Bringing Everything Up-To-Date…A Kid's Retreat…A Puppy and Long Lost Family…A Birthday…A Project and Home

I have been absent from my writing for good reason, our life has been engaged in a myriad of activities that all seemed to occur at once.  Isn't that always the way?

First, Josh and I packed up our three children and sent them off to a GTT Kid's Retreat.  Victoria and Benjamin went as helpers and Sam went to just have fun!  They had a wonderful time of fellowship and learning and got to see the Boardwalk for the first time, even if it was 40 degrees.  That was okay, though, since their Great Aunt has made us promise that she would get to introduce them to the Boardwalk herself since she has been a staple there since the 40's.  With the children being gone, Josh and I found ourselves alone for two whole days for the first time since being married.  A whole two days alone!  I wish we could say we spent it doing something wonderful but we ended up working the whole time preparing for our very busy week to come.  There was almost an eerie silence in the house without the sound of the triad of voices that normally flow through our home.  We missed them very much but all children need opportunities to spread their wings and there isn't a better place to do so than Glad Tidings.  They have the best leader, Kelly, who puts her heart and soul into all those kids which is obvious from the way the children thrive!

Once we retrieved the children from their retreat we had to get on the road immediately.  We had a small window of time that our breeder was allowing us to pick-up Taddington and it was going to take every second we could save to make it.  We added a new phrase to our vocabulary in this trip....Frost Heaves!  What that means when you are in a truck trying to make it to an appointment in the mountains on time is a very bumpy ride!  We didn't eat and only made one bathroom stop for a 4 1/2 hour trip but we made it, just barely, and Taddington is now ours.  He is so precious and settled in with our family almost immediately.  He ate normally and used his potty pad right away, in fact, in the last week, he's only had 4 accidents.  Not bad for a puppy!  Taddington knew instantly we were to be his family and he didn't spend a nervous moment after the first 15 minutes of warming up in the truck when he was first handed to me.  And now, he is slowly and systematically taking over the house, 2 pounds of complete and total manipulation.  How he has managed to have five grown people catering to his every needs is beyond me!

After picking up Taddington, we had a wonderful reunion with a few of Josh's relatives he had not seen in many years.  It is amazing how sometimes when you meet family, even after 20 or 30 years of absence, the bond is so strong, it is like you never left.  We had such a wonderful time of fellowship and getting to know each other all over again.  The children all got along famously and had great fun and the adults had just as much fun.  They graciously opened their home to us and made a beautiful dinner and even cooked for my special needs which isn't an easy task.  It was a wonderful time and we are looking forward to seeing them much more in the future.  There is nothing like having family around.

Then, after arriving home late on Tuesday, Josh had to prepare for work the next day while the rest of us got unpacked and started the washer to put through a mountain of clothes.  Everyone worked together and we got a lot accomplished so we were pretty much unpacked and only had a few loads of laundry to complete the next day.  Wednesday was busy preparing for Samuel's 11th Birthday.  Our family has a tradition of preparing handmade cards for each other so they will be something to treasure the rest of our lives.  Anyone can buy a card but to take the time to prepare one yourself so everyone was in card-making mode.

Our family usually celebrates birthday for several days, even a week.  We make birthday's fun as unique as the individual and it usually takes a few days to do that right.    During this time we were also working on Samuel's Passion Project for church.  The theme was 'Growing in the Lord' and Samuel chose to plant a bean and create a stop-motion video of the bean sprouting and growing.  It turned out really well, especially considering we were gone for part of the growing cycle.  If you would like to see his project, it is under my 'Pages' located at the top of this Blog page.  It turned out wonderful and he had a lot of fun making it.  I can't wait until he starts making Stop-Motion videos of his Transformers again.  I love to see the children use their talents.

Now, we begin a new week that will hopefully prove to give us a chance to catch-up on everything.  I have school to address with Samuel, knitting projects I need to organize and get started, notes I need to write all the while dealing with the barometric pressure popping all over the place.  I was grateful that I made the trip without too much trouble.  I had a few days of recuperation when we got home but overall, I did far better than I thought I would being as it was the first trip I made away from the house since I got sick four years ago.  They say March comes in like a lion and out like be a lamb so I'm looking forward to some steady weather so I can do more with the family.  I want to really enjoy this summer.  We are counting the days until a warm breeze blows once again!!!

May God Bless and Keep You in His Grace,

Lynne