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!