Praise you in the Storm

Been thinking of this Casting Crowns song a lot lately...

I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

[Chorus:]
And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to you
And you raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

[Chorus]

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth

Back in the nick of time

We made it back to TN, just in the nick of time!  Hurricane (now called Superstorm) Sandy has left a path of devastation all over the country.  Prayers go out to those, especially in NJ and NY. 

Wedding in NH was great, and so very "Samantha", right down to the cake and venue.  The barn look of the reception hall was great and the weather was perfect.

 The Cake, topped with bears, instead of the usual wedding people, LOVE IT!!

 Samantha being walked down the aisle by her dad and son.

The newlyweds, Samantha and Shawn, best wishes!!  Have fun in Puerto Rico!!

Up north!

We are up in NH for a wedding and seeing all our family and friends.  We saw a bunch of people on Thursday and even visited Bow High School, which seems SO small in comparison to Oak Ridge.  Anna had a sleepover with an old buddy last night.  That was fun for her.

Today is the wedding and right now it's pretty clouded over, hopefully sunny by the afternoon!  We leave right after the reception and hope to get out before the big storm (hurricane Sandy) comes up the coast.  Bogdan is thinking it will mostly be on the coast and not too much inland where we will be driving.

First grading period over

Anna was able to raise her grade in English and has promised to start afresh next period.  She is also underway with preparations for confirmation, which happens in April 2013.  She is meeting with her sponsor and discussing some good issues.

Gabriel is glad the first grading period is over as well, and while he got mostly B's, I do think he can and will do better.  He agreed that he has not taken his studies as seriously as he should.

Marian is happy that vacation has started and is happy to be packing for the trip and playing games all day. 

On our way to NH, and everyone happy for the chance to get away.

Quote of the day

The truth is that life goes on happening, even when we try to avoid it.
~Joan Chittister, "The Gift of Years"

A-mole-ia Pond

For Anna's extra credit mole project for chemistry.  She had to come up with a Mole Character. 

For those of you who are a little distant from their high school chemistry a mole is a unit of measurement used in chemistry which corresponds to a value of 6.022 x 10²³

For those of you unfamiliar with Doctor Who, Amelia Pond is a character in that TV series.  Her teacher is a BIG fan of that show.

A-mole-ia Pond in all her glory!

Postseason

Ok, so the Red Sox are not in the world series, that's the bad news.

But, the good news, neither are the Yankees....

A Pileus Iridescent Cloud Over Ethiopia

The results are in

Gabriel made 5 out 7 in one race and 4 out of ? in another race.  He was tired and still recovering from yesterday.

Anna got 3rd place in her contest, for her marbled chocolate/peanut butter pie and I came in 2nd place for my pumpkin/pecan pie!

Picture of Anna's winning pie !

Welcome to Fall!

Fall is here is TN, at least in the cold weather.  The afternoons are sometimes warm, but more often cold.  We also had our first frost, which surprised all by it coming so quickly.

Fall Festival time in TN too.  Our parish Fall Festival is in full swing.  Bogdan and Gabriel participated in the First Annual Road Rally, and surprisingly came in 2nd place!  They won a gift certificate to a restaurant and new hubcaps (which incidentally don't fit any of our cars).

Both Anna and I have entered ourselves into the pie baking contest.  Anna's entry is a marbled chocolate/peanut butter pie and mine are a pumpkin/pecan pie and a Bavarian chocolate pie.  We'll see if our entries are any good tonight at the judging.

The kids have another week of school before fall break and then we are off to NH for a family wedding.  It will be a quick trip and probably not too much time for visiting, but we'll squeeze some in.