Prayer for Today

God our Father,
you made the great lights in our sky:
the sun to rule in the day,
and the moon and the stars in the night
- all because your great love lasts for ever.
Our sun and moon
and the stars that you call by name
all give you praise,
because they do what they were created to do.
Lead me, Father,
to reflect the light of Christ your Son
and so live fully
as, in your love, you created me to do. Amen.

2 weeks already

School has been in the swing for 2 weeks already and we are as busy as ever. The kids are all enjoying school.

Bogdan was excited to receive his new Macbook Air from work. He is amazed at how light it is, paper-thin he describes.

Gabriel has been rowing after school, 3 days per week. He loves it and is the position of coxswain, most of the time. The cox is the person in charge of a boat's navigation and steering. The root of the word has a literal meaning of "boat servant".

We are missing our Family Beach Reunion today, but everyone realizes our distance causes us to be away.

Rowing is a go!

Looks like rowing is a go for Gabriel! He will be on the novice (JV) team and really likes the physical part of rowing (in addition to the actual rowing part).

Many kids from this rowing group have gone on to row in college and many get scholarships, Mom and Dad are hopeful....

Sugar High

We made our annual trek to the Mast General Store, kind of an all around store, trendy stuff, touristy stuff and candy by the pound. We bought just over a pound of candy and the kids all got interesting sodas (birch beer, root beer, Nehi, etc.) Hopefully, this will keep them happy for awhile, meanwhile the sugar high is over and the kids are at school (and not allowed to bring candy to school!)

Allergy testing

Due to Gabriel's recent and increasing episodes of angioedema (check out visual images of this online), he had to have more allergy testing done.

He is officially allergic to mold, cats, dogs, and dust mites. So, we are trying something for 2 months and then have him seen again. Until then, we also have a prescription for an EpiPen, should it happen to his throat. Mostly the angioedema has been occurring on his face, hands and feet. I took a picture of it the last time it happened, and brought it to the doctor's visit today. (they were happy to see an example of it) But, I promised him I would not embarrass him by posting it on the blog. :)

First Day of School

Highlights of the first day of school

1) Anna didn't get lost!
2) But, she didn't know where to get off for her bus, so she stayed on the bus until the end and then the bus driver dropped her off in front of the house. Hopefully, she'll figure out where to get off today.
3) Gabriel is in classes with some friends.
4) He tries out for the novice (JV) rowing team and is still feeling the pain today.
5) Marian is still wondering why she got the only male teacher in 2nd grade...

Make Good Choices!

Quoting one of the kids' favorite movies (the new version of "Freaky Friday"), I told the kids as they were off to school "Make Good Choices!"

All were up early and eager for school. Marian did speak a single word to her new teacher, at which point I told him that she was very shy. Hopefully, she'll feel more comfortable with him by the end of the year?!

It's Official

We've been in TN for a year now. Some days it seems longer...

Still miss NH and all our friends there.

Last day of vacation

The kids are officially done summer vacation.

Anna had her orientation for high school (she is very nervous for high school), she likes her teachers and was accepted to the Early Childhood Academy. That's really just a series of classes where they learn about teaching young kids and eventually teach the preschool classes at the town's preschool. (offered free by the town)

Marian is devastated because she has a "boy" teacher!! I hope she can handle it. She has 2 friends in her class, so she's happy about that.

Gabriel finally finished his writing assignment for his summer reading. (Just in time!) He tries out for the rowing team all next week. He'll find out at the end of next week if he's made it.

Tax free holiday

As is the trend with other states, Tennessee is making this week a tax-free weekend. Of course, I don't need to buy anything right now, so it won't affect me. The kids are all set on clothes, school supplies and computers (those are the only items that are tax-free)

Anna is still chipping away at her reading for the school year. She's not too impressed with Animal Farm.

We went to Frozen Head State Park yesterday, hoping to cool off in the streams and waterfalls there, but it was pretty much dried up and the streams were not running at all in many places. I guess we'll have to try it again in early spring.

10 days and counting

Gabriel just looked at the calendar and said, "10 more days until school" with a sigh. He and Anna still have yet to finish their summer reading assignments. So, on this rainy day, they are cleaning their rooms and then attacking their summer reading.

It has been hot lately, but not unbearable. We do have central air conditioning in the house after all, I'm sure people in South America and Africa suffer more than us pampered US citizens. We have kept inside and stayed cool that way.

Gabriel has made a tough decision to not pursue football. He has been diligently going to practice and has never been doing any plays. He is the smallest on the team and has seen that those that are chosen are larger than he. So, he had a talk with the coach and left the team amicably. He has decided (after 2 weeks of rowing camp) to pursue rowing or crew. He loves it. He will be signing up for the fall rowing program. I think it's a good decision for him. We are close enough for him to bike to the marina and his good friend Matt is joining as well. (So, I assume Matt will be over plenty before or after practice.)

Kitchen Catastrophe

Hello Blog Viewers Anna here, telling you about my Kitchen Catastrophe. Ok, so I had successfully made hot dogs by steaming them and I was making Brats for my Dad for when he got home. My Mom was at a meeting so I was in charge. I went into another room and started watching TV and COMPLETELY forgot about the Brats until Marian noticed smoke in the Kitchen. It turns out the water had completely boiled off and all that was left were Brats burnt on one side and resting in a completely ruined small sauce pan and steamer basket. By this time, both my mom and dad had come home. I did the best I could in cleaning them, but they were still ruined and so we had to throw them away. As for the smoke, I had to open all the windows in the house to get the smoke out. Goodbye for now and I have definitely learned my lesson.