Day at the beach

Monday at Spruce Run Park

What a beautiful day we had.

Peter and Bri not wanting to take a picture.

Overall we had a great day and hope to soon make it to the Jersey shore!! (Where I grew up)!! I promise to have some pictures!! Tomorrow we are off to "Revelation Generation" an all day event with about 20 different christian bands playing and lots of things to do with the kids. The weather is suppose to be perfect for it. I hope to remember to bring my digital to take some pictures.

God bless.

A special day!!!

Brianna and Matt having some fun with Dad and the hose!! We sure do miss our pool!!

Today was a special day for my daughter and I. I took her for her first ever pedicure. She will be turning "13" on September 20th and I wanted to do something special for her before she started school next week. Well, she wanted to go and get pedicures together at the Salon in town. The ladies from the church blessed us with a gift card for a very special day at the "Spa Salon". So off we went to get pampered...what a great time we had. After that she wanted Subways for lunch, so we stopped in town for lunch and on the way home found a Sushi/Japanese Steak house 5 mins. from our house. We will have to go there with the family next. This is our favorite!! YUMMY!!

Today was the first day I ventured out on my own and did not get lost. Hurray!!

Monday we took the kids swimming at a nearby lake, Spruce Run. It was beautiful except for all the bees that were attacking us!!

Tomorrow Peter starts school. I think it's a good thing, the kids are getting quite bored playing video games all day. Brianna and Matt start on 9/6. YIPPEE!!!

A week worth bragging about!!!

What a great week we had in NJ!! It started on Monday when Ed had his first funeral service here for Jane Alpaugh. What an awesome message he gave!! About 20 people accepted the Lord!! Halleluiah!! It was so encouraging even during a funeral. God is truly working here in NJ and we are blessed to be a part of it.

Peter finally got registered at the HS and got some pretty cool classes. He will be taking guitar class for the first time. He has played the drums for the past 4 years and continues to play on our church worship team and will play in the youth worship team. Now he wants to broaden his horrizons I guess. I am so proud of him!! So off he went with his dad to the music store to buy a guitar and amp for his class. I think dad is having more fun with it than Peter. Now we need to get Matthew interested in something musical. (Hopefully)! Bri plays piano and the french horn. Ed plays the drums and bass and I, well right now am singing with the worship team and loving every minute of it!!

Thursday was our first Youth event since we've been here the past 2 months. "Dress for the Mess" You can only imagine what this entailed with P. ED!! Marshmello paint wars, slip and slide, and fish hockey. (We hope to get some pictures up on his blog soon). We had about 25 kids and 10-15 adults watching! It was a blast watching and the kids had a ball getting all messy. This week is District Youth camp here at Tuscarora Inn, in PA. Ed is taking about 12 kids from our church who have never been to camp before plus Brianna and Peter. I am sure they will have an awesome experience!! So it's me and Matt and Shadow (the dog) for the week! YAHOOOOO!!!

Well, it has been almost 5 weeks since we have been here and as you ladies know, with a move comes many changes. One of the biggest changes for me is finding a new hair dresser. Ms. Shelley always did my hair in Michigan, (boy do I miss her)! She was so kind and wrote down all the colors and products she used on my hair. After much research Friday, and finding out how much it would cost to do my roots, I finally gave up and decided to go and buy the color and do it myself, (with Ed's help of course)!! $11.99 later, I have to tell you, he did an awesome job. The color is perfect and I love it. Now I only need a haircut! Maybe I will be brave and try this myself!! I'll let you know....so for now on I will be doing the color myself.... if any of you ladies need your roots done, maybe you want to call Ed!! LOL!!

The kids and I are looking forward to school starting Sept. 6. I took them out yesterday to get backpacks, pencils, notebooks and some sneakers and whatever else they would need. This surely got them excited as it did mom. It has been a long summer. Since our whole transition started back in January till June...I told someone today that it has been summer for me since then...I praise God that Fall is coming and colors will be changing outside, but HIS love stays the same all the time!! AMEN!!

Miss you all!!

I almost made it!!!

Well, another week has gone by as we continue to get acquainted in New Jersey. I thought I would make it through the week without crying, but then I got a letter in the mail from my dear friend Rita in Michigan. (thanks Rita!). As I read it to Ed, I thought of all the memories and friends that God has put in my path in the past 5 years in Michigan. I hope to double it in NJ!!


We got Brianna and Matt registered for school and Peter has an appointment at the HS on Wednesday. In NJ they will not let you register until you have a physical. So off to the doctor we went. Needless to say, we were not impressed and will be changing to another one. At least we got the physical done. Then I went to get a manicure which I was not impressed with either, (I wish those girls knew how to smile)!! I miss my girl in MI!! Then I went over to Shop Rite (food store) and almost got run over by a LADY driver!! Whatever happened to "pedestrians first"? Well this happened on Wednesday and today is Friday!! Thank God His mercies are new every morning.....


I think we are adjusting well anyway. Brianna has already had a sleepover and has been spoiled by Linda and her girls and Pat. Thanks ladies!! Peter has hung out with Ronnie who plays guitar on the worship team with him. Matthew, well we need to keep working on his friends. He is either on Peter's Xbox or Bri's Gamecube all day getting brain dead. It's hard right now since I am working at the church office as Ed's secretary!! Yippee!! He has been very kind and loving!! So the kids have been home on their own alot. We do hope to take them to Dorney Park before they go back to school for some family fun.

Ed will be doing his first funeral here on Monday. Jane Alpaugh went home to be with the Lord on Thursday. Then on August 20-24 Ed, Peter and Bri will be off to their last Teen Camp for the summer. My kids have been to 3 this summer. How lucky is that. They are blessed!! I am sure they are going to love it. It's a beautiful place and no "Lake Itcy Scratchy" but a real pool with clean water!!
Matt and I will be home alone for the week. I hope to keep him entertained enough! I am not into video games...I may have to take a ride to the Jersey shore with him!! Sorry Joelle!! I will think of you....ha ha!!

Bye for now...will keep you updated on the Torres' updates on what's happening in NJ.

Living NEW JERSEY!!

Here I am living in NJ again!! After being away for about 13 years it is weird coming back and hearing all the familiar radio stations that I grew up with!! We are living in Pittstown, NJ which is about 2 hours from where I grew up. I am very close to the Jersey shore which is one place that I want to take the kids to this summer, to show them where I went on vacation as a kid. They have never been to a boardwalk before!! This will bring back lots of old memories for me!!

We are officially in our home. We moved in on Saturday and have been unpacking like crazy. Just a few more boxes to unpack and some picture frames for the walls and I will be all set. We went to check out the schools for the kids on Tuesday and they were very excited, especially Peter who loves the Brazil soccer team and his high school is their colors (green & yellow)!! How cool is that!! Bri and Matt will be in the same school which I like. They go K-8th grade here and have much smaller classrooms than Michigan. Now we just need to get them registered and all the paperwork done. They start Sept. 6th. Praise the Lord!! It has been a crazy summer.

I miss you all and think of you often. Life is good in NJ and we are all getting familiar with our new home and the neighborhoods!! We have deer in our backyard almost everyday and a cat that visits us during dinner. This is not good since we have a golden retriever who will probably eat him up if I let him out. So that cat will probably not come around to much longer!! The scenery is just beautiful with the pocono mountains right next door to us!! It's not flatland here!! Can't wait to see how it is in the winter with the snow!! Lots of sledding for the kids.

Well, that's all the updates I have for now about NJ!! Talk to u soon. God bless!!