Thanksgiving 2012

We arrived at the Miskiewicz's house in Raleigh, NC, on Wednesday, November 21. 

Here we are!

  Kim had cooked up a storm in preparation for the weekend.  Not only were we, Jeremy (Erin's boyfriend), Kim's mom and brother there all weekend, she was having 29 people for Thanksgiving dinner itself.  

Kim's mom is 84 and going strong.  She helped Kim a lot with the pre-cooking.

We had lasagna to eat on Wednesday night.

Jeremy proposed to Erin at the skating rink on Wednesday evening.  We were all supposed to wait in the lobby and yell "Surprise!".  We arrived before they did, and when we realized it, there was a mad rush to the cars to hide!  So typical of a Meahl/Miskiewicz get-together.

Finally waiting.

The happy couple plans to get married in September 2013.  They will both graduate from college this May.

 Thanksgiving Day arrived and it was a full and happy one!

Carys' main goal was to play with Abby.

The young girl and the old lady. 

Abby has been a part of many of our Thanksgivings, including one where she ate half the pumpkin pie while we were outside looking through Dave's telescope.

 The dining room table was usually filled with some sort of board game that would have to be cleared off in order to eat.

Let the games begin!

Kim and I have been doing Thanksgiving together since 1997, minus one year when they went to Kim's mom's house in Kentucky.  That's 15 of the last 16 years.  Wow!  Things will begin to change now as our children are getting married, joining the Air Force, etc.

Ok!  Here's what we're going to do!

On top of everything that day, Landon overflowed the toilet upstairs and before he could blink, water was running down the walls into the shower of the downstairs bathroom and into the bedroom downstairs.  It set off the smoke alarms, too!  He will never live it down!

Uncle Jim to the rescue!

Discussing the bathroom situation with the experts, Greg & Jim.

Carys had a great time playing with Julia and Bethany, the neighbor girls.  She seems to be into giving the peace sign in all her pictures now!

Carys and Bethany heading out to play.

 Finally Thanksgiving dinner was ready.  We have all our usuals that must be present and then many extras are added in depending on the number of people eating that day.

Dave is happy to finally be eating.

Carys sharing the love!

Kim, Chase and I hit Walmart on Thursday evening.  It was chaotic, but I got a few things at really incredible prices that will make Christmas so nice!  On Friday, the fun continued.

Video games in the Bonus Room (love this picture of Matt and Carys)!

More board games

Greg and Dave did some shooting in the back yard and at a range.

Kim and I did a little more shopping.  Then the four of us went out to eat at a sushi place, Erin and Jeremy went to Outback with Jeremy's parents, and everyone else had take-out pizza at home.  We had a big bonfire in the backyard to wrap up the evening.

 We planned to leave at 2pm on Saturday, so there was time for some fun prior to that.
 

See what I mean about the peace sign!

 The most hilarious pictures came from the people playing Kinect!!

Chase and Landon boxing?

Matt and Landon also boxing, though it looks more like dancing.

Greg gets in an the fun, though I have no idea what he is doing!

Greg and Matt having a heart-to-heart.

 We always take group pictures before leaving.  Here are a few!

We left at 2pm.  Unfortunately, we only got about 30 minutes down the road before the van died.  The fuel pump had to be replaced.  We managed to get it towed to a Firestone before they closed.  They ordered the parts, so it could be fixed on Sunday.  We had already checked out of our hotel (Greg, Carys & I stayed in a hotel this time because of Kim's mom being at her house.), so we spent the night at the Miskiewicz's.  That meant more time for fun.

No visit is complete without a game of Mafia.

Gerren is NOT the mafia!

Good thing we had an extra night to play!

We spent the day Sunday waiting to hear about the van and doing the other things we hadn't managed to fit in. 

Kim cut Chase's bangs for her.

Don't they look good?

Organizing the Tupperware, my idea of fun!

The wishbone wasn't quite dry enough to snap.

We enjoyed a cup of tea on the porch.

Two beautiful young ladies, Chase and Erin.

At 4:00pm the van was done, and we managed to leave by 5:00pm. 

We had a great time!

We took Landon straight to Orlando, arriving by 12:30pm.  We were home by 2:00am.  Greg had to get up at 6:30 for work, but he got to bed by 3:00am.  The next evening, we took Landon's car to him.  It was a long week going on a sleep deficit like that, but we survived.

I had to include these pictures.  I can always count on Kim to snap some great pictures of my kids' beautiful faces.

Chase - 14

Landon - 19

Carys - 6

Gerren - 17

 

 We'll be back in NC in September for Erin's wedding. We can't wait!

December Update

Well, the blog was so outdated when I came to it today that it had a Back to School background!  I've changed that now.

I don't know why I can't keep up with this blog.  I want to as there are so many things going on in our lives, but so many times those things are so discouraging that I can't bring myself to write about them.  Our financial situation and Greg's job situation have been the most discouraging over the past three or four years.  It doesn't seem to end.  In June 2011 when he got a new full-time job working for our county and supervising all construction on county buildings, we thought the end was in sight.  Between that job and working 20 hours a week part-time at the hotel, we were able to make ends meet.  That lasted a month before his hours were cut at the hotel during their slow season.  That went on for four or five months, and then he went back to 20 hours a week.

He took the job at the county which did not pay much because of the opportunity to move up there.  However, you have to work for them for a year before you're eligible to apply for other jobs.  This June marked one year of employment there for Greg.  However, no jobs have opened up 1) that pay more and 2) that Greg would be qualified for.  Once again, Greg's hours at the hotel were cut in the slow season.  When the slow season ended, rather than getting all his hours back, he got a 33% pay cut and most of his hours back.  Now, although he's working almost as much, he's making much less money.

 In the meantime, the transmission went out on his truck.  Goodbye $900! That more than wiped out or Automobile Maintenance fund.  Thankfully, there were other funds in our budget with money that allowed us to pay the bill.

In November, we were getting ready to head to North Carolina for Thanksgiving when Greg checked the tires on the van.  The back ones had worn through the the steel core.  $400 later, we had new tires on the van.  We enjoyed our Thanksgiving with our very dear friends only to have the fuel pump go out on the van before we got out of Raleigh.  $1000 and a day of missed work later, we made it home.  Thanks to a very generous gift by one of our dear friends, we had the money to pay for that auto repair anyway.

It's so hard not to be discouraged.  Greg's boss at the county will turn 65 this July and says he is retiring.  IF we can hang on until then and IF Greg could get his job, we'd be in great shape.  However, there is no guarantee of that.  Please pray for us.

Meanwhile, Landon is finishing up a very tough semester at school and does not think he'll be keeping his 4.0 GPA intact.  We knew that was nearly impossible with a Physics degree!  Gerren is finishing up his high school courses and will be 95% done in early January.  He plans to return to the Air Force recruiter and turn in all his paperwork to enlist.  He turns 18 in March and hopes to do basic training before it gets really hot in San Antonio.  :)

One more week of school and we're taking three weeks off for Christmas!  I can't remember the last time I took more than 2 weeks, but we can afford to do it this year.  I need the break!

Thanksgiving pictures to follow in a separate post.  I think Kim sent me 390 pictures! :)

The Busy Days of Fall

I want to update this blog AT LEAST once a week, but find I'm barely managing once a month! :)

It's funny how busy fall seems when you've had off from regular activities during the summer. We're trying to be more involved with our local homeschool group this year.  They've started some new things which are less co-op oriented (I like this since I've never really liked co-ops - too expensive and too much work in addition to what we're already doing).  There are now Connections groups meeting at least once a month.  They are age-grouped.  So, Carys is part of the K-2 Connections group, and Chase and Gerren participate with the High School Connections group.  We've been to one park day for each, and Carys' group has a trip to Peachwave (a frozen yogurt pay-by-the-weight place) and another park day tomorrow.

Gerren is overwhelmed with school, even though he doesn't have as much to do as Chase.  I think he's tired.  He's never been a very academic kid.  Now that he's seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, he's getting more antsy and less able to buckle down and finish.  He's taking the SAT the first Saturday of November, so we're in the last throws of prep for that.  He's halfway through Economics, only 9 weeks left.  He finished Calculus I and opted to do a personal fitness course to get ready for Basic Training (he plans to go into the Air Force immediately upon turning 18 in March) rather than Calculus II.

I think what's mostly overwhelming him is the Computer Programming I course he's taking on Florida Virtual School.  Although he loves the material and is naturally good at it, there is a lot of busy work like all other FLVS courses.  Sigh!  He's on the last module of the first semester.  His teacher is very slow about getting things graded, and then he'll have to go back and redo lessons when he's already on the next module.  So frustrating!  This semester has covered programming using Python.  Next semester is programming with Java.  So, I told him if he will just persevere and finish this module, he can use TeenCoder's first semester course which is programming with Java instead of doing the second semester of FLVS.  He breathed a sigh of relief, but he still is getting behind every day.

Right now, he has two things he didn't finish yesterday (not including the programming - he's still on Monday's assignment and now has three lessons from the last module which were FINALLY graded to correct as well).  Those two assignments are added to today's work, which probably means he'll miss youth group again tonight.  He just wastes so much time during the day.  I'll be glad when this is all over, and I know he will be, too.

In the meantime, Chase is working so hard at her Freshman classes.  I've really been impressed.  She's not been a kid that I needed to teach how to study or prepare for a test.  I think that just comes naturally to her.  I do have to work with her on her math quite a bit.  She doesn't have a natural affinity for it like both of the boys did, but she works very hard and is getting an A in Algebra I using Thinkwell.  Thinkwell is accelerated, but she chose to use it as she wants to study meteorology in college and will need a lot of upper level math.  I like a girl who knows her own mind! :)

Church Paradigm

I'm so discouraged with the state of the church in the US.  I think Landon feels the same way as he's almost given up finding a church in Orlando.  Orlando!  We haven't given up yet, but we're so discouraged.

We have never felt like our current church is our family.  We've been attending there for two years now.  Never once has anyone invited us over for dinner or even coffee.  Never once has anyone even asked us to go out to eat with them after church.  There are no other homeschooling families in our church.  I am so lonely.

I am making my way through this blog post written by futuristguy who is a frequent commenter on another blog I like to read, The Wartburg Watch.  Some parts have really hit home with me, and I wonder where to find a church like that.

In the section "Trends in Managing Membership", he wrote: 

"Seeker-sensitive" programs and using key church services as a platform for evangelism are based on a consumerist paradigm; discipleship - TRUE discipleship - is based on a participatory/producer paradigm. The emerging paradigm that will be in ascendancy soon...  is based on a producer mentality.  Churches that reinforce spiritual consumerism will be functioning on a paradigm in decline that will be in full decay within 25 to 50 years. The time is now to transition toward an integrative, holistic, producer-use-your-giftings paradigm. If we can connect God’s people into meaningful ministry at levels appropriate to their gifts and spiritual maturity, I suspect many aspects of being/doing church will take care of themselves, as long as there is intentional discipleship and training (emphasis mine).

Though our current church is not based on a consumerist paradigm, there is still no attempt to connect people "into meaningful ministry at levels appropriate to their gifts".  Instead there's a lot of micromanaging of ministry by the paid staff.

Under "Trends in Church Communications" he writes:

In [Traditional or Pragmatic paradigms], the leader has automatic authority to decide and lead because of their official positions/roles. In the emerging Holistic paradigm, leaders earn authorization to advise and influence based on a relationship of trust. I suspect many churches, denominations, and ministries experience significant breakdowns in their communication systems. Do we follow through on what we say? Do we promise things too far beyond what we know we can fulfill? Does anyone take notes at meetings so we don’t waste time later trying to reconstruct what the decisions and details were? Whatever the specifics, leaders (and therefore their Kingdom enterprises) often are not proving trustworthy, and that is a warning signal to those who crave the security of trustworthy leaders. (In an America where many children come from homes of divorce, and where typical senior pastor turnover is around three years if I remember correctly, consistency and continuity are essential for maintaining leadership roles in the lives of generations X, Y, and Z. In an unstable world, at least we can offer godly security of doing things decently and in order, and keeping our word!)

 Doing things "decently and in order"?  "Keeping our word"?  Where are those churches?  I haven't been involved in a church like that in a long time, maybe not ever!  Well, we haven't given up yet.  We're still looking for a church where " the locus of leadership is shifting from professionals to participants, and the focus is shifting from authority to authorization."  As futurist guy writes:

 Power has traditionally been in the hands of the paid church leaders, and their decisions needed to be implemented loyally in deference to their positions of authority. Power is now in the hands of participants, who authorize influence to institutional leaders based on maintaining a relationship of trust. This means participants may well not continue their involvement if trust is not established after a reasonable period of relating, or if it is broken and  not mended. Thus, I would urge leaders to review all “systems issues” and “church service styles” in light of TRUST. If mutual trust is not the core of bridging generations and paradigms, then the legacy of the Traditionals and Pragmatics will not be sustained, even with well-intentioned “tweaks” of programs and structures in order to seem more Holistic-friendly.

Yes!

Tough Week

We got home from Sarasota on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend.  Landon was home from UCF, and we had a nice weekend.  On Monday, however, he woke up with vertigo.  It got worse as the day went on.  So, we had to make an unexpected trip to Orlando to take him and his car back to school.  He was up all night with dry heaves from the vertigo.  I convinced him to go to the clinic after his lab, and they gave him a prescription.  He feels okay as long as he takes it.  If he's not better in 10 days, he's supposed to go back.

On Tuesday, Greg, Chase and Gerren were headed to CAP and the transmission started going out on Greg's truck.  He managed to limp back to Ocala.  Thankfully, he has his motorcycle which he drove to work Wednesday.  During lunch, he called a local place that sells used parts and was able to get a transmission for $475.  One of the senior members at their CAP squadron has an auto repair place and will put it in for him very reasonably.  However, it's still a nearly $1000 repair which we cannot afford.

On Thursday morning, he went out to start his motorcycle and found that he'd left the key in it and turned on all night.  Needless to say, it wouldn't start.  He had to take my van to work on my usual grocery shopping day.  When he got home the battery still wasn't charged, so he had to take my van another day and go to buy a new battery for the motorcycle.  The Walmart he went to was out of them.  So, after pizza and a movie for family night, he headed to the Walmart near us and bought one.  He came home, charged it up for several hours, tried to put it in his motorcycle, and it wouldn't fit.  He had to go back to Walmart and exchange it.  He got to bed at 1:45am Saturday morning just to get back up at 6:30 to go to work at the hotel (his second job).

Then, he found out that his hours at the hotel were cut AGAIN due to it being their slow season.  They were cut at the end of June from 20-12 hours per week, and now he's down to 8.  We like having him home, but we cannot afford it!

I can only speak from our personal experience, but we are in NO way better off than we were four years ago.  I guess you can figure out who we're voting for in November.

The Last Hurrah of Summer

 As in previous years, we did 4 weeks of school then headed to Suntide Island Beach Club for our annual timeshare week.  Carys has been there every year since she was born and has made some great friends.  This year was awesome because it was the first time since 2006 that Greg was able to stay the whole week. 

Greg and Carys in the hot tub

Chase doesn't want to have her picture taken.

Greg worked on teaching Carys to swim.

This is what Gerren and Chase did most of the time.

This is what I did most of the time!

Chase STILL doesn't want her picture taken.

Carys lost another tooth one night.

Isabella and Bianca and their family have the condo next to ours.

Carys looks forward to playing with them all year!

In the pool with Mom

We met the Beatty family at Suntide four years ago.  They rent there at least once a year.  We hadn't been back at the same time until this year. Sherry, the mom, thought she recognized Chase and came over and asked.  Chase and Micaela struck up their friendship again.  Micaela taught Chase how to make these bracelets she'd been trying to learn to make on her own.

Micaela and Nolan

Gerren and Chase finally came out of the room on the last day.

Playing pool with Micaela and Nolan was too good to pass up

One last picture of Carys swimming

We had an awesome, relaxing time - the best time I've had in years although we missed Landon!  I guess we'd better get used to that.