Monday - July 29, 2013

 

Our beautiful view of Lake Androscoggin in Maine.

Scott and Jeff go out to explore a Black Sand Island on the lake.

Jackson

The rest of us visit the library and attend a program with an author/illustrator, Cathryn Falwell.  She does a tremendous job with props and her stories.  She explains how she does the illustrations, shows her work and numerous storyboards, and how that is turned into a book.

Project time for the children.

This is a great quaint library, but I still think Edgar Allen Poe on Sullivan's Island is my favorite library even if this one does have a view of the lake.

Back home in the afternoon, while the baby naps, I decide to take the kayak out.  All the others have had turns, so I take a spin.

It's been a while since I have done this but it's easy to get back into it; Harris decides to accompany me in the other kayak.

Now, for those who want to ride in a canoe, here we go...

Sarah Kelly is a fantastic swimmer.

Jackson's first try in a kayak.

Snorkeling

Relaxed and happy on the dock.

Looking back at the cabin (oops camp!) from the dock.

Sun is setting over the lake.

Puzzle time with Daddy in her favorite spot.

The rest of us are playing a game at the table.

Goodnight Maine!

Sunday Afternoon - July 28, 2013

I thought I had packed it all; I had a list, I checked it twice, but it's rather hard to pack something that never makes it on the list, unless, in the connumdrum of 50,000 things going on at once, that one item just happens to pop into your mind and you remember to add it to the list or even better, pull it out and add it to the pile.  Well, the one thing I forgot?  The booster/high chair seat that we have packed for 15 years now to travel with.  But no worries, baby girl has found her own system.  Before I could think much about it, she had found this bright chair and this black stool which is just her size.  The chair was not near the bench but she moved it there and has her own little table with a view of the lake that people would pay big bucks for, her own private dining attraction.  She adores this little spot and sits to look at books or do puzzles here and eat of course.  Don't try using the stool to put your feet on when you sit in the rocker to the left (out of the picture).  You will hear "My sule, my sule!", meaning "My stool!"  We think she is adorable, in case you didn't know that yet!

Jeff and Perry hanging out at our place on Sunday afternoon for a bit.  They came over midday to check out the place and the view.

Kids having fun in the water and on the sand.

We discover there are blueberry bushes, wild, all over, and they are sweet.  We are going to try to leave enough for blueberry pancakes on Monday morning.

Picking blueberries

Sarah loves babies so she is enthralled with Katharine, who is thrilled to have a buddy.

The fruits of their picking labors.

At some point on Saturday night when we talked about our plans for the week, I mentioned that Scott might like to learn how to water ski.  So on Sunday afternoon, Perry mentioned that he'd be glad to take him out in the boat and give it a whirl.  Sarah Kelly decided she was interested too, so most of the Jackson's loaded up and took our big kids back to their place.  We followed about 40 minutes later with little ones and one or two Jackson kids.  No, I didn't keep count or do any kind of round up when leaving.  Somehow, by nightfall, everybody got back to the right place!

When we arrived, Sarah Kelly was out on the lake for her second or third try but by the time we fired up the camera, this was all I could get - coming back in the boat to the dock.  Scott had already tried several times too. I'm not sure how much Sarah Kelly liked it; she didn't want to try anymore.

Now, Jeff decided to give it a whirl.  While he is an excellent skiier and often dropped one ski to ski with only one, it has been 25 years, we decided since he has skiied at all.  We'll see how well  he remembers?

Scott decides to record it on the IPad while we watch.

Perry throwing out the rope.

He's up and off they go!  He did just great but decided to ski with both skiis. 

Coming back in.

Scott wants another try so here we go.  I rode in the boat this time to take some close up pictures of his first day water skiing.

Kim is crazy!  But she's my great friend (I'm crazy too, so we get along just fine!) and my kids love her.  I will be forever grateful to her when she took care of my kiddos for 3 days while I was flat on my back in Mt. Pleasant in 2010, 7 weeks pregnant, trying to hold onto my baby, and trying to rest like my doula had ordered me to.  She said the other day that she just couldn't do what I had done, carry and deliver 9 babies, including triplets.  Yea, right, Kim, but do you think I can fly fighter jets (A-4s)and train grown men how to dogfight in them?

Ok, Here we go with Scott, getting up!

Moving across the wake

Seems happy; I think he's got it!

Gathering the rope and pulling it in.

The view of the Jackson's dock and house from the water.

This little one is easy to keep up with; she only goes where the others kiddos do.

Playing something?

Thank you to the Jacksons (again!) for their sweet spirits.

The Old Maine Church- A Place to Worship the Lord- Sunday, July 28, 2013

 

We told the Jacksons that we'd like to go to their church with them, so Sunday morning, we loaded up for the short drive to the church they call home each summer while at the lake.

Parking lot

An incredible building built in 1850.  One of the neatest parts of the morning for me was when I discovered that the front door was standing open the entire time during the service.  There's just something about church that should be like that!

Every Sunday, the 163 year old bell gets rung. This Sunday, you can tell who wanted to ring it...

 

Rowe Boys

However, Elizabeth worked her way into the mix too for some ringing time.

Scott doing the Old Testament reading; which Kyle and Clint Jackson usually do when they're here.

Interior of the church as seen from the back.  Some renovation, such as the ceiling but original windows, pews, and floors.

After the service, Scott found a piano of course, tucked up in the vestibule behind the pews.

This is the floor; some mighty pines for this church.  The floors downstairs had even wider boards.  One can worship the Lord anywhere and as I looked out the window during the service once, my heart reflected on all that was right and good about my life and I thanked the Lord for the beautiful Maine sky and all my blessings.  I am so blessed and joyful.  My cup runneth over indeed.

Tribal Summit Down by the Lake - Saturday, July 27, 2013

I am reminded of the chant from the movie,  Horton Hears a Who?  "We are Here, We are Here, We are Here!"  "We are Here, We are Here, We are Here!"

That's how we felt on Saturday afternoon when we made it to the cabin in Maine.  Actually it's called a camp.  This must be a Yankee thing, or a Maine thing.  For me, the word camp conjures up an image of 100 girls running around screaming and multiple cabins and other places of recreation.  Not so up here, a camp is your family's place, the house, cabin, or whatever kind of structure you have near or on the lake.  Our friends, the Jacksons were instrumental in helping us find this particular camp; we were looking for something that wasn't very expensive, that would work for our family, not be too far for Jeff to go when he teaches, and would be close to our friends.  Suffice it to say, I think they would like us close by as well, so Kim definitely did some looking and calling around.  The lady we are renting from has apparently lived at this camp many years ago when her children were young.  It belonged to her family and they still use it.

 

Just a short walk down the steps from the front porch to get to the sandy beach and the dock.  Now, it may not look like much of a beach but it's perfect for our purposes and not very many camps have such great water access, much less a walk in beach.  We are looking forward to the multiple beautiful sunsets which are directly out over the water.

At the Jackson Place

The Jackson Crew and The Rowe Tribe have gotten together on Saturday evening for a summit by the lake.  I have "stolen" Kim Jackson's title for my title because I like it so much!  She wrote a great blog post, with some exxagerations of course, if you know Kim, you know what I mean, which you can read here.  We have known the Jackson family since early 1999.  She decided we didn't need to cook on our first night in and fed us Perry's Chicken Chili and the children roasted hot dogs over the fire.  Perry's parents, who live just down the road, came over too, and we visited with them again.  We have seen them over the years when they used to come for extended periods to Mt. Pleasant.  We met Perry and Kim's neighbors and their 3 grandchildren.  A very pleasant evening in the upper 70s with a gentle breeze and a fun time was had by all. 

Some of the kids from the 2 tribes, but not all!  Perry and Kim's crew (I'll call them the crew since they are both former military pilots), includes twins, Kyle and Clint, who are 20.  They were 6 when we met at East Cooper Baptist Church way back in 1999.  Ok, now I'm feeling old.  We had a just turned one year old, Scott.  Fast forward 14 years and we have delivered 8 more children and Perry and Kim obeyed the Lord's call on their lives to adopt children from China.  They now have 4 girls:  Rachel, Katie, Jenny, and Sarah.  And I'm not sure this is the end for them; I expect another adoption for them later on.  They have done such a wonderful job with the girls, who have blossomed under their care.  Rachel, who is 12 and adopted as a baby, has pretty much grown up with our Sarah Kelly, who is 12.  Now my girls are continuing to make friendships and lasting memories with their girls.

Elsie baby finds a friend.  We all couldn't decide if she liked the doggie so much because they have the same coloring or if the doggie is the same color as her "blankie"!  At any rate, Parker and the baby got along just great!

It's dark, we're all tired and happy, it's time to go to bed.  Goodnight Parker!  Goodnight Baby!  Goodnight Maine!

 

3 of the boys' guns back at our place; they are ready for adventure!