Month in Review - March 2015

This month has been a busy one; but a great month.  Spring is starting to arrive here in North Carolina, and it feels wonderful!  We have had a couple of really warm days and the kids have enjoyed playing outside and getting out in the sunshine.  It's hard to believe how much the weather can change in one month.  Right after I posted the last month in review we got a snowstorm .  The snow was absolutely beautiful.  What a wonderful Creator we have - no matter what the weather - He always gives us beauty to enjoy.  God is good!

As a family we have had a lot going on this month.  Abbey is getting ready for graduation, so there has been a lot of shopping to get outfits and stuff ready for that.  She also went to Charleston, South Carolina for her senior trip.  She said that it was the best time of her life!  She had a lot of fun. She also celebrated her birthday while she was gone.  (We had a celebration for her when she got home.)  This was the first birthday that she was not at home for her special day, I guess that is a sign that she is growing up.   Abbey also competed in yet another 5K.  She made her best time yet!  

While Abbey was away on her trip, I was babysitting.  It was a switch of sorts, sponsor the senior trip – and I’ll watch your little ones. The couple that works with the teens in our church agreed to chaperone the trip.  Then when we realized that both seniors were girls – the wife of the couple went while her husband stayed here and worked.  I took their two little ones while he was working. It was wonderful to have  little kids in the house again.  I LOVED it.  It was sad to pack up all the little toys and send them home when Abbey got back.  Maybe we should think about adopting again.  Rob and I sure talked about that a lot when we had the little ones here.  Perhaps someday.

James has been busy finishing up the last leg of his drivers education. This past week he received his certificate saying he passed the driver’s education at the local high school.  He started asking, as soon as he got home with the certificate, when we could take him to go get his permit.   I am having a hard time thinking we have more kids driving.  I will admit, it is nice having several people that can drive.  Makes running errands a lot easier. James' calf is doing well and growing like crazy.  He is eating so much food!  James had the opportunity this past month to attend a 4-H workshop.  In the workshop classes he learned about fitting and feeding calves for showmanship.  He enjoyed it very much.  I think this boy was born to be a farmer - he loves this stuff!

We are getting used to hearing the horse and buggy come by our house when the Amish family heads to town.  We were able to walk up to their just built house and pay a visit.  Anna is just awestruck that we have “Little House in the Prairie” people living just up the road.  She had so much fun visiting them and seeing their place.  Anna and I made some homemade bread for the visit up there.  I am sure it did not taste anything like the bread she makes – but we tried.  I will say that the cinnamon rolls that they brought when the paid a visit to our house were like nothing I had ever tasted before!  Zak has enjoyed watching them break a horse on the road right in front of our house.  Seems the hills here a bit more steep and curvy than the roads the horse is used to going on in Kentucky.  I thought when they first moved here that there must be a part of having a horse and buggy as transportation that would be nice.  At least you would not have vehicle trouble like we seem to have from time to time.  Then, I saw the horse refuse to go up the hill – and all they had to do to persuade her that she had to go.  I can say emphatically, the Amish have vehicle trouble – just not as expensive as when our van decides not to go. 

Anna had her yearly checkup.  They did a hearing test on her – and she passed just fine.  We were thankful.  Zak has had some issues with his medications and we are having to make several adjustments.  I am bracing myself for the curve that comes with a medication adjustment.  We had been told by our doctor and others that these teen years can cause some challenges with special needs.  We are just taking it a day at a time and asking God to lead and guide us in the right decisions for Zak. If the Lord lays Zak on your heart could your pray for him?  I am foreseeing some bumps in the road till we get the adjustments made.  We are so thankful that God gave Zak to us.   We cannot imagine how boring our lives would be without him. 

Rachel and two of her friends came in contact with an abandoned dog who was about to give birth. A few days after they got the very pregnant dog, they found themselves helping to deliver eleven puppies!    (Nine puppies have survived and are thriving!)  This month Rachel moved the pups and the Momma to our place and we awake in the mornings to little puppies barks and squeals as they try to get Rachel’s attention for their morning feeding.  The puppies are really cute; but I keep telling the kids (and myself) that they don’t stay cute forever.  We have had good response on people interested in the puppies and we hope to find good homes for ALL of them.  It has been a great experience for Zak and Anna to have the little puppies to play with in the afternoons.

I will be meeting this week with a sister blogger.  (She has agreed to do a guest post on my blog!)  I am looking forward to meeting her in person and getting to know her better.  We had agreed to meet for lunch; but our husband’s wanted to meet each other.  We have a double date planned before the month’s end.    I’m looking forward to meeting her.

It is really feeling like spring.  Just this week we had temps near 80 and the trees are starting to bloom.  The kids have been enjoying playing outside a lot.  The chickens have had more playtime with the kids and Zak's fort continues to be worked on and built up (he has some serious thoughts about expansion that he has been purposing to Rob how he needs more wood.)  We have enjoyed taking walks and seeing the flowers blooming on the side of the road.  

I have been spending a lot of time meditating and studying the faithfulness of God to me.  This month He has been so real to me.  How wonderful to know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and will never leave me. I am so thankful that there is nothing I can (or can't do) that will cause Him to abandon me.  How secure I am in my Father's love for me.  He has shown me over and over again just how much He loves me. I am blessed.

I am so thankful for my family.   There is a part of me that finds it bitter sweet that the kids are growing up so quickly.  It seems like just yesterday they were all little tiny babies – and now we are planning graduations and college classes.  How did that happen so fast?  Yet, at the same time – I love the relationship I have with my kids.  I enjoy being with them and watching their lives unfold as God leads them.  That part of parenting is awesome!  I truly enjoy the time I get to spend with each one of my kids.  I am so thankful for my family!  God has been so good to me.

I trust you have had a great month.  I am looking forward to warmer temperatures and the day I get to pack my fleece-lined tights away for the warmer months!  

Hope you have a great weekend.

Blessings,

~Martie