The Last Couple Pictures From the "Overview" Post

We had a few "major" events for our family once we got back. One milestone we reached was for Michael. After 14 months - he is braces free!! And very grateful to add caramel back into his diet (is that a food group?)!

And Katie, entered the fray by having her first couple of braces put on... no caramel for her...

And we added Ziporah Fridays to our schedule. At least until the end of the year, I will be watching my niece Ziporah from 6:30 AM until 5:30 PM on Fridays. Who could say no to this??

And yet, if I'm going to be honest, it has thrown a bit of a spin on our schedule. Teaching school is not possible when she is here, which means we have been doubling up on my reading and things for the week. 11 hours is a long day, and she is 14 months old - I haven't had a 14 month old in, well, 8 years? So we've been adjusting. I also took my other 2 nieces this past Tuesday, so I am typing while I monitor the testing of my kids at the table - we have a long day of school ahead today. I really, REALLY enjoy having her here, so we will continue to adjust. All good stuff. Mike has also been taking on overtime and we have been trying to "get our act together" on a lot of fronts. It's become a balance game of sorts. And we haven't had any "real" time to do it. So - prayers needed on that front. He remains faithful...

Making Massachusetts a reality...

There were a few odd and end pictures in the summary, and here is where they come in. 

Since the beginning of the year I wanted to go to Massachusetts pretty badly. We looked into different ways of doing it, and as the time went one thing after another canceled out one plan after another. As a lot of you know, Mike's employment was spotty or non-exsistant... for four years. He started a full time job with benefits (like vacation, health, and OT) a little less than a year ago. It will be a year this month actually. Since we had benefits, we started all kinds of necessary things that we had put off because we didn't have insurance, all our creative financing had to be caught up on (you can only "do without" for so long before things need to be replaced or bought in the next size...  : P ), and we are just kind of pushing as fast as we can to some kind of solvency. As one friend put it, "Financially, you guys are steering into torpedoes..."  At least that's how I remember it. (This is a dear friend, and he was saying the honest truth. We use him and pick his financial brain frequently - He is a gift and a blessing to us!) This was a struggle in my heart as there is a definite timer ticking in my mind. See, Michael Ben is going to be 14 this year, and my mind is constantly saying to me (and I will go deeper into this thinking in another post as well!),

 "You only have four years left...." 

Mike is working all the overtime he can get his hands on right now, but there is much that has to be "fixed". And, no, this isn't a whine post, it is a provision post.

Mike's new job provides him with a number of vacation days, but getting them approved can be a challenge. There were several times over the year we tried to get off and go to MA, but they were all shot down. Finally, he talked his boss and was told to call in that morning (Tuesday morning of our North Shore adventure), and we decided to go for it. We had it all planned out. Except our friend is right. We frequently have a torpedo or two coming our way. And we got "hit" again. And that is when I have to trust. No - we didn't do this trip as wisely as we could have for sure, but "out of the blue" (which we know isn't true AT ALL!), my boss called. I have a piece work crafting job. In other words, when my boss needs plates done, I have work and I get paid per plate. My boss "happened" to call in September with a sizable "order" - a little over 500 plates t be exact. And they had to be done by the first weekend of October. My job is not skilled labor by a long shot - it is production at it's best. Repetitive, drone work. But it can be done at home, around school, and she picks up and drops off the plates - and I don't have to worry about whether or not they sell. I have been doing this off and on since Katie was 3 months old (she is 12 this November), and God has used this job to provide for us in amazing ways. I started because Mike broke his foot and ended up out of work for 12 weeks that summer. His pay dropped down to 60%, and a friend of my parents had started crafting - and needed a finisher. That would be me.

Several times when I have wondered whether I should get a "real" job, she has called with work, and we have avoided some financial issues because of it. I never know when she is going to call or what the order will be, but I have confidence that someone else does - because it ALWAYS is "just in time". This was no exception. The weeks before we left are a blur of paint, glass cleaner, and razors. In the evenings and early mornings I painted like crazy. I hit the "over 500" mark the week after we got back. And this order paid for our trip to MA. Not only that, but my boss recently was laid off from her "real job" and hopefully, the show she was going to that she needed the plates for helped her and her husband out as well. And so, I stand grateful for my plate job. It has been a means of grace and provision more times than I can remember. 

All done, and ready for pick up!

Our Last Day in Massachusetts...Part 2

After lunch at Woodman's, we headed out to Castle Hill. Castle Hill is the "summer home" of the late Richard Crane. He owned 2,100 acres. Yes. two thousand one hundred acres for his summer estate. Here is a shot of the house from the parking area.

He had to put up with views like this...

Here is the back gate to the rose garden...

The Griffins - a gift from his employees - on the back patio...

His "backyard". This is a landscaped series of hills. The idea is for the lawn to stretch out gradually to the sea. I think he got it right... Here is what you see from the house.

Each of the statues is, of course, a Greek god.

Here is a view of the house from below that wall, from the "lawn".

Here is the view from the final hill of the lawn of the sea.

We had one more stop to make on the way out... Singing Beach.

This is a beach that is primarily composed of quartz, so when you scuff your feet, it rings (it's the North Shore equivalent of Ringing Rocks...). Mike had to drop us off. If you weren't a resident, you had to park in town and walk it. We were running out of time, so he dropped us off and picked us up 10 minutes later. I wasn't thrilled. We did a property search after we got home. There is a house for sale in that area. The price was high, but the property taxes were $33,000 per year. No - that's not a misprint. So you see, I no longer have a problem giving them their own private parking lot for the beach. Here are the pictures.

No rocks or shells - but look at the patterns from the water in the sand...

And I couldn't help but take a picture of a leaf in the sand - the tress aren't that close in NJ!! LOVE THIS SHOT!!

We stopped at Putnum Pantry to pick up some snacks on the way home - old fashioned candy!

And now all of us can say that we have been to Boston in the fall.  A shot of fall foliage...

Have to mention again - we are so grateful for this opportunity to go!! More "details" on how this happened and the amazing provision of God to make this happen, as well as life post Boston - coming up next!

Last Day in Massachusetts...part one

The last day (well morning anyway) was ALL about the North Shore. Mike is from this area, and there were several things he wanted the kids to see up there. We went to see his house, but didn't get a picture (and there is some debate as to whether it's been taken down or added on to - but I digress...). After that somewhat melancholy episode, we headed over to the park he used to play in as a child... (By the way, I am not sure that girl's feet ever really touch the ground...)

OK - I spent the first 12 years of my life in Northeast Philly.... This is NOTHING like the parks we played in as children....  : P

Katie fidgeting with her camera in that one, but... One side of the sidewalk -

The other side of the sidewalk -

See all the rocks and shells (and my fashionable shoes??)??  A LOT of granite. And shells in ONE PIECE!! Mike is explaining to the kids what they are finding...

There were several people there walking their dogs and doing things people do in a park. We were stuffing our pockets full of beachy things.... TOURISTS!!!

I think every one agreed - BEST PARK EVER!!!! Or should I say EVA?

"Don't go near the water!"... Yeah - who was I kidding?

Then it was off to lunch at Woodman's of Essex (formerly known as "Eat in the Rough"). One of Mike's all time favorite restaurants. DON'T ASK HIM. It's a 45 minute conversation. Really - I timed it. We were there for the fried shrimp and clams...

Waiting...

Ordering drinks.... and ORDER UP!!!

What did everyone else think???

Maybe this is true??

At least for lunch that day...  : P 

Day two PM - Cape Ann Whale Watch - Gloucester

So, on day two after Saugus, we quick drove up to Gloucester to catch "our" boat to the whale watch. This was the first time our kids had ever been on a boat (yes - Dramamine... especially Chris who was pretty out of it by the time it kicked in enough for him not to be sick!), so this was more than one adventure! Here is the view as the ship started up...

This is a castle you can see from the bay - it is a European style castle - the man who built it couldn't seem to decide on one style - so it is a combination of 4!!! It also has a pipe organ throughout the entire house....

The lighthouse as we went out to sea...  : ) 

Leaving Gloucester behind......

Our first sighting. This was a VERY playful humpback whale that we stayed with for a good bit of our time. He kept coming up around the boat every 10 minutes or so between feeding dives. There is a protected area from Cape Cod up to Maine, and there are three feeding "ledges" that the whales tend to stay around. We went to the most Northern (Tilly's I think??). There was an organization called "Ocean Alliance" that was on board for education - they gave us a lot of information on feeding habits, size, and even names of the whales we may see. Michael Ben got the only shot we have of that tale going in. It happens SO fast that I was glad he got at least one!

Here is a humpback whale breaching the water... see the itty bit of green on the side? That is where the whale's color turns white. You can't see how big they really are while you are out there.

Another breech. This time with a blow... Again - notice the green - that's his FIN! 

Michael also got the only shot taken at the dock. For perspective - that's grown man standing on part of a fin. They spray painted the outline of a humpback on the dock - the previous pictures show the really tiny part of the upper body. Amazing creatures!!

Heading back, I had a thought. We were only 10 miles out. That's it. 10 Miles. Here is a shot from the back of the boast as we headed in....

Here is a shot from one side of the boat. Again - remember 10 miles.

The other side of the boat....

See anything?  Me neither.... the front of the boat looked the same. In fact, while the boat was moving we were freezing, so as we rushed back to shore, we were really, really looking for the sight of land. Really scanning for it. Again - we were 10 mile out. and there was NO land in sight. NONE. One of the things that struck me are the many references in scripture and song in which we refer to the sea. How vast it is! And yet, I had never realized quite the extent of that vastness. You don't have far out to go before it becomes very obvious how small you are and how great the ocean. 

Psalm 104: 25-26:

"O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In wisdom have you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
Here is the sea, great and wide,
    which teems with creatures innumerable,
    living things both small and great."

Another thought that kept running through:

"O the DEEP deep love of Jesus vast unmeasured boundless free, rolling as a mighty ocean in it's fullness over me. Underneath me all around me is the current of Your love- leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above"

and:

" Here is love vast as the ocean, loving kindness as a flood, when the prince of life our ransom, shed for us His precious blood. Who His love will not remember, who can cease to sing His praise? He can never be forgotten throughout heaven's eternal days!" 

(Actually caught myself singing it out loud!)

And some day - we will sing.... on that day

"Hallelujah -bless your name. We will bow at your throne singing Hallelujah we are finally home!!"

And we will finally feel that vastness with a full understanding!!!

"For the earth will be filled
    with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea."

 (Habakkuk 10:14) 

Come soon Lord Jesus....