We bought some Halloween for any potential trick or treaters. Of course I had to eat some. There is no eating chocolate in front of Henry anymore. No way to sneak it. For months he’s been able to identify the package from a distance. Now it goes deeper. He just knows when I am sneaking it.
Driving Daddy’s truck waiting for Daddy to get home so we could go get the candy.
View this morning from our door.
Our dining room.
front hall.
stairs
guest bath
Upstairs hall
Basement stairs
For all the cheeseburgers you ordered. Do they have them in heaven?
I did my third week of my radio show on www.wrfr.org today by the grace of God. I am not qualified to do any work of God – none of us are – but, praise God, He uses the weak things of this world! Arnie Castro was a gracious and Spirit filled guest. It was a pleasure interviewing him. I know that those who were listening were touched by his life. You can read a little bit about it on my radio blog www.work2gether4good.blogspot.com.
Dave had the day off, so we caught up on SOME errands and cleaning. Things that have slipped through the cracks with the radio show, Bible study, working and raising a baby.
Tonight I taught my third Bible study from Watchman Nee’s Normal Christian Life. That is also a walk of faith and a trusting God moment by moment. Exactly where He wants me to be but always need to be reminded.
Henry had a great day hanging out at home and running errands with his dad. It was fun to have some down time with the fam if you could call it down time. We had a delicious turkey dinner thanks to my husband and me. We are a good team at making dinner.
Speaking of team – this David & Rachael team has been married for 8 years tomorrow. Every marriage has its ups and downs. Every marriage is work. I am so blessed that I walk each day with a man with a heart after God who loves me and my son. I wouldn’t trade our life, our walk with God and our experience we have learned from for anything. Thank You, God, for giving me (a strong willed, stubborn brat-of-a-girl) a man who loves me and loves You.
This photo was taken later that morning. The morning Henry locked himself in his room. Friday. I put him back in his room after a sleepless night in our bed hoping he would get some much needed rest. No such luck. He cried off and on until I went to get him. Then he really cried because I couldn’t get in! Panic! I tried to call Dave. I tried to jimmy the door open. I got my father on the phone and he showed up in no time to release the little bugger from his self made prison. That’s kind of funny, because we as adults need releasing from our self made prisons as well!! Thank God for freedom in Christ! When we receive a divine revelation of our death, burial and resurrection in Him we can live our new life in Christ!
Henry is wearing the Polish jacket my father gave him. Pastor Chris
and Gosia really got a kick of it when they saw him in it this weekend.
Dave, Henry, B.j. and I had a whirlwind trip to a missions conference in Marlboro, MA. We got in Saturday evening, heard Pastor Schaller speak, hung out at the Wambolts for the night, went to church Sunday morning and headed back to Maine. It was a total blast and refreshing time with the Body of Christ!
Henry had a great time greeting everyone and playing with B.j’s cane.
Henry didn’t take a nap on Saturday or Sunday. He just doesn’t sleep in the car. When we got home we forced him to take a nap even though it was six. He woke up very grumpy.
He got happier.
This photo was taken in Hope, Maine at a Hunt/ Howe family reunion. I remember the day. The setting was a dairy farm owned by my grandmother’s first cousin Francina Pearse and her husband William. I am sure if you asked an old Mainer they would say I had it wrong. No, the farm is owned by William Pearse and his wife Francina. (side note is Francina and William are also cousins, and, no, that isn’t common in Maine). To me, the farm will always be Francina’s. Well, a farm is a wonderful place to hold a family reunion especially when you are young rambunctious children like we were in those days. Especially when there is an over abundance of very old and very boring relatives. As you can see by the photo, there were. I mean, when you’re six or seven or, I don’t know, just young, anyone old enough to find sitting around and chatting fun was too old. So we set our sights on the cow barn. I don’t know if I found the smell of cow manure as pleasing as I do now. I do know watching cows was very fascinating to me AND Vinny. You would think by the never ending cow presents I received as an adult, I was the only one in the family who found cows cool. Vinny never received those lovely treasures (ha-ha), but he DID love cows too. In fact, we used to sneak up the dirt road near our house in our little suburb of Appleton to the dairy farm on the hill. (I know it’s hard to believe not all the roads were dirt in that town). For some reason we did find the elderly woman on that farm to be quite interesting. Maybe because we were the center of attention when we stopped by and maybe she gave us food. Who knows. Well, on Francina’s farm that day we checked out the cows. Then we found another room. For some reason it still instills fear in me to this day. I thought Vinny was going to die. Picture this. The floor abruptly ending. A few boards of uneven lengths jetting out from the end of the floor OVER (let me emphasize OVER) a massive drop TO… a massive drop to what seemed like an ocean of cow manure. Have you seen cow manure in an ocean form? It’s like thick pea soup but brown and smelly. You could definitely drown in it. And Vinny, of course, wasn’t satisfied with standing on the edge of the floor. He had to walk on the boards jetting out. And teeter on the edge. Maybe that’s when I got an appreciation for prayer. He didn’t fall in, but I still think of it every time I drive by the farm and every time I see this photo. I seriously thought my brother was going to drown in cow poop. It over shadows every other memory of the family reunion. Good or bad.
Here she is with younger brother Vick. She likes to say this photo was foreshadowing the future – holding onto Vick (taking care of others) and holding tight to her very large purse (something she still carries today).
The oldest of four children – mom is pictured here with her three younger siblings Vick, Stacey and Molly. And her father.
A 1970 picture of the house my mother grew up in.
Sonja Sue is not quite 3 years old with some animal and her mother.
Sonja’s sassy siblings.
My mom’s mother’s relatives.
This is my mother’s great grandmother Alice. My mother is built very much like her.
5 Generations on my mother’s mother’s side – Hunt/ Howe.
My great, great, great Uncle Walter, mom, Vinny, Great Grampa Hunt and Grammie.
Mom is hot stuff.
Mom is back center, Vick is front center.
Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you very much! You are an incredible woman and have risen to the occasion in spite of much adversity in your life. Not just risen, excelled.
Thanks for all the photos, too! I stole them from Facebook!
I am not sure if he even ate any of his chili. Mostly just throwing it on the floor for Maggie. See the coffee cup and magazine on the floor. Yup. That’s our life now. Destruction. Can’t pick things up fast enough!
Eating dinner with mommy. 19 Months Old Today!
Making sure Maggie found her share.
Grubby.
Right back to making more of a mess!
