A LITTLE taste of motherhood...

Hello! Well, it was an interesting weekend at our house.

First of all, I have been going to a new chiropractor. I REALLY like him, and am so glad that I am finally getting my back taken care of. Unfortunately, I have to go through some extra pain as my muscles SCREAM at me because they are so used to being in the WRONG position, but it will all be better in a while. I'm VERY sore today... some because of the adjustments and muscle work, and some because of taking care of Dakota this weekend.

Second, I oriented at my new work case on Friday. It made me cry as g-ma of the patient explained to me that she is caregiver of the little one because the parents abused the patient so much. She was only 8 pounds on her first birthday. How could ANYONE do that to their child?!??! Anyway, she is doing much better now, and g-ma is thrilled that I am coming to work there. Another dose of encouragement that was desperately needed.

Got a phone call at 12:30am Saturday morning informing me that *J* was being admitted into the hospital. Thankfully, after a few tests, they decided that there was nothing wrong with him, but I missed a couple of hours of work, besides getting the living daylights scared out of me when the phone rang in the middle of the night! :-) I also got to sleep in a little bit, too, so that was a blessing.

Dakota's mom called Saturday afternoon, asking if I still wanted to watch Dakota, since he was sick with a low grade fever. I told her I didn't care if she didn't. I knew she really needed a break. I overheard her asking D in the background if he still wanted to go to Heather's house, and he said "YES!" Then she asked if he wanted to stay with mommy since he was sick, to which he replied, "I not sick!" That was it... I told her that she could bring him anyway. I ended up getting up with him twice in the night because he woke up and then needed medicine. We did try to go to church (I kept him with me instead of putting him in the nursery.) He fell asleep on the bus ride (we went on the bus route with Chris), and slept about 15 minutes. He woke up at church, and was VERY whiny and wouldn't be quiet in the Sunday school class, so we went home. He fell asleep at 11:45am, and slept til 2:30 or so. In spite of him being sick, we enjoyed having him here. I'm not sure that Chris slept much either after D woke up the first time. :-) He's so smart, and it is so fun to hear all the things that he is learning. He did really well!

I finally fit into a dress that I bought a while ago, and we got pictures taken for the church directory. Hopefully they turn out nice. They looked a little iffy on the camera.

After life being so mundane for a while, it seems like life is going crazy the past two weeks! Also, got an e-mail from my bro, Steve, today, and they resigned their position at the church where he was youth pastor. They are headed up to Wake Forest, NC, to go to Southeastern Seminary there. They will be moving the week of May 24. Please pray for them and the youth group as they adjust to this change. Steve has been youth pastor there since April 2005. Thanks!

That's about it for now, I believe! Hope everyone had a great weekend! Oh, yeah... we have snow forcasted for tonight here. ???? The weather has been CRAZY! At least it melts fast here! I am thinking I still didn't move far enough south! :-)

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!

Fall is finally here?!?!?

OK - it's the first week of November, and the trees are FINALLY starting to change color. It has been so hot here up until about 2 weeks ago, the trees hadn't changed at all. Here's a couple of pics of some pretty trees.

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.

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!

It's beginning to feel like...

...well, like FALL! Just 2 days ago it was over 90 degrees here (and I've basically been housebound for the past few days)! Imagine my surprise when I went out today dressed in shorts sleeves and flip-flops to discover that it was 59 degrees!! Now, not that 59 degrees is COLD, but a 30+ degree weather change can make it seem that way. I guess I'll have to grab my sweater and some shoes on the way out to church tonight! :-)

Happy Fall, Y'All

This is the extent of our fall colors right now. Brilliant, aren't they?!?!? :-)

I love fall... the smell of pumpkin pies, apple crisp, hot spiced apple cider, the clean, crisp air, the smell of wood burning stoves, the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet...

But fall hasn't really come to our area yet. The leaves are changing... but only because they are dying from not having enough water and the weather being too hot. It has been in the 90's for about the past month at least, if not higher. Today felt a lot more like fall weather after a HUMONGOUS thunderstorm swept through at about 6am. It was in the 70's this afternoon, and breezy. Another thing I love about fall is being able to wear sweatshirts/sweaters, but not having to wear jackets! :-)

Happy Fall, Y'All!

CAUGHT!

What a day! Today's weather was absolutely beautiful... partly cloudy, in the upper 80's. I had the day off (one of 3 days off this week, + Sunday!), and just couldn't resist going outside.

First, though, I went and worked out at the gym. My back is messed up again, and bothering me, but it feels fine when I exercise, so I did. I came back, ate lunch, and decided to be brave and go lay out in the sun.

My dilemma is this: I live in an apt. complex. I did not want to lay out where anyone could see me, for 2 reasons. #1 - I absolutely, positively despise tan lines, but love to be tan. (Yeah, I know, skin cancer here I come! Actually, I am pretty careful about it ~ as much as one can be who lays out, anyway.) Before you get any crazy ideas, I do get SOME tan lines, as some things just cannot be helped. However, I usually lay out in a bikini **gasp**, and this is the #2 reason I don't want people to see me. I definitely do NOT look good in a bikini, and I wouldn't want anyone else to have to see that! :-) (Only 30.5 lbs to go!)

Well, today, I decided to venture out back and see if there was an area that was possible for me to achieve my goal of no one seeing me. We live in the apt. on the very end, which helps. The second thing going for me is that the back of our building is flanked by "tanglewoods" and therefore no one can see me from that direction either. The only two obstacles left were the line of site from the entrance drive that someone could look down the length of the buildings and see me (though it would be very far for them to look), and the windows of the apts next to mine. As I walked around back, I discovered that there is an alcove in the design of the building. This space houses all of the AC units for the apts on that side, and is designed so that you can't see them unless you do it on purpose. PERFECT, I thought. All of the windows that had a view of me are spare bedroom windows, one of which is mine, and all of the others had the blinds closed! I thanked the Lord for the opportunity, and set up my little laying out area, thinking that I was "home free."

My lay out spot

I was home free... until... one of the guys that does the landscaping/grounds comes rambling by with his weedwacker. I was caught! He looked a little embarassed that he had seen me (I was decent, just in a bikini). I said hello, and hoped that he wouldn't walk back the same way that he had come. Well, about 1/2 hour later... he comes by again. Note to self: don't lay out while the grounds guys are still around. :-)

I enjoyed the sun immensely, and hopefully will have very few tan lines. :-)

Also, while I was out there, I discovered that some birds had built a nest in one of the dryer vents that have an outlet about 1/2 way up the building.

Evidences of a bird nest in the dryer vent...

...and on the ground below

Apparently the father bird was either a little discombobulated at my presence or was irritated because the mother bird wouldn't open up the vent to get the food that he was bringing to her. He sat there for several minutes chirping and squawking, flitting from dryer vent to corner of the building, to roof of the building to nearby tree. Finally, a head poked out of the nest to retrieve whatever was in his mouth. He was a little better after that. I didn't have my camera with me at the time, or I would have included pictures.

When I came back out to "flip" and sun the other side of my body (with camera in hand), the bird became a little "camera shy." He wouldn't sit still anywhere! I did manage to capture one of him flying toward the nest, but it's not great.

Bird flying toward nest

I'm sure he was relieved when I headed inside to shower, then work on some cards.

All in all, it has been a good day... except that it is now 9:45pm, and my husband still is not home from work. I hope that means that he is selling a car (which is much-needed for us at this point... it has been a very slow, long, discouraging, frustrating month for him.)

***ETA*** Chris is on his way home now... at 10:15pm, and he DID sell a car... another car to his very first customer. Praise the Lord for His Provision.

Spring is here!!

Last Wednesday, March 21, officially marked the first day of spring. This tree was right on time... Tuesday night the branches were bare (seriously, I noticed, because I was so anxious for signs of spring!) and Wednesday morning, it looked like this! Literally, overnight, the tree burst into bloom!

I managed to take a couple seconds on my way to work one morning to capture this sunrise on film... well digitally, anyway. I love the flag in the picture, as well.


So - today, it is 82 degrees out! I'm lovin' this weather, but unfortunately, our apt. complex doesn't really have much of a nice spot to be outside, so I am wasting this beautiful day indoors, blogging! :-) I am so thankful for the beautiful weather!

Chris made it home from his sales conference, and was very encouraged. He has done so well (please forgive my bragging!), that the company that did the conference interviewed and videotaped Chris as a testimonial to their sales training. The speaker at the conference "took to" Chris pretty well. When he found out how well Chris was doing, he told Chris that if Chris implemented the things that he learned at the conference, in 3-5 years he should never have to take another "up" (customer coming on the lot at the dealership that does not have a salesman to work with). He should be busy with all repeat customers and referrals from his customers. The speaker also told Chris that by that point, Chris should have so many of his own customers that the dealership should have to hire a secretary and finance person just to work with Chris' customers! That is very encouraging! Now, of course, we don't know if that will happen, or what God has in store for us in the future. It is encouraging to see my husband so successful, though, and all the praise and glory go to the Lord for bringing in to Chris the people that will buy the cars. We are so thankful that the Lord led Chris to this job, and don't want to lose sight of that!

Yesterday, we were able to join another couple and their 4 kiddos for lunch after church. It was fun getting to know them better. We have been able to do this for the last couple of weeks, and it has been nice getting to know the couples with whom we attend church. Thursday, I was able to have lunch with a friend, and thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship with her, as well. It is nice to be making friends now.
Chris also started playing basketball with some of the men/college students after church on Sunday nights. He has really enjoyed being able to PLAY sports, rather than be coaching or in charge of refereeing the games. It's good for him to meet the guys that way, as well, just as I get to meet the ladies at stamping parties!

On a totally different note, my brother, Nathan, and his fiancee, Caroline, have made the decision to complete this semester of school, rather than sit out the rest of the semester due to Caroline's father's sudden passing. Please continue to keep them in your prayers, as I'm sure this will be difficult for them. Nathan will have one week to make up, Caroline, 2 weeks. Please also continue to pray for the LaChance family as they continue to grieve the loss of their loved one.

Crazy Day

Again, I have a lot to say, so bear with me on my random thoughts.

First of all, I just want to say - I HATE WINTER! It has been cold here (in the teens and twenties) all week. We have had some kind of snow every day since Sunday, but none of it is accumulating. It basically is doing what I like to call "flaking." It's not enough snow for a "flurries," but there's a flake here and there. The wind is making it "right to the bone" cold. It's been a while since I've had to live in weather like this. The other factor in all of this is that our apt. is not really built for a cold winter. It is not insulated well, and the heat is a heat pump, which actually blows cool air when the heat kicks on, which makes me colder! I'm ready for some warm weather! (Maybe I should just be thankful that I at least have a roof over my head and heat to begin with! Thank the Lord for THAT!)

Secondly, Chris has now sold 14 cars this month. He has to reach 15 & 1/2 to get the salesman of the month $5,000 bonus money. We are praying that the Lord will help him do that in the next 24 hours or so! (He has until noon on Thursday to finish the deals.) Again, God has given him great success in this job, for which we are VERY THANKFUL (even if he doesn't get the $5,000 bonus!)

Third... yesterday (and this morning) were very crazy days for me. I had to work yesterday, and my little girl had 3 MD appts. scheduled. I agreed to go in early in order to get meds and kids ready in time to leave. Long story short, (I'll save you all the gory details of her struggles with incontinence) we were at doctor's offices ALL day! It's funny how I didn't really DO all that much with her, like I normally would when we're at her house, but by the time I got home, I was exhausted! I don't know how her mom makes it, and she has to deal with this ALL the TIME, plus another little one! Only by the grace of God, I suppose! I ended up working 12 hours, instead of 10. Crazy! Then, this morning I got to work at her house, and shortly after I arrived, one of her other nurses showed up! She had gotten mixed up on the schedule, and was supposed to work tomorrow instead. Since she has about a 45 min. drive to get there, and I only drive about 10 minutes, I offered to let her stay today and I'll work tomorrow. I went ahead and drew up meds for tomorrow, which will save me at least an hour in the morning. (She is on over 30 medications!) I'm thankful for the day to relax and catch up from yesterday and also, I get to go to church tonight. Yeah!

Fourth, Chris surprised me Saturday night when he got home with a "date night." Well, sort of, but I'll take it! He had received some warranty money, so had some extra cash on hand. We bought pizza and he rented a movie for us to watch. We don't really do much during the week other than come home and collapse on the couch and watch TV, but it was nice to watch a movie. Last night, I was surprised again when he came home with another rented movie (which was the one he originally wanted to get on Sat., but it wasn't in.) So - here is my review on the 2 movies we watched:

• World Trade Center - other than the language (about 10 swear words, including Jesus' name used in vain) it was an excellent movie. I cried off and on throughout the whole thing. It just reminded me so much of the emotions I had experienced when watching the news on 09/11/2001... and how much I had forgotten. I don't think it's a bad thing to be reminded of the past now and then.
• The Guardian - again, other than the language (maybe 15 swear words, but no taking of the Lord's name in vain that I can remember) and 3 implied sexual scenes (nothing was actually shown)... the story line was really good. There are also several scenes where they are in bars, drinking. I think it's actually based on a true life story, if I remember correctly. It's about a Coast Guard Senior Chief rescue swimmer who teaches a class of trainees after his crew gets killed in a rescue operation. Again, the story line was excellent, but they could have left out some of the extra curriculars (as usual!)

I have a question for you all. I think most of you are married that read this, and this is a marriage question. Please be patient with me as I step out of my spiritual shell and reveal the wicked and deceitful heart below. I have discovered that whenever my husband and I are forced to be apart from each other a lot (like extended work days, etc.), that I tend to get VERY irritated with him... for no reason! Why is it that when I have such little time to spend, I waste it with a selfish, irritable attitude? Does anyone else experience this? I struggle with the fact that I have to work to begin with (not like I have anything better to do, but it would be nice to just be able to stay at home), but then to try to balance the work outside the home with the work inside the home... I hate it! It irritates me that I have to work all day, then come home and spend time thinking about supper and making it... I could go on and on! On the other hand, it's not like my husband doesn't help at all. For one thing, he is putting in longer hours more days per week, so I don't have to work so much. He also usually helps with laundry on the weekends if I haven't done it on my day off during the week. I guess it's just the selfish flesh in me that thinks, "I work, too! Why do I always have to... ???(fill in the blank!)" I was really convicted about this issue last night... I'm trying to be a good wife, but it's hard when you're so selfish and lazy!

I guess that's it for random thoughts for the day, since I can't think of anything else really pressing to reveal to all who read my blog!

OUR FIRST SNOWFALL OF THE YEAR

yep - this is it... our first snowfall (if you can call it that) of the year. This was it, too... just a dusting. The sun came out about 10am, and though it was cold, I think the wind blew all the snow away. It sure didn't stay very long.