Colonial Williamsburg

Although I put up a bunch of photos on facebook from this trip, it well deserves it's own blog spot, hopefully so I can remember the good information for future trips! Let's see: 1. it is GOOD to stay at the Woodlands Inn and Conference Center because a) you get a suite (kids in one room, closed door and parents in the other), b) you get free breakfast (and not just dry cereal!), c) it has an outdoor pool (with towels) and free mini-golf, d) they gave a very gracious extra 4 hours to check out late to accommodate a napper, and e) it is close to the bus to get you into Wmsburg. 2. It is GOOD to have good walking shoes at Wmsburg (lots of walking) 3. It is GOOD to go and do morning events and see trade shops in the town and then have lunch, come back to your hotel, take a nap and then catch the bus back into "town" to see a parade (each day) complete with drums, fifes and guns. 4. It is GOOD to keep a bag of Skittles in your purse to get you through a candlelight organ recital at 8 p.m. with 4 children who have been walking for 8 of the last 12 hours ;0) 5. It is GOOD to give thanks to the Lord for letting you run into friends from Charlotte who you never planned to meet in Wmsburg, but who "happened to be there" right at the same time you were ;0) Here are some photos.Oh yes, also GOOD to have a stroller--for everyone ;0)
Here we are waiting for the bus: the boys' favorite part.
I really loved the late afternoon light you get in Williamsburg. Something about it makes the whole places seem very "authentic" (if that makes any sense!).
The Governor's Palace. We had a very knowledgeable, but somewhat dry tourguide. By the very last room, Lydia looked at me imploringly and whispered, "Mom, this is BORING!" Agh well, she was sort of right.
See what I mean about the light? My camera doesn't really do it justice. I came home and looked up jobs at Colonial Wmsburg--a girl can dream ;0)Here are Joyners and Snapps intermingled in George Washington's pew at Bruton Parish Church. They spruced up each other's enthusiasm for Wmsburg ;0)
Simeon not so successful at hoop rolling with Daddy. He did actually have some fun although his face doesn't look that way in this photo.

Our two families on the steps outside the Mental Hospital/Art Museum (you know, building efficiency and all that).

No heartbeat.

On Labor Day, I took my parents to the airport and surprised them with the exciting news that I was 9 weeks pregnant. I had yet to go to my first doctor's appointment (scheduled for the next day) but I wanted to tell them before they headed off for a 3-week trip to the UK. We were waiting for our first ultrasound before we told the children. My parents were thrilled, surprised (Mum) not-surprised (Dad) and excited.

The next day I went in for the appointment while Kevin kept the children. The doctor took one look at the ultrasound and told me there was no heartbeat. It was as though someone had squeezed all the air out of me and a little child's voice came out of my mouth, "There's no heartbeat???" I couldn't believe it. It appeared that the baby had passed away late in the week before. I burst into tears, so desperately wanting that baby I could see on the screen with arms and legs and a head and a tummy to have a beating heart. But the Lord, who had seen fit to let us carry this child for 8 weeks, had now taken His child to be home with Him. It was crushing to bear that weight as I put my clothes on and left the office. I met the children with Kevin right outside the office and we had to explain to them immediately what had happened. It was so, so sad. But I told the children of God's goodness, and His sovereignty in all of life and encouraged them in knowing that one day they would meet that baby in glory. Psalm 57:2 says "I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me." There certainly was crying out, but I did take comfort in knowing that this is part of His purpose for me, for Kevin, for Lydia, for Abigail, for Philip and for Simeon. And it is a good purpose.

Wrightsville Beach

We made it down to the beach for a daytrip, the Saturday before Labor Day. I posted some of these pictures on facebook because well, it was quite an unusual trip. We managed to get everyone in the car by 6:50 a.m. (okay, they slept in their bathing suits) and on the road just before 7 a.m. We got a great parking spot at the beach a few minutes after 9 a.m. and the beach looked pretty much like this.
I was down at the water with the children when Simeon came back up to our tent and to see Kevin. This is the scene:
"Who's that guy??" I asked Kevin. "Shhh, he's sleeping," was his reply. I was confused but Kevin indicated it was fine--the guy just wanted to rest in the shade.
He was there for 3 hours!!! He only moved to get further UNDER our tent as the sun got hotter on his face. His friends appeared after lunchtime and sort of kicked him awake. He got up without so much as a thank you! I think he was pretty blitzed.
I thought for sure the kids would crash on the way home. They didn't. So, we ended up getting some milkshake-type things to complete a day at the beach.

Simeon's 3rd Birthday

Simeon turned 3 in mid-August. He managed to get under the wire on potty training at 2 (like, um, the week before he turned 3!) I waited by far the longest with him to potty train (after trying unsuccessfully in June) and I have to say, I really liked it! He had zero accidents, and in fact was very over-zealous in getting himself to the potty (even if he didn't have to go). He still wore diapers for naps and bedtime, but I cut out the naptime diapers and he transitioned well. Then I noticed that he is dry all night as well in a diaper, so tonight I'm cutting that out as well! He is a very verbal little fellow; loves to blow and whistle and direct his siblings; loves to call them "children" (e.g.: "Children, put down your spoons. I am going to pray for our breakfast...[sigh] 'Pray Thather, thank you for this great day, and for mommy and daddy's car breaking down...and...for this food. Jesus' name. Amen.'") Philip corrected him because a) the day hadn't started and b) we weren't thankful that the car broke down. [see later posts on that one.]

Anyway, enough of the posterity-post. His birthday: he celebrated twice. First, on the actual day we went to my parents and he had his very own chocolate cake complete with chocolate buttons. He enjoyed the day. We went to a local produce/small animal farm in the sweating heat. My camera died (although I later revived it), so I have very few photos.

My mother, the original recycler, gave him a card which had been given to my dad. When you blow out the blinking lights on the cake, it plays a jazzed up version of Happy Birthday (to which my dad said, "What song is that????") Anyhoo...
Here he is blowing out his candles. He had a fun day. Later we celebrated with Kevin's dad (birthday 3 days later) at another party and Simeon was more than willing to blow out more candles and eat more cake!

Annie's Bridal Shower

Last Saturday a very dear young lady (who I have known since she was a wee lass of 11) was showered with blessings at a lovely event in her honor. It was also a big day for us as it was our girls' first time attending a shower. Believe it or not, I think they were nervous. It was a delightful time to be hidden away on the 3rd floor of an historic building in a quaint downtown. We could see the skies open and the rain slash the windows, but the chattering and laughing drowned whatever thunder rolls attempted to intrude on our time. Here are some photos (taken by Lydia!)Annie and her fiance are musical (specifically she's a violinist and he's...hmm lots and lots of other instruments). I thought these were lovely themed figurines!
The shortbread was our contribution. I was taking some pride in them, only to be humbled by my daughter who told me that overnight they had become soft and tasted stale!
Here's a bevy of gifting!
A fun shot which Lydia captured of the decor and beverages. Everything was just lovely.
One very excited and cheerful bride-to-be! We can't wait for the wedding on New Year's Eve!

Catching Up.

So, here we are in the very last week of our first quarter of our school year. I'm ready for a break! It has been a good first quarter, although there are always things I wish we did better. But since it has been brutally hot, we've at least been productive with our indoor time! We did have one week off, during which we attended VBS at another local OP church. The theme was "A Dangerous Journey." The oldest 3 attended and I took Simeon off to a friend's house each morning for him to have some solo time. The oldest 3 greatly enjoyed themselves, although I'm not sure on Philip's level of comprehension! But it was fun, and they looked forward to going each day. We concluded that week with an impromptu trip to the NC Art Museum. My parents were celebrating their wedding anniversary by going there and also staying for dinner. Since we were so close by at VBS we met them there on the Friday afternoon. Abigail and I spent a good deal of time looking at an oil painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder. She has studied the work of his father, Peter, this quarter and so to see a painting by his son was a real treat. Interestingly, Peter Brueghel had 2 sons--both of whom became artists (as did some of their sons), but Peter died when his own sons were 4 and 5.

Here are some random July photos: Tomatoes from the garden (which is almost completely dried to a crisp now)!
Simeon appeared one day saying, "Look at me, I'm PeeDee the Pirate!" A reference to ECU and also attributed to his lack of toys and dress-up clothes that he found a metal clothes hanger to play with. NOT!
The great Pollywog failure. We collected frogspawn from the creek behind the house and vigilantly watered and watched it grow into many, many pollywogs in our garage. Then, I had the bright idea of moving them to a larger space (a green turtle pool) in the backyard. Only a couple of hours of 100+ temps fried the poor things! Abigail, in a magnanimous way said, "Well, we all had a part in the death of those poor pollywogs."
Kids piling on each other. Lydia, 9, Abigail 7.5, Philip 4 and Simeon 2. Birthday season around here is August and September, so we'll soon have changing numbers!
We went to celebrate the 93rd birthday of a church friend at her nursing home. A couple of other church families joined us. In this photo our friends, the Conlons (2 boys, 2 girls) joined us to smile with Mrs. Annaveldt.

4th of July

We spent the majority of today down at my parents' house. We hardly ever get a day to just go and hang out leisurely with them, but today we could. It was really nice. My mom does a nice job of keeping color around their home despite the beastly hot temperatures we have in the summer.She set out a moving truck blanket and a bucket and gave the kids corn to shuck. Keep helping me with their work ethic, Mom! We ate out picnic on their back deck where their thermometer told us it was 102 degrees. Nice.
The children each made an American flag and we had a few recitations of patriotic poems we've been enjoying. Lest you think we overachieve, I did the recitations (not from memory!) while the kids waved their flags.
My mom purchased sparklers and Lydia & Philip were eager to use them. Despite it being 102 degrees, and despite it being daylight. Anyway, we brought a few boxes home to use later. Abigail stayed seated, manning the water bucket--where you drop your used sparklers!

Happy Independence Day!