Bound for Belize

My brain is frazzled this morning (almost afternoon as I write this).  Within the last 2 weeks, our world has been turned upside down once again.  I am beginning to think that this topsy-turvy status is the norm that we have "settled" into.  Keep in mind that B and I have only been married since December 2008 and already we have undergone many of the hardships or extremes that life deals one over the course of at least of a couple of decades.   Employment with a penny stock company performing new drilling in Belize is our next destination.  At least for 3 months. 

We are tossed between excitement and anxiety.  What do we pack?  What new foods will we try?  Will I freak out on the plane?  Snorkeling sounds fun!  Can we drink the water?  How do we negotiate the right terms with the company?  Mayan ruins--I can check that off of my Bucket List!   Will we be safe?  And so it goes. 

Our six-week trip around the country in a pop-up camper sounded like the adventure of a lifetime and now we have been blessed with this trip.  B and I have taken the stance that we will say Yes to opportunities presented unless we feel that is not in accordance with what we believe God has designed for us.  Giving up that control is not easy for either of us, but we are beginning to reap the blessings that come with surrendering our lives.  I would not have traveled to Belize as a missionary, but I will follow my husband and if it is the Lord's will for me to help while I am there, I am open to learning.  One day, and sometimes just step, at a time. 

Pray for us as we prepare.  B will be headed down within the next two weeks to scope things out for us.  The company has provided a house and vehicle and covering most expenses we will incur.  The children and I have already applied for our passports.  B will hopefully return in time for his brother's wedding at the end of July and then we'll all take a private jet down at the beginning of August.  Pray that we take what we need and leave what we don't.  Pray that we have comfortable beds and locate cooler places for retreats and siestas.  Pray that we stay healthy.  Pray for a peace that passes all understanding when it comes to giving up the control to the pilot!  I'm not afraid to fly--it's really that I am not in control.  Pray that I come up with creative and relaxed school days.  Pray that we will have access to internet and phone so that we can keep up with all of you!  I look forward to blogging from Belize!  Adios!  (English is their official language, although they do speak Spanish, Kril (Creole) and other Amerindian languages in their homes.  School options....)

Playhouse

Oberon(ia)

Watching my niece, Jellybean, or Bean for short, in A Midsummer Night's Dream this weekend was a treat.  First, I was at home.  Many fond memories were formed watching performances of all sorts at the Putnam County Playhouse.  The barn has undergone several facelifts and updates over the years.  The addition of air conditioning is my personal favorite although the barn did lose some of its charm with all of the spaces between the slats now filled in.  I consider myself to be fortunate to have been raised in Greencastle and to have had access to PCP.  Glad too that I am able to share with hubby and kids. 

Bean played the adapted role of Oberonia, since in the original, Oberon is male.  She looked fabulous, but more importantly, she KNOWS how to work the boards!  She humbly accepted our praises, and gave thanks to her mother for being a great coach.  Well, Sister is no stranger to PCP.  Actually I think that Mom has performed there as well.  Huh.  Funny to just now realize I'm the only one left to take the stage.  I prefer set design to memorizing lines though. 

Father's Day

B declares that Father's Day is just another in the long line of Hallmark holidays and he doesn't necessarily want to celebrate it.  Saying that, the rest of us do sort of enjoy the day, regardless of why it was created, to say thanks and spend time together.  Momma L treated the entire family (minus KR since she is still with Grandma W) to Logan's after church.  Thank you!  B had also purchased a new grill several weeks ago which we called his Father's Day gift and he made chops for the family for supper.  Thank you, Dad! 

C spent the afternoon with B changing the oil in the convertible.  The garage is not C's favorite place to spend time, but B is wanting to teach him some of the basics and C treasures any time with Dad.  C had never spent any time under a car or behind the wheel and yesterday he was able to do both!  Just look at this grin:

Backing out of the garage.

H and I tackled the cherry tree.  There are red fruity globes everywhere!  Yum!  We have only one cherry tree, but it shares space with a pear tree and two unproductive apple trees.  We picked from the top and street side so that when KR comes home she'll still have some cherries left.  She would be disappointed if she didn't get to help.  This momma thought that a whole tree's worth of cherries at one time wouldn't be fun to process all at once either. 

Cherry-licious!

 

It's enough for 2 pies, Mom!

H was pleased that we only have one cherry pitter.  Guess who got the privilege of prepping the cherries?  We did have a tasty pie with ice cream for a late dessert after a bike ride.  A pleasant Father's Day.  (Just don't let B know that we celebrated.)

Half full or half empty?

Home Again Jiggety Jig

Last week we were all gone and to three separate places.  The boys camped in Bloomington with their scout troop.  You can see that H is all smiles and this is the After shot!  For those of you who know him, he was not a happy camper (pun sort of intended) to be going off to camp for a week.  Today at lunch he asked if he could go to the Mammoth Cave camp out planned for later this summer.  Quite a turn around.  I am so proud of him for giving it a try and I am happy that he had a good time.  I knew that there would be no issues with C.  Scouting is his favorite thing.  I wouldn't describe him as an out of door kind of kid, but for Scouts he would do anything.  I believe that if he were to be pricked, he would bleed blue and gold. 

 

K is still at Camp Grandma W's until tomorrow.  We've been able to talk on the phone with her and she is having fun spending time with Grandma without the boys.  She's been to VBS, where she got to make up a cheer using facts she learned about rabbits.  

B and I spent the week in Texas to add electric controls to the wells, run to courthouses digging for information about some of the properties and leases, meeting folks at the Texas RR, and I was able to put some faces to names.  It has been such a blessing to see how God is granting the desires of our heart by allowing B & I to work together and be available for the family at the same time.  In the words of Pastor Halle, "God is good all the time and all the time God is good!" 

Big Heart Moments

Winding down for the evening.

I love my family.  Those big heart moments come in the small times, like hearing B read to the family before the kids head off to bed.  We've been reading Man of the Family, the second in a series of books written by Ralph Moody.  This series and these times have been a joy to me for several reasons.

Before marrying B and moving to Cicero, my Grandma M gave the Moody series to H.  The books are labeled in her hand November 8, 1952.  (Her handwriting is some of the most beautiful I've ever seen.  A lost art.)  Since I get to spend more time reading with the kids during school than B, he likes to read to us at bedtime.  Our activities during the week sometimes keep us from reading every night, but we strive to keep this routine, not just for routine's sake, but because we all like curling up together and having this quiet end to our day.  As we listen, I imagine Grandma reading to her children as they lay in their beds in the big house on Walnut St.. 

The series is set in the early 1900's in Colorado.  Ralph, or Little Britches as he is affectionately referred to by most, is the same age as our children.  We are touched, sometimes surprised, confirmed and affirmed in our parenting, learning new ways from the past, and appreciating the simpler times and thoughts from that time period.  We find encouragement to spend more time playing and working together.  We have a drive to be more creative with our time.  We are learning to speak to each other with more positive words.  We are beginning to realize that slower is sometimes better.  We are learning to allow ourselves to be bored and have downtime as it ironically is a means for stimulation. 

Personally, I cherish the family time that I do not feel like I have to structure or keep a mother's eye open for discipline and lessons.  What a treasure I have in a husband who desires to spend time with his children and wife in this way.  It is pure pleasure to hear B read, see C stroke the soft corners of his blanket, be blessed by watching K crochet, and have H still play with my hair and draw my arm around him in a cuddle.  I see us having a bridge between the early parts of the 1900s and the 1950s.  I pray that one day, my Little Britches will spend time reading to their young brood at the end of the day and have their own big heart moments in the small times.  

Memorial Weekend

1+1 Candles =11

What a full weekend to kick off our summer break!  Friday night, H celebrated his birthday with some of his friends.  As you can see, we now have an excellent photo of him blowing out the candles on his cake.  (Thank you, Honey for always taking the time to read my blog and for taking the picture.  It is perfect!)  All of the boys were wonderful and I hope that we get to spend a lot more time with them this summer. 

Saturday we woke up early for the boys to participate in the annual Boy Scout pancake breakfast.  They sold all of their tickets (Thank you to all who supported the boys!) and then some so their scout accounts have enough to enable them to take part in more activities this year.  That is a huge relief for them.  So far they are looking at camp coming up and possibly taking some other merit badge classes at Koteewi. 

Their lines may not be formed, but their hearts are.

Directly after the pancake breakfast the boys marched in the Memorial Day parade.  The local VFW post held ceremonies on our bridge over Morse Reservoir and the Cicero Cemetery honoring our fallen soldiers and veterans.  I am proud to take part in these ceremonies and I think it is important that our children be taught the sacrifice that these men and women make for us and their assistance of other countries to gain freedom.   God bless our country and God bless the soldiers and our countrymen who recognize what true freedom is and uphold it to the best of their abilities, which is not easy in our current time.

Next we drove to Greencastle for my cousins' graduation open houses.  We missed the first one, but made the second.  It was great seeing family and getting to introduce my husband and new children to aunts and uncles that had not yet met.  We have four high school graduates in our family this year.  Two live too far away for us to visit.  I hate not being able to spend time with my extended family more often.  This is the part of our history that I loathe--our having become so mobile.  The separation weakens the feeling that only time and experience with extended family brings.  On the plus side, we now have the internet, video chats, cell phones and blogs to help us gain some of the time back.

B & JStP on Morse Lake

Yesterday turned out to be a gorgeous day.  Sun and 90 degrees!  A perfect day to be out on the boat.  The kids played outside and then made some PB&J sandwiches and watched a movie in the theater while B, JSt.P and I took the boat out for a spin and then went for lunch at Wolfies at the marina.  The lake was extremely crowded.  We had some older boys working on our big boat while we were gone.  When we got back, all of the guys took the big boat out for a test run.  It is still not running well, so we'll have to do some more work on it, but a cookout on B's new grill (early Father's Day gift) was a great pay day and way to wind up a wonderful day outside. 

Today is officially our first day out of school since we did have classes on Friday and yesterday was a holiday.  Grandma and Grandpa W have been in town since last week and have been visiting with the kids.  The kids will spend the day with them today before the W's head back to Ohio.  No telling what they'll end up finding to do.  Board games, movies and going out to eat seem to be favorite activities.  B talked about taking me to play golf.  I think that I would only cause the groundskeeper grief, but I'm game.  B does have some business stuff to take care of, so it may end up that we just have a quiet day together.  That may just be what the doctor ordered after our busy weekend.

School is Out and Summer Begins

May 24th was H's eleventh birthday.  I uploaded the pictures to the computer this afternoon and discovered there weren't any pictures good enough to include here.  There weren't even any pictures of him blowing out his candles!  There were however, three pictures of B rolling up the sleeping bag that we bought for H.  Next year, I will take the pictures.  H is planning on having some of his friends over tomorrow night so maybe I'll get a second chance at having the party pictures, but I will always know it was a few days later instead of The Day. 

Tomorrow is our last day of school.  I cannot decide if I am looking forward to having the summer off or not.  Of course not having to plan lessons, print off guides, grade papers and having to be on a rigid schedule are tasks I am ready to set aside for a few months, but having children tell me they are bored by ten o'clock in the morning is not something I treasure.  Already this month, I have taken actions to get them to play.  Yes, I sometimes have to force my children to play.  In the picture above, you notice smiling faces, and this was the first day of the required playtime outside.  I have not had to lock the door yet, but I have sent them outside and told them that as much as I love them, I do not want to see their faces until supper time.  One day they came back in after about 30 minutes and they complained of not having something to do, so I gave them chores.  Hopefully they'll learn that playtime does not equate to punishment.  I'm not sure who needs more prayer, them or me.