WARNING: Rebecca D. shows flagrant disregard for the rules of punctuation... She uses ellipsis with wild abandon... Punctuation interventions have been done to no avail... If you are offended by such irreverence to the rules of grammar... The very glue that holds our society together... STOP READING NOW... Move on... There is a little button at the top that says "next blog"... You would be well advised to use it... You were warned...

Red, White & Blue Hodgepodge...

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

I'm linking up with Joyce again for her weekly Hodgepodge...




1. What can the average citizen do to honor a military veteran and/or those currently serving?


I think pray for them is the best advice there is... I know there are a lot of good organizations, but as the wife/daughter/sister/grand daughter of Vets I know they don't all want to be "honored" in the same way we want to honor them... A lot of them have deep scars from their service, so I recommend praying for them.

 2. Besides a flag what is something you own that is red, white and blue?

I love to decorate seasonally so I have lots of July 4th decor...

 3. Does love really conquer all?

Love (and chocolate and bacon)


 4. Strawberry shortcake or blueberry pie?

Both please! I do love them both but there is this farm stand not far from here that makes a strawberry shortcake that will change your life... (named Beth's Farm Market for my local readers, but of course if you are local you have been there!)


5. Do you share personal stuff with your hairdresser?

No... I only go once or twice a year, so we keep it pretty casual...


 6. Does money lead to selfishness?

I don't think so, I believe selfishness is a heart issue, and either you are generous or selfish... We have had times when we have had more and times when we have had very little and our financial situation never changed my desire to be generous... It just sometimes effected how much and/or how we gave... I think the same can be said for selfishness.


 7. What piece of furniture in your home most needs replacing or refinishing?

What most needs it is the kitchen cabinets, my mother started refinishing them years ago and never finished, and it drives me nuts... I wanted to finish them before the wedding, but that is looking doubtful... I know they aren't technically furniture, but they do need it the most!

 

8. Insert your own random here

The Wedding is in 17 days... I don't have the ability for random thoughts.


Thanks for listening,




Pintrest Party...

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Linking up with Mindee form Our Front Door once again for her Pintrest Party...


You are all going to kill (or kiss) me for this one!

Last night I made these:


From these:


Based on a pin post from Little Bit Funky

And they were so good they should be illegal... Seriously these are a crime in progress!
And SOOOOOO easy...
Seriously, start to finish it took like 20 minutes to make a way too big batch of these...
There were only seven of us here, and I made 16 doughnuts and when I got up this morning there was only one left! (I know I ate two myself... Purely for test purposes...)

I have all the "holes" left to do up in the fridge so I may whip those up tomorrow morning for Paul to share at work... Or I may eat the whole batch... Depends how the morning goes!

I am sorry...

Thanks for listening,

Hodgepodgeing Again... Like We Did Last Summer!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012


Here I go, joining up with my bloggy friend Joyce and her weekly blog party, the "Hodgepodge"... Pop on over to her blog From This Side of the Pond and join the fun!



1. What's something you miss about the 1980's? If you're too young to miss the 80's how about the 90's?

The fashion was tacky, but I do miss those over-sized shirts! I also miss my "Swatch" more then I care to admit... I had multi colored little protector thingies (see below) that I would change out based on my outfit.



 

2. Do you have a library card? If so, how often do you visit?

Not right now... We moved here nearly two years ago and I can't believe I didn't get a library card! I need to go check out the library! Now that the girlies are older and since I primarily use my Kindle I hate to admit it never occurred to me to get one.

3. What's the secret to success?

Prayer... Hands down... Prayer and caffeine!


4. This is National Backyard Games week...what's your favorite backyard game?

Lawn Darts as a kid... (can you believe they let us play that??) Now, I'd have to go with croquet!


5. If I dropped by today what would I find on your coffee table?

Right this moment there is My Bible, My Kindle Fire, a box of invitations to the wedding, the new copy of Real Simple magazine and two empty cups that people should have dealt with before bed.


6. Do you own a bicycle? When was the last time you rode a bicycle? Is that something you enjoy?

No... I haven't had one since soon after we married. I have horrible balance, so the bicycle was never really my friend!


7. What's your favorite cheese?

I love all kinds of cheese... Soft, firm, imported, domestic, goat, but.... Hands down, my fave is Sharp White Cheddar Cheese... The sharper the better... (Boring... I know!)


8. Insert your own random thought here.

23 Days until the wedding and I found out today a bunch of the invitations got lost in the mail! Aghhhhh!!!!


Thanks for listening,

Pintrest Post Party...

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

It's time to play along with Mindee from Our Front Door's May Pintrest Post Party...


This is our chance to try out some of the ideas bloggers so obsessed over "pinning" on our boards, and to share the results... The good, the bad, and yes, sometimes the ugly. I wanted to do this every Tuesday and Thursday for May, but sadly today is only my second installment. Here goes...

The Test:


repinned from Love In The Oven

I made these Sunday morning before church... We (Paul the girlies, and their guys) were visiting a new church together for the first time, so I wanted to make something nice. I chose this recipe because it seemed super easy (a must for a Sunday morning) and it was. I told the guys to get here by 9 AM and I started at 8:30 and the waffles were ready well before 9:00. In fact I mixed it up, sat and drank my coffee until 8:45 then started making the waffles so start to finish it took about 17 minutes at the most to make 12 of these... More then we six could eat! (the guys cleaned up the leftovers after church, but I didn't get an honest verdict as to how they were hours later.) When I said easy, I wasn't exaggerating... You just take a cake mix, mix it up as directed adding a dash of cinnamon and a dash of vanilla. (Easy huh?) Then instead of syrup you pour a cinnamon roll glaze on them.

The Results: It seems like the blogger was getting paid to promote Duncan Hines products, since it calls for both their cake mix (I had Pillsbury on hand, so that's what I used) and there new "frosting creations" product with cinnamon roll flavor packet. I skipped the frosting because even with a coupon it would have cost over $3.00 and cinnamon roll glaze is simply powdered sugar with a splash of milk whisked together, and I could create it with about .50 worth of stuff I had on hand. I did add a sprinkle of cinnamon to my glaze to make it seem more like the the one in the recipe. The waffles were yummy but cooked up super quick in my new (last October for my birthday) flip style waffle maker... Like cooked in like a minute and half quick... Handy, but once I closed it I could not move, because it would burn. (Trust me on this!) They are also super soft when they are cooked just right, so they are a bit hard to remove from the waffle iron without squishing or tearing them, but a fork and gentle use of tongs worked fine. Don't worry though, they firm up almost instantly on the cutting board. I loved the way they looked in the photo and re-created that look by only filling the center of the waffle iron with batter. They did look super cute on my retro breakfast plates, but the guys felt like they were only getting half a waffle. (I made extras so they got over this disappointment!)

Verdict: These were yummy, but really sweet... More like having a cinnamon roll for breakfast than a waffle. We in these northern reaches are a bit snobby about our real maple syrup, so the glaze was a hard sell for the guys, but the glaze makes them so definitely worth it...They were super duper easy to make and unlike traditional waffles they didn't get soft and soggy if not served hot off the iron. In fact you could probably make up a whole platter of these to serve at a brunch, but I would serve them within an hour of making them. For those of you who pay attention to your per-meal expense listen up, $1.85 cake mix, .22 worth of eggs, less than $1.00 worth of oil and spices, and about .50 worth of powdered sugar and milk for the glaze equalled a total cost of $3.57 to feed six adults breakfast with leftovers! (WOW!) I will most definatly make these again.

Thanks for listening,

The New Me...

Saturday, May 19, 2012

My bloggy friend Nina gave me the nicest gift... A whole new blog look! I didn't hate my old look, but it never really felt like me... A little too pink and girlie, but I am a bit HTML simple and for some reason that last layout was almost impossible to make any changes at all to, so I just decided to live with it until I could afford to have a custom one done. (Probably not until after wedding #2!)

I met Nina when I signed up to do an online Bible study. I could never figure out how to do the whole google+ thing, but I did make a friend, and Nina has been a blessing in my life ever since! She is a literal ray of sunshine! I am done gushing now...

She has a deal going that if you want her to design a button for you she will for free as long as you put her button on your blog... Good deal if you ask me!

Oh yeah... I almost forgot...
Meet Cooper!

Allie and Dakota's new kitten...

He is adorable!

Cuddly!

and the first cat of any kind Dakota has ever had...
He had never even held a kitten until they went three weeks ago to pick one out...
He is in love with their little grey poof ball!
(We all are!)

Thanks for listening,

All Done...

I am all done blogging about that situation at church... I am sure by now you are all as sick of hearing about it as I am sick of living it. We will have to continue to "live" it for some time to come, but I don't have to allow it to be the focus of my life or blog. Paul and I (and a few others) know the truth and I will have to leave it in the Lord's hands to resolve the rest.

I reserve the right to change my mind though, because sharing with you, my bloggy friends is better then therapy! (Cheaper too!)

Today is one of those perfect summer days that people travel crazy distances to experience on the coast of Maine... I do not intend to miss it! I am going to pack a lunch and Paul and I are out of here for a couple hours. This afternoon Allison gets her much anticipated kitten. He is a little gray poof ball she intends to name Cooper... Then tomorrow after we visit a church we have heard good things about we have been invited by Dakota's parents to a cook-out.

BTW... 27 Days to go!

Thank you Lord for today. Thank you for allowing me to awake this morning and for the amazing family you continue to allow me to be part of. Thank you for your great plan, and that my path is already laid for me. Remind me when those times come that I decide to blaze my own trail that you do in fact have a paved path all ready for me, and when I am walking in your will don't allow me to become complacent or ever take you and your infinite wisdom and love for granted. Amen.

Thanks for listening,

The Punch Line...

Friday, May 18, 2012

 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free  John 8:23

Yesterday we finally got to meet with the pastor and a couple from the leadership team at our church. (If you are not up on the youth group/church drama we are dealing with you can catch up here.) Earlier today I posted the letter we sent to them and now I will share (as Paul likes to call it) the Punch Line... (This is gonna be a long post... sorry!)

We got to our 7 AM meeting having just prayed together before going in. We got there and the pastor prayed then immediately told us "I'm sorry, clearly you guys come from a different biblical point of view and are accustomed to a different structure of church government then we embrace here at CLFC and I should have never allowed you to take a position of leadership here at CLFC. That is my fault and I take the full blame." We just kind of didn't respond to this very much. These kind of sweeping statements are how he likes to operate and they are his way of directing the conversation. Plus there was so much wrong with that statement we could have spent the whole meeting debating the merits of it, and never focused on the point at hand. (This could have been his goal now that I think about it.)

Thankfully the couple who are part of the leadership there took control of the meeting and we got down to brass tacks. Paul told them we still didn't know for sure what we were being accused of, and he produced a list the pastor had given him (and the entire leadership team) of accusations against us. A two page list! And quite frankly when he started reading it out loud, in the context and language it was written in it were quite damning. We came off as sounding like out of control people, and he only read about a third of the list. It was a horrible and confusing moment. Until we started going through the items we were accused of item by item... A lot of them were either so out of context it was crazy, a few of them were out right lies based on a tiny thread of truth, and at least one of them was a comment made by Paul to the pastor in our meeting with him. (How is something he said in confidence in our meeting with him in any way hurtful to the whole youth and how did it end up on his list of accusations against us?) The problem with "the list" is that it didn't indicate who accused us of saying it and/or when we were accused of saying it... (We never actually saw a copy of the list either.) And since these things were supposed to have done and/or said were not actual quotes and had no context, it took a while for us to figure out if they were blatant lies or based on some thread of truth. (None that were named we actual and whole truth and none on their own merit should have been acted on in the way it was.)

There was the initial accusation that was named in the middle of the list... The one that we had heard about through gossip, but were unable to verify until yesterday.  This was a huge misunderstanding, something I said twisted way out of context and repeated in a hurtful way as gossip by a teenager. We would have liked to clear this up over two weeks ago when it occurred, but nobody would talk to us and this has been allowed to fester and now it has taken on a life of it's own. That is a whole separate issue at this point, and we do intend to try to have someone mediate a meeting with this family to try to clear up the issue. I do fear so much time has past we may never be restored in their eyes, but I know all things are possible with the Lord and we plan to try either way. 

As we talked more, the items on the list started to come up one by one and as we went through the ones read to us we were able to start shedding light on what can only be described as an all out attempt to attack us. Let me give you an example of one of the most outrageous accusations:  Accusation: Rebecca asked a girl in front of the whole youth group if she was pregnant. Truth: At a lunch after church with a visiting pastor that the youth group were invited to he (the visiting pastor) asked how Katy and Jed met and started dating. They told him the story of how when they came to us at dinner time last summer to ask if they could date they were nervous and started the conversation "We have something we want to talk to you about." and I jokingly asked Katy "Are you pregnant?" and that broke the ice, we all laughed...They asked us their real question... end of story... Jed told this story at the lunch... Yep... You read that right, the accusation was based on a funny family story shared over lunch! I didn't even tell the story.

It became abundantly clear that someone was out to smear us and our names and that person looks to be the pastor. When asked why he didn't bring these accusations to us as they came in, he claimed most of them just came up in the last two weeks... A lot of them were about things that happened months ago, when asked about this he claimed that people were afraid to come forward until now. He also claims these come from more then the two families who have continually had issues with us since taking over this position. Since we have been contacted by all the families except those two offering their prayers and support, either we have a bunch of two-faced families OR this was based on a lie.

Here is the thing, there were at least two other bold faced lies uttered by the pastor at that meeting. One about something Paul said and when he said it, and the other about the name of a church in Bangor (such a weird thing to lie about, but he was cornered answering a question that made him uncomfortable.) There were numerous other half-truths  told, but I don't even know what to do with those. I don't take calling someone on lies lightly... There have been plenty of times when I said things I thought were true and later found out differently, I have always counted on grace in those situations. In fact there have been several things said to us by him in our meetings in the past or things he has claimed and/or stories he told that we have questioned, but we have always decided to come at it from a point of grace and give him the benefit of the doubt. There is no way to sugar coat what was said yesterday.

We have as a family had about as much of this as we can take. Our final decision is that even though we believe the Lord called us to this church to work with the student ministry, because of the actions of man we can no longer be effective in that role. Even though the leadership who were there yesterday were trying to figure a way for us to remain in that role, without the support of the pastor we didn't see how to make it work. Also, there is no way for us to sit in that church week after week and not to become more jaded towards the pastor, and eventually become a source of division. So we have decided (for now at least) to leave the church. Sadly when we made this announcement yesterday in the meeting the pastor actually smiled... I don't know why... Were we such a thorn in his side that he takes joy in our departure? We did promise the leadership not to make any "final" decisions until we met with them further, and we will hold to that.

So, how do I feel it went? I actually felt good when we left. The pastor did make some attempts to apologise to us as we were leaving. I don't think he sounded overly sincere, but I don't know his heart and if he wants to meet with us in the future and seek forgiveness we are open to it. For now we will be working with the leadership to resolve the few issues that have some truth to them. These are with those two families who have continually not supported us, so I have doubts as to how effective this will be and one of the families have had so much fuel poured on their fire, I don't even know what angle we will approach it from. The biggest challenge is how to proceed from here? How do we move on with this cloud of suspicion hanging over us? Everyone believes we did something wrong. With the exception the leadership who were at that meeting with us yesterday... It does feel good when you finally get to speak and people acknowledge the truth when they hear it. So, do we have to tell everyone the whole story? How do we clear our names without causing division in that church? Do we just have to live under this dark cloud that has unfairly been cast over us? You see, I can tell the whole story to you my bloggy friends, since only one local friend reads my blog anyhow. (And she already knew the whole story.) But if I were to put a link to this post on my Facebook page, all you know what would break out... Pray for us that we know how to proceed from here. Also pray for Katy and Jed's wedding, this will surely effect it greatly.

Thanks for listening,

The Letter...

Here is the letter we sent to the pastor and leadership team of our church... I am sharing this because everything that is being done is being done behind closed doors and all hush-hush... We (Paul and I) want to bring it all out into the light, where the enemy does not want it. We are still trying to figure out how to do that at the church without being divisive...

Here is the letter: (The only edit I made was removing the pastor's last name, he is the "Ray" in the letter.)

Saturday, May 5th 2012



To the CLFC Leadership and Ray,


In response to the sixty day suspension of us and of the entire student ministry, we have decided to write this letter in our sincere desire to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. I, Rebecca am writing this to you, but this letter is from both of us as we have both gone over the content. In an effort for us all to be on the same page, let me recount the series of events from Tuesday and to share our impressions and feeling on them. After youth group this past Tuesday Paul & I were asked to talk to Ray and Ben for a few minutes. We had met with Ray the Friday before so we were in the dark as to what it could possibly be about. We sat dawn and were immediately told by Ray that he has felt for some time that the enemy has a foothold in the youth group and some things have come up and been brought to his attention and as a result he has decided to suspend us and the ministry as a whole for the next sixty days to discern where it is coming from. That he will get back with us at some time in the near future to “start walking us through the next steps.”


Neither of us saw this coming and we felt blindsided by this action. Moments before this we had just been working with the kids. Worship had been Spirit filled, prayer had been deep and meaningful and the lesson seemed to hold everyone’s interest. We didn’t feel the enemy’s presence in the least bit. Have we on occasion felt like there were times the enemy has made moves against the youth ministry since we have been in leadership? Yes, of course… We always viewed that as a good thing. If Satan wasn’t interested in us, and what we are doing, then we would see that as proof we are not doing our job. But do we feel like Satan has any kind of stronghold? Absolutely not.


In recent weeks we felt we were not following the leading of Holy Spirit as much as we should. Paul and I spoke to Ray about this at our Friday meeting. We believe this was due to the focus in the youth group being shifted from the spiritual growth of the teens, to preparing them to lead worship for the congregation on Sunday, April 15th. We told Ray that since it was only a handful of teens who desired to be part of the youth worship team, the twelve hours of rehearsal time it took them to get ready for that Sunday came at a high price to the rest of the group. We told him we didn’t think that was fair and although the other teens were extremely patient, we do not think it is a wise choice to have our worship team lead the church again until they had more non-youth group rehearsal time to prepare.


To get back to the matter at hand; at the “meeting” that went on with Ray and Ben Tuesday we were led to believe that there is some accusation either against us or the students that warrants the unprecedented act of suspending the entire ministry. If the full sixty days are enforced it will be early July before we resume activities. Most of the kids will have already made summer plans and those plans will not include AfterShock. Also any plans AfterShock have made/discussed with the kids for this summer will not come to fruition, further deteriorating their trust in the leadership of CLFC. Should this go forward for the full sixty days, the student ministry will not be able to start rebuilding until this fall. And let us be clear, it will have to be fully rebuilt, AfterShock as it exists now will be a thing of the past.


On Tuesday I tearfully pleaded with both Ray and Ben not to suspend the entire ministry even for a short time. These kids need to have a spot to recharge their spiritual batteries. We had to leave Tuesday’s meeting, go home and post the suspension on AfterShock’s Facebook page. Then deal with the emails and phone calls of our kids, their parents and our sister youth group for the rest of the night... Some are grief stricken, others are mad and others are not surprised... They said they already feel like second class citizens in the churches in this area. We are telling you with all assurance that there are kids we will never get back and the ministry as a whole will take a very long time to recover from this action.


We believe we have biblical basis (Matt 18:15-19) to know at least what we are accused of, if not who is making the accusation. Not knowing has been wholly unfair to us and those we serve. We have always been extremely cautious to be above reproach in our actions with the kids both at youth group and when they visit our home. We believe we conduct our family life in an honorable way, both striving to live a Godly life and dealing with sin as it crops up. The content of youth group is always discussed with Ray in advance, and Paul’s lessons are always biblical and in alignment with the beliefs of CLFC.


As for how this effects Paul & I and our family as a whole. Paul is angry (and so am I to a point), and we are both hurt. We both feel called from the Lord to serve and love these teens and feel like the rug has been ripped out from under us. We both feel like not informing us of what we are accused of is incredibly unfair and has sent our entire household into turmoil. We feel like Ray, the person we have trusted all along in this ministry is not only treating us in a hurtful way but more importantly an unbiblical way. We feel like our integrity has been called into question. We have searched our hearts and actions and can only assume at this point that whatever we are accused of is either something blown way out of reasonable proportion or outright slander. Even if this issue is fully resolved quickly and publicly and our names are fully cleared (as we are confident they will be) there will always be people who question our integrity. There will always be people who, due to the extreme actions taken by Ray and the leadership will never fully trust us again. We want you to know, the price of this choice is permanent to both us and for the foreseeable future to this ministry. This is something that Paul and I will have to live with, but it hurts us to know that this wound was inflicted by our pastor and church leadership.


We are also coming up on the wedding of our oldest daughter that will occur during this sixty day period. This should be a joy filled time in our household, but instead we are all in various states of sadness, mourning and anger. This black cloud will hang over our heads on that special day. In the absence of actual facts as to why this was done we have only been left to imagine what the reason/accusation could possibly be. We have as a couple and as a family searched our hearts & actions and are at a total loss as to why this has happened. There is sin in our lives as there is anyone’s but nothing we are not dealing with and most certainly nothing that would preclude us from serving in this ministry.


We were repeatedly told by Ray on Tuesday that we just need to “trust him” and he will contact us when he can start “walking through the next steps with us.” At this point we must be honest, although we always have tried to trust Ray right now we don’t. We feel betrayed by him and the church leadership. We have in good faith served the youth of CLFC both giving freely of our time and finances. The very fact that Ray went out of town for any reason, short of a family emergency, when there is something this huge going on in the church he is called to pastor further undermines that trust. If he truly believes Satan has a foothold anywhere in his overall ministry and that it is deep rooted enough to suspend operation of any ministry, we believe that should be his first priority. We received an email from him asking us to meet next Wednesday, and although Paul will be at work at the time suggested, we hope he will be free at another time that day. We request that from this point forward that a member of the church leadership sits in on and participate in any meetings we have with Ray. We still believe we are called to CLFC and to work with the youth here and would like to resume that as quickly as possible.


Sincerely,


Rebecca & Paul Dorobis



There you have it... My next post will be about the out come so far...

Thanks for listening,

30 Days To Go...

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Oh.My.Goodness...
Aghhhhh....
How is it we are at the 30 day mark already?

The to do list has more stuff checked off then not checked off,but we still have some big things that are not done. Here's where we stand on the big stuff...

Bride's Attire:
Dress, Veil, & Cowgirl Boots = done
Undergarments & flowers = not done
(How have we let the flowers go so long you ask? Long story, but suffice it to say somebody offered to arrange the bridal bouquet and bridesmaids bouquets as a gift and then contacted me last week and can't do it. Katy and I will meet with a florist later this week... Pray we get the bargain of the century since we are already over budget!)

Bridesmaid's and Flower Girl Attire:
Bridesmaid Dresses = Done
Flower Girl Dress = Need to check on, but should be ready
Boots & Shoes = The girl's responsibility
Flowers = See Above
Gifts = We bought them the dresses but I am making them a little something.

Groom's & Groomsman's Attire:
Not my job, but I will be checking in with them soon!
Suspenders: I did get these so they will all match. = Done

Decor:
About 50% there... I have most of what we need for the centerpieces, the guestbook table and the cake/dessert table. I still need to make the fans for the programs, but we do have what we need. I also need to make the menu/trivia/mad libs cards for the tables. We still need to work out the back drop for the ceremony... We have lots of ideas (darn you pintrest) but need to figure out what we can actually do!

Other:
Photographer, DJ, Venue = Done
Officiant = We have one (yay)
Caterer = A couple from church offered to cater (if we buy the food) and I have faith this will work out.

Food:
See above...
Menu planned, I still need to buy the food, but we have a plan.
Cake... Not done... Don't ask... My newest stress! (besides the flowers)

Well, that covers the big stuff... There are a million and half little details we need to address... But at least I am sure at this point that we should be able to pull this thing off!

Please keep praying for us...
And if you are bored hearing all this wedding talk... Sorry...
Thanks for listening,
 

The Happs...

Monday, May 14, 2012

With 32 days to until the wedding... Aghhhhh!
I just sent off all the really big "final payment" checks for the venue, photographer, DJ, etc... It was nice to cross all those things off the list, but wedding or not, we are now officially having a big party on June 16th! Not that I am not sure there will be a wedding, there will be!

Now, for the prerequisite post Mother's Day post...
You know, the one where all us female bloggers show off our Mother's Day swag...


Allison put together a coffee and cookies gift basket for me, with a couple cute mugs I admired at HomeGoods the other day. She & Dakota got me those beautiful flowers. Katy & Jed got me a target gift card to go towards the umbrella I want for the back deck. My mom got me a wal-mart gift card, and I got her a shadow box frame that is fabric lined so she can pin all her patches and stuff from high school into it for display. This is a project she has talked about my whole life wanting to do, so when Allison and I saw the frames at the store we knew it was the perfect gift.


Paul asked me last week what I wanted and I had just seen this quilt at HomeGoods so Allison and I went back and picked it up the next day. I plan to update my bedroom for summer around it.


Here is the picture that came with it... I didn't get the shams, because I thought it was too much but I did pick up sheets in the green color and two of the throw pillows. I couldn't find the cute bird cage one, but I've seen ones like it other places so I may still add one.

This weekend we also finally got a small project done around here that has been bugging me forever...
Like the bad blogger I am I didn't take before pictures but there was this area at the bottom of the back steps, beside the driveway that was just a barren dirt eyesore... Last summer Paul took out a rotting ramp that my parents never used that led to the back deck and built the stairs. It was (is) a vast improvement, but it left a big dirt patch. He put in the pavers at the bottom of the stairs, but we never got around to fixing up the rest.


Well, here it is about half done. I wanted to get a really big pot to plant flowers in, but didn't see one at any of the local stores I liked so I got the two smaller ones at Lowe's and added the antique milk jug from the front of the house. I may still add some kind of shrub in a planter when/if I find what I am looking for. 

 (Thanks for ignoring the trash on the deck... My darling husband saw me go outside and put it there on the off chance I'd carry it to the can... It was a long shot, but he was so sweet yesterday I decided to be nice.)


But this is a better then it was... I am also adding a trellis against the house. I have one picked out but the only one they had in stock was damaged so I am waiting for the one I ordered from another store to get here Wednesday.

Oh, and Dakota's graduation occurs exactly one week before the wedding and his birthday is the day after. We voted as a family and decided to celebrate these things early, so on a random day last week we surprised him with Dakota birthday/graduation day... It involved gifts and food and fun... We all had a blast.

(sorry the picture is a bit blurry)
Here he is with the electric/acoustic guitar we got him, wearing his new shirt & shoes. What you can't see is the cologne she got him and the guitar case we got to go with the guitar. (He actually wanted new clothes... In case you were wondering.) Allison threw on her new boots for the wedding to show you guys too... Actually, at the last moment as she was heading out the door she asked if I was going to make her model those for a future post and when I said yes she put them on quick to "kill two birds with one stone."

To answer the inevitable email/comment questions... The boots are from Delia's and are not high quality, but she likes them and that's all that matters some times. The guitar is one we bought locally. (He picked it out, and I don't know much about them, I believe it's a Taylor.) His shoes are Sperry (is this just a coast of Maine thing or are teenagers everywhere into these?) and the shirt was from TJ Maxx.


Thanks for listening,

5 Minute Update...

Friday, May 11, 2012

There are 35 days to go until the wedding... I am in fast forward mode... I have so much on my to do list today, but thought I'd pop in with a five minute update...

The wedding is right on track. Our pastor has resigned as the officiant (long story) so the kids are calling a friend of a friend who is a pastor today and plan to meet with him as soon as possible. Other then that we are right on schedule... The veil is finally here and seeing it on her last night made me cry.

As for the youth group stuff (see here to get caught up). We were scheduled to meet with the pastor this past Wednesday, but because we sent out a letter to him and and the leadership recounting what had happened that Tuesday and our thoughts and feelings on it, he (the pastor) has decided to wait another week to meet with us. His justification is that one couple who are part of the leadership are on vacation, and he won't meet with us until they are back in town. He still has not told us what we are accused of... The thing he didn't take into account is that other people know, and the speed of gossip in churches rivals the speed of light. We are pretty sure we know what the accusation is and believe me when I tell you, it is a misunderstanding and if it had been handled in a biblical way it would have been resolved with one conversation. It may have taken a bit longer for hurt feeling to recover, but by now we would have been well on our way. We are even pretty sure we have figured out what the pastor's motivation is... He will have to answer to a higher authority for his actions in this who debacle...

Where does this leave us? Well, I can't say at this juncture, but I don't believe things will ever be the same. What about the teens you ask? My heart breaks for them. We are doing our best to direct them into other student ministries in the area.


Thanks for listening,

Hodgepodging Again... Wth 37 Days To Go!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Time to join up with Joyce for a hodgepodge again...

I will catch everyone up on wedding stuff later this week...
AND no, we still haven't heard from our pastor/church so we are still in the dark as of typing this... I will share when I know more... But that's enough of that...

Let the Hodgepodging commence!



1. What is a pet peeve you have when vacationing?
Number ONE pet peeve... Dirty hotel room... I have spent the first few hours of the first day cleaning so-so rooms more then I care to recount... Truly dirty rooms, I will ask for a different room, but I have a two room max at any hotel... There are almost always more hotels and I have been known to ask at the front desk for a phone book and use their courtesy phone to call around and find a new room. We stayed at a hotel in Newport, Rhode Island once that I looked at the rooms online and it turns out the one I saw was one of two recently redone rooms and the other 80 or so rooms were run down, dated and dirty!

2. Would you describe yourself as a light packer or do you need everything in your closet plus the kitchen sink?
When I was younger I packed way too much... I would get home from trips with bags half to three quarters full of stuff I never touched. As I have gotten older I have become a wiser packer... Let's face it, you will have no more desire to wear those super cute but super uncomfortable sandals on vacation then you have at home... Maybe less! Plus with the cost of airline baggage these days, who wants to spend the extra to pack extra stuff you won't use... Last time we flew it was $50 per checked bag on United Airlines (no first bag free with them... At least at the time.) That was $200 for each of us... Each way! Think about how much fun you could have with that extra $400!



 
3. What's the best lesson a child ever taught you?
When Allison was little we were headed to a birthday party at a famous fast food restaurant (do people still do those?) and apparently she had some grand ideas as to how much fun it would be... She was picturing clowns, and moon bounces, and as much free french fries as she could eat... I was kinda worried she would be disappointed so I tried to reel in her expectations. She stopped me and said "Momma, quit pruning my daisies!" She went on to basically say that it is fun to imagine an amazing thing and besides, she is headed to a birthday party... "It is already a good day!"
Both the idea of not deflating someone else's dreams and that philosophy that "it's already a good day" are ones I hold onto!

4. Share one piece of advice you'd give a recent graduate as they attempt to enter the job market?
Don't be too proud... A job is a job in today's economy. Also, invest the first $1000 you make then forget about it. Due to the miracle of compound interest you'll thank me in 25-30 years. Then if you can make double payments on all student loans. Make compound interest work in you favor again and you'll thank me in 5-10 years!

5. What's your favorite lemon something?
I really love all things lemon... And not that she needs a plug but The Pioneer Woman's lemon crumb squares are my fave these days!

(photo: PioneerWoman.com)


 
6. Flat sandal, wedge, heel...your favorite footwear?
I love the look of a cute wedge, but since I injured my ankle several years ago, I'm a flats girl... In fact I am a fan of the ugly albeit ultra-comfy Birkenstock.
7. What do you like best about a beach holiday? If you're not a beach lover (GASP!!) what do you dislike the least?
I am now afraid to admit, I'm not a huge fan of the beach vacation... The best thing about the beach is sitting for hours chatting with friends while soaking in some vitamin D... (We lack good ole' vitamin D in these parts.) But since the sun beating down on my head gives me migraines (esp. in hot climates), and since most of my friends do not come with me on vacation, I'd rather just sit on the beaches around here and do something entirely different on vacation!
8. Insert your own random thought here.
Tomorrow I need to tackle over 3 weeks of dirty laundry... My husband has been teasing me for days that the end of the house the laundry room is on is sinking... I have been doing an emergency load here and there for weeks and it is really getting out of control... My husband pinned a note on the pile that has avalanche safety tips on it... That is not a joke... The "laundry situation" is why I am posting this Tuesday night, and will just link up in the morning... It is also why I may not get a chance to blog hop around Wednesday... But I will pop into as many as I can!

Thanks for listening,

Check It...

With everything that is going on we have all reacted in different ways in our family. Allison has spent quite a bit of time in prayer, and now feels led to dig deeper into prayer. She deeply desires to pray for and with other people all over and in a first step she started a Facebook group last night for that purpose.



Here is her link:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/WeComePray

Here is her description:

Together We Unite Through Prayer! Matthew 7:7 - Matthew 21:22 - Mark 9:29
We Come Pray is a online site for everyone and anyone to come and unite with others through prayer. On this page you can post any prayer requests you have and other members will be praying for you. You can also post praises to God, bible verses, worship songs/lyrics, poems, stories, encouraging messages, things that have spoken to you and brought you closer to God, personal studies you have done, Just go crazy for God!

No Need Shall Be Left Without Prayer!

If you are on Facebook (and who isn't) feel free to check it out... "Like it" if you do in fact like it... Leave a need or thanksgiving... Or just a favorite verse or inspirational meme.

By the way... 38 days!!! :)

Thanks for listening,

I Tried...

Thursday, May 3, 2012

I keep trying to write my Pintrest Party post, but I just can't, I am too spent... Too emotionally raw to prattle on about how to make cake stands out of plates and goblets... That post will have to wait for Tuesday.

Today I just need to worship... I refuse to have the joy drained from my life... From this happy time Katy's wedding is supposed to be...

Today I worship!




Thanks for listening,

Though My Heart Is Torn... I Will Praise You In This Storm!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012


Today my heart is torn... There are no words to describe my grief... After youth last night we were called into the pastors office and told that they had decided to suspend us AND the student ministry for 60 days. He absolutely refused to give us a reason, just saying he feels like Satan is attacking our student ministry and he wants time to discern where the attack is coming from.

We were able to ascertain that there is some accusation against Paul & myself that prompted this, but he categorically refused to tell us what the accusation is and who is making it. We are completely in the dark... There will be no student ministry during this time, our youth are for all intents and purposes cast out... I am bereft... For some of these kids this is the only church they get... We will never get some of them back...

Paul and I have wracked our brains, we have always acted above reproach with these kids... Paul's teaching has always been biblical and in alignment with the beliefs of our church... We try our best to conduct our home life in a honorable way... Our daughters are living examples of this... We, like all people have sin in our lives, but nothing that we know about that we are not actively dealing with, and definitely nothing that would preclude us from serving in this ministry... We can only assume some lie, some slander has been leveled against us, but since we don't know what it is or who it comes from we too feel cast out.

Paul is angry...He feels our integrity is in question. I am... There are no words... We know it can't be a question of our conduct with these kids since Paul asked if this ban extends to the youth who tend to hang out at our home regularly and without batting an eye we were told they could still hang out here as long as it was in an "unofficial" capacity. No responsible person would say that if we were being accused of some kind of physical misconduct with these kids, so we have (kind-of) ruled that out.

I begged and sobbed and pleaded that they not suspend the entire ministry, that these kids need it, to please bring in someone else, but it fell on deaf ears. We were told by our pastor the most cold hearted thing I think I have ever heard... That they (he) had done a "cost/benefit analysis" and decided this was the way to go... What cost/benefit analysis, what pro/con list would come up with the souls of these kids on the losing side?

We had to go home and post the suspension on our facebook page then deal with the emails and phone calls of our kids for the rest of the night... One boy was so upset he had to call me back he was crying so hard... Some are like him, grief stricken, others are mad and want to stage protests, others are (and these are the ones that kill me) not surprised... They said they feel like second class citizens in the Church (not just ours but any church).

Please lift us up...
Thanks for listening,

Pintrest Party...

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

(With 45 Days to Go...)

Today I am linking up with my awesome bloggy friend Mindee from Our Front Door for her May Pintrest Party...


Everyone actually does stuff they have pinned and reports back... The good the bad and (gently) the ugly...

I have done quite a few things I've seen on pintrest but have not (like a good blogger should) photographed them all, so today you will have to take my word for today, and I will be a better blogger from this time forward...

The first one we (Allison is my experiment buddy) tried is a chili from ivillage.com 

She picked it out and quite frankly I was dubious about serving chili over potatoes... It sounded so heavy and well, not a texture combo I would normally go for.
I was so, so WRONG... It was very yummy!
First of all, we had to double the recipe as there would be 7 of us for dinner that night. I also changed the jalapenos to green chilies as we are cooking for two senior citizens who live in Maine and have a deadly fear of all things that even could be "spicy"... I don't think this hurt the recipe but it may have shifted down the flavor a notch.
Outcome: Super easy to make (although it did dirty more dishes then I prefer on a weeknight) and everyone in our house loved it and we will make it again. As far as being "Dinner under $10.... It was only $13.63 and we doubled it! (Although the beans were on sale and it would have cost more with the jalapenos)  That being said, under $14 for dinner for seven adults/teens isn't too bad!

Thanks for listening,