To the Beach and Back!

We have safely returned from our travels! We had a wonderful week away visiting with friends and family. Here's a recap of our week.
We set out early Saturday morning for Jen and Mario's house in VA. Pennsylvania is never a thrill, in my opinion. It seems to take forever to drive through and the ups/downs/turns can make even the best rider car sick. The roads in some areas were snow covered so travel was a bit slow but we did make it through. We enjoyed a nice supper and time to visit in the evening. Jennifer has been bitten by the stamping bug so there was fun stuff to talk about, Mario just rolled his eyes! Sunday we headed for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in VA. WOW!! It was stuffed with cool planes, gliders, space stuff and more. There were planes suspended from the ceiling so every turn had something new to look at. Greg actually got choked up at the sight of the SR-71! We saw the Enola Gay, a Concord jet, early helicopters and military planes. I was amazed at what the human mind can conceive! That someone designed some of these early flying machines and then was daring enough to test them out boggles my mind, lol!
Here is a collage of some of our visit to the museum. Click on the photo to get a bigger view.

Early Monday morning we set out for our final destination...the Viele's house in Myrtle Beach. I will say that they boys were such troopers in the car. Those video players are worth their weight in gold! No fighting or arguing the whole way. It was so good to see Mike, Elissa and the kids. They are growing up so fast! We moved here before they moved south so it didn't really hit me that they lived there until we saw it for ourselves. It is such a great house and they were so gracious to give us their bedroom for our visit! We didn't go with any plans so it was nice to relax without an agenda. We went to the beach twice and one afternoon we visited the aquarium. They had some cool fish there. We all had a chance to touch a stingray and Greg and Josh held a horseshoe crab. Again, I was amazed at God's creation! The sea is just filled with interesting (and some ugly) creatures. We enjoyed a great seafood meal on the inlet...yummy hush puppies! We stayed up late playing dominoes. We laughed and played and just spent time together. Wonderful! Below is a collage of our visit.

We took a ton of pictures but I was so disappointed when I got home and realized we didn't take any of Jen and Mario or Mike and Elissa! What were we thinking??
Here is a photo Elissa took at dinner Thursday night.

This photo looks like it was taken outside, but it was actually inside the aquarium. Aren't my guys good lookin'?

At one point on our drive, Greg and I commented how glad we were to actually be following through on our trip. So often we dream up plans and don't follow through due to money, time or some other reason. But not this time. What a blessed time it was!

Newsworthy

Twice in one week...wow!! But I have something you may enjoy reading. The Buffalo News did an article on our church this past Sunday. It included a photo of Greg and Pastor Bill too. For the moment, it is listed on their website as well, you can read all about it here...
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/niagaracounty/story/573200.html

It is a pretty good article but I think they made a typo, we don't have 160 here on Sundays, we wish!! Someday though, maybe even this week with all the press!! And we won't even be here to witness it. I can't wait to see how God uses this opportunity!

Bad Blogger!

I am pretty good about posting to my stamping blog most days but not here. Maybe I ought to let the boys post once in awhile, that could prove to be interesting!

Joshua is at the end of his basketball season. He has three more games this week and then it will be time to turn in the uniform. It is pretty amazing to see how far these boys have come in just a couple of months. The games are not very high scoring but they do execute plays and more times than not, they look like they know what they are doing. So far, they are undefeated. This has been a great experience for Josh. I remember those days of playing on a team. It went a long way in making me feel a part of a community. Growing up, we lived in Germany for 6 years. When we moved to Lodi, I was going into seventh grade, the same grade that Josh is in now. Lodi was a small, rural community very similar to Ransomville. It was hard to break into those tight knit groups of kids that had grown up together. Being on a team helped me find my place. I am grateful for the opportunities the boys get to help them find their place. In the photo below, he is #12.

Kaleb still needs help finding his place. I think of the four of us, he is the one still struggling the most. He was invited to a birthday party yesterday and had a great time. We need a few more opportunities like that for him!

I am in job search mode at moment. We have placed a high priority on my staying home and being around for the boys. Through it all, I have had many part-time jobs and opportunities, but have been able to maintain a virtually full-time presence at home. As any of you who have made similar choices know, it requires sacrifices. Up until now the sacrifices have been things like vacations, clothing, eating out, and I am sure the boys would be quick to add, game systems and other cool things ALL the other kids have. Mostly things that we don't "need". Now the sacrifices are becoming a bigger deal. The boys both need orthodontic care, Josh may need glasses, we have 2 cars with over 150,000 miles, and the ever rising cost of heating our home. I can look back and know God has provided for our needs. It is a rather humbling picture actually, his provisions have come in many ways and through many people. I know he will continue to care for us. I realize, however, that I am the only component of the equation that has options. Greg is where he is called to be and last I knew, it was illegal to put my kids to work at their age (kidding!!). That leaves me and the part time jobs I have are not enough. Yesterday, I took a civil service exam. That was interesting! Whether that will actually lead to a job, only God knows. I have sent a variety of applications out and made lots of phone calls. I don't need to tell you that NOW isn't exactly the best time to be looking for a job, lol! My response is only to be faithful and continue to look for the door that God opens. I have no idea when or where that will be. These are interesting times. God's timing isn't our timing and his economy is not ours either. He owns the cattle on a 1000 hills so he has an answer to my seeking.

On Saturday we plan to drive south for a short get away. The kids have a week off of school starting Friday. We wanted to go see our friends, the Viele's, who moved to Myrtle Beach last summer. It is one of those things that we can't afford to do, yet we can't afford not to do either. We need a break and a little sunshine won't hurt either! Thankfully, the cost of gas is once again reasonable and we are packing a cooler with sandwiches and hitting the road. We can't wait!! It will be so good to see them. Along the way, we are stopping at Jen and Mario's house for a couple of nights. They are almost the midway point to Myrtle Beach, making our last leg only 7-8 hours. We plan to visit the Smithsonian Air and Space museum next Sunday. My next post will hopefully have photos of our trip.

That covers most of it for now. We are grateful for all of you and who you are in our lives!!

Playing Catch Up

Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day! We are all home today enjoying a day off. Greg cooked us up a great breakfast this morning after we all slept in. I realized I was a bit behind in my blogging so here is a short recap of the last couple of weeks.
First, I meant to show you something cool we did in our kitchen. Check this out...

It is a piece of vinyl wall art that I had made before Christmas. I ordered it from this site. They were wonderful to work with and can customize just about any idea you have, plus they have lots of pre-made designs. We received it right before Christmas and put it up immediately. It was the finishing touch in our space, makes me feel like we are eating in a restaurant. Now if the waiter would just come take my order when I sit at the table, lol! We also finally got some curtains put up and some shelves installed over the buffet.

Last week was my birthday and we stretched out the festivities over several days. Mom and Dad treated us to dinner on Sunday. We had a fabulous meal and as always, it was just great to be together. Joshua made me some gifts on his lathe, a letter opener and a French style rolling pin. Aren't they great?? My friend Lynn bought this amazing cake for me that we shared at our stamping class and then on the actual day, Greg cooked up a special meal. So far turning 41 isn't too bad!

Joshua is busy with basketball these days. They have practice 5 days a week and have yet to play a game. He seems to be enjoying it and it is a good way to stay fit during these long and cold wintry days. This past weekend he went on a Boy Scout weekend down in Allegheny.
Kaleb is busy creating and obsessing on his latest thing--hockey. He is all about hockey, the pads, the stick, watching it on TV. Below is a picture of one of his latest creations using his playing cards. Do you remember building a house of cards when you were younger?? Oh, the hours of entertainment to be had!

So, there you have the latest on us!
Blessings to you until next time!
Tracy

New Food Take 5

Hello friends!! We are back with another installment of "Try that Food". Greg and Kaleb stopped by Wegmans last week to pick up a couple of things for me and felt compelled to buy a new food to try. Check out this huge piece of fruit...

Do you know what it is?? I had never seen one before, it is called a Pomello. It is a citrus fruit and is best compared to a grapefruit in taste, just a little less bitter.

The pith is very thick on these...

It had a strange spongy feel to it as well. Weirded me out actually and it was not easy to cut into. Even after peeling away an inch thick rind the fruit was still covered. We decided to cut into rather than try to section it like an orange. As you can see, the insides are a deep pinkish red. Kaleb and Greg gave it a thumbs up for taste, Josh and I said no thanks. It got 4 thumbs down for ease of eating and thus will probably be the only one we eat.

Kaleb thought the peel would make a good hat...

When I looked pomellos up on-line, one of the writers said he saw kids using them as soccer balls in the street. I can see how they would be a great alternative to a soccer ball!

Here is something I can recommend though: Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta. It was a quick recipe and though it says it serves 2, it fed all four of us with a bit leftover. The spiciness was not too bad and I really liked the flavor. I did sneak in some chopped mushrooms and next time might even add some peas. If you are looking to try something new, try it!

Hugs!

Happy New Year!

Hello! We want to wish you a very blessed New Year! We have had a busy house for the last week and a half. Chris, Melissa and the boys just left today after visiting for several days. It was a nice time of being together and relaxing. We even watched the boys one night so they could go out on a date. We attempted to have an open house on Sunday where we invited the whole church but it kinda bombed. Hardly anyone showed up. We enjoyed good food and conversation with those that did come and now I know I don't have to do one next year! One of the nice parts about all the preparation was that we made more head way on the kitchen. I know, it seems like is should be done but not quite. We are closer though! I will show you something soon that we did, it is really cool!
I thought I would post a few photos of the past week.
How is this for a cutie?! Little Logan has grown so much since the last time we saw him! He now has hair and teeth and motoring around! He was loving on their dog and she was being ever so good about it!

Here is Josh opening some gifts on Christmas.

Greg...

Kaleb got a cleverly wrapped gift from his brother...

And Ethan opened his gift, a big set of Playmobiles.

Once again, few photos of me, and they aren't fit for posting for the world to see, lol.

I came across this today and thought it was a good word for the new year. It apparently came from a Dear Abby column and is adapted from an Al-Anon credo. (Elissa, this is for you and me ;))

JUST FOR TODAY, I will live through this day only. I will not brood about yesterday or obsess about tomorrow. I will not set far-reaching goals or try to overcome all of my problems at once. I know that I can do something for 24 hours that would overwhelm me if I had to keep it up for a lifetime.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will be happy. I will not dwell on thoughts that depress me. If my mind fills with clouds, I will chase them away and fill it with sunshine.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will accept what is. I will face reality. I will correct those things that I can correct and accept those I cannot.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will improve my mind. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration. I will not be a mental loafer.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will make a conscious effort to be agreeable. I will be kind and courteous to those who cross my path, and I'll not speak ill of others. I'll improve my appearance, speak softly, and not interrupt when someone else is talking. Just for today, I'll refrain from improving anybody but myself.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will do something positive to improve my health. If I'm a smoker, I'll quit. If I'm overweight, I'll eat healthily -- if only just for today. And not only that, I'll get off the couch and take a brisk walk, even if it's only around the block.

JUST FOR TODAY, I will gather the courage to do what is right and take responsibility for my own actions.

Hope you are off to a good start to your 2009!

Hugs from all of us!

Merry Christmas!!

A photo fresh from Christmas Eve service at church!

We wish you a blessed Christmas!