Maple Sugaring Time 2009

This was an unbelievable experience for the Dustin family - one that will provide a "sweet" memory for many years to come! Who would ever have thought that a small 2 acre yard in Maryland (not Vermont) could produce home-made maple syrup!! (Thank you, Jean, for taking this wonderful picture!) To us it looked like something out of a Vermont tourism catalog!! haha

My parents, who are here visiting for several months, have made maple syrup before on their land in Wisconsin. Dad noticed we had some viable maple trees here on our land and so we all thought it was worth a shot. We ordered tapping supplies, a boiling pan, and gathered jugs from everyone we knew. My Dad is pictured here drilling the hole for the tap.

It was sooooo fun to watch the jugs fill up with sap - every day (I have to admit, sometimes hourly) we were watching the jugs to see if they needed to be emptied. It was so fun to watch the boys go out with their five gallon buckets and gather the sap. Other than being grossed out by ants in the sap a time or two, they did a great job. Again, I felt like the mother of sap-farming boys!! It was so cool.


Grandpa and the boys, out checking the trees.

When we got enough in the jugs, the boys would gather it in five gallon buckets to store either out on the porch in a garbage can or in the freezer or fridge. I wish I had a picture of my spare fridge filled with nothing but sap in every empty container I could find - roasting pans, bowls, pitchers, tea cups, thimbles, etc. (ok, not thimbles)

Jacob re-hanging a jug after emptying it.

FINALLY - time to boil!!! We needed around 40 gallons of sap to be collected in order to start boiling, in the hopes of getting one gallon of syrup out of that. In the end, we ended up getting just over two gallons of beautiful, sweet, delicious maple syrup. My Dad rigged up this stove to boil on, and he and mom did ALL the work keeping the fire going to boil it down. Does my back yard look a little "West Virginia-ish?" haha

As it boiled down, it started to turn a light brown - evidence of syrup!

When that boiled down, we added more sap to keep it going.

Finally, it was ready to be filtered and taken into the house where it needed to boil down even more. My Dad was the master-mind and experienced one who knew all about this and how to do it. Could I do it myself now? Well......let's just say I am making my parents come out next January again!! haha

Finally, the sap is down to these two pots, and we watched it boil. More like smelled it boil. There is absolutely no fragrance like that of maple syrup boiling on the stove. I wish it could be bottled and sold. Incredible.

Finally done - and then it needs to be filtered once again before bottling!! We were so excited to actually have made maple syrup from trees in our back yard. And I have to admit that it tastes absolutely amazing!! Nothing like it! With all the work that we now know goes into making syrup, we are treating our bottles like pure gold!!


This is our finished product, proudly brought to you in a video by Ryan!!! (who, by the way, took most of these wonderful pictures of the maple sugaring process) Thanks Ryan!!

Father-Daughter Dance

Ah, another turn around the bend of life. Another step, another milestone as we watch our children grow up. Hannah all grown up, wearing a beautiful dress, receiving her first corsage, wearing her first pair of "heels", going to her first semi-formal. At least this first dance was with her Dad and not some nervous young man who was trying to steal my daughter's heart!! A local church in the area sponsored a Father-Daughter dance at a Grand Ballroom, and Danny and Hannah went with a friend of Hannah's and her father. What fun they had!

Danny trying to pin on Hannah's corsage.

This picture is familiar - a similar pose was struck last year as they went out for a special dinner, just the two of them. This is the third year in a row that they have done this. Hannah really does look forward to it each year.

Danny, Hannah, and Abigal and Robert Vigil on their way to the dance.

A little goofiness at the end of the night - I think they weren't ready to stop dancing yet!!

Yep, a ham and his daughter!!!

Another collision and a night in the ER

What a weekend we just had. Danny fell on Friday night and injured his leg - but we didn't notice the swelling, redness and warmth of the injury until Saturday night as it became increasingly more painful for him to walk on. We were concerned about a blood clot as those are some of the symptoms and his doctor said he needed to go to the ER and get an x-ray right away.

Six hours later, at 3:30 a.m., we crawled home and into bed. To put it in the words of Matt, "So, you have a bruise?" haha yep, a bruise. We spent 6 hours in the ER for a bruise. Which, don't get me wrong, I am thankful for. I am glad there was no fracture or deep vein thrombosis. I just have to remind my husband that, in the words of the nurse at the hospital, Saturday night out in the ER does NOT count as a date!

So, we grabbed a few hours of sleep, and got up to some hungry children. Danny and I decided to go out and get subs for everyone for lunch. On the way home, we got in another accident. We were absolutely incredulous - I couldn't believe that I was in two accidents in a ten day period! This one was worse (for me). We were hit from behind by a car, who was then hit behind by a truck and pushed into us again, so we had two definite impacts. I must say that getting hit from behind was far worse and more painful than hitting someone head on.

So, let's take a count here. My van is in the shop being repaired. Matt's car has been broken down in the driveway for a week and he is driving a borrowed vehicle. Danny's Pilot now needs to go in the shop for repairs. We had vehicle misfortunes in Florida...

Honestly, I have to admit that I am very nervous about driving. I have some carpools to drive this week, and I am just not sure how that will go. I am going to have to work this through and learn to trust the Lord in all of my ways. I know that nothing happens outside of His sovereign will. We will persevere and learn to drive again!!!

Van Collision

This is the result of a collision that the kids and I were in last Thursday. We were on our way home from writing class and a young, teenage driver cut in front of me and then slammed on his brakes. (we have later come to find out that even though this wasn't my "fault", it is my fault!! Because I hit HIM, it is my fault, regardless of the circumstances. ) Other than the insurance ramifications, I don't really care whose "fault" it was - it was not an experience I want to repeat!

God was so good though - within 10 seconds of the crash, two policemen (who were right there at the time of the crash) were at our window checking on us, telling me they had already called the tow truck, and telling me what to do next. I felt completely helpless and would not have known what to do if they hadn't been right there. I also was driving a carpool so I had another child with me - NOT a fun call to make - "by the way, I have your child and we have just been in an accident"!! I called Danny, and he made that call for me...

In the end, the kids thought it was a fun adventure!! Crashing, riding in the tow truck to Starbucks where they got a special drink , all the attention from the police, and getting to miss their next class!! (we were on our way to art)

We are currently without a vehicle and hoping to line up a rental for me to drive. The van had a lot of damage but was not totalled, as we originally thought.

Thank you, Lord, for protecting us!!!

Florida vacation 2009

January 1st, 2009, we left for Florida!! It turned out to be one of the FUNNEST vacations we ever had, and we did NOT want to come back to the dreary, wintery, cold weather in Maryland after all the sunshine and palm trees... Here are some of the highlights:

Jacob at Downtown Disney with a lovely skeleton...

Ryan speeding on a go-kart in Old Town

Another Downtown Disney shot - they had the most amazing Lego creations!

The whole family plus Sherry, Matt's lovely girlfriend, at Epcot! Matt and Sherry were with us on the trip for the first five days - we had an absolutely wonderful time with both of them and we were so sad when they left... they both had to get back to work - boo hoo...

Ryan taking a picture of him and Sherry with his new camera!!

One of the highlights was a trip to the Kennedy Space Center

The view out to the back of the property we stayed at - it was very beautiful and peaceful, except for the alligator that came out of the water right behind the house...

Our last night there, with a soak in the hot tub...

At Medieval Times, Hannah was thrown one of the carnations by this knight, and so of course, we had to get a picture of them together. Talk about feeling like a princess...

Hannah with her flower

Thank you, Daniel, for all your work to plan, pay for, and execute such a fun time for all of us. The break was greatly appreciated, and we made memories that will certainly last a lifetime.

Temporarily gone, but hopefully not forgotten!!

So much has been going on in our lives these last months, that getting to post something on my blog was, unfortunately, last on the list of priorities... we have had a Christmas Tea for the PC ladies, Christmas shopping, construction on our home, leak repairs, more Christmas shopping, a night at Ford's Theatre to see Christmas Carol, baking, constructing Gingerbread houses, a night at Olney Theatre to see Peter Pan, a wonderful Christmas Eve service, more Christmas shopping, tile installation in our kitchen, Christmas Day, a New Year's Eve celebration, a fantastic vacation to Florida, Christmas returns, and the arrival of my parents for several months.

Amidst that, we have had speeding tickets (hmhm, ahhh, Danny that is), lost phones, running over a dog (soo sad!), pulled teeth, doctor's appointments, movie nights, family nights, college decisions, grieving friends, broken down cars, stressful days, and many days of laughter and love.

I sincerely hope to get back on track with blogging and not lose the recording of our family happenings to look back upon some day!! Thank you to all of you who bore with me patiently - I will most certainly try to be more faithful in the future!!

Happy 11th Birthday to My Girl

Happy 11th Birthday my dear Hannah! I am so exceedingly blessed to have you as my daughter! When God chose to give me just one daughter, He picked the absolutely perfect one for me! I have had SO MUCH JOY in my life as a result of your personality - you are perpetually cheerful, very funny, full of energy and optimism, you are kind and compassionate to everyone. You love the Lord and that is very apparent in your humility and grief over your sin. You are responsive to your parents, you are teachable, you are bright, you are simply one of God's most wonderful creations.

Dad and I love you far more than you will ever know... We have loved you, cared for you, prayed for you, and held you as one of the most precious of all the gifts that God gave us. We love you gently, tenderly, and long to guard you all of our days from any evil or harm or sadness. We know that these days will come to you, but we know that your trust in the Lord will sustain you all the days of your life. His love will guide you, comfort you, and be your greatest joy. We entrust you to Him with every breath you take.

Hannah as a sweet happy baby!

Hannah and Daddy! Oh, these days seem so long ago...


Ever since Hannah's first birthday, Danny has give her a rose for each year. This picture is obviously her second birthday. I LOVE this picture...

Hannah at three as a princess!! Well, she still is a princess to us, and always will be.

Pretty in pink!!

One thing Hannah has a passion for is animals - she loves Ginger, our dog, and especially loves her bunny! She was deeply grieved last February when she lost her first bunny, but now she loves to care for her new bunny Ella! She has been hinting at either breeding her bunny or getting another one, but Dad is a hard sell on either one...

Hannah at eight, with her eight roses.

Hannah with her first bunny Marshmallow.

Hannah at nine

Hannah and I on her tenth birthday.

Hannah, I cherish the memories I have had with you. Your days as my little girl are slipping through my fingers, and you are growing up right before my eyes!! Like I tell you every day "Just stop it!" haha If only you could... I will always see you as my little girl, but I am thoroughly enjoying the friendship that is blossoming between us as you grow up. You always make me laugh (especially at the grocery store, and anywhere for that matter!!), and you are always encouraging me. I have to say that you are the biggest encourager in my life! You always see the bright side of things, and you always find positive things to say to me when I least deserve it. Your love is completely unconditional, and so many days I feel I don't deserve to have you for my daughter.

May this next year be a full and happy one for you - may you find new joys, new friendships, new ways to nurture all the gifts that God has given you.

I love you Hannah Elizabeth!!!

Happy 11th Birthday