the days are getting shorter...

Here’s a picture from Saturday night when we ran out to get dinner (forgot to post it). We went to a local place called Joseph’s Family Restaurant (never been there). It was kinda creepy because there was not one other person in there. Our meal took so long to arrive that we were wondering if they had to go out shopping for the ingredients. But it sure was a nice break in a busy day!

Ryan left for Creation yesterday. He’ll be gone for 5 days. He’ll be going away again this summer on a missions trip for 10 days. I guess the Lord is gradually preparing me for the day he goes to college. I’m not looking forward to it. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night having a panic attack because he’ll be all the way out in Michigan! What was I thinking?

Had a blast sleeping in the tent last night, except that the ground was hard, my shoulders were hurting, we were on a hill, so I kept sliding down, and it was very cold and we had no extra blankets. But it was GREAT!

Went for a HILLY bike ride with Kyle this morning. Didn’t have any “Rocky moments” but we just missed seeing a bear. We were peddling up a good stretch of the mountain when a van stopped, and the woman inside warned us that there was a bear right up the road. We made a plan that if we saw it we would take a picture and then turn around and peddle down the hill as fast as we could. But we didn’t see it.

Was horrified when I found out that some young girls from our church are going to see Lady Gaga!! What is wrong with parents?!!

I’m trying to do some new cool things to the bulletin this week while the boss is away.

yummy treats

Kyle told me the other day that he loved going to Gen Y because they have such great snacks! Yay…

So after raving over these chocolate coated saltine crackers, we decided we would make some. Just so happens we had the 2 necessary ingredients. Had no idea how to do it, so we just melted the chocolate and poured it on. Put them in the freezer and viola, a yummy treat, salty and sweet, it can’t be beat, yeah.




We're sleeping in the tent tonight (Darryl said we wouldn't make it past 12:30am)... GOOD NIGHT!

a camping we will go

We practiced putting the tent up today. Think we were successful. Of course it rained, and water got inside of it. We were planning to sleep in there tonight, but it looks like we're not now.

Bring Us To You

time to make the donuts

I spent all day Saturday getting ready for church. It took me all morning to make the dumb donut muffins for coffee break. Then I ended up burning some of them because I was preoccupied trying to do other things. Ran out to get fruit, made 2 big bowls of fruit salad (one for church and one for home so there’d be no jealousy), did a quick bulletin insert, worked on power point, and finally, went over songs with Ryan. That was my most fun part of the day because we all sat outside and sang together, which is one of my favorite things to do! And I’m sure gonna miss that when he goes to college!!!

At church the graduates were recognized for their achievements and given a Bible.
Ryan was leading worship. He also sang his new song, which a couple people told me they really liked. No one said anything about the “eating ourselves alive” part, so that was good. lol
After church, drove back home to take Ryan for his practice for the Lifehouse Everything skit. I can’t wait to see that. Ryan is playing the part of Jesus! After a short break at home, Kyle and I went back to Wayne for Mrs. Bosland’s 100th birthday celebration. Man, it was HOT!! They wouldn’t let anyone in the house to cool off, so Kyle and I left. Not to mention that I was not gonna “go” in the 110 degree porta potty!

Fortunately, we got invited to go hang out at Limandri’s pool for a couple hours until it was time to go back for church. Had a blast!!! Loved it!

After the evening service when Kyle went to the parsonage I stayed at church. Think I fell asleep watching a movie. That couch is so comfortable! Decided to go downstairs and get some coffee…when I turned the lights on the place was crawling (hopping) with... guess what…CRICKETS! Thank goodness they weren’t as big and ugly and disgusting as the ones we have. But I wonder why I didn’t see them last time I went down there at night!! They were all over the place. Ugh!!!

My house is a mess. Looks like slobs live here! Ugh!!
I lost Kyle's mouse.
We are putting the tent up today and camping outside.
Ryan is leaving tomorrow to go to Creation.

Reunion Dinner at Hunterdon Hills Playhouse

Had a great time at our second high school reunion dinner last night. For $35 (or for any price) the meal was terrible, but we had a really fun time with everyone, lots of laughs. I’m glad Darryl was feeling better, and thankful that he was willing to drive me there. Here are a few pictures from it.

I did get sad when I heard a list of names of people who have died. A guy that grew up right down the road from me was one of them. Death comes to us all, and to some it comes quickly. Once we die there are no second chances. You will never have the opportunity to escape hell if you're not saved by the precious blood of Christ. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to save you, to give you eternal life. Do it today, because tomorrow may not come.

We got the tent and plan to be experts at putting it up before we go to Wildwood!

Ryan is singing tomorrow....busy day.

The electric fly swatter

Here’s a great Father’s Day gift idea. Darryl wasn’t all that thrilled with it, but I thought it was cool. Maybe he wanted a BB gun or something more powerful. Oh well. I suspect he was happy anyway. He’s going to go buy himself a new grill that doesn’t shoot up flames all the time.

The fly swatter works great on the horrid alien crickets that are too sick to hop high. I have fried many of them in the basement. It’s annoying that we’re still getting them because Darryl spent so much time down there cleaning on the day his church was closed for the Grace Gives weekend. I guess Grace gave us a clean basement. hahaha!

Today it’s HOT! Think it got up to 91˚ or so. Now I know that’s nothing to the folks who live in AZ who are used to triple digits, but for me it was hot. And our AC decided to take a break. I didn’t have time to go in the pool, and really, it’s kinda boring going in alone all the time. Unless I’m so tired that all I wanna do is float and drift, but I didn’t have time for that luxury today.

I’m proud of myself! I actually filled out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form for GBC!! I had to have Kyle put our tax CD on the Mac to read it and then find all the info that the government requires. I don’t know about anyone else, but I really don’t like giving them all my financial information! It’s not like we will get any breaks from them, but we had to fill it out because Ryan is entitled to some scholarships that he earned, but he can’t get them unless we give them all our $ details. So, now they know everything.

Also started the application process for Kyle to go there! With 2 kids going to Michigan next year, I can’t help wondering what Darryl and I will do. (No, I don’t want to move there.)

Ryan sang us a new song today! It’s so wonderful to hear him sing songs that have come from his heart, and his time spent in God’s word. It sure does bring joy to this mom’s heart!

Tomorrow Darryl and I are going to the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse for supper. Funny thing is, we’re not even seeing a show, just going for dinner with a gang from my highschool. Actually, the main reason we are going is to pick up a tent for the Closer Walk camping trip, otherwise there is no way I would ever spend $35 per dinner!! That’s ridiculous! You know how many pieces of Chicken Francaise I could make for $35?! Ok, well anyway we are planning to have a fun time and hopefully it’ll be the best Chicken Francaise we ever ate!

Competition videos

This is the Freestyle that Kyle did, and won first place in the Novice division.

And this is the Sports Ladder that he did, and he did win this one too, even though he messed it up on some relatively easy tricks.

Mid-Atlantic Region Yo-yo contest

Kyle with his awards.
It’s been a crazy weekend. Went to Delaware for the Mid-Atlantic Yoyo Contest. We did stop at The Dining Car on the way down. This place was featured on Food Network. It was good, but I can’t say it was GREAT.

Friday night we went to Yoyo Joe’s for the pre-contest gathering of yoyo club members and special guests. There were some quite well known yoyo hot shots there. Kyle handed out several business cards. I was so proud of him because he wasn’t falling all over the big wigs but instead he took the time to hang with the younger unknown crowd.




Saturday was the competition. It was a very long day, hot and a little boring at times… If I hadn’t had my Iphone with me I think I would have fallen asleep. But the good news is that Kyle did compete in the Sports Ladder and the 1A Novice division and he won both of them. He had never competed before and wasn’t entirely sure where he belonged, so I know that this win will always be tempered with doubts as to whether or not he deserved it. Poor kid. Well, Darryl and I are both very proud of him for getting up there and trying it for first time! It’s not easy to get up on stage and compete with some pretty big champs.

Speaking of champs, here’s a picture with André Boulay of Yo-Yo Expert. Met him once before at the South Street Seaport event 2 summers ago.

He also met JonRob, Miguel Correa, Tyler Severance, and some others.



This was at the end of the day when we were all hot and exhausted. It was a very fun (and tiring) 2 days in Delaware.

Blogging my life away...

Well, let’s see. What is newsworthy?

Ryan decided to run most of the way home from our walk/jog today so he could get a taste of what it might be like in cross country at Grace Bible College if he goes for that. He said it was about as hard as he expected it to be and so it looks like he will need to get out there and do a lot more running. Thinking maybe I could take him to a track, and Kyle and I could go rollerblading. That sounds FUN!

After the walk I took the boys in the basement and started teaching them a few exercises on the gym. Hopefully they will stick with it. While we were doing that, our Honduras neighbor showed up needing a ride to the train station. As usual, I couldn’t understand much of what she was saying, but I did ask her if she could read English, and she said yes. So I gave her a tract.

I decided to go back to the PT since I only had 5 more visits left. Guess I can handle that, and with a good attitude. I need to work hard at getting the shoulder back to normal, and then hopefully I can keep it from locking up again. Be glad when it’s done. Won’t be glad when we get the bill though. Can’t even imagine how much $ this is gonna cost us!!

I have been finding lots of interesting recipes on Kathie’s blog, which is also where I got my recipe for dinner last night. I made this one: Pizza Pasta Bake and everyone loved it. Can’t wait to try more of them. Check it out.

Tomorrow we are heading to Wilmington, Delaware so we’ll be there for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Yo-Yo Contest on Saturday. Kyle won’t be competing under the best conditions because the weather forecast is for 86 degrees and humid, and there’s no air conditioning in the building, just a big fan. The people yo-yoing will have a difficult time doing it with sweaty hands. It’ll be challenging for him to compete for the first time but it’ll be good practice for the one coming up in Orlando this summer.

On the way down we’re stopping in Philadelphia to go to one of the Diners that was showcased on Food Network’s show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Pet Peeve: Shampoo and conditioner bottles that don’t have the names “SHAMPOO” AND “CONDITIONER” in big enough letters for me to read in the shower without my glasses on!

Getting strong now!

What a beautiful day! Sunny, blue sky, not muggy. It was the perfect day for a bike ride with the boys. I don’t know how far we went but we did some really good hills. One of them I truly didn’t think I’d make, but when I got near the top, in the lowest possible gear, Ryan and Kyle were up ahead looking back at me…waiting. That last minute or so was painful. Even though I could barely breathe, I shouted to them “ENCOURAGE ME!!” which I guess Ryan was already trying to do, but I couldn’t hear him over the sound of my heaving breathing and groaning! hahaha!! When I finally got to the top and jumped off my bike, my legs were so wobbly…but I had made it, so I started singing the theme song from Rocky! lol It was such a great moment I wished I had had my camera with me to take a picture of the water tower that stood before me like a monument of my achievement.

Ok, rest of the day: Ryan gave a guitar lesson to a guy from church that lasted 3 ½ hours. They had a great time. He's a very good teacher.

I made a big bowl of Gazpacho for dinner because I haven’t had it in years, and was having a major craving for it. And since the Gazpacho is so healthy, we had to have cheesy nachos on the side. hehe

Enjoyed the beautiful weather! Got to spend time in the pool relaxing on a raft and talking to Kyle after he got done with school. What an entertaining young man he is!

Ryan got a message from the guy that holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest note sung by a male. Cool. Now he’s meeting with the drama team from church and going water skiing. (He doesn’t know how to water ski!)

Only 4 Days to yoyo competition in Delaware.

happy mouth, happy heart =)

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thess. 5:16-18

Had a great day! Ryan went to sing at a nursing home as part of the Grace Gives effort, while Kyle and I set off to clean the garage. But we didn’t get far. Decided to try on our rollerblades and take them for a spin. I’m thinking it must be 5-6 years since we tried to skate. Mine still fit me (haha… at least my feet aren’t any bigger!) and Kyle fit into Darryl’s, so it worked out well. We rode around the garage b/c it was the only place that was level. We tried going in the driveway but it was just too harrowing! Darryl was afraid I’d break something. So, the plan is to go to a park or somewhere where they have a nice level track or something. (Darryl ended up with the garage) :)

I found a recipe for garlic soup. It was totally amazing and I have declared it to be one of the best things I ever ate! I absolutely loved it…we actually all loved it except for Kyle which was fine with me b/c I got to eat what he didn’t finish (since I’m the cook). So glad I had a lot of garlic on hand b/c I used 50 cloves to make this soup and there wasn’t a drop leftover.

It's really good that I have time in my life to do things with my boys and my husband instead of running around all the time having to go places. It's nice we get to be together on days like this and just enjoy being with each other and not have to constantly look for satisfaction or pleasure with other people all the time. I think the Lord gives us the people (or lack thereof) in our lives for a reason. I think He is teaching me to rely on Him alone and not a lot of people to find my joy. I know that I need to get more into His word and make more time for studying, reading, praying. I wouldn't be able to do that if I'm having fun with friends.


Thank You, Father, for giving me what I need, YOU alone. Please help me be content in whatever situation You put me.

heating up

This is what I’ve been doing 3 mornings a week for the past month. They wrap me in heat, front and back and all around for 15 minutes while they zap my shoulder with electrodes. Then the Physical Therapist comes in and gets very intimate with me. He pushes and stretches my neck and shoulder muscles, and then makes me do all sorts of exercises to give me back full range of motion. Then they wrap me in ice for 10 minutes. The whole visit takes an hour and a half. I’m so tired of going! And maybe I won’t anymore. I’m supposed to continue for another month but the PT never told me I needed to book them up early so now there are no appts available for 2 weeks. Kinda ticked me off. I figure if people don’t have time for me then I don’t have time for them either. Phooey! Go jump in a lake.

Kyle was reminding me again today that I haven’t been doing much Bible studying at all lately. A few years ago I just started learning about dispensationalism, and so studying it was my biggest passion in life, which is the only reason I started searching for a grace church to begin with. But unfortunately, it is too far away to really get involved in a serious Bible study. Oh well. At least I can go back to finding online sources. Maybe try to get people to post on my forum more... because I think I learn better when someone takes the time to explain things to me.
Otherwise I end up with a lot of

Welcome to the Hotel California

“You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave!”
click on pictures to enlarge
That is the fate of our basement buddies, those house guests that were never invited here, but decided to invade us anyway. We hate these things!! Rhaphidophoridaes, or commonly known as Cave Crickets or Camel Crickets, are so hideous and ugly we have dubbed them the Alien Crickets. Now I know what you must be thinking, “Oh, they are just crickets.” But until you see these nasty things in person you will never know how gross they are. But fortunately (at least) they aren’t as big as the ones we used to get. These are pretty small.

Here is a pile of them that I killed in the basement this morning.
A nice close-up shot for ya.

I read up on them and found out that they like dark moist environments, so I turned the dehumidifier on. Also made them a nice little hotel (ie: trap) where they will go in and their ugly little legs will be immediately stuck to tape. Hehe…. They eat themselves and each when they don’t have food, so I’m sure when we look in there we will just find body parts of partially eaten Aliens. I also poured a strip of Boric Acid by our basement sliding glass door. They are welcome to take that stuff back to their nests and feed it to their young.

Kyle was very brave and went down there and took these pictures and this video for your viewing pleasure. hehe.... do you feel all crawly now? I do!

working hard at relaxing

Relaxing doesn’t come naturally to me. I had to force myself to just sit down and not be busy with so many things. Here are the buttermilk pancakes that I helped Kyle make.

We didn’t realize that putting the M&M’s in right away would make the colors run off into these swirly designs, like colorful rainbows.


I thought they were pretty. Darryl said they looked disgusting. I tasted 1 bite and thought they were pretty good. Kyle said after the first one, he didn’t much want the second one. lol oh well. We had fun making them.

I took another break from relaxing to make a pot of yummy, spicy soup that turned out fantastic.

The boys and I had a fun time hanging out on the deck. I even dozed off for a little bit because it was so peaceful out there listening to the birds singing, and the leaves blowing, and there was music playing softly. I rarely ever take a nap unless I’m sick in bed and all drugged up, so that was a very nice treat for me.

We even got to watch the FoodNetwork show that we missed Sunday night, so life is very good.

good parent vs pitiful parent

After spending a few hours going through pictures and scanning and all that, they never did have the slide-show with them.


Last night was very awkward. Kyle went to Gen Y at the parsonage and I went to a hotel to hangout till it was over because Darryl doesn’t want me driving home late at night. It didn’t end until 10:45 so it would’ve been after 11:20 when I got home. Driving 10 minutes to the hotel was much better than that, but it cost me $80.00. (I won’t even mention how tired and irritable I was by the time I actually picked him up). What I want to know is where do I draw the line and say this is just too much to deal with? My son wants to go develop friendships, but are we doing the right thing by spending that much money just so he can spend a few hours there? Should I just hang at church like I did the first time, buck up and drink a lot of coffee, and drive home afterward? Or should I just tell him forget about going to church on Sunday nights altogether? Because right now that is how I feel. I really don’t know the answer. I wonder what other parents would be willing to give up to let their kids go to a small group. I wonder how many husbands would want their wives out driving around late at night.

Same thing for my small group which is 40 minutes away. Is it even worth it to me to drive there and back late at night when I’m tired? Am I getting enough out of it to risk my life? The answer seems simple.

Here’s where Kyle and I spent the night last night. I took these while I was there alone with a TV with very limited channel selection, and NO FoodNetwork.

view from our window
The room was ok, but it was a smoking room b/c that’s all they had left, so it was definitely smoky, and there was leftover food in the fridge. When Kyle and I got back there last night we ate chocolate and talked about what we should do in the future. We didn't come up with the answer, and we both felt really pathetic for being there.

Honoring my graduate

I had to go through a lot of old pictures to find some for a graduation slideshow at Grace. I went through many boxes and envelopes! What great memories I found there. It kept Ryan and I busy laughing and reminiscing for a good long time. Today we chose 4 for the presentation. Here they are.
A very happy toddler!My silly boy!A fine young gentleman.A star in my eyes!

Father, thank You for this amazing child that You’ve let me train up. I know I’ve made a ton of mistakes with Him, but I praise You for covering me when I mess up. Thank You for speaking to my son’s heart and drawing him to Yourself. Thank You for leading him to do Your will…and for his love of Your word!