The Sojourning Seven

It's a baby!!

2010-04-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

Peanut had her baby! It's a colt! He is amazing! He loves people, loves to be petted and learns very quickly! About 2 weeks ago, 3/19, I looked out the window and he was out there standing up! I went out and rubbed him all over, and got him used to being handled.

Peanut is a great mother! She will let him run around and let me do things with him, but she keeps a sharp eye on him!

So far, he has learned to pick up his feet, and most of the time will let me lead him around. He will also let me rub almost anywhere on his body and not mind, although there are a few spots we are still working on. I think he's ticklish. =)

We are in the final stages of deciding a name. I really like Asher, and runners up are Levi, Echo, Banner, and a few others.

These pictures are about an hour after he was born. He has already grown a lot, so I'll post some more pictures soon!

Finally...

2010-01-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

Finally!! A new post! Sorry for the lack of them. School has kept me really busy, and I just plain forgot about it! I hope to post more regularly now, though.

One fun thing we are doing this winter is Massanutten's License to Slide program. You go six times, and everything is included for a great price! It has been so much fun, and everyone has been able to do it except for Eric, because of school.

Dad and Luke on the lift.

Luke and me at the top.

The first day when we all went.

Isaac has been skiing some, but also trying snowboarding. He is learning really fast and is pretty good now!

Fall Time!!

2010-01-28T11:50:00.000-08:00

Eric had a great season of soccer! He made one of the travel teams in Fredericksburg, and then he tried out for the State Olympic Development Program team, and made that!

We had a beautiful fall! The leaves are amazing!

Over thanksgiving, we went to North Carolina, and hiked up Shumont Mountain. This view is looking west of Lake Lure.

Then we got snow!! Towards the beginning of December, we got about 7 inches.

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The sunsets here are awesome.

I had an orchestra concert, and we didn't have many brass players, so dad got out his trombone and played along.

We made a bunch of peppermint patties to give away. They are sooo good!

Then we got a huge snow storm!! We got at least 18 inches. It was beautiful!

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And a month later we were still enjoying it! It took a really long time to melt, and there are still some piles!

And these two wonderful cows are on their way to a better place...the freezer.

We went cross country skiing the middle of January at Pipestem State Park in West Virginia. It was a lot of fun!

Timothy did such a good job keeping up with everyone! Here Dad is teaching him how.

Recent life in pictures

2009-08-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

Our new family band!!!

We played for all 3 nights at the local Baptist church's revival. It was so much fun! and it forced us to practice, which we sorely needed.

We got a tractor!!!! It's definitely easier to bushog the yard than push mow it...

This is the view from the back row of the bluegrass jam we go to once a month. We also go to a smaller one here every Thursday morning. We've improved a lot since going there and we have a great time getting to know the locals.

2009-08-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

The big horse and the little one.

We got another horse!!! We bought Sassy from our trainer. She is really fun to ride!
Other big news...Peanut is pregnant! We knew it was a possibility before we bought her, but we just found out.

Eric on Sassy.

Me on Peanut.

2009-08-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

SALSA!!! Mom has canned a bunch of salsa and tomatoe sauce. It is SO good

Our beautiful garden

We saw 3 rainbows in 2 weeks

peanut and sassy

Molly the Mini!!!

2009-08-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

Molly has finally arrived! We have been eagerly waiting for her to get trained so we could bring her home. We finally got her on Tuesday! I can't even began to describe how excited Timothy is and how much he loves her. The morning after we got her, he set his alarm for 6:30 am to go out and care for her and we didn't see him until around 8! He was also on the front page of the local Sunday paper! They interviewed him, mom, and the lady who gave her to us. You can read the article here. Timothy loves being able to lead her around, pick her feet, and take care of her all by himself!

Here he is picking her up from the horse rescue with the trainer Kent.

Timothy's new best friend.

Taking her to the pasture to graze.

I love Timothy's smile!

Vacation!

2009-08-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

On the 23rd we headed down to Florida for our cousin's wedding. On the right is out Great-Aunt Marianne.

Eric and I had a lot of fun dancing at the wedding reception.

After the wedding we stayed a few more days to visit with our cousins. This is my cousin Beth, my Grandmother, and me.

One day we went to a nearby lake to swim. The next day we went tubing on a river about 2 hours away, which was a blast! I don't have any pictures from that yet, as we didn't want to get the camera wet.

2009-08-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

After leaving in the morning at 4:30am from Florida, we got to the 5:00pm ferry on time! The one we took runs from Ceder Island to Ocracoke Island. It is about a 2 1/2 hour ride. We were headed to the NPS campground on Ocracoke to spend a few days.

This was another ferry we passed on the way.

We watched the scenery, fed the gulls, and ate dinner, until we got bored of all that and went down to sit on the bumper and jam.

This was a really neat sailboat we passed on the way.

2009-08-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

It was really cool to watch the different boats pass by.

This looks out almost to where Teach's Hole is off of Ocracoke, where Blackbeard was killed. The sandbars were treacherous to navigate, so he took refuge in the hole, which was hard to get to. When the Navy came to attack him, the ran aground on the sandbars almost completely surrounding the hole. The Ocracoke Lighthouse is in the background.

Coming into the harbor.

Pulling into the dock.

2009-08-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

We had lots of fun swimming in the mornings, the went to the Village of Ocracoke in the afternoon.

Timothy had a blast riding the little waves as they would break.

The campground was right behind the dunes. It was a nice campground, except for the mosquitoes. They swarmed around you as soon as you showed your face, and they were more ferocious and bigger than you average ones! The beach was free from them though, and was not crowded, which was nice.

Timothy out to conquer the pond.

2009-08-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

The ocean the last night we were there.

Here we are waiting for the ferry to take us to Hatteras Island. The sound is in the background.

waiting and playing....

Waiting even more.......

2009-08-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

Our last stop on the way home was the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. Can you believe they moved this massive tower almost a half a mile in 1990? This is the tallest lighthouse in the US.

The view...the lighthouse is visible 20 miles away!

Only Mom, Eric, and Isaac climbed. The rest of us were not up to the 268 steps to the top.

Our Picnic!

2009-07-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

We are having a picnic at our house next Saturday, July 11th. We sent an email invitation out a while ago, but in case you read our blog and I don't have you email address, you are invited too! Basically, anyone is invited to come. If you would like more information, leave a comment and I can get more info to you. We are having a busy summer, and I am out of town a lot, so sorry I haven't been posting. I am going to try to stay up to date in the next few weeks.

Eric's Birthday and Our Horse

2009-07-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

Eric's birthday was a few weeks ago. He turned 16! Wow...I remember when we were 6 and 7. It doesn't seem like 10 years! Eric has matured so much since then and I love having him as my brother.

He got a rope...He is getting in the riding stuff.

We got a horse! Back in May, I think. She is very sweet and we love her, but she can be tempremental sometimes. Here, she was behaving very nicely!

Her name is Peanut.

lightening pictures

2009-06-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night we had a series of thunderstorms. We could see at least 2 storms from our porch and there were tons of flashes all around the area. It was an awesome effect, blinding too. Our camera has a night landscape setting, which holds the shutter open about 8 seconds. So, I would randomly take a picture and hope that there would be a flash in just the right direction. Surprisingly, I got a few! But there were lots of flashes so it wasn't very hard.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Ps 19:1

2009-06-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

Colonial Williamsburg

2009-06-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

Everyone (except me because I was at my grandmothers) took a trip to Colonial Williamsburg a few weeks ago. They tell me it was a lot of fun and they enjoyed going. I had a fun time with my grandmother in Maryland helping her get ready to move.

More kitty pictures!

2009-05-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

They are getting so big!

And sitting up!

Wow...some serious blue eyes...

They are so cute!!!!

Baby pictures!

2009-05-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the kitties from a week or so ago.

We also have baby bluebirds!!!!!

A Cow and a Birthday

2009-05-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, I did have birthday Saturday. Eric, a friend, and I went canoing which was tons of fun.

We got a cow!!!!!!!! Her name is Samantha. We are raising her for meat. She has about 8 more months before she hits the freezer.

Kittens!!

2009-04-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

Star had her kittens Tuesday morning, and there are 5!!!! They are so cute!!

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And here are some pictures of our other animals...

This is Molly, a miniature horse. She is not here yet, she's getting training, but we'll be able to get her in about 6 weeks! She is going to be Timothy's pet, for him to ride!

Our chickens are getting bigger we have them outside now, in the house for them, and Isaac and Timothy let them out for a while every day.

pictures from Mississippi

2009-04-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

Our group at the Charlottesville train station Friday night before we left for the 22 hour ride to Mississippi.

Me trying to help Aaron. This was on Monday which was the day I stayed back to help in the kitchen, so I only
stayed and helped here for a little while.

Dad after dry finishing.

Mort, our group leader working on finishing drywall.

2009-04-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

Dad on stilts for finishing the drywall.

Luke leaving his handprint in cement he helped pour.

Luke's handprint.

They could be twins.....Eric and Andrew on the train back....totally exhausted.

A Mission in Mississippi

2009-04-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm lying on my bed listening to Bebo Norman, getting ready to fall asleep before my normal bedtime. Or I was, before I started to write this post. ;-) Dad, Eric, Luke and I got back from a trip to Mississippi yesterday morning on the train. We left the previous Friday night on the train, and got to Slidell, LA for a short trip to Waveland, MS. Monday through Friday, our daily schedule was to get up by 6am for devotions and breakfast, then leave for your work site around 7am, except for the 2 days at had to get up at 4:15 and 4:45 to help make breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. Those days I didn't have to go work though. The three days I worked I spent laying hardwood flooring, except it was bamboo, but you lay it the same. And I put up some insulation under the same house. Eric helped lay some of the flooring too, so now we both know how to lay hardwood AND tile. Maybe we should start a business... I think Dad did mostly drywall finishing, Eric did several things, including putting up hardibacker siding, the flooring, and pouring cement. I'm not sure what all Luke did, but I do know he helped with an electrical job, and did some decking. Saturday morning we got up by 5:30 and left at 6:30 for the train station for another 23 hour train ride...not something I want to do on a regular basis, but its not so bad if you can at least sleep for a few hours during the night. On the way down I hardly slept at all, but on the way back I was so tired that I could hardly wake up to get my stuff together to get off the train. Then I almost fell asleep in church, and came home and took a 3 hour nap, which NEVER happens to me. I normally can never sleep during the day. And I'm still waaaay tired tonight. But it was so worth it, seeing the people who would never have any hope if it wasn't for volunteers. I heard a stat that 90% of Waveland, where the storm surge was up to 32 ft., was rebuilt by volunteers. And still there are rows and rows of lots along the beach and a mile back that are just cement slabs or a few pilings. Everything along there was utterly destroyed. We seriously have it so well. Some people had there government trailers taken away and they are living in a shed. Others can hardly pay for the supplies for the volunteers to use. But slowly it is getting rebuilt. And those of us who go down to help get so much more than we could ever give. This was our third trip, and everytime, we always gain new lessons, new skills, and friendships. It was an awesome trip!

I don't have any pictures right now because mom wanted to keep the camera. I may get some sometime...We were expecting baby bunnies, but now we don't think we're going to have them. Our kitty Star is pregnant and we didn't know when she was going to have them. Our other kitty Pumpkin sadly got hit by a car in Febuary, so we're excited about having more than kitty again.

Introducing...

2009-03-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

...our chicks! We ordered 24 hens and 1 rooster from a place in PA that hatches them. Last Thursday we picked them up at the post office all came safe and sound in a little tiny box. They were very cramped, but I guess they stayed warmer that way. We are almost finished their house and coop, and in a week or two they should be ready to stay outside. They have already grown quite a bit in the week we've had them! Right now they are in the utility room in the basement.

Riding lesson!

2009-03-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. We haven't had many exciting things happen, but stay tuned for some new animals on the way!
A long while before we moved, Mom and Dad promised Timothy a pony when we moved out to the country. We are working on finding one, and we are going to look at a miniature horse next weekend! In preparation, Dad and Timothy have been taking riding lessons from our neighbor, and Eric and I clean the barn for her in exchange for lessons. We also hope to get a full sized horse or two sometime.
These are all pictures from one of Timothy's lessons. He is riding a pony named Patriot.

Our Holidays

2009-01-14T17:29:00.000-08:00

We had great holidays, and I figured a late post was better than never, so here we go! We went up to Dad's Mom's house on Christmas day, and had Christmas dinner with her and two other relatives. We came back on Saturday, just in time for...

...more family! Mom's whole side of the family came on Monday and stayed through Friday of New Year's week. We had a blast! We toured downtown Fredericksburg, shot off rockets and fireworks, and started work on a chicken coop. (more on that later-probably when it gets finished.) We housed 14 people that week; we were so sad to see them go!!! But we had a busy weekend coming up....

We went down to Richmond for our ballroom dance class that Friday, and left Eric in Richmond for an airsoft battle the next day, and brought Mary home with us. We did lots of homework, but otherwise we had fun!

The D's came Saturday night to spend the night with us. They stayed through Sunday afternoon, brought Eric back, and took Mary home. This picture is all of us at our new table. It has two leaves that you slide in on the end. With both of them in we are able to fit 14 people at our table!

Mom made a great dinner with a roast from Eric's deer. It was so good! I thought this was a really funny picture of Eric trying to eat it... ;)

2009-01-14T17:15:00.000-08:00

Family photo...all 14 of us.

New Pet!!!! wait...not the girl, what's in her hand! Timothy and Isaac named her Coco.

Out to see a rocket!!!

Shooting off Luke's model rocket.

Random bits of recent life.

2008-12-20T15:19:00.000-08:00

Luke and I going hunting in a little corner of our woods.

Brothers!

More brothers! and a dog...

Cute little Star. In the top of the picture you can see Eric's first deer that he and I gutted. That was the only picture of it that wasn't too uhh, graphic.

An Amazing Concert!

2008-12-16T21:20:00.000-08:00

Friday night, December 5th we had the opportunity to go to an Andrew Peterson concert. We have been looking foreward to it for a while, and it was definately worth the drive down to Richmond.
The concert was part of his Behold the Lamb of God Tour: The True Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ. Andrew Peterson is a Christian singer/songwriter that my whole family loves to listen to, and Behold the Lamb of God is one of our favorite CDs by him. There is a group of artists(here and here) that Andrew Peterson is apart of, and Eric and I enjoy several other singer/songwriters in that group.

On this tour, Andrew Peterson brings several of these friends, and several others. So the concert tonight was filled with most of my favorite Christian artists. It was amazing. For the first half of the concert they took turns, each person playing his own songs with his own style. My favorites: Jill Phillip's songs (she is one of my favorite artists) were wonderful and I bought her new album. Her music is a little bit more folk/rock genra, and I love her voice and the way she uses the guitar. Andy Gullahorn (Jill's husband) played two of his songs, Desperate Man and Roast Beef. I especially him because he is an exeptional songwriter and his music is just guitar and voice most of the time, and the guitar style is different, more rthmic, but it sounds beautiful. Another of my top favorits was Bebo Norman. I've just recently gotten some of his music, but I love his style of guitar and his songs are always deep and well written. And I really like his voice too. Ben Shive sung one of the songs from his new album. Being a pianist ;) I really appriciate the lyrical way he plays piano. Also, Pierce Pettis and Andrew Osenga play some of their songs.

After intermission was the Christmas part of the concert. They all sang together the Christmas songs by Andrew Peterson. This is not your ordinary Christmas music thought. It tells a story. A true story. About the Savior of the World.
In Andrew's words: "…What I wrote is a concert that tells a story. There’s no speaking--only songs, some of which are intimate, some epic, some humorous, all with a purpose, which is to convey the true tall tale of the coming of God into the world. What makes this bunch of songs unique is that I wanted to remind (or teach) the audience that the story of Christmas doesn’t begin with the birth of Jesus. Many people tend to forget or have never even learned that the entire Bible is about Jesus, not just the New Testament. So the musical begins with Moses and the symbolic story of the Passover (Passover Us) and works its way through the kings and the prophets with their many prophecies about the coming Messiah (So Long, Moses) to the awful four hundred years of silence before God told Mary she’d be having a baby (Deliver Us). After the song called Matthew's Begats, which lists the genealogy of Jesus, the story picks up in more familiar territory with Mary and Joseph and the actual birth (It Came To Pass, Labor of Love). The final song is called Behold, the Lamb of God, which ties together the Passover and the beauty and scope of the story…”

Even after listening to this album many many times, it never seems to get old. And it was so amazing, so uplifting, listening and watching these wonderful people sing it. They were so humble, and God's love was so evedent it the evening, throught their songs, and their storys. The end of the concert was different, but it showed their humility. Instead of staying on the stage after the last song, they led the audience in two Christmas hymns, then while we were still singing they walked off. It was so peaceful, and left the attention on Christ. It was so incredible.

I thoroughly enjoyed this concert, and if you are looking for a good Christmas CD, check out Behold the Lamb of God. You can get it here. https://store.rabbitroom.com/index.aspx

Applesauce!

2008-12-05T21:20:00.000-08:00

Timothy's birthday

2008-12-05T21:17:00.000-08:00

Timothy celebrated his 7th birthday Monday. It's hard to believe that it's been seven years--time must fly. He is such fun to be around and a wonderful brother. We celebrated it North Carolina while we were there to be with all the relatives. We had quite a fun time, especially Timothy. :)

Thanksgiving

2008-12-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving. We traveled to western north Carolina to visit mom's family. The farmhouse where we have it every year is where my grandfather and his many siblings grew up.

The farm and boys.

Me, Eric and cousin Laura.

The whole family. We had a great time visiting them.

Picture update!

2008-11-20T18:26:00.000-08:00

Our new kitties! We got them from our old neighbor. They are sisters.

This is Pumpkin.

This is Star. Timothy loves them to pieces!

2008-11-20T18:20:00.000-08:00

The P's came for the weekend. (Ashley and her family)

Luke's first kill.

The rec room and weight rooms. The big, closest part is the rec room, the narrow part is the weight room. Its perfect for indoor soccer. =)

2008-11-20T17:55:00.000-08:00

The beautiful treeline across our pasture.

Unpacking furniture. No idea why I have that expression.

That looks familiar!

Finally...a post!

2008-11-12T19:22:00.000-08:00

Well, we have had an exciting two weeks in our new house. We have spent lots of time painting and going to Home Depot to pick out and buy paint. We were spoiled having it 5 minutes away; now its over 20 so we have to plan our trips carefully! The wood floors are postponed until next summer. We decided it was too much to paint and do floors all while we are trying to move in.

This weekend we got the last of our stuff which was stored in Richmond. Eric, Dad and I had to go down Friday night for an event and we rented a truck and drove it back Saturday with all our stuff from the stationary storage units Everything looks so small in our big house! It is quite strange. And we hardly have any furniture for the basement, but my sewing room is starting to fill up!

We got the school room set up today, and I think we are going to try to start back tomorrow, after a 2 week break!

It is so peaceful and quiet out here. The nearest house is up on the main road, not quite 1/4 mile. When we look out the window, we can see our pasture, and our neighbor's across the road. Further away are the woods all around. In one direction you can see through the bare woods into the white fenced pastures of the massive horse farm behind us. Two weeks ago the leaves were peak and gorgeous! They are mostly gone now though, but that means winter! We are hoping for more snow since we are further north!

Eric and Luke have been squirrel hunting twice, and the first time they each got one, although Eric couldn't find his after looking for it for 45 minutes. We had Luke's for dinner. They shot another one today, but I'm not sure which one of them got it. They are really excited about deer season coming up and Eric is sure he is going to get a big buck this season! We'll see.

We are going to a primitive cabin this weekend for Mom's birthday, so check back for pictures from that, and I will try to get photos of our last two weeks up.

Of Friends and Bluegrass

2008-10-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, we traveled to Newport News to visit a family we have known for a while. We had a great time renewing old frendships while playing football, Dutch Blitz, rubberband fights, and Bluegrass! It was great to have the extra players to jam with. Susannah was on auto harp, Stephen played his cello some, and Peter played his cello as a bass. Mom took this video, and I don't think any of us knew she was recording, otherwise, some people would not have played...=D !

So, I'm faking fiddle on my viola, Eric is playing the guitar, Susannah is on the auto harp, Peter is plucking on his cello, and Luke is pickin' away on his banjo. Luke has only played a year and a half, but he has really taken off on the banjo!

Move-in In Sight!

2008-10-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

This is the lovely 'Barn' we have been staying in. It has been amazing provision!

We found out this week that we are going to close on Monday, 3 days ahead of schedule! We are very excited about that! We have managed well over these past 6 weeks with the help of God's people who have been such a blessing to us. We are all very happy, though, that the time has finally come to move into our new home, but we have many fond memories of our weeks of sojourning. It has been a good lesson the we are not permanent dwellers on this earth, we are just sojourners, heading to a much better place.

Update

2008-10-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

Our new house is continuing to go through. We had the inspection yesterday, which went well. The inspector found a few small things, which were mostly inconsequential. We are very excited about this!

Our realtor is trying to get everything done quickly so we can close on Oct. 30. The original date was Nov. 3, but the bank has agreed to the earlier date as long as everything gets done. We are hoping the October date works out, because that is a Thursday, and Nov. 4would be the beginning of a week so we would not have a weekend to move in. We are planning to paint the first floor, rip up carpet on the first floor, and install wood floors that match the rest of the first floor that weekend, and Dad would be there to work on the weekend. Otherwise, the flooring is up to Eric and I, which would be fun. =D

On our way home from North Carolina last Thursday, we stayed in Durham that night to watch another one of Laura's soccer games. It was a good game, but unfortunately, Wake Forest lost. =(

We made it to town Friday and went to our next dwelling, a guest house/barn in a family's backyard. It has been wonderful provision. It is smaller than all seven of us have ever lived in before, excepting tents and cabins, but those were just for a few days, so we are all trying not to step on each other's toes!

We have been able this week to help some friends of ours who are building their own house this week. We have been wanting to for a very long time, and now we are able and living close to them, so we have had a lot of fun at their house. Pictures may follow...

We don't have Internet access where we are living, so I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while.
I'll try to post whenever we have news...maybe. It just depends on where we are and if we have Internet, so check back!

We Have a House!

2008-10-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

After over a week or negotiation, the bank finally accepted our offer! Yay!! Now we can proceed with all the legal details and head toward the closing on November 3rd. It feels good to know that we will soon have a place to settle in.

Soccer and a Place to Stay

2008-10-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

Once again the Lord has provided us with a place to stay. This weekend, we left Richmond and headed down to North Carolina to see our cousin, Laura, play for the Wake Forest women's soccer team. We were able to enjoy a men's soccer game Saturday, and the women's game Sunday. We went from the soccer games to stay with Mom's sister and her family in western North Carolina for this week, while Dad is staying with a coworker this week.
After this week, a family we know in Richmond offered us the use of their guesthouse for as long as we need it! This is amazing provision and we are going to stay there until we move into a house.

Laura with a save!

Eric, Anna, Isaac, Sarah (cousin), Isaac, and Timothy watching the game.

A Beach Trip

2008-09-28T20:33:00.001-07:00

Some Friends of ours from DC, Tommy, Mary, Teddy, and Emily, invited us to come with them to their beach house in Duck, NC (the Outer Banks) this weekend. Since we don't have our own house to work on, nor other big projects going on, we, and a friend of mine, Mary, decided to go.

We have had a fun and relaxing time here together. The weather has been perfect, not too cool, not too hot. The water was cold at first, but we got use to it easily. Unfortunately, the water was very rough from Hurricane Kyle out in the Atlantic, so the "No Swimming" flags were out. We could go into the water about 10 feet. We got knocked over by huge waves, then suddenly the water would get sucked out for the next big wave, sometimes almost pulling us with it, or we were were uncomfortably sitting on the sand in about 8 inches of water until the next wave came. It was a very different ocean than I have ever swam in before. We had fun playing Ultimate Frisbee on the beach, too.

Tomorrow we are leaving early to go by Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers Museam, then heading home to make it to Eric's soccer game and my orchestra rehearsal.

It has been a great weekend, especially visiting with old friends.

2008-09-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

Kids enjoying the beach.

A sand crab the boys found.

2008-09-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

Everyone enjoying the water.

Luke enjoyed his first time on the skimboard. He took to it very well, but the waves overpowered him a few times. Note how small the wave is that the skim board is in compared with how high Luke went. Yeah, those waves were really strong.

Teddy and Timothy braving the seas together while Eric stands by and Luke is doing something, I'm not sure what.

2008-09-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

Mom waiting for the sunrise.

Finally, what they were waiting for appeared.

Group shot.

House Photos

2008-09-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of the house we are making an offer on.

The house and yard.

The barn.

The backyard and fences.

Update from Friday

2008-09-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

We have had fun at our current home not far from where we use to live. It has been wonderful provision for us. Although Mom and Dad grew up in neighborhoods, we kids have never lived in one, so we had to get use to a small yard and close neighbors.

We decided to make an offer on the house mentioned in the last post. Considering we are all feeling ready to settle in somewhere we are willing to compromise on the commute. Everything else about the house and property is just what we have been looking for.
The offer will be considered at the bank on Monday.

Update

2008-09-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

The week we spent out at Ashley's house was filled with fun, late nights laughs, cooking and eating lots of good food, some school and good fellowship. The whole family made us feel very loved and at home there. The kids had a ball, and everyone wished we had stayed longer. We miss our surrogate family. An older couple we worship with offered us their home while they travel for the next two weeks and we will be here through October 4th. We are very grateful that they have been willing to share their homes with us! We praise God for his provision, that we have a roof over our heads and our needs met.

This past Sunday we went to look at more houses. We found one that has 14 acres, 7 cleared with fences for a horse and pony and goats we hope to get. The house was huge, with plenty of rooms for a sewing/craft room, weight room, and more. It is a foreclosure, so the price was very good.
The only down side is that it is 20 miles west of Fredericksburg, making it an hour drive for Leif to work, a little farther than we have been looking for. We have not made a decision about whether or not to make and offer. We are praying about it and considering if this is where the Lord would have us. Prayers would be appreciated concerning this.

One BIG Party

2008-09-17T19:03:00.002-07:00

With 10 kids doing school here, we could almost start our own school!

Luke being studious.

Timothy working hard.

Eric conquering Biology.

Daniel wishing his picture wasn't being taken.

Cutiepie Joshua

Cutiepie Samuel

Cutiepies waiting for dinner.

Dinnertime! It's quite an event around here!

Cute lil' Rebeckah

Friday-Finally Finished

2008-09-17T19:03:00.001-07:00

We finally cleared out of the house Friday afternoon, just in time for the new owners to get there. We still had stuff in the yard we had to take to storage. It took many trips, but we are finally moved out and homeless.

Daniel and Hannah's grandfather brought a wonderful lunch that he and Ashley (Daniel and Hannah's mom) made.

Eric and Andrew loading up the HUGE trash pile.

Hannah cleaning.

Empty rooms. Sad, but we were glad to actually see some visible progress.

Just for the record, our beautiful toucan that has graced our bathroom walls for almost 10 years. Many thanks to Aunt Sallie for drawing it, then mom who painted it.

Thursday--Heading Out

2008-09-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

I'm about to pack up the computer, so I don't know exactly when I will post again. Hopefully sometime this weekend. We have to be out tonight because tomorrow is the closing, so we are finishing everything up tonight. Its going to be a late night!

This weekend we are staying with some friends in the area. So Aunt Sallie, I will not be needing to stay with Prissy!!!!!! (Please excuse that, everyone who is not Aunt Sallie. That's for my crazy aunt who LOVES her dogs.) ;-)

We still are not sure where we are going after the weekend, so please continue to pray that we find a house, or for direction if we are suppose to do something else.

2008-09-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

Me up on the roof chillin'.

Chris, Andrew, and James awaiting orders.

Gunther moving boxes around.

2008-09-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

Gunther and Chris helping.

Dad and Mom up on the ladder trying to throw a rope over the roof
because we had to get up on the high roof to glue more shingles down.
They wanted to tie the person up in case they fell.

Eric trying to throw it.

Afterseveral tries, they could not get the rope over, so I got up on the
roof not tied in. But I got down all safe and sound. :-)

Wednesday's Events

2008-09-11T08:38:00.000-07:00

One more day left to pack up! Andrew and James came again to help move the rest of the big furniture. There are still closets and rooms to pack up, but its getting closer!

2008-09-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

One last futile attempt at shooting the tennis ball cannon.

Almost empty rooms!

Muscleing the piano. Whew! Those guys are strong!!!

Our beautiful house we have to leave soon.

2008-09-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

Wait! I don't think that is supose to stay in there!

A stray tennis ball found Timothy's mouth and knocked out a somewhat loose tooth.
He didn't mind though, and proudly walked around saying he had now lost 4 teeth.

Finishing up projects

This box is getting quite full!
Uh-oh! I think there's a stowaway in there!

Tuesday's Travailings

2008-09-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Tuesday we made good progress, with help from several people. Our friends Karen, Adam, and Taylor, and Andrew and James came to help us pack up and move stuff out. Mom and Dad's room got mostly emptied out, the attic is almost empty, our unfinished spare room has less stuff in it, and other pieces of furniture got moved out. Andrew and James's parents brought supper, which was a great blessing! We still have a lot to do, but things are moving along!

And I found out that I made it into the Rappahannock Youth Orchestra that I auditioned for Monday. I'm the only violist, so that will be fun, and challenging too.

We still don't have a place to move into yet, but keep praying.

2008-09-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

The boxes are starting to get filled up!!

Dinner on the roof...kinda like Fiddler on the Roof.

Then the boys wanted make and shoot a tennis ball cannon.
Unfortunately, all the tries were duds. =(

Then they somehow shot a can with a firecracker in it out of a can of water.
That worked. =D

2008-09-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

Karen helping pack.

Taylor emptying the attic.

Andrew carrying the last of the jars down.

James and Adam lugging their loads.

Monday's events

2008-09-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today we kept packing, but the day was cut short because Eric had a soccer game, I had an audition for a youth symphony in Fredericksburg and we decided to look at a house on the way, and the inspector was coming back to reinspect all the work we had done to pass the inspection.

Unfortunately, a house we were seriously considering renting is not available anymore because they have to repair water damage from Tropical Storm Hanna that came through here. So, that means we still have no idea what we are doing after this weekend. In case you don't know: our house closes on Friday, and we have to be out Thursday. Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights, and maybe more, we are going to stay with some friends, who graciously invited us to stay with them. (They have 8 kids, plus our 5, equals a lot of craziness!)
So, pray that we find a house, or some lodging, until we figure out what we are going to do.

Check back for more updates!

2008-09-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

Making bread.

All done!

Two loaves of rasin bread, four of regular whole wheat.

2008-09-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

A hawk Isaac spotted on the neighbor's hoop.

The picture was taken with our digital camera through a binocular lens.

The vent is done!!

Eric grouting.

The just grouted new tile where the old vent was.

Sunday's work

2008-09-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the first day of us seriously working to start packing. The portable boxes we are using to move our stuff arrived on Friday, and this was the first full day we had to start taking apart beds, pack up closets and clothes, and start loading the boxes. We decided to go the box route because as of now, we have nowhere to go to unload a truck, if we had rented a truck, and the box company will store the boxes for us until we have a place to move into.

2008-09-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

Isaac and Timothy helping.

Isaac hauling boxes.

Timothy hauling boxes

2008-09-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

Me (Anna) up on the ladder...

glueing down shingles.

Eric working on the new vent....with his food and music.

Heeeeeeeeelp!!!!!

2008-09-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Luke packing up his desk (which is a part of the big bed that all 4 boys sleep on).

Luke taking the bed apart.

Temporary beds to crash on for the rest of the week.

Welcome!

2008-09-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our blog!
We have created it to document our move and life in a new place, and to keep friends and family updated.
Enjoy!