2008JeffJourney

Remembering Pearl Harbor

December 7, 2009

Or learning about it (depending on how old one is).

The Dixie Wing Commemorative Air Force's mission is to acquire, restore and preserve in flying condition a complete collection of combat aircraft flown by all military services of the US, and selected aircraft of other nations, for the education and enjoyment of present and future generations of Americans.....

Besides providing the aircraft for us to observe they also organized a time to honor those who survived the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941.  We enjoyed seeing the replica planes and had the honor of meeting two men who were in the Army barracks during the attack. 

 

Before attending the event some of us read aloud the excellent book, Attack on Pearl Harbor: The True Story of the Day America Entered WWII by Shelley Tanaka. It follows four young men (two Americans, Two Japanese) through the day.

Thank you to all of those men and women who have served our country! What freedom we do enjoy. Let us never take it lightly.

I Want To Draw

November 29, 2009

 

***Taken earlier in Nov. but we do use the golf cart to get all our stuff to the camper by way of our  steep driveway.

This was A's first declaration as she entered our home for the first time in nine days. She hurried over to a little desk and spent the next minutes on her creation. 

All the rest exerted their energies into getting the camper unpacked and stuff put away. 

Christmas music was played. 

Chili warmed.

We're home for the rest of the holidays.

Love is Patient

November 28, 2009

Now why is that the first adjective when describing love in 1 Corinthians 13? Put nine people shoulder to shoulder hours on end and it becomes apparent.

Location: Statesville KOA, Statesville, NC. Very easy on and off of I-77. Car Activities: Stickers galore (Grandma saved all those free promotional stickers for such a day as this), drawing, coloring, Finishing up Peter and the Sword of Mercy, Several more stories from Magical Melons (the sequel to Caddie Woodlawn) and E’s Konos assignment of Family Forum: reading a chapter from Our Father Abraham relating the relevance of the Old Testament followed by a lively discussion.

After hours of driving we piled out of the car to the stench as our nostrils filled with the wafting odor of the neighbor’s sewage.  Once again, setting up in the dark well after the dinner hour we hurried to get all the tubes and wires connected to take refuge in our little home. The promise of cable was nonexistent so the kids took a walk with Dad; a much better solution anyway to all the excess energy. The promise of internet was delivered; three computers were booted up for an evening of blog updating and regaining connection to our world.

Mommy, I Love You! I Want to Hold Yours Hand.

November 27, 2009

Location: CT to PA. Ending in Hershey KOA, Elizabethtown, PA.

A- called to me from the back seat breaking me from my thoughts of how each time we leave Trumbull it is hard. This is our fifth or sixth trip north this year including our summer stay at nearby K20. Scott says this qualifies us for a drawing for tickets aboard the space shuttle. We are all getting use to the 1000 mile journey.

In no time each has settled into his own job –

C drives almost every mile keeping us on the road despite wind and traffic.

M has the job of keeping still.  That is quite a task for a seven year old and can often lead to creative endeavors such as washing one’s hands with a Hershey’s kiss.

L is keeper of all cords.  She is responsible for digging out the EZ pass at each toll, attending to the audio system as well as plugging in all our cell phones which need frequent charging.

K’s eagle eye reads every sign leading us off our path in search of Panera Bread or keeps us going the right way.

D honorably donates his foot space to the latest snacks and his mom’s and sister’s stuff.

S passes out snacks, keeps up to date directions via Google Maps, reads stories and holds A-‘s hand when requested.

E keeps A- supplied in stickers and other amusements as well as steadily progresses in her own school work.

A is our keeper of time, singer and conversationalist.

And last but not least is J who keeps his seat warm, his earphones on and tolerates sitting next to a wiggly three year old.

Thanksgiving

November 26, 2009

Let all things now living unite in Thanksgiving

To God our Creator triumphantly raise….

 

Thank you for family.

 

Thank you for feasts.

Thank you for laughter.

Thank you for life.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His love is forever. Psalm 135:1

 

Unearthing Treasures

November 25, 2009

In C’s childhood room there is this attic crawl space. His dad and mom had been asking us for years to claim what is valuable. If we had only known what treasures would be unearthed, would we have been more responsive?

Among the savables:

*** A Favorite Personality from the 80's

Index cards from C’s and his friend, Steve’s, infamous college Navigator skit

Yet another box of ’77 BSA Jamboree Goodies that tell the story of one entrepreneurial lad.

Bank statements that tell the story of one young man who was very interested in the principles of compounding interest.

A file of codes, broken and unbroken, as well as an article written for his Jr. High School paper.

We came away with 4 boxes of that which couldn’t be parted with, but thankfully more than that found its way to the garbage bin.

Remnants of a New England Fall

November 24, 2009

Location: Trumbull, CT

Though we missed out on the beauty of the leaves changing color, my kids finally got to participate in a true New England raking experience.

There is nothing like it – 

the joy of jumping in the leaf pile –

the character building of sticking with a job till it is done.

 

 

***an unearthed cold soul

More Driving, Driving, Driving

November 23, 2009

Location: Hershey KOA, Elizabethtown, PA. When I called they said they were closed but not closed, so we were told to come on in and register at their night desk.  We had a time trying to find our site in the dark. They do say on their website that it’s better to arrive before dark. J Many of the kids said, “I love KOAs… They are all so nice.” The sites were typical of KOAs – close together, but there were a lot of trees. K, L and I had a nice brisk walk in the morning on their hilly land.

Books: Finished Cabin on Trouble Creek and started the sequel to Caddie Woodlawn, Magical Melons.

Five states in 5 ½ hours. Gotta love those small Northeastern states. The most exciting part was pulling into C’s Dad’s driveway. We finally arrived!

Through Ohio and into Pennsylvania

November 22, 2009

Location: Deer Creek State Park, Mt. Sterling, Ohio. In the busy season one would have a much different perception of this park. On this day we were one of 3 RV campers. The other two had roaring fires and probably had filled their water tanks before arriving. All of the bathrooms had CLOSED in bold letters written on them.

One of the greatest things about state parks is the connection with nature. After eating our oatmeal breakfast and finding creative ways to clean our hands and dishes, we were off on a family hike. We found a trail lined with leafless trees leading us to a partially drained lake. Signs of fall were all around and interesting to those of us used to the evergreen landscape of GA.

Much of the day was spent driving, driving, driving… Devotions today were taken from a chapter of the book, Singing through the Night. Other than that there was a lot of reading, wading through school work, music and audio book listening, facebooking, drawing, bickering, sleeping…. You get it. Nine people – plenty of activity.

Once again we arrived at our campground, Hershey KOA, after dark.  We made sure that this time we chose a campground that had warm showers and water hookups.  It was a special treat to have full hook ups and not worry about how much water we used to clean the pile of dishes that had built up over the past few days. The day closed with bowls of hot chicken soup, toasted Ciabatta bread, Brownies and a viewing of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. We're feeling a bit more like we're on vacation.

Onward to the Creation Museum

November 21, 2009

 

***Holding Chiquita the 4 year old Python at the Snakes Alive program. This was one of the best reptile shows we have seen, and with several reptile lovers in the family, we have seen a lot of them. Herpatologist Rick Teepen brought a large variety of unusual reptiles which he talked about and also allowed us to observe and touch.

Location: Petersburg, KY

Devotions: We tried listening to a sermon via my iPhone. It’s amazing! We could pipe John Piper’s voice from a sermon given in 1991 right into our car speakers. By going to the website DesiringGod.org we chose to listen to “The Mouth of the Righteous is a Fountain of Life.”

Meals in the Camper: Traveling by camper has been great for us in the way of food preparation.  For lunch we were able to make our sandwiches in the museum parking lot.  Also our plan of meatball grinders (prepared and frozen ahead of our trip) was able to be carried out even though we left the museum late.  We stopped at a Kroger parking lot, bought rolls and were able to heat dinner with the gas stove.  Some of the kids think we should just move into the camper.

After visiting with the crowds a year and a half ago, we knew we wanted to come back to the Creation Museum when we could enjoy taking our time through the exhibits.  We were not disappointed.  The museum does a great job challenging our thinking in regards to how everyone interprets their surroundings by what they believe in.  The museum makes no apology for interpreting scientific discoveries through the lens of scripture and also explains the views of opposing scientists.

 

***Feeding sheep at the petting zoo.

A highlight of the day was a concert by an Indian musician, Benny Prasad. He has been traveling through over 200 countries sharing his music and his testimony. By next year he hopes to have visited every country.

 

***The challenge of the swinging bridge.

10 p.m. Not having done thorough enough research before we departed we were searching for camping possibilities at six p.m. as we were leaving the museum.  Originally we planned on stopping at one of the Ohio State Parks. Little did we realize that though many are open they have closed their bath houses and shut off their water supplies.  Undaunted (and sleepy) we decided to pull off at Deer Creek State Park in Mt. Sterling, Ohio. With our gas run heat and our electric crock pot full of oatmeal we were snuggled in and asleep by 11:30.