I Have Learned Whatever State I'm In to Be Content

... And last week that was the state of Massachusetts.  :)  The day before a big snow storm it was bright, sunny, and simply gorgeous.  I took tons of pic while Liz and I were on a walk with the cell phone camera, which means they leave much to be desired.  Nevertheless... here is a smattering from our outing.  I know they are a bit on the small size but when I tried to enlarge them they became grainy.  Trust me, they look better this way.

The next day we had a wicked snow/sleet storm, but the day after that it was more of the same beauty, but deeper snow.  Yeah, I LOVED it!  Liz thought I was crazy.  

Whoa... is that a POST?????

Don't faint... yes, I'm actually posting.  It has been a LONG time!  So much has been happening, that I can't keep up with it.  It probably goes without saying, but this post will be picture heavy as I try to encapsulate over 4 months of our lives into one post.  Even though things have been out-of-control busy, we have still taken a few moments to enjoy some of God's beauty around, like this sunset.  The pic really doesn't do it justice.

For those who don't know, last Fall my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and has been undergoing some very intense Chemo treatments.  I have been making trips out to the Boston area to help her after the treatments, as they rough her up pretty good.  Then I come back home, and jump back into the circus of our crazy schedule. I'm happy to say that according to the last CAT scan the treatments seem to be doing good things, and hopefully after two more treatments she can go to radiation therapy.  

Meanwhile back at the ranch, life is going on with its' usual busyness.  Last November, the kids participated in the school play, which was a take off from Patch the Pirate Goes West.  Here they are in costume.  Ben was chief Halawasa, Josiah was a hilarious Cactus Patch, Jerusha was a prairie dog, Esther was one of the 4 lost girls from school, and the others were all Indians.  They did a great job!  

Esther's Solo  :)  She has such a pretty voice!

Benjamin had a solo too!  Nice deep voice for his part.  

Also, last November, our family did a concert for a church in New York for their Harvest Banquet.  We did 50 minutes of music...whew!  The kids did great, but I think it tuckered them out a little.

Sometimes Mr. Greene preaches for chapel and you can almost always expect the unexpected from him.  Believe it or not, the following pics were part of a devotional he gave last November.  

Ramp, obstacles, behind paper

Crazy teenager willing to participate (Nice outfit, eh?)

Here we go!

 He made it!

Thankfully the battery in my camera died there, so I can spare the rest of the story which had to do with rope and more boxes.  :)

Also in November, Benjamin, Esther, and Elizabeth, along with another girl from the school, Heather Greene, auditioned and were accepted into this year's Pennsylvania State Choir.  They practiced for many hours, then spent two days in Harrisburg and practiced with the rest of the 125 participants, under the talented Dr. Ledgerwood from Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown, WI.  Dale travelled down with them, and I went down for the concert on Saturday, taking the rest of the kids, on a 4 hour trip just to hear a one hour concert.  IT WAS WORTH IT!!!!!  They performed in the rotunda of the Capitol building in Harrisburg.  It was beautiful!

Bad shot of the choir... a couple dozen people missing on each side of the pic.

From left to right, starting in the back row:  Benjamin, Elizabeth, Heather Greene, Esther, Dr.Ledgerwood, and Dale.

Of course, if you are a grandparent, you already received the CD of their wonderful performance and Dale's letter with some background about the music and experience.  Hope you enjoy it!  We are wearing ours out.  Can you say, "Proud Parents"????

As has been my tradition, I had, in the midst of all the November madness, taken it upon myself to participate in NaNoWriMo.  I'm happy to say that I met the goal of 50K words!  Wasn't sure if I would make it or not, but just plugged away at it and "got'er done" as Dale likes to say.  

We have had a pretty cold winter here thus far, but that doesn't stop us from having a good time in the snow.  Benjamin and I are also in the ski club at school, but do you think I have taken any pics?  Something about a new skier (Benjamin) and a camera is irresistible, but I haven't brought it with us yet.  I missed two sessions last time I was out in Boston, so Josiah went in my stead, and seemed to like it!  

The twins are on the Girls' basketball team, and Jerusha is a cheerleader!  In fact, the only official cheerleader for the team.  Worked out that she was the only eligible girl in the right age group and had her grades up enough to cheerlead.  She is SO adorable!

I have a ton of blurry pics from actual games.  :/  None of them worth repeating here.  I really need to invest in a camera with a high speed feature!

Here is our Christmas Cactus in bloom.  We have tried our best to kill the poor thing, but it has proven to be quiet hardy.  Esther loves the blossoms!

I have been knitting and doing some quilting as well, but have taken no pics whatsoever of my projects. I'll see if I can change that soon!  

Congratulate yourselves if you made it through this "catch up" post!  Lord willing, I'll be able to keep a bit better.

Have a wonderful day!  Enjoy the winter while it lasts.  :D