Friday, March 05, 2010

Green Eggs and Ham

We also celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday this week by making green eggs and ham and "pink ink" aka milk. We read some Dr. Seuss books and talked about some of the silly things in his books.

Yes, the eggs were really this green. Yummy!

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Hannah's 9th Birthday

March 1st was Hannah's 9th birthday. Hannah is a tremendously cheery child and loves all sort of celebrations.

We had to spread her birthday out due to Brian's work schedule. Mom and Dad came over on Sunday the 28th and we had Shepherd's Pie and cake and ice cream.

Later in the week, we had our little family celebration. Hannah loved all her gifts and we enjoyed celebrating our little Hannah.

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Portland Head Lighthouse

It was only mid-afternoon when we left the "B" family. The weather was not that great, but I wanted very much to see the ocean before we left. Brian, always the wonderful husband that he is, readily agreed to stop someplace. We plugged in "Portland Head Lighthouse" into the GPS and headed out.

What a tremendous treat for me. The ocean was wild from the stormy weather. It was cold, snowing and windy, but my intrepid family ventured out in the elements. We had a grand time walking along the paths, exploring all the junk that had washed up onto the rocks and soaking up God's creation at it's finest (at least in my mind).

We were cautious about letting the children get too far out or close to the water as there were some very large waves coming in. I think Bess was the only one that got her feet wet and that was because her boots leaked.


Thankfully, we had brought along boots, hats and gloves. What a great group of children to tolerate and even enjoy their momma's need for crazy stops in all kind of weather.

I was one happy traveler.

This stop was the whipped cream on the dessert of a very full and fun weekend.

Visit with the "B" Family

We arrived at the "B" families late morning. It was so nice to meet baby Jae and to visit with Jon, Felicity, Randy, Fern and Angeline. Jae wasn't too keen on visitors yet, but he was so sweet and adorable, that we didn't hold it against him.

Angeline has changed so much since we saw her last. She was talkative, so sparkly and a delight to us all.


Jae, keeping a watchful eye from across the room. Felicity was on the phone and was very curious of what was going on, but did not want to join in. I can't say I blame him....new family, new home, new language, new food...absolutely everything different and very strange from what he had known. I'm sure all of us would be a bit insecure with the situation.

The rest of the gang had no trouble interacting and enjoying the company. Poor Fern had been sick during the night, so she was being very careful to not get too close to us. We were glad she was feeling better and could join us.

We brought gifts for Jae and the other children. He enjoyed the wrapping paper, just like all babies.

Even not feeling well, Fern is gorgeous and has one of the most lively personalities of any child I know.

We ordered out for pizza and then left the Beedes. Felicity's sister and her two boys arrived shortly before we left...talk about us all overwhelming the little guy.

It was wonderful to see them all, even if for a short visit. We will most definitely be planning another trip soon. Welcome to America, baby Jae!

A Hotel in Maine

After we left the museum on Friday afternoon, we headed up the coast to Maine. We decided to incorporate our visit with our SHS friends with a visit to the "B" family in Maine. They had just returned home from Korea with their newest family member and we were eagerly awaiting meeting him.

As anyone with a larger family knows, a lot of hotels will not allow so many in one room, so we booked a suite in a hotel in Portland. It was very nice with plenty of room for everyone to spread out. We do not often stay in hotels with most of our traveling being done with our camper. It was a treat for us all, perhaps with the exception of Brian who spends way too much time staying in hotels. Trying to make this a mini-vacation, we made sure there was a pool.

After a quick stop for a fast-food dinner, we got to the hotel, changed and headed to the pool. It was great. I spent most of my time in the hot tub, but did enjoy a swim with the kids. Rachel also thought the hot tub was the place to be. Poor Rachel is almost always cold and truly enjoyed the warmth of the hot tub.

Dan checking out the view. We were on the 5th floor. As you can tell by the sheets, we needed all available bed space, including the pull-out sofa.

We were right next to the airport, but it was extremely quiet. I guess being late Friday into Saturday and a stormy weekend, there was not a lot of air traffic. I know many flights up and down the east coast were canceled or detailed due the weather.

Museum Butterfly Garden

We did not do any of the extra shows or special exhibits at the museum, except the Butterfly Garden. Nothing seemed nicer to me on a cold February day than spending time in a warm, humid room full of lovely plants and butterflies.

The Boston Museum of Science

Our trip the Boston Museum of Science on February 26th!

We had a wonderful visit at the museum. We arrived at 10am and left at 4:30pm. It was a full day, but so much fun.

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow: BMOS
Create your own slideshow - Powered by Smilebox
Make a free digital slideshow

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

SHS Gals Meet at BMOS

We love acronyms in the family...military and all. Support4HomeSchool (SHS) is an online yahoo group that I have been a member of for 8+ years. It is a wonderful group that supports and encourages those of us that are homeschooling.

Cynthia, one of the group owners and her family were planning a trip to the east coast and wanted to know if some of us could meet and that was the start of a plan to get together at the Boston Museum of Science (BMOS).

So, on February 26th, Brian took the day off and we kept Rachel, Hannah and Dan out of school and made the trip to Boston. The weather was iffy at best, but decided to make the trip. The roads were marginal in places, but Brian did a great job. We made it to Boston without incident.

It was a great day of meeting old friends for the first time. We spent several hours exploring the museum, hooking back up with each other, chatting and trying to get in as much visiting as possible. It was all too short and I would really enjoy meeting these ladies again.

Here is most of the group, Laura from CT, Jeannine from NH, Jodi from NH, Lisa from ME (Lisa and I have met many times before and it was great to see her.), Me from NY, Rene from MA and Cynthia from MT.

Cynthia and her family (Minus Amanda, who had to head back home.) with our crew.

Lisa, her youngest son "J" and me.


We met up with Christy later on and took this picture. Me, Cynthia, Laura, Lisa and Christy.

I know I lot of people would never dream of meeting "strangers", but these ladies are so dear to me and have been a tremendous source of support and encouragement over the years through all the ups and downs of life.

Monday, March 01, 2010

Weekly Daybook

Go to The Simple Woman to read more entries.

For Today...March 1, 2010

Outside my window...it is just getting dark. What a wonderful feeling that it is 6:15 pm and there is still a bit of light on the horizon.

I am thinking....what a challenge one particular child is for me right now. I get so frustrated when I have no idea what to do. Days like today make me wonder about my parenting ability. I know God will be faithful, but the day to day work in the trenches is wearing me down.

I am thankful for....our Hannah. Today is her 9th birthday. What a joy Hannah is to our family. She is so cheerful and easy going and has a tremendous sense of humor. She makes my life happier and I love her very much.

From the learning rooms...continuing with our Olympic study. Bess is full into her Human Body text and loving it.

From the kitchen...tuna and pasta. Brian is working tonight so we are eating much simpler.

On my mind...what area of the house to tackle next. I am pleased with the progress we have made, but there is still a lot to do.

I am creating...a new cross-stitch block. Waiting for an order to come so I can start on knitting a pair of socks!

I am going...to enjoy a night out this week.

I am reading...still reading Dorothy Sayers and a new book on family Easter celebration.

I am hoping...that the weather might warm up and the snow will melt. I am ready for some spring.

I am hearing...Hannah playing with her new Poly Pockets, Rachel working on her homework, Gabe loading the woodstove, Bess raiding the frig and Dan playing with the blocks.

Around the house....Lots of children noises, playing, creating, laughing, talking...the usual post dinner activity.

I am Pondering...
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14


Are the meditations of my heart acceptable to the Lord? Too often my heart is full of complaints and discontent. How can I replace these thoughts with thoughts and words that will indeed be acceptable to the Lord?

I am wearing...a red shirt, black fleece vest and sweat pants and of course my wonderful moccasin slippers.

One of my favorite things....the ocean. There is something so wonderful about spending time at the shore.

Here is a picture I'd like to share

Boston from the Museum of Science