Patience is a Virtue

Of which I'm lacking.

Sorely lacking.

But I hope you have more than I do!

My boys are all home for summer break. I love my boys. They are my sunshine! But they test my patience daily. Some days I lose it. I totally lose it and I have to give myself a timeout. I give them timeouts, too. But I think it's safe to say that I'm the one that needs it the most, because as I remind Mikey often, I'm older and I should know better.

Right now, my living room is cluttered. Not just a few toys, books and papers randomly scattered. No, it's a mountain of clutter that I moved from my bedroom to the livingroom, knowing that it can't stay that way and I will be forced to deal with it. While it was ensconced in the bedroom, I could ignore it. At least until I went to bed each night. Then I tossed and turned wishing I had the energy to do something about it.

I'm glad to say my bedroom has not looked this good in 8 years. It's peaceful and relaxing. I think I'll spend my weekend in there.

Or not.

I have to get this pile taken care of.

Anyway, I said all that because I know I haven't been posting regularly and I feel bad for my readers. I'm sorry. I may not have much of anything important to impart to you folks on a daily basis, but I know that when I do post, it gives you an excuse to put off the dreaded housework, homework, errands, etc. a few minutes more. I understand this.

But it will be worth your while to keep following. I'm working up to my 100th post and in celebration of that I will be posting about 10 of my favorite things for posts 90-100. And I would like to have a giveaway for each post. So stay tuned. Hopefully, we'll reach that 100 post together before snow flies. *fingers crossed*

Remember:

Patience is a virtue

Virtue is a grace

Grace is a little girl

Who wouldn't wash her face!

I'm too old for this!

Tonight I took Eli and Samuel for a bike ride. It sounded like such a good idea. I've been needing to incorporate more exercise into my daily routine and they need an outlet for all their energy.

So we took off and decided to only go as far as the Post Office. That's probably just over a 3 mile bike ride. Not bad.

The ride there was great and exhilirating. It was Samuel's first foray past our road. And we had a great big hill to coast down and feel the wind in our faces and he loved it.

When we got to the Post Office we got drinks of water from the natural spring behind the building and then headed back home.

I taught the boys the rules of biking.....follow all rules of the road, signaling, staying on the right side, riding in single file, etc. They did great except for Samuel swerving off the road onto the gravel shoulder and then back straight into the road, almost cutting me off, forcing me into the road to avoid a collision (thank goodness there were no cars in sight).

Then we turned back onto our road and started up the hill.

Oh, boy! It was a ride. About half way. Then we got off the bikes and walked most of the way up. We got back on the bikes as soon as we were to a spot flat enough to start off from.

I am ashamed to say that it was too hard. Way too hard. I was in so much pain. My legs were tired but that's not the bad part. I couldn't catch my breath. I stopped for a last rest right before a friend's house (didn't want anyone to know I couldn't do it). Then I forced myself to ride the rest of the way to the side road we live on. As soon as I passed the neighbor's house, I stopped again to take a breather before making it the rest of the way home. Then I flopped down on the couch for 10 minutes to catch my breath and will my heart to not explode.

The sad thing is, I used to ride my bike to school everyday, until the snow flew, which was about 10 miles from our home.

I guess I must be getting old. I don't like how it feels. Not one bit!

Hot Time in the UP

Yesterday we had some very unseasonably warm weather. Very.

At 8:00am it was 38*F. At 2:30pm it was 94*F. Yowsah!

It was a very dry heat.

And there was a LOT of wind.

Know what that means?

Very extreme fire hazard. That's what it means.

And we found out all about that fire hazard last night.

On our way to church we spied a cloud of smoke to the east and all I didn't know was where the fire had originated. A fire had started just east of L'Anse and quickly spread with the wind gusting up to 50-60mph.

Mike was on the golf course and I gave him a call to see what he knew. All he knew was that the fire was a big 'un and he wasn't responding to any calls til his 18 holes were played. (Ninny!) Baraga was called to assist L'Anse around 6:30pm and the kids watched as the fire engines raced past the church. Pelkie Fire Department was put on standby later that evening (Mike was finished with his golf and ready to respond--finally!) but they were never called out.

Now, the news last night was that certain residents (one lady from our church included) were asked to evacuate just in case, but as we left L'Anse at 9:00pm we could see that it was mostly under control.

The info I heard from our local gossip is that it was sparked off by someone welding. I'm sure Mike will get the whole scoop today and I will pass it on.

That's the closest I've ever been to a forest fire and I hope it stays that way. I was really nervous yesterday....we live in the middle of the woods (literally surrounded on all sides by trees--lots of deadfall) and when I was going to get the kids from the bus I got spooked by the smoke from my neighbor's wood furnace. It was more than normal and I did notice that their chimney needs repair. You notice these things when the danger is so high. Normally, I'd just be irritated with the heavy smoke blowing into our yard. *cough*

Here is the report as of 5/21/09 on the Pinery Lake Fire in L'Anse.

Go here to see pictures of the Pinery Lake Fire.

There was also a fire in the Ishpeming area Wednesday. Go here to see pictures and get reports on the Black River Falls Fire.

Vision Forum Giveaway.....

over at Five Little Arrows. Check out Laura's blog and enter to win a DVD from the Reclaiming the Culture set recently released by Vision Forum. Laura has the link to the descriptions of each of the 5 titles offered:

You May Not Take Our Guns
The Devolution of Law
Top Ten Questions About Genesis and Creation
The State of Parental Rights in America
Christianity and Science Fiction: Reclaiming the Genre for Christ

100th Post and a Giveaway at Kelli's Blog

Head on over to Kelli's blog, Random Thoughts of a Supermom, to help celebrate the coming of summer with her 100th post and a giveaway!

Woo hoo! Who doesn't like a giveaway?

Check out her archives and see how a mother of 3 boys takes on the world.

When the kids are restless

At the bottom of Silver Mountain

you force them to climb a mountain in the rain.

Saturday morning got off to a slow start. I did not want to make a humongous breakfast, which I usually do on Saturdays, because I was up until 1:30am the night before. We had friends over. It was fun. I'll tell you about it. Later.

So, the kids were getting restless. We had seven of them here. Yes, seven. As in 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. Cinnamon's friend, Jojo spent the night because her mom was in the hospital overnight and Mikey's friend Steven spent the night because Mikey was missing him after being grounded for almost 4 months.

I got ready at 11:30, told the kids we were leaving, to get shoes, jackets, gloves and hats on. They readily complied. And we were on the road to Silver Mountain.

We made two detours on the way. One to check out Prickett Dam to see if it was full open. It was, which explains why the Sturgeon River is running so high and fast. I love it! Then we went to the other side of the dam, at the boat launch. I heard the fish calling my name. And I'm gonna heed their calling one of these days. Just gotta make sure it's legal to fish there now first.

We got to Silver Mountain and it was drizzling. There was one other car at the bottom.

The kids were so excited to go up that I had to yell for them to come back down to get a group picture.

There's a lot of stairs. I think it would hurt less if you just hiked up. I am so out of shape. I was panting by the time I got to the last step. And we still had a way to go. Ugh!

See the girls at the top of the stairs. Riley and I were last, dead last. *panting*
Just as we got to what I thought was the top, we met the other people that were up there. The guy told us to make sure we went "all the way to the top". What! You mean I have to go further?

So we did.

It was worth the extra climbing. It was beautiful in the sleet. Mmmm-hmmm. Yup, sleet. So I can only imagine how pretty it is in the sunlight.

The kids were making me nervous and they didn't want to stand real still for the pictures. So after getting a decent one, I told them they could do anything, but PUSH!

Mikey, Steven, Jojo, Cinnamon, Samuel, Riley and Eli

Then we had to head back down.

Steep, steep, stairs!

Let's just say, it's easier going up, if you can ignore the burning pain in your thighs.

Samuel, the next GQ cover model

I almost landed on my bottom a few times, slipping in the mud. Ewwww!

Riley

Eli sitting still for a few!

By the time we got to the bottom, I had a few minutes to take a cupla pictures of the kids climbing, exploring and being silly. Then we had to zip out of there--my brother came up to visit and was already at my house.

Mikey, always so dramatic (this is why I refuse to take my boys to the Grand Canyon)


Next adventure....Sugar Loaf. Or Copper Harbor (if I can get over my fear of driving there. I get car sick and the ride there is full of tickle-bellies. Oiy!)

UP Ladies Retreat 2009

I know, I know. I'm already a month behind in my blogging. And I promise, I will get to those things. Soon.

But, while I'm thinking about it, I want to tell you about the Ladies Retreat I recently attended.

Every year, our Section puts on our own Ladies Retreat because the District Ladies Retreat is a 10+ hour drive for us here in the Upper Peninsula. We have had the privilege of hearing some high-caliber women speak at our retreats.

LaJoyce Martin and Sherry Langson (my pastor's wife)

This year we were honored to welcome LaJoyce Martin as our speaker. If you have never heard her speak, you are missing some good stuff. She is very comical and has lots of wisdom. And she also has one of the most astonishing and romantic stories about how she and her "Hunk" got hooked up.

LaJoyce Martin is also a writer-a prolific writer. I was able to purchase two of her new books (Women's Secrets, Crooked Halos and Clay Feet) this time, plus 2 CD's of Bible stories (The Tattletale Trees, Let's Go to the Fires- both w/Granny Mullins). I will post reviews of all four as soon as I get through them.

This year Sis. Martin spoke on "Satan's Lullaby" (the 5 verses that put the church to sleep), "The Times of the Signs" (we still need holiness - the sign of God's people), and "The Masked Blessing" (what seems like a hard trial is really a blessing in disguise). It was ALL good.

I really appreciated "The Masked Blessing" as I'm going through a hard time right now with my niece in my home and I came to realize that it may be her being here that opens a door for my brother to come back to God.

"Satan's Lullaby" was a real wake up call. (oxymoron, eh?) We can easily be lulled into spiritual slumber by things like inactivity, comfort and shutting our eyes to things that should not be. I've gone back to this lesson over and over in the past weeks to encourage myself to stay awake in this day and time when it may be easier to just roll over and shut it all out.

All the pastors' wives present with Sis. LaJoyce Martin

Ladies Retreat is always an awesome time. I always feel so much pressure getting ready for it and fear that once I get there I'll be too tired to enjoy it all. But I really shouldn't worry. Once I got there I was able to sit down, relax and have a great time.

Marcia Gannon and Me

My Mother-in-the-Lord, Marcia Gannon, from my hometown was able to be here again this year and we were able to catch up on all the family and church news.

We also get two really awesome meals on Friday during the retreat. Our ladies provide the food, potluck-style. This year I brought a relish tray and cake balls - 1/2 were chocolate and 1/2 were strawberry. Everyone that got one was so very impressed. I really enjoyed making these.

Cake balls (thank you Bakerella and Pioneer Woman)

Pastor Bryan Langston (Marquette) baptizes {L} in the wonderful name of Jesus!

{L} was baptized on Saturday after the retreat.

I'd have to say that was the perfect ending to a perfect retreat!