Remembered Joy

"For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day" John 6:40


...an Irish Prayer by Shannon Moseley

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free
I'm following the path God laid for me.
I saw his face, I heard his call
I took his hand and left it all.
I could not stay another day
To love, to laugh, to work, or play;
Tasks left undone must stay that way.
If my parting has left a void,
then fill it with remembered joy
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
Yes, these things, I too shall miss.
My life's been full, I've savored much:
Good times, good friends, a loved-one's touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief-
Don't shorten yours with undue grief.
Be not burdened with tears of sorrow,
Enjoy the sunshine of the morrow.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God called me home and set me free.

Nancy Kelly McGuigan McGinn
1927-2007

May the road rise up to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall softly upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4

Weekend at Mayport, Weekend at Home

Kevin and Sully had an adventurous, if wet, time this past weekend while camping near the Mayport Naval Base with scouts. They left Friday evening after all the dads were home from work and packed for camping but didn't reach the campground until WAY after bedtime. They had arranged to eat breakfast on base the following morning and then tour a frigate, eat on base again, go bowling and finish up with dinner... on base. Plans went accordingly and they even had time to do some community service for the campground, which allowed them to camp for free. The rain, however, started sometime in the middle of their first night there and became an unwelcome camp guest for the duration of the trip. In spite of the wet weather, even Kevin seemed to have enjoyed the trip. He's a great guy- I'm not sure I'd have stayed through the rain. The kids, of course, didn't seem to mind it.

The Mayport trip left Nathan and I at home unaccompanied. We entertained ourselves with board games, a video or two, lunch out at Chic-fil-a, and ice cream. It was quiet, in a nice way, but we were glad when the wayfarers arrived home Sunday afternoon.

Catching Up

What have we been doing lately? Not blogging much, that's for sure! Last month seemed to fly by without too much to say. We ended up taking a three week vacation from school during which we spent time hanging out with friends (the boys mostly) and cleaning house (me mostly). I am now having a hard time getting back into a routine. We've started back with lessons and have maintained- almost daily. I'm hoping by month's end we'll be up and running more smoothly.

Sully starts band next week where he'll be playing with the beginning band as well as some sheet music with the concert band. We found a great opportunity for both boys in this particular homeschool band. It's much closer than the first band Sully was in and it's one day a week instead of three. Then, as if it wasn't appealing enough already, there is a recorder class for Nathan. He's so excited to learn to play the recorder and already has designs to move on to clarinet when he's old enough to be in the band. The band director opens up band and recorder class to moms (or dads) for free and because Nathan is only 6 and will need some extra help... guess who else is taking the recorder class! We are all looking forward to it.

I do have some pictures that I'll be posting shortly. Some are of the boys playing and some are of our trip "up rivah"- those I'm working on getting into the computer as we used a disposable camera to avoid giving our good camera a bath. It was a wise choice!