Someone is always watching us
Grace and I just returned from a Communicators for Christ (CFC) in Indiana. CFC has 2 websites www.commforchrist.com and www.communicatorsforchrist.com check them out. This trip was to prepare and inspire Grace for being a part of a speech and debate club in FL. Mission accomplished and much more.
CFC says you must communicate well and that you can. All of us communicate something. As Christians we have a beautiful message to communicate and we want to be able to do it effectively. No matter where we go, no matter what we are doing or saying someone is watching us. When we identify ourselves as Christians someone is watching to see what message we are sending. Let's be willing to grow in our communication skills as witnesses of the Living God.
.....much more. This past week with Grace was a building block in our future friendship. ( Dan and I do see ourselves becoming friends with our children as they grow and mature. ) Our time together was precious. Having an extended time with just one of my children is a rare thing and we made the most of it.
We walked into a crowd of friends we had yet to meet. More than friends, these people are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Grace and I were welcomed and accepted. It was fun being from MA via VA Beach and meeting people from California, Louisiana and Michigan on the border of KY and IN on the IN side. There is a quality about these people that I want for my children. The Lord is continuing to prepare and equip us as we continue to journey on the pilgrim highway.

Always holding on to Hope
Last night I showed my age and I couldn't stand to stay up and watch the Yankees Red Sox game. I think I retired sometime in the 8th inning. In the 4th inning Michael said "Mom this game is going to go into extra innings." At some point I awoke to the sound of 2 of my 3 children cheering. I thought RedSox did something right....I resisted the temptation to get up and find out what was happening.
Why did I go to bed? I am tired of heartache....I can't take it anymore. 2003 ouch, 1986 wince, 1975 so close.......the heartaches before that are probably before my time or at a time that I was too little to care. The temptation to want to read Stephen King's Novel Faithful is great. Is it even out yet?
I don't think I have lost my grit (Hearty New Englandah that I am). Fiercely, we hold on to hope in most situations. The Spirit of RedSox Nation is one of perseverance and determination. These are good qualities. We press on.....sometimes we forget to be gracious. The thing is to be firm and unrelenting while minding your manners, while caring for others, and remembering that Yankees' fans are people too. One of my favorite people in the whole world is a Yankees' fan(my beautiful redheaded daughter). We can be fans of different teams without being rude. In our home we are The Mullaneys first and family is first. This is a great lesson that hopefully will carry into other areas in my children's lives. When we find ourselves in circumstances with our backs up against the wall we still hold on to hope because we know the One who holds the future.
Life is a lot like being a RedSox fan. There are ups and downs but you keep your chin up. You don't give up. We never stop reaching to be the best. This is how life is to be lived. If you get knocked down, you don't just lie there, you get back up. You look ahead, forgetting what is behind, we press on to the goal. For the Sox that is the World championship, for us as warriors of the Most High, King of Kings it is life lived to the fullest knowing one day we will be with Him. That being said, I will now rise to the challenge of watching game 5 to the very end.

Recollection
Sometimes we need to be reminded about where it is we are going. Life is a journey and none of us really know where it will lead. There are bends and twists down the road that we don’t see but the One who leads sees the beginning from the end. We can trust the One we follow. I don’t recall if I shared this on my blog.
The Lord gave us two messages from the scripture. The first is from Psalm 84.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

The other is from Jeremiah 35
"We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: 'Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. 7 Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.'
17 "Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.' “18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Recabites, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.' 19 Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve me.' "

At times we do not understand why we are doing what we are doing but we do believe we were called for a time to be traveling. This is an act of obedience. It is both exciting and knee-knocking. Living in different places, not owning any property but in a sense always having a place to rest our heads. Some have even ventured to say that the world is our oyster.
I needed to remember where my strength comes from and whose word it is to obey. Thanks for reading. CM from VA Beach

Knock a little louder with presidential authority
Today we were true participants in the political process. We went door to door with some literature to inform voters of where President Bush and Sen. Kerry on National Defense, Taxes and Health Care. The front of the hand out said "Virginia is Bush Country." Dan and I believe that our President is the man to support to continue to lead our country. Dan admires Mr. Bush's character and his values. I agree with the President on the fact that if we want to remain the freest nation in the world then we need to maintain our sovereignty as a nation. His opponent on the other hand wants to be buddy buddy with everyone around the world. It is one thing to have allies but quite another to trade our security for a world-wide likeable reputation.

It is a good feeling learning and doing with our children as more Americans ought to do. Yes, we are voting with our absentee ballots. There is definitely work involved. Anyone who may be making their decision based on a movie or sound bites may want to check out their facts at www.factcheck.org Those of you who are voting I hope you will make an informed decision as we elect the next President of the United States, the highest office of this land.

Leisure
In the child rearing years there is not a lot of time for leisure but I believe it is healthy for us to make the time for it at least on a semi-regular basis. Noah Webster 1828 dictionary gives this for its second definition of "leisure" "convenience of time."
Golf is considered to be a leisure activity. Yesterday, Dan and I took the time to participate in a golf tournament to benefit Patrick Henry College (www.phc.edu) located in Northern Virginia. It is a school started by Michael Farris one of the modern-day defenders of home education. We had an opportunity to support an institution that could be a part of our future or at least the future of one of our children.
The day however was not all leisurely because we decided to make it a one day thing (we missed it by about 5 hrs. Our day started at 5 am and ended right before midnight.) We drove to the northern part of the state west of DC where both the school and the golf club are located. It was worth it. We had a gorgeous day!! Not a cloud in the sky and about 73 degrees out. We were paired with a couple of hackers so we didn't place as far as a score went but we did enjoy playing, being together, being outdoors. (I also beat out 11 other ladies for the longest drive contest - I guess I still maintain that competitive spirit in some arenas)
It was how we decided to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary(which was last Friday). I am just way to young to be married that long, which is what I will probably be saying for my 20th, 25th and even my 30th God-willing. From VB. Signing off.

Time marches on
We haven't been too busy and I guess that is probably why I haven't blogged much lately. I am back to equipping kids, enjoying the beach, meeting up with people and praying for our Floridan friends and relatives.
This past weekend. Grace and I went to a party at a friend's beach house. I was the oldest and Grace was the youngest the rest were in their mid 20's and most of them are law students. We were a part of the earlier quiter crowd (everyone stop laughing now). The party was really starting to wind up just as we were leaving. It was good to be there with Grace and meet some of our friend Emily's friends.
Grace also had a date with her dad. They went to hear Tom Brokaw speak at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. Grace would have loved to have Uncle Paul Dalis along with them.

I am currently reading out loud Prince Caspian book 4 of the Chronicles of Narnia to Michael. I read the whole set out loud a number of years ago. Michael has been reading them to himself but he asked if I would read this story aloud, gladly I am. The girls ease drop on occasion but don't tell anyone. We invited them to join us but they declined.

Usually we memorize some scripture together but this time we decided to memorize the Prayer of St. Francis of Assi. Since writing it helps us to learn I had the kids write it in their journals and I thought that I would type it here.
Lord, make me a channel of thy peace!
That where there is hatred, I may bring love
That where there is wrong, I may bring the
spirit of forgiveness
That where there is discord, I may bring
harmony
That where there is error, I may bring truth
That where there is doubt, I may bring faith
That where there is despair, I may bring hope
That where there is shadows, I may bring light
That where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather
To comfort than to be comforted
To understand, than to be understood
To love, than to be loved.
For
It is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.

Letting another Home Educator speak for me
(As published in The Washington Times earlier this month)

The Washington Times
September 3, 2004
Washington Times Op-ed — Deregulation Places Trust In Parents
by J. Michael SmithHSLDA President
Every four years, we elect a president. Education is an issue the candidates must address because it affects so many people. With about 50 million children of compulsory attendance age (generally between the ages of 6 and 16 or 18, depending on the state), this represents a very large percentage of the population that is interested in kindergarten-through-12th-grade education.
At least 85 percent of all school-age children are being educated in public schools. Not only are parents interested in seeing that their children receive quality education, but all citizens have a vested interest in education.
One of the major reasons that education has received so much attention in past elections and in this election is because a significant percentage of our children are receiving less-than-high-quality educations, resulting in functional illiteracy.
This is happening despite the fact that the government is spending more money on education than ever before. When federal and state dollars are combined, public schools are receiving, on average, $9,000 per child annually, according to the Heritage Foundation. Many citizens are beginning to say that more money is not the answer.
As academic performance of public schools continues to spiral down, a segment of the education population has been producing high academic performance - the homeschool movement.
For more than 20 years, homeschooled children who have taken standardized achievement tests have scored 20 to 30 percentile points above the national average. Last month, ACT Inc., which produces the ACT college entrance exam, released figures showing that the average homeschooler scored 22.6, compared with the national average of 20.9.
This is happening without any government support. Homeschool parents have said "no" to government schools, believing that they can do a better job themselves. So far, the results indicate clearly that they can.
Despite this success, some, generally in the public school establishment, still are calling for more regulation of home education. This stems from the skepticism that parents could be successful when they haven't been professionally trained. In other words, they are not certified by the state.
Homeschoolers respond that not one scientific survey supports the need for teacher certification for someone to be able teach children, especially in a tutorial setting. There is no evidence to support the assumption that obtaining a teaching certificate guarantees teaching success.
Virtually all teachers in public schools must be certified. Yet the overall academic results of public schools in America are unsatisfactory by objective standards.
Another reason advanced for more regulation of home educators is their lack of accountability. Those seeking regulation would argue that homeschool programs need to abide by a specific day and hour calendar, submit to curriculum approval, show that teachers have some minimum educational requirement and undergo measurable evaluations on a regular basis.
The Home School Legal Defense Association has resisted these efforts because we know that the success of home education is the ability to individualize education. In other words, the homeschool parent can take an education program and mold it to his or her child. This is in the child's best interest. On the other hand, the child in the classroom must be molded to the education program being offered.
You cannot compare the results of an education received in a tutorial setting with those of classroom learning. This is what is meant by the slogan we hear many times from homeschoolers: "Don't take the classroom into your homeschool program."
This slogan is powerful. It simply means that you have the freedom to explore all kinds of creative ways to teach your child. Governmental attempts to standardize home education will destroy the genius behind home education and will detrimentally affect the academic achievement of home educators.
In addition, home educators can demonstrate that it is not necessary to regulate them. Every state has a different way of addressing homeschooling. Some states, such as New York and Pennsylvania, overly regulate home education. Others, such as Idaho, Texas, Illinois and Indiana, don't even require homeschooling parents to initiate contact with the state.
According to research done by the National Home Education Research Institute with thousands of homeschool students across the nation in both low and high regulation states, there is no appreciable difference in the results of nationally standardized achievement tests between those categories of students.
What this proves is that you can trust homeschooling parents to provide a quality education that meets the individual needs of their children. The next logical step is to deregulate homeschooling in states such as New York and Pennsylvania to save taxpayer dollars spent on bureaucrats' interaction with home educators.
Deregulation continues to be one of our goals at HSLDA. We know you can trust homeschool parents to do an outstanding job of educating their children without the "help" of the government.

After reading quietly for the last 45 minutes to themselves Katie and Michael are going out for some much needed P.E. I have had a few of interesting conversations recently about educating children at home. I need to remember that our experience at home in Massachusetts and on the road since March of 2003 is our experience and no one can really refute it.

Each family is unique and each family has decisions to make about each child. Some families operate in the same way some school systems operate - this is how we do things each child is treated the same, each is given equal opportunities to the resources available. Some people try to live life that way. They need to have everything be equal, fair and right and they do that with absolutely no regard to the individual. Each of our children are fashion as a one of a kind. Dan and I are doing our best to be students of these young people who are each wiggling out of childhood into young adulthood. Some decisions are not easy to make but we are doing our best to seek wisdom and counsel. Laws and justice require more than just knowledge to execute effectively they also requires wisdom in order for a balanced judgment to occur.
So there you have it from the Beach.

Ivan the Terrible
As many of you know we had the wonderful experience of living in Southwest, Florida this past winter. We have both family and friends there. Please pray for all the Floridians and that Ivan will be reduced before it reaches Florida.
When you get to know and love people these disasters aren't just some news story, they become more personal.

Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon
Lenoure Mullaney due to an injury was unable to run the 1/2 marathon this year but she was able to bring a friend, Sharon to compete and be her cheerleader. Today, Sharon ran the RnR 1/2 marathon in VA Beach. We were so happy for her that she finished, strong and that we were here to be her host and provide comforting hospitality. It is a pure 1/2 13.1 miles. It was a good day for running, slightly overcast and not too hot. (see www.rnrhalf.com for more info) This was a case of everyone who crossed the finish line is a winner. It also made me think of the proverb, "finishing is better than starting." Hopefully, my kids were thinking of that too.

Sharon is a very interesting woman who was born to American parents, raised by them in the UK, has gone to school in Switzerland and in DC and lived on a kabotz in Israel in her early 20's. This is part of my children's education as we meet new people and they share their experiences with us.
Lenoure is Dan's oldest niece and is also a person who has had international experiences. She lived in Togo (a west African country) as a peacecorp volunteer for 2 years. In high school and college Lenoure lived in France. Currently, she is living in the DC area.
Since, we were in the presence of world travelers we played a game of Geo Bee Challenge by National Geographic. Grace won, Lenoure and Sharon held there own. I am so glad they came to visit us this weekend. Our time spent with these ladies has enriched our lives. We couldn't seem to bring the world to us so we are going to the world and making wonderful discoveries in Our Father's World.

Nauticus with Michael
Yesterday, the Naval Museum, Nauticus celebrated their 25th birthday. Michael and I went down to Norfolk to celebrate. We enjoyed part of our afternoon there and of course we boarded the USS Wisconsin which is a ship in reserves (so she still could be deployed). It is both scary and exciting to me to be here with Michael for a second time (both of us have been 3 times all together - we are planning to return with Dan who has never been before we continue on to FL) He is very interested in the Military. Uncle Paul Dalis (Michael's grand uncle) is a WWII Vet and calls him Capt. Michael. Uncle Paul would like to live to see Michael go to West Point. It will be interesting to see if Michael does serve our country in the Military.
It is nice to be back in Hampton Roads and we are now moved into our apartment.

Virginia Beach, VA 2004
The unpacking is almost finished after a very long week. Tuesday, we did get into our apartment and I won't even bother to go into the rest of our glitches......anyone out there watch the Olympic hurdles?....that was the Mullaneys just after we thought we had got over the last hurdle another one was in our path. (No one said that this traveling business was going to
be easy :-)
All 5 of us really like VB. We have already seen a couple of friends that we made the last time we were here. Who knows? perhaps we may end up back here. It is good to be here and Dan is working days and coming home with more humorous stories from Maryview Hospital. Time will fly here so I best get to bed. Perhaps I will make sunrise down at the Oceanfront tomorrow.

The James Madison Hotel
a Clarion Hotel in Norfolk, VA
Again we have yet to find any routine in our travels - it is always an adventure. We arrived in Norfolk at 9:30pm Friday (August 20th) night. Thursday afternoon we found out that our apartment would not be ready until Tuesday. Oops!
Sine we were all set to roll out of Tilghman for Friday - RN Network would be putting us up in a hotel from Fri - Tues.
Our housing person mistakenly booked us at a place that didn't allow pets. So at 945pm we started making phone calls. God seems to always be upgrading us to compensate for our "troubles." (I put that in quotes because I know that life usually doesn't go as planned and compared to some troubles, our are just mere inconveniences.) At 1130pm we checked in and hit the hay.
We are staying at The James Madison in historic downtown Norfolk. Originally built in 1906 as The Lynnhaven Hotel, Norfolk's first high-rise with a "lift." It is a little tight in the room but we will, as usual, make the best of it. (Katie came across a great quote, "Flexible people never get bent out of shape.") Michael camps out on the floor and we generally are able to manage our living quarters with a big dose of humor.
I must say that I was a little bummed about having to go to a hotel this time since we only had just over 200 miles to travel. Today, is Katie's 13th birthday and we got another upgrade this afternoon being moved into an even bigger room with 2 w.c. (bathrooms ie water closets) and not tripping over the dog and one another constantly. Thank God for these blessings.
Yesterday, we did have the opportunity to drop off our boxes to our new apartment and we look forward to getting in on Tuesday. Our children are truly fellow pilgrims.

Leaving Our Mark
Maryland like other places we live do things within the county. Talbot County is the one we have been living in for the last 3 months. Like each place we have gone, we search out the area for the Library. Talbot Free Library has 3 branches one on Tilghman Island, one in Easton and one in St. Michaels.
St. Michaels' library has been temporarily housed at the old fire station down by the harbor. The friends of the library were helping raise funds for the new building by having patrons be able to buy bricks to be laid in the courtyard. At first we were thinking about doing just one big brick for our family. Then Dan and I got to thinking about doing a brick for each of the kids and not telling them. The library is nearly finished and the construction guys let us bring the kids onto the site today. We will be leaving before the grand opening at the end of the month. So, our children have a permanent mark left here. Each of their bricks have their name, the chapter and verse of the scripture we use for each of their blessings and the words "fellow pilgrim." It was something fun to do, surprise the kids with and at the same time give to the community. Hopefully we have left the mark of Christ in this place as well upon the people we have encountered here.
Moving on
Just a few odds and ends to pack up. Most of the cleaning done. Mullaneys will be pulling out of Tilghman, Maryland on Friday. The children have been more and more helpful with each move. Right now they are next door at Maria and Kevin's taking a much needed break in the pool.
Yesterday, I had a great visit with Maria. It was just what the doctor ordered. I believe that our conversation was a divine appointment and it is so helpful when people are just straight forward and honest about life. I am just sorry that I didn't spend more time with Maria. She is a real sweetheart. A new friendship begun and we will stay in touch. Time to chill out and get ready for bed. Good night.

On August 11th I wrote the following: (I realized that what we experienced is practically nothing to what our friends and relatives in southwest FL are experiencing now)
I am sitting here in the dark. It is Grace's 15th birthday and we had one doozie of a storm that has left us without power. My laptop has a battery so I am using it. Everyone including Dan has gone to bed. The children are bunking out in Grace's room. We will be leaving here in just over a week. The packing is coming along.
'we just returned from York, PA where we visited with my cousins, aunt and uncle. It was good to be with them. We really did enjoy fun, food and fellowship and fireworks. Shelley even had fireworks for us the first night we were there. Aren't we special?!!
I think I will hit the hay too. I will write more later after changing my address with different folks and packing some more oh, and finishing the birthday shopping for Katie.
BTW I am not old enough to have a 15 year old, right?
Dan celebrated his 41st bday in PA, today Grace and Katie will be on the 22nd.

PHILADELPHIA
The City of Brotherly love!! Well, I failed to mention that when my mum was here, Dan and I went to Philadelphia for a couple of days. As we approached I was like a little kid (only behind the wheel - Dan hates to drive in the city and he is not fond of being a passenger either), the sun was setting as we neared the Ben Franklin Bridge with the cityscape in the background made my heart pound with excitement. I was ooing and ahhing and Dan was saying will you please pay attention to where you are going. It was so good to be in a city. There is a certain humm to a city. It was very relaxing. Nice to just be together. While we were away, the children took very good care of Nana.
We did visit the historic district which now is equipped with its post 9/11 security. I really look forward to taking the children there some day.
Time to get packing.

Mornings with Lady (our Miniture Schnauzer)
Usually, I am the first one up so since we have been on this adventure I take the dog out for a walk which we both enjoy.  Here in Tilghman there is a park next to Knapps Narrows Marina.  I imagine that at one point this park was beautiful.  The only upkeep done is mowing the grass.  It use to have a majestic view of The Bay at one point.  The back of the park has a deck type structure, an overlook on top of a hill but the weeds and such have grown up to such a point that you can not see much of the Bay. 
This has become our regular spot.  There are a few other dog owners that have made it their regular spot too.  I only run into them when I get up or get out late.  Early in the AM it is just Lady and me.  The other things that crabs my attention are the boats that are dry docked at the Marina.  My favorite name of a sailboat is "Panic Knot."  My imagination takes flight, the captain of this vessel is perhaps an Englishman who is calm and stern, in the midst of high winds he may cry out to his passengers, "Panic Knot, I am at the helm and I have everything in control." At the very moment that he says the word "control" he is covered by the wave that has swept over the deck.   Anyway, I let you in to one of my morning musings. 
I do hope that I get to go back out on the Bay in one of the vessels around here before we pack up to go.  Yes, it is almost time to go....we are doing a short stop here (we are headed south...more on that later.) After we do FL from Nov. to May we will be doing shorter assignments hoping to get to see more of this great land together with our children, while they are still children. 
Have a wonderful day unless you have other plans.

"Where would I find cocoa?" 
This question and ones similar to that are upon my lips to the grocer in whatever town I find myself on any given day.  One of the challenges of traveling is learning the new grocery store.  I do my best to remain teachable and I do enjoy learning how to get around town find the short cuts and local favorites but what aisle is the tuna in...... (I want to know but I don't want to have to learn) 
The other day I went shopping and I was saying to myself, why am I dreading going to the grocery store?  It came to me as I was driving in the truck by myself...it takes me twice as long to shop because I am still learning where things are.  So, if this is my biggest challenge as a traveler than I will be doing great, don't you think?  And I will not starve my family . . . maybe I need to take one of the kids with me in the next place we move to so we can go for a trial run the first time, just get acquainted with the store and perhaps picking up a thing or two and map out the store.   
This is real life.....and no I don't want my own reality show.  Living it is enough for me.

Oh Captain my Captain!!!
Skipjack Rebecca with Capt Wade Murphy on Tuesday 13th of July, 2004   Michael started to hoist the sail but it soon became quite a work, a man joined him and moments later I found my hands upon the ropes.  It was a fine day for a sail.  My mother and Katie were among those enjoying the history/science lesson being giving by Capt. Wade while Mr. Dick took the wheel.  Soon we were sailing along.  Learning about Osprey and the Coastguard, the eco system of the Bay and the oyster crisis, global warming (sic) and the depopulation of the famous blue crab.....we had no idea that this waterman wanted us to know as much as he could tell us about what he knew concerning this body of water and the life in it within 2 hours.  I think he didn't talk for the last 10 minutes.  Michael took the wheel for the last leg of our journey.  Capt Wade was going to let him dock but since Michael had no experience he asked the captain to take over the wheel.  It was a relaxing trip and I hope we get to go out on the water again before we leave this place.

Annapolis MD part II
My mum came to visit.  Arriving on Saturday July 10, 2004 I failed to remember that I was living on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the summer time.  Well, there was a 10 mile back up at the Bay Bridge to get home.  So we took a detour to Annapolis for lunch.  It was Katie, my Mum and me.  Since, there is really no rush on the ES, there was no rush to get over the bridge.  We dined at the Middleton Tavern and enjoyed some of Maryland's famous blue crabs.   Then it was back to the Kinte-Haley Memorial.  My mother appreciated this historic detour and once we got back on the road the traffic was much less congested.  Some of our best trips are the ones that our not planned and this was one of them.