Vernon Family

Past the salt

2011-12-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

I have been having a REALLY hard time letting go of all that God blessed us with in Maryland. We were surrounded by tons of homeschool families, an amazing church family where we were actively serving, and great lifelong friendships that connected heart strings.

Being a person who lives with anxiety and panic attacks, I do very well with an established routine. Moving with the military does not provide families with many long lived routines. One would think I would be adjusted and well established in this nomad lifestyle seeing that we have been living and breathing Air Force for over 17 years now...

Not always:)

I love being a military family, but the sacrifices go beyond the military member. Our kids and I (the spouse of an active duty member) give up our right to establish long term roots in any one area.

Most of the time, distance alone requires ties to be severed when orders to a new station are received. Moving from North Dakota to Mississippi did not allow us to drive back and visit friends for a long weekend.

Our latest move has been very different from all of our others moves in the past. We moved from Maryland to Delaware, a mere 3 or 3 1/2 hour drive away. My desire had been to drive back every Wednesday to allow Hailey to continue her harp lessons, and all four their piano lessons. In addition, we could visit friends and attend AWANA where the girls would have a Trek and Journey group, something that is missing in our new home area.

Yet...

God is asking me to let go of all of that and focus my eyes forward. This reminds me of two stories.

The first story:

JENNY'S PEARL NECKLACE

The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of listening white pearls in a pink foil box.

"Oh, please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her piggy bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores. She went to the neighbor, Mrs. McJames, and asked if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere -- Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother had told her that if they got wet, they might turn her neck green

Jenny had a very loving Daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then may I have your pearls?"

"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess -- the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite."

"That's okay, honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's Daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then will you give me your pearls?"

"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay, honey. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss. A few nights later when her Daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her hand up to her Daddy. When she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind Daddy reached out with one hand to take the prized necklace. With the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case. He handed the handsome velvet case to Jenny and told her, "Thank you for giving me your most prized possession that you saved up for all by yourself. Here, Honey I have this for you. I wanted to trade with you, but I was going to give these to you tonight either way."

As Jenny opened the blue velvet box, so nice a thing itself she'd never seen before, the glistening white sheen of the Rich Genuine Pearls struck her teary eyes.

(http://godswork.org/emailmessage21.htm)

The second:

The story of Lot’s wife, when fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26)

I don't want to keep looking back, or not be willing to let go of something that isn't necessarily "bad", just not what God has for me right now. I want to stand before HIM as the willing servant He is asking me to be. He has been faithful for so many years, which I have witnessed, yet my heart strings are still tied very tightly in Maryland.

I know that I cannot fully give myself to my new church and the friends I have yet to meet, if I constantly dwell on what I am missing back in Maryland.

So, I pray that I can quit looking back, being sad at what I have left...

Instead, sing His praises for the new journey that He has set before us.

I choose to be thankful for all the friendships that will continue regardless of the mileage between us, which was only possible because we left other friends in Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, etc. before we ever knew He would bless us with lifelong friends in Maryland.

He is faithful!

Psalm 117

Praise the LORD, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.

Praise the LORD.

Love and Blessings~

Jo-Ann

First Thanksgiving in Dover

2011-11-27T19:12:00.000-08:00

We were able to spend our fist Thanksgiving together as a family here in Dover. What a welcomed relief to live in our own home for more than a weekend. The kids and I stayed here all week and Vern worked here in Dover on Wednesday and was off Thursday and Friday.

We were able to attend the Sunday night activities at church, making us feel even more at home. We have only been able to go to church here in Dover on Sunday mornings and you just don't get to know the church that way.

To sum it all up...we are Thankful!

Here is a glimpse into our meal on Thursday...

The girls made a menu that had Vern and I laughing

yummy hash-round casserole

Hailey and Hayden made the pumpkin pie. Hailey made the crust from scratch.

Hailey's homemade crust and cherry pie

Hannah's deviled eggs (she took the picture too)

mashed taters

green bean casserole

the turkey

the girls made their own dill dip (recipe compliments of mama Bert) and made their own veggie tray

stuffing

and Hannah's pasta salad

needless to say, we ate well that day:)

Blessings,
Jo-Ann

Nomads

2011-10-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

The kids have been reminding me that I have not posted anything on here since July, and when I am I going to post again? Well, the reason for our absence is simply constant movement.

We moved out of our rented house in Maryland the last Sunday of August. We checked into Dover AFB, DE the next day (Monday), followed by the arrival of our household goods on that Tuesday (just one more day later). We stayed in Dover for just one more night and then we started our weekly rigmarole of living in a hotel in Rockville, MD during the week and traveling back to our new home in Dover each weekend.

Our weekly schedule has consisted of getting up and visiting a church in Dover on Sunday, finishing laundry that afternoon and packing 6 suitcases followed by the 2.5 hour drive back to Rockville for the week. Mondays, we drive about 45 minutes to attend coop, Wednesdays we travel about 1.25 hours to Hailey's harp lessons, an additional 45 minutes to the kids' piano lessons, where I leave them to be picked up two hours later by friends who are helping us survive this season.

Once I drop the kids off, I have 30 minutes to drive to school, find a parking spot (usually takes longer than the drive) and get to my first class of the night. I then have about 1.5 hour break, followed by my last class of the night.

While I'm at school, friends will pick up the kids, take them to their home, feed them supper and make sure they arrive at AWANA by 7pm. I get out of class at 8:50pm, and drive up to pick up the kids after AWANA and then drive 45 minutes back to our hotel for the night....

I'm tired just writing all of this...lol

Friday, we have to check out of the hotel by 12 noon, so the kids and I go to the park, visit DC or find something else to keep us busy until Vern finishes working for the week. We then pick him up, battle DC traffic and make our way back to Dover to only start the whole process again.

This nomadic period in our life is estimated to continue until at least December. While Vern is officially PCS'd to Dover due to BRAC laws, their new building where they will be working is still not finished (imagine that, the gov't is behind schedule:))

The blessings in all of this have been quite evident...

We homeschool our kids and are able to keep our family together during this time, which is very important in our family. The kids are able to see their friends at coop and AWANA to help with the transition with our move. We have an amazing church family who supports us and enables us to endure this crazy cycle. Finally, I will finish my MBA this December. After over 2 years of mind boggling work in the masters program, the fruit is finally in view.

Pray this finds everyone doing well and enjoying a slower pace life:0

Blessings~
Jo-Ann

Swimming Picture

2011-07-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

Here is the picture of the kids taken for their swim team

DC with Mom, Kevin and Boys

2011-06-30T20:39:00.001-07:00

We started off our day in DC by going to the Lego exhibit at the National Building Museum

The inside of the building museum is beautiful. We found out this time that weddings have been held there as well as inaugural parties.

Ryan and Hayden

Ian

Vern, Hailey, Jo-Ann and Henry

Ian, Hailey, Mom and Jo-Ann

Hayden, Ryan, and Ian

Nannie taking a picture of Henry and Hailey's pyramid. They build one that was twice the size of last time

outside of Ford's theater

Washington Monument

WWII Memorial

Air and Space Museum

Swim Meet 6/25

2011-06-30T20:32:00.001-07:00

Hailey

Hannah

Girls
Hailey in the bottom lane and Hannah towards the top

Henry

Hayden

VBS 2011

2011-06-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from last week's VBS at church.

Henry is the farthest on the right in a black shirt

Hayden is the second from the left in a yellow shirtHannah in the orange shirt

We were excited that Mom, Kevin and the boys were able to come for a visit and see all the kids

Kids' First Swim Meet

2011-06-18T16:08:00.001-07:00

The kids had their first swim meet and did great. Here are a few pictures. Hannah and Hayden each received a ribbon for winning their heat.

Hailey and Hannah

Hannah in the bottom lane and Hailey right above her

Henry jumping in. He is under number 3

Henry

Henry in the second from the top lane

Hayden in the second from the top lane

Hayden

After effects...

2011-06-11T14:53:00.001-07:00

Here is what happens when you have a fun filled day at Camp-O-Rama...

Paddle boats during Memorial Day weekend

2011-05-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

On Sunday after church, we had a huge family picnic out at the lake. Kelly and Kevin took the kids out on the paddle boats. Here are some pictures from their fun.

Memorial Day Parade 2011

2011-05-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the parade yesterday.

Delmer, Hazel and Earnest.

Laura and Keith

Henry and Ian with Hailey in the background

Henry was fascinated with this float and took several pictures of it

Henry and Ian holding a picture of Kelly's grandfather that had his name and the date he was KIA during WWII

Ian in his boyscout uniform

Henry took this picture from the float:)

Friends playing baseball

2011-05-31T09:39:00.001-07:00

We were able to stop by and see our friend's son playing his baseball game.

Fishing at Hungry Mother State Park

2011-05-31T09:20:00.001-07:00

While we were in Virginia visiting Kelly's family, the kids were able to go fishing with their cousins and Uncle Kevin. What a fun time they had at Hungry Mother State Park. Here are some pictures from our fun.

Kelly and Hayden

Uncle Kevin and Hayden.

This is my favorite picture. Hayden was catching fish left and right. I think he caught 12 that afternoon. He would just sit there with Vern's hat on and whistle, he looked like Opie from The Andy Griffith Show:)

Hannah caught a fish

She is still her mother's child as she got scared

Hannah fishing

Henry running around with Ryan and Ian. He had so much fun just hanging out with his cousins

Nannie and Papaw

Henry and Ian

Poor Hailey, she was the only one all weekend that didn't catch anything. No matter where she was fishing, or what day, she just didn't catch any fish this time.

Hayden with his last catch of the day.

Here is the evidence that almost got me arrested. Thankfully, Kevin knew the ranger and the next day we purchased fishing licenses. I am always learning something new each day:)

Memorial Day crosses and flags 2011

2011-05-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the flags down on the courthouse lawn

kids in front of Kelly's grandfather's cross and flag

Ian and Ryan

Kelly and Kevin

Kids in front of Jo-Ann's grandfather's cross and flag

all six of us in front of Papa's cross

Hayden sitting in front of Glen's uncle's cross

Here are some pictures of all the crosses and flags

Two teenagers

2011-05-31T08:52:00.001-07:00

Last week, we celebrated Hannah's 13th birthday. Here are a few pictures from our family dinner and cake.

Her goal was to blow them all out in one breath.

12 out of 13 in one breath. She is giggling as she tried to take just a little breath and see if anyone noticed...of course your siblings notice everything:)

Horseback riding lessons

2011-05-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

I finally remembered to take my camera with me and take the kids' pictures at horseback riding lessons...

Henry

Hannah

Hayden (he rode bareback today)

Hailey

LEGO Exhibit

2011-04-22T06:51:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, we went to the National Building Museum in DC to the Lego Exhibit. This is a great place to take the kids. It is free to get into the museum, and then only $5 per person to enter the Lego exhibit for an hour. The kids had a blast. Here are some pictures from our fun day.

The building itself is beautiful

The Lego exhibit had three areas. This is the first with all of the amazing creations made from Legos.

The second area, the kids are able to build their own structures and then place them on the city street layout.

Hayden

Hannah

Henry with his pyramid

Hayden

Hannah

Hailey placing her houses on the city layout

Henry

a close up of Henry's pyramid

Hayden putting his creation on the city scape

Hailey

Hannah

Building an arch

all the kids inside the museum

After lunch, we still had time to spare, so we stopped by the postal museum too.

Hannah

Hayden

This is a fountain area on the north side of the Capitol.

The flowers in this area were beautiful

Needing to run off some energy...race around the fountain

Hailey, no hands and excited that she beat Hannah:)

Hannah and Henry

Hayden

We had a great day. The weather was beautiful and the kids really enjoyed having a fun field trip day with friends:)

Lifetime friends

2011-03-28T20:55:00.001-07:00

Alice and I have been friends since basic training. She still tells the story of me throwing a brush across the bay in one of my many spoiled brat tantrums. She was there to see Hailey be born all those years ago...and yet when we get together, it is as if time (years actually) has not passed.

I found out that she would be in Baltimore and called her when I returned home from school tonight. As we talked, I realized that this week just would not work out to get together. So, at 8:30 pm I ran upstairs and asked Vern what he thought about going over to Baltimore. Now mind you we just returned from Ohio at 2am this morning. Like the great hubby that he is, we loaded up and headed out.

We spent about an hour just hanging out and catching up. I am so thankful for a handful of friends that I can say are truly lifelong friends. No matter how much time passes, you just catch back up to where you are.

Thank you LORD for Your many blessings!

Alice and I

The guy at the hotel could not figure out my camera. After about six blurry pictures, Vern took the last picture below this one:)

3/20/11 Boys' Baptism

2011-03-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

Praise the LORD! Both of the boys took the step of obedience in being baptized this morning. We are blessed beyond measure in knowing that each of our children have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and followed that choice with Believer's Baptism:)

Hayden
His favorite verse is John 1:1-3.
That is what he shared with the congregation this morning

I love his face in this picture:)

Henry
Bless his heart, he wanted to say John 3:16 and was too nervous in front of the microphone.

Hannah's first visit to the spa

2011-03-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

Hannah and I had a great morning. She had her first taste of pampering. A manicure and pedicure. Here are some pictures from her nail art.

BAW 2011

2011-03-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

We went down to the National Museum of Health and Medicine for Brain Awareness Week.
This is a National event. Here are some pictures from our day.

Waiting for the fun to start

Hayden

How does your brain control so many functions?

What do each of the parts of the brain control?

Hannah holding a real brain

Hailey holding a real brain from a 64 yr. old male

Hayden's turn. I didn't get a picture of Henry holding the brain.

Learning about how drugs hurt your brain

They split them into two teams to play a game

Hayden getting help with a question

This was one of the kids from our group volunteering for a demonstration. They were showing how they help those who have phantom pains when they lose a limb. He put his real hand under the box, and then he had to look at the fake hand while she rubbed the fake had with a brush. People who have lost a limb will "feel" it because their brain sees it happening and thinks it is their hand. Very neat...

"Philip" demonstrating another trick. If you had lost your left hand, they would put your right hand in front of a mirror and your brain thinks the left hand is moving as well. Works with lost legs also. They said they use this for people who are in pain or say that they feel like their lost limb is clenched or twisted.

Learning more about the phantom limbs.

Hayden trying to look in the mirror while alternating opening and closing his hand. This is very hard to do. Kind of like rubbing your stomach while patting your head:)

Hailey's turn

Henry's turn. He would only go up if I promised not to take his picture, so these next few pictures are compliments of Hailey:)

Learning how your brain is affected by alcohol

Brain demonstration

the lights are demonstrating the neurons.

Boys watching the demonstration

more great learning about the neurons and the effects of alcohol

The kids placed these goggles on that made their vision similar to someone drunk. They then had to throw a ball into a net. This was to simulate trying to park a car when drunk. Too funny. They all ended up parking in their neighbors yard:)

Hayden

Hannah

Henry

Hailey

We had a great day. So thankful for the many programs available to the children.

WJZ

2011-03-16T09:04:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Henry's weather class from co-op was privileged to go on an exciting field trip to a local TV station. WJZ is the Baltimore CBS station. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Waiting for the tour to start

tour of the news room...
The camera in the left part of the picture is where they report late breaking news items

another picture from the news room...
Again, this is the camera that they use for breaking news.
The sign in the back is the back drop for this camera.

the kids with their weather teacher who arranged and scheduled the tour.
Thank you!

talking with Don Scott and Bernadette Woods.
Earlier, Jessica Kartalija was anchoring the news with Don Scott, but had to leave to cover this story.

Bring the Rain

2011-03-13T15:15:00.001-07:00

The girls each sang a duet part today in the song Bring the Rain by Mercy Me. Here are a few snap shots.

T & T games 2011

2011-03-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

We traveled to Baltimore today for the boys to play in the T&T games. Here they are on the line waiting to start

Hayden on the left, Henry on the right

Henry on the left, Hayden on the right for the bean bag game

Henry

Hayden on the right

Henry running into the circle, with Hayden cheering from the line:)

Henry running back to the line

Henry standing in front of Hayden

Henry getting ready to run the sprint

way ahead of anyone else

oops, I ran an extra lap and forgot to run in. Too fast for his own good:)

Hug for a good job

Henry putting gloves on for the tug of war

Henry waiting for the horn to sound

tug of war

Bean bag bonanza. Hayden on the left and Henry second from the right

Hayden on the left

Henry running into the circle and Hayden on the left

Hayden cheering during the relay

Hayden running his part

About to run in from the relay

Henry in the front holding the balloon and Hayden at the end waiting.

Hayden

Henry at the front of the line

Just found out they won 1st place overall!

receiving their award

Team photo
Henry in the middle standing and Hayden sitting on the bottom right

Photo Shoot Giveaway (locals only)

2011-03-11T19:49:00.000-08:00

Click here for details

Pictures from Navy Game

2011-03-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

you can go here to see the pictures posted on the Camouflage Kids website from last week's game.

We are in pictures 4 and 62:)

Hayden's 8th Birthday Party

2011-02-27T16:41:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Hayden's birthday today at the bowling alley. Here are some pictures from our fun.

Hayden

the girls

Henry

Hannah

Hailey

The party table

All of the friends who helped to celebrate

Camo Kids

2011-02-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

Saturday, we had a wonderful afternoon. We were blessed by the organization Camo Kids. We were given FREE admission to the Navy basketball game, a t-shirt, backpack, each of the kids received a wrist band, and each of us received a voucher for a hot dog and soda. What a special treat this was. This is one organization that goes out of it's way for military families!

Waiting for the game to start

Cheering the players as they are announced

Halftime show

This man is in the Guinness book for this...

lining up for the Navy song after the game

Final score was Navy 75, Colgate 55

Beautiful buildings

the bridge in the distance

kids running off some energy while we wait for traffic to clear

chapel as we were leaving

Unexpected Blessings

2011-02-24T19:18:00.000-08:00

I have been having a rough couple of weeks. Emotionally, I am just spent. I have several health issues going on, one of which is anemia. I am not functioning at my best, and this tired momma is not afraid to admit it. People in my life are acting in very hurtful ways, and Satan is loving every minute of it.

Well, last weekend I went out with my birthday club girls and was having a great time celebrating a friend's birthday. Next thing I know, one simple question had be bawling my eyes out like a big ole cry baby in the middle of the restaurant.

I didn't realize how much of an emotional wreck I was until a dear friend who knows my current struggles reached out in a way that I have craved for months. She simply said I love you and I will step in and be there for you. She said you are worth my time and energy.

WOW!!!!

I am amazed! I don't think I have known this feeling of completely unselfish, amazing love. God knew exactly what I needed and sent it to me. Not in the way that I have been praying for, but in a way that only HE could orchestrate.

He never ceases to amaze me in His love for me! Little ole me...oh, the grace that only He can give.

I am thankful that there are Christian ladies out there who are listening to the prompting of the spirit and reviving this beaten down soul.

Thank you Jesus!

Mt. Vernon - President's Day 2011

2011-02-24T10:53:00.001-08:00

Monday, we went down to Mount Vernon for President's Day. FREE admission is always great! We really enjoyed our visit. It was crowded, but nothing horrible for a free day. We packed our own lunch and went out to the car to eat. This saved a huge amount of time as the lines for food were horrible. Anyway, here are some pictures from our fun day.

The house

Vern and the kids

The kids watching the animals

Washington's tomb

Washington on the right and Mrs. on the left

The view over the Potomac...beautiful. I could so wake up and have a cup of tea on the back porch to this view in the morning:)

one of the slave encampment reenactments

Boys playing in the hay pile in one of the barns

beautiful scenery

The President taking pictures after his birthday party:)

Nature fun

2011-02-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

Last week, we were able to go on a field trip to the Irvine Nature Center. What a blessing. The weather was a little cool, yet the learning experience was great! Here are some pictures of our afternoon:

Getting ready to head out

Henry

Seeing how you "drill" into the tree

Hannah trying it out

The boys playing at the beautiful over look

Henry

Hannah

Hayden

Hannah

Henry

looking at the different grades of syrup

Henry tasting...he doesn't look too sure about this:)

Hayden

finishing up our outside learning

Hayden being a turtle

Hannah

Hailey was at a basketball game, so that is why you do not see her in any of the pictures.

Life of Hard Knocks

2011-01-30T17:45:00.000-08:00

If I had to be totally honest, I do not like coming from a family full of divorce. I do not like coming from a family whose heritage is selfishness, or believers not living life for His glory. I do NOT want my past.

...my past sins,

...my past choices,

...my past life

Yet, none of these things defines who I am NOW.

Now, I am a child of God-

I am forgiven

I am different because of HIM!

I would never know or have experienced the grace, love and mercy of God had I not walked the rocky path laid before me.

These past few weeks, the message in church as been:

Unless you change what you DO, you will never change who you ARE.

Because what you DO will confirm who you ARE.

WHAT you do will confirm WHOSE you are.

God is speaking though a pastor here in Maryland!

If I continue to ACT in the same manner, then I will be the same person of my past.

OR....

I can dare to be different because of HIM and a have a wonderfully new and unknown path-
and my children
and their children
will be better because of it.

I am a sinner who has fallen more times than I care to remember. Yet today, I am a child of God choosing to learn from my mistakes and grow up!

I choose the narrow gate!
I choose to bear good fruit!
I choose to walk in obedience!

Help me LORD to be bold in You.

I can only grow in You.

I can only be the best me with You!

HE is faithful!

2011-01-21T06:45:00.000-08:00

This past fall, Vern and I went to counseling. We personally were doing fine, but our extended families were falling apart, normal everyday stress was building, and we wanted to make sure that we remained strong through these trying times.

The counselor was great in helping us to improve our communication, including being deliberate in making time to talk to each other. We were happy and excited to participate and wanted to know what else we could do as a couple to continue to build our relationship.

One of the counselor's suggestions was to take ballroom dancing lessons. She said it helps couples learn to communicate. The women have to follow the men's lead and trust them to lead them. The men have to take the lead and lead the partners.

I am happy to report that God has lead us to a place that we normally would not be able to afford, that is unless they offer a discount. Ballroom dance lessons with a discount...not a small discount, but 50% off for military and veterans!

Our first class is tonight...we'll see how much better our communication is in four weeks and report back:)

"Military Brats"

2011-01-09T15:20:00.001-08:00

This past April, we had pictures taken that would be used for a publication put out by the National Military Family Association. When you went down, they also gave you a complementary family photo which I posted here. Well, yesterday in the mail we received two copies of the We serve, too. brochure that had the kids' pictures in it. I took some snap shots of the brochure, and then scanned in the parts that actually had the kids' pictures. The pictures are only of the younger three as that was the age they were looking for.

Ringing in the New Year

2011-01-05T08:40:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures from our New Year's Eve social. We were blessed with food, fun and fellowship.

Christmas morning 2010

2010-12-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

We had a VERY early morning this year. Hayden woke up at 3:20am and woke Henry up first. The boys came into our room and restlessly stayed in our bed until 4:30am. They then proceeded to wake up Vern and at 4:45 he told them they could get the girls up.

Henry was so excited that he volunteered to read the Christmas story this year. Our Christmas morning always starts with everyone gathered in our room to read the story from the book of Luke. This is the first year that Henry has actually read the story. Vern or I always read it until the girls were old enough to want to, and now it is moving down the line:)

The first few pictures are the before photos...

kids getting ready to come down the stairs

Henry with his new Lego set

Hannah with her new Barbie

Hayden who is super excited for the plane. We are taking it back to trade today as the front propeller did not work:(

Hailey with her new camera

Hailey

Henry already building

Hannah putting all her goodies into her ottoman

Hayden with his plane

Hailey working on her new camera settings

Hannah getting her new Barbie out of the box

Vern with his gift card...I do not know what tools to buy, so a gift card is perfect

Boys playing with their Legos

Hannah building her new puzzle

Hailey cooking supper. I fell asleep from 7-9am and woke up and she had cooked half of our supper stuff and set the table for us to eat ham, green bean casserole and eggs at 9:30am...lol

I did not make it long from our early wake up:)

Boys still playing

The after picture

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-27T07:49:00.000-08:00

One of the traditions in our house is to open one present on Christmas Eve. The kids make us laugh, because each year they receive a new pair of pajamas. They have learned this well, and now play along and pick up the wrapped present and say "I know this is pajamas, cause we always get pajamas". We may have to mix it up one year, just to keep them guessing:)

AWANA Store and gift exchange

2010-12-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

The night of the AWANA store, the kids decided they wanted to trade names and buy each other presents. Here are some pictures.

Getting the tree decorated

2010-12-27T07:38:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the kids decorating the tree earlier this month...

The best gift ever...

2010-11-13T17:42:00.000-08:00

With Christmas right around the corner, I have been thinking and praying about what we should buy for our kids. In our house, no one NEEDS anything. We all have way more than anyone could ask for. Yet I love Christmas and waking up early to read the story in the Bible and the kids getting up so early full of excitement for the gifts they have been given. Yet, there is so much more...

While spending some time in prayer asking God to help me balance love and fun against spoiling, a past conversation was brought to my mind. I wish I could remember who told me or where I read this several years ago.

"As a wife and mother, the best gift you can give your children is to love their father"

I pray that each and every day I live out the BEST gift I could ever give to my children so that they will in turn give the same gift to their children. What an amazing inheritance to give.

Thank you Lord for bringing that back to me today and allowing me to rest in Your Word. Thank you that we don't have to have money to give to our children. Thank you that You show us more and more each day of how warped the world we live in really is. Thank you that Your Word is truth!

Fall Festival 2010

2010-11-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hannah (on the right) and her friend dressed up like bags of jelly belly jellybeans. Here are a few pictures of them before we left for the Fall Festival at church.

Hayden demonstrating his Superman

Henry posing for his pictures

the boys acting out their skit:)

Hailey aka Thomas Jefferson (2nd from left) and her friends
They won the prize for their Mount Rushmore costume

the special presentation by our pastor to share the gospel with everyone

Pastor 1 year supper

2010-11-04T09:57:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of the decorations that Ms. Bert and her hubby Larry made for the one year anniversary of our pastor and his family coming to serve at our church. You did a great job Larry and Bert.

Vern's Birthday

2010-11-04T09:52:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures from our family celebration of Daddy's birthday...forgive me for just now getting these posted. Grad school is taking a lot of time and energy. Pray this finds everyone doing well. Love ya!

Summers Farm 2010

2010-10-08T20:11:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful afternoon today out at Summers Farm. Here are some pictures from our day.

Henry and Hayden looking at the picture of the corn maze. Each year they cut a different picture.

Vern

Hannah and friends

Hailey on the right with friends

Everyone jumping on the giant orange "pillow"

Hannah helping our friend slide down

the boys, being boys:)

Henry

Hayden

Hayden, Henry, Hannah and friend

Hayden, Henry and Hannah

Henry, Hannah and Hayden at the duck races

Henry

Hayden loading up his ducks. The funny thing was is that he took them out of the water and then seemed perplexed as to why his shirt was dripping water...lol

Hayden sending the ducks racing

Hayden...he is the only one I took a picture of in front of this this year. All the rest were off running around playing.

Mommy and Hayden sliding down

Daddy and Hayden

All nine of the kids. We met up with friends while we were there. One is not a "kid", but is still my friends "kid".

playing in the corn

Hannah

Hayden diving in the corn as usual

Henry on the pedal cars

Jo-Ann helping our friend

Henry and Hayden

All of us riding around the track

looking at the animals

momma pig feeding her piglets

all of the kids (minus Hayden as he's up front) taking a hayride

all of the kids on the hayride. All of the kids wanted to ride in the back except Hayden. Hayden loves riding right up front and watches the tractor the whole way.

All four of the kids in the big rocking chair

Beautifully straight

2010-10-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

Today was the day...after months of wearing braces, the beautiful smile was revealed again minus all the silver:)

Here is her last picture with braces...yea!

Up close look of her teeth

All smiles with no more braces:)

Our visit home to Vern's parents house

2010-10-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

We went down for a long weekend to celebrate Henry's birthday. Here are some pictures from our visit.

Hannah, Hailey and friend at the local high school football game. This is the boy that Hannah has claimed she will marry since she was 5. He is the son of Vern's friends that he has known since Kindergarten. She still has the same dream. We will see what path God has for her...

She is so happy to be here...can you tell?

Henry's cake

listening to all of us sing "Happy Birthday"

blowing out his candles

the kids with their cousins eating cake and ice cream

Henry reading one of his cards with Hayden watching closely

Henry's present from U. Kevin, A. Anna, Ian and Ryan

As soon as we got home today, Henry started building his new Legos. Here are the boys playing with both of the new sets.

Hayden

Henry

Henry's photo of Han Solo in carbonite

Hayden

Henry

E Women conference in Roanoke, VA

2010-10-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the ladies that attended the conference

Eating at Golden Corral

Our poor waiter was such a good sport:)

All 12 of us in Tina's van...thank you Tina for shuttling us around:)

All of us on Friday night

My mother in law (Mom) Helen and I. The only reason I specify is because sometimes when I say mom on facebook, people don't know which mom I am talking about:)

At the conference on Saturday

My friend Anne and I

Counting my blessings

2010-09-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

There has been a ton of spiritual warfare going on around Vern and I. This always happens when we step forward in obedience to anything God sets before us. Needless to say, I have cried a ton of tears this past month. I have true joy, but the ways of the world seem to come crashing down like a wet blanket at times.

Through much prayer and Bible reading, God has asked me to count my blessings instead of focusing on all the problems that are surrounding us now. So, here are my top ten blessings for today.

1. God loves me and sent His Son to die for me. I am a sinner saved by grace
2. God has given me the best husband in the world and we are giving our children the best gift...a healthy, loving and fun home with both of their parents.
3. I have a beautiful piano playing, loves to cook daughter named Hailey
4. I have a beautiful singing from her soul, full of smiles daughter named Hannah
5. I have a wonderful energetic, electronic gadget playing son named Henry
6. I have a wonderful engineer minded, always creating something son named Hayden
7. I have been blessed with a wonderful friend here in Maryland named Anne
8. I am part of a church family that preaches the Word of God every Sunday
9. I am privileged to stay home and homeschool all of the kids
10. I have an extended family that always pulls together in tough times.

What blessings can you be thankful for today?

Middle school girls' Sunday school Mission project

2010-09-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, the girls' Sunday school class held a yard sale along with a bake sale at our house to raise money for a mission project. All of the money raised was sent to help build a house in Guatemala. DLEA is where they chose to send the money. Here are a few pictures from the sale.

Hayden running the cash table

Maryland Science Center

2010-09-27T15:51:00.001-07:00

This past Friday, we took advantage of a special homeschool day at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore. Here are some pictures from our fun day.

Hayden and Henry playing in the clouds.

Hannah playing in the clouds. This was to show them how the winds and move the clouds.

Hailey

Hayden...this was showing them gravitational pull. It was really heavy and kept pulling back towards the wall.

Hannah playing with the harp

Hayden pulling himself up with the pulley system

Hannah moving the water

Hayden

Henry and Hayden

Hailey, Hannah, and Hayden. This was a window that had lights on each side. The kids were able to see how it looks like a mirror and window by using the lights.

Henry pulling himself up

Henry learning about digestion

Hayden

Jo-Ann lying on a bed of nails. We saw this and everyone was afraid to try, so I had to go first.

Hayden

Hailey

Hailey and Hayden staring at the circle....

Hannah on the bed of nails

Henry practicing his balance

Hailey and Henry learning about the planets

Hannah dressed up and ready to fly into space

Hannah (light blue) and Hailey (dark blue)

Hailey

Hayden on the left

Hannah striking a pose

Hannah listening in while learning

Hayden holding all the body parts in that they put together

Hayden...didn't have the heart to tell him this was upside down:)

Hayden coloring scales on his dinosaur picture

Hailey coloring her picture

Hailey making dinosaur tracks in the dirt

Hailey showing her friend the dinosaur. This was amazing how big this display was.

Hannah and Hailey

The kids finding fossils

overlooking the inner harbor from the elevator

Henry's finger. The day before (Thursday night), Henry slammed his own hand into the back door. I am so surprised that he didn't lose this nail. Bless his heart, I knew he really hurt himself. He didn't want to go to basketball that night because it hurt so much.

Hayden at the top of the ship

Henry in the water play area

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

2010-09-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time down in DC again. We decided to take the MARC train instead of driving and what a blessing that was. The train is a wonderful alternative to Friday DC traffic.

We went to the Treasury and took the tour to see how money is made/printed. The workers were super sweet to wave to the kids and make signs telling them how much money was in the pile they were working on. Here we are with our friends just before the tour started...

In the gift shop at the end, you can see how tall you are in $100 notes...here are the results...

Hayden

Henry

Hannah

Hailey

Jo-Ann

Hayden playing on the mall

stopping to picnic for lunch

the boys running off some energy

We had a few extra hours, so we went to the Holocaust Museum and then on to the hands on area of the American History Museum. Here are some pictures from the American History Museum.

The boys

Hannah

Henry and Hannah

Hailey in purple and Hannah in the dark blue

Henry

Silver Smile as of 7 Sept 2010

2010-09-08T09:29:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Hannah had her braces put on. She will have a silver smile for the next 24months. Thankful for a wonderful orthodontist and the ability to make a lifetime (at least it seems like that) of payments:)

Lunch with the Ladies

2010-08-28T16:16:00.001-07:00

Had a wonderful time today at a friend's house. God is so faithful if we seek HIM and ask HIM for what we need. This afternoon I was blessed with wonderful fellowship with some ladies of the church. Thank you Princess Bert!

All of us in the sun room

Having fun playing dominoes...don't know if it was good or bad to win as each time you won you got to wear the hat.

Ocean City Vacation August 2010

2010-08-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful vacation last week in Ocean City. Momma, Grams, and Papa drove over on Sunday to our house, then we left Monday morning to head over to the beach. We were very blessed to be able to rent a friends house for the week and have an amazing time with family. Here are some pictures...

All four of the kids playing in the waves

the girls

Hayden

Hailey

Four generations
Hailey, Momma, Grams, Jo-Jo, and Papa

Momma, Grams, and Jo-Jo

Papa standing on the beach. The first time we took him down to the beach, all we had was the really low beach chairs, so Papa stood until he and Vern went to hang out at the club house:)

the girls riding the tandem bike

Momma trusting Hannah to steer her in the right direction

Momma (aka cousin it), Gram, Papa, and Jo-Jo

Grams and Papa with Hayden in the background

Momma
I love this picture...we kept giving her grief. She got sunburned the first day and was only able to get more sun on her arms and lower legs...

Henry

Grams, Papa, and Vern

Hayden watching TV in the living room that he built. Vern asked him if those water bottles were rabbit ears, and he said no they were antennas.

Hayden fixing his TV

Papa

Me burying Hannah the rest of the way. She buried herself most of the way and then I helped her finish. I kept teasing her telling her to stop breathing because she was cracking the sand. lol

Vern took her picture while I gave her a shadow to keep the sun out of her eyes

Then we got smart and moved the umbrella over for shade. See all those cracks in the sand from breathing and laughing?

Momma with the kids on the back porch

All of us on the back porch

all of us on the front porch

Momma with Grams and Papa

On Thursday, we went over to Assateague Island to see the wild horses. Here are some pictures from the island. It was amazing to just see the horses by the side of the road, seemingly unaware of anything else going on around them

Momma and I caught each other taking pictures

Hannah

Looking at the crab in the water

Its like where's waldo, except its where's the crab

Updated Family Pictures

2010-08-24T19:42:00.001-07:00

A friend from church was kind enough to stay after one Sunday and take an updated family picture for us as well as some individual shots of the kids. Here are the pictures.

Hailey

Hannah

Henry

Hayden

Our family

Operation Purple 2010

2010-08-24T19:39:00.001-07:00

The second week of August, all four of the kids attended an Operation Purple camp for military children. Here are a few pictures from the last day when we picked them up....

Hayden

Hannah and her friends

Hayden's letter home from camp

2010-08-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

Of all the kids, we have only gotten a letter from Hayden. Just had to share...

Really Raw emotion...CAUTION rambling post

2010-08-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

Today has been one of the harder days that I can remember. Today, my 79 year old grandfather (Henry) was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer also in his lymph nodes. I am stopped in my tracks to say the least.

I asked God to help me work through all of the emotions that I am feeling/ will feel through this journey, so if you care to pull up a chair and listen, here it goes.

I love my grandfather more than words can express...He is a wise man who speaks few words yet listens intently and doesn't miss a beat. He is such a huge part of our lives.

Vern and I have been blessed to have been able to take several vacations with my Grams and Papa. Just a few weeks ago we were home in Ohio for my cousins wedding and spent some time visiting Grams and Papa. After lunch the one day, we had to take the kids back over to their house as they had been playing with Papa's magnifying glass that he uses to read things on his computer. Needless to say, the kids were playing around and the next day Papa couldn't find it anywhere. So when we got there the kids found it in the toy box downstairs...good thing as Papa had made the computers off limits until it was found:)

While we were downstairs, we started looking through some old pictures. There were a ton of Hailey when she was first born and of course, being the first child, first grandchild and first great-grandchild, there was no lack of pictures:)

Well, the next set of pictures we looked at were from a trip that Grams and Papa had taken back in 1996 to California to see my Aunt Lena and Uncle Ric (Papa's sister). Vern and I were already married and I flew out to join Grams and Papa while he went to visit his parents for the week (guess this was life before kids as I can't imagine taking separate vacations now)

Anyway, the pictures had Grams, Papa, Vern and I talking about how while I was on that trip, I was just so tired and couldn't get enough sleep and didn't really want to eat. I had just turned 20 and Grams told me that I was just being a little snot and thought that I didn't want to spend time with the family.

Well, long story short, I returned home to find out that I was 9 or 11 weeks pregnant with Hailey....(that's another whole story of its own).

Just good memories...

The other memory that just comes crashing into my thoughts is when I was pregnant with Hannah. I was 8 months pregnant and Grams, Papa and Kiki had come down to visit. While they were there, I was scheduled to have an ultrasound as Hannah wasn't measuring as big as they thought she should for how many weeks pregnant I was.

Grams and Papa had never seen an ultrasound before. I was only 36 weeks pregnant, and Grams kept asking the technician if she could tell how long until Hannah would make her grand entrance. She didn't know. While we were in for the ultrasound though, Hannah held up 1 finger.

Well, Grams, Papa and Kiki left that afternoon to head back home. Guess What....I went into labor that night. We called and they all headed back down in the middle of the night. Papa still says that if Hannah ever holds up one finger, he is going to listen.

I tell you all of these things not because I am special, but that we have taken the time to have a relationship with Papa that I cherish...even now we are planning another vacation in a few weeks to Ocean City, MD with them.

Today, when my Momma called and said we were waiting for the biopsy results to come back, God gave the vision of us waiting on Him to me. We really don't need the biopsy results to know what the ultimate decision is. We each have the ultimate decision NOW. Do we or don't we trust God completely? Is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior NOW and always? Why wait? God is calling us to place our faith and trust in Him NOW. He loves you and gave His life for you so that one day you can stand before God and be blameless....there is no better answer/result than that.

So, as we wait for the final results of Papa's biopsy, I am choosing to praise God and thank Him for everything including this cancer. I know that God is still on the throne and has the perfect plan. I pray that through ALL things I will praise Him and be thankful.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in EVERYTHING, by prayer and petition, WITH THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God.

Forgive me for rambling, but God is speaking and I am listening. Pray this will bless someone today. Thank you Lord!