The First Decade

Annabel turned 10 yesterday.  This is such a fun, yet challenging, age.  She's all silly one minute, and then wiser than her years the next. 

Instead of a party this year, Annabel opted to spend a special day in Bangor with her best friend.  We went Christmas shopping, ate lunch at Texas Roadhouse, watched a movie at the theater and ended the day with frozen yogurt.

We held a small family gathering with friends Troy & Melissa on Sunday.  Melissa shares Annabel's birthday, and we love including her in the fun.

Annabel has such a big heart.  We have heard that she has been a source of comfort to her classmates during our recent string of tragedies.  She is a good helper, is full of curiosity and has a tireless zest for life.  She loves to sing and spread joy to those around her.

Love you girlie girl!

Passing Time

To the kids, the wait for Christmas takes FOREVER.  Now that we are less than a week away, the days seem especially long.  But there have been some highlights.  Annabel sang a solo at the school Christmas concert...

and Thane shot a squirrel while hunting over the weekend.

Only 6 more sleeps!

Beauty for Ashes

 

It's been a rough fall in our little Downeast community.  The kids have stayed home from school 4 days since mid-September due to shooting and bomb threats directed at their school system (an additional threat was called in early enough to clear the school for classes).  A beloved teacher passed away in a terrible car accident Thanksgiving weekend, and a 10 year old classmate was recently killed in another tragic wreck. While the practical side of me reasons that we are incredibly blessed to live in a western country that has not become immune to daily tragedies such as these (think of children who are being raised in war ravaged regions), every maternal instinct in my body wants to hold life at bay and shelter Annabel & Thane from the harsh reality of our fallen world.  We've had lots of questions and discussions over the past few months.  I've tried to explain the difference between God ordaining vs. His allowing events to happen.  Quite frankly, if I'm honest, there is a part of me that doesn't understand either.  In these times, we cling to the promise that God is in control and He will make beauty out of ashes.  Such a simple, but powerful thing.

Friends and Strangers

If you have ever lived away from family, you will know that the holiday season is a mixed blessing.  We have been very fortunate to have friends who have included us in their holiday gatherings over the years, and we have fond memories of these times.  So this year we decided to pay it forward.  There was a unique mixture of 15 people from 4 different families at our table this year, including 7 children.  We sat down as strangers, but left as friends - which is really what it's all about. 

Walking in Another's Shoes

Our kids are incredibly blessed, and they are becoming old enough to realize that this is so.  Jordan and I want to reinforce this fact, and we decided to do so in a practical way this year.  We had a conversation with the kids, and together as a family we decided to cut back on Christmas presents and use the saved funds to fill a bunch of shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child.

We have participated in this amazing program for several years, and the kids were very excited about doing it again on a larger scale.  A few years ago my Aunt Bonnie, whom we saw in September, went on a trip to help distribute some of the shoeboxes, and her stories inspired the kids to carefully choose appropriate gifts.  We will be tracking the packages and praying for the kids who receive them throughout the coming year.

We all had a fun few days focusing on others - and learning to grateful for our blessings in the process. 

A Larger than Life Halloween

Happy Halloween from Paul Bunyan and

his faithful friend Babe, the blue ox!

Autumnal Bliss

Oh how I adore New England in the fall!

Field Trip

Last summer the kids reminded me that I have not accompanied them on a class field trip since 2014.  Bad mom!  So when Thane's teacher asked for chaperones for their trip to Campobello Island (Canada), I volunteered.

Campobello is the site of Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt's summer home, and it also contains the world's only international park (co-owned by Canada and the U.S.).  We even had to cross the border, which generated much discussion and awe amongst the 7 and 8 year old participants! (What?  You didn't go to another country on your 2nd grade field trip?!?)

 

The park staff were AMAZING with the kids.  The kids were so busy having fun that they completely missed the fact that they were being educated.  We learned about the Roosevelt family & presidency, toured their (ahem) modest cottage, watched a video, played games, and walked like Egyptians (see photo below).

The children even got to learn about the hilarious antics of the 12 dogs that lived off and on in the Roosevelt White House, and then did some arts and crafts related to what they learned.

It was great fun, and I'm already planning to ask for time off for Annabel's field trip.

Child's Play

Life just isn't the same when Jordan is gone.  The kids especially count the days until Daddy returns.  In an effort to refocus their thoughts, I sent Annabel and Thane out to their little workshop to create something for Jordan.  They had recently watched "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and ended up recreating some of Father Christmas' gifts.  They re-purposed an old buoy into Susan's quiver:

Annabel used a broken hammer handle and some other wood to make Peter's sword.  Then she strapped some odd pieces of scrap lumber to the frame of fishing net to create his shield:

Annabel also became an overnight fan of Calvin & Hobbes after learning that it was her Daddy's favorite comic.

When he returned, Jordan brought an old train set from Grandpa and Grandma.  Thane immediately set up the tracks, and he has been happily playing with the train ever since.

We really enjoy the kids' imagination!

Abundance

Jordan spent the first couple weeks of October hunting in the beautiful Big Horn Mountains.  Joined by friend Troy and Grandpa Frank, Jordan had the time of his life.  Between the 3 of them, they got 2 elk and 5 deer.  Jordan and Troy came home with over 300 lbs of meat each.  Sound like a lot?  While we are incredibly grateful for the abundance, 300 lbs doesn't last long with our ravenous brood. 

More importantly, the boys got to spend a significant amount of time with Grandpa and Grandma.  Jordan says that hunting with Grandpa was one of the highlights of his life.  We are abundantly blessed!

Happy Fall Y'All

The front door is finally painted, and it was finished at the perfect time of year.  Happy Fall!

Crazy Eight

This little man turned 8 years old last week.  How is that even possible?!?  In honor of the occasion, we had a Lumberjack party.  It was great fun!

We had a chili bar, with corn muffins and all of the fixin's.  We also served some appropriate snacks and a super fun campfire cake Thane found online:

For activities, we had a firewood throwing contest, attempted to throw rings onto a set of deer antlers and a forest-themed scavenger hunt. 

Thane's friends were super into the party - they all came dressed in plaid and made homemade beards made out of sheep fleece.  It was totally fun!

At the end of a wonderful (yet exhausting) afternoon, everyone went home with s'more ingredients packed in a lumberjack lunch box.  The lunch materials could also be recycled as a marshmallow roasting stick and napkin. 

Happy Birthday Thanie!  We are so happy that God placed you in our family, and we love watching you grow up. 

Beautiful Bodfish Valley

Some of my favorite times as a child were spent in Bodfish Valley.  Located some 20 miles or so south of Mooshead Lake in western Maine, my grandparents first began spending summers there in the early 1960's.  For years, my Dad's family of 8 stayed in a tiny, one room camp (2 girls on the top bunk, parents in the lower bunk and 3-4 boys in sleeping bags on the floor).  By the time we grandchildren came along, we also made use of a slightly larger vacant cabin next door.  This is where my grandmother gathered lots of discarded furniture to make a life-size playhouse for us kids (when we weren't fishing in the brook or climbing trees).  Fast forward many more years, and 3 sets of relatives now have built cabins on small parcels of land down the valley.  I'd heard about the new camps, but haven't been back to the Valley for over 30 years.

Last weekend Aunt Bonnie invited the kids and I up to camp for the weekend.  What an amazing time we had!  Lots of things have changed (the old camp is long gone), but many things were the same - including the (lack of) amenities.

 

The Appalachian Trail runs through the valley, and we hiked a bit and replenished Aunt Bonnie's store of "Trail Magic" (food and medical goods for the hikers).  We stopped at Otter Pond to look for wildlife, and then we checked out Toby Falls where one can slide down a natural water slide made of giant boulders made smooth by the force of untold gallons of water over the years.  The temptation was strong, but luckily enough the ice cold water kept the kids from plunging right in.  Brrrrr!

We fearlessly walked along the train trestle that my Dad has written about in his book of Bodfish memories.  Annabel and Thane were thrilled to be up so high, and they enjoyed the view of Borestone and Barren Mountains.  And Mom?  She was counting the seconds until we were back on good old terra firma!

We worked up quite the appetite with all of this adventuring, and we even got a taste of amazingly fresh water from an old fashioned well.

After a traditional Saturday night bean and hot dog supper back at camp, the kids roasted marshmallows, finished a puzzle and played card games with Great Aunt Sandy and 3rd cousin Charissa. 

It was such a great time of reconnecting with loved ones and carrying on family traditions.  We are so looking forward to the next visit.

Another Summer Has Come and Gone

And just like that, summer is over.  There's a distinct chill in the air most mornings, and the leaves are already starting to turn.  Ready or not, here it comes.  Out with the old...

...and in with the (gulp!) new:

This is Annabel heading off to 4th grade, and Thane to 2nd.  We're excited to see what the new school year brings, and just a wee bit reluctant to bid summer goodbye.

While the Cat's Away...

Jordan and I took advantage of our weekend home without the kids to go hiking for the day. 

Troy and Melissa, our dear friends, joined us for our 8+ mile trek around Great Wass Island.

The weather was great, and the scenery incredible.  

It was the perfect (albeit exhausting) day.

Summer Skills

Before heading off to Washington State to spend a few weeks with Jordan's folks, the kids did their best to keep themselves occupied.  They attended marine biology, art, lego robotics and other similarly themed camps, and they enjoyed some of the local festivities.  These events included Margaretta Day (a celebration of Machias' participation in the first naval battle of the Revolutionary War), Puckerbrush (a gathering of people who embrace primitive skills), and the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival (where Annabel dressed as a lobster to help sell lobster rolls for her trip to France next summer).

At Puckerbrush, Thane honed his archery skills, and then spent a few hours turning a willow branch into a hand made bow.

Annabel preferred to get her hands dirty by molding local Machiasport clay into pottery.  She also enjoyed hand forging an iron hook.

But mostly the kids looked for endless ways to stay cool.

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