Raspberry Festival!

Every year we go to the East Winthrop Baptist Church Raspberry Festival.  We actually plan our kids' flights around the event! :)

The Church ladies (and men) get together and make pies and other goodies to sell as a fundraiser and I buy enough for our family, friends, and Church on Sunday.  They are yummy and have the best crust!  It took me a while to notice the cross placed at the top of each pie...

One of the Church families owns a raspberry farm and donates raspberries to make sauce for the home made waffle breakfast.  Topped off with whipped cream and sides of bacon and sausage make it a big "Isa no-no" but a once a year treat. :)

Our friend, Richard, takes everyone for a ride in his Model A Ford - we're looking young compared to the car! :)

The kids loved the rumble seat and the men loved the classic car

But most of all, we enjoyed fellowship with the New England Brethren. :)  We finished off the morning with a quick trip to the Blueberry Farm for some afternoon snacks

Enjoying fun on the lake and peaceful afternoons.  Looking forward to sharing our goodies at Church tomorrow!

Blessings,

Kim

Friends at the Lake

Our neighbors from Charleston were in Boston for the summer and decided to drive up and visit.  We started with a "Lobsta' Roast" for Perry's birthday.

The Colbrunns have 3 girls, and since Greg had to stay and work, Perry had a houseful of women.  He was a good sport pulling us all on tubes and teaching the littles (and bigs) how to ski.

Perry and I took a spin around the lake

The girls spent all day in the lake - swimming and kayaking.

and we invited our Maine family and friends for a weenie roast.

Perry got some "male bonding" in...

and Nana had fun with the girls

We finished with popcorn, s'mores, and late night hide and seek.

The only thing better than Maine in the summer is sharing it with friends.  Blessings, Kim

Summer Fun!

Ok - I haven't posted in a while - but read on and you'll see why!  We kicked off our summer with the girls' first ever 5K race!  Katie and I were the road crew - as we prefer swimming and biking. :)  The girls all placed in the top 3 along with one of their fellow homeschooling friends.

Later that morning it was on to a Double Dutch exhibition - where they jumped for an hour or so and had a pizza party afterwards.  The "Jumping Jacksons" were recognized for their State performance and qualification for World.

Next, the big girls went off to golf camp and the little girls to Art Camp with a neighbor (thanks, Lexi!!)  Followed by trips to the beach with the big bro's when they weren't working.

Next it was a combo 21st birthday for the boys and Father's Day for Perry.  I bought them a Watercraft tour of the local islands and off they went!

And then out to dinner with Grandma (Grandpa was busy keeping the neighborhood watch meeting going) at California Dreaming.

Then half the family trekked northward for our annual 21 hour migration to Maine, while the rest caught up to them a week later by air.  The big guys stayed to anchor down the fort.

And now we can rest.

Sort of....

Hope your summer is just as wonderful.  Blessings, Kim

"...the joy of the Lord is your strength."   Nehemiah 8:10b

Happiest Mother's Day Ever!

I woke up to busy little girls this morning!  They made me gluten free oatmeal waffles (yummy - I like them better than the regular kind!)  Served with a piece of bacon and a fragrant jasmine vase. :)  The best part is that they know how to clean up as well!

Then they gave me such creative home made gifts!  Dad was gone all week, so they had no one to take them shopping.  So Sarah made me a beautiful flower portrait:

And Jenny, Rachel, and Katie chipped in and gave me money in a home made "gift card" for my favorite dinner at Carabbas!

Their home made cards are always the delight of the day - I'm so blessed!!

And yes - I got my pink cycling gloves...thanks, Hubby! :)

What a wonderful morning with my family.  Heading out to Church soon to see my big guys - life is good.  Can't think of a better place to be on a morning filled with such thankfulness.  As Jenny (and Paul) said in her card, "Rejoice in the Lord always!  Again, I say, rejoice!"  Philippians 4:4

Blessings,

Kim

Double Dutch 2014

The girls started Double Dutch Jump roping this year and have come a long way!  Their first few weeks were a struggle to even "get in" the rope - but they stuck with it and by the end of they year they were doing tricks and doubles.  They qualified for regionals at Florence in the "Jump Off," traveled to Sumter for regionals and qualified for the State Competition this week in North Charleston.  Although they had a fairly basic routine, they performed it flawlessly and placed in 3rd place qualifying them for the World Championships.

I was so excited by their tricks routine that I forgot to video tape it - BIG bummer!  :(  It was the first time they were able to pull off the kicks and low jumping, etc.  But I did get a 1 min. video of the short compulsory routine that is an easy 25 sec basic maneuver test for all the kids - you can see it here. 

I am so proud of their hard work and persistence, and so thankful to have such a wonderful Christian coach (Miss Flo) to encourage them.

When they were setting up the trophy tables, Jenny's eyes sparkled.  I'd never seen someone so excited about the possibility of receiving a trophy.  So when they placed 3rd, she came over and proudly told me that it was the first trophy that she'd ever gotten.  It was all I could do to keep from tearing up over her delight - something we take for granted when our kiddos do 8 zillion sports and music competitions from the age of 2.  

This precious child spent two years waiting for a school to accept her for attendance in her hometown.  (due to her orphan status.)  Here, the sky is the limit!  Love these kiddos - they bring me so much more joy than "retirement."  Had our celebration at the Chinese buffet (Miss Flo couldn't believe what these girls put away!) and paying it back with my Isagenix shakes today.  :)  So glad God put these beautiful souls in our lives.

Blessings,

Kim

Conner is coming home!

For those of you who followed our trip to China in 2012, you may remember a talented blind boy we happened to see while touring Jenny's SWI.  The director allowed us to video tape his piano playing, (you can see it  here)  and across the ocean, on the other side of the world, God was preparing his parents' hearts.  After two long years of mixed up paperwork and challenges, they left on a plane yesterday to bring this sweet boy home.  Both are former piano teachers. :)  We serve a great God - praising him today for this sweet boy's family.  You can follow along with them here:  http://www.abeautifulroad.com

Blessings,

Kim

Spring is here!!

We headed out yesterday for an Easter egg hunt but forgot our park pass and had to find something else to do. We ended up at the bridge park early, meeting some friends for a windy bridge climb and beautiful views.

Sarah and Jenny were thrilled as they hadn't done this before.  It was so windy that the little wispy blond girl was blown over!  It was fun to see all the young moms in the park with their toddlers and strollers.  Sadly, a little boy was left alone at the park (yep - here in Mt. Pleasant) and the police had to take him.  It was sad for my girls to see with their own abandonment stories.

It was fun to see some ladies that are just starting their Isagenix journeys - Rene has already lost 23 lbs in a little more than a month!  I love seeing people get healthy - and hubby and I are now at our goal weight. It's so fun to "shop in my own closet," and to see the kids following our lead in healthy eating.  That is, till Mom gets involved.  I took them to Whole Foods and bought them Easter treats - yikes!  I suppose a little here and there is ok.  I'll pack more lemon bars next time! :)

Our most exciting news was when I gave in and had my cholesterol tested after a little over 4 weeks.  I was DOWN 40 POINTS - and only in the bad stuff - LDL's and Triglycerides!!!!  I took a picture as I'm such a skeptic and wanted others to have some proof!  Here is is. :)

So I've sounded like a bit of a looney toon on my fb page - hawking Isagenix - but it's such a huge weight off my chest to not have my docs pressing me to go back on statins.  They cause me severe joint and muscle pain for some reason - and I've avoided them for the last 4 years.  With young children, it's been a worry to have such high numbers.... Hoping others can find some relief! I'm back to my flight school day numbers - and tried on my flight suit to see if it still fit!

I'm planning the girl's homeschooling classes for next year and am so excited as Rachel is moving into Algebra.  It's my favorite math class and I can't wait to work on it with her!  She'll also be starting Spanish with Señor Cancino at BJU Press - he's hilarious and lots of fun with the kids - I enjoyed the class when my boys took it.  The littles will be doing Elementary Spanish, as the Hebrew was a little too challenging for my newest girls and the big girls had no one to practice with.  We have lots of Spanish speakers in town. :) They love the little hedgehog puppet and Bible Club songs.  It would be a great help with a Latin America missions trip!

The girls have been doing incredibly well in school.  Jenny and Sarah have both beat us all at Bananagrams - a fast paced Scrabble like game.  Their English progress is amazing!  Jenny still has difficulty expressing herself with helping verbs and tenses, but younger Sarah sounds almost native.  Jenny is reading beautifully, however, and is completely immersed in Gloria Whelan's Impossible Journey right now as we study the Russian Revolution.  We read Angel on the Square aloud, and the girls hung on every word.  GREAT story!!

We're loving our new healthy life and learning to cook with new healthy ingredients.  Hubby has mastered the Kale Superfood Salad which is mediocre at best at Whole Foods.  I'm glad I gave in to desperation and tried the Isagenix plan - it's really changed the way we eat in a fun and easy way.  I'm keeping one shake a day because I love it as a base for smoothies, and the extra protein is a great supplement to our diet.  Can't give up the Ionix Supreme and Isalean Bars, either (especially the Lemon!) - and it's nice to know that if I'm not counting calories well, I can just do a few days of 2 shakes and get back on track.  Praying for those whose journey to health is longer - it's so worth it!

Blessings, Kim