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Name: Erin
Gender: Female
Interests: God, family, reading, stewardship, missions, healthy eating
Occupation: houseparent
Industry: education
Message: message me
Member Since:
7/18/2006
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| Check, checkAlthough summer seems to be just gaining steam, we have another summer activity to check off our list. We just wrapped up a week of VBS at our church. I worked with the preschoolers. We had over 100 total, 28 in the group I worked with. The older kids had the opportunity to take elective classes in addition to the regular Bible times each day. They took military strategies, Dr. Physics, dance, cooking, and art. They all had a great time. The classes were well organized and did a great job of tying each topic into our walk with Christ.
It was an exhausting week, but well worth it. It was also great to get to know some more people in our church. It is so large that it is rather hard to get to know people personally, but this was a great opportunity for that in addition to serving and ministering to the young hearts in our group.
Blake also wrapped up his baseball season this afternoon. They came in first place in their division which was exciting. They struggled much of the season, but started to pull together at the end, so that was good to see. When his coach was saying goodbye he told Blake he would make a great coach someday. Blake does have a great ability to anticipate and help others know how to prepare for upcoming plays. It was great to see him take some leadership on the team this year. He had a great time with that.
We have another 3 1/2 weeks of having boys in our cottage and then this will become just our home. We are glad that we are able to stay here at Glenwood for a couple years as we make the transition to a 'normal' life.
I have had a few exciting opportunities . . . I will be teaching a drama class this fall for homeschoolers. It has been a few years since I have done drama, but I look forward to getting back into it and teaching a class as well. Also, I have been seeking out some writing assignments as I have time (which isn't much right now). I was chosen as a contributor in a couple homeschool e-books which was rather exciting. Who knows what all is yet to come!
This is a huge time of change in our family, but quite exciting as well. Exploring options, and planning for intentional stewardship of all that God gives us.
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| Our trip to DC
A
bit belated, but I have finally taken the time to go through the myriad
of pictures from our trip and show a bit of what we saw.
 The capitol building
Washington
DC contains building packed with history. Every brick, every gallery,
every building, every street has a story to tell. We reveled in the
amazing magnitude of each building. Grand arches and pillars, huge
domes and ornate ceilings, innumerable artifacts and records of our
history.
The main bulk of what we spent our time on fell into
the two miles between the Capitol building and the Lincoln Memorial.
You don't realize just how humongous the building are until you are
right there. They are incredible.
 Paige at the base of the Washington Monument
Everything
was done on a grand scale, although they were separating from Great
Britain, they were still so used to their way of doing things that you
see European influence everywhere throughout the mall area. The
Washington Monument towers 600 feet into the air, and showed that even
early Americans sometimes set their sights too high. About a quarter of
the way up the brick color changes because the original effort ran out
of money and when the government decided to finish the job, the same
stone color was not available. That seems a lesson in itself.
 Of course the Smithsonian museum
is a must see. Not just one museum, the Smithsonian combines 19
museums, 9 research centers, and a zoo. We visited just two, and that
had plenty to keep us busy for a very full day. We enjoyed the Museum
of Natural History with numerous fossils and animals on exhibit. Of
course, I always try to have clear conversations with my kids about
Creation when in a place like that. I want others to overhear as well
and maybe pause and think about the 'fact' of evolution that is
presented. All fossils fit well into a creation, catastrophic flood
model. I would love to get to the Creation Museum in Kentucky some time.
 The
kids loved meeting the Wright Brothers also and getting a first hand
glimpse at their real plane (with a new cloth cover, of course). We had
just listened to a Story Hour tape about their experiences so this had
even more meaning for them.
 The
Museum of American History was closed for remodeling so we did not get
to see that, but did enjoy the other museums that we did visit.
 One day we hung out with the Washingtons at their home in Mount Vernon.
 Just
walking around the estate, it was clear why George Washington loved the
location. For those that have never been, or not recently anyway, Mount Vernon
was incredible. We could have easily spent the entire day there. So
much of the grounds and buildings have been restored to their original
splendor. There are also two buildings (air conditioned!) that offer
visitors an amazing, in depth look at Washington and the Revolutionary
War time period. For some reason I had not realized that the Declaration of Independence, written in 1776, came so long before true independence at the close of the Revolutionary War
and another 6 years passed before the first president came to power.
Sometimes we blur historical events together and yet nearly 13 years
passed between the writing of the Declaration and the swearing in of
George Washington.
Mount Vernon also shares much of what
happened in those early years of establishing the United States. I
enjoyed reliving that time period and seeing so many of the places that
hosted these happenings. Totally unimportant, but for some reason
interesting nonetheless, they have a set of Washington's dentures on
display as well and show the process of making them in those days. His
pursed lips in the portrait on our dollar bill? Probably a result of
the new dentures he had just received. No wonder older paintings rarely
show people's teeth.
Vacation time gave us a closer
glimpse into each of our children's lives in a different environment
than we usually find ourselves in.
Nathan loved the rocks.
Anytime we found ourselves on a gravel pathway, he was on the ground
picking up handfuls. We discovered how much Paige loves fountains, and
we visited many of them in those few days.
 
We
realized anew Faith's attention to detail. Especially in the Natural
History Museum she wanted to see every little thing and find out what
it was, why it was there, and what it meant. We spent a long time
looking at the detail in many exhibits there.
 And,
Brooke just loves getting her picture taken. Blake, in the background
shows one of his loves, humorous photography. He got some good ones in
on our trip.
Of course, our kids might tell you this was their favorite part of our vacation:
All
in all, an amazing time. I really enjoyed seeing downtown DC and
getting a closer look at our nation's history. The highlight for me was
spending time with family and the opportunity to learn more about each
other and Washington was a great back drop for doing so. | | |
| Last, fresh start
Sometimes a break can be a good thing. After school ended a couple
weeks ago we had a week of vacation and then a week of prep time for
the summer months. We had a great time traveling as a family and then a
good week of getting things caught up and together for our summer
school responsibilities. Now, we are ready to settle into work again for a few weeks.
Last
night we welcomed our students that will stay with us Sunday through
Friday for the next three weeks. With that welcome, we have reached 103
boys that have lived in our home in the past 9 years. Recently we
pulled out all the sign in sheets from the past nine years and realized
that we had ministered to 99 boys. This summer session put us over the
hundred mark as we have four boys staying with us that we have not had
in our cottage before.
We do not know now what impact these
weeks (or months or years in some cases) with these students will have.
We pray that our faith lived out visibly before them as they stay in
our home leaves a lasting imprint on their lives. We pray that even
those who seem opposed to our beliefs will reconsider at some point in
their lives. I would love to see each of them in eternity, but I'm sure
I will have to settle for far less than that. We pray for their safety,
their futures, their choices. They are not our own children, and yet we
have given a part of ourselves to them, and played a small role in the
people they will become. If they become 'good' people I will be glad,
but the ultimate goal is their ultimate destination. I pray we make an
eternal difference in their lives.
For nine years God has led us into this line of 'work'
and we have enjoyed much of it. Now, as we face two, three-week
sessions of summer school, we face them with the knowledge that they
will be our last. We turned in our resignation as houseparents a couple
weeks ago and this fall as students return to school, we will have just
our five in our home.
I look forward to the opportunities for
doing more with my own kids and family, to having a freer schedule,
especially on Sunday nights. However, much will be missed. We love what
we do. I love looking back over the year and seeing how much each
student has grown. Watching them speak on their graduation day about
their future plans and know that we played a part in that individual's
life. It has not always been easy by any means and sometimes the
rewards are foggy, but we have definitely enjoyed our time in this role.
Now,
it is time to move on. I don't know what this coming school year will
hold. It will be vastly different than our lives for the past nine
years. We walk forward changed, different, imprinted by their lives as
well. | | |
| The trip homeI know I am doing things out of order, but I can't bring myself to sift through the bulk of the pictures just yet, so here is our trip home from DC when we stopped in Niagara Falls . . .
After four days in DC we decided that we had a little extra time, so we
added a stop 'on the way' home. We ran up to Niagara Falls and enjoyed
the breathtaking views there.
 A little weary from traveling, but enjoying the view nonetheless.
The park was mostly empty and we had no lines to wait in anywhere. We took the Maid of the Mist boat ride and the kids were pretty impressed.
The
park itself is beautiful also with some wildlife and wonderful flowers
and walkways. We spent a few hours there before getting in the car and
heading for home (well, after 11 hours of driving, and another night in
a hotel).
Pictures do not do the falls justice.
 More to come on Washington DC itself. | | |
| DC, well half the fun is getting there, right?We returned on Friday from a trip to Washington DC and Niagara Falls. Alison's pictures are awesome, so I won't duplicate, but did want to share a few interesting ones from our trip.
First, before our trip, we had a family get together at my parents' house. They rented some ponies for the occasion and the kids had a blast riding:
Nathan, a natural 
Brooke and Faith enjoying their rides. Like the hat?
Okay, since I have 600 pictures to go through, I am going to do this a little at a time . . .
On our way out we stopped in Canton, Ohio, which is home to . . .
Anyone know? I'm sure some of you do
- The NFL Hall of Fame:
The boys went and apparently the commissioner requires all rookies to
visit the hall and get a lesson on the history of the league. So,
Charles and the boys got to hang out with some real NFL players and
listen to hall of famer Ozzie Newsome give them all the tour and pep talk. Very cool. If you are ever in the area around this time of year, there are often rookies visiting. You can check their website for dates and team listings. They were there with the rookies from the Bills, the Browns and the Patriots.
(Sorry, too lazy to flip), Sweetness and boys look good sideways too . . .
I was hoping to get to DC pictures tonight, but that will have to wait, I need some sleep.
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