Monday, May 31, 2010

Remember...It's Hot

Today we went to a Memorial Day service at the old country church north of town and it was an enjoyable day. For the first time in a while, we actually took time to remember the true reason for today, and then eat. I see no reason wrong with picnics and cookouts, as long as we take time to remember the lives lost to give us our freedom. I guess that's why I was a little frustrated with our president: it wasn't that he went to Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery instead of Arlington; it's that his going to any cemetery at all seemed like an afterthought. And I really don't care if other presidents have done the same thing; just because somebody else made the mistake, doesn't mean it's ok for another to make the same error. Ok, enough politics for now.

Anyway, the house that we are renting doesn't have central air, so we are making our annual, "how long can we hold out before putting the window units in" discussion. Once they're in, they're in until September, and we'd like to hold out until we really need them, but man, it sure feels like we need them now. It's not that it's incredibly hot, just incredibly sticky, and we haven't got a drop of rain, while St. Louis is getting hammered with rain.

The kids completed another year of school and all will be moving up a grade. Arthur was named a Presidential Education Award winner, so we are quite proud of him and are looking forward to great things from him as he enters Junior High. He is going to start going to the weight room 2-3 times a week next week, as he gets ready for football in the fall.

Caleb went on a field trip almost every day during the last 2 weeks of school. He went on one for AR (for reading a lot of books), for attendance, for his class trip, and for all of school. He is looking forward to third grade and his last year of elementary school.

Clara graduated from kindergarten, which is a really big deal around here. The program was very cute, and it was also very hot since it was held in the non-air conditioned gymnasium. If she wasn't so mouthy, she'd be a great kid, but we love her lots.

Hannah is running and jumping and climbing and generally getting in lots of trouble. Yesterday at church, she decided she wanted to go outside between Sunday School and Worship, so I allowed her to do so. Unfortunately, she started running full speed down the cement wheelchair ramp, and yes, she fell flat on her face about halfway down the ramp. She skinned her nose up pretty badly and also took a little off her forehead. I'll try to take a picture and post it tomorrow.

Anyway, that's what's new around here, and we will try harder to post more often.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

It's Been a While

Well, we tried to update at least once a month, and that failed miserably. Part of the problem has been issues with our computer periodically shutting down whenever it feels like it. Tried to diagnose it with several programs, but it hasn't shown any viruses or any other problems. Guess we'll keep trying to figure it out.

March was a down month with not a whole lot going on. April has started out pretty well with Easter being a good day at church. Work has been going about the same, which is to same everyone is on edge about hours and getting tired of working in the Deli. I'm mildly looking for another job opportunity, but having trouble figuring out what direction to head. We know that we'll be here in Potosi for at least another year, as Carrie will definitely be teaching here next school year, but I am open to just about anything, as long as any extra mileage is compensated with extra pay. My biggest problem with Wal-Mart is that I don't see a long-term future with it, and I'm not sure I can keep going without vacations (paid or not).

This is my last census week, and I can say that this is one of the worst jobs that I have had, or at least one of the least interesting (most boring?). There have been 4 people total in the 8 weeks who have come by the library, and the longest any of them have been there has been 5 minutes. I finally decided to go upstairs and check out a book, so I read while I worked last week. Getting paid to read isn't that bad, but I'd much rather do it at home.

Hannah is now consistently walking well, so we are chasing her around the house quite a bit. Since the weather has been great lately, she has been outside and she enjoys playing with her older siblings.

Well, that's all I can think of to update now, but I will update later this week.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Barely under the wire

Wow! It has been a busy month, but we are updating this month, like we said we would. Wish it were more, but time sure flies with 4 kids and multiple activities.

Arthur just started with Civil Air Patrol on Thursday nights, so he now has something going on every night but Monday and Friday. He just got selected to the ETS II area group, which has extra activities once a month, as well as a meeting once a week at school. The purpose of the program is to give kids in lower income areas opportunities they might not otherwise get. Fro example, he has the opportunity to go to the Challenger Learning Center for a hands-on space simulation next month, and there are plays and musicals that they are able to attend as well. We think it will be a beneficial program for him.

All 3 older kids have AWANA on Wednesday nights, and yesterday was their annual Pinewood derby. Caleb was excited when he won his race (first car in the family to win after 2 years), but he got a little too upset when his car lost later. Maybe next year we'll figure out the best combo of design and speed. We have lots of pictures that we'll post tomorrow.

Hannah is finally getting the hang of walking, or at least getting a lot better at it. She takes 5-10 steps at a time, and she'll take a whole lot more when she steps from side to side.

I started working for the census on Friday, and right now it's really boring. I go to the library and sit for 3 hours waiting on someone to come in and ask about the census. Once people get their forms, they can come in and ask for help filling them out. If you ask me, it's a waste of tax money, but I'm not going to complain about receiving a little bit of the waste. Better me than the banks, I guess.

We're still not completely done with the audit, but it didn't end up having an impact on our refund this year, so I think that's why there's been a little bit of a delay in completing it. When I last spoke to him, there was a chance that we would owe about $500, which isn't good, but I'm surprised that it wasn't more because there was so much that went on that year (2008).

Anyway, thanks for coming and reading our update, and we'll try to post more next month.

Friday, January 8, 2010

January 2010!








It has been forever since we last sat down and updated this blog. From the looks of it -- Halloween in fact! Happy New Year to one and all. I hope your Christmas time was a blessed time of fun, friends, and family. I know ours definitely was. The Christmas break from school is always a welcome one from me and this year was no exception. Plus after going through the past 3 Christmas seasons either pregnant or nursing -- I was just excited to be not watching every morsel tha went into my mouth for certain ingredients! I however am trying to lose a great amount of weight and so put that on the back burner as well in order to participate in the cinnamon roll contest and all those yummy cookies. It is now the never ending month of January! This starts off with Hannah's birthday. I made a cup cake cake this year for her. Welcome to the circus!
Hannah turned one on January 6. Today is the 8th and the first thought I had today was that 2 years ago we were sending our son to surgery. I did not intend to start today off with that thought but it entered my mind anyway. I don't think of him every day anymore, but memories strike at the strangest and sometimes the hardest times. Next weekend, the 16th, will mark the second anniversary of his passing. It is hitting me harder this year probably because I don't have a new born baby to take care of.
Friday, the 22nd of January, is the 37th anniversary af the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade. It is also Arthur's 12th birthday. My ironic child is growing fast. He gets to go to a concert for his birthday this year and have a friends come over and party the next day. He wants a clone trooper helmet as his cake -- yikes! He tests my abilities many times! Whereas I do not want to acknowledge the fact that I am old enough to be the mother of a 12 year old -- I guess it must be true.
My goals this year are few. One -- I want to lose 80 pounds and get back to the weight I was when I was married. Two -- I want to post on here at least once a month instead of just griping at Mike to take care of this. Third -- I want to teach my heart out and help my students surpass expectations on their state exams.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL! May this be a year of blessed events, marvelous friendships, and God granted freedom for all of us.