columbus Zoo and the Creation Museum, we stayed in motels.  Plus we left our dogs behind with some good friends.  He wasn't too thrilled with doing that, but they were left in good hands. (He's attached to our doggies. )  Couple that with the cost of the motels and he was newly convinced that we probably should consider a camper.

We started looking, but not too seriously.  We just wanted to check prices and see what we needed to start saving for.  We realize that both of our parents are getting up in years and we needed to go see them, even if they did live thousands of miles away.  The best way for us to do that was to drive and camp.  

The Lord had His hand in this so much so that we just could not believe it!

About a month or two ago, a friend from church approached my husband about a camper.

"Huh?!" said my husband.  "Have you been talking to my wife?"  Our friend said, "No, should I?"  And the Lord worked out the details through my husband who didn't want to go camping for 8 long years.

I will say that the Lord works in mysterious ways.  His ways are not our ways, so when this camper was literally dropped in our laps, we decided to accept it without question, even though we didn't have a good vehicle to tow it with, yet.  We figured if the Lord wanted to give us a camper that He would provide the good quality vehicle to tow it with where ever we needed to go.

What an undeserved blessing this is for us!  The kids are smiling at the thought of making more memories, going camping, and enjoying our family.

When our friends delivered it, I was gasping because I didn't realize it was so HUGE!

The front of the camper complete with working stove, oven, microwave and full size camper refrigerator.

To the right is the shower and just below, the potty.  (I know...something you always wanted to know.)  LOL

Turning around looking toward the back of the camper--behind me is the table.  The first closet to the right is a pantry or linen closet, then there are clothes closets.  To the right is the bathroom and, of course, the bedroom in the back.

The bedroom, of course.  We bought ourselves a new mattress, so our old mattress went out to the camper.  

God bought us a camper.  It was only done through Him.  Just about everything we'd been looking for in a camper was given to us.  Isn't that just like God?  :0)

God is so good!

What an awesome blessing!