Merry Christmas!

The preparations are just about done and we are looking forward to Christmas! The boys are winding up a bit more everyday. I thought I would share a few photos with you of how we have already been celebrating the season.

The boys were both in the church musical, The Next Noel, this past Wednesday. Joshua had a speaking part as Freddie, who also played a donkey. Kaleb was one of the wise men but much to his liking, he had no lines to say. The photo is of one of the last scenes, Joshua is the donkey in the bottom left corner and Kaleb is barely visible with his gold crown to the right of the angel, tucked behind another boy. Click on the photo for a bigger view if you'd like. The children did a wonderful job! Josh has come far from the days when he wouldn't even open his mouth on stage when they were singing in preschool.

We returned yesterday from visiting my brother and his family. They have a new addition, Logan, who is now just over 3 weeks old. Oh, is he a sweet baby!! Melissa looks great, hard to believe she went through labor just a short bit ago! Ethan, is the ever excited older brother now, talking up a storm. We managed to leave without getting a single picture of the baby, phooey!! But here a couple we did take.





Chris wanted to start a new tradition of hiding a pickle ornament on the tree for the boys to find. Whoever found it got a small gift. This is apparently a German tradition, it says so right on the box! I just don't think any real German knows about it, LOL! We called my mom in Germany while we were there and she had never heard of such a thing. Joshua was the finder of the pickle this year and his gift was a pickle ornament of his own. Now we can carry on the German, yet not really German, tradition.



Of course, there had to be outdoor play on the farm! The weather had warmed a bit so sledding down the big hill was out. Chris got out his tractor and plowed some Mogul hills for the boys to sled over while being pulled by the 4 wheeler. They had a blast!

Mom and dad are coming out tomorrow to join us for Christmas. That will help with some of the sadness I feel being in a new place for the holidays. Then next week the Harp fam is getting together with everyone in Rochester. We are looking forward to that.

We wish you a blessed Christmas where ever you are!!

Movin' Along...

These are busy days, the kind where you need more hours in the day and more energy to go with it! I find that I can get easily overwhelmed by my mental "to-do" list. When I get overwhelmed, I get a bit cranky. Ask my family. Actually, don't ask them, I am sure they would say "a bit" was an understatement! It is one of the things about myself that I rather loathe. Getting cranky doesn't serve me or my to-do list well at all. It doesn't win me any points with the family either. It is an ongoing battle for me and I know God is not going to let me off the hook in this area of my life. I am such a sloooow learner. But I plod forward. I am examining my list, what is essential and what is not. I really wanted to have my Christmas cards out early this year since most people on my list don't realize we have moved. It's not gonna happen. We just put our tree up yesterday, 2 weeks later than my mental calendar said we should. The hand stamped gifts I had hoped to make aren't even started. My mothers gift will never get to Germany in time. Baking, what's that?? Seriously, friends, my eye was twitching due to all the things that weren't getting done on my list! Sillyness I tell you! God gave us enough hours in the day and the talents he wants us to have to accomplish what he sets before us. He does not give me more than I can handle, I do. So now I am asking different questions. What, Lord, do YOU want me to do today?? How can set about accomplishing the tasks set before me? How can I let go of the things that are on my list but not on God's list? I know this, but need frequent reminders (because I am slooooow, remember?) that God's peace dispels crankiness. God's peace comes from time spent with him and doing what he has called me to do. Not more, not less. I get cranky when I am outside the bounds of what he has called me to. Why oh why, do I continue to step outside those bounds?? I used to think the Israelites must have lacked a nugget in their happy meal because it took them 40 years of wandering in the desert to get to the promised land. That journey could have been a 2-3 week trip had they gone straight and claimed God's best. But no....they went in circles and wandered aimlessly. They thought they had a better way. They got cranky. Now I know I am no different. My happy meal is short several nuggets, LOL! I don't want to wander for 40 years until I get it. Lord, help me to get it. When I pray in the mornings for God to pave the way for my day, to set his tasks before me and to give me the energy and desire to do those tasks, I have a great day. I am not cranky. I feel satisfied at the end of the day knowing I worked at those tasks to the best of my abilities. I amazingly, don't have guilt over the things I didn't get done. Oh that those days were greater than the others.

I wanted to share one of my favorite Christmas decorations with you. This is a nativity set that was given to us by Parkminster Church as a going away gift. It is even more special because Mary Jane Preston picked it out for us. It was made by hand from clay. Isn't it darling?? It is so precious to me. It sits near the 3 ceramic angels that we were given by a congregation member when we left the church in Florida. I enjoy memories of those people and places each year when we decorate for Christmas.

Things around the house are movin' along. We asked the man who installed the septic system back in 2001 to come tell us about maintaining it. We have never had a house with a septic. He was a nice man with colorful language but he was quite helpful. One of our concerns is a huge willow tree in the back yard. My brother immediately thought it could be an issue for our septic and since he knows water, we made mental note. Mr. Septic told us he had advised the homeowners at the time to remove it. The shallow roots of a willow can be very destructive to your pipes. Their response was to let the next homeowner deal with it. Seven years and 3 homeowners later, I guess it falls on us. It is a lovely, shade providing tree, but taking it down seems way better than the $15,000 it would take to replace the septic system. Greg will tackle that job in the spring. Mr. Septic will return in the spring to empty out our tank and dig up the tree stump if we'd like.
Last night I was in the basement and discovered a leak coming from the main pipe going out to the septic. When Greg got home he took a look at it and discovered that there are holes that have pitted through the copper pipe. It's a big pipe too, at least 3" diameter. It's a big job I am sure, not just a leaky joint. We are waiting until the morning to call a plumber. I am glad that I found it sooner rather than later!

I hope you all are well and preparing for the celebration of Christ's birth!

It's Snowtime!!

Snowy greetings from Ransomville!! We woke up this morning to about 6" of snow. So much for all the talk of this area being the Miami of the north! Now I wonder what else they told me that wasn't true, LOL?! But it was a perfect backdrop to the Advent sermon series PB is doing called, Christmas in Narnia. As most of you know, I am the only one moaning about the snow in my family, the guys are all outside romping in it as I write.

Greg is excited to use the $50.00 snow blower he purchased. Remember my post way back when? I was hoping the mere purchase of a snow blower was my insurance that we wouldn't need it! It did need a part and Greg just got it back this past week, so he is happily taking care of the driveway. The boys of course did what they thought best, made snowballs and had a war with each other. Oh they fun!

We traveled back to Rochester yesterday. It was Greg's first time back since we moved. They drove with me so I could co-host my annual Ornament Exchange. For the last 8-9 years, I have had an ornament exchange to kick off the holiday season. Even with all the moving we did in Rochester as Greg changed churches, there is a core group that has been there from the start. Each year I have included some new people so it has been a neat time of sharing with old and new friends. I wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen to my tradition when we moved here but I have wonderful friends who figured out a way to carry it on. Jackie co-hosted it with me, providing us a place to have it. Everyone brought a dish to pass. It was strange for me to host something that I hardly had a hand in. I am used to decorating, baking and cooking and doing most, if not all of the preparations. But the most important part was being together and it was wonderful. I took my camera and after everyone left, I remembered it so I have no photos to share with you. When we decorate our tree every year, the ornaments I have gotten at this event are some of my favorites to hang. It is nice to think back to the person who gave it or some of the funny and serious moments we have shared in our time together. Many tears and much laughter have taken place over this simple sharing of ornaments. I am so grateful to my friends for making sure we carried on the tradition. And I have a beautiful glass ornament to add to my tree this year.

We have baby news to share, well, not "we" exactly, but my brother. Chris and Melissa welcomed their second son, Logan Daniel on Thursday, 11/29. One day before Chris' birthday. All are doing well, we can't wait to meet him and hug him for ourselves.

And there is a bathroom update. Boy, is that a funny statement??!! The plan was, and I think still is, to just give it a new coat of paint. The wallpaper is all down. Greg removed the vanity, medicine cabinet and toilet tank so he could access the walls behind those items. And as with most jobs, it is never quite what it seems so to be. He found wet drywall behind the vanity as a result of a leaky pipe. And he found what I think is black mold or at least really bad mildew behind the toilet tank because the tank was right against the wall and the wallpaper must have trapped the moisture from it. The drywall spackle he used was bad or cheap because it bubbled up and caused pits everywhere. Now he has to re-spackle those areas. And since this is all happening in his "spare" time, we are without the use of the bathroom and will be most likely for some time to come. We did momentarily consider buying a new vanity even though we said we wouldn't but it appears we may not be able to do it anyway. The placement of the pipes in the wall prohibit us from using an off the shelf vanity so we would have to custom order something. Not likely to happen. And moving the pipes is even more unlikely to happen!! It was only supposed to be a coat of paint!

Well, that is enough for today. Thanks for stopping by and sharing a moment with us.
Blessings on your week.

Happy Sunday!

I am trying to lay low today. I had a mild case of food poisoning last night that at 3 in the morning felt anything but mild!!!!!! At least I think it was food related. Whatever it is or was, I felt horrible. Today is somewhat better, I am at least functioning more than a sack of taters on the sofa.

That meant I missed church today. Greg shared that it was a great service, communion and everything. I have to share a funny. The boys have been asking to take communion for some time now. I told them they needed to make an appointment with Greg to discuss it so they understood what it was and what it meant. Since we only take communion once a month, the appointment seems to get forgotten. Greg pulled both boys out of Sunday School a bit early so they could talk it over before service. Greg asked the boys why they were interested in taking communion. Kaleb' answer cracks me up....he said, "because I get thirsty." Guess who didn't take communion today??!~!! Oh the honesty of children!

As promised, here is a photo of the latest project around the house. We were originally going to remodel our bathroom--a new vanity, lights, tile on the floor, trim, basically everything but the toilet and shower. Now that the kitchen is on our list we decided to scale back the bathroom to just a fresh coat of paint. That hideous metallic wallpaper had to come down!! I can live with the rest for now as long as the wall paper goes. Here's proof of it's ugliness. Greg has stripped it all off, patched all the holes and now it sits idle until after Thanksgiving.

Here are also a couple of photos of Veterans Day. The lady I job share with lives on a small farm with quite the assortment of animals. She used to do animal education through the 4-H and other venues. She is the one who brought her animals to the Pigapaloozaa the church had in September. This is not a complete list but she has a llama (Fernando), a cow, a pig (Arnold), a horse, donkey, chickens, geese and goats. She invited a few folks over for pizza and a chance to see the animals. I had to be in Rochester for the day so Greg took them. From the pictures, they had a fun time. They rode the horse and got a chance to see the chores that a farm requires. I just have to comment on this green hat of Josh's. His 4th grade teacher made hats for all of her students and he insists on wearing it even if it squishes his head now. Someday I know we'll hear about it when he looks back on these photos but at least I will be able to say it was all his idea, LOL!!!

Greg had his first hunting experience this weekend. He and Pastor Bill left Friday to go to the Jamestown area and hunted Saturday morning, the first day of gun season. He saw several deer but didn't get a shot off. Bill got some shots off but alas they both came home empty handed. Although I wanted them both to have a successful hunting time, I am not really upset that a deer isn't hanging in my garage today!

Maybe it is my stomach issues today...but I feel a bit like I am in the Twilight Zone these days. All kinds of strange things are happening to my family members since we moved to Ransomville. Greg is now hunting, Kaleb is acing math and Joshua has a speaking part in the upcoming church play. My kid, who refused all previous attempts by us to put him in the children's musicals and plays, has a sizable part!! He is so excited and has memorized most of his lines already. There is something in the water making them do strange things, unexpected things, they are freaking me out!!!!!! I am on my guard for what could be next. Perhaps it will be .........stay tuned!

ZOOM, ZOOM

Boys and their toys, or in this case, Uncle Chris' toys. We were able to get down to see Chris, Melissa and Ethan this weekend. One of the sad things about our moving to Ransomville is that we are now further away from them. I mapped out a new route and we made the trip in just over 2 1/2 hours. That makes it a bit too much for a day trip but due to church we can't stay more than a day and a half. But it was a good trip none the less. The guys all went out to Trumansburg to do a little shooting on the Agard Road property. Did I mention Greg has a shotgun now?? Another side effect of moving to the country, LOL! He and Pastor Bill have plans to go hunting on opening day of deer season this Saturday so he wanted to have a chance to sight in his new purchase. Then they went to a gun club and had a chance to shoot at some clay pigeons. Josh even hit one, I was impressed and a little nervous. Success at the range means he is further encouraged at this sport I am not altogether thrilled about! But I do know he is learning respect for firearms as well as safety issues. When they returned it was time to ride. Chris has a mini motorcycle and a junior size 4 wheeler that they boys love to ride. They have gotten quite speedy. Chris and Greg raced the boys several times, it is quite the sight to see 2 grown men on that little bike. I am not entirely sure who won but I know they had a blast. Ethan is missing from our pictures since he was napping while the camera was out. He had his ride time later as a passenger.
Melissa and I went to the Mennonite market in Seneca Falls. I miss shopping there, they have the best bacon and several other items that can only be found there. I stocked up on a few things before we headed back to have dinner. Melissa cooked up a pot of split pea soup which most of us enjoyed. It was hard not to laugh when Ethan gagged on his no-thank you portion! I thought it was the perfect fall meal. It was also good to chat with Melissa for the day. They are only about 4 weeks away from baby #2 coming. Ethan is trying to transition out of the crib to make room for the baby and the final nesting is underway. What a fun time.

Greg and I had our first parent teacher conference this last week. We met with Kaleb's teacher to get his first quarter report card. He is doing really well. He actually had his highest grade in math which was a total shocker. I guess all those hours of doing homework together are paying off! Kaleb is much more geared in the writing department and his teacher even said he takes joy in writing paragraphs for her most days. He is adjusting well, making friends and is very well behaved. He got straight 4's (on a scale of 1-4) for his "life skills and character development". Way to go!! We have an open house on the 19th where we will meet Josh's teacher and see his first report card.

I will post in a few days on some of Greg's doings. He has started a project around the house.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Cini Family Visit

We had a very brief visit on Saturday from the Cini family from Romania. Who are the Cini's?? It is a very long and incredible story. I will just give you the brief version today since I have to work in half an hour! We have come to know them because of the Pearce mission trips to Romania. Greg went to Romania on the very first scouting trip when the church was trying to determine where the Lord wanted them to serve. They met several people there who were doing incredible ministry. One of the things was a church being built in the village of Tsigmandru. We learned that the church was the hearts desire of this woman, Magda Cini. The Lord set it in her heart so there was no stopping her! There is more really cool stuff to that story but maybe another day. Greg led the first team to go over, a team of teens. They met Paula Cini, Magda's daughter, at that time. I think she may have been working with the Romanian teens. When I went to Romania I stayed with the Cini family during my visit. And to keep it all in the family, when Dad returned on his second visit he also stayed with the Cini's. God is so cool! The church is the same one that Mom, Dad, Greg and I all have worked on but at different times. It is now operational and ministry is alive there everyday. Magda and her family are a critical force in that church and village.
Magda and Nelu's daughter Paula married a youth pastor from PA, another story for another time. They recently had their first child. Magda and Nelu are in the States for the first time so they can be with their new grandson. As God's timing would have it, the Pearce Mission Conference was taking place while they are visiting. Mom and Dad helped to get them up from PA so they could share at the conference. I am so glad that the folks from the church were able to hear some of her story from her mouth, to see her with their own eyes, to touch physically a part of what they have participated in with their giving and prayers. They had a wee bit of time left and drove our way so they could take the Cini's to Niagara Falls. Magda told us that years ago she had seen the movie Superman and after seeing the Falls in the movie, has had a dream to see it for herself. For a Romanian woman this is indeed a tall order, but not one too big for God! I have been to Niagara Falls countless times and I don't have that sense of awe and wonder much anymore, but it was so great to see it through her eyes. To see yet another hearts desire fulfilled. It was a wonderful, yet short visit.

I had to include this funny picture that Greg took of Dad in his usual place behind the camera.

Have a great week!

It's Sunday!

And, I'm posting!! I actually wrote a post last Sunday and the Lord nudged me to delete it. He knows best!

I did want to share what I got last week at church. Aren't these roses beautiful?? The church presented Linda, Pastor Bill's wife, and I flowers in honor of pastor appreciation month. Now there was a first for me! It was a wonderful thought and gesture, and quite appreciated.

Did you hear yet??? The BoSox are one game from winning the World Series!! I am behind on my sleep from staying up late to watch the games. Greg, on the other hand, can't really watch. He gets so worked up he can't sleep, even if they are winning. On occasion he will come into the room to catch a glimpse and you can hear his breathing change. He cracks me up! I have quite enjoyed the games, it is always fun when there is activity at the plate and on the bases.

I did some blog maintenance last week, not sure you noticed. I added links to some blogs we try to keep up with. The Hopkins are a family we know from Pearce and they are in Romania for a year as missionaries. Mel is a former youth group kid who is there with them. She is there partly to help with the two young boys and partly to do her own mission work. She has her own blog and provides a different view of things. I find it so interesting to follow their journey. The Vieles are friends from North Chili, I watched their daughter for a couple of years when Elissa went back to work. Seeing the photos and reading about them helps us to not feel so far away.

You will also find a link to my other blog. You did know I have a stamping blog didn't you?? That is how this whole blog thing got started. I have had it for over a year now and use it as a way to document some of my stamping ideas and share with others. I tend to post there more often than here and include photos of what I am working on. For those who don't know much about my stamping life, in July I was asked to be a design team member for Splitcoaststampers.com, and on-line stamping community. The #1 on-line site as a matter of fact. I am serving a six month term with the Dirty Dozen gals. Here is a direct link to the page of designers http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/about/design . This has been a huge privilege for me, very exciting and very challenging as well. Since the monthly gallery is only open to subscribers I can't give you a link to any of the cool stuff in there but the quality of work these ladies do is nothing short of amazing. It is better than any stamping magazine subscription. There is plenty to see on my blog though so visit when you have a chance.

I am teaching a basic stamping class at church on Wednesday nights. We've been having 12 women come and it has been fun to get to know some of them better.

The boys are doing well although a cold bug seems to be knocking on our door. Joshua has been going in to school early to play basketball and stays late on Wednesday to play chess. Kaleb is all geared up to wear his costume on Wednesday, his school has a costume parade.

Greg is doing well. He is anxious to do some projects around the house so I am working on my "Honey Do" list. Things at church are going well and he is getting into a regular routine. On Thursday mornings he and Pastor Bill take turns sharing a Bible story with the preschoolers. They love when he brings in his guitar.

We hope you are doing well!
Blessings to you this week.

Whoops!

So, my every Sunday idea was a good one, my execution just stinks!! I will keep trying! I have enough to write today to make up for it. You better grab a cup of coffee or a bowl of ice cream.

We have been enjoying some incredible weather of late. It has been lovely to be outdoors so much and I appreciate that we have not had to turn on our heat yet. The leaves are at peak and trees are a fantastic sight. Greg is still having to mow the lawn and I think this is the latest ever for mowing in NY. Last year about this time there was a record snowstorm and parts of Buffalo were buried under 2 feet of snow. Believe me, I am giving thanks for our weather everyday!

The boys are doing well. I think we are finally in a grove with the school routine. Homework is still brutal but since there is little we can do about it I have little to say. Joshua stayed after school on Wednesday for a Read a Thon and when Greg went to pick him up one of the teachers greeted him and told him several times what a great job we were doing and what a wonderful boy and student Joshua is. He said Josh was helpful without being asked. As a parent, those are treasured words and we appreciate them very much. We love our boys and try hard to raise them in a Godly home, instilling values and building character. It is nice to hear we are on the right track. I do not want to diminish what the teacher said. I appreciate that he took the time to say those words. It does strike me as sad however that his words seemed to carry the idea that Josh is a rare case. There are so many students who come from homes that do not instill values or build character. I know this is not news but some days it is a reality that really bothers and saddens me. Honestly, it causes me concern. How can teach my boys how to have the courage to be a light in the darkness rather than be taken over by it?? I know not except to pray that God protects them.

Today was Greg's day off and we had an appointment with a man about a kitchen. Last week this man came out to the house and spoke to us about what we could do to make our space one that meets our needs. We needed to know if this was a project we could even afford to do. We are in discussion at church about starting small groups and opening our homes to people. I know there are people that will not come to church but would consider a meal in someones home. Greg and I really believe this is so much more than a desire to have a "nicer" kitchen, it is a desire to have a space that allows us to do more, share more with others. The "nicer" part is icing on the cake. Well, in talking to Tom, the man from Kitchen World, we found out he is a Christian. God is so good. We were able to explain what we wanted and that our desire was to have a space that would allow us to host people from church and the community. He gets it and he gets our financial situation. He gets that a $40K kitchen in a house in Ransomville isn't going to work. Today's meeting was to look at his design and talk details. He designed a great space. It involves taking down the wall between the kitchen and the 4th bedroom to create a large eat-in kitchen. He planned a large island that would seat people in addition to the dining table. As soon as I saw the island I could see the life that would happen around it!! The boys doing homework, me cooking, people standing around chatting. We also talked about cabinets and such that are reasonable in price. I love that he didn't try to sell us on fancy upgrades or details. It was a functional design with all the elements we asked for. I was nervous before the appointment but I walked out thinking it was a delightful time. Now we have a vision and the goal is to figure out how to make it a reality. We can keep costs down by doing most of the demolition and prep ourselves as well as installing the flooring after the kitchen goes in. We will keep our appliances so all we would need to purchase is a dishwasher and a microwave. As lovely as granite counter tops are we again talked practical and cost effective. They are doing amazing things with laminates these days. Are you wondering what he quoted us?? I was certainly waiting for the bomb to drop and have to say I was not as shocked as I thought I'd be. I think I have been watching way too much HGTV, LOL!! Should I tell you?? For the cabinets, counters, installation of the cabinets and counters, and hardware it came to just under 10K. What do you think?? Even though I don't know how yet, it seems do able, attainable, reasonable. Now we begin finding people who can help with various projects. We wasted no time in talking with Dad, we will definitely need his skills and expertise. We start selling off unneeded items on Ebay, we rent out our boys (kidding). We pare back on things as best we can. In part I am writing all of this down because it will become a great way to look back and see how God provided specifically and mightily. I'm just hoping it doesn't take as long as it took the Israelites to cross the desert!!

I will post again soon, I have other things to share. But this seems enough for now.
Thanks for stopping in!

Sunday Notes

Maybe if I start a Sunday Notes section I will be better at posting more consistently. Sometimes I am not sure you really want to hear all my boring ramblings!! I did realize that I never shared about Pigapalooza!

Ransomville Free Methodist Church, hereafter referred to as RFMC, had it's 3rd annual community event called Pigapalooza a couple of weeks ago. It is an event sponsored by the church primarily as a means of outreach. From what we have heard, each year has grown a little bit and they have added new features. This year we had a petting zoo, pony rides, a bounce house, an archery station, live bands, hayrides, games for kids, face painting, fireworks and more. We served 330 BBQ chicken dinners. Yes, I know, it is called PIGapalooza and we served CHICKEN dinners. Here's the story...3 years ago the event started with someone donating a whole pig that they roasted. Last year they did shredded pork on buns. Pork apparently is more pricey so they went with BBQ chicken instead. In all fairness, we did have a pig holding a sign that read "Eat more Chicken" so pig was represented!!

The weather was not great that day and I think our numbers could have been higher had it not been so cold and windy. But despite the weather we had 3X's the number of people we get on a Sunday morning so it was a success.

I spent my time behind the camera taking photos of the event. Here are just a few....

This is Pastor Bill....

This is not!!!!

This llama was one of the animals at the petting zoo. He had major attitude that animal, I thought I might get spit upon!





This was the line of people getting their dinners. If you click on the picture you can see Greg serving folks; he's wearing a green jacket.


It was a fun event and we already have ideas for doing more next year.

Yesterday our friends the Bala's came from Rochester to have dinner with us. Today is Teressa's birthday so we set the china and crystal out to make it a special meal. I cooked another batch of spaghetti sauce and meatballs. Rajiv baked an apple cake that was soooo delish! It was good to be with friends again.

I started working in the church office on a part time basis but last week filled in full time while the lady I job share with was needed at home. I will normally work full days Tuesdays and Thursdays. I think I am holding my own learning all the new stuff and trying not to bombard them with all of my ideas at once.

The boys are getting into the school routine now and doing well. Kaleb is into all things football these days. Josh is slowly making new friends but please continue to pray for that. He is on the reserved side so it is taking him a bit to open up and talk to other kids. It is so hard to sit back and let him wade through this on his own. I can't go into school and force kids to talk to him. I can pack cool things in his lunch box that may spur someone to want to trade! Just kidding, that isn't allowed. I have traumatic memories of my mom packing me German bread (read:VERY dark, dense rye bread) sandwiches, carrots and apples for my lunch while my friends got Fluffer Nutters, chips and Twinkies. No one wanted to ever trade with me at lunch time, LOL!! We try to go healthy and cool in the lunch arena.

Thanks for checkin' in with us!

Jumping Beans!

Before we moved Melanie Roorda offered her trampoline to our boys. At first we said "no thank you" but quickly realized that was a mistake. We figured since they were giving up their swimming pool, it only seemed fair. Well, life at the Roorda house is busier than here so we just got around to getting the trampoline out to our house this week. The boys are so thrilled. They jump on it before school in the morning and at night after the sun has gone down they are still bouncing away. Of course there is school and homework in between, much to their dismay. Check out Josh in the picture holding a cup. They can't even stop long enough to quench their thirst!!

Thanks Mel, it was a generous gift and they LOVE it!!!

Funny

So, several weeks ago a woman at church cut this out of the local newspaper. I just had to have a copy for myself.

You know you live in small town, USA when this makes the police blotter in the paper.

I wonder if officer training school prepared him for this scenario?!

Bless that woman!

I have pictures to share later so check back in.

Camping!

Well, I said I would post some pictures of the weekend. That is much easier to do if you actually take some pictures!! Greg did take a handful but I know Dad took a bunch. I guess we must have been too busy to think about it. He did manage to get this one with Jon and Erin one morning.
We had the most amazing weather! Sunny and mildly warm by day and crisp and cool by night. We had lots of time to sit, relax, catch up and play around. Dad brought the boat so on Saturday and Sunday we went out on the lake. Chautauqua is one busy lake!! There were so many water craft on the lake that it stirred up a wavy soup that made it impossible to ski. It was good for tubing though. We each took responsibility for a meal or two so the work was spread out well. This is the gang salivating around the grill waiting for breakfast one morning. Dad is even in the background taking one of his many pictures of the grand kids. In this case baby Sara. Gail and Jon were on duty that morning and we enjoyed bacon, potatoes and eggs...yummers! We roasted lots of marshmallows and played several games of corn hole (or as mom called it, "corn dog"). Overall it was just good to be together.

Bees and Sauce!

Hi everyone! Life is always throwing a curve ball. Ever since we moved into this house we have noticed a TON of bees. Probably part of living in a more rural area. All the fruit orchards don't help either, I'm sure. We have sprayed and fogged and they just keep coming. We think one of the nests under the siding has caused bees to get into the house, somewhere in the basement. So, now we are waiting for a visit from the pest control people. They said this area, this time of year and this year in particular have been bad for bees. They said the treatment will take care of all critters so I look forward to that.
In the meantime, I have no friends and not much going on so I am spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Zucchini bread, banana bread, cookies, and more. We were given a large pile of tomatoes last week, way more than we could eat so I set out to find a recipe for homemade tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes. It was harder than I thought as most recipes use canned products. I found this one in case you want to try it yourself. I figured I might as well make home made meatballs while I was at it. First time for that as well. I cooked the meatballs and some hot Italian sausage right in the sauce. WOW!! That made for fork tender meat and seasoned the sauce beautifully! I honestly wasn't holding out hope that it would be that good so imagine my delight when it turned out fantastic! Well, that was that. Now I needed to make more, lots more. I headed out to a road side market and found large baskets of tomato seconds for 1.00. I have frozen 20 qts total now and may have to make more still. My mother would be so proud! Even though I think I can hold my own in the kitchen, there are many things I have yet to try. Canning is one of those areas. I stick to freezer jam. But I may have to try something new. Peaches are in season and I am on a search for a good jam recipe. Send me one if you have one, okay? Otherwise I will search the net and give it a shot. It keeps me busy and out of trouble.

Tomorrow morning we leave to go camping with all the Harp family! Thom and family, mom and dad as well as Jon and Gail are meeting at Camp Chatauqua for the long weekend. We haven't seen the brothers since Christmas! Greg will have to drive home for church on Sunday but it should be a nice relaxing time. It is the last breath of vacation before the boys start school on Wednesday.
We hope you have an enjoyable weekend! I hope to post some pictures next week.

Random Ransomville Thoughts...

** Who knew R-ville had such wonky weather?? One minute it is gusting, the next minute the air is dead. One minute the skies are clear, the next minute it's pouring rain, sometimes with a good thunderstorm thrown in. I miss my overhanging roof line! Whenever it rains it is a game to see how fast we can shut all the windows because it rains right in. You can not leave the house with the windows open because a freak downpour may happen while you are out.
**Who knew cupboards could be so nasty?!!!!!!!! My kitchen cupboards are original to the house (1960) so imagine 47 years of grease and grim, ewwww!! Seriously people, the handles were so bad your fingers could become permanently attached to them when you reached for a snack. We had to buy new handles, there was no way around it. My kitchen may be small but there was room for 38 handles!!!! Josh helped me to take all the old ones off today and then I used up an entire jumbo box of Magic Erasers trying to scrub the aforementioned grim off the doors and drawers. Then I used a wood cleaner and after that a wood conditioner. Then we put the new handles on. Now I can tell they look way better but some of you would demand a kitchen remodel before you'd ever consider moving in here. I tried to demand a remodel but got no where fast! If any of you come upon a large, unexpected windfall of money could you remember my plight? I was just short of cursing my tiny kitchen today or at least cursing the people who never cleaned it!! It's just stuff, just a kitchen I tried to tell myself but I realized I struggle with it so much because the kitchen is where so much of my ministry takes place. It's the place I cook for guests, the place I bake breads to give away, the place where tomorrow I will be giving a 9 year old girl from church a cooking lesson. I think I shall begin praying today for a solution.
**Who knew how much I would miss my dishwasher? Actually, I did, LOL!! In a small kitchen you can't let dishes pile up so I am constantly washing dishes. If I had my nails manicured my lady would be pulling her hair out!! The boys memory is about 10 seconds when it comes to remembering which cup they used last!! Mind you they mostly use it to get water from the tap but heaven forbid they don't use their cup!! It demands a new one every time. As soon as I find my label maker they are getting personalized cups pronto!!
**Who knew my husband would love the country so much? He cracked me up when he thought 2 days to the "city" in one week was overload for his system, LOL!!! A man and his land...how sweet it is.
**Who knew I could have noisier neighbors than the last ones?? Our last neighbors had a Weimaraner and it had a loud, deep bark. It was especially annoying at 6am. Our new neighbors have chickens (no roosters) that make quite a racket. When the chickens are napping, the dog is barking like crazy and when the dog finally wears himself out the squawking indoor bird fills in the void. If only they had told us the Ransomville Zoo was next door! I'll be talking to my realtor about that.
**Who knew time could fly by so fast? For being in a new place where we don't know anyone, have no social life to speak of, and a relatively blank calendar of appointments, time is just whizzing by. Maybe it's all the fumes from the cleaning supplies I am using everyday, it's putting me in a strange state of mind. No, wait, that is normal for me, LOL!


On another note, Dad came out Thursday and helped Greg install one of the new garage door openers and a new outside light over the garage. Today Greg was able to install the other opener as well as the key less entry. He also tapped the water line in the basement so I can have my ice maker running again. It was a good day of projects. On our way to deliver some homemade spaghetti sauce to Pastor Bill & family we noticed a snow blower for sale on the side of the road. It was a Craftsman 2 stage something, something. Anyway, the sellers are moving and were only asking 50.00 for it. Guess who the proud new owner of a snow blower is?? The theory goes that if you buy a snow blower it won't snow enough to use it. That sounds like a great use of 50.00 to me!

Are you still with me?? Bless your heart! That's all my tired fingers can muster tonight. All that scrubbing did me in. Thanks for checking in with us!

Vacation Time!!

We rented a cottage on Cayuga Lake last year with Chris, Melissa and Ethan. It was such a wonderful and relaxing time that we pledged to do it again. When our lives became uncertain this past spring, Chris and Melissa went ahead and rented the cottage with the hopes that we would be able to join them. We scheduled the closings of both houses on the 26/27th of July and the cottage was rented for the 28th. I prayed that the closings would go as planned and I made phone calls every week to keep people on task. We did indeed close as scheduled on both houses. We had many people from Pearce help us load up our U-Haul trucks (2 26' trucks to be exact!) and Ransomville folks helped to unload them on the other end. It was almost a complete dump and run. We put up beds and unloaded a bit of the kitchen before locking up our new house to go on vacation. Now...I don't necessarily recommend this but ya gotta do what ya gotta do!!
We had awesome weather with only a wee thunder shower one night. Here are some pictures of our time.
Here are Josh, Kaleb and Ethan taking a paddle boat ride. There was no shortage of boats, we had a paddle boat, a fishing boat, a ski boat, a kayak and an inflatable raft. We used them all too!

This is no fish tale! The week was filled with lots of fishing and catching! Greg fishes but says he never catches anything so I need to clarify there was catching of fish all week. Here is Kaleb with a small one he caught off the dock.


Then there is the medium sized fish that Josh caught, I think it was a lake trout. This was caught on an early morning outing with Chris on his fishing boat. It was so early in fact, Josh went in his PJ"s. I think the fish came in around 8.5 lbs.

Then there's the BIG ONE! Chris is amazing when it comes to all things fishing and hunting. His head is chock full of information and the boys, Josh especially, just eat it up. Chris thought it would be a fun time to hook a carp. He threw out some canned corn to attract them as they are apparently a shy fish. Josh saw one come close to the dock and threw in his line. That fish emptied his entire line and they had to get in the boat to chase it down. One broken rod later, they had a 24 lb. carp!! They threw it back in since it was only for the fun of the catch on that one.
We had many visits by ducks throughout the week. I think word got out that we were easy and whole families stopped by daily. This one got quite brave and took bread right from Ethan's hand. His nakedness apparently had no effect on him. (Ethan was potty training and spent the better part of the week in his birthday suite!)









I took lots of pictures and in the end realized I have no good ones of Greg or myself. Here is one of Kaleb and I on a kayak trip. we never did get the hang of paddling in tandem but we made it back safely anyway.










Here is Josh tubing. He did try to get up on waterskis several times and made it up once for about 30 seconds. In the end he decided tubing was more his speed.











Kaleb amazes me! He tried last year to get up on skis and made it once for a short bit. This year, the first try, he got up and stayed up for an entire loop around. It took convincing that there were no human-eating fish in the waters and that the seaweed would not swallow him up either, but after that he was a mad skiing machine. It was such a huge accomplishment for him and he skied like a pro.

Greg slept most nights out on the dock and got his fill of naps and resting. He also got to play some volleyball for Chris' team one night. Just what he needed before he hit the ground running at the new church.

I am so grateful for our time there. Hope you enjoyed our photos!
Reminder, you can click on any photo for a larger view.

New Church Home

Hi everyone!! We are finally in the house and getting settled. So much has happened that I want to share so I think I will post several times this week to get caught up.

Today is Sunday and we had our second service at church. Last week was Greg's first Sunday and he preached for Pastor Bill who was speaking out at LCC. He is leading worship each week and so far so good.

Here is a photo of the Ransomville church.

This was the sign on the front lawn as we drove in on our first Sunday.

Isn't that great?!!! In a small town this makes news. After the service they had a brunch in the fellowship hall. They presented us with a welcome basket full of food and household items. It had tourist information, where to go for different groceries. Pastor Bill's wife, Linda, is a bargain hunter so she listed off a bunch of places to shop. The two of us are going to get along just fine!! It was a warm welcome and a wonderful way to start in a new place. We have been overwhelmed by peoples love, kindness, thoughtfulness and practical care in our first week here.

Chris, Melissa and Ethan came for a few days and we got a chance to drive around the area and discover some new treasures. I will share more about that another day. Here is a picture of the family taken at the Power Vista overlooking the Niagara River. Power Vista is a place to learn all about the power generated from the river, how it came to be, how it works, ect. They have an overlook that sits 300' above the river bed and offers a fantastic view.

I look forward to sharing with you more about the last month. Things have been a whirlwind of activity. We thank you for your cards, prayers and words of encouragement!!

Last Bash

Adirondacks Rule! The final trip for the graduating seniors took place in June and it was a good one. We left on a Wednesday and came home on Friday. In between was an absolutely beautiful day of hiking, climbing and swatting black flies. TC cooked us a great breakfast, we packed some food and water and were off. Our destination was Avalanche Lake.

The weather was sunny and cool which was perfect for hiking. For the most part, the hike was simple. Not too much in the way of elevation or difficult terrain. Dave almost got us lost taking a left turn at Marcy Dam when we should have gone straight but clearer heads prevailed. On the way to Avalanche Lake we stopped at the front end of Avalanche Pass. The rock face went up about 1000' and looked too cool to pass up. We did have to scramble over a rather large wall of downed trees - remnants of the last avalanche. Once on the face, however, the climbing was easy. Plenty of traction due to the type of rock (geologists are welcome to inform here). We all climbed at least 500' up the face where we posed for a group shot (Whiteface is the peak in the distance). Jake and Chelsea felt the need to climb higher and finally stoped around the 800' mark. Jake always had to go one step higher than Chelsea but Chelsea's competitive nature wouldn't let him win. I think they just reached a mutual agreement and turned around together.

Once at Avalance Lake, we stopped for summer sausage and cheese pitas. They went down well and gave us the required energy to scramle over the boulders and ladders to get to the end of the lake. What you can't see in the picture are the swarms of black flies. The breeze would keep them at bay but when the breeze died, they were everywhere. We snapped our token picture, peed in the woods and went back. We finished the day with meatball subs followed by an ice cream run to Lake Placid.

I love being in ministry and have had many great experiences with teens over the years. What made this trip so great was seeing how these kids care for each other. The conversations ranged everywhere from pop music to deep spiritual questions. They wrestled with each other over contemporoary issues but kept their friendship a priority. All in all, it was one of the best trips.

Stuff, Stuff and More Stuff!!

Greg and I have been married for 13 years and this move will be our 8th!! We have been in our house for 4 1/2 years, by far the longest we have been in one place. With all of our experience moving we have learned how to weed out, throw out, give away and sell lots of stuff. I thought we ran a pretty tight ship but some how stuff just appears. It is kinda like the Tribbles episode of Star Trek if any of you remember that. Every time you open a cupboard, more stuff falls out, often quite literally, LOL!!

The boys are at camp this week so Greg and I used the time to prep for a garage sale that we are having the next three days. We figure it will fund the new stuff we will probably buy after we move!! Aren't we such silly creatures?! The morning was a steady flow of people taking all my stuff to their new home. I shed no tears, all I see is one less box to pack and move. It was brutal earlier this week prepping because of the crazy heat and humidity but today it is a beautiful sunny, yet cool day.

Greg and I are taking advantage of the kidless week by having dinner out each night. We saved some gift cards just for the occassion and have enjoyed our time immensely! On Tuesday we went out with Mom and Dad to celebrate their 43rd wedding anniversary. What a great meal that was...flaming peaches and all. Last night we got together with some friends to have dessert and play some games. I so enjoyed making a fool of myself playing charades! Good thing they are friends!

That post from Greg is coming, I am going to send him in shortly to take care of it. I know you will enjoy the photos of their trip to the mountains.

An item for prayer, if you feel so inclined. I spent Monday on the phone with lawyers, bank people and such making sure all our ducks are in a row for the closings in two weeks. It all seems to be on schedule but the bank guy had to throw in there that only 50% of closings happen as scheduled. Well, that is why I am calling you....to keep you on track!! If you could, please pray that we are the part of the 50% that do close as scheduled. If it doesn't it will affect our vacation and that is not cool!

Here is a picture of the boys as we dropped them at camp. Their friends Max and Frank are there this week as well. They couldn't get rid of us fast enough!!

New House

I thought I would give you a link to the listing for the house we are buying. I do not know how long it will be active now that we have signed on it. There is more to see and we will post pictures when we move in.
http://hfe.buffaloniagarahomes.com/property/detail.cfm?mlnum=276600&property_type=1#
It is situated in the town of Ransomville but as you will discover if you visit us, country is all around. We are a short walk away from where Kaleb will go to school. Joshua will be bussed to the middle school in the next town over. The church is a half mile away. We will have to take photos of that as well to show you later.
The house sits on about an acre and has plenty of open lawn for the boys. It is a bit bigger than our current house and has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths. I am going to love having my own bathroom!! At one time it was a 3 bed, 1 bath home but they converted what was a single car garage into a master bedroom and bath. The kitchen is quite small, dark and poorly set up, if you ask me. There is no dishwasher so we plan to try out a couple of new models...the Kaleb & Josh XP...we'll let you know if they're any good!! Our family entertains a lot and this house is not designed to accommodate many people at this point. The thing that would make this house ideal is to knock out the walls to the 4th bedroom to create a large open kitchen/dining/living room area. That will require time and money so we shall see. The basement is finished and offers a large additional space for my stamping studio and rec room. The house is in good condition and other than some initial decorating items we won't have too much to tackle. There is a 2 car detached garage which makes Greg happy. We will need to install garage door openers to make it complete. Oh yeah...and buy a riding lawn mower to put in it.
I do want to add a word about the sale of our house for those of you who have not heard. We listed it late on a Tuesday and our realtor told us we'd have a days notice on showings. On Wednesday we attended a luncheon at church for Greg and when my mom and I returned at 2:30 we had a message that someone was coming at 5:30! So much for notice!! I phoned Greg at work and demanded he come home immediately and we raced for 3 hours to get it ready. We had done a lot already but it wasn't show ready by any means!! I was still watching kids in my home and there was just stuff everywhere. Thank goodness my mom was here to help. By Saturday morning we had shown the house 6 times and by Saturday night we had 2 offers!! We had a non contingent, cash offer very close to our asking price. Is God good or what?! We know that it was a wonderful confirmation that this IS what we are supposed to do and WHERE we are supposed to go. Greg and Dad are finishing the deck to the pool as I write and after that it is a matter of packing up. We close on our house on July 26th and on the new house on July 27. It is amazing!!
Greg has a post he is writing up to share his last camping trip with the kids so check back.
Blessings!!

Pearce Senior Banquet

One of the traditions at Pearce is the annual banquet for graduating seniors and their families. It is a time to celebrate the students, their families and the many people who have made deposits in their spiritual growth all these years. This is the sixth and final one for Greg as youth pastor and what a way to go out!! It was the largest one in our time here and Captain Bob said it was the largest one in his time and that is going back a ways! There were 22 seniors with their families for a group of more than 75.
This was a unique class of kids, the kind you dream and hope for. It was the first class in Greg's 17 years of teen ministry that he saw through all the way from 7th -12th grade. They are an incredible group of young people. They are tight but not clickish, they are deeply rooted in their faith and they are a wonderful model of what God calls his church to be. You can see their servant hearts at work daily. They are mature beyond their years. They come from loving families. Many of those families are not from Pearce. It was such a testament to how God has worked in and through Greg and these kids that they reached out beyond themselves to love others. A mother of one of the young men introduced herself to me and was so grateful that Greg had walked beside her son these last few years. She said Greg had a deep impact on her son and his spiritual journey. They were grateful to be included in this time despite not being attenders of Pearce.
This year was different than previous years. The kids played a huge role in the evening. They requested to speak, two of them sharing about the mark left on them by their friends, family, youth leaders and Greg. I am going to request a copy of what Andrea shared. She used the Acts 2 model of the church to talk about the youth group. They humble me, they are so brave and strong. They requested to sing. Greg has been working with several of the kids to form a teen worship band and they have been playing for retreats and Wednesday night youth group. They played guitar and sang several of their favorite worship songs. I found this so wonderful since the first two years of ministry Greg could not pay the kids to sing. At one point they stopped because it was so frustrating. I love that they have come to embrace worship in such a wonderful way.
They introduced every senior and they shared their plans for the next year. We have two foreign exchange students that are returning home to the Czech Republic. They were a joy to have and we know the seeds of faith planted here will grow and spread as they live a world away. We have someone spending a year in Romania as a missionary. We have a young man attending Bible school with the goal of becoming a pastor. We have students attending college in CA, PA, OH, MA and NY. We are so excited to hear about their journeys in the world. They have been well equipped and are ready!! (the parents on the other hand I am not so sure about, there is great sadness to see their children leave the nest!!)
At the end of the evening they asked to lay hands on our family and pray for us. What a precious time! What a precious people!
It seemed that no one wanted to go home, no one wanted this time to end. We were there past 10 pm. Poor Josh and Kaleb were slow to rise this morning. It was a bittersweet time for me and many people there last night. You could not have planned a better time to bring Greg's ministry here to a close. Yet, I am saddened that the events and decisions made by our church have brought this end about. I am saddened that they did not know how wide and deep the teen ministry at Pearce is because if they did, they would not have settled for any less than the best.
Greg shared last night that it has been a privilege to serve the teens and families of Pearce, and it has. We pray God continues to bless the socks off these kids and that they will continue to grow into the men and women God desires them to be.
You can click on any of the photos to get a bigger view if you'd like.

Harp Family Goes Live!!

You have found us!! Welcome to our family blog!! I have been blogging for quite some time with my stamping (see here--http://inky-doodles.blogspot.com/) and with all the family goings on we thought perhaps a family blog would help us document our journey as well as share it with those we love. I hope it becomes a way to communicate better with friends and family. Feel free to leave comments.