The First Colony and American Independence

Or, should I have titled this "The Great Adventure - Part 3"? Today was full of history lessons. We walked all around Jamestown and then Yorktown. Jamestown is celebrating the 400th anniversary of the settlers first landing there. It was amazing to hear and read the stories, to see real artifacts, and to find out what life was really like for those early pioneers. Just about 20 miles away is the site where Cornwallace surrendered to George Washington and America's independence was won! It was so interesting to see where the French came into the York River to the aid of those fighting for freedom. Freedom really isn't free ... I guess I am amazed at what so many people were willing to give up, what they were willing to sacrifice to gain something that was worthy of having. Sure, the first British that came over to Jamestown were really seeking to make a fortune in the new world, but what they found was a great deal of hardship. Yet, they kept coming...

Today really was an adventure -- in more ways than one.

Serving the King,

Jeanette

The Great Adventure - Part 2

I am sitting in the laundry room at the American Heritage RV Park. I usually would not do laundry while on vacation, but swimsuits and towels full of sand from the beach sitting in a hot Suburban for a week didn't sound like such a great idea. So, here I am...catching up on some email and news and, of course, aboundinhope.

Before I left home I read an article about the new Dallas Cowboys stadium that is currently being built in Arlington. Johnny and I had a chance to drive over there a couple of weeks ago. It is impressive. Here's what gets me...Jerry Jones, the article stated, is writing a check for a million dollars everyday...I cannot even fathom writing checks like that. It's beyond my imagination. The end of the article reported that Michael Irvin asked J. Jones to present him whatever he will be presented with when he is inducted into the Hall of Fame. (ok, my details may be a little off, but that's not the point) The article quoted Jerry Jones as saying, in reference to the request, he count on one hand the number of times he has been that happy...on one hand the number of times he has been that happy...

I can barely count on two hands (if two is even enough) the number of times I have been completely and totally filled with joy and happiness since I left home a week ago. Yesterday and today we played football on the beach. It was awesome....I'm not kidding. I am all-time offense because of my skills -- NOT! -- I am all-time offense because that's the only way the teams will be fair. Yesterday we rented a family bike and rode up and down the boardwalk at Virginia Beach. We sat at a little restaurant overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and ate lunch. I waterskiied last Thursday on water that was perfectly still -- like glass. We pulled the kids on skis and tubes and fished for hours catching nothing but little brim that we had to throw back. Today we had church in the Wildwood and I preached!! haha!! shh -- don't tell anyone!!

Well, I could go on, but I guess I will get back to the present and check on the laundry... I'll be checking back in with you in a few days. Until then...go have some fun and find happiness in your life and family...

Happily,

Jeanette

The Great Adventure - Part 1

Well, here we are -- on vacation. Our first stop is in Georgia. My in-laws have a house on a lake on the GA/SC line. It's beautiful here and my mother-in-law spoils us. Her spiritual gift is hospitality and she loves to cook. That's great because we all love to eat!!

To get here, we left our house a little before 2:00 on Sunday afternoon. We are pulling our travel trailer, the Wildwood, on this great adventure. Some of you may know that I have "the list." The list is all the things that I want to do with my kids before they grow up and leave us. That's why we are on this particular vacation. Our ultimate destination is Washington, DC. Anyway, we did something already that we have never done before. Yep, I added to the list instantaneously and marked it off and, perhaps, will never do it again. Then again, maybe we will do it again. We drove Sunday night until we just couldn't go any longer. We planned to stop at the welcome center at the Georgia state line. There's a place in the back where truckers park to stay overnight. It was full!! Not one spot was left and parking overnight is prohibited in the front part of the welcome center. So, we went to the next exit where there was a truck stop. We pulled our little travel trailer right inbetween the big rigs! Yep, we slept in the Wildwood at a truck stop. My sister-in-law said, "You might be a redneck if..." Well, you get the picture!

So, we're here in Georgia enjoying a few days with my husband's family. The kids are already down at the dock and it's about time to go out on the boat...gotta run!

Vacationing,

Jeanette

Vacation!!

I am getting really excited about our big vacation coming up in just 4 days. Yikes...did I just write 4 days? I've got to get busy!!

We are leaving Sunday afternoon with the five of us and the Wildwood. We will head for Georgia to visit Johnny's family for a few days and then we'll head up to Virginia Beach. I've never even been to Virginia so I'm pumped about that. We are camping at First Landing State Park...named because it's the site where the settlers first landed! We leave there to go to Jamestown, Virginia. Jessica wanted to visit there because she learned in American History that this is the 400th anniversary of Jamestown. Perhaps you heard that the Queen was over for visit for the occasion. We'll check that out and then we are headed to Washington, DC. We are camping at a private campground in Maryland. Apparently, we will be able to catch a bus at our campground that will take us to the metro transit system for DC. We'll have a few days there and then will head back home.

I've never been to Washington, DC, and neither has Johnny. It's on "the list" of the things we want to do with our kids before they grow up and leave us. I've been reading and preparing but if you have any last minute suggestions of things we don't want to miss while we are there, please leave a comment and tell me what it is!

I think Johnny and I are excited about going new places that we've always wanted to go, but at this point we are looking forward to having our kids all to ourselves. They are so busy with their friends and activities. After dinner last night they all left to hang out with friends. We were cleaning up the kitchen (he's so good to help me!!) and talking about the future when it will be just the two of us...

I guess I better go throw another load of clothes in the laundry!

Gettin' ready for vacation,

Jeanette

Running

I'm about to go out for a run. At least I hope to run...it will likely be mostly walking though I see myself running in my mind.


My brother finished a 100 mile race this weekend. He ran for 100 miles through the mountains in Colorado. It sounds a little nuts to me, but the race started at 6:00 a.m. on Friday and the racers kept running...I imagine you don't dare stop for too long...until they completed the course. Some dropped and some didn't make the cut-off times at the various aid stations. The race ended at 6:00 a.m. Sunday but my brother finished Saturday evening. His time was just under 38 hours and he finished about 45th. The guy who won ran a record time (for that event) of 26 hours and 8 minutes...100 miles running on his feet over the mountains, through the streams, in the snow... Wow!


"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12:1)

We have not all been called to the same race. I certainly am not equipped to run 100 miles just as I am not called to do certain jobs in the church or in ministry. Life requires endurance. Sometimes serving God requires endurance. Whew! Sometimes being a mom requires endurance.

So run, with endurance, persevere through circumstances and keep it up! The reward is great!

Running the race,

Jeanette

Well, I still cannot type a title for my blogs...since I am not a techie I have no idea what's up with that...

Jessica and I had lunch today with our student pastor's wife. She's awesome! (: She asked us what our plans were for the rest of the day. Until she asked I had not thought about the fact that I really didn't have plans for the rest of the day, except to pick up Jacob after camp and cook dinner so the teenagers could go to a Video Scavenger Hunt at church at 6:00. Then, of course, I had to clean up after dinner, wash towels and swimsuits from the day at camp, and other "motherly" duties. That's pretty much what I do during the summer...take care of "kid" things.

I was reading a blog the other day that a friend of mine wrote. Here's a excerpt:

Five years ago all four of my children lived at home. This fact may explain fully to some of you (at least those of you who are moms) that only the time that I slept was free from fulfilling my duties. (http://michellecanton.blogspot.com)

You'll have to check out Michelle's blog to get the point she was making, but I can really relate to that paragraph! By the time I got home with Jacob (and a friend, of course) at 4:20, it was a rush to get supper ready and everyone sitting down to eat (all 8 of us, because there's always room for one more) before the big kids had to go. Cleaning up and making brownies (by special request of the 2 left at home when the others left) filled the evening. Now, I am sitting at my desk, watching the sun set and waiting for the big son to get home with the ice cream...also by special request of the younger brother...you know, to go with the brownies!

Whether I really had any plans for this day or not, the day had plans for me. Actually, the kids had plans for me and I am soon going to rest...to get ready for whatever they have planned for me for tomorrow!

Serving the King (and the kids),

Jeanette

Ok, for some reason I can't type a title for this blog. It's just as well -- this blog is all about leaving things undone...

As I've written previously in other blogs, I have been studying the Minor Prophets of the OT to teach my class on Sunday mornings. I have been amazed how much I've learned, how much God has spoken to me, through the Minor Prophets. This week was Haggai. The lesson title was "Commitment." Before I even read one verse of Scripture, I pondered this question: What am I really committed to? It's not my diet -- I really want to lose some weight but the calling of the brownies is much louder than the desire to lose weight. What else have I given up on way to easily?

The people of Judah had been released to return to their homeland following their exile in Babylon. After the Medo-Persians defeated the Babylonians, the Jewish people returned to rebuild their homeland. They were supposed to rebuild the temple and they had started the task, but then they got sidetracked. They wanted to build their own homes and plant their crops -- hey, everyone wants a nice house and food to eat and a successful business... The work was hard, they had opposition, they didn't have all the materials they needed. Wow! Sounds like some excuses I've made..."No, God, surely You don't want me to do that. It's too hard. I don't have the time or talent to accomplish that. I don't know how and I don't have the things I need to do it. What will people say?"

You know what God said to the people through the prophet Haggai? "Get to work!" (my paraphrase, obviously, from Haggai 1:8) Stop making excuses and be obedient. Finish the temple just like I told you.

Here's what really got me -- the people did have crops, but not as much as they could have. They had clothes and money and things, but they were not living under God's blessing because they were not being obedient. They were working hard but not receiving their full reward...

Wow! I can hardly type one more word except wow. It's a heavy wow not one of joy or excitement. Not because I want more things but because I wonder what blessing I might be missing...what did I leave undone that I was supposed to accomplish? Did I give all that I could to that task the Lord called me to? Was I obedient every step of the way?

The people repented and got busy building the temple. It wasn't the magnificent temple like Solomon built, which might have caused some sadness for those that remembered what they used to have, what they lost. Haggai tells the people to consider the past -- learn from your mistakes -- but look forward to the future blessings of the Lord.

The easy road may not always be the most fulfilling.

Serving the King,

Jeanette

Insomnia

It's 12:38 am and I can't sleep. I was asleep, but Josh came home & woke me up...at least I know he is home safe. I played some web suduko but that didn't help anything...I am actually sitting here thinking that I really don't have anything to write about. What a sad, sad state to be in...

So, I went to two movies within the last week. I'm not big on going to the movies so this is huge for me. I would much rather rent a movie and watch it at home. You don't even have to go to the store anymore to rent a movie, for goodness sakes! You just rent right off the cable box...what will they think of next? Anyway, we went to see Live Free or Die Hard and Transformers. I can hardly type or think or say the word transformers without adding "robots in disguise." Both movies were pretty entertaining, but I must say that I really liked Die Hard. I'm not a big die hard fan but Johnny is... a BIG fan...from the beginning all the way until now. Somehow he managed to get all 5 of us at the movie together. That's amazing! It was all 5 and only all 5 -- no extra people either!! The movie started and was action packed -- the kind of movie that when it's over you sit back in your seat and go "whew" because you are just worn out. I recommend it. Really, I do, as odd as I feel typing that.

Well, so much for the movie review...in case you are still reading I will spare you any further boredom by signing off...

Sweet dreams...Jeanette

Stitches

Well, it happened. There was an accident at our house the other day. It was after VBS -- 2 of my kids were here and they each had 3 friends over. It's ok...we always have extra kids here and we actually love it! The 4 middle school boys were out in the pool & the 4 high school girls were upstairs watching a movie. (actually, after a week of morning and evening VBS I think they were asleep!) I was watching Paula Deen make Orange Brownies on tv. (Which, BTW, I made later that day and they weren't too bad...it was the cream cheese icing that won me over!) One of the fellas decided to pull a prank on the girls. They ran inside from the pool and I could see them running around upstairs. I yelled, "What are you doing up there?" To which they said, "nothing!" In a minute, they came running down, headed back to the pool. Down the stairs and almost out the door, one of the boys (not mine) started yelling! I went over to find him in a pool of blood (ok, pool of blood may be an exaggeration) and in quite a bit of pain. I am not a calm person ever so I immediately start giving everyone orders. And, I have an intolerance for the sight of blood... One of the girls called the boy's mom and I had to tell her the bad news. He caught his little toe on the door upstairs and there was a gash between two toes and up onto his foot. Ugh! Mom said, "Is that him screaming I hear?" Oh yeah, it was. There's no doubt that it hurt like the dickens. They live about 15 minutes from us, but she said she would be there quickly and she was...real quickly! By the time she arrived, Johnny was home and he took over the doctor duties. To sum it up, mom did take him to the emergency room & they had to xray because they thought his toes might be broken. Thankfully not, but he did have to have 6 stitches in his foot.

Why, you might be thinking, write a blog about my son's friend's accident and stitches? First of all, I am thankful for friends and fun and summer. There has not been one quiet day yet since school has been out, but there will be lots of quiet when the kids go back. It's a season & a very busy one at that. Second, I am really thankful to have had the privilege to stay at home with my kids all these years. At times, I have longed for a job or a place outside this house to devote my time and energy. One where there's a sense of accomplishment...you know, you can finish the laundry and think the job is accomplished until you walk upstairs and it just starts all over again...it's a never ending, thankless job. Not just the laundry...all of it.

To have the awesome responsibility placed on me and Johnny by the God of the universe, who knows way more than I do & is sovereign over it all, to raise 3 kids...to mold their lives, to take care of their needs, their wants, their hurts, to experience their joys and trials, to be there when decisions have to be made and to hear what's really on their heart...

We've made it all these years without a friend having an accident requiring stitches while at our house...we've made it through a lot, actually. I'm thankful for it all...I really am.

Serving the King,

Jeanette