The Robinsons

Dear Emma. Jack, Alex and Ella, Just want you to know I took a course in balloon animals so I can improve my grandparenting skills! I can make a rabbit, a parrot, and elephant and a dog. But without you, none of it makes sense! Miss you... Love you... G'ma!

February 28, 2006 Here it is Tuesday night, the last day of February. Time whizzes by faster and faster as I get older and older. I haven’t made a journal entry for quite some time. It was beginning to feel like the same old, same old. Just a litany of events. I don’t really feel that life is getting boring or routine, it’s just that there was nothing out of the ordinary happening. Actually, I like the way life is. I feel comfortable in this life style. However, I want this journal to be a way of keeping track of what has happened so that I don’t take for granted each day’s blessings and experiences. We finished our assignment as group leaders last Thursday. I have to admit that it was a relief. I did enjoy being GL and God did help Anitarae and I to be successful. Our team was quite generous in showing their appreciation and the host supervisor was very complementary of our leadership, the team’s effort and their attitude. Anitarae put together a nice package of memories for each coup...

Hullo. I worked my first shift today at the Lost Dog Cafe. I am a barista, which means I make all the coffee and other drinks. Been a while since I last slung cappacino. It's a nice restaurant with nice people and a casual atmosphere. I'll be earning about $12-13/hr after tips. My legs are tired from all the standing.

Hello everyone!! MaryJo called me today with some cool news. Josh has a painting of MJ being shown with some other peices publicly in Athens, GA. They were driving down the street when something caught Mj's eye- it was a magazine with Josh's painting on the cover!!! They pulled over and got a bunch of copies and called to let us know it is online here . I am so excited for them- and tickled that Mj is on the cover of a magazine... :0). Also, it gives me a reason to attempt putting a link into a post. if it doesn't work.... which is likely.... you can see the cover at www.flagpole.com.

I'm wondering if we should try to plan a family camping trip this summer? Rollins Pond? July? It's time to reserve if we are. What are everyone's plans? We will be busy with selling of the house, but probably could take time out. Dad

February 19, 2006 Strawberry shortcake, concert, day at the beach, wonderful church service and a day of rest… a weekend hard to top. After a leisurely morning, a group of us headed to Lakeland, FL for a concert. On the way we stopped at Plant City which is famous for strawberries. They claim to be the world’s largest winter strawberry producers. There was a neat market along the road and we stopped for a treat. The line was rather short, probably only 40 or so. I’m told it has been six deep out to the road at times. We got our shortcakes and found tables together in a very nicely decorated outdoors-garden type area. Anitarae tried being friendly to a group and found her match in a coupe of geezers who came on strong with their flirtations. She actually had to slap one of them who became too playful. After eating we had fun taking a group picture in a photo spot they had set up with a throne made of a giant strawberry. They provided crowns and all eight of us crowded in while a fun-lov...

TEST. MY LAST 2 ENTRIES WERE DENIED. ARGTH!!! WHAZGOINGON?

Dear Family, I am sorry to report that I just tried to publish a report with 4 photos and it was denied and deleted by the blog. Now I'm discouraged and don't know what I did to deserve the rejection, because all the expanation said was, POST DENIED! Is there a limit to the pictures one can post? It said I could post more when I was doing it... Or maybe it's because I am doing it over the cell phone? If you know, please inform me and I'll try again in about 100 years! ; ) Just as a summery, God is blessing us abundantly as we both work and play. Wish you teachers with winter break could fly down and join us. Maybe Adam will next month, eh? Ta-ta for now. Mom and G'ma

Here is Daddy working hard with Marinus. Picture 2 is the 1st and 2nd graders I have been working with. Can you imagine how my heart aches for them? One little boy... (not pictured) should be in 3rd grade, but he didn't even know his letters when he came here 6 months ago. He, (James) is such a challenge, but he is learning by leaps and bounds. And, yes, he CAN read now, thanks to Hope Children's home. (He loves me and I just love that in a person...) The picture below is when we packed into Barbara's rv to practice our Valentine Song! What fun! Also fun was our amazing day at the beach yesterday with Harry and Darlene and three Vinyard couples we hang out with back home. The gulf was azure blue, or pale, pale aqua. This photo does not capture the beauty. So, you see... what we do is work and have fun. Work and have fun. And of course you know that the work is also the fun! So... either way, life is such a wonderful joy. Serving Jesus is so precious! WISH YOU...

RIDDLE: I'm thinking of someone who dances and has recitals plays the cello and trumpet... and has recently played a solo in a band concert. This person also writes ocassionaly for the Robinson5 Blog. This person also sang in a concert just last night! WHO IS IT? and will we hear from this person and find out how the chorus did? INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW!!! :)

February 16, 2006 It’s Thursday night and the end of another SOWER work week. This morning, Jesse made it a point to tell me that he thinks we are doing a great job as a SOWER team. Admittedly he has only a brief experience with SOWER groups, but he said we are functioning the way a group should work. He alluded to past problems related to the GL putting undue pressure on people and causing problems. Our group works well together in harmony and unity. Everyone seems happy. There have been no complaints. I feel that God has blessed us with a group of winners. We have respect for the abilities of the highly skilled folks and grace for each other’s short comings. We have leaders and willing followers. The list of jobs Jesse gave us is almost totally completed and he is coming up with new projects. It is obvious that these SOWERS are committed to serving the Lord as best they can. They are not here to serve themselves. Today, Harry and I took on the challenge of taking out an exterior door...

February 14, 2006 I hope the SOWER ladies feel a little special and very loved tonight. The men made a sincere effort to make today really special. Early last week we got together to make a plan and it was fun to see it working. Each man was planning to write a love letter and place it on his sweetheart’s pillow along with a rose so she would find it when she went to bed. We did this on the day before Valentines Day and included and invitation to diner on Valentines Day. Tonight each man pinned a corsage on his lady and we traveled caravan style across town to Sweet Tomatoes, a restaurant one of the guys suggested. There were lots of smiles and great laughter this evening and that’s a nice atmosphere. Unknown to us, the women were planning a few surprises of their own. Before devotions this morning, each of the ladies stood before her spouse and they all sang "You, You, You," a romantic song from the distant past. They couldn’t keep straight faces and there was as nearly much...

Ain't no snow here in the Bing. I didn't even know there was a threat of snow until everyone who called yesterday to wish Stephanie a happy birthday mentioned it. 26 inches in NYC! However -- it is a little colder here than 40 degrees. . . . I got an assignment writing about the Smoking Popes for HM. They're a pretty credible band, so I'm excited. They aren't as rich or famous as POD, my last story, but they're aesthetic is closer to my heart. Congratulations on fixing your light switch, Aaron. Alan came over and fixed my faucet last week.

Dad and I wonder... If it's in the 40s and 50s in Florida, "what's it doing in your neck of the woods?" Did any of you get the blizzard? Have you been sledding? Will you have snow days? Inquiring minds want to know... We got home from Donna's about 5:30 this evening. As usual, it's always good to be 'home.' Now to rest up from the fun to be ready for tomorrow. We loved our time with family. It was really life giving for me. Take care and let us know about the blizzard! (((hugs))) (to keep you warm...)

February 11, 2006 We finished our first work week Thursday afternoon and I think we all felt like we had accomplished quite a bit. Ben and Jake repaired and serviced several mowers and tractors and they were put to use as immediately. A place as big as this really needs a full time mechanic. In fact, that is an issue they have on their prayer list. The rest of the men, Howard, Marvine, Martin, Marinus, and I, worked most of the week on a staff house. We installed a vinyl skirt around what was a mobile home. It really made a nice difference in the appearance. We also did vinyl soffit and fascia, removed a door and patched in the siding and put baseboard in one of the rooms. Then we started a couple of projects that we will continue on Monday. Thursday night we all went out to dinner and played games until after 11:00. This is a great team. We had fun at work and at play. Friday, we headed for Venice where Donna and Charlie live. Donna planned a reunion and Sarah, Noel, Charlotte and Her...

February 11, 2006 We finished our first work week Thursday afternoon and I think we all felt like we had accomplished quite a bit. Ben and Jake repaired and serviced several mowers and tractors and they were put to use as immediately. A place as big as this really needs a full time mechanic. In fact, that is an issue they have on their prayer list. The rest of the men, Howard, Marvine, Martin, Marinus, and I, worked most of the week on a staff house. We installed a vinyl skirt around what was a mobile home. It really made a nice difference in the appearance. We also did vinyl soffit and fascia, removed a door and patched in the siding and put baseboard in one of the rooms. Then we started a couple of projects that we will continue on Monday. Thursday night we all went out to dinner and played games until after 11:00. This is a great team. We had fun at work and at play. Friday, we headed for Venice where Donna and Charlie live. Donna planned a reunion and Sarah, Noel, Charlotte and Her...

I think the whole family should celebrate Alan's recent table tennis victory. Winning every match in the night at the club is no small fete. I knew he could do it. In fact, I used to warn those guys that someday Alan would come. Now if only he could get a good paddle of his own. Should we start a fund raiser?

Alan

February 8, 2006 Today was another one of those days when everything goes right and I need to have a pinch to make sure I’m awake and not imagining or dreaming. Devotion time with the group this morning was very inspirational, the work was enjoyable, the weather was great and the fellowship with the other SOWERS and staff was really enjoyable. To top it all off, at the end of the day, one of the guys told me a miracle story that blessed me. He was working on preparing a building site for a house to be built at the end of this month. They needed four truck loads of dirt to be brought in so Jesse, the director of operations called one outfit and they needed $400 a load … $1600. I guess he declined then hung up and immediately the phone rang and it was someone he knew who had four truck loads of dirt from an excavation or something that he needed to get rid of and could Jesse use any of it. It seems like such a miracle until you realize that is the way they live and operate here at the Ho...

February 6, 2006 I didn’t think we could have a better SOWER team than the one in Vero Beach, but this group might just be even better. There is laughter and acceptance and cooperation and a unity just like our Vero group, but a whole different character. I can’t really describe the difference yet, but I already feel a closeness. Another difference is the level of skill. Two of the men have been carpenters by profession and one is a real jack of all trades having been a farmer. Today, five of us worked together on a carpentry project and I realized there is quite a difference in the skill of a professional and amateurs like me. Fortunately, they are really nice and also patient. However, I did feel a moment of pride when I made an alternate suggestion to their method and they liked it. Wow! We learned some interesting things about our group during a get acquainted time. It seems three of the couples are Mennonites, four are Canadian, two have been to Russia as volunteer workers, one is...

February 4, 2006 Rain. Unbelievable rain. Record breaking rain. Rumors of over 10 inches at the airport less than two miles away. This did not make for an easy moving in, setting up day here in Tampa. RVs began arriving late morning and I went through three changes of clothes before deciding to just stay wet. At one point the rain was so hard that I could barely see a few feet out the door. The water was two or three inches deep because it couldn’t run away fast enough. There was no way a meeting with the director of the Home could happen. He was too busy taking care of water problems. This was a rough initiation for a new GL since no plans could be made before a meeting with the director. We finally did meet with him this morning and it seems we are in for some interesting work here. He has a great attitude about problems of which he has many now after this rain. He says we don’t get upset. He says there’s an expression you hear a lot here … "It ain’t nothin’but a thing." Of...

The concert went great. Thank you for the fabulous card! I messed up on the solo because my valve stuck, but my mom said I did awesome because I went on anyway. It was fun. I can't wait untill my next one on May 17th. We went out for ice cream afterwards and I got oreo sunday. Love you , miss you, Emma

February 2, 2006 Moving day! I don’t really like moving day. It’s filled with tension and sadness. Packing up, hitching up and driving the rig are all stressful activities. Couple that with saying good bye to friends we’ve worked and played with for a month. However, moving on means the beginning of a new adventure and that’s what this life is all about. We arrived at Hope Children’s Home at about half past noon and were greeted by SOWERS who are still here and ready to leave tomorrow to make room for our group. We spent most of our time setting up and meeting a few people. Tomorrow, Jesse, the host/director in charge of SOWERS, will meet with us and fill us in on what will need to be done. The rest of the team will begin to arrive and that will be fun. I called Dick and Connie Mahan, our friends from home. They are in the Tampa area as well as George and Carol Sorrendino. We planned this get together a long time ago and now it’s happening. They are staying right on the gulf so I hope ...

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Posted by Emma: Yes I will be playing on stage at my school. I'm playing Oh When the Saints and Beethovens Theme. The middle part of Beethovens Theme is my solo. I don't feel so nervous any more because I played it in school today for all the teachers and kids, and I did pretty good. I miss you! Love Emma