Katriel’s Baptism

March 28, 2021 | Stacy

Oh – that I would have seen this joy with my own eyes.

A few weeks ago, while we were finishing up with story time, Katriel turned to me and stated, “Mom, I want to be baptized.” Can you imagine the spirit within me leaping with gratefulness?

Right after the sermon on Sunday, John walked Katriel up to speak with Pastor Tim, and a few nights later he and Miss Polly came by to talk with Katriel about what it meant.

We told Stewart and Noelle, and also William and his family, that the special day was coming. They all joined us at PCC for the morning.

Katriel grabbed a small hug as she came up.

We had a small lunch back at home with our friends.

And Miss Barb brought some special frog cupcakes from her favorite bakery on the west side.

This was super special for a few reasons.

First – Katriel almost drowned a few years ago. We don’t really talk about it. But even getting her face wet is dramatic.

Second – the rest of us were baptized together in 2018. She was really too young to grasp it, but what a joy it is for me to know she arrived at this moment 100% on her own.

CBS – techno-version

September 16, 2020 | Stacy

Katriel, Nan, and I headed to Canandaigua on the 9th to pick up our CBS books for this year’s study. It is nothing short of AWESOME how much of an effort the leadership dove into in order to provide such comprehensive start-up bags for the kids’ programming. With labelled envelopes to open at specific times through the months, this is clear that our loving volunteers poured themselves into the ministry.

Marie and Tab even got ESV Scripture Journals of the Gospel of John.

There were glitches (oh – Zoom – you never knew you’d be so popular),

But there was a lot of gladness, too.

I’m going to get a lot of exercise going up and down the stairs between girls as the technology comes in and out, but it is totally worth it.

Houghton 2020

August 29, 2020 | Stacy

College drop off day. He’s a SENIOR already. Unlike last year’s celebratory feel, this time it was somber. No mascot or musicians when you pulled onto campus. No teams to help unload and carry bags and boxes. No last lunch in the dining hall. No chapel service, nor President’s address. Today we were met at the car with a thermometer and on our way. I’m so grateful for God making Houghton a possibility. I’m proud of Stewart for juggling multiple jobs. I’m trusting God will open the next set of doors in life. And I’m praying that Houghton won’t send him home before thanksgiving break.

Look at the smile on his face. He is so happy to be back with his friends.
We are going to miss him like crazy.

I feel very strongly this coronavirus is being overstated in an effort to promote mail-in ballots for the election. I am so grateful that Houghton has been following the CDC guidelines, without being over-the-top reactionary. The plan is the students from NY have to stick to their rooms for one week (students from out of NY have already been there in “quarantine” for one week). And if all goes well they can hang out together come 9/7.

Good-bye four-wheeled friend.

October 11, 2019 | Stacy

Said goodbye to an old friend today.
I teared up a little. “It’s just a car”?
Nope. Not even close.
It was a giant God-hug the day we bought it, used, in 2005 with 88,000 miles on it.
It left here today with over 205,000 miles, and more memories than you can count.
Teams and missionaries and acting crews and lots and lots of friends got from here to there.
It isn’t too much to say I really loved this van.
I really felt like it was an extension of me, too, sort of.
OH! Fun fact! Based on what we bought it for and what we sold it for and how long we had it, it cost us < $35 a month. Yeah. Major God-hug. Thank you, Jesus. ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

New-to-us-Van

July 24, 2019 | Stacy

Once upon a time, God sent us a van.

Now He’s done it again – In a quieter, but still wonderful way.

It’s been Wonky

March 25, 2019 | Stacy

It was the fifth year that I worked on the cast party for the Finney Show, and the third year I worked with my friend Julie.
Pinterest had a kajillion ideas for the Wonka theme and it was a matter of reigning it in.

For the first time, both our husbands stayed to help decorate, and it was a very good thing that they did. It took the four of us AND another four helping adults to get the room decorated in time.

Anything super and creative is from Julie. I just bought some things from Amazon.

(Oh – I made the candy doo-dads hanging from the ceiling and the lollypops on the wall.)

willy wonka

March 24, 2019April 5, 2019 | Stacy

I’ll back track just a bit into March so that I can properly highlight the kids’ experiences with Willy Wonka at the Charles Finney school this spring.

Nigel played Mr. Salt, the father of Veruca Salt, the girl who always got what she wanted.

It just so happened that the young lady who played Veruca is the niece of my friend and co-worker, Myrna. Small world. Smile

Marie and Tabitha had roles as dancing cooks and squirrels.

They were supposed to have these silly, snooty, “French” looks on their faces.

They were so funny.

Stewart did not have an on-stage role this year. He was hired to help with audio. He did an outstanding job.

And he didn’t have to wear make-up. Winking smile

It’s all God, you know.

November 17, 2018 | Stacy

I post here on this blog long after blogging was cool. I love that a handful of you friends read here, but I mostly post as a record of our lives. I already catch the kids glancing through from time to time, and I hope it remains a viable source of family history as the years go by.

Last night, around 5:15 P.M. Stewart came in the living room to tell me the car had lost electrical power a few miles from home like it had done two other times since we had owned it. Though we know it is a relatively inexpensive fix, it was literally the straw that broke my back where “Skrt Skrt” was concerned.

At 6AM today, I was online and by 11:30AM we were test driving a car in Orleans County.

It was all God. This car has about 11,000 miles on it for $11,000, and it is a 2016 still under warranty until April. I ended up leaving John out there at 2PM so I could get home, change, and get to work by 3:30PM. I was late, but had called ahead to warn them. John did not get home until 6:00 PM, but when he did, he had a new Butler Family Commuter’s Car for the family.

It represents some humility on our part. We’ve been blessed to live debt free for many, many, many years (save the mortgage) and getting even this small loan hurts just a little. But we have been easily paying a hundred or more dollars a month on repairs for the little red one, so it makes more sense to have something younger and less worn out.

I hope the kids remember how God made this sweet little car possible for us, and I pray that it gets more than a few kids through their early college years at local schools.

Stewart’s graduation

June 2, 2018 | Stacy

I am pausing in my trip report to back track to Stewart’s graduation day. (It was also the day for Nigel and Marie’s recital, but that will be its own entry once I get the video from my sister [who is out of town herself.])
Many years ago, before I’d taken an actual looooong distance road trips, I had offered to my friend the analogy that homeschooling was like a road trip. Those early years of homeschooling were really, really hard at times. We had lots of little kids and the blessing of new babies and the landscape of homeschooling changed not year-to-year, but often day-to-day. Just getting through the basics of meals and housekeeping can keep a mom of a smaller family pretty busy, but adding homeschooling and babies to the picture offered me challenges that I was not always equipped for.
After a tough week, I remember talking to a non-homeschooling friend and likening it to a road trip:
Some days are as though you are stuck in traffic, or construction, or on a pot-hole invested room behind a garbage truck. Or the rain is driving down and the wipers aren’t working and you missed your exit. Thankfully, this is not the bulk of it.
Some days are highlights. These are like when you are at the beach, or the theme park, or the museum, or that restaurant. There are more of these days, thankfully.
But a lot of the days? Hmmm – well – in fact, MOST of the days are like when you are working down the highway. Tires rotating, mile after mile, as you make progress toward the destination. Churning and working at it. There are some noteworthy things you want to remember – you snap a picture or two – but you keep on moving. You clock in progress as you steadfastly pursue the goal.
As Stewart’s graduation came into view my mind could not help but recall details of the last 13 years. Too many to record in a post, but surprisingly easy to call up in my mind. The tears over math. The giggles over home-made productions. The read-alouds, the field trips, the science projects. The lectures and the laughter. And so many hugs.
May was so busy with me working a ton. And with the Big Road Trip looming, there was a lot on my planning plate. Somehow we preserved graduation weekend and worked at it together. And before we knew it – there we were – John, Stewart, and I, driving toward the Geneva for the ceremony.
The last leg of our trip.
I can not tell you how many times I have fallen head first into Galatians 6:9 –

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Somehow – by the grace of God – we did not give up. I had some flashes of giving up before grade 9… Oh Jesus – THANK YOU FOR SUSTAINING US!

Acts Cast Party

March 26, 2018 | Stacy

This was the boys’ fourth year in the Charles Finney School’s musical, and it was also the fourth year that I volunteered to be part of the cast party crew. Actually, last year I was tapped to take home all the left over items and the bag of doo-dads with the expectation that I would assume the lead responsibilities for this year’s party. I was more than fine with that because that meant they were excited about my kids coming back again!

My friend, Julie, agreed to be on the committee and we quickly fell into co-coordinating roles. I sincerely enjoyed working with her last year and it was very wonderful to have this opportunity to work side-by-side again. It was even better than it might sound, because literally NO ONE ELSE joined us!

You know how when you go into Party City there is a section to buy party gear for every conceivable party theme? Have you ever happened into their section for first century Middle East and Rome? Have you? No, you haven’t. Thankfully, Julie is super smart and looked up some items like “Pentecost” and “Fishermen” on Pinterest; and I am super desperate and looked up things like “Jail” and “Jerusalem.” And somehow we ended up with a few things.

Helium balloons with card stock doves represented the Pentecost.
We had Roman roads.
We had a jail, a well, two snazzy palm tree, and some signs our handy husbands each made pieces of.
And it turned out really, really cool.