Blizzard 2013

The Blizzard of 2013 came to Massachusetts on Friday and Saturday and dumped between 2 and 3 feet of snow on us in less than 24 hours.  They expected us to lose power, but, we were lucky and that didn't happen.

Kristen, on the other hand, was subject to some frustration as she was stuck at work for 24 hours as other nurses were unable to get into work.

 Due to the 60 mph winds, snow drifted up against the house and made drifts that were over 6 ft high.  It drifted up against the house, trees and our garage doors.  It even piled up on the doorknob as you could see here when I opened the door in the morning.

 Here was one view of the pile in front of the garage door.  The perspective is lacking, but it at least gives a hint of the snow up against the house.

The front of the house is a winter wonderland.  Certianly not conducive to soccer despite the net still being out.

This was the parking lot at Kristen's work when we picked her up.  It gives you an idea of what she would have been dealing with if we hadn't dropped her off and picked her up.

Jacob's Birthday Party

It was Super-Bowl Sunday yesterday, but for the Moffitt household, 3 of Jacob's friends and some other family friends, it was Jacob's 8th birthday party at Coco-Keys, an indoor water park about 45 minutes from our house.



 

I think that all the boys had a great time, though the drive was long and Jacob really enjoyed hanging out with all three of his friends.  They prettty much all stayed together the whole time.

We were lucky to have Jamie's parents, John and Sara, come with us and spend some time hanging out with us in between chasing after children.  It made for an even more memorable event for all of us that we could have a couple more friends to hang out with for the special occasion.

We even got to make it home, after dropping off the kids, in time for the fun part of the SuperBowl...as San Francisco rallied to make it a game.  Overall, it was a really fun and enjoyable day and hopefully a memorable birthday party for Jacob.

As far as Jacob now being 8, we are really looking forward to this year and hoping that he ultimately is able to bridge the gap from his more baby-ish ways to being more mature.  We know it is a difficult balancing act for him...being between Jaden and Jude is not an easy place to be....but we hope that he just tries to be himself and get attention for good things rather than acting more like Jude to get attention.

Basement finished!



Quite a difference!



Here are just a couple of pictures to show the basement now that it is finished.  It is not furnished again, but it is finished with construction...which is very exciting. 

We are now going to start pulling things from the POD and trying to make it into a livable space again.

You can see that we have carpet now instead of wood and that in the process of the repair, we renovated as well and defined the space more.  So, we now have a couple of closets for storage and we even invested in a large screen TV for the entertainment area.  Everyone is excited for us to be down there and enjoy a movie night together!

Overall, not only did we end up with great contractors who did a great job, and we ended up with a great space, but the whole experience was helpful to us in a number of ways.

• We found out that we would likely have had another flood in the future because 2 pipes were in bad shape in the ceiling.
• Our kids realized that a bad thing happening is not the end of the world.  In fact, it can be turned into a positive.
• It is helping us realize that much more how much stuff we have and how much of it WE DON'T NEED...so, that is definitely on our minds as we wrestle with what to bring back in vs get rid of...
• Great appreciation for the space again now that we have it...I think for awhile anyway it will really help us appreciate our home and that we have these living spaces that afford us great things.  I continue to pray that we will use it as God wants us to and to appreciate it for the blessing it is to us.

Jaden's First Band Concert



Jaden is dressed up WITH someplace to go :)



Really enjoyed tonight as Jaden was in both Chorus and Band performances for the first time in middle school.  He has done very well with his saxophone despite not ever practicing at home.  He definitely seems to have a natural ability that we will try to encourage.  Ultimately, if he enjoys it, I am sure he will start to practice at home too.

Here is one of the pieces that the band played.  I think they did a very nice job.  A vast majority of the kids had never played an instrument before the beginning of the year...so, this is their first concert. 

And this is one of the songs that the chorus performed.  Jaden is tough to see in the video, but if you zoom in just to the right of the director on the second row, you will be able to see him.

End of Fall Soccer Season - Jaden

Jaden races down the field



Jaden's team ended their season today.  The team was 1-2-5, with their lone win coming in the very last game that was part of the two games they played today.  I think the boys were a bit disappointed that they weren't more successful, but they did get better over the course of the year. 

They ran up against teams that were very skilled and the boys struggled to play the disciplined and controlled style that comes with the advanced skills that most of the teams had.

The team had a a picnic in between the two games to celebrate the season and desptice the cold weather, everyone hung out on the beach for a good hour...the kids even ran around without their jackets and hats, of course, and then had about an hour of downtime before their second game.

It was a good season nonetheless as Jaden enjoyed the people he was playing with, learned some skills and got to play a sport he loves on a consistent basis.

Date Night

Last night was date night for Kristen and I and she decided that we were going to play a game as part of our experience.  As we got ready to go she said, "We are going to play the alphabet game.  Our goal is to figure out as we go through the night how we do something associated with as many of the letters of the alphabet as possible, in order. To start, we are going somewhere for appetizers.  That will be our "A"."  And off we went.

Jason's Entree

 It was certainly nice to get out with her.  We talked about her interviews, her upcoming work with CASA and future thoughts...things that we don't normally get to talk about.  We also ventured to a new place for those appetizers and dinner called Tavolino.  A nice place and not too expensive.  The presentation of their food was awesome, which Kristen always enjoys:



Kristen's Entree



We both tried items that we weren't really sure we would like...and while that was part of the experience, we probably didn't end up with food that we were that enamored with...



From dinner, we went to a movie and enjoyed both laughing and getting to see some friends unexpectedly there as well.



I think we only made it to M or N in our alphabet game, but that really wasn't the point anyway.  It was a nice way to spend an evening together and the alphabet game simply helped us try some new things while being out.

Jaden's offsite school adventure

Each year at Miscoe Hill Middle School, the 5th graders go off to Nature's Classroom.  Not sure how to describe it as I don't think I know exactly what all happens when they go...so, maybe I will have to add some more details once Jaden is back.  I do know that mom is nervous about Jaden being away for 2 nights and that apparently he will journal while there.  A friend who is one the parental chaperons snapped this photo and sent it to me last night.  Excited to hear what Jaden gets to experience while out there.

A Great Rainy Day

Great Expectations

Free image courtesy  from imagerymajestic
of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So, with all respect to the title of this post, this is about the newest project that we have embarked on with our eldest two children that is slated to last for the summer...

How many books would you think you could read over the summer...if you had the summer off like the kids do?  10?  15?

Jaden got his summer reading list from school and he is required to read 2 books for the summer.  1 fiction and one non-fiction.  Now, I know that is the assignment and that he can do more...but it just irks me that the bar is SO LOW right now.

So, I told Jaden he was going to read ALL the books on the schools list that the kids had to choose from...He promptly said no way and then went on to count how many were listed...it was 65, I think.  Ok, so 65 books over the summer was a bit aggressive, so, I have backed off of that target and decided that I would approach it in a slightly different way.

If Jaden and Jacob only read 2 books this summer (actually from now through the end of summer...which gives them an extra 2 weeks...), that is fine.  That is their choice.  But, if they read 5 books they get prize level 1.  11 books is prize level 2.  18 books is prize level 3 and 26 books is prize level 4.  26 books for the summer is my goal for them.  However, I am helping them choose the books and they have to write up a small report or summary on each one to prove they are comprehending it.  They also have to mix some non-fiction in with the fiction stories as well.

I refuse to give them a low goal.  It is going to be hard for them to make level 4.  I don't want to discourage them, but I don't want them to not realize that they can do things with some hard work either.  We have put a big carrot in front of them if they can make level 4...an iPod Touch...but it will be hard work to get there.  I have Great Expectations of them.

Now we will encourage and support them to get there.  I will give some updates as we go over the next couple of months.

Kristen's a Graduate!

Kristen and me after her graduation ceremony

It is official.  She graduated last night with an Associates Degree in Nursing and deserves congratulations for making it through an incredibly difficult program over the last 2 years.  I hope that the joy, excitement and fulfillment that come from the graduation are sweetened by:

• the time invested
• the money invested
• the close calls on tests
• the study sessions
• the missed opportunity costs
• the frequent prayer requests

While many people were part of the loop as she has gone through this over the last 2 years, only a few really know how difficult it was.  God blessed Kristen's determination, heart and diligence.  Now we will get to see her bless others in a wonderful career where she will care for people as a nurse.