SURPRIS*E

June 23, 2014 | Stacy

Because their good friend was coming to town (they did not know, of course) I suggested to John that we throw the boys a surprise birthday party before either of their birthdays was even on their mind. This was a crazy idea… so we went for it.

Nan assisted by taking Stewart, Nigel, and Andrew to her house to power wash her deck. When she brought them back at 5:15 P.M. our family room was filled with quite a few of their favorite people.

They ate…

Swam in arctic cold water.

Played football.

And helped these awesome young men celebrate their birthdays.

A Wrinkle in Time

June 21, 2014 | Stacy

Last October, God saw fit to move some of our very special friends out west to Oregon.

I tried to post about this back then, but found myself too grief-filled to do it properly. These folks, the M’s, moved to this area the same time we did back in 2007. While we knew one another before that, our friendships grew solidly as each year of homeschooling unfolded. We did just enough of the same things to keep us interested in one another’s lives; but did enough things differently, which kept us from getting stale. I’d lovingly said many times in the last 7 years that God blessed the Butlers tremendously when he gave us the M’s as “neighbors.”

I never dreamt He’d let them move away.

We shared lunch at Pizza Hut, “One last time”

And tried hard not to cry until we got back in the vans.

Even looking at these pictures now is So. Hard.

So before I fall apart I am going to show you pictures from the “surprise” visit we had in June. I say surprise because Mrs. M & I knew it was happening. Her younger two did not know until the night before they flew out here that that we coming home for a visit. Mine did not know until E showed up in our driveway Saturday. (I have to blog that in its own’ post b/c youtube and blogger aren’t good friends.)

But look at these beautiful kids!

I won’t pretend it was easy saying goodbye. It was a grey day when they left and my kids and I cried freely when their Grandma picked them up.

But when they were here in my home again after 8 long months it was almost as if the longest winter in the history of my life was totally erased. The measuring tape of our lives was picked up and the spot where October 2013 was touched right up against the spot where June 2014 was. It felt as though they’d never left. Thankfully, technology like “free” long-distance and FaceTime has allowed the kids to stay in touch.

Our family is praying that Mr. M’s west coast assignment ends in June 2016. None of us want to wish our lives away, of course.

Christmas Eve–2013 (and earlier!)

December 26, 2013 | Stacy

We enjoyed our seventh Christmas Eve with our friends.
We long since abandoned the idea of having a sit-down dinner and instead annually enjoy eating too much taco dip, artichoke dip, shrimp, and punch. This year the shrimp was yucky, so we made up for it with taco dip. And two desserts. ALWAYS two desserts.

We are so grateful for how the numbers have increased. Each family is “up” children by 50% over the first years.
We didn’t get a group picture in 2007, but this is 2008. *sigh* Really – it is 2008.

2009

2010

2011 Emily was in rough shape and we forgot to get group shot.

2012 I was in rough shape and we forgot to get group shot. 😦

But all was right this year and we got the BIG picture…

I hold high hopes that we will be able to enjoy this tradition for years to come, God willing.

7/4/13

July 6, 2013 | Stacy

Our July 4ths do not have a tradition…

2008
2009 – drove home from TN
2010 – no recollection what-so-ever
2011 – again – no clue… likely worked
2012 – impromptu picnic – our Brookses friends asked if they could pop over with their out-of-town guests to cook out and swim.

This last one was so much fun I asked Emily if she wanted to repeat & expand Her family was up for it & we forged ahead.

The forecast was grim and it poured buckets all morning. Half-an-hour before the picnic was slated to start the forecast abruptly and dramatically shifted; we were blessed with 85+ degrees, and there was not a raindrop to be seen.

We quickly assembled our party tent in our own yard for the first time in years. (We seem to lend it once a year.)

It was remarkable. I have not stopped praising God for His merciful timing. THE WEATHER WAS PICNIC-PERFECT!!!!!

I never pulled out the camera until dessert time. (Not to be confused with swimming-time, eating-time, talking-time, football-time, etc.)

Riffy had so much lemonade and her weight’s worth of chippy-chips.

My kids had a blast. In their minds there is NOTHING cooler than playing football or swimming with friends.

I love gatherings. I do, I do. We seem to have fewer and fewer each year which makes me sad. But when we do, boy, do I enjoy them. And let me tell you… many hands make light work! The food was amazing and you’d never know from looking that there were 28 of us here yesterday!!

It’s such a “pool” story

July 18, 2011 | Stacy

I grew up in a home with an above-ground pool.

JB grew up in a home with an above-ground pool.

When we got married we bought a house without an above-ground pool and promptly had one installed.

When we bought this house, without a pool, in 2007, we said, “We will go one summer without a pool.”

We went without in 2007 – as expected.
We went without in 2008.
We went without in 2009.
We went without in 2010.

At this point my mom, Nan, offered to purchase us one. We refused! Nan is not well-to-do. She is a widow on a fixed income. Besides, our yard is on a hill and it would require a lot of work. We have a new baby and no time to do it ourselves [as we prefer], and we have no $$$ to hire someone to do the work!

In spring 2011 Nan offered again. She insisted that she would take it from her 401K gladly, offering, “I know I will have everything I need.” We prayerfully accepted her offer.

Installation began 7/11. Because of our septic system and lines, we had exactly one place it could go in our back yard.

The first day we watch a Bobcat work 2 hours to just get an area level enough to start the assembly.
By dinner time it was starting to fill.
And the yard work began.

Tuesday, 7/12, at 7 AM when Home Depot opened, JB was at the door to buy the required black silt fence.
You can see here at the back of the pool just how high they had to build it up! It is taller than me!
He also made the decision to hire out the electric. This was a hard choice for JB. He is really good at electric and it was VERY expensive to have it done for us. But the town’s code has gotten much more complicated than it was 13 years ago, and the yard is very large.

On Wednesday, 7/13, a 5-man team of electricians worked 6 hours to do the electric.
We went to Seabreeze…

On Thursday 7/14, while the girls and I ate at Pizza Hut, JB and the boys worked at home on the landscaping.
As the parents came to pick up their daughters, they picked up their tools and jumped in to help us complete all we needed to complete in order to pass the inspection Friday for our C of C.

As we went to bed Thursday night John said, “Isn’t it just like God to send us help like that?” ♥

On Friday, 7/15, after passing inspection, I let the kids go in for about 20 minutes before I went to work.
Champ had the Inaugural Splash.

On Saturday, 7/16, I finally got in.
Scooter, although smiling in this photo, is not all that sure about the big-chilly-bathtub!

More friends freely offered up their help. As kids swam and played the dads built a French drain.

And we had our first “pool party” afterward for our friend, L.

Our Summer Extention!!

September 14, 2008February 3, 2019 | Stacy

Our surprise vacation to the Nags Head began when we woke the kids Sunday morning at 4 A.M. We woke Beau first and told him to get ready, “we are going on a surprise vacation.” He wanted to dress first, but never pried, “where are we going?”

As we put our other pajamaed kids into the car, I heard him guess, “to see T***** and B*******.” They are friends in NC.

About an hour later he asked when we were planning to tell them where we were headed. We said he could ask one “Yes/No” question each hour.

5:00 A.M. – “Are we going somewhere we’ve been before?” ~ no6:00 A.M. – “Will we see friends there?” ~ yes7:00 A.M. – “Are we staying in Pennsylvania?” ~ no

8:00 A.M. – after goofing around with his question, we said the very next thing he asked counted as his question… “will you tell me what state we are going to?” ~ no

9:00 A.M. – he passed his question to Champ. Champ said, “is it time for a movie?” ~ no

At 10:00 A.M. I told him where we were going. He BEAMED! “SEASHORE! Champ [sic] the SEASHORE!” Poor Champ started to cry. I think he was hoping for a theme park. 😦 BUT he recovered.

I told them we’d go see the Wright Bros. Memorial and they both seemed happy about that.

At 3:00 P.M. we told them who we would be going to be vacationing with and they were all very excited to spend a week with our friends and their extended family.

The week was awesome. Very, very good weather Mon., and Tues. A rainy day Weds., found us visiting the Wright Bros., and Roanoke Island. The former was much better than the latter. Thurs., turned nice again, and Friday was gorgeous. Home again Saturday. It was amazing.

Here are some photos and videos!

Checking out container ships on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

The pool!

Our home for the week.

Walking out to see the beach on Sunday evening.

Angel loved the sand.

Champ took a spill in the rough return waves the first trip to the beach. He slowly warmed up afterward, though. He loved to play in the sand. According to Gidget, trying to surf the Atlantic is in vain.
I think Skeezix did a fine job, just the same! 😀

Mama and Angel.
Angel called the pool and the ocean, “waterside.” A/K/A – waterslide. 😀

Enjoying a dip in the hot tub.

Wednesday was gloomy. It rained on and off all day. We went to visit the Wright Brothers’ Memorial at the National Park. We’ve been studying the brothers since early August. The kids recognized a bunch of what we saw and knew a smattering, but were none-the-less whiney.

Homeschooling is not always warm and fuzzy! :@

The replica of the Wright Bros. “Flyer.” At the top of the Wright Brothers’ Memorial. Daddy and kids, jumping waves.
The boys working on synchronized splashing.
Angel became a FISH on vacation.

Our second found jellyfish.
A “mermaid’s purse,” that Mr. H. found and Beau identified! He redeemed his homeschooled self on this one!
A little Sudoku!
The girls could have played in the sand all day long!