A Fave Gift

Well, I should have pictures of our Christmas by now, but I used my Mom's camera so it could be awhile. :) Mom came up and shared supper with us on Christmas Eve. Then we opened presents from the Grandparents as tradition dictates. hehe. The next morning we called Mom as soon as the kids were stirring and she came up to enjoy Christmas with us. Carey and Marie showed up in time for Christmas dinner and spent the afternoon with us, too.

This is a picture that Mikayla took of one of her gifts. I got the girls matching bedspreads. I also made some wall art for them, so she took a pic after it was all fixed up the way she wanted.

Outreach into the Community

Every year for the last four of five years, we have been asked to tell the Christmas story at Lincoln Paper and Tissue's Christmas party. We have told it with Terry flipping pictures. We have told it while having children from the audience come and help act it out. This year we had our children act it out while Papa told the story. Nate was both Joseph and a shepherd and you can tell from the picture who Lanie and Mikayla were. The picture was taken by a local photographer who requested it and then she emailed it to me. I thought it was kind of cute, so decided to share. We feel blessed to have this opportunity for another outreach into the community. The first year the people seemed very rude and talked loudly throughout. The next year they were better and many sat with their kids. Last year, just about everyone sat down and listened and then commented on how nice it was afterwards. This year people greeted us like they knew us, listened well, and thanked us for doing it again. It's interesting to me how long it takes for some things in this area. But, with Terry working at the local Sears I think they recognized him better. So that is a good thing, too.

Make a Smilebox greeting

I've been experimenting with Smilebox lately. It's pretty cool!

Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley visits the little red schoolhouse in Lincoln

Flat Stanley helps us check our letterbox at the painted rock in Lincoln

Flat Stanley visits camp at Madagascal Pond

So, Alana is getting close to being done with her Maine studies that she is doing for Social Studies and that means that I had to come up with something to do when she finished. My brother posted some pics on facebook of his little boy doing a Flat Stanley project for his cousin. So I said to myself, I wonder if I could do that as a homeschooler. So I googled it--what else. Turns out that there are whole web sites devoted to the promotion of Flat Stanley projects. So with tips and research finished I decided that I would ask some of my homeschooling friends if they would be willing to participate. Then she could study the different regions of the U.S. depending on which states these said friends where from, and marking them on the map as we go along. I thought that I would email one or two friends, but then I got lazy and just put it out there on my facebook status. Well, after two days we have ten states covered with the promise of Denmark and England, too! Wow! Alana is super excited about the project, and has already run to the atlas to see where some of these places are. I can't believe how it has mushroomed! So I guess my laziness paid off in this case. Well, we decided that it would be better to send our Flat Stanley to these other homeschool kids with some information about our state. So we set out and took some pictures of Flat Stanley here in Lincoln and included in his journal some facts about Maine. He is on his way to Northern Maine right now to a sportsman's camp where he is going hunting. Then he plans to go to Virginia. We are not sure of his schedule from there, but know that he is headed to Michigan, California, South Dakota( where he might swing over to Minnesota, and then Iowa since they live near the borders of both), South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, and then we may send him overseas. How fun is that ?!! There is nothing that compares to a school project that the kid is excited about! If anyone else is interested they can contact me on Facebook, here on the blog, or email. It isn't hard and is a lot of fun for the kids. I also have several adults doing it! haha! Check it out at http://www.flatstanley.com/.

Nate's Soccer Pictures

I guess having the mouthguard in was the cool thing for pictures this year.

Ok, for the record, Mikayla wants everyone to know that she only did this for laughs, and she is not usually this retarded acting. She hated that I posted it, and in true teenage girl fashion, is all disgusted with her mother and embarrassed...blah,blah,blah,wahwah, waaaahhh. ;)
But, we did these costumes for a youth group contest. They are supposed all wear a homemade costume, no blood and gore, just fun stuff. So this is what we came up with. We will see tonight how they rate with the judges. It should be quite funny to see what some of the other kids come up with.

Mikayla's Soccer Pics

Out of Desperation...

So, I have been very, very frustrated lately shopping for my girls. I have been in that place before, but as they get older it just seems to get worse. What is it about the clothing industry that makes them think that we want to dress our still growing daughters like...how shall I say this tactfully? Well, you get my meaning, and I'm not a whack job about it either. My girls wear shorts in summer, and jeans all the time, but I do try to keep their backsides, and chests covered. I just despise those low rise jeans! And have really despaired of ever finding another shirt for Mikayla that isn't cut too low. In her age group, it is the cool thing to get a really low cut sweater and wear a camisole thingy under it, and then the bottom of the cami has lace and they let it hang out the bottom rather than tucking it in. Trouble is the camisole thingy doesn't cover much more than the sweater. Thank Heaven that winter is coming, if you get my meaning. Anyway, out of desperation, I went looking for easy things that I could possibly make for the girls. I found several blogs and sites that had tutorials for some skirts. So, with more than a little trepidation ( my sewing adventures have been more misadventures than anything else), I headed off to find fabric. Low and behold, I hit a great sale at Joanne's and bought enough material for four skirts. Terry has our motor home parked quite close to the house, and has it fixed up with electric and water. He went and put a space heater out there and set up my sewing machine. So now I even have a sewing room. I finished Lanie's first outfit without too much trouble. The next skirt is a lined drop waist that falls a bit shorter right at the knee. Mikayla is liking the look of this one, so she is next. I have no idea how I am going to tackle the shirt problem for her. For Lanie all I had to do was find a plain shirt and add a coordinating something( I think it's called a renoculus...why is beyond me.) But, it looked too young for Mikayla. IDK...any suggestions? So, here are some pics of Lanie in her new skirt and top.

Fall

Although Fall is always a busy time for us with school and programs starting up, this Fall seems to be the busiest on record to date. Terry signed all three kids up for soccer this year, and although we have done soccer in the past, this is the first year that all three of them were old enough. Alana has participated in a summer soccer program that was two weeks long, but now she is old enough for the rec dept traveling soccer team. Last year, Nathanael opted out of any sports. We probably should have pushed harder, but didn't. So now we have Mikayla on the High School JV team, Nathanael on the Jr. High team, and Alana on the traveling team for Lincoln. So far, she has played Dover, Medway, Millinocket, Howland, and Lee. Mikayla and Nathanael ride the bus to their games, but parents have to bring the rec kids to their games. So we have been in the van a lot this fall, not just to get Alana to her games, but to scream, and yell, and hoop, and holler for the other two, as well. Add piano, voice, trumpet, flute, and two different bands. Add to that two different youth groups, a college trip for Mikayla, and field trips for Alana's Maine studies( we are putting together an awesome lapbook with her Maine notebook pages that she has done. All you homeschoolers-lapbooks are really fun to do and help kids retain what they learn. It's very hands on and Lanie love it!), and a Pastor's kids retreat( a fun get together for pastors kids all over the state held in Lee). OK, now add homeschooling, and all the church stuff. It's no wonder that we are feeling a bit run down right now. Nathanael and I are battling sore throats. Hopefully, that doesn't get any worse. The kids have had official soccer pictures taken with their teams, so I hope to get those posted as soon as we get them. When soccer season is finished we hope to take a two day trip down to visit with friends in Scarborough and go to their church to see the Steve Pettit evangelistic team. We are hoping for some rest and fun with friends. I have some of the Pettit Teams music that I have downloaded for my ipod, and love it! It has a touch o' the Irish in it. They use folk instruments for accompaniment. I have never heard the guy preach, but have heard good things about it. You can hear some of their music if you go to sacredaudio. com. Hopefully, before it gets too much colder we can head out to camp to get the boat in. Can you imagine the frigidness of the water right now? This happens every year. We get busy and forget that the water gets very cold rather quickly in the Fall. Then we have to go get the boat out of the lake while our feet and legs go numb. :) For some reason, I don't think that will help my sore throat at all. Well, at least I can say that I updated my blog.

Soccer Mom

Yup, that's me, I guess. Mikayla is now on the MA Lynx soccer team as a high school freshman. Preseason has started and she has had practice doubles all week ending with a tournament round robin tomorrow in Bangor. Lee Rand snapped a bunch of pictures of preseason practices and sent us a few with Mikayla in them. So here they are.

Alana will be playing with the third and fourth grade rec. team and Nate for the Jr. High. I plan to snap some pics of them when they start and will post them. I just know I'm going to go crazy running them all over the place this Fall, but since their Dad was a soccer player and coach, he figures that his kids all need to play too, so here we go. At least he has promised to help run them around when he can, and it is very good exercise. Plus, I needed something to call PE for our homeschool. This works.

Happy Anniversary, Babe!

Sixteen years! How is that possible?! We are more in love now than at the beginning. What a blessing! We didn't have the funds to do our usual trip to the coast for a lobster dinner this year, so we bought some fresh hard shells locally, and cooked them over the wood fire at camp. Lobster, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes. YUMMO! Anyway, the kids had fun taking pics of the lobster before their demise. ;}

Summer Fun 2009

This has not been the best of summers for more reasons than one, and such a rainy summer we have had here in Maine! I determined once some warm weather finally showed up( in August!!! Just so wrong on so many levels!) to get some good times in. We were finally able to enjoy our beloved cabin, and spent some of last week out there. We plan on being there some this week, as well. We just have to squeeze some summer fun and relaxation in before school, youth groups, and other programs start up. Next week will be full of school planning and reorganizing here at the house, and then we start on the 24th, so it's now or never. Here are some pics of our time at our cabin and our time spent with our friends the Temples and the Clays at the Clays cabin.
Belly!

Go!

Set...

Ready...

Lazy morning.

Kayaks

Hammocks

Swimming.

My view.

Friends.

Cutie nephew!

Bar Harbor

We made two trips to the coast this week. One with My Aunt Gloria who was visiting from Washington, and one with our friend Doug who came over to visit from Michigan. These are some pics that he took during our day in Bar Harbor. Aunt Gloria and Mikayla took some from our day in Belfast. Maybe I can get those up later.

Family

Here's some pictures of our time with Jon and Lisa. It was so rainy that we didn't do a lot together but hang out. We did a little party for Mikayla, and that was nice.

Chosen To Be A Soldier, by Pastor Terry Upcott

This is what Terry wrote for Dad's Committal Service.

Our family would like to thank the honor guard for their services today. Dad was a Korean war veteran, and was proud to have been able to serve his country. He would often get emotional when he would talk about the veteran's here in Lincoln.
Pastor Campbell served the people of Lincoln for 291/2 years as the pastor of Bible Baptist Church. The story of how a boy from White City, Fl. wound up in Lincoln, Maine is interesting, and having just come off the 4th of July holiday, as well as Memorial Day, I'd like to take the time to tell you how Pastor Campbell's service for the Lord relates back to his military service.
II Tim. 2:4
"No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."
Pastor Campbell enlisted in the United States Navy after going to electronics school in Chicago. He had no idea that while volunteering for his country's Naval service, he would soon be serving in a different army. He had been chosen to be a soldier.
While awaiting orders in San Francisco, Pastor Campbell stayed at a service men's center. A local church group ministered there with scripture reading, sharing the gospel, and just befriending the young men who were away from home. Through their ministry Pastor Campbell not only realized that he was a sinner, but that Christ had died for him to forgive him of his sin, and to offer him a personal relationship, as well as home in Heaven. He had joined the Navy, but he was now a soldier of Jesus Christ.
The chaplain at the center and other Christian men prayed for Pastor Campbell to be stationed in a place where he could be taught the Word of God and grow. The Navy sent him to Guam. His Lord had prepared that as well. Pastor Campbell came under the ministry of Missionary Cecil Green. Cecil encouraged him to seek further training when he got back to the States. The Navy man was in basic training for the "One who had chosen him to be a soldier".
Pastor Campbell was later assigned to Winter Harbor, Maine. His Lord once again used the Navy to transport His soldier. Pastor Campbell found Emmanuel Baptist Church in Ellsworth, where he met the Clarks. They became lifelong friends, and would be used by God to bring Pastor Campbell in contact with Bob Jones University. If Guam was God's basic training, BJU was officer's candidate school. Pastor Campbell learned to preach and how to minister under one of his heroes of the faith, Dr. Bob Jones Sr.
Following college, Pastor Campbell returned to Maine, where he would work and minister in the Bangor, Skowhegan, and Athens areas; as well as in the woods of Maine as he served with Christ for the Lumberjack Mission.
Pastor Campbell received his final posting in Lincoln. He became the Pastor of Bible Baptist Church, and served faithfully for almost 30 years. Even in retirement he stayed on active reserve for his Commander. He would continue to preach as long as health would allow, and even ministered to his health care providers as his sickness became worse. Pastor Campbell had been chosen while in the Navy to be a soldier of Jesus Christ. He fulfilled the commission he received. He is now resting in the presence of the one he served so long and well.
And so we come to the cemetery today. There has been a little time to adjust to life without Dad. We still miss him, and occasionally even forget for a second that he is gone and expect in that instant to see him. Those moments hurt, but scripture gives us hope. Not a wishful thinking kind of hope, but a sure confidence that we will see Dad again.
I Thess. 4:13-18 speaks of this hope. We commit only Dad's body to the ground today. His soul is with his Savior, and we look forward to the day of reunion.

Pictures Worth A Thousand Words