Some of my Favorite Girls

This was a picture we took out on the town at Early Girl Eatery with this last session's summer staff in the snack bar, store, and crafts. Aren't they sweet?!

Farmer Chris

This is just one thing that Chris did this summer. This week he's back to school with kids coming on Thursday. I went to work today for the first time since "summer" ended on Saturday. It was a little lonely, I have to say. Now that I have more time though you can look forward to more posts!

Bear

I just thought I'd share a picture of the bear print on our back step. (Sorry there's nothing for scale.) On Wed. morning we were woken up by a call on Chris' cell phone from our neighbors across the street. They wanted to make sure that Homer was inside because there was a bear in our back yard. Thank goodness, he was! We looked outside and saw our trashcan knocked over with trash spilling out. Then we saw that he was eating apples under our apple tree. Next, he bent a fence to our neighbor's yard and walked on over. It was unreal. I mean, it's not the first time we've seen a bear nearby, but it was SO close. After he was out of sight, Chris could hear him going through other people's trash and later a car alarm went off. Needless to say, we were awake!

Independence Day

Backyard of the Troyer's home. This is a tradition they've had for years. It's always a guaranteed good time with friends, babies, food, and fireworks.

Here's the two of us since it seems that we rarely get pictures of us together these days.

Gotcha! Lucy Sloan and Knox Troyer kicking back on the 4th together.

Just taking a break from the routine of the work week.

"Say, um, nice stripes there, Knox."

Congrats to Jenn Wisecarver and Kyle Murphy who finally got engaged!!

They've only been dating for 7 years, with a small break in the middle.

I Know He's Just a Dog

...but sometimes he's almost as good as our firstborn, probably better actually for the simple fact that we can leave him outside all day if we want! So, forgive me when I go on and on as if we were from the same gene pool. He's just so darn cute to us!

Mini College Reunion

Here we are in Baltimore, actually Towson, at Carey's house. She was so great to host us all for the day. From left to right we have Lisa Garnett (whose adorable baby Richard was napping at the time of this picture), Robyn Vining (who has Jackson featured on the bottom left of this shot and also Belle, in the pool with the boys below), myself, and Carey Cooper (who also has a Jackson, red hat in pool picture, and Mia, playing with Belle in bottom photo, AND you'd never guess in this picture is 5 months prego). It was so much fun these friends who, for some, I hadn't seen in almost 5 years. All of them are the sweetest moms in the world. It's so great to see their kids as an extension of themselves and also the product of much love and nurturing.


I'm sad I didn't get a picture of Amber Gardner, who I met on the way home in Staunton, VA. She was also a member of the West View crowd and is living in Charlottesville. We had a quick, early dinner at Cracker Barrel and just enough time to catch up on the basics.


So many memories came flooding back as I drove up through Harrisonburg on 81. I was able to stop for some Kline's ice cream, where they were featuring Mint Cookies and Cream--delish! I feel like even though I'm relatively close to this part of the country, I have managed to somehow compartmentalize this part of my life and past. I so want to take advantage of the fact that we are fairly close in proximity at this point in life! (Carey lives 15 minutes max from my sister!)

I was also able to see my sister and dad in Baltimore. There's something so great and relaxing about being with family. We took my dad out for a belated Father's Day dinner. Great food, great weather, and lots of that being known feeling. Ahh.


West View Ladies unable to make it: YOU WERE MISSED!! I say we need to plan a real reunion where everyone is able to be together. I'm offering up Asheville as a possible destination. If we can secure Windy Gap for free or inexpensive lodging, there would be loads of things to do and also plenty of room. If anyone is interested, let me know!

Action Shot

Here's our pup playing with his friend Moses. He's a few weeks younger and they are so funny together. We get them together to wear them out, it's a non-stop, crazy wrestling match.

I'm still very busy with work, so I haven't had a lot to write about...except that my intern and summer staff are amazing this month. Yeah! I have off Fridays and Saturdays, so today I went to Chris' school for the first time. It's really a cute school. It's more of a small community college campus then the elementary school that I went to. He's got his own office and everything. This means that Chris got to clean out his car for the first time in a year! He's been toting everything around from school to school.

Anyways, enjoy some more pictures of Homer...

Music Fun Times

Hey Friends!

Here is my newest internet find: www.pandora.com (thanks to my friend Sanne). You can type in your favorite artist or song and Pandora will find more like it. It's so great. Seriously, I love it. Have fun!

The Calm Before the Storm

So, I was up at 5AM this morning...Week 1, Day 1 of summer is today. I can't believe it! It came so fast and it will be over even faster. I had all kinds of silly store and Sippie (snack bar) dreams last night in anticipation of training the summer staff and doing everything for the first time. I am so very excited for summer this year. We are trying a few new things this summer. For starters, I have an intern who is amazing!! This is great news all the way around. It will be such a big help! We are also going to try and open the Sippie in the morning as a coffee shop. The goal is that this will be a place for leaders to bring their kids in the morning to start the day or engage in more serious conversation. Another function of the coffee shop, will be a place for folks to go and start their day in the Word. We shall see what happens! Today between the hours of 3-5PM EST, there will be 350+ kids arriving at camp to hear more about Jesus and hopefully commit their lives to following Him. We get a "front row seat" in all of this!! Love it.

My mom is doing much better. She returned home on Friday evening and my sister arrived in Austin yesterday for a trip that had already been planned. Thank you for your prayers and intercession for her quick recovery. (Thanks, Carey!)

Please pray..

Sorry it's been so long folks. There is some news I want to share with you tonight. There certainly are a great many things to be thankful for, especially after just finishing 4 days of work week at Windy Gap. We saw over 275 people come to camp Thurs. through this morning to help us get ready for the summer God has already planned at the place I call work. Incredible.

Tonight though, there are even more praises and prayer requests that I would love to tell you about. First off, my mom had to have emergency surgery on Thurs. for an intestine that was being pinched. She had trouble breathing and her blood pressure was very low after the surgery. She was in ICU for a few days. She is now however, in an intermediate care room and, with progress, will move into a regular recovery room. I haven't been able to talk to her yet, although my brother just called to say that he had spoken with her for 30-40 minutes this afternoon and she sounded better than he expected. Great news.

I feel like I've been somewhat removed from the situation though. True I was busy with one of the busier weeks we have all year, but at times I wondered if I let myself be more focused on work than on my family and my mom's situation. It's tough feeling and being so far away and not knowing how serious the situation really is. (My parents like to protect us from worry, so sometimes I think they downplay things that really are quite significant. Parents, if you are reading this, we're onto you (Luci, Sam, and I)). Anyway, please pray for a quick recovery. While there is no cure for the leukemia, there are good seasons and there are downright hard ones. It seems like a cloud overhead that may blow away for a while, but it's out there and it could come back any minute. It's scary...so sometimes I pretend it's not back and it is really just sprinkling while the sun is still shining. (Truth be told, I actually hate this kind of weather because I don't know how to feel about it and then before I can decide, it's over and ridiculously humid.) I honestly think that the Lord may have devised this plan where my parents alternate health problems just to keep our family close even though we have each coast covered. And for this, I am grateful.

Another huge praise, Christie Smith that I wrote about a few weeks back has come out of her coma. Slowly she has regained some functioning in her arms and legs. She is talking and her eyes are open for several hours at a time. Please pray specifically for her parents now. They have taken her back to Charlotte and are overwhelmed trying to figure out life after such a dramatic life-changing event. During work week, we were led by the property manager in corporate prayer for our sister Christie. I know that God does not always (or even close) answer our prayers with the outcome that we ask for, but either way we have a choice to believe in Him or not. No matter what happens. Period.

Thanks for reading and for being our friends and family and the body of Christ. There is so much power in that! I guess when I don't post or talk to a lot of people in a few weeks it comes out on here.

Mother, I love you.

Working Hard

Here's a picture of me working hard at the 1/2 marathon last weekend in Nashville. It was way more fun than I expected (despite the all-business snapshot). It was hard not to run with all those people along the road cheering and yelling for everyone as they ran by! Not to mention all of the live music along the route (several people stopped running just to boogie to their favorite song). I thought I was in trouble a few times before we even started. I had planned to meet my friends at specific spot before the start time, but I waited and waited and soon they were telling us to go to our corral. Right about this time I also started to panic because I realized I had jumped out of the car and forgot my iPod (right there in my purse, on the floor of Chris's car, all charged up and ready with some new music!). I borrowed someone's phone and told Chris to meet me with it at one of the places we had predetermined that he'd be. I went to my corral to start the race and was looking around frantically for Julie and Hannah. I almost asked this really tall guy if he'd be willing to help me look for them (I was thinking he could yell for them or let me on his shoulders!). As we approached the start line, and I'm mentally preparing myself to run "solo" (me and 32,000 other people), I spotted them and made a b-line straight for them. We rejoiced and started the run. My time was 2 hours and 28 minutes. I'm happy with it. We'll see what happens next year (wink wink).

Big Homer Love

Here is Homer's latest glamour shot.

I know I need to update everyone with news and I hope to do it this week. Please stay tuned...

Christie Smith

Hey folks, this is a reminder to PRAY if you would. Christie was injured while training some of the new horses at Windy Gap 2 weeks ago. She is still in a coma at a hospital in Asheville. Her parents are there and waiting expectantly for any reports. It looks as though she will almost certainly have some sort of brain damage from the accident. The unknown is just to what extent--we don't know yet. Please visit www.caringbridge.org and click on "Visit a caring bridge site" and type in "christiesmith" (no space) to get the full story. She was an intern last summer and a fantastic one at that! She is so special to so many people--just see how many people are visiting her website. Please pray for her and her family during a time that no parent wants to go through. Their faith is a strong one, thank the Lord God for His ability to multiply even our own faith in Him.

Puppy Love

Everybody, meet Homer.

Homer, this is everybody.

We got a puppy! And we named him Homer after Chris's great-grandfather, Homer Dale, who helped raise him. He's got quite a name to live up to! We also call him, "Homey", "Homes", "Home slice" and other variations. So, we went to look at him last night and Chris said those magic words--"I like him." We've been looking for awhile now and Chris just hadn't seen quite the right one (I, on the other hand, could have taken all of them!). But, when he saw this one, it was all over. We borrowed a crate for him so he's been staying in that when we are out and at night. He whined A LOT last night. Chris (who swore he wouldn't) got up at 2AM and took him out. (Is this good practice or what??) I found myself wondering how he was doing as we sat in church this morning. The next step for us is the vet. He hasn't had any shots yet. His mom was mostly German Short-haired Pointer and we have no idea about his dad, so we'll just have to see how he turns out! We welcome any puppy advice!

Destination Vacation

We're off to Pigeon Forge, TN and Dollywood for a few days. Chris is on Spring Break and I took off from work. We're celebrating his birthday (the big 2-7) a little early and also getting away from all of the home improvement to be done! We'll be back on Thursday though. (I've always seen the signs for Dollywood on I-40, but never stopped--until NOW!)

Pictures from Easter

We spent Easter at the home of some friends of ours in our small group. We had a bunch of fun playing with the kids, eating delicious food, and playing a rousing game of Battle of the Sexes! I definitely have a crush on the bunny rabbit. Notice the profile shot, spikey hair, roundest cheeks I've ever seen--does it get any better?? His name is Jack. His parents are Jay and Kate Womack. They are wonderful and we love our other friends Blair and Cara and the Boldens too! Blair and Cara are pictured sitting on the couch playing with Daniel (the Boldens oldest) and Ashley is the cute little thing exploring the world of plastic eggs and everything pastel. We had a great time. These folks have really become our new family in town. They are such a huge answer to prayer for me and Chris. Since joining the church and spending Sunday nights with this group, we have felt more at home than ever here.

Happy Easter!

Hi Everyone! I hope you are having a blessed day enjoying the celebration of our risen Lord! Here are some shots of what we woke up to yesterday morning. It sure doesn't feel like Easter in many ways, but that doesn't change truth. I have to admit though, Easter has always been a difficult holiday for me to really pause and take in. It always seems so short (compared to Christmas) and it's over before you know it. Also, it is just a weird concept that we celebrate death (two ideas that don't traditionally go together) and also an empty tomb. I guess at age 29 (having been a walking Christian for 11 years), I still struggle with how to celebrate Easter. I know it is something that we celebrate everyday as a Christian. It is the reason we have hope and joy and true life. Maybe this is why singling out one day above the others seems so strange to me--I'm really not sure. But, I do know that Easter is more than just another Sunday, more than a big meal and egg hunts, more than a family reunion, and more than dressing up for church. Chris told me this week that he'd really like to make Easter a bigger deal than Christmas in our home. ("A bigger deal than Christmas?!?" I thought.) I guess Easter really is THE deal though. I'm definitely warming up to the idea. This would be the holiday to rejoice over and think about and celebrate more than any other. We have life because of His death.

What do you think?

True Statement

It's true. I love this man.

(Not to mention those Young Life t-shirts!)

Chris has his own school!

This post is long overdue! Last week Chris was offered a PE job at Candler Elementary. On Monday he called to accept. This is very exciting as he will only be driving to one school. This year he has had to drive to a different school every day of the week! Needless to say, that's left him feeling a little left out of school community and it's been tough to learn the names of 1200+ students. This is certainly an answer to much prayer. There are several schools where Chris teaches now that will have an opening in the next year or so (meaning 2008), but we weren't sure he could hang on that long with such a difficult schedule. Anyway, this is wonderful news and Chris is already day-dreaming about things he wants to try at his "own school"! He does an amazing job at his schools and just by word of mouth he was basically handed this position (things he won't tell you). I'm so proud of you, Chris!

More Spring...

These are blossoms on our cherry tree out front. We aren't sure what to expect with any our landscaping, but so far there has been lots to enjoy with the warmer weather.

My Dogs are Barking

*Disclaimer: People squeamish about feet--do not look at this*

A lot of you know I'm running a half marathon in April. It's been harder and harder. Not in the obvious I'm-running-more-miles-way, but rather it's been more difficult to run even the short runs. I hope this ends soon, because it's getting old! I decided it was time to bite the bullet and buy some new shoes before the race. I said "race", but please note, I'm happy just to walk across that finish line at this point! Yesterday I was supposed to run one of my two 5 mile runs this week. This was after doing a really poor job on the 8-miler this weekend (I'm pretty sure I ran about 5 and walked the rest) Anyway, I was trying to psych myself up and of course I come to find out that my i-pod was dead after charging it the day before!? I really rely on that thing! It turned out to be a good run though. I got to listen to my heavy breathing, shuffling, and whimpers instead--music to my ears!! Anyway, if you think of it, please pray for me. This is hard.

I Love Spring!

Here's a picture of our backyard. This last weekend was absolutely beautiful and felt just like summer. (We're in search of a riding lawnmower--if anyone knows someone who's in the market to sell. I think we're a little late in the game and will probably end up paying more now than just a few weeks ago, but I guess it's spilt milk.) Since before we bought a house Chris and I have talked about this idea we have of hosting neighborhood events in our backyard. Until yesterday, we've been stuck on the idea of having Movie Night and projecting a family movie onto the side of our house. We'd tell people to bring a picnic, blankets, chairs and of course, their friends! I actually got this idea from the Kenilworth neighborhood at Halloween. A house in this neighborhood shows Two Thousand Leagues Under the Sea every year in all of it's creepiness. They project it onto the side of their house as people walk around and check out the other decorations. Anyway, no scary movies at our place. We'd probably show classics mostly. It's been on our mind now that summer is around the corner. Last night though, Chris suggested we host volleyball games and the like. We do have a perfect place in our yard that is just about the dimensions of an official volleyball court. We'll keep you posted! If you have any thoughts or a vote as to movie or games, we want to hear them! Feel free to post a comment.

For my Mom

This one's for you, Mother! I could only find this picture of the "Deep Mango" room (although I think I was trying to get a good shot of the window for curtain-making). I finished one whole window with curtains and feel very good about it. I think they turned out well. Only 9 more to go! I'll try to do one a week for now since I'm borrowing a friend's sewing machine and her know-how. Hopefully, I'll get faster the more I do. I'm a little worried about the ones in the guest room because they are real drapery material, so I plan to do those last. Exciting times at the McGlade household.

We are still plugging away at the laundry room that Chris and his dad began a few weeks ago. Dry wall is much tougher than I thought--and messier! Next up on the project list will be tiling the back splash behind our kitchen sink and putting up a fence in hopes of finding our first dog! Here is a picture of one we looked at last night...his name is Banjo, not Bingo (B-I-N-G-O) but Banjo...I like the name a lot.

Woo hoo!

Congrats Jeff and Cyndi. We love you and can't wait to meet baby Haifley!

Dinner is served

So after lots of talk and a week of planning we finally had the first COOKING CLUB! We decided to base it around making pot stickers (not really sure how that became the main course). There ended up being around 10 people in all. Each person brought something that was Asain-themed. For example, we had eggrolls, a cabbage salad, seasame green beans, lettuce wraps, and green onion pancakes. Overall, I think it was quite a success! And we've already planned the next one--Greek night. Here are some fun shots of Shaunna putting her acting skills into practice as she demos how to make those pancakes--the entertainment portion of the night. I really wish we had some shots of everyone around the table. We finished the evening on a high note: devouring a distinctly non-Asian dessert--half cooked cookie dough, warm from the oven with ice cream on top and lots of hilarious stories about sleep-walking. Matt Williams and Kristin take the cake!

Too long...

It's been incredibly too long since I've written...not that anyone is still following this. Maybe, just maybe my sweet friend Jane is still checking this (even though she's on spring break this week and not into her usual morning routine!). By the way, we don't see each other nearly enough. You'd think we moved across the state from each other--really just across the county!

There's been a lot going on since I signed on last. We've been really busy with the house (does one thing always have to lead to another??). But we are absolutely loving it. Here's are some great pictures of just how much my husband likes being a home owner...

This past weekend, Chris decided it was time to prune our trees. Since neither one of us knows much about this kind of thing, Chris promptly called our nice friend Karl for some advice. The next day Chris began the massacre. Really the trees probably hadn't been pruned in at least a decade, so there was lots to do. Chris spent most of the afternoon in the trees. (Notice our lovely John Deere shed. Literally, the previous owner painted it to match his new top-of-the-line lawn mower. This project has moved up on the list now that the weather is getting nicer!)

All in all, home ownership is fun and satisfying, but we wonder sometimes what we did with our time and our money when we lived in an apartment!

So it's been while and we've been busy...

Dining room before...



Dining room after.



Living room before...



And after.

McGlade Clan: Chris and Caroline

Closing on our house tomorrow! We will be signing our life away. We are excited, nervous, excited and nervous. Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Although we really do love Christmas, we feel like we'll be ready to have Decemeber behind us. It will be nice to be in a place with our stuff out of boxes and paint on the walls.