Honor and Respect

Today is Memorial Day. A day when we honor and remember those who have served our country and especially those who have given their lives protecting our freedoms.



For the first time since having kids, we went to a Memorial Day parade and ceremony. Our town has one every year, but in the four years that we have lived here, we just haven't attended. This year since the kids have been home every day due to homeschooling, we hear the band practice at lunchtime. So, they've been begging for a parade.

Now, when my kids ask to go to a parade it's for a specific reason. The only other parade they know of is our town's July 4th parade. And that particular parade is a child's paradise! Every float and every vehicle is loaded with candy that is thrown to eager little hands. My kids each take a bag to collect candy and we come home each year with FOUR bags full of candy!! So, when we say "parade" they hear "candy".

Today was a different story. The parade was small and there was no candy. And I'm so glad we went. It was really good for my kids to see that there are ceremonies with a somber tone. Ones where they need to stand at the appropriate times to show respect and where they can see a community coming together to honor those who give their lives so selflessly.

I want my kids to understand the importance of holidays like Memorial Day. I want to pass on to the next generation a healthy respect for and pride in our nation. And I want my children to understand the heritage of their country. May God indeed bless America!

Unflushed

I fought a battle with my toilet tonight and the toilet won.

We have this one obnoxious toilet that clogs frequently. Tonight was the worst yet. I plunged that toilet for AN HOUR and it still is clogged! Ugh.

As my daughter recently reminded me (using true Hannah Montana wisdom), "Everybody has those days..." Yup. Thanks Hannah. At least thinking of Miley Cyrus having to plunge her commode makes me feel a little bit better.

End of a dream

Josh and I made a tough decision tonight. We decided to cancel our vacation. A vacation that I have longed and begged for for the past 10 years. Why? Because we need a new roof.

About a week ago, we had a gutter fall off the back of our house. As that was getting repaired, we found out that our roof is badly in need of repair - or actually a re-do - and that we have several spots of rot that need immediate attention. Roofs are expensive and unfortunately, we had not planned for that substantial cost in our budget. So, we had to figure out what to cut.

The vacation we were planning is my dream vacation. It was a week at the family camp I attended as a child and where I later spent several summers working. That camp is home to me. We all have houses we've lived in that we call "home", but the place where I have felt most at home is this small Christian camp in Massachusetts. It's where I went every summer, where my best and worst childhood memories took place, where I grew leaps and bounds in my faith and where I have always felt the safest. It's the place where I met lifelong friends, shared the gospel, learned to let loose, and grew to love the beauty of creation.

Just after getting married, I took my husband with me to family camp week - and had a miserable experience. There were several factors, but I have always longed for a chance to redeem my "home" in his eyes. And now that I have children, I long for them to experience this wonderful place. I want my older boys to have the freedom of roaming free in a safe environment. I want my kids to see with their eyes what mom has talked about over the years. I want them to understand me by experiencing my favorite place.

It was finally going to happen this summer. We have a wedding to attend on the east coast the day before camp starts. The timing was perfect. And then our roof happened ...

So, tonight I'm mourning the end of a dream. It took ten years for us to finally work this into our plans and honestly I don't see it working out again for many years. By then, my kids will be much older and who knows what life will look like.

I'm sad tonight. I'm disappointed. But still, I am thankful for the home that still is in my heart and for the things I learned there that withstand the test of time. And deep down, I know we've made the right decision. It just hurts.

Cake Success!

After my last failed attempt at my son's birthday cake, I finally had success! I wanted to make him a racing cake and borrowed the decorating idea from my sister-in-law. I have to say that I think it turned out well - despite having to get up at 5:30 am on birthday day to frost it. Here's a look:



Hopefully I'll learn a bit more about cake making before next month's birthday! If you have any helpful hints, feel free to post them!

Cake Disaster

I know very well that I am not a cake baker. In fact, I ususally don't even try to make birthday cakes for my children. Cakes require time, patience and decorating skill - three commodities that I do not have! However, when my daughter's birthday arrived in January, I decided to make her a special mommy cake. She didn't want cupcakes and because we were already buying a specially made cake for her party two weeks later, I decided to give it a go.

And I must say, I did a great job! I was very pleased with the outcome. I bought some bright colored dye and made a giant pink cake. :) Here's a picture:


Tomorrow is my son's birthday. And since he shared a party with my daughter, I figured I owed him a special mommy cake too. Besides, I was pretty confident in my cake-baking skills after my last endeavor!

Can I just say that there is much truth to the saying, "Pride goes before a fall"??

In this case, my cake fell ... everywhere. When I tried to get it out of the pans, it stuck to the pan, ripped into pieces and fell EVERYWHERE. On the floor, on the cooling rack, onto the counter, and of course some stayed in the pan. I tried to patch it together, but that did nothing. When I went to lift the second layer onto the first, the whole thing crumbled again - this time caked with frosting.

Oh, the frustration!! Not only do I have to start over, but I just wasted a good portion of my morning! I'm hoping the second finished product will turn out much better than the first, but I have certainly lost my confidence. I'll let you know the results.