Andy |

End of an era, beginning of another

Our little church plant had its last service today (location issues, not enough people attending and just not financially viable to stay open). So many emotions! We started our journey 4 years ago and have grown so much with the team that became family. I feel sad, but don’t regret a single thing.

A few pictures from our last building (4th one in 4 years, not including all the homes we met in) as we painted and prepped for services.

What I shared in service today:

Curtis and Eileen, thank you for being faithful and coming to NY to plant a church. I know it didn’t turn out how any of us thought, but your leadership and friendship over the past 4 years has been something I’ll treasure. What you helped plant in my heart and my faith is something I’ll be able to share with my kids and take with us on the next part of our family’s journey.

Curtis, I’m just blown away by your always-ready willingness to serve others. I don’t know another pastor who would get down on hands and knees and do childcare for our moms group. Out of necessity, yes…but you did it every single time. I’m so thankful for your leadership, hard work and perseverance.

Eileen, thank you for showing me how a strong woman can be in ministry. Thank you for your friendship, your hit-the-nail-on-the-head preaching and your openness. Always willing to listen, show compassion and just being yourself. Please don’t ever stop being you, I like you.

Justin, I hope Ben grows up to be like you. You’re a kind, compassionate leader and I loved seeing you succeed at pretty much everything you tried a hand at up here. Listen for God’s move first, and then follow him with everything you’ve got. You’re going to be an awesome husband and dad some day!

Jeremy, thank you for being so awesome with my kids! Whether it was at Mops, Kid’s church or just at your house, they always looked forward to their time with you. Ben prays any time one of his friends gets a boo-boo because you modeled that for him.

Josh, thanks for sharing your legos with the kids and reading with them. Ben still wants to find a kid’s version of “The Hobbit” because you introduced him to chapter books. Also, thanks for diligently helping with set up, mops, kids church and everything else I’m sure you got “dragged” into, but did anyway!

Jaeleya, you’ve always been so welcoming and made us feel special every time we see you…like there’s no one else you’d rather see! That and your smile are some of your beautiful strengths. Keep figuring out who you are in God as his daughter and princess, totally accepted and completely secure.

To the whole family: You might be scared and incredibly overwhelmed but God says “I am with you, I want you to follow my lead. This will be a ride but if you trust me you’ll soar.” Also, guys, don’t be afraid to pastor again, it’s in your DNA. Love you guys!

Here’s to the next chapter!

Indian Lake Adventure

by Heather | 3 Comments

Andy and I made our annual trip to Indian Lake Islands in the Adirondacks. My parents watched the kids for two days and his parents had them for two days, so it was just us for the adventure.

We stopped at a cute cafe in town before heading to our campsite.

There are 51 campsites (only accessible by boat) on Indian Lake. They’re run and maintained by the DEC.

We piled all our equipment in the canoe and headed out. Andy got a small outboard motor for it a few years ago so we didn’t have to paddle as much on long trips. Except…this year…The water level of the lake was pretty low and we were trying to stay out of the middle of the lake (avoiding the larger boats) and the motor hit a rock. It made the worst “Cuh-chink” sound, I turned around and saw Andy grabbing the motor as it broke off its mount and started to fall into the lake. Ahhhhhhh! Luckily he saved it from falling in but as much as he tried he couldn’t get it to work again while we were in the water. So we paddled, the 2+ hours down the lake to our campsite. Call it a bonding experience…

At least it was pretty and a seriously beautiful day!

We finally arrived at our site and started unloading the canoe.

We set up the tent, our equipment, got a fire going for dinner and explored a little.

It was too late and we were too tired to do anything about the motor that night, so inspection waited until the following day. After taking the entire thing apart on the picnic table Andy realized that when it hit the rock it sucked in water which created a ton of pressure, blowing the head gasket. He was thankful it wasn’t something else and that it wasn’t permanently damaged. Anyone who knows Andy, pretty much knows he’s MacGyver…so after a few trial and errors he fixed the broken motor with electrical tape and tinfoil. Seriously. We apprehensively took it out on the water and were completely amazed that after a few stuttering pulls it actually started and worked!

The rest of the day Saturday we just lounged around at our site. Andy fished and I read some books. We sat on the beach and went swimming. We watched a variety of wildlife (toads, frogs, snakes, newts, a cute baby mouse, ducks and lots of deer tracks). No bears :) Ben was concerned that there might be bears and said we’d better take daddy’s hunting gun with us.

We made my favorite camping dinner (chopped veggies with sausage), had smores and enjoyed the campfire. The toads were SO loud down on the beach at night (Andy got a few go pro videos I’ll have to share later). He had to put earplugs in to sleep but I was fine.

Sunday morning we made breakfast (campfire bacon and eggs are awesome) and got things together for a day hike.

Since we didn’t quite trust the motor (and wanted to save all that it would give us for the trip home) we paddled a mile further down the lake to a picnic area and trail. Water levels were really low so we could walk along the stream bed and actually over a few waterfalls, they were so pretty.

(Don’t worry mom, there was a ton of support behind me, I’m not going to fall to my doom)

We had lunch on the trail, the only time I eat ramen noodles is while camping. Andy was even kind enough to pack some extra veggies to make it somewhat resemble a bowl of soup ;-)

So thankful we could head back to the DEC headquarters, with a working motor!

Overall we had a fantastic weekend! The weather was perfect, other than a surprise passing shower the first night (nothing like an “oh crap, quick find the rain cover for the tent”), it was beautiful. A fun, relaxing adventure with my best friend! Until next year :)

Check out our first year camping with friends and second year island camping. It’s neat how every year has been a little different and there’s still so much more to explore.

Maple Weekend 2016

by Heather | 0 comments

Our friends Chris and Melinda run a local maple farm and were a part of NYS’s Maple Weekend.

We visited their open house on Sunday and enjoyed the all you can eat pancake breakfast. Andy also enjoyed the sausages ;-)

The kids got to drill and tap a tree and learn how the process starts out in the woods.

Ben was convinced the syrup itself was coming out of the tree, not the sap.

We also toured the sap shed where everything is boiled down into the usable product. It’s a 40 to 1 ratio, 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.

Chris built and welded the evaporator in the sugarhouse.

There were some history, equipment and of course tasting stations inside as well.

Before we left we visited the monster truck and tractor.

The kids also loved the animals that were outside.

Thanks Chris and Melinda for sharing your farm and a part of your life with us. You guys are passionate, hard working and have a pretty awesome production going on! I’m proud to know you!

And just because I get a chuckle out of it, this is OUR maple syrup production. We tap two maple trees in our side yard. They’re not even the right kind of tree (silver maples instead of sugar maple) but it’s fun!

Day in the life

by Heather | 0 comments

I’ve always wanted to do one of these, in fact I wish I had done one a few years ago when the kids were babies to compare. I took all the pics with my cell phone, but it gives you a glimpse of what goes on. Post is kind of long, so stick with me!

7:30am
I try to wake up before the kids to give me a few minutes to pee and brush my teeth before somebody needs me. Some days this doesn’t work because the kids wake up at 7, but most days I’m able to get a little time first. My new garmin has a vibrate alarm that I love waking up to, nice and gentle (before the chaos).

8:00-8:30
Head upstairs to make the kids breakfast and get everything ready for the day.

8:30-9:00
Drop Ben off at school, it’s held at a church about 15 minutes from the house.

9:15-11:15
Head back across town to the Y. Cassidy hangs out in childwatch while I do a CX Worx (core) and Body Combat class and then shower. I look thrilled.

11:30
Wait in line to pick Ben up from school.

11:45-12:15
We get home and play outside for a little bit until Cassidy starts complaining that her hands are cold. She’s taken off her gloves and refuses to put them back on.

12:15-12:45
Kids watch the Lego movie while I get some chores done.

I grab some more firewood from the back and add it to the fireplace downstairs. We heat with wood in the winter so you have to keep things going all day or else it dies out and is a pain to restart.

I also make myself some lunch and try to eat a little bit before I have a visitor asking for some.

12:45-1:15
Make the kids lunch and do some dishes while they eat.

1:15-1:30
We read a few books before nap time.

1:30-3:30
Ben has quiet time and Cassidy naps while I head downstairs to get some work done.

My two favorite office mates are always on the job.

3:30-5:00
Kids are up, we have snack and Cassidy colors while Ben works on his Valentine’s for class.

The kids finish their projects and actually start to play nicely with Legos. I take the chance to vacuum upstairs (we hosted the youth group Superbowl party the night before and there are crumbs everywhere). Not that there normally aren’t crumbs everywhere, there just happens to be a lot more of them today.

I bring the vacuum downstairs with every intent of cleaning the bottom floor later (it never happens, I usually get to it the following week). While I’m downstairs I notice the litter box needs to be scooped (no picture, lol). In the middle of scooping cat poop I hear Ben freaking out upstairs because Cassidy had an accident. I leave the half scooped poop and go upstairs to find Cassidy actually tried to climb up on the potty and go herself and ended up getting pee all over the seat and floor. Clean up that mess and then head back downstairs to finish cat poop.

5:00-6:00
I make dinner (sorry no pics) and the kids and I eat. I clean the kitchen up and make a plate for Andy when he gets home. Sometimes he makes it home in time to eat with us, other times he’s pretty late. Today he gets home at 6:30.

6:30-7:00
After Andy eats he somehow gets into a little wrestling match with the kids :)

7:00-7:30
Bathtime, teeth, jammies and story time for Cassidy.

7:30-8:00
Ben and Andy play video games for a little bit until it’s Ben’s turn for a bath and bed.

8:00-8:30
Laundry! There are 5 lovely loads of it waiting downstairs in the laundry room. I separate the kids into their baskets to be put away tomorrow (again if we’re being honest, they’re still sitting upstairs 3 days later waiting to be put away). I do put Andy’s and my clothes away though.

8:30-9:00
One of my least favorite chores, meal planning and figuring out the shopping list for the week. Normally I go grocery shopping on Thursdays (so I plan Wednesday nights) but this week my car is going to be at the dealer’s on Thursday because we found out about a gas tank recall (fun wow!). So I need to meal plan and get things together Monday night to shop on Tuesday.

9:00-9:30
I return some emails and texts that I never got to earlier in the day. I also try to deal with some of the papers that have accumulated on the kitchen counters, but only halfheartedly and most of them remain there for me to deal with another day. I separate out Ben’s school papers, look at what he worked on that day and recycle what I don’t save. I also gather up all the library books strewn about the livingroom and put them in the library bag for the morning.

9:30-11:00
Andy and I sit on the couch, he’s doing something on his laptop and watching TV. I’m working on a logo design for a friend who is starting her own business. I finish up the Illustrator file and email her a pdf to review.

11:00-11:30
I get my pjs on, wash my face and brush teeth (aren’t our family of tooth brushes cute!) I also pack my gym bag for tomorrow.

11:30-11:45
Doesn’t always happen, but I do try to take a little time to unwind before bed (even if it’s just a few minutes). Sometimes it’s reading (until I fall asleep a few minutes later) and other times I journal or do devotions.

Goodnight!
And that’s it! Rinse, lather, repeat the next day. Actually every day of the week is a little different…Tuesday is Ben’s library class day and Wednesday afternoon the kids spend with my pastor’s wife so I can get some design work done. All of them are crazy, exhausting, wonderful, hard, fun, full days!