Priorities

I began this week thinking (knowing) that I needed help and wisdom to know what my priorities were for the week. It was a full week, and with many things to do, most of them important, I was concerned because I'd need to use my time particularly wisely. We've been fighting colds, esp. me; I spent the latter half of last week trying to get stuff done while resting and even napping. The necessary got done, but last week was a bit slower and less daunting.

Well, the Lord does have a sense of humor when you pray that your priorities would be clear. They are. Especially when you find out that your sister has forest fires raging within a few miles of her home, your kids start throwing up, and you find that all six of you have lice.

It's amazing how things come into focus when the Lord intervenes in your week!

Vivace's Sixth Favorite Color

Cheap Gas

Our local grocery store has a promotion going where you spend $50 and you get $.10 off a gallon using your rewards card at the local Sunoco stations' gas pumps. So we fill up our car about twice a month (probably less now that we have two) and we save some money. It's a nice promotion. With this particular grocery store, you have plenty of time to use it too so we tend to let it collect, and when we got the new car we used our then $.40 off to fill up - very nice. Well, some computer somewhere made a nice little (huge) mistake in our favor in our gas rewards, which no one could fix, so today, we took both cars over to the gas station and filled up. We got $2.20 OFF per gallon (plus the Sunday discount of 5 cents off as well) which means we paid $0.44 cents per gallon. We did the whole 20 gallons they allow between the two cars so it was a very very sweet deal. Thanks Price Chopper! (And you wonder at the amazing ways God takes care of our needs? I have a string of such stories, and probably a thousand more that He knows and I don't!).

Summer Work Party

I'm finally posting a few summer pictures. All of these were taken in July at Papa Bear's work party. The kids and I all had a great time - reading, eating, visiting, boat riding, swimming, playing with dogs, tubing . . . . . It was a beautiful day lakeside in the Green Mountains! And yes, we were all as happy and relaxed as we look!

Flowers

Flowers are a girl's best friend (so they say) so I'm training up my little boy to like them and learn to use them to bless others. I experimented a little in my garden this year w/various flowers, especially zinnias, and I couldn't be happier. We're presently swimming in them and have had several fresh flower bouquets in our home for almost two months now, and still going my guess until the first frost but they may even survive that if it's a light one. They came in particularly handy to share w/a friend who suffered a particularly close and surprising loss a couple weeks ago. She too likes flowers and they really do help cheer you up even when things around you are not going well. And they've cheered me too, on rainy days, crazy days, and sick days. May God continue to grace my life w/flowers and help me to know how to share them in the future!

Apple field trip!

Vivace went on a field trip to an apple orchard up on the islands last week with his pre-school class. It was his first ever school field trip and he loved it (frankly he loves everything). He learned all about how apples get baths. He told the man who was showing them around how to pick the apple ("eye to the sky!") because his siblings have told him that a thousand times since he was a wee babe. It was fun, especially the cider donuts and the playground. Can you tell he enjoyed himself? And yes, there are just three little pigs -- I mean kids -- in the class. :-)

The new car

At the beginning of September we learned that our current car (a 2000 Ford Taurus Wagon) was going to need to be replaced by next April, when it would no longer pass inspection due to a rusting frame. Papa Bear wasted no time beginning the search and we quickly found pretty much exactly what we were looking for. Without going into all the details, the kids wanted a red minivan, we wanted something that would be reliable and fit our budget, and we found a super 2003 Honda Odyssey in a private sale, in red no less, with the very bells and whistles we desired that was in super shape, and it even fit the budget. Go God! What a gift. For now we'll keep the old car and live with two vehicles until it costs us money to keep it (other than gas) or the inspection expires. The driveway feels crowded! Despite the convenience (temporarily), I think we'll be glad to be back to one car after all's said and done. Here are a few pictures of our new wheels for your viewing pleasure.