Reasons to GO CAMPING....

You have a good reason to look like this...













Great Sleeping Arrangements

You get to play in the rain b/c it always rains on a fleenor family camping trip!









Warming up to a 6am campfire!















You can beat beautiful streams with sunrays beaming thru the tree tops

















Yummy food and lots of hot drinks!





WILDLIFE!

















TARP City

















S - M - O - R - E - S

Trying to Hold a New Hope

Coming up out of the stream, one feels new and refreshed; blood is rushing and all senses are heightened. What would it feel to live like that on a daily basis? Why is it so unsatisfying to just "get used to" the same ol' living we've been doing? Why does one always hear (or maybe it's just me) those voices that haunt us with "Why are you always looking for more? Why aren't you happy with what you have?"

So, for the record, it's not that I'm not happy or satisfied. Things are quite well for me these days: Marianne and I are well ("doin' alright"), we have 3 awesome kids, deepening friendships, a good job, and a good house. So what is it, Matt?

Well, I've been reading these books, you see. And I've been listening to this Man, who continually calls into a place of "stretch", a place where I'm asked to love and care beyond what seems to be my natural capacities. And I've been growing in these friendships with guys who are also "coming up out of the water." And the things I've read before seems to grip me all over again, like I've read it for the first time. And it is good, but it is a little scary sometimes.

The words I've been hearing from all these places seem to fall on my ears like I've just come out of the water; i. e., my ears are open and I am deeply challenged by my lack of love, my lack of generosity, my lack of service.

I think that most of the time I just float along the surface of the water, when what I really need is a good dunking. To come up out of the water with new ears, a new heart, new eyes, and blood rushing all over. How does one learn to be "dunked" on a regular basis? How does one learn to live in a continual state of "coming up out of the water."

That's what I hope for; a life of continually coming up out of the water. I want to cherish the moments I have, realizing that life is not forever. We really do have a very few days to make our relationships count; i. e., to really care for people around us, to make them feel loved because we're really loving them.

13 years

It has been 13 years this past August 13th! Thanks to some free babysitting by some dear friends we were able to have a small but sweet date to look one another in the eyes and say, can you believe it?? I was just whining to my sister in law about how as you grow older the birthdays and anniversary celebrations get less and less exciting but I know that is not what is important. It is hard to not buy the big gifts and think of the great surprising ways to celebrate and it is hard to not expect it! However, as you get older you learn to appreciate the small things and the celebrations that occur throughout the whole year, not to just turn around and plan the next big party when the one you just had is over (like my kids who somehow find a way to mention what they are getting for the birthday, or what they are going to do on their birthday everyday). Anyway, I just wanted to say Happy Anniversary to my man whom I love even more than I think I know I love him. My man who gave me a really sweet year amoungst some hard little things that we let get in the way. I hope this year we can focus on the little celebrations and not the little situations! Does everyone know what I mean????

My Rascal

What two year olds get into....


for Eliza it is fingernail polish, among other things.


I remember Anna Clare scared me to death as a two year old when she brought me a tube of toothpaste that she had been ingesting. For Boone it was escaping from the closed and sometimes even locked doors in the house, I found him in the woods, on the neighbors porch and one day in a mud puddle across the street (i am ashamed to admit). It is always something, but my little eliza seems to have a little more rascal in her. I say rascal because she gets into so many things just to get into them. She will dump puzzles, crayons, silverware, magazines, cat food everywhere and all the time. She is really keeping me on my toes. I feel like with boone and anna clare it would be something here and then something there but Eliza it is just always something! The fingernail polish made me want to scream I was so mad. She had unscrewed the lid, which in my experience is never easy with fingernail polish, and then she painted her own nails and toes! She was really proud and I have to give her a little credit because the mess could of been much worse! She got the polish on her purple coverup and a little on her blanket but other than that we came out fairly clean. In the picture below I am trying to tell her that painting your own nails was a "no-no", you can see how she responded to that!









"UH-OH"
(you can click on pic to see her paint job up close)

Organic Water

What is Organic??

All my children tend to keep me laughing with the little things they say and their logic of adult topics they hear in the car from the backseat or in the grocery cart as we are pushing them around. I just absolutely love it!!! Whenever one of the kids do something or say something so cute to me I just have to tell someone.

So hear I am with another Boone statement..
today at the pool he has set up a "grocery bar". I did not have my camera to take a pic of this creation, but he had little plastic fish and cups and a watering can lined up on the edge of the pool. He was offering me things here and there, so much so that I finally started to decline his offers of "pink fish" or "diet coke". So, when he held up the watering can and asked me if I would like some water and I said No, he replys "but Mom, it's Organic". The really funny part of this is that we are not really all that "organic" of a family, but would really like to be! I am glad he is picking that up and hope all my kids will recognize the many benefits of buying organic.

pure organic fun to me is really listening to my kids and being witness to their little lives as they are growing up!

On Being Outdoors, 1

Mount Rogers Nat'l Rec. Area, May & June 2008...

"I lack the peace of simple things. I am never wholly in place." -WB

Now I know that being in Creation is not everyone's cup-o-tea. For the Fleenor family, we (or at least I, Matt) have experienced the greatest enjoyment outside of the confines of our home, i. e., spending our nights in a tent. To sit beside the (seemingly) ever-flowing stream while "receiving the river's grace", or to watch our kids frolicking in the river pursuing a salamander, or wrestling in the field while the butterflies dance, and even parked under a big green tarp for hours with only conversation to break the drone of the rain, These are the true pleasures of Life. We have had good experience with imparting to our kids a love and respect for the Creation. In all honesty, that was one of my biggest fears as a parent- that our kids would not enjoy the Creation as both M and I do. We are thankful that they've begun to share in this "simple pleasure" (mind you, packing the van with chairs and tents and LOTS of clothes is no simple task), and we hope that they continue to revel in it to an ever increasing degree- even surpassing our own love, respect, and enjoyment. Below are a few more pics from our recent adventures in SW VA's largest preserved space; May they inspire to take a more active stance in protecting the wild spaces of our country...

One tooth, Two teeth, Too Much for me!

The past couple of weeks have gone by in a blink.



Where has June gone and by the way where has my baby gone??






Besides the two camping trips, a beach trip, swim team beginning and kindergarten ending I have been overwhelmed by my growing, changing, adorable 6 year old. Not only do her mannerisms seem to have taken on a smarty swing that I am not used to, her face and looks seem to be so drastically changing that I can't keep up and I find myself often staring at her in sadness. Now I know why (maybe) my mom would be staring at me and I would give her the exhausted "WHAT?" "like, stop looking at me MMMOOOMMM!"

In the past couple of weeks, Anna Clare has turned into a kid who can pick up my spelling of words out so they won't know what i am talking about. She is constantly reading my mail, my mind, my eyes... i can't keep anything from her. She has this voice of, I am not going to say teenager, but older child! When she was at nana's this past week we had a phone conversation and it was like I was just talking to my friend. "what did you do today, mom?" "Oh, that is cool, we did something kinda like that..." "well, do you think you can come to the show (VBS performance)?" "Well, that is okay, maybe next time we can get it on the caleneder and you could come then" "well, it was great talking to you, mom, but I have to go now b/c i told nana i would look at something on the computer with her" I was left stuttering... well "o o o kay" We had just had a 20 min. conversation where my daughter was leading the conversation in every way and we both seemed to really enjoy it! I pray for phone conversations like that daily! (but not until she is older, you know what i mean)

I know I am getting a little sappy but like I said I am overwhelmed with it all! And to top it all off she has lost two teeth in the past three weeks. And her face has gotten freckles, that are just so adorable, but it all makes her look so different to me, my baby is a big girl.
Am I ready for this???

shut up and sweet tea

Can you remember as a child what you thought would be so great about being older (being an adult)?

I have been trying to think back to the day, when as a child, I thought it will be great when I am older because I will be able to do this... or that...

About a year ago, Boone waiting in the chick-fil-a drive thru where I had just ordered a sweet tea informed me that, "when i get older i am going to say shut up and drink sweet tea!" I thought that was so great! I think about the little things that we restrict our children from that are great pleasures to us, well sweet tea and diet coke are huge for me. Which is why he has put that as a top priority for his "when i get older to do list".

The one small pleasure I can remember dreaming on as a youngster was one day having control over the radio. Finally not having to listen to dad's bluegrass/gospel mixes, logan's Doors, greg's Keith Green and mom's easy listening. I actually can remember certain trips when we got to listen to amy grant, michael jackson, or chicago, some of my first favorite singers/groups.

Although, none of my families music is my favorite I do think their love of music and their different genres of music have stretched my love and appreciation for music. Which i am grateful for!

What about you??

... And Now, Marianne.

How does one begin to discuss meeting someone that at first annoys you because they are so light, so free, and so happy? Well, it begins by working with someone- sharing a desk. And then you get to a point where you begin to look at the other person and think, "Wow, what makes that person tick?" 13 months later, we're about as close as two people can get... Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Fleenor.

But Marriage is a funny thing. Sometimes one can be so close to another that the things you once appreciated seem to evaporate in the heat of argumentation, confusion, and sadness. At other times, the very thing that one loves about another person somehow becomes a point of contention. No matter how well you think you know someone pre-Marriage, the act of "becoming one" teaches us something new, reveals the unknown, and provides the opportunity to truly love the other- for Better and for Worse.

Marianne always wants the Best for me, and for our Family. That may be her best quality. She is always looking for a way to provide us with something unexpected, some undeserved gift, something surprising that makes us say "Wow." Unfortunately, we don't always have the means to provide that "unexpected thing", but hey, I love her for always thinking about us and always wanting us to be reminded of how special we are.

Marianne doesn't have a difficult time putting our Family ahead of herself. She is always thinking about what is best for us, for the kids, and for me. Sometimes it makes me sad, because I wish that I could provide more and give more time for the things that M wants for our family. Marianne is always looking ahead to next best thing for our family, and we are better because of it. She is always trying to clear the way so that our family can experience the best that Life has for us. Whether it's packing my clothes, making reservations, or packing that extra thing that we probably won't use, M is always trying to ensure the most joyful experiences for us and the kids. Who can fault that, right?

Another quality of Marianne's that I frequently enjoy is her forgetfulness. I know you're thinking, "No way, I'm sure that drives you crazy (ok, you're right; when it's the keys, the credit card...)." But when it comes to my mistakes, Marianne is the most forgetful person I know. Except for leaving early from our wedding reception and making her wait 5 years (ok M, six actually) to have our three beautiful kids, I can tell you that she's NOT reminded me of any of the other million things that I've done wrong over the past 13 years. She's so forgiving and understanding, and for this our marriage is much better.

Unfortunately, being married to another person really takes its toll on you. And marianne is not the same jovial, happy-go-lucky, bubbly person she once was. It makes me sad sometimes because I truly believe that I've played the lead role in shriveling M's fun-loving spirit. Yes, I'm the penny-pinching miser who never forgets anyone's mistakes and always kills everyone's joy by reminding them of everything that could go wrong. Thankfully, 13 years of being around marianne has had a positive effect on my soul, and I'm not the same "tightly wound" person I was then. For better and for worse, I'm still "loosely wound", but I'm hopeful for the next 13 years, and I'm thankful that i will spend them with you, marianne.

On Baseball....

I will begin to explain why Baseball is the best sport ever created and currently the best game going. Some will say "it's boring", but the same people say that about their own lives. And there in lies the rub. Baseball is such a great game because it is so much like Life. Every pitch counts and you mostly don't know which plays were important until you look back after a few innings. It is for that reason that I ALWAYS (attempt to) keep score at baseball games. You never know the important plays except in retrospect. Isn't that like Life also. We are each caught within our own innings and often seem trapped. But it's not until a few innings down the road that we say, "Oh, the third wasn't that bad."

#3 Elizabeth Gregory

It was the spring of 2003, Matt and I were driving in our car in Durham, NC. We were reflecting on our two great kids and how "easy" it was at this point. We could travel in our civic, we could all have our own room in our little, sweet house, we were one-on-one, but we still wanted a big family. We wanted another baby. So, taking our past difficulties with getting pregnant, we thought we would start trying for baby #3. Little did we know that we were pregnant already. God is so funny to me, how could we even get pregnant without trying was beyond me? We were told before boone that anna clare was a miracle child???

So this is how pregnancy #3 began and oh what a journey it was...

Honestly, the timing could not of been much worse with the future we knew was ahead of us... Matt was finishing his phD - so we would be applying, interviewing, moving soon after baby #3 would arrive. But we were so thankful to have our third at the same hospital, with the same doctors, surrounded by such great friends!! However, we had no idea what would really transpire through this pregnancy. To keep it to the point, from the beginning of my pregancy until the very end my family suffered great loss and hardship. We lost my grandfather, uncle and my sweet oldest brother greg within those nine months. It was truly a deep, deep dark time. I was so torn between myself, my husband, my kids, my parents and family and this baby growing in me. This baby was the one sweet, happy surprise we all looked forward to after all that had happened. But the poor baby inside me was (I think) emotionally wrecked along with me... I had strong (fake) contractions very early on and actually went to the hospital 4 or 5 times before she really came. My poor mom drove down for her birth 3 times! We were so anxious for her to come!! So, finally on Jan. 14, she arrived with a very quick delivery. She arrived screaming - seriously, like we thought something was wrong with her, she was sooo mad. But when she finally stopped, she was just perfect!
We named her after one of my favorite people ever, my grandmother, Elizabeth, and actually call her after my favorite cousin, Eliza, and then gave her my brother's name Gregory because well, he is one of the strongest people I know and I wish with all my heart that she could of known her uncle! Her name is strong and makes me so proud that sometimes I can't even say it without getting choked up.

Little lizzy lulu, is what we really tend to call her, is much different from the other two. She is shy and at the same time a little high strung. She loves to sleep but at the same time still keeps a strange schedule often waking up in the middle of the night. We try the "supernanny" method of just going in her room and laying her down and walking out and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't?? ya never know. Other times she will sleep 12 to 14 hours straight. She just likes to keep us guessing and she keeps me pretty exhausted because of it. She is a cuddly and very funny girl. She is a thumb sucker unlike the others and she is the tallest, at the age of two, then the others were. She is already wearing some 4T clothes. This year has been so fun with her as we are watching her really become her own little person and discovering the things she loves and making it clear what she doesn't love!

What I love about her is the way she talks... for example... she calls monkeys, "no more jumpitings" because of the book No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. She calls our new cat Lexi, "ex - e-wu-wu" (lexi lulu). She tends to finish every word with the e sound, so it is always , "milk-e" "juice-e" "boone -e". I also love the way she sucks her thumb and holds her "meme" to her nose, so cute. I love to watch her swim, it is about the only thing "daring" that she will do. She is hesitant to try new things, unlike her older siblings. I love her desire to "help out", she loves to sit on the counter and help me cook and she will almost always throw something away for me or go get something for me (i know this will not last long). Lastly, I love to look in my rearview mirror and realize that she is singing along with me to my favorite songs and has everyone's favorite songs nailed. So when "my wish" comes on she screams, "boone's song".

This is what Eliza loves...books, her cousin Cole which currently she brings herself to tears asking if "colbot's comin?" (when i say no, she breaks down). She loves shoes, music, her grandparents, her two little friends daisy and kade, juice-e and meme, and her mommy of coarse! Her current toy of choice is baby dolls. She likes to undress them, put them to bed, get food for them, and take them on walks. She, for now, is a nurturer... we will see if that lasts!

She is still so young and is just starting to become a little person and we are so excited to see her grow up!

Our Boy Boone

In April of 2004, we had our son, Boone Michael.
From conception he has been so different from anna clare. I was so sick the entire pregnancy, it was truly one of the hardest times I have been through. Having to go on with life each day b/c you are not sick enough to not be with people or do stuff on your own, it was not fun!!!

We had a hard time our entire pregnancy trying to decide on a name. We knew we wanted to use Michael because that is Matt's dads name and we knew that boone and "paka mike" would have a special relationship. And we really wanted a name that stood out as an adventurer, an outdoors man, a nature lover!! The name Boone of coarse reminds us of Boone, NC. a favorite spot for us in the mountains and Daniel Boone the frontiersman and one meaning of Boone that I found was "blessing". So it became a great name for our son, and true to his name, he has been an adventurer! He has already been to Italy, Australia and New Zealand. He has done so many things like climbing walls, tubing, water slides, swimming - things that most three year olds have yet to try out I would think. He is not a fearful child when it comes to trying things - even food. He is the child that each day, all day, has you gasping in fear, pulling your hair out, crying with love, and laughing out loud. I love his brave spirit, his love for adventure, his big blue eyes, and his stories, if only we could break him of the whining!!! any suggestions??
What Boone loves most of all is probably his big cousin Ridge. When the two of them get together it is so precious! He makes stories up almost everyday of some kind of adventure him and Ridge are going to have. When he really misses him, he pretends he is Ridge and I am his aunt marianne and for the day he will call me "aunt marianne". He also loves animals, like his big sis, but he is more into dinos and frogs and lizards. He is constantly dirty, loves diggin in the dirt and walking thru the streams and still goes thru three outfits a day. In the past year he has developed a huge passion for computer games and is very good at them. He also loves swimming and although he does not have the competitive nature like his sis, he is an excellent swimmer. Most people think he is drowning but he makes it everytime to the edge always wondering why so many people are watching him! He is a lover of food, he says "I am hungry" probably every 15 min., is this just a boy thing? It drives me crazy! Lastly, he loves stories! He loves to hear them, read them, watch them and make them up. His imagination is pretty wild and anna clare constantly reminds him that he is pretending or not telling the truth. And although his big sis is always telling him what to do or how it is... he adores her!
Again, if you know of some good Boone stories you would like to share with him, he would be thrilled to hear back from you, I am pretty sure we all have one about him!!!

Baby #1 - Anna Clare

On to children....

Anna Clare...



was born in feb. of 2002. We finally had the baby we had dreamed of! We had been trying to get pregnant for two years and so her arrival was such a joyous and amazing moment. She is now 6, in her first year of school and I am wondering where the time went!

I would like to give a picture of each of our kiddos(from my point of view), for those of you who don't know them, but I also don't want to go overboard even though i know i will!

So Anna Clare... I couldn't of asked for a better first child, except for her very sensitive gag reflex, she was so fun and easy. That really describes her so well. She is fun and the easiest of the three. She is the most loveable and the most friendly. The thing i love the most about ac is that she loves with all her might... she is a hugger and really does have a unique way to make almost anyone feel very special. She remembers moments and events in her life that make me see how much she cherishes and values relationships and sweet times! I pray that this is a quality that will last forever!

My second favorite thing about ac is that she is an adventurer, not afraid to try anything. She trusts and believes that she can do it and will really give it her all, especially if she knows there is an audience. It is really cool to look back on her last 5 years and realize what she has accomplished and tried. As you can tell we are very proud of her!

I could go on with my favorites but now here are some of hers:

Animals: Horses, dogs, all creatures large and small!!!!

Music: some of her most favorite tunes of all times are: I can sing of your love forever, get off of my back (from spirit), Hush a bye, The Ice Cream song by Sarah Mc., somewhere over the rainbow, ain't no mountain high enough, and Rocky top!

swimming: she mastered all four strokes this year and I have to let it be known that she was third overall in the 6 and under division this winter!

arts: the girl will sit and draw people pictures all day long. All pictures will contain some type of animal!!!

Movies: Spirit, Flicka, Black Beauty... see a theme??

People: Nana and Lulu and both Papas, She loves all her cousins but Maddie is #1, Aunt Jennie, Sydney Grace, Taryn, Noah, Lauren, Maggie and James, and Angie. She of coarse loves all of you, even if she hasn't met you, she will love you instantly! But these are the many that we make pics for on a weekly bases (now you may be asking where those pics are... well, sorry unless they are unusually unique i normally don't send them).

Food: really almost anything and in abundance!!! Pasta, Sprite, Chicken nuggets, fruit snacks, oranges and bagels.

toys: little petshop, fisher price farm and doll house (not for dolls of coarse but the animal families), horse barn and the probably over 100 hundred horse figurines to go with it, stuffed animals, and dress up.

Most often talked about experiences: camping, boston trip, beach trip with hurricane, riding horses at angies, going of high dive at lulus, disney world, her old preschool in chapel hill, seeing the animals in australia, and spending the night with maddie.

Okay, I could go on but i will stop and maybe wait for some of your responses... let her know what you love about her or what your favorite times with her have been...