games

Here's something you may not know about me: I hate playing board games ..and card games .. and any other type of game played around a table. The fact that I hate games is one thing but the problem is this: my kids think they are the greatest. So because of my love for them, I play games! Parenting involves a lot of sacrifice.




Tonya

first thing in the morning

boston

Another adventure with the family ...

what do you get when you combine 85 degree heat, paved sidewalks, a grandma, lots of traffic, smashed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, little to no shade, and 10 kids? Well, let me just say this: we cut the trip much shorter than planned!

We had a great day planned. Our own personal tour guide (a friend from church) was going to take us on a walking tour of the city and show us all the historical sites.
What could be better? I guess no one thought of the heat and trying to supervise 10 children crossing the busy streets? (Let alone the idea that young kids are actually going to enjoy walking for hours and look at buildings?)

Now don't get me wrong, we did have a great time. Just not in the ways we were expecting! We went all the way to Boston to walk down a few streets, watch some guys cleaning outside windows about 18 stories up, play at a small playground, eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, buy a snack, and come back home. Forget the historical tour for this trip! Taj and I decided that we will go back .. without the kids!

I only took a few photos. I was too busy supervising the kids to care about taking pictures. I know that probably sounds shocking to some! I wanted to take some photos of us getting onto the train. It didn't happen. The train pulled up to the station and I was thinking it would be like a plane - everyone loads and sits and waits for about 15 min. until you take off. Not quite! The train had barely reached a stop and our guide was telling us to get on. We hadn't even all found a seat and the thing was moving! So it actually stood still for approx. 3 minutes!


While in the city, I dreaded crossing the streets. Too many kids to watch out for! My friend said it well when she stated that lots of prayers were being lifted to the throne! The walk signals had a running timer on them .. half of our group would be just stepping onto the street when there was about 2 seconds left .. I bet the people in traffic were rolling their eyes!


Mia had been dreaming about riding on the train for months

Kaci didn't mind eating a smashed sandwich!

everyone enjoying a shaded break from walking


We didn't get to see much but oh, the memories we'll have from the day!
Tonya

Our Great God

Isaiah 40:12
"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?"

The following excerpt is from Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce Ware:

"Once when our two girls were very young, our family was on vacation along the Oregon coast. At breakfast, I read this passage from Isaiah 40 to my wife and daughters and then asked my two girls if they wanted to do an experiment down at the beach. Bethany was about seven, and Rachel was about three, and they both agreed to come along, excited to see what it was. When we got to the beach, I asked them to stay along the shoreline as I waded out into the Pacific Ocean just a bit. I asked them to watch the ocean carefully, because I was going to stoop down and scoop up water from the ocean, and I wanted them to watch to see how much the level of the ocean dipped as I scooped up water from it. They agreed, and I proceeded to scoop up water with my hands. "Did it change?" I asked them eagerly. A bit disappointed, they said, "No, Daddy, it didn't." I asked them to look very carefully again as I once more leaned over and scooped up a handful of water. "Did it change?" I asked again. "No, Daddy," they again replied.

I walked up onto the shore, knelt down before my girls, and said to them,"Girls, I want you to learn something very important about the difference between how big we are and how big God is. You see, when I went out into this ocean and scooped up all of the water I could hold within the hollow of my two hands, you couldn't tell that anything had changed at all. But look again at the size of this vast ocean. Imagine a hand so big that if this hand came down right now and scooped up all of the water it could hold, the ocean would be dry. That's how big God is!

Other images in Isaiah 40:12 indicate that his hand is so big that is able to measure the full extent of the heavens, and his arm is so strong that he could hold the scales on which the mountain ranges of this world are weighed. Indeed, God is great - so great that nothing could add to his greatness. And the greatness of God - the fact that he possesses within himself everything that is good and wise and perfect - indicates to us just how much we should honor him as God and depend on him for all that we need. We should be humble before this great and mighty God, realizing that while we can give nothing to him that he doesn't already have, he has everything we need. Our hearts should long to praise this God and to live in dependence upon him. Yes, indeed, God deserves nothing less."


While Marilyn, Jill, and her kids were here, we took a little trip out to the coast. (We only live approx. 40 minutes from Plymouth.) The kids loved the ocean water and got soaked even though it was frigid!


a beautiful display of God's creation

Riley always has a smile

Jill and Marilyn

Mia was so excited to finally play in the sand by the ocean .. her mom forgot the buckets and shovels. How is that possible??



working together to build a trench

Brielle loved running around and splashing

Kaci was terrified of the water, she just screamed so we snapped a quick photo before Taj took her to dry land

belly shot .. can't wait to know if she's having a boy or girl!


Tonya

meekness

Our pastor is preaching through the fruit of the Spirit on Sunday mornings. He spoke on meekness today and gave the following quote at the end of his sermon.

"Then let me go further; the man who is meek is not even sensitive about himself. He is not always watching himself and his own interests. He is not always on the defensive. We all know about this, do we not? Is in not one of the greatest curses in life as a result of the fall - this sensitivity about self? We spend the whole of our lives watching ourselves. But when a man becomes meek he has finished with all that; he no longer worries about himself and what other people say. To be truly meek means we no longer protect ourselves, because we see there is nothing worth defending. So we are not on the defensive; all that is gone. The man who is truly meek never pities himself, he is never sorry for himself. He never talks to himself and says,'You are having a hard time, how unkind these people are not to understand you'. He never thinks: 'How wonderful I really am, if only other people gave me a chance'. Self-pity! What hours and years we waste in this! But the man who has become meek has finished with all that. To be meek, in other words, means that you have finished with yourself altogether, and you come to see you have no rights or deserts at all. You come to realize that nobody can harm you. John Bunyan puts it perfectly. 'He that is down need fear no fall.' When a man truly sees himself, he knows nobody can say anything about him that is too bad. You need not worry about what men may say or do; you know you deserve it all and more. Once again, therefore, I would define meekness like this. The man who is truly meek is the one who is amazed that God and man can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do. That, it seems to me, is its essential quality."

Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Vol. 1, p.69

Tonya

we're excited about the new addition to our family

..that is ..

having a few extra people here in our home for several days. Taj's mother and sister, Jill, are here until the weekend along with Jill's three children. We are so happy they are here! We'll post about our adventures and have photos up soon.

Tonya

fun times

Have you ever had your kids try to say "gift certificate"? It's quite fun!







Tonya

hurray!

We are on our last week of school! I think the teacher is more excited about the break than the student. It's been a great school year and we've both learned a lot! I plan to discuss the curriculum we use over the next several days and let you know why we enjoy it so much. Until then, we have a few more lessons to complete and one more math test!

Tonya

Do you know who she knows?

Girl Talk blog had the following post today:

Rachel Barkey has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Rachel is a wife, a mother of two children, and she is not expected to live to see her 38th birthday.

Several weeks ago, Rachel shared a message with a group of women entitled “Death is Not Dying: A Faith that Saves.” We were so affected as we watched this video that we wanted to share it with you.

Many people have asked Rachel, “Why? Why is this happening to you? To Neil? To Kate and Quinn? To your family and friends?”

“I don’t ask ‘why?’” says Rachel. “Because I know.”

Please watch or listen here.

love it

three kids. laughter. first words. pj's. noise. bibs. smiles. home school. car seats. naps. grace. walks. snuggles. sippie cups. swings. bandaids. crayons. baseball. nicknames. forgiveness. books. hair bows. kisses. pampers. questions. blankets. spills. baby dolls. photos. parks. little shoes. laundry soap. Bible stories. camo. bath time. hugs. chubby cheeks. helpers. counting. bedtime. strollers. tickles. movies. joy. suckers from the bank. t-shirts. haircuts. bicycles. potty-training. cereal. washable markers. pink. hearing prayers. overwhelming love.

teaching my children to love God. priceless.


Each of my children gave me a note today. I cried. Three wonderful blessings from God. And an even greater blessing than my children: my husband. It's such a joy to serve my family. God has been so good to me!

Tonya

Grace Bible Church

Grace Bible Church




Our children love the box seating arrangement with the little doors


Grace Bible Church is an historic church with a rather interesting past. It was raised on land donated by Samuel Allen, son of the first settler, and incorporated as the First Parish of Bridgewater on Dec. 14, 1723. By 1796, it had been rebuilt bigger for the third and final time on its present location and public worship first took place on January 10 of that year.

It has seen the First and Second Great Awakenings, had Paul Revere in attendance, who, in 1805, cast a bell for the church weighing 931 pounds. It became the First Parish of East Bridgewater a year after the town was incorporated in June 14, 1823. It became the First Parish Unitarian Church in 1860 and remained Unitarian until 1986, when it was bought by a developer with plans to convert the church into condominiums. It was subsequently used as a Hare Krishna community before being bought by Grace Bible Church in October of 1989.

Massive renovations of the interior of the building were carried out before the congregation officially occupied the First Parish Church building on May 4, 1990. The congregation moved into the newly renovated main sanctuary on Easter Sunday 1992. Grace Bible Church received Dr. Robert J. Burrelli Jr. as Pastor in 1994. The church has thus, once again, returned to its original intended use of worship.


Our pastor, Dr. Robert J.Burrelli, Jr.


We are enjoying our time of serving here at Grace Bible Church.

Tonya

new lunch recipe

Cheese and Dorito Sandwich
2 generous slices of cheese
5 large doritos
6 T. salad dressing
1 slice of bread
damp washcloth
broom and dustpan

Directions: Spread the 6 tablespoons of salad dressing onto piece of bread. (Have damp cloth ready as this is a messy process for a 4 year old) Break the slices of cheese into tiny crumbs. (This can take up to 20 min.) Sprinkle on top of salad dressing. Next, smash the doritos in the palm of your hand and create a design on top of the cheese and salad dressing.(This could take even longer than the breaking of the cheese and have damp cloth ready again) Then use the broom and dust pan to clean up the entire dining area. (There will be a ton of chip crumbs!) Fold the sandwich in half and enjoy!





Mia created this recipe yesterday. After she took the first bite, she kept exclaiming how delicious it was! I guess it was worth the mess?

Tonya

Old Sturbridge Village

Another field trip! We went to Sturbridge Village yesterday and had a great time with our friends. The village was set in the early 1800's and you walked around "town" and heard presentations from people dressed from that era and toured through houses, farm yards, stores, and even a bank. Our children loved it. Grazzin got to help in a cooking class and Mia made her own seed packet at the barn. Kaci .. well, she didn't make anything. The only thing she was interested in was riding in everyone's strollers!
(lots of photos to follow)


the 1800's village


the kids of our group


the blacksmith shop


the bank .. inside we could hold bills and coins from that time period


everyone was hungry!


Kaci enjoys her bite


newborn baby lambs .. Kaci loved them


Grazzin and his buddy, Joel


Mia Kenedi


musket demonstration complete with a firing of the weapon .. to the boys' delight


the covered bridge


Mia gets a ride after walking all day


Kaci kept wanting Mia to push her in our friend's stroller


climbing on the rock ledge


taking a walk with Daddy down the path .. I don't want my little girls to grow up!

Tonya