That I haven't blogged since MAY FIRST! 3& 1/2 months later... wow, this summer sure has FLOWN by. And, of course, like many of you, I am totally addicted to Facebook, so that has taken my time from blogging.
Well, here's the rundown of the past 3&1/2 months...
May 2-3, down to Atlanta to "get out of Dodge" for Kentucky Derby weekend. Scratched another baseball stadium off the list, saw my Uncle Dave, whom I haven't seen in YEARS, and caught up with some friends there for church. Rachel, my friend, was actually my roommate at Northland Camp the summer that Chris and I met. It was nice to catch up! :-)
The following weekend, Mother's Day weekend, we flew to Maryland for a long weekend. Ever since our in vitro fertilization/miscarriage, Chris has bought me tickets to go see my best friend in Maryland as a Mother's Day gift. This year, he came along. We had a wonderful time with Kevin and Jos, and got to catch up with a lot of friends from our church there. It made Mother's Day a bit easier for me! I'm so thankful for a wonderful, thoughtful husband!
After 3 trips for me in 3 weekends, we settled down to work, work and more work... with our ministry responsibilities at church added in. We were able to have some fun in there, too!
June was a pretty quiet month for us, though I had a fun opportunity to do a "photo shoot" with my friends, JR & Abbi. They got married in December, and didn't really care for their engagement pictures. I went out with them one weekend while Chris was gone for some work training, and took a bunch of pictures of them. I am by no means a photographer, but I was pretty pleased with the way some of them turned out.
June 12 our church had a "Sister's Supper." It was a ladies' banquet for all females ages 4 and up. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, and God used one of the devotionals in particular to really speak to my heart about something I had been struggling with that week especially. I may have to post about that later.
June 23rd, my dear friend, Shanna had her baby, Mason, at 23 weeks, 5 days along... about 3 months early! It was pretty rough on me, but today he is doing FANTASTIC, and is really a tiny miracle!
On June 30th, my grandparents came down to the Creation Museum in Cincinnati (about an hour & 1/2 from us). I had not seen them in 2 years... to the day! (It was my baby brother's wedding anniversary, and the last time I had seen them was at Nathan's wedding!) I was able to take the day off and spend it with them, which was a huge blessing!
We celebrated July 4th at Indian Creek Baptist Camp (the camp run by our church) on Freedom Friday (which happened to be July 3rd.) Chris had the opportunity to preach in the service... only the second time he's actually had that opportunity since we left Maryland 3 years before. He did an awesome job (I know, I'm a little prejudiced!) I was very proud of him. We took Zack and Dakota with us (Dakota is the little boy I took care of for over 2 years). It was a wonderful night, and we enjoyed it!
July 16th, I was able to head up to Indianapolis for the day to visit with 2 college friends that liver there, Jess and Kelly (and their families.) I so enjoyed seeing them and catching up a little better! I don't live that far away, but it seems like there is never a really good time to go more often. :-(
July 22 was our 9th anniversary. We both had to work that day, but ended up having Friday the 24th off together. We slept in, worked out, then headed out for the day... visited Louisville Mega Cavern, ate at J. Gumbos, went to the Louisville Slugger museum, walked around downtown Louisville (and took pictures), then went to Morton's steakhouse for dinner. It was FABULOUS! We so enjoyed having the day together to celebrate our marriage and our life together.
July 31st, we went to a Louisville Bats game with our friends, April & Scott Mohler. We enjoy the fellowship with them, and wish we could get together with them more often, as well.
The first full week of August brings YOUTH CONFERENCE to Shawnee Baptist Church. This year was the 25th Anniversary of Youth Conference. It was AWESOME!!! We had 1,200+ teens here for 4 days to hear the preaching of God's Word for 3 days, then the last day they spend at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. They usually go to a waterpark on that Tuesday morning, but this year the waterpark came to them... We had a HUGE flood; actually a Flood Emergency was declared for Louisville... basically, if you didn't have to go anywhere, DON'T! It sure made it memorable! :-)
That same week was very busy for me... I worked all week, then was trying to visit with a couple people that were just in town for the week, plus get ready for vacation! I was blessed to be able to see a good friend from MN, Dawn, who was down here meeting her newest grandbaby... and her first granddaughter. I also got to spend some time with a little boy that I took care of in Maryland, Nathen, and his family, who were here visiting as well.
August 8th, after work, we left on VACATION! It was AWESOME, and I didn't want to come home! We visited Chris' sister, Sandy, and her family. We hadn't seen her boys (ages almost 8 and almost 5) for almost 3 years, and her husband in 5 years! It was great to visit with them! They live in West Palm Beach, FL... I was lovin' me some Florida (as my BIL would say!) :-) We went to the beach a couple of times, including going to Miami for the day (and saw South Beach).
On Tuesday, Aug. 11th (Chris' 34th Birthday), we attended a Florida Marlins game. For the first time, in ALL the games we've attended, we FINALLY made it on the Jumbotron at the stadium! We've discovered that it helps to have adorable nephews with you! :-) We ate at Shorty's Barbecue in Miami - one of the top 10 places to eat there. Chris and Tyson played golf two mornings, and played softball one night. Sandy and I got manicures/pedicures (a first for me!), and then I framed some cross-stitches for her, and arranged the pictures for a family photo wall in her house. We attended a home decorating class on Thursday night. Friday we went to Tampa... actually St. Petersburg for a Tampa Bay Rays game. We "tailgated" before the game, which was pretty fun. Finished up the vacation on Saturday by having a GORGEOUS day at the beach, in spite of the rain before we went, and after we went. Also had a joint birthday party (homemade pizza and DQ Thin Mints blizzard cake) for Chris', Tron's and my birthdays. Chris' b-day was the 11th, and Tron and I share a b-day on the 18th. Like I said before, it was a wonderful vacation, and we were so thrilled to be able to go.
Now, it's back to life, back to reality. I've had a little "hiccup" in my job situation, so am working a few less hours for now, and am really praying about the possibility of another job. I'm praying that if God wants me somewhere else, that He will drop the opportunity in my lap.
Anyway, that's the summation of our summer! I'm sure I've left out some things, but that's basically it! Hopefully I'll get some pics posted of different events on here soon. If I don't, you can look on my Facebook page... they are ALL on there! :-)
Have a wonderful night, and hope you all had a great summer! :-)
Showing posts with label random thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random thoughts. Show all posts
8.20.2009
5.01.2009
A month later...
Wow - this month has been really busy, even though I didn't know it was going to be this way! I'm all for surprises, and I got a great surprise this month.
On April 10, I went with our teens on a laser tag activity. It was VERY fun; I'd never played laser tag before. I didn't do well, but I didn't come in last, either, so I was pretty good with that!
My great surprise came on April 14. That night, Chris texted me to ask me what I was making for supper. Now, mind you, I don't ENJOY cooking... I don't even LIKE cooking, so I try not to think about it until I absolutely have to. Part of the problem is that Chris and I don't often eat together, b/c he doesn't usually get home until around 9pm. I am still TRYING to lose weight, and try not to eat after 8pm. I hate cooking for just me, and having him eat leftovers when he gets home, so I usually just cook for him when he's on his way home, and then I eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. ANYWAY, I told him that I hadn't planned anything, and left it at that. Well, he called me at around 9:15pm, and told me that he was on his way home, and that he was REALLY hungry, so I needed to make sure that I made enough dinner. As I was finishing up dinner, he walked into the house and said, "Hey, Babe, I'm home." My back was to the door when he walked in, and as I turned around, I saw that he was holding a blonde little girl...
SURPRISE!!! Many thoughts were reeling through my head in that moment until I recognized who it was... our niece, Korissa! I said her name, and her mom and sister stepped out from behind Chris! They live in Vegas, and we hadn't seen Korissa for 9 months, and hadn't had a chance to meet Raegan, since she's only 4 months old now! I was totally surprised... I had no idea! They had planned this for over a month. Kim's husband is overseas on business for 4 months, so they broke up his absence by coming here for a week in the middle of the four months! It was SO FUN having them here. Korissa just LOVES Uncle Chris, and I loved holding Raegan. Chris and I both still had to work while they were here, but I got off about every other day, so it worked out OK.
That weekend, the 18th, was Thunder Over Louisville... the big kick-off to the 2 week long Derby Festival before the Kentucky Derby. We all went down to the riverfront for that. Chris had a friend from college that lives in Nashville come up for Thunder, and he and his wife joined us, as well as a couple that are friends of ours from here. We had a great time! Even the girls loved the fireworks; Raegan fell asleep half way through them, in spite of the fact that one of her earplugs had fallen out.
We SO enjoyed having kids in our house, and it was very lonely when they left!
I packed in several days of work after they left, then last Thurs. headed down to Murfreesboro, TN, for the Sword of the Lord Ladies' Jubilee (conference.) I took two of my friends with me, and joined a few more mature ladies from the church to caravan down there. We had a wonderful time. It's so amazing how God always gives you JUST what you need, when you need it! I have recently been struggling a lot with the fact that God has chosen not to give us a baby right now, along with some other things in my life. There were 3 different sessions at the conference about God working through the trials in our lives. One of them was entitled, "God Works the Night Shift." The speaker was talking about how some of God's greatest work is done in the dark... a baby being formed in the darkness of his mother's womb, the rest and recovery our bodies do while we're asleep, etc. It was so encouraging to me! (I'll post the notes on another post here in a minute!) It was an encouraging, fun, but emotional weekend for me.
This week, I worked a lot to make up for the time I will be gone this weekend.
We're leaving later today to head to Atlanta, GA. The Kentucky Derby is this weekend here in Louisville, and we get Saturday off (because most everything around here closes for the Derby.) The kids in KY actually have today off school because it's Oakes Day (the "local's" Derby). Anyway, we don't really want to be a part of all that, so we've been leaving town for this weekend ever since we moved here. The past two years we went to St. Louis to watch the Cardinals play baseball, but they didn't have a home game this year. So, we decided to cross another baseball park off the list of parks we need to see, and so we're going to Atlanta. My uncle lives near Atlanta, so he'll be meeting us for lunch tomorrow. On Sunday, we are going to church with some long ago friends that we haven't seen in a while, and then doing lunch with them, and heading home.
Whew! Life has been busy! God is good, and we are thanking him for DAILY loading us with benefits... even our salvation! :-) (Psalms)
My baby brother is graduating from Maranatha next weekend, though we won't be able to be there. He and his wife are moving this weekend, so pray for them, and please pray that Nathan can find a job in Madison. Also, my brother Greg is graduating with his Master's Degree this weekend. (Not from Maranatha... can't remember the name of the school.) I have lots of cards to make! :-)
Well, I better get going... too much time on here already! I'm going to try to post some pictures, but if I can't get them on here, you can check my Facebook page if you are interested.
Thanks for stopping by! :-)
On April 10, I went with our teens on a laser tag activity. It was VERY fun; I'd never played laser tag before. I didn't do well, but I didn't come in last, either, so I was pretty good with that!
My great surprise came on April 14. That night, Chris texted me to ask me what I was making for supper. Now, mind you, I don't ENJOY cooking... I don't even LIKE cooking, so I try not to think about it until I absolutely have to. Part of the problem is that Chris and I don't often eat together, b/c he doesn't usually get home until around 9pm. I am still TRYING to lose weight, and try not to eat after 8pm. I hate cooking for just me, and having him eat leftovers when he gets home, so I usually just cook for him when he's on his way home, and then I eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. ANYWAY, I told him that I hadn't planned anything, and left it at that. Well, he called me at around 9:15pm, and told me that he was on his way home, and that he was REALLY hungry, so I needed to make sure that I made enough dinner. As I was finishing up dinner, he walked into the house and said, "Hey, Babe, I'm home." My back was to the door when he walked in, and as I turned around, I saw that he was holding a blonde little girl...
SURPRISE!!! Many thoughts were reeling through my head in that moment until I recognized who it was... our niece, Korissa! I said her name, and her mom and sister stepped out from behind Chris! They live in Vegas, and we hadn't seen Korissa for 9 months, and hadn't had a chance to meet Raegan, since she's only 4 months old now! I was totally surprised... I had no idea! They had planned this for over a month. Kim's husband is overseas on business for 4 months, so they broke up his absence by coming here for a week in the middle of the four months! It was SO FUN having them here. Korissa just LOVES Uncle Chris, and I loved holding Raegan. Chris and I both still had to work while they were here, but I got off about every other day, so it worked out OK.
That weekend, the 18th, was Thunder Over Louisville... the big kick-off to the 2 week long Derby Festival before the Kentucky Derby. We all went down to the riverfront for that. Chris had a friend from college that lives in Nashville come up for Thunder, and he and his wife joined us, as well as a couple that are friends of ours from here. We had a great time! Even the girls loved the fireworks; Raegan fell asleep half way through them, in spite of the fact that one of her earplugs had fallen out.
We SO enjoyed having kids in our house, and it was very lonely when they left!
I packed in several days of work after they left, then last Thurs. headed down to Murfreesboro, TN, for the Sword of the Lord Ladies' Jubilee (conference.) I took two of my friends with me, and joined a few more mature ladies from the church to caravan down there. We had a wonderful time. It's so amazing how God always gives you JUST what you need, when you need it! I have recently been struggling a lot with the fact that God has chosen not to give us a baby right now, along with some other things in my life. There were 3 different sessions at the conference about God working through the trials in our lives. One of them was entitled, "God Works the Night Shift." The speaker was talking about how some of God's greatest work is done in the dark... a baby being formed in the darkness of his mother's womb, the rest and recovery our bodies do while we're asleep, etc. It was so encouraging to me! (I'll post the notes on another post here in a minute!) It was an encouraging, fun, but emotional weekend for me.
This week, I worked a lot to make up for the time I will be gone this weekend.
We're leaving later today to head to Atlanta, GA. The Kentucky Derby is this weekend here in Louisville, and we get Saturday off (because most everything around here closes for the Derby.) The kids in KY actually have today off school because it's Oakes Day (the "local's" Derby). Anyway, we don't really want to be a part of all that, so we've been leaving town for this weekend ever since we moved here. The past two years we went to St. Louis to watch the Cardinals play baseball, but they didn't have a home game this year. So, we decided to cross another baseball park off the list of parks we need to see, and so we're going to Atlanta. My uncle lives near Atlanta, so he'll be meeting us for lunch tomorrow. On Sunday, we are going to church with some long ago friends that we haven't seen in a while, and then doing lunch with them, and heading home.
Whew! Life has been busy! God is good, and we are thanking him for DAILY loading us with benefits... even our salvation! :-) (Psalms)
My baby brother is graduating from Maranatha next weekend, though we won't be able to be there. He and his wife are moving this weekend, so pray for them, and please pray that Nathan can find a job in Madison. Also, my brother Greg is graduating with his Master's Degree this weekend. (Not from Maranatha... can't remember the name of the school.) I have lots of cards to make! :-)
Well, I better get going... too much time on here already! I'm going to try to post some pictures, but if I can't get them on here, you can check my Facebook page if you are interested.
Thanks for stopping by! :-)
9.06.2008
Still Alive...
Hi, everyone! Yes, I'm still alive! I can't believe how lax I've been about posting lately. I was just looking at the "count" of blog posts... 201 in 2007, as compared to this being the 32nd post of 2008! I've been busy reading EVERYONE ELSE's blogs... and I'm addicted to Facebook! So, there you have it!
Well, August was very busy for us, as has this first week of September!
The first week of August (3-7) was our Youth Conference at our church, Shawnee Baptist, here in Louisville. We had 961 teens from (I think) 34 different states and 4 different countries that attended the conference. Our Youth Conference is different in that the kids come to hear the preaching of God's Word... 6 times a day for 3 days straight, then on Thursday they get to go to Kentucky Kingdom. It was absolutely AWESOME! You can check out the pics that I posted on Facebook here:
The first week of August (3-7) was our Youth Conference at our church, Shawnee Baptist, here in Louisville. We had 961 teens from (I think) 34 different states and 4 different countries that attended the conference. Our Youth Conference is different in that the kids come to hear the preaching of God's Word... 6 times a day for 3 days straight, then on Thursday they get to go to Kentucky Kingdom. It was absolutely AWESOME! You can check out the pics that I posted on Facebook here:
The following weekend, the 15th, Chris had free tickets given to him for a Cincinnati Reds baseball game. We called our friends, Steve & Joy Francis, and met them at the game. We enjoyed their company, the game, and the fireworks after the game that we watched as we were walking back over the bridge from Cincinnati to Florence, KY. I had to work EARLY the next morning, so I was VERY tired, but it was fun anyway. More pics here
The next day after work, Chris and I headed to Lexington, KY. Chris had mandatory training for his work that Sun/Mon, and we have friends that live in Lexington. Since Monday was my birthday (happy birthday to me! :-P), I didn't want to spend it by myself or working while Chris was out of town. We called Kevin & Beth Busch, and we spent the weekend with them (and their son, Silas,) instead... well, I spent time with Beth while Chris was in training. I also got to visit some friends... the Valentine's... that we hadn't seen for a LONG time! Their kids are adorable! Beth made me a cake for my birthday, and we celebrated Sunday night. See more pics here
On the 23rd, we had free tickets to a Bats game, so invited our friends, Scott & April Mohler to join us at the game. We enjoyed the fellowship with them, and were greatly entertained at the game by the presence of the San Diego Chicken mascot. It was fun! Click here to see more pics
I left on Aug. 29th to drive (all by myself) to Watertown, WI, to see my whole family together (except Chris couldn't go... SOMEBODY has to work around here!) :-) It was Maranatha Baptist Bible College's Alumni "scrimmage," and my older brother, Steve, and middle brother, Greg, were playing on the alumni team against my baby brother, Nathan, who was playing on the Crusaders college team (for the last year.) It was so fun to watch them play again, and also to see my family together. I got to meet my newest nephew, Colt... who is absolutely ADORABLE! (of course). I really wish Chris could have come with me, but he is saving his time off for another very special occasion later this fall that we are praying God provides the time off/money for us to go. It was a good time with my family though, and it's rare for them to all be together at the same time. I tried to upload pictures to Facebook, but I couldn't get it to upload the other night, so I'll have to post a link when I get them up there.
This weekend, our church had their Ladies' Retreat. I had to work, since I was gone last weekend. Fortunately, I work only 30 minutes from the camp where our Retreat was held, so I went there from work, spent the night, and drove back to work this morning. It was a shorter distance to drive to the camp than to drive home, so it worked out well, and I enjoyed the short time I was able to spend there. It was a blessing!
So - that's the major run-down of things going on here. In other news, I FINALLY went to the doctor to get a sleep study done. Chris thinks that it's very possible that I have sleep apnea. My sleep study is scheduled for Sept 23, so please pray that they can figure out what is wrong with me so that I can get it fixed (hopefully without medicine!) I have been SO incredibly tired lately (more-so than usual!) I've been dozing off when driving to/from work a lot lately, which is very scary and dangerous! So - please pray for all of that.
That's it for now... see you next month! :-) Just kidding -I'm hoping to blog a little more frequently now.
8.11.2008
So much has happened...
Wow - so much has happened since I last REALLY posted (other than our anniversary post, that is!) Here is the (hopefully) short and sweet run-down of what we've been doing since our vacation in June!
But first, I just want to say HAPPY 33rd BIRTHDAY, CHRIS!!! I am so thankful that God brought Chris into my life, and I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband! :-) God knew I needed Chris in my life!
OK - here's the history to go with the pics: 06-20-08
Our pastor and his wife (who are THE BEST!) attended a Bat's game with us! They are such fun "old people!" We love them to death and are so glad that God brought us here to our church and that we can be so close to a pastor of such a large church! (sorry, the pic is a little dark!) They had fireworks after the game, which was pretty cool, too.
06-22-08 - Between Sunday morning and evening services, we had a 9th & 10th grade SS activity. We had pizza and brownies, then the girls went swimming at one house, and the boys played video games then went swimming at a different house (no mixed swimming here!)
:-)
The guys playing video games...
Some of the girls in the van... (I didn't take pics while we were swimming!) :-)
07-12-08 Chris played in our church's softball league. Not really too competitive, but it was nice to get out and fellowship outside of the church and play some ball. Here's a pic of Chris at the plate (and I think he's pretty good, too!) :-)
But first, I just want to say HAPPY 33rd BIRTHDAY, CHRIS!!! I am so thankful that God brought Chris into my life, and I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband! :-) God knew I needed Chris in my life!
OK - here's the history to go with the pics: 06-20-08
Our pastor and his wife (who are THE BEST!) attended a Bat's game with us! They are such fun "old people!" We love them to death and are so glad that God brought us here to our church and that we can be so close to a pastor of such a large church! (sorry, the pic is a little dark!) They had fireworks after the game, which was pretty cool, too.
06-22-08 - Between Sunday morning and evening services, we had a 9th & 10th grade SS activity. We had pizza and brownies, then the girls went swimming at one house, and the boys played video games then went swimming at a different house (no mixed swimming here!):-)
The guys playing video games...
Some of the girls in the van... (I didn't take pics while we were swimming!) :-)07-12-08 Chris played in our church's softball league. Not really too competitive, but it was nice to get out and fellowship outside of the church and play some ball. Here's a pic of Chris at the plate (and I think he's pretty good, too!) :-)
07-13~16-08 We had our Kids Krusade at church (our version of VBS.) There were over 200 salvation decisions made during the Krusade, and 82 baptisms, PRAISE THE LORD! 3 or 4 of our bus kids got saved during the week... it's so awesome to see elementary aged kids respond to the gospel. The pic is of the drawing for a PS2 for the best behaved child from every bus route. Our little boy is the 3rd one from the left... and HE WON! We were so excited! (as was he!) I love that our church loves the kids and teens!
07-16-08 CHRIS GOT PROMOTED!!! (Sorry, no pic of that - I KNOW... it's a SHOCK!) I am SO PROUD of him! After only 19&1/2 months in the auto industry as a car salesman, Chris got promoted to Business/Sales manager! It's not totally unheard of to be promoted so quickly, but it is VERY rare, especially when your degree is not in business or business management AT ALL! I just thought it was so cool that the guys that work with him on a daily basis, including his boss, really pushed the upper management to promote Chris. What a great testimony! He is doing very well at the new job. Also, this job allows his paycheck to be a lot more stable (as opposed to comission only!), and also allows him to actually TAKE his days off. I'm so excited to be able to spend more time together with him! YEAH!!
07-17-08 I took a day trip to Indianapolis to visit some college friends of mine. I hadn't seen them in over 8 years, I think, and had totally lost track of them until Jess found me on Facebook (LOVE IT!) about 2 weeks before that! I went up and spent the day visiting with Jess, then we met Kelly and her kiddos at the pool, then spent the evening at Kelly's house visiting together. It was great to see them again, and I am always so amazed when friendships pick up right where they left off! It was like I had seen them the day before, and we just picked up the conversation again! God is so good to give friends like that!
Kelly, me, and Jess
Jess' daughter, Abby
Kelly's daughter, Jenna
Kelly's daughter, Olivia
07-27-08 Good friends of ours, the George's, came down to go to Sunday AM services with us. They are missionaries to Romania on deputation. They live about an hour from us, so we have been able to visit with them I think 3 times in the past year. We love getting together with them. Here's a pic of their family:
Noah, Sara, David, Bethany, Brent, and Danae
Oh, a side note here... everyone thinks that Brent and Chris look so much alike, they are always asking if they are related. Sara and I don't think they look that much alike at all! :-)
I have to run now... Chris is on his way home, and it is his birthday, so I should probably make dinner for him! :-) I'll post more on Youth Conference and other goings on later. Thanks for "listening" to what's going on in our lives! :-)
4.28.2008
I can't believe...
... I forgot to tell you about a MAJOR occurence that happened here in my last post. On Friday, April 18th, at 5:37am, Chris and I were awakened by a VERY loud ROARING sound, accompanied by our whole house shaking so hard that I felt like I had to put my hands out on the bed to steady myself! YES - IT WAS AN EARTHQUAKE!!!!
Chris flipped over in bed and looked at me and asked, "Did you FEEL THAT?!?!?" To which I replied... "Yes!" Of course, he then asked me what that was, and I told him that I thought it had been an earthquake. (Since I am very experienced and have been to a lot of places, and know these things! **wink, wink**!) Actually, and seriously, I was in another earthquake once. At that time we lived in Montana, and I was very young... somewhere between 5-7 years old maybe. I remember that my mom had a set of those old iron decorative spoons hanging on the wall, and all of the sudden, they started banging against the wall.
All of that said, when we got up for work, Chris turned on the news, and sure enough, it was an earthquake. We live in southern IN, and the epicenter of the quake was 100 miles west of us in IL. It was a 5.2 on the Richter scale! Chris said he felt the aftershock later that morning, but I didn't. Earthquakes in the Midwest (for those of you who didn't know) are not very common, although we do live on a fault line (which I didn't know until we had the earthquake!) So - now we have another great story of something we've experienced! Thankfully it wasn't bad enough to cause any damage to our house!
In other news... after a lot of drama with our lawnmower, we finally did get our lawn mowed last week. The mower wouldn't start because the carburetor was "filthy"... though how it got that way with us only using it once, I don't know. The lawn now looks very nice and manicured, as Chris took the weed whacker and edged the lawn as well. I got tired of sucking up huge, nasty looking spiders in our house with a vacuum cleaner, so I got some spider/ant/bug spray that is supposed to keep all those kind of critters out of the house for up to 12 months! Hopefully I won't have to kill any more spiders with my bare feet! :-)
The weather was beautiful this past week, so I took the opportunity to take my exercise outside in the sunshine (rather than in a darker gym) and went rollerblading around our neighborhood. It reminded me of my college days when my friend, Joy, and I would rollerblade from campus up around the Watertown High School, and then back down the hill holding our arms out and singing, "I believe I can fly" at the top of our lungs! I also got to take D to the park a couple of days. I'm working on getting him to LISTEN and OBEY when I tell him to "come here" or "stop." It's hard when he doesn't have consistent discipline, but I would hate for him to get hurt because he doesn't obey. He didn't do too bad at the one park. He also got to feed the ducks, which he loved, since he has quite a fascination for them.
Also, this past week, I got a knot in my left armpit which ended up being an infected sweat gland (sorry if this is TMI!) I was hoping it would go away with some of my treatments (I won't go into detail here :-}), but it didn't. The pain was starting to move down my arm and into my chest, so I finally gave in and went to Urgent Care. I was quickly diagnosed and given a prescription for antibiotics (pill and cream) and narcotics! I didn't fill the narcotics script, since the pain wasn't THAT bad! :-) Anyhow, they called my prescriptions in to the pharmacy, and I went to pick them up. When I went to pay, the lady asked me if they told me how much they would be. I told her that they hadn't, and she proceeded to name the cost of $142 and change! I about choked, I was so surprised! EXPENSIVE meds! I put them on my credit card, since we didn't have the money in the bank at the moment, and went home. I checked the mail when I got home...(can you see where this is going?)... and in the mail was a VERY unexpected check for $139 and change! I immediately said, "Thank you, Lord! That is a blessing!" So, in all reality, I only paid about $3 for my meds! THEN I was telling some of my friends about it, and they told me that I could have gotten the antibiotics at Meijer for FREE! Wish I would have known that before, but I'm thankful to have them paid for in any case! :-) I'll definitely remember free antibiotics for next time!
Sat. night, one of the guys Chris works with invited us to go down to the riverfront for the "Fest-a-ville" Chow Wagon. It's part of the Derby Festival that takes place the 2 weeks before the KY Derby. We had fun, but I'm not sure that we would really go and spend time there on our own again. One area is all a big music stage, beer garden, and food vendors. The other area is another music stage (a band was playing... they were girls ranging from 9 yrs - 13 yrs old, singing oldies), more food, some alcohol, and inflatables for the kids. That night they had a 25 foot inflatable screen up showing an Indiana Jones movie. We mostly just stood and talked to Chris' friend and his wife and nephew, but were pretty uncomfortable when they decided to drink beer. NOT something I think we'll do again... it's just an awkward situation. They are nice people, though, but we don't want to get used to being around people who drink.
Well, that's about it for now, I think. We go to St. Louis on Sat. for a Cardinals/Cubs baseball game. This is our 2nd annual trip to St. Louis on Derby Day! :-) Then the following Tues/Wed, we take a QUICK trip to Pensacola for PCC's graduation. My SIL is graduating, as well as the last of Chris' siblings... his bro, Jon, with an undergrad, and his sis, Tiffany, with her Master's. We also get to meet our newest niece, Jacquline, who will be almost 9 months old at that point. We can't wait to see parts of our family... we also get to see another 2 nieces and a nephew (and their parents, of course!), and I get to see my bro&SIL.
Have a fantastic week, everyone!
Chris flipped over in bed and looked at me and asked, "Did you FEEL THAT?!?!?" To which I replied... "Yes!" Of course, he then asked me what that was, and I told him that I thought it had been an earthquake. (Since I am very experienced and have been to a lot of places, and know these things! **wink, wink**!) Actually, and seriously, I was in another earthquake once. At that time we lived in Montana, and I was very young... somewhere between 5-7 years old maybe. I remember that my mom had a set of those old iron decorative spoons hanging on the wall, and all of the sudden, they started banging against the wall.
All of that said, when we got up for work, Chris turned on the news, and sure enough, it was an earthquake. We live in southern IN, and the epicenter of the quake was 100 miles west of us in IL. It was a 5.2 on the Richter scale! Chris said he felt the aftershock later that morning, but I didn't. Earthquakes in the Midwest (for those of you who didn't know) are not very common, although we do live on a fault line (which I didn't know until we had the earthquake!) So - now we have another great story of something we've experienced! Thankfully it wasn't bad enough to cause any damage to our house!
In other news... after a lot of drama with our lawnmower, we finally did get our lawn mowed last week. The mower wouldn't start because the carburetor was "filthy"... though how it got that way with us only using it once, I don't know. The lawn now looks very nice and manicured, as Chris took the weed whacker and edged the lawn as well. I got tired of sucking up huge, nasty looking spiders in our house with a vacuum cleaner, so I got some spider/ant/bug spray that is supposed to keep all those kind of critters out of the house for up to 12 months! Hopefully I won't have to kill any more spiders with my bare feet! :-)
The weather was beautiful this past week, so I took the opportunity to take my exercise outside in the sunshine (rather than in a darker gym) and went rollerblading around our neighborhood. It reminded me of my college days when my friend, Joy, and I would rollerblade from campus up around the Watertown High School, and then back down the hill holding our arms out and singing, "I believe I can fly" at the top of our lungs! I also got to take D to the park a couple of days. I'm working on getting him to LISTEN and OBEY when I tell him to "come here" or "stop." It's hard when he doesn't have consistent discipline, but I would hate for him to get hurt because he doesn't obey. He didn't do too bad at the one park. He also got to feed the ducks, which he loved, since he has quite a fascination for them.
Also, this past week, I got a knot in my left armpit which ended up being an infected sweat gland (sorry if this is TMI!) I was hoping it would go away with some of my treatments (I won't go into detail here :-}), but it didn't. The pain was starting to move down my arm and into my chest, so I finally gave in and went to Urgent Care. I was quickly diagnosed and given a prescription for antibiotics (pill and cream) and narcotics! I didn't fill the narcotics script, since the pain wasn't THAT bad! :-) Anyhow, they called my prescriptions in to the pharmacy, and I went to pick them up. When I went to pay, the lady asked me if they told me how much they would be. I told her that they hadn't, and she proceeded to name the cost of $142 and change! I about choked, I was so surprised! EXPENSIVE meds! I put them on my credit card, since we didn't have the money in the bank at the moment, and went home. I checked the mail when I got home...(can you see where this is going?)... and in the mail was a VERY unexpected check for $139 and change! I immediately said, "Thank you, Lord! That is a blessing!" So, in all reality, I only paid about $3 for my meds! THEN I was telling some of my friends about it, and they told me that I could have gotten the antibiotics at Meijer for FREE! Wish I would have known that before, but I'm thankful to have them paid for in any case! :-) I'll definitely remember free antibiotics for next time!
Sat. night, one of the guys Chris works with invited us to go down to the riverfront for the "Fest-a-ville" Chow Wagon. It's part of the Derby Festival that takes place the 2 weeks before the KY Derby. We had fun, but I'm not sure that we would really go and spend time there on our own again. One area is all a big music stage, beer garden, and food vendors. The other area is another music stage (a band was playing... they were girls ranging from 9 yrs - 13 yrs old, singing oldies), more food, some alcohol, and inflatables for the kids. That night they had a 25 foot inflatable screen up showing an Indiana Jones movie. We mostly just stood and talked to Chris' friend and his wife and nephew, but were pretty uncomfortable when they decided to drink beer. NOT something I think we'll do again... it's just an awkward situation. They are nice people, though, but we don't want to get used to being around people who drink.
Well, that's about it for now, I think. We go to St. Louis on Sat. for a Cardinals/Cubs baseball game. This is our 2nd annual trip to St. Louis on Derby Day! :-) Then the following Tues/Wed, we take a QUICK trip to Pensacola for PCC's graduation. My SIL is graduating, as well as the last of Chris' siblings... his bro, Jon, with an undergrad, and his sis, Tiffany, with her Master's. We also get to meet our newest niece, Jacquline, who will be almost 9 months old at that point. We can't wait to see parts of our family... we also get to see another 2 nieces and a nephew (and their parents, of course!), and I get to see my bro&SIL.
Have a fantastic week, everyone!
4.14.2008
Busy, busy, busy...
Wow - our lives have been busy the past couple weeks. So - here's the rundown of what has been happening here, and I have just linked words to pics so I don't have to download them...
The first week of April, D (the little one I take care of) was in Cincinnati, OH, for pre-surgical testing. Thanks to all of you who prayed for him. Thankfully, he does not require throat reconstruction surgery. He only needs his tonsils/adenoids removed, and some minor eye surgery to correct a muscle condition resulting from prematurity. This condition causes his left eye to drift in toward his nose when looking at things close to him. Other than that, things are going pretty well for him. His mom is hoping to get her doctor to authorize him for nursing at least through the surgeries, and hopefully for another 4 months until he can get his feeding tube out and recover from surgery. We'll see...
Anyway, in the few days that he was gone, I was able to visit 2 of my good friends here. I spent over 5 hours at my friend, Beth's house. She is such a blessing to me. Her hubby, Luke, was teasing me when he came home... asking me if I was working on another calendar. I printed out the date pages for the family photo calendars at their house since we didn't have ink in our printer. (We now have ink for our printer... we've gone without it since we lived in MD)! I worked on it for several hours I think 3 or 4 different days, so now it's a standing joke that I only visit when I have to work on the computer. It was nice change to be able to spend a few hours visiting and not having anything else to do.
Tuesday of that week, I stayed home all day waiting for an overnight package that was supposed to arrive at 10:30am. Apparently all the FedEx planes coming here from Memphis were grounded due to severe thunder storms. Chris called them around noon, and the person he spoke to assured him that the packages were being trucked here, and would get there sometime in the afternoon. When the package STILL wasn't here by 6pm, Chris called again, only to be informed that the earlier person had misinformed him, and the package would be here 10:30 am the NEXT day! I did get a bunch of stamping done, though! It's just difficult to be waiting all day, and thinking of all these things that you could do if you could just run down to the ___!!
Wednesday, the package showed up at 10:15 am! YEAH! I then went and visited another friend who had been having a difficult time the past few months. I was glad to be a blessing, and amazed at how I could share with her what God has been doing in my heart & life through IVF, even though her circumstances are completely different - God's word still applies! :-) (DUH!)
I then got to take Chris' package to him and we ate lunch together. That's always a nice surprise. He got a new watch... it's REALLY nice! He was going to resell it on Ebay, but he liked it so much that I told him that he really should keep it. It's not very often that Chris finds something that he REALLY likes/wants, so I was glad that he found that and I believe he is keeping it. Now, if only he could have waited until his birthday... :-)
I also joined the gym again! My chiropractor finally OK'd me to do cardio workouts again, as long as I don't over do it! I'm excited to be able to be active again!
The Friday night of that week, I was at the gym just getting ready to work out when Chris called me. After he asked me about 20 questions, he asked me if I could get changed back into my normal clothes so that we could meet Jeremy, Misha, Tommy & Corey Frazor for dinner! They are close friends of ours that travel in evangelism, and we don't get to see them very often. However, they manage to travel through Louisville every once in a while, so they usually call and we meet up for a meal or something. Anyway, we were able to meet them for supper and then they came over to see our house for a little bit. Although the time was WAY too SHORT, we enjoyed seeing them again. Last time we saw them they came through on Chris' birthday last August. They are great "iron-sharpeneth-iron" type friends, and they are also the type of friends that no matter how long it's been since you've seen them, you pick up the friendship like you saw them yesterday! What a blessing to have friends like that!
The following week (the 7th - 10th) our church hosted the Revival Fires conference. With that, the choir sang every night for the services, so it was a busy week! I was busting my tail just to get home from work and then rush off to church in order to sing and attend the services. It was a blessing, though.
Early that Friday morning (the 11th) Chris and I headed north. We stopped in Indianapolis to visit some friends of ours... Jeff & Colleen McQueary (and kids, Cole & Sage). We were able to enjoy breakfast with them before our friends, Steve & Joy Francis met up with us. They came over from Cincinnati, and we left one of our vehicles at the McQueary's house. Steve, Joy, Chris and I then drove up to Chicago for an overnight "double date." Steve is a big Chicago Bulls fan, so for his birthday, Joy bought him tickets to a Bulls game (vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers). Well, they bought the tickets in October... and put them in a safe place. So safe, in fact, that they couldn't find them for that weekend! We all decided to go ahead and go up there anyway.
For lunch, we went to a Brazilian steakhouse called Brazazz. It's all you can eat - meat! It was SO DELICIOUS! They had little discs sitting beside each plate. One side is orange and says, "Yes, Please." The other side is black and says, "No, thank you." The waiters, all dressed in authentic Brazilian outfits, come around with these long skewers of all different kinds of meat (and roasted pineapple). If you want some, they cut you a slice and lay it over toward you. You then take a little pair of tongs, and put it on your plate. Joy is a missionary kid and she grew up in Brazil, so she was talking to the waiters in Portugese and stuff. It was pretty cool. I felt like I didn't have to eat for about 3 days after that! We enjoyed it immensely!
From there, we went to the John Hancock Building, and went up to the Observatory. We had fun with some of the photo ops (Window washers, & construction workers)! Of course, Chris and Steve were being silly. It was pretty cool. When we got on the elevators to go down, Chris and I were by the doors that would open when we got to the bottom. Just before the doors opened, we stood really close to the doors and made funny faces. The doors opened, and there was a man and his family sitting on the floor facing us, waiting for the rest of the family. He cracked up laughing when he saw us, and we were laughing hysterically! I wish we could have gotten a picture of his face when he saw us... Priceless!
From there, we wandered down Michigan Ave. for a little bit. I was extremely tired and not wearing the best shoes for walking, so I'm afraid I wasn't super good company! I tried not to complain, though! It was really cold and windy, too, so not a GREAT day to be wandering outside in the city. Chris had a little fun in the Disney Store... I think he'd make a GREAT Pirate! On the way back to the car, we had to stop and take some more silly pictures with a statue of a man with an umbrella hailing a cab in front of the Four Seasons Hotel. The placard on the statue said, "Allow Me!" Chris took a little too much liberty with that statement, see the pics here and here! Joy figured she could get up close, too, but not that close! :-)
We left after that and headed down to the United Center to see if we could get tickets to the game... again! We did, and got pretty good seats! It ended up being a good game... the Bulls actually WON! The highlight of the game, though, **insert sarcasm**was the Swinging Seniors!
Actually, Chris and Steve both got free T-shirts, and since the Bulls scored 100 points and won, we all got free Big Macs! Chris also got a free coffee at Dunkin' Donuts since his character won the race on the JumboTron! All in all, it was a good game (even though I was so tired, I almost fell asleep!) We even got to see a BUNCH of dunks, and Joy even managed to get a great picture of one of them!
The next morning we got up and went to Navy Pier. It was rainy, so we stayed indoors. We left around noon and headed back to Indianapolis to go our separate ways. Jeff & Colleen had an all-nighter youth activity Friday night, so we didn't get to see them. However, we did stop at the Edinburg outlets on the way home, and Chris let me get two pairs of shoes. I really needed them... the only real shoes I had were a pair of black, ankle high boots, and brown clogs. I got these two pairs of shoes for a really good deal: 
I love them! I wear skirts or skorts most of the time, and they look really cute with them. Chris found some really nice basketball shorts, too, that he needed. It was a profitable stop! :-)
Oh, yeah...I mentioned here that I got new sunglasses... here's a pic of my new shades!
That Saturday night, we arrived home, bundled up, and headed out again to enjoy Thunder over Louisville. Thunder is the 5th largest fireworks display in the world, according to the travel channel. We missed most of the air show, since we didn't get home until after 7pm, but the planes were flying right over our house! We joined a bunch of our college kids and friends of ours to watch the fireworks. It was very cold out, but we were pretty well dressed for the weather. The only thing that we didn't like is that we were so far away, we could see the fireworks alright, but we didn't get the full affect with the sounds and vibrations of the fireworks as well. We enjoy that part, too! The other thing is that we had 4 or 5 rude kids that put their chairs up in front of us... so we moved to see around them. They then moved again, partially blocking our view. I was highly frustrated at this point. Then, on top of all of that, right in the middle of the show, 2 of the girls stood up right in front of us so we couldn't see at all. I had had enough, so I loudly said, "There are people behind you who would like to SEE the fireworks!" They turned around and gave me nasty looks, but I didn't care! People should be more considerate of those around them! You can see my pics of Thunder here.
Since then, it has pretty much been life back to normal for us. Chris let me buy these vases for our living room (I've been waiting to buy them since we bought our house last July, and they went on sale this week, so Chris let me get them):
It's hard to tell in the picture, but our paint color is beige, and the vases are red, but not as dark as they appear in the picture. I LOVE them, and they fit perfectly in those niches. I'm finally almost ready with the family photo wall, too, just waiting for pictures from a couple of family members still. I'll post pics when I get them up, too.
We got our lawn treated by company called Weed Man. The weather has been mostly beautiful lately, so I've been able to take D to the park, and the sunshine has also helped our grass to grow like crazy. Chris hasn't been able to mow it yet, so it's almost a jungle out there! Seriously, some of the grass is almost 2 feet tall! He was going to mow Sunday afternoon, but couldn't get the mower started. :-( He was rather frustrated, to say the least! Here's some pics:
Well, my hubby is home, and I think I've pretty much filled you in on everything recent that I can think of, so I gotta go! Hope you all are doing well!
Oh, wait, one more thing... another niece or nephew is on the way in our family... this makes the 3rd one that is expected this year! Two of my brothers & their wives are expecting babies, and we just found out that one of Chris' sisters is expecting a baby, too!
3.28.2008
Happenings...
HI! Just thought I'd take a minute and share what's been happening here in the past couple of weeks.
Chris and I went to our first regular youth activity last Friday night! We had a great time. I've missed going on youth activities and hanging out with teenagers. This particular youth activity was a great one for being the first... it was very informal, and there was really no scheduled activity, so we just hung out with the teens and got to know them better. It was "March Madness," so we went to a place called Mr. Gatti's. It's a pizza buffet (kind of like CiCi's) with an arcade and special party rooms. We had a room with a big screen TV, ate, and then spent some time in the arcade. It was great to get to know some of the teens outside of our SS class (9th&10th grade).
Our Easter was wonderful... we had great services, and on the way home on the bus, we stopped so that all of our bus kids could have an Easter egg hunt. It was fun. Then, for our Easter evening service, it was basically a musical service with a 10-15 minute challenge from Pastor at the end. The choir sang 4 special numbers, and then we had 6 other specials, plus a bit of narration, and the orchestra joined the choir for two of the songs, I think. It was wonderful!
I LOVE our church's music... not "contemporary," but very meaningful and a wide range of musical styles. I was pleasantly surprised by this, since we attend a fundamental, independent Baptist church. No offense intended, but it seems like most of the churches I've attended have one, maybe two styles of music that they sing constantly. For instance, one of the churches only used Ron Hamilton songs and songs from the Wilds. I have NO problem with that music... in fact, I LOVE the songs, but a steady diet of that is a little much! :-)
ANYWAY... it also snowed on Easter. What a blessing that was (*can you sense the sarcasm*?) It was a little shocking since we had a beautiful sunny 70 degree day on Friday!After church Easter night, we went to Steak-N-Shake with two other couples and their kids. We had a great time of fellowship with them! I only wish our evening services were earlier so that we didn't have to stay out so late!
This week has been a pretty regular week. I broke my sunglasses last Friday (I'd had them since I was in college), and Chris surprised me on Wed. by telling me I could go to Sunglass Hut and pick out some polarized sunglasses. WOW - what a difference they make compared to my $15 pair that I've had for ages! I was expecting him to let me get a $20 pair at Walmart, not an expensive pair from Sunglass Hut! But I am so thankful, and my eyes are thanking me every time I wear them! My eyes are incredibly sensitive to the sun, so it's nice to put on sunglasses and not have to squint... even if you DO have sunglasses on!
Yesterday I went to a Pampered Chef show... the third one in the last month and 1/2! I don't buy anything, I just go for the fellowship! It was a lot of fun! And since Chris doesn't usually get home until late, it's a great way to pass the time that he's not here!
I've also gotten a couple of free gifts of stamping stuff recently. That always makes my day! My sis-in-law sent me a bunch of stuff that was passed on to her from a friend of hers that was cleaning out her craft room. Then a friend of mine offered to let me use her hostess benefits from hosting a Stampin' Up party! That was SO sweet of her! I'll have to do some more stamping. I've been tired recently, and have been reading a lot, so I haven't been doing much stamping unless it's out of necessity! I'm going to try to remedy that in the next few days, though!
Well, that's about it for now. D - the little boy that I take care of for work - is going to Cincinnati for testing this coming week (Sun - Thurs.) Please pray that he is cleared for the throat reconstruction surgery that he so desperately needs! Thanks!
Oh, yes... one more WONDERFUL thing... after 5&1/2 months, we FINALLY got our insurance reimbursement check for our FIRST IVF cycle! It is almost enough to pay off the credit card, and we should be able to do that with our paychecks! Hallelujah... that is a HUGE load off our backs! God is good! I'm also thankful that the insurance company screwed up initially, since they paid out much more than they SHOULD have according to our policy. Yeah!
Chris and I went to our first regular youth activity last Friday night! We had a great time. I've missed going on youth activities and hanging out with teenagers. This particular youth activity was a great one for being the first... it was very informal, and there was really no scheduled activity, so we just hung out with the teens and got to know them better. It was "March Madness," so we went to a place called Mr. Gatti's. It's a pizza buffet (kind of like CiCi's) with an arcade and special party rooms. We had a room with a big screen TV, ate, and then spent some time in the arcade. It was great to get to know some of the teens outside of our SS class (9th&10th grade).
Our Easter was wonderful... we had great services, and on the way home on the bus, we stopped so that all of our bus kids could have an Easter egg hunt. It was fun. Then, for our Easter evening service, it was basically a musical service with a 10-15 minute challenge from Pastor at the end. The choir sang 4 special numbers, and then we had 6 other specials, plus a bit of narration, and the orchestra joined the choir for two of the songs, I think. It was wonderful!
I LOVE our church's music... not "contemporary," but very meaningful and a wide range of musical styles. I was pleasantly surprised by this, since we attend a fundamental, independent Baptist church. No offense intended, but it seems like most of the churches I've attended have one, maybe two styles of music that they sing constantly. For instance, one of the churches only used Ron Hamilton songs and songs from the Wilds. I have NO problem with that music... in fact, I LOVE the songs, but a steady diet of that is a little much! :-)
ANYWAY... it also snowed on Easter. What a blessing that was (*can you sense the sarcasm*?) It was a little shocking since we had a beautiful sunny 70 degree day on Friday!After church Easter night, we went to Steak-N-Shake with two other couples and their kids. We had a great time of fellowship with them! I only wish our evening services were earlier so that we didn't have to stay out so late!
This week has been a pretty regular week. I broke my sunglasses last Friday (I'd had them since I was in college), and Chris surprised me on Wed. by telling me I could go to Sunglass Hut and pick out some polarized sunglasses. WOW - what a difference they make compared to my $15 pair that I've had for ages! I was expecting him to let me get a $20 pair at Walmart, not an expensive pair from Sunglass Hut! But I am so thankful, and my eyes are thanking me every time I wear them! My eyes are incredibly sensitive to the sun, so it's nice to put on sunglasses and not have to squint... even if you DO have sunglasses on!
Yesterday I went to a Pampered Chef show... the third one in the last month and 1/2! I don't buy anything, I just go for the fellowship! It was a lot of fun! And since Chris doesn't usually get home until late, it's a great way to pass the time that he's not here!
I've also gotten a couple of free gifts of stamping stuff recently. That always makes my day! My sis-in-law sent me a bunch of stuff that was passed on to her from a friend of hers that was cleaning out her craft room. Then a friend of mine offered to let me use her hostess benefits from hosting a Stampin' Up party! That was SO sweet of her! I'll have to do some more stamping. I've been tired recently, and have been reading a lot, so I haven't been doing much stamping unless it's out of necessity! I'm going to try to remedy that in the next few days, though!
Well, that's about it for now. D - the little boy that I take care of for work - is going to Cincinnati for testing this coming week (Sun - Thurs.) Please pray that he is cleared for the throat reconstruction surgery that he so desperately needs! Thanks!
Oh, yes... one more WONDERFUL thing... after 5&1/2 months, we FINALLY got our insurance reimbursement check for our FIRST IVF cycle! It is almost enough to pay off the credit card, and we should be able to do that with our paychecks! Hallelujah... that is a HUGE load off our backs! God is good! I'm also thankful that the insurance company screwed up initially, since they paid out much more than they SHOULD have according to our policy. Yeah!
10.22.2007
A Rough Week
These past few days have been more than a little rough for us, for reasons that I really can't share right now. However, I can tell you this... God's grace IS sufficient! As I think about the situation that we have gone through (and are still dealing with to some degree) I ask myself this question... "What do people do when they don't have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ?" I can't imagine going through the trials and tribulations in life, and not having God's grace to get me through, or God's peace that passes all understanding. I am so thankful that God allowed me to become a child of His at an early age, and I have never had to go through the tough times by myself.
It was so unexpected and sweet, I almost had an emotional melt down (not uncommon these past few days!) They are opened so much more now, and so much more beautiful and fragrant! I am so thankful for them! They are absolutely GORGEOUS!
I am also SO thankful that God has blessed Chris and I with an abundance of family and friends who love us, support us and pray for us during the difficult times. I was surprised when I came home from work on Saturday to find these from one of my sis-in-laws. (She doesn't live close at all!)
It was so unexpected and sweet, I almost had an emotional melt down (not uncommon these past few days!) They are opened so much more now, and so much more beautiful and fragrant! I am so thankful for them! They are absolutely GORGEOUS!I also had the opportunity to talk to my sister, and for the first time EVER, I think, I feel like I have a real relationship with her! I have always loved my family, but it seems that I have done things in the past, as have they, that have made it a little more difficult to have good close relationships with them. I am thankful that the Lord is changing my heart toward my family, as well as changing my sister's heart (or opening it up more) to me.
Another thing I am thankful for, even through the tough times, is the opportunity that God has given Chris and I to show others what God's grace and peace look like... especially to our unsaved co-workers and the unsaved staff at my chiropractor's office. Not that WE are the ones showing them, rather we have been the chosen vessels to let God's light shine through us! Thankfully, we also have chosen to trust God and let Him carry out HIS plan in our lives, rather than fighting Him to get what we want. (It's awfully hard to do that sometimes!) I pray that someday we can look back and understand what God was doing, but until then, I pray that God allows us to minister more effectively for Him because of the growth that pain causes in our lives.
OK - enough of that. Friday, we had the opportunity to get together with some friends of ours that we worked with in our church in MD. They also were on staff there, but left about 6 months before we did. It was nice to see them again, and visit with them. I also visited a friend from our church here that afternoon, and got to hold a newborn baby for about an hour! I love kids, and it always thrills my heart when I can hold a baby!
Friday night, we had HUGE storms moving through our area. God kept us safe from the threat of possible tornados... we were under tornado watches most of the night, and our local tornado siren sounded the alarm SEVERAL times that night. We are also thankful for God's protection of our families. Chris' bro in Pensacola, FL, watched a tornado about 1/2 mile from his office building, and his wife and 2 youngest children were in very real danger from the tornado as they were out driving around that day. My bro also lives there, and he and his wife were safe as well.
Saturday, I went back to work after being off for a couple weeks. My little D is SO adorable! I missed him TERRIBLY over those 2+ weeks, and it makes me wonder what in the world I am going to do when he doesn't need nursing care anymore! He is almost 2 now, and is learning so many new things every day. He is such a little copycat, and it is so cute watching him try to mimic something I do. (Such a reminder to be careful what you do/say!) Here he is wearing my fleece, thinking he is all BIG STUFF!
Sunday was a GREAT day at church (of course, I always think that!) It was Chuckwagon Sunday, and we enjoyed a meal of "Cowboy Stew" after AM church, along with desserts with our fellow SS class members. My friend, Beth, is so sweet and thoughtful! Knowing the situation that Chris and I went through this week, so baked a caramel apple pie JUST FOR US! (We did share some of it, but Chris ended up getting to take home 2 pieces!) Oh yes, apple pie is Chris' favorite, and Beth makes an AWESOME caramel apple pie!
And then, to top off a great Sunday at church, both the New England Patriots AND the Boston Red Sox won their games... the Red Sox win advancing them to the WORLD SERIES! Chris is always excited when his teams win, and I must say, our house is much happier when that happens. Unfortunately, my MN Vikings aren't doing so hot this year, but I can take that in stride. I'm pretty much a brainwashed Patriots fan, anyway, much of that by osmosis! :-)
Today was another good day at work, and I enjoyed being with Little D. God is so good!
Oh, yeah... one more thing... it has been raining the past couple of days! That has been wonderful (other than the inconvenience of being outside in the rain), since we didn't get much rain this summer. We desperately needed the rain!
10.13.2007
This and that...
Well, it's been a good week. I've read 4 books... The Still of Night by Kristen Heitzman, Redemption and Return by Karen Kingsbury with Gary Smalley, and The Princess by Lori Wick. Though they are all Christian fiction "romance" novels, I was pleasantly surprised at how the authors wove in Biblical truths and true to life situations, even very unpleasant ones. I have truly enjoyed being able to read, and am thankful that the baseball playoffs are being played right now. That means that I can still sit on the couch leaning up against my husband, spending time with him, but I can be absorbed in my book, much like he is absorbed in the baseball game! :-) That way I don't feel guilty that I'm not paying much attention to him!
Thursday night, I was able to go to my friend, Brenda's house. She is a SU! demonstrator, and we did a Christmas card workshop. I made 11 cards. 5 of them were a winter snowflake, 5 of them a nativity scene, and 1 snowman card. I always enjoy stamping, and it's so much fun to enjoy the fellowship with other ladies at the same time.
I also started my Christmas picture calendar. Each year I make photo calendars for both families, with the different family members on each month. The problem that I ran into this year is that too many of Chris' siblings have kids. OK - the nieces and nephews are not really a problem, but it does make it difficult to give everyone equal space. I decided that this year, I would put pictures of ALL the grandkids on one page, and then do 2 different pages of grandkids. (Does that make sense?) ANYWAY, I am finished with the actual calendar pages (I think) with all the holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. Now it's just a matter of #1) getting pictures from everyone and #2) doing the layout for the picture part. Another thing that I am doing different with the pages this year is using background paper for most of the months. I am hoping it turns out well! :-)
We also met with our youth pastors this week to discuss what they are asking us to do as youth workers in our church. They had approached us about the possibility about 3 weeks ago, but we just this week were able to meet with them. We would be helping another couple with the 9th&10th grade SS class. Chris would team teach with the other gentleman who is already teaching the class. Other than that, our involvement or lack thereof is completely up to us. Of course, they would prefer that we be at every activity that we possibly can, but these activities are not required. Now, with Chris and I, when we commit to something, we try to be as faithful to that commitment as we possibly can. We would LOVE to be able to go to all the activities, etc. So - we have not given them an answer yet, simply because we are already involved in choir and bus ministry, and want to make sure we can work in all 3 without letting something slide. We want to "get our ducks all in a row" before we make a commitment that we can't keep.
If you think about it, would you please pray for our college kids? Monday night, one of our senior girls at the college was killed in a car accident. There were 2 other freshman girls in the car with her, and they both are OK (which, according to what I've heard about the accident, it's a miracle that they walked away.) A 19 year old boy on a motorcycle was going 80+ mph and hit them broadside. He was killed instantly as well. Our college kids are pretty shook up about it. For many of them this is the first time that they've had to deal with the death of someone close to them.
Thursday night, I was able to go to my friend, Brenda's house. She is a SU! demonstrator, and we did a Christmas card workshop. I made 11 cards. 5 of them were a winter snowflake, 5 of them a nativity scene, and 1 snowman card. I always enjoy stamping, and it's so much fun to enjoy the fellowship with other ladies at the same time.
I also started my Christmas picture calendar. Each year I make photo calendars for both families, with the different family members on each month. The problem that I ran into this year is that too many of Chris' siblings have kids. OK - the nieces and nephews are not really a problem, but it does make it difficult to give everyone equal space. I decided that this year, I would put pictures of ALL the grandkids on one page, and then do 2 different pages of grandkids. (Does that make sense?) ANYWAY, I am finished with the actual calendar pages (I think) with all the holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. Now it's just a matter of #1) getting pictures from everyone and #2) doing the layout for the picture part. Another thing that I am doing different with the pages this year is using background paper for most of the months. I am hoping it turns out well! :-)
We also met with our youth pastors this week to discuss what they are asking us to do as youth workers in our church. They had approached us about the possibility about 3 weeks ago, but we just this week were able to meet with them. We would be helping another couple with the 9th&10th grade SS class. Chris would team teach with the other gentleman who is already teaching the class. Other than that, our involvement or lack thereof is completely up to us. Of course, they would prefer that we be at every activity that we possibly can, but these activities are not required. Now, with Chris and I, when we commit to something, we try to be as faithful to that commitment as we possibly can. We would LOVE to be able to go to all the activities, etc. So - we have not given them an answer yet, simply because we are already involved in choir and bus ministry, and want to make sure we can work in all 3 without letting something slide. We want to "get our ducks all in a row" before we make a commitment that we can't keep.
If you think about it, would you please pray for our college kids? Monday night, one of our senior girls at the college was killed in a car accident. There were 2 other freshman girls in the car with her, and they both are OK (which, according to what I've heard about the accident, it's a miracle that they walked away.) A 19 year old boy on a motorcycle was going 80+ mph and hit them broadside. He was killed instantly as well. Our college kids are pretty shook up about it. For many of them this is the first time that they've had to deal with the death of someone close to them.
I think that's about it for what has happened this week. I'll leave you with some pictures I took the other day... I just think the sky around here is so cool!
The lights and power lines are in the way, but I just think the clouds are so cool!
The lights and power lines are in the way, but I just think the clouds are so cool! Here's a view of the clouds between the trees
10.07.2007
YEAH!!!
I get to READ this weekend!!! :-) I love to read, but haven't done much pleasure reading since getting married. For some reason, my husband seems to be much more annoying and wanting my attention so much more when my nose is buried in a book. Also, I don't like to put books down... I like to sit down and read them cover to cover in one sitting! I've chosen to put aside pleasure reading in order to develop my relationship with my husband! :-) LOL!
Well, this weekend, I had a lot of time on my hands, and my friend brought me some books. I must confess, I did start one this evening while Chris was home, but did put it down several times to watch replays of sports events on TV. It is, after all, football season, as well as baseball playoffs (Go Boston Red Sox! and so sorry to all you Cubs fans!) Not only that, but I stopped reading at the VERY NEXT breaking point after he said he was ready to go to bed (instead of finishing the chapter... or the book... before going to bed!) ;-) So - why in the world am I blogging at 1:20am?!?!? Well, because I couldn't sleep! YIKES!
Good night everyone, and Happy Sunday! I'm off to bed... I think... but that book is kind of calling me...
Well, this weekend, I had a lot of time on my hands, and my friend brought me some books. I must confess, I did start one this evening while Chris was home, but did put it down several times to watch replays of sports events on TV. It is, after all, football season, as well as baseball playoffs (Go Boston Red Sox! and so sorry to all you Cubs fans!) Not only that, but I stopped reading at the VERY NEXT breaking point after he said he was ready to go to bed (instead of finishing the chapter... or the book... before going to bed!) ;-) So - why in the world am I blogging at 1:20am?!?!? Well, because I couldn't sleep! YIKES!
Good night everyone, and Happy Sunday! I'm off to bed... I think... but that book is kind of calling me...
9.27.2007
Busy Week
Wow - a lot has happened in the almost week since I last posted!
Last Friday night, we watched the movie We Are Marshall. It was a pretty good movie, considering it is based on a true story, but there was a lot of swearing in it... not so great. Why do they have to ruin a good movie by throwing that kind of stuff in there?!?! It was nice, though, to have a night to spend time with Chris. I was interrupted just as we started watching the movie by a phone call from my SIL. She had a nursing question... her 2 yr old son had a 3 ft. tall speaker fall on his leg, and he wasn't putting any pressure on it. The question was whether or not to take him to the ER that night.
They ended up not taking him to the ER until Sat, since when he woke up he still couldn't put pressure on it. He ended up having a hairline fracture in the fibula (larger lower bone) of his leg. Now he's in a cast for 4-6 weeks, poor baby! My SIL says he's "eating it up" - the fact that he has to be carried everywhere for a while!
Saturday, Chris and I also spent the evening together... watching FOOTBALL!!!! I LOVE football season! I actually ended up finishing Jacquline's cross-stitch while we watched the game. Again, it was nice to have some time with Chris, as well as be able to get something finished!
Sunday, our SS teacher, who is also our asst. pastor, asked us to consider the offer to be youth workers with the youth group at our church. We are VERY excited about this new opportunity for ministry that has opened up. We are not sure if we will be able to do it, simply because of work schedules, etc. We are meeting with the Sr. High youth pastor on Oct. 3 in order to find out what is expected of us and what our responsibilities would be. Please pray with us that God would show us what he wants us to do.
Monday, I had off work - I am off work for a lot of days in the next 3 weeks or so. I can't wait to tell you WHY, but right now it still has to stay a secret. Man, I've had a lot of secrets over the past few months, huh?!?!? :-) Stay tuned... you won't want to miss out on this one!
Anyway, I was able to meet with April for lunch! She and her husband just moved down here to attend the seminary. April was one of Chris' students when he taught right after we got married. Anyway, we had a great time of fellowship... it was so neat to be able to share with each other what God has been doing in our lives. It's always encouraging to me to see former students/teens from youth groups grow up to serve God with their lives! She and her hubby are coming over Sat. for supper, and we are excited to meet Scott.
Tuesday, I worked, and then we had a stamping party that night. I was the party hostess, even though it was held at our stamping demonstrators house. I kind of like that arrangement... I bring the food, but don't have to clean the house. She likes it, too, because she doesn't have to cart her stuff all around, and she can't forget anything at home b/c we're there! :-) Look here and here for our projects that we did. I was so glad that I didn't have to work the next day, since I didn't get home until 12:15 am! :-)
Yesterday, I was able to get together with one of the college students. I actually "taught" her in our ACE school that I worked in the year Chris and I dated. (You don't really "teach" in an ACE school!) Anyway, her mom and I were really good friends, and I had lost touch with them after 4 years, other than Christmas cards and an occasional update e-mail. They were thrilled to learn that Chris and I were here when it came time to bring Casey to school. She already felt that God wanted her here, but it was a blessing to her mom and dad to know that we were here if she needed us! All that to say, we went shopping for some clothes for her, and she bought some really cute outfits. I was glad to be able to help her with what looked good, and what was not so flattering (thank you, TLC's What Not To Wear!), and it was nice to fellowship with her.
That's about all that's happened this week. I'm trying to get a ton of things done (and here I am blogging, rather than doing them!) I have a lot of stamping to do, but have been in a creative slump the last few weeks. Hopefully that will right itself since I HAVE to do it... lots of birthdays coming up soon! :-)
Have a great weekend!
Last Friday night, we watched the movie We Are Marshall. It was a pretty good movie, considering it is based on a true story, but there was a lot of swearing in it... not so great. Why do they have to ruin a good movie by throwing that kind of stuff in there?!?! It was nice, though, to have a night to spend time with Chris. I was interrupted just as we started watching the movie by a phone call from my SIL. She had a nursing question... her 2 yr old son had a 3 ft. tall speaker fall on his leg, and he wasn't putting any pressure on it. The question was whether or not to take him to the ER that night.
They ended up not taking him to the ER until Sat, since when he woke up he still couldn't put pressure on it. He ended up having a hairline fracture in the fibula (larger lower bone) of his leg. Now he's in a cast for 4-6 weeks, poor baby! My SIL says he's "eating it up" - the fact that he has to be carried everywhere for a while!
Saturday, Chris and I also spent the evening together... watching FOOTBALL!!!! I LOVE football season! I actually ended up finishing Jacquline's cross-stitch while we watched the game. Again, it was nice to have some time with Chris, as well as be able to get something finished!
Sunday, our SS teacher, who is also our asst. pastor, asked us to consider the offer to be youth workers with the youth group at our church. We are VERY excited about this new opportunity for ministry that has opened up. We are not sure if we will be able to do it, simply because of work schedules, etc. We are meeting with the Sr. High youth pastor on Oct. 3 in order to find out what is expected of us and what our responsibilities would be. Please pray with us that God would show us what he wants us to do.
Monday, I had off work - I am off work for a lot of days in the next 3 weeks or so. I can't wait to tell you WHY, but right now it still has to stay a secret. Man, I've had a lot of secrets over the past few months, huh?!?!? :-) Stay tuned... you won't want to miss out on this one!
Anyway, I was able to meet with April for lunch! She and her husband just moved down here to attend the seminary. April was one of Chris' students when he taught right after we got married. Anyway, we had a great time of fellowship... it was so neat to be able to share with each other what God has been doing in our lives. It's always encouraging to me to see former students/teens from youth groups grow up to serve God with their lives! She and her hubby are coming over Sat. for supper, and we are excited to meet Scott.
Tuesday, I worked, and then we had a stamping party that night. I was the party hostess, even though it was held at our stamping demonstrators house. I kind of like that arrangement... I bring the food, but don't have to clean the house. She likes it, too, because she doesn't have to cart her stuff all around, and she can't forget anything at home b/c we're there! :-) Look here and here for our projects that we did. I was so glad that I didn't have to work the next day, since I didn't get home until 12:15 am! :-)
Yesterday, I was able to get together with one of the college students. I actually "taught" her in our ACE school that I worked in the year Chris and I dated. (You don't really "teach" in an ACE school!) Anyway, her mom and I were really good friends, and I had lost touch with them after 4 years, other than Christmas cards and an occasional update e-mail. They were thrilled to learn that Chris and I were here when it came time to bring Casey to school. She already felt that God wanted her here, but it was a blessing to her mom and dad to know that we were here if she needed us! All that to say, we went shopping for some clothes for her, and she bought some really cute outfits. I was glad to be able to help her with what looked good, and what was not so flattering (thank you, TLC's What Not To Wear!), and it was nice to fellowship with her.
That's about all that's happened this week. I'm trying to get a ton of things done (and here I am blogging, rather than doing them!) I have a lot of stamping to do, but have been in a creative slump the last few weeks. Hopefully that will right itself since I HAVE to do it... lots of birthdays coming up soon! :-)
Have a great weekend!
6.15.2007
Update
Wow - it seems like FOREVER since I posted... (has it really been OVER a week?!?!?!) Much has been happening here this week, so I'll try to keep it short and sweet, but get you "up to speed" on the Mitchell Mania.
First of all, rather than posting on my blog, I have been going crazy trying to get cards stamped for the various happenings going on in our families, etc. I have also been working like crazy trying to get Nathan & Caroline's cross-stitch done so that I could get it framed and back in my hands BEFORE their wedding. I have difficulty finishing cross-stitch projects in the time that I would like to have them done, mostly due to the fact that I have little time where I feel like I can really sit down and cross-stitch without having something else I SHOULD be doing. However, I discovered that I can now incorporate stamping with cross-stitch. Combining these two crafts may help me cut down my stitching time, as well as make more unique gifts. My problem with cross-stitching is that I usually make my own patterns by hand, so I have to figure out all of the color combinations, etc, as well as the design. I just have so much trouble liking any COMPLETE cross-stitch patterns that I already have. Also, because I make my own patterns, they don't usually fit in a standard sized frame. This means that sometimes I cannot frame them myself, which also requires extra time to get them completed for an occasion. ANYWAY, I did get the cross-stitch done, and it should be framed and ready by the 25th, and we leave for the wedding on the 29th. (I will post pictures in another post in a few minutes.)
The other BIG event that is happening... actually as I post this... is we are buying a house! I know that was quick, huh? It has only been about 2 weeks since we started looking for a house. We met our realtor (referred to us by our realtor in MD) on Thursday morning. He did an excellent job for us before we even met him! He sent us a bunch of listings prior to Thursday morning, and we weeded out the ones that we were not interested in at all. Then he took us to I think 10 houses Thursday morning. Only 2 of them were we REALLY interested in, and after Jason (our realtor) doing some homework for us, and Chris and I really discussing the pros/cons of the 2 houses, we decided on the second one we had seen. We met with Jason this morning to write up an offer, and Chris just called me to tell me that the seller had counter-offered. We are accepting his counter-offer, which is about $2400 more than our offer, but he is leaving the refridgerator (which is worth it to me at this point.) Also, we will be able to move in upon closing. Apparently, in this market here, refrigerators don't come with the houses, and sellers will sometimes stay in the house for 30 days after closing. That is just non-sense to me!! Why would I allow you to stay in my house for an additional 30 days, when it is now MY HOUSE??? Anyway, maybe by the time I'm done posting this, I'll be able to tell you if we are buying the house for sure! :-)
My Lil' D is back from the hospital, and has been for a week now, and is doing well after his surgery. We don't really know if it helped, but at least he is doing well. His mom bought a puppy for him last week, so that has been interesting. (I'll post pictures in a minute!) This puppy is a yellow labrador/border collie mix. She (the puppy) is an addition to the Rotweiller, Black Lab, 3 cats, goldfish, lizard, and racoon... yes, I said, RACOON... that the family already owns! (Plus Mom and 2 other brothers!!) The racoon stays in a cage outside, all of the others are in and in some cases out of the house. D likes the puppy, but the puppy gets a little rough for him sometimes.
Oh, yeah, my car got keyed again this week while I was at work. There was a scratch near the driver's mirror... about the same place as before. The auto body guy at Chris' work was able to buff out most of it today. The other scratch is on the trunk and is too deep to buff out and is accompanied by a dent. It's so frustrating that someone is doing that to my car! I mean, I work there, and I am inside with D most of the day. I don't talk to anyone enough to bother them or make this a personal thing... I guess it's just that I have a nice car and they don't like it. I just wish they would QUIT!
Chris has been doing well this month at work so far, so that is always a blessing!
That's pretty much the news from our part of the world!
First of all, rather than posting on my blog, I have been going crazy trying to get cards stamped for the various happenings going on in our families, etc. I have also been working like crazy trying to get Nathan & Caroline's cross-stitch done so that I could get it framed and back in my hands BEFORE their wedding. I have difficulty finishing cross-stitch projects in the time that I would like to have them done, mostly due to the fact that I have little time where I feel like I can really sit down and cross-stitch without having something else I SHOULD be doing. However, I discovered that I can now incorporate stamping with cross-stitch. Combining these two crafts may help me cut down my stitching time, as well as make more unique gifts. My problem with cross-stitching is that I usually make my own patterns by hand, so I have to figure out all of the color combinations, etc, as well as the design. I just have so much trouble liking any COMPLETE cross-stitch patterns that I already have. Also, because I make my own patterns, they don't usually fit in a standard sized frame. This means that sometimes I cannot frame them myself, which also requires extra time to get them completed for an occasion. ANYWAY, I did get the cross-stitch done, and it should be framed and ready by the 25th, and we leave for the wedding on the 29th. (I will post pictures in another post in a few minutes.)
The other BIG event that is happening... actually as I post this... is we are buying a house! I know that was quick, huh? It has only been about 2 weeks since we started looking for a house. We met our realtor (referred to us by our realtor in MD) on Thursday morning. He did an excellent job for us before we even met him! He sent us a bunch of listings prior to Thursday morning, and we weeded out the ones that we were not interested in at all. Then he took us to I think 10 houses Thursday morning. Only 2 of them were we REALLY interested in, and after Jason (our realtor) doing some homework for us, and Chris and I really discussing the pros/cons of the 2 houses, we decided on the second one we had seen. We met with Jason this morning to write up an offer, and Chris just called me to tell me that the seller had counter-offered. We are accepting his counter-offer, which is about $2400 more than our offer, but he is leaving the refridgerator (which is worth it to me at this point.) Also, we will be able to move in upon closing. Apparently, in this market here, refrigerators don't come with the houses, and sellers will sometimes stay in the house for 30 days after closing. That is just non-sense to me!! Why would I allow you to stay in my house for an additional 30 days, when it is now MY HOUSE??? Anyway, maybe by the time I'm done posting this, I'll be able to tell you if we are buying the house for sure! :-)
My Lil' D is back from the hospital, and has been for a week now, and is doing well after his surgery. We don't really know if it helped, but at least he is doing well. His mom bought a puppy for him last week, so that has been interesting. (I'll post pictures in a minute!) This puppy is a yellow labrador/border collie mix. She (the puppy) is an addition to the Rotweiller, Black Lab, 3 cats, goldfish, lizard, and racoon... yes, I said, RACOON... that the family already owns! (Plus Mom and 2 other brothers!!) The racoon stays in a cage outside, all of the others are in and in some cases out of the house. D likes the puppy, but the puppy gets a little rough for him sometimes.
Oh, yeah, my car got keyed again this week while I was at work. There was a scratch near the driver's mirror... about the same place as before. The auto body guy at Chris' work was able to buff out most of it today. The other scratch is on the trunk and is too deep to buff out and is accompanied by a dent. It's so frustrating that someone is doing that to my car! I mean, I work there, and I am inside with D most of the day. I don't talk to anyone enough to bother them or make this a personal thing... I guess it's just that I have a nice car and they don't like it. I just wish they would QUIT!
Chris has been doing well this month at work so far, so that is always a blessing!
That's pretty much the news from our part of the world!
6.07.2007
I MISS CAMP!!!!
After working at Northland Camp for 4 summers, and Chris working 6 summers of camp, we go through withdrawal every time camp season comes around. Most of the Christian camps we are familiar with start their summers around Memorial Day weekend. We usually have at least one conversation that starts out with... "Well, the staff should be arriving at Northland today."
Let me tell you, we definitely miss working at camp. Every major spiritual decision that Chris has made, has been made at Northland Camp. Chris didn't even attend camp there... all of these things happened because he WORKED at camp. He accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior the first year, surrendered to full-time Christian service, met me, and surrendered to the call to preach while at camp.
Anyway, the reason I'm saying this is that our camp void has been a little bit filled this year. The reason for that is our church runs a camp... Indian Creek Baptist Camp. We are blessed to have all of the campers join our church family for the Wednesday night service. Basically, what we have is a very short prayer service, then the camp service takes over. We get to enjoy the camp speakers preaching every Wednesday night for the summer, and get a little taste of camp coming to us. I am so thankful! Greg Locke preached last night, and the message was very convicting and challenging.
So - if/when the Lord leads us back into full time ministry, we would love to work at a camp full-time. Until then, we'll be as active as we can as laypeople in our church, and though missing camp, we pray for several camps daily... that the Lord would work in the hearts of staff, families, and teens as a direct result of camp.
Let me tell you, we definitely miss working at camp. Every major spiritual decision that Chris has made, has been made at Northland Camp. Chris didn't even attend camp there... all of these things happened because he WORKED at camp. He accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior the first year, surrendered to full-time Christian service, met me, and surrendered to the call to preach while at camp.
Anyway, the reason I'm saying this is that our camp void has been a little bit filled this year. The reason for that is our church runs a camp... Indian Creek Baptist Camp. We are blessed to have all of the campers join our church family for the Wednesday night service. Basically, what we have is a very short prayer service, then the camp service takes over. We get to enjoy the camp speakers preaching every Wednesday night for the summer, and get a little taste of camp coming to us. I am so thankful! Greg Locke preached last night, and the message was very convicting and challenging.
So - if/when the Lord leads us back into full time ministry, we would love to work at a camp full-time. Until then, we'll be as active as we can as laypeople in our church, and though missing camp, we pray for several camps daily... that the Lord would work in the hearts of staff, families, and teens as a direct result of camp.
6.06.2007
Verdict on the house
Well, the house we went and saw today was OK... rated on a scale of 1-10, it was a 5. The outside is beautiful, and the landscaping is well done and pretty, too. We didn't like the layout of the main floor (I like open floor plans), but the deck and adjoining swimming pool with deck surrounding it were SWEET! (The pool needs a new liner, but that's no problem here.) The upstairs was nice. It had a huge room extending out over the garage that would make a great playroom... if one had kids! :-) (Maybe a playroom for a wife who stamps?!?!? It would take me a while to fill that up!) The basement was "finished," but not done well. Had we actually bought the house, we probably would have torn down all the sheetrock and pulled up the carpet and started over. There were just a lot of little things that needed help... the switchplate covers were nasty, several of the light fixtures didn't work (and were nasty), etc. Also, it was not really "show ready." The painter was still working in it, and it hadn't been cleaned. So, the vote for us was to keep looking... after all, this is only the first house we've looked at, and we haven't even gotten a realtor yet! We'll see what happens! God knows what we need, and what we're praying for. He's never failed us.
5.24.2007
FINALLY!
After 6+ weeks of not being able to exercise, my chiropractor VERY RELUCTANTLY gave me permission to do cardio workouts, 2 days/week, 20 min/day. YEAH!!! I exercised today, and it felt good! I burned over 200 calories in that 20 minutes... 15 minutes hard exercise, 5 minute cool-down.
As of this morning, I have now lost 18.5 lbs. Even without exercise and with eating out so much on my FL trip, I still have lost about a pound/week. I am thrilled about that. I was hoping to have lost 40 pounds by Nathan's wedding (June 30th) but I don't think that's going to happen. Although, I still have a litte more than a month (37 days on Tuesday, Nathan informed me... but who's counting?!?!) :-) If I can exercise even a little bit, maybe I can get 10 more off. We'll see...
Also, I want you all to know that my little mouse "went the way of all flesh." I found him in my trap Tuesday morning. Hopefully, that is the end of the mouse in the house stories for a while. (Donette - I use peanut butter with D-Con on my traps, but I really don't know how to help you with your mouse IN the dishwasher!)
I think that's about all for the major events this week in my life. I had 2 days off this week (not including Sunday) so I am trying to recover from lack of sleep and fighting off some kind of illness.
Oh, yeah, one more thing... "my" "Lil D" stood up by himself yesterday for a few seconds. This is the first time I've seen him do that. I kind of tricked him into it... he was standing holding onto his walker, and I gave him part of a cookie to eat. He is like a little racoon ~ he has to play with his food and figure out what it is before eating it. So, he let go of the walker in order to turn the cookie over in both hands, and was standing all by himself without knowing it! It won't be long and he'll be running all over the place!
As of this morning, I have now lost 18.5 lbs. Even without exercise and with eating out so much on my FL trip, I still have lost about a pound/week. I am thrilled about that. I was hoping to have lost 40 pounds by Nathan's wedding (June 30th) but I don't think that's going to happen. Although, I still have a litte more than a month (37 days on Tuesday, Nathan informed me... but who's counting?!?!) :-) If I can exercise even a little bit, maybe I can get 10 more off. We'll see...
Also, I want you all to know that my little mouse "went the way of all flesh." I found him in my trap Tuesday morning. Hopefully, that is the end of the mouse in the house stories for a while. (Donette - I use peanut butter with D-Con on my traps, but I really don't know how to help you with your mouse IN the dishwasher!)
I think that's about all for the major events this week in my life. I had 2 days off this week (not including Sunday) so I am trying to recover from lack of sleep and fighting off some kind of illness.
Oh, yeah, one more thing... "my" "Lil D" stood up by himself yesterday for a few seconds. This is the first time I've seen him do that. I kind of tricked him into it... he was standing holding onto his walker, and I gave him part of a cookie to eat. He is like a little racoon ~ he has to play with his food and figure out what it is before eating it. So, he let go of the walker in order to turn the cookie over in both hands, and was standing all by himself without knowing it! It won't be long and he'll be running all over the place!
5.04.2007
All kinds of random information...
Well, I feel like it has been a while since I really posted. I mean, I know I've posted pictures and explained a little bit, but somehow it just feels like it's been a long time.
The past week or so has been full of ups and downs for me... not so much in my own personal life, but more because of news that I've had from friends. I have been told that one of my dear friends is now a single mom of four children, ages 7 down to 9 weeks, because her husband left. Another couple of friends of mine had complications with their childbirth, and their much wanted baby girl died about 24 hours later... the funeral was last Friday. Mrs. Beth Horn (wife of Dr. Sam Horn formerly from Northland) has been diagnosed with cancer, and it is already metastasizing into her lymph nodes (not a good sign.) Another friend is struggling with the financial state of her family and dealing with 6 kids, 2 of whom have special needs in one way or another. I also just heard that a man that I greatly admired for his strong testimony kind of "went off the deep end" and is involved in a "ministry" that is very far away from the convictions upon which he used to stand. Also, on a totally different note, my new car got "keyed" the other day while I was at work. OK - so that's the BAD news!
The BETTER news is this... most of those that I have mentioned above have been an incredible testimony and challenge to me! I can totally see God working in their lives giving them the "peace of God, which passeth [surpasses] all understanding" (Phil. 4:7) and showing Himself to be the "God of all comfort" (II Cor. 1:3-4). I am thrilled to see the strength and grace that God has given my friends in the midst of their trials.
As for my car... we were concerned that it would cost $1,000 to get the scratch fixed because it extended over 2 panels.
However, I have to give props to Brian who is the Body Shop Manager at Cross Motors... he wet-sanded the scratch, then buffed it, and made it disappear... at the cost of a box of donuts for the shop guys on Monday morning. Praise the Lord for his provision in that area!
Chris made Salesman of the Month again for April by selling 13&1/2 cars. This does not get him the $5,000 bonus, but it does get him some extra bonus money for the units he sold.
We leave on Tuesday for FL for Chris' sister's graduation from college. I'm excited to see family again.
We received my bro, Nathan and Caroline's wedding invitation in the mail yesterday. Again, I am so excited for them. The invitation made my heart hurt a little for them, though, as it still had Caroline's dad's name on them (he passed away about a month and 1/2 ago.)
Well, that's all I can think of right now. Actually, I do have to share a story with you about the FedEx man, but it will have to wait for another time. Have a great weekend!
3.30.2007
What a day!
I had a great day today. In spite of my original plans being cancelled this morning, it was a GORGEOUS day weather-wise outside. I went to the gym to work out, and did a BMI test again to see how I've progressed in this weight loss program. My BMI (body mass index - the percentage of body fat I have) went down 1%. It sure is encouraging when you eat right and exercise to be able to see results quickly. From the gym, I cam home, got ready, and took my husband his lunch (for today and the next 20 days that he needs his own lunch.) I buy him microwaveable sandwiches from Sam's Club... he enjoys the Philly Cheesesteak subs, and this time will try Angus Cheeseburgers. Anyway, I enjoyed the time with him during lunch. After he finished eating, we went out to the front of the dealership. He pointed out his manager, Ron's, demo drive vehicle... a Dodge Ram with a Viper engine. That may not mean much to some of you ladies that read this, but it basically translates to MORE POWER!!! Chris asked Ron if he could take me for a ride in it, but Ron said no b/c he didn't know if it would even make it to the gas station around the corner, the gas was so low. So, instead, he said, "But you can take your wife for a ride in the corvette." As you can imagine, my face broke out into a HUGE smile! Today, I got to ride in a corvette for the first time in my life! IT WAS SWEET! (and fast... I love fast!) I didn't get to drive it (seeing as it's priced at $40K, and I wouldn't want to wreck it and have to pay that kind of money for nothing.) I sure did enjoy the ride, though, and Chris enjoyed the driving. Here is 2 pictures for you: 
The Corvette
Chris and I standing with the corvette in front of the dealership.
After that, Chris had to get back to work, and I had errands to run. I went by my work office and picked up some paperwork for additional work that I am doing next week. I received an e-mail from my cousin who is working with Campus Crusade in a foreign country, and a couple of their converts led 4 other people to Christ! How exciting to see the fruit of your labor, and those that you lead to Christ learning and teaching others also! I am thrilled at the way God is working in & through the lives of those that are working in this ministry.
I then went shopping for my mom's 60th birthday present. All of the kids are going in together on it, and I was asked to do the actual shopping, so I got to do that today. Just before I got home, I received the call from Chris that the closing went well, and there were no problems. I am just so excited, I just can't hardly believe that it is really true, and that we FINALLY do not have to worry about that any more.
Now I am at home, blogging, and rejoicing in God's goodness to us, and sharing our blessings with you all! It's been a great day, and I'm thankful to God for "daily loading us with blessings."
Psalm 40:5
Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
3.29.2007
Today is the BIG DAY!
Well, this is it! Today is the day! (I can say that now that it is 12:12 AM, Friday, March 30th.) Again, I can't sleep, so here I am blogging. (What else do you do in the middle of the night when you can't sleep?!?!) Today is the day set for the closing of our house in Maryland. The closing is set for 4:00 pm. Everything SHOULD be in order (**please, Lord, let everything go smoothly!**) I am so thankful for the way the Lord has provided through all of this. Yes, we went through some VERY difficult times, but during the past 3 months, the Lord has TOTALLY turned our financial situation 180 degrees around. Chris and I stand amazed at what the Lord is doing! Back to the closing... our friend is authorized to sign the final sheet of paper for us, and the title company is going to wire the money directly into our bank acct. Wow - what a blessing that is. It will be so nice to be able to transfer that money right away and be able to pay off those blasted credit cards! :-)
Also, I know that I have said this many times before on this blog, but I hope I never get tired of giving thanks to the Lord for all that he has done for us. In this particular instance, it is God's provision through Chris' job. He finally did it this month... he sold enough cars to qualify for the extra $5,000 bonus, and barring some kind of freak thing where another salesman sells 6 more cars in the next 2 days, Chris should win. He actually sold one extra car than what he had to sell, and has 2 more selling days left in the month. I never dreamed that we would be given this much money. We are so excited to have now the opportunity to GIVE in a way that we never have been able to before this.
We were able to buy plane tickets for our trip to FL next week for my family's get-together to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday! This was a HUGE blessing as it will save us from 24 hours of driving to be in FL for about 24 hours, if we were lucky. This way, we won't have to put all those miles on my poor car, nor will we have to spend all that time driving, AND we will get to spend more time with my family. I am excited to see them all. We haven't seen Steve & Kathryn since their wedding in June 2005. We haven't seen my parents since Labor Day weekend right before we moved. We were able to visit with Nathan and Caroline a little over Thanksgiving when we were in Pensacola for Chris' family gathering. I haven't seen Heidi and her family or Greg and his family since Aksana was born in Feb. 2006, and Chris hasn't seen them since Steve's wedding. It will be nice to have us all together without being so busy with wedding preparations (which is usually what gets us all together at the same time these days... but only one wedding left for my immediate family - Nathan and Caroline in June.)
I have lost 10 lbs. now on my weight loss plan. I am super excited about all this! I am thankful that the Lord has helped me be INCREDIBLY disciplined with my eating... Nutrisystem has really worked well for me. Of course, going to the Y and working out 3-4 days a week has helped tremendously and I already feel better.
Praise the Lord for the way he works in our lives... even through the valleys, as well as on the mountain tops. I was thinking about all of the financial stuff today, and was realizing that all of this money wouldn't have been such a blessing to us (nor do I think we would have been as wise with our money as we are now) had we not gone through the 4 months of barely (if being able to pay them at all) paying bills and not having work that we got paid for doing, and the other trials that we went through recently. We now have a much better understanding that it is not our money, it is just God's money that He is entrusting to us to give us the opportunity to be good stewards with what He has given. I pray that we will always be found faithful, and that we will use this money to help others learn about our Great God!
Also, I know that I have said this many times before on this blog, but I hope I never get tired of giving thanks to the Lord for all that he has done for us. In this particular instance, it is God's provision through Chris' job. He finally did it this month... he sold enough cars to qualify for the extra $5,000 bonus, and barring some kind of freak thing where another salesman sells 6 more cars in the next 2 days, Chris should win. He actually sold one extra car than what he had to sell, and has 2 more selling days left in the month. I never dreamed that we would be given this much money. We are so excited to have now the opportunity to GIVE in a way that we never have been able to before this.
We were able to buy plane tickets for our trip to FL next week for my family's get-together to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday! This was a HUGE blessing as it will save us from 24 hours of driving to be in FL for about 24 hours, if we were lucky. This way, we won't have to put all those miles on my poor car, nor will we have to spend all that time driving, AND we will get to spend more time with my family. I am excited to see them all. We haven't seen Steve & Kathryn since their wedding in June 2005. We haven't seen my parents since Labor Day weekend right before we moved. We were able to visit with Nathan and Caroline a little over Thanksgiving when we were in Pensacola for Chris' family gathering. I haven't seen Heidi and her family or Greg and his family since Aksana was born in Feb. 2006, and Chris hasn't seen them since Steve's wedding. It will be nice to have us all together without being so busy with wedding preparations (which is usually what gets us all together at the same time these days... but only one wedding left for my immediate family - Nathan and Caroline in June.)
I have lost 10 lbs. now on my weight loss plan. I am super excited about all this! I am thankful that the Lord has helped me be INCREDIBLY disciplined with my eating... Nutrisystem has really worked well for me. Of course, going to the Y and working out 3-4 days a week has helped tremendously and I already feel better.
Praise the Lord for the way he works in our lives... even through the valleys, as well as on the mountain tops. I was thinking about all of the financial stuff today, and was realizing that all of this money wouldn't have been such a blessing to us (nor do I think we would have been as wise with our money as we are now) had we not gone through the 4 months of barely (if being able to pay them at all) paying bills and not having work that we got paid for doing, and the other trials that we went through recently. We now have a much better understanding that it is not our money, it is just God's money that He is entrusting to us to give us the opportunity to be good stewards with what He has given. I pray that we will always be found faithful, and that we will use this money to help others learn about our Great God!
3.21.2007
I'm BACK!
Well, it's been a while since I last posted. Things have been rather busy around here it seems, but yet I still don't feel like I get anything done. How does that work? :-) Actually, my lack of blogging is indication that I'm doing something OTHER than sitting on my tail on the computer... like EXERCISING! Yep, I know it's hard to believe, but it's TRUE! Read on for more details...
Sampling of Breakfast entrees
Lunch: NS Lunch entree, 1 dairy or protein, salad, 2 tbsp fat-free dressing
(My salad consists of romaine lettuce, raw spinach, mushrooms and cucumbers, with cottage cheese for the dairy/protein and basil&balsamic vinaigrette)
Snack: 1 fruit, 1 dairy/protein
(I usually eat cottage cheese with 1/2 cup no sugar added fruit)
Sampling of Lunch entrees
Dinner: NS dinner entree, 2 servings of vegetables, 1 salad or fruit, 1 fat(I vary this a little more, but usually eat cooked carrots, broccoli, cauliflower or green beans, or a combination of them, then fruit. I use 1 slice of American cheese for my fat if I'm eating broccoli and/or cauliflower. I'm not sure if that counts, but it does for me! :-) )
Sampling of Dinner entrees
Dessert: NS dessert
Sampling of desserts
I drink at least 64 ounces of water per day (most days) and green tea for a little variety. I can drink as much tea as I want, but usually limit it to drinking tea with dinner. I also have mixed things up a little bit to fit my lifestyle. I have moved some things around... for example, I eat more of the dinner extras at lunchtime, and eat my dessert after lunch. That is when I am most tempted to snack... when I'm at work and there are yummy (junk food type) things around to eat that I normally don't have at home... and I'm feeding kids every couple of hours. I figure it's better to eat it earlier in the day anyway, right?!? :-)
As close as I can figure (as of last Thursday), since I started exercising at the beginning of March, I have lost 6 pounds. I started Nutrisystem on March 12th. So far, I love NS!! It is so easy, you really don't even have to think about it! The food actually tastes good - I only had one thing I didn't like so far - and eating what I am supposed to eat actually fills me up. (I picked my own menu.) I figure that if I can just get used to the right PORTION sizes, I should be OK. The only thing that I DON'T like is that I still have to cook something for Chris, and I don't get to eat with him, since I won't eat after 8pm if I can help it. Other than that, so far, so good.
Here is the update on what is going on with us:
unwanted guest
Yep, you guessed it... we have had a mouse in the house. He apparently like saltines, ramen noodles (thankfully they don't cost much!), and some of my NutriSystem lunch bars (see below for more about NutriSystem.) I was a little bitter about the NS bars... I paid good money for those! Fortunately, one I was able to salvage by cutting off the end, and the other I cut in half and ate the rest that did NOT get nibbled on by our furry "friend." I guess this is a little payback from the Lord for not being sympathetic to my friend, Beth. Beth HATES mice, and she had one very tricky one in her house for 4 & 1/2 weeks. She tried glue traps, which the little thing pulled against the base of the counter until he got loose... several times. Finally she bought the real mouse traps and got him. Now, our mouse got the treatment you see above. However, apparently my mouse was small, because as you can see, the trap is licked clean, but the mouse did not spring it (twice.) I know D-Con works very well... if the mouse eats it. Since I wasn't sure that the mouse was eating it, after the first time the trap got licked clean, I mixed the peanut butter WITH d-con to make sure he ate it. He did, and we haven't seen signs of him since! Praise the Lord! (There have been no nasty smells, either, so we are hoping he died outside somewhere.) How do mice get in houses anyway? :-)
my weight loss program
I know I've already made mention of the NutriSystem program, but first of all, the exercise part that I am doing with it! Last Wednesday, Chris and I joined the YMCA. We had discovered, Monday night, that it is within about 2 minutes drive of our house... very conveniently located! :-) It is about a year old, and is very nice. We both started working out there. Last Saturday (Happy St. Patrick's Day, for any of you that care about that holiday), I met with a personal trainer (for FREE with membership) that set up a workout program with me. It's a 12 week program: 1st 4 weeks - 3 days - 30 min cardio, plus lower back and abdominal weight training - light weight, lots of reps. 2nd 4 weeks, as above, plus more strength training targeting other areas of the body... 3rd 4 weeks, more of the same, plus more strength training exercises. I can always add in days of cardio, so I am doing at least 4 days/week right now. I met a lady today that I think will be my buddy on M/W/F. Her name is Deborah. Man, time flies when you're talking WHILE you exercise!
Now for those of you who really KNOW me, know that I don't really care for exercise AT ALL! But, I'm actually EXCITED about this. This is the first time that I am DETERMINED to lose the weight... but more importantly, be healthy, feel good, feel like I LOOK good, and make these things HABITS!
So... here's the REST of the program (for now): nutrisystem
Here's how it works... You get a NS entree for breakfast, and add 1 serving of fruit and 1 serving of dairy or protein. (I usually eat yogurt and drink 1/2 cup of juice for my servings)
Sampling of Breakfast entreesLunch: NS Lunch entree, 1 dairy or protein, salad, 2 tbsp fat-free dressing
(My salad consists of romaine lettuce, raw spinach, mushrooms and cucumbers, with cottage cheese for the dairy/protein and basil&balsamic vinaigrette)
Snack: 1 fruit, 1 dairy/protein
(I usually eat cottage cheese with 1/2 cup no sugar added fruit)
Sampling of Lunch entreesDinner: NS dinner entree, 2 servings of vegetables, 1 salad or fruit, 1 fat(I vary this a little more, but usually eat cooked carrots, broccoli, cauliflower or green beans, or a combination of them, then fruit. I use 1 slice of American cheese for my fat if I'm eating broccoli and/or cauliflower. I'm not sure if that counts, but it does for me! :-) )
Sampling of Dinner entreesDessert: NS dessert
Sampling of dessertsI drink at least 64 ounces of water per day (most days) and green tea for a little variety. I can drink as much tea as I want, but usually limit it to drinking tea with dinner. I also have mixed things up a little bit to fit my lifestyle. I have moved some things around... for example, I eat more of the dinner extras at lunchtime, and eat my dessert after lunch. That is when I am most tempted to snack... when I'm at work and there are yummy (junk food type) things around to eat that I normally don't have at home... and I'm feeding kids every couple of hours. I figure it's better to eat it earlier in the day anyway, right?!? :-)
As close as I can figure (as of last Thursday), since I started exercising at the beginning of March, I have lost 6 pounds. I started Nutrisystem on March 12th. So far, I love NS!! It is so easy, you really don't even have to think about it! The food actually tastes good - I only had one thing I didn't like so far - and eating what I am supposed to eat actually fills me up. (I picked my own menu.) I figure that if I can just get used to the right PORTION sizes, I should be OK. The only thing that I DON'T like is that I still have to cook something for Chris, and I don't get to eat with him, since I won't eat after 8pm if I can help it. Other than that, so far, so good.
Chris' work
Chris is still doing an AWESOME job at work. At the risk of sounding like I'm bragging... well, let's face it... I AM! Chris has sold 13 & 1/2 cars (deals) this month so far. Most salesmen average 8 cars a month! Chris had 11 cars out before the second pay period of the month started, which exceeded his goal of getting into double digits before the 15th. As of Tuesday night, he was 5&1/2 cars in front of everyone else at the dealership. Praise the Lord for his provision through this! So, you may ask, "What is Chris' secret?" It's simple. Every day before he gets out of the truck at work, he stops and asks the Lord to help him sell one car today. The Lord has honored that... not every day... but enough to make him very successful at his job. He actually is at a sales conference now in Indianapolis, to which the manager says he NEVER sends salesmen unless they have worked at the dealership for at least a year. The management loves Chris, and are constantly encouraging him, and telling me that they hope he stays around for a LONG time. You don't know how encouraged and proud it makes me to see my husband successful in a field that he has never worked before now. I thank the Lord often for giving Chris good success in this job.
My work
Well, my work should be changing at the end of this month as well. I don't have to work quite as much these days to help financially, so I am actually quitting one of my cases. There are many reasons for this, but it boils down to the fact that I do not feel that I am the best nurse for this particular patient. I get very irritated and frustrated, though I know some things this patient does are not their fault. However, it is getting overwelmingly stressful, and since I don't HAVE to work that case, I'm not going to continue to do it. I will be going full-time at the other case that I am working, I believe, and will be very happy to do so.
Our Maryland House
We received all of the papers to sign from the title company today for our house closing. We are blessed to have a friend in Maryland that is willing, and with our authorization, is also able, to sign the HUD sheet for us so that we do not actually have to be physically present in order to close on the house. Only a little more than one week, and Lord willing, our house will be sold! YEAH!!!
I believe that is about all for now. I think I have pretty much caught up with the events of the past couple of weeks that I've been out of blogging land. Oh, yes, one more thing...
Google Reader
If you have not yet discovered Google Reader, you need to check it out. It is a great time saver for those of you who check multiple blogs on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, it saves so much time, it will allow you extra time to surf for other blogs that might be of interest! :-) Though I do miss going down the list and clicking each individual bookmark, and reading all the comments others leave on people's blogs, Google Reader really has been good for me since I don't have as much free time on my hands now that I'm working out. For those of you who have no idea what Google Reader is, it is a central place where you can subscribe to the blogs that you frequent. Instead of checking every blog every day for updates, you can just go to Google Reader, and it will show you only the ones that you have not read. When you subscribe to a site, make sure you mark the box for "Mark all read." Anyway, it is a great time saver, and thanks to Trisha, who introduced this to me!
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