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.
Monday, May 31, 2010
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.
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.
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.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Halloween
Lots to blog about. Not much time to do it in. Main reason I wanted to hop on here was to brag on my kids. Top grades on their report cards (Clara did get an N because of talking) and they look mighty fine in their Halloween costumes. Here is a picture from the PTA Halloween meeting where they had a costume judging. I made the costumes (except for the lion) this year. We have Wizard of Oz this year and I have been told that next year is Mario Brothers! Got to get the requests in early I guess!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Time for a new post
Wow, it happened again. 1 month in between posts (Ok, it's more but who's counting?) Anyway, a lot has happened in the last month, but I'm not sure how much of it is blog-worthy. Decide for yourselves.
School started back up a month ago, and all 3 kids are doing great. Carrie, not so much. There's just a ton of paperwork and other things that have to be done, and so the reasons she started teaching in the first place aren't as easily apparent as they were back then. Keep her in prayer, because she's already drained every night, and it's not even October yet.
As for me and my sub teaching adventure, it hasn't happened yet. I filled all my paperwork and turned it in the day after the July board meeting, so that I could be approved at the August board meeting, but the state said they were waiting on my background check. By the end of August, I called the state myself to see what the hangup was. Long story short, the identity check place lost my fingerprints. They had a record of me making the appointment, keeping the appointment, and being fingerprinted; there just weren't any prints. They paid for me to go back and get it redone, and the results were back before the September board meeting, and as far as I know, I was approved, but I haven't gotten any calls to sub yet during the last week. I'm going to go to some other area districts tomorrow to get the ball rolling there, so pray that I'll get 2 to 3 opportunities a week so that we can get some extra income coming in. It's not "necessary," but it would help it getting the rest of Hannah's medical bills taking care of, getting me on insurance, and getting our car paid off before it falls apart and dies.
The MercyMe concert was awesome, and so was the day at Six Flags. The weather was actually too cold to go into the water park, which ended up being a point of contention between me and everyone else, since they were all geared up for the water park, but the rain held off, and we had lots of fun. If you have never heard MercyMe, they are great, and the testimony behind the songs is great as well, especially Bring the Rain.
Now to the part where I hope that no one from our old church is reading, because I don't want to step on toes or rehash old thoughts, but doggone it, I'm upset. Yesterday, we went to a potluck dinner at an old country church about 5 miles north of where I used to preach, so on the way home, we decided that we were going to pull into the cemetery. As we pulled off the road to go to church, it was obvious that something was going on there, so we decided to turn around and head home. I know that there would be some who would ask, "Why didn't you go ahead and go to the grave, because you know you're always welcome here?" That's just the point; we're not welcome there, and I'm not sure that we really ever were. I know I'm responding to what I feel would be asked instead of what has actually been said, but still, I know from past experience, that this is there normal coversation. As much as I hate to move for the kids, there's a part of me that is feeling that for Carrie and I's sanity, we need to move. That begs the questions of where to and for what other reason? I mean, I'm not certain about preaching again, and I know a 2 gaps of 2+ years without preaching within a 6 year span don't look good on a resume, so I am really at a loss as to what to do and where to go. Pray that we will see God's direction in all of this: career change or not, move or not, Carrie continue teaching here or not. Maybe yesterday was the gentle tap on the shoulder that will be followed by a huge blow to the noggin if I don't listen. I don't know, but I genuinely pray that God will show me soon, so that we can begin planning what to do.
School started back up a month ago, and all 3 kids are doing great. Carrie, not so much. There's just a ton of paperwork and other things that have to be done, and so the reasons she started teaching in the first place aren't as easily apparent as they were back then. Keep her in prayer, because she's already drained every night, and it's not even October yet.
As for me and my sub teaching adventure, it hasn't happened yet. I filled all my paperwork and turned it in the day after the July board meeting, so that I could be approved at the August board meeting, but the state said they were waiting on my background check. By the end of August, I called the state myself to see what the hangup was. Long story short, the identity check place lost my fingerprints. They had a record of me making the appointment, keeping the appointment, and being fingerprinted; there just weren't any prints. They paid for me to go back and get it redone, and the results were back before the September board meeting, and as far as I know, I was approved, but I haven't gotten any calls to sub yet during the last week. I'm going to go to some other area districts tomorrow to get the ball rolling there, so pray that I'll get 2 to 3 opportunities a week so that we can get some extra income coming in. It's not "necessary," but it would help it getting the rest of Hannah's medical bills taking care of, getting me on insurance, and getting our car paid off before it falls apart and dies.
The MercyMe concert was awesome, and so was the day at Six Flags. The weather was actually too cold to go into the water park, which ended up being a point of contention between me and everyone else, since they were all geared up for the water park, but the rain held off, and we had lots of fun. If you have never heard MercyMe, they are great, and the testimony behind the songs is great as well, especially Bring the Rain.
Now to the part where I hope that no one from our old church is reading, because I don't want to step on toes or rehash old thoughts, but doggone it, I'm upset. Yesterday, we went to a potluck dinner at an old country church about 5 miles north of where I used to preach, so on the way home, we decided that we were going to pull into the cemetery. As we pulled off the road to go to church, it was obvious that something was going on there, so we decided to turn around and head home. I know that there would be some who would ask, "Why didn't you go ahead and go to the grave, because you know you're always welcome here?" That's just the point; we're not welcome there, and I'm not sure that we really ever were. I know I'm responding to what I feel would be asked instead of what has actually been said, but still, I know from past experience, that this is there normal coversation. As much as I hate to move for the kids, there's a part of me that is feeling that for Carrie and I's sanity, we need to move. That begs the questions of where to and for what other reason? I mean, I'm not certain about preaching again, and I know a 2 gaps of 2+ years without preaching within a 6 year span don't look good on a resume, so I am really at a loss as to what to do and where to go. Pray that we will see God's direction in all of this: career change or not, move or not, Carrie continue teaching here or not. Maybe yesterday was the gentle tap on the shoulder that will be followed by a huge blow to the noggin if I don't listen. I don't know, but I genuinely pray that God will show me soon, so that we can begin planning what to do.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Perspective
You ever notice how it doesn't take much for your perspective to change a complete 180 degrees? That happened to me on Saturday.
As I mentioned in the blog on the summer, we were looking forward to our trip to Six Flags and the Mercy Me concert on Saturday. Even though it was 95 in the shade, with a heat index of over 100, we still ventured forth on our trip, part out of enthusiasm for the concert, part masochism, and part adventure.
When we pulled into the parking line at 10:45 (we came from the wrong direction to see the big sign up front), we saw the signs reading "Mercy Me concert postponed." We had been listening to Joy FM the whole trip and had heard nothing about what had happened, so we were a bit confused. I then began calling the radio station, but they were all on voicemail, so I called my sister Steph to see if she could check online to see what was going on. She was at work, so she couldn't help me out, so when I got to the booth, I told the lady that we were mainly just there for the concert, and we needed to figure out what was being done to help people like us out.
She directed us to the drop off area, and I proceeded to guest services with a very angry mood about me. I was upset that we had driven the hour or so to Six Flags and were probably going to have to drive back and I was going to have to explain to the kids that we weren't going to be going today (not a fun job since they were all geared up and don't take disappointment well because of their age). I got to the guest services and the lady was very nice and told me when the makeup date was, that we could upgrade our ticket vouchers (except for Caleb's since it was reading certificate) to Big 6 passes for only $9 apiece. She also told me the concert tickets would be honored on Sep. 5 and that we would also be able to park for both day for one price of $15.
At this point, I took her up on the offer (we had a free ticket at home from another teacher so we all could still come back on the 5th), but I was still disappointed about the concert and a little agitated that I hadn't heard anything about why the concert was postponed.
Boom!!! I was waiting in line for Scooby-Doo with my kids (sans Carrie and Hannah, because the sign said "no infants or lap-riders" although there was a lady carrying an almost 3-year-old who got on right after us, but I digress) I struck up a conversation with a 17 year old who was there for the concert. He told me that he had heard that there had been an accident. Whoa! I was upset and focused on what I was missing out and the band had been in an accident. I then began to use my cell phone for something other than checking email and sports scores and started trying to find out as much as I could. After posting on mobile facebook to pray for the band, one of Carrie's friends posted with the details from the Mercy Me website, which kept timing out when I tried to access it. Anyway, a car made a left hand turn, either in front of them or directly into the side of the bus and 2 people in the car were killed as well as the unborn baby of a 18 or 19 year old in the car. She is the only one from the car still living and she is in critical condition.
Here I was moping about spending an extra $40 and complaining that no one had said anything on the radio about the concert being cancelled, and 3 people had lost their lives. That hit me like a ton of bricks (and then some). Then I realized that we do that a lot in our daily lives, don't we. We complain that it's too hot, even though we have the AC on, not realizing that there are people throughout the cities who don't have even a window unit or fan to survive the heat. We complain that our steak is burnt, even while there are people fighting over pieces of bread. I could go on and on about how we look only at ourselves and forget to look at others, but you get the point.
How do we solve the problem? Look around you. See what you can do to help that person around you. Instead of throwing something out that you can't use, see if someone else can use it. Donate your used clothes to Salvation Army, Goodwill, or maybe a homeless shelter instead of simply trying to have a garage sale. I'm not trying to put myself up on a pedestal by any means...just trying to say that God can use us if we look for ways to be used, both with our gifts and with our possessions.
As far as the accident, take time to go to merycme.org and check out their blog. I believe there are almost 200 posts in response to the accident, and I am sure there are 10 times as many people who want to post, but don't really know what to say. Lift them up in prayer, then lift up those around you in prayer, and ask God for ways to give you a new perspective on life.
As I mentioned in the blog on the summer, we were looking forward to our trip to Six Flags and the Mercy Me concert on Saturday. Even though it was 95 in the shade, with a heat index of over 100, we still ventured forth on our trip, part out of enthusiasm for the concert, part masochism, and part adventure.
When we pulled into the parking line at 10:45 (we came from the wrong direction to see the big sign up front), we saw the signs reading "Mercy Me concert postponed." We had been listening to Joy FM the whole trip and had heard nothing about what had happened, so we were a bit confused. I then began calling the radio station, but they were all on voicemail, so I called my sister Steph to see if she could check online to see what was going on. She was at work, so she couldn't help me out, so when I got to the booth, I told the lady that we were mainly just there for the concert, and we needed to figure out what was being done to help people like us out.
She directed us to the drop off area, and I proceeded to guest services with a very angry mood about me. I was upset that we had driven the hour or so to Six Flags and were probably going to have to drive back and I was going to have to explain to the kids that we weren't going to be going today (not a fun job since they were all geared up and don't take disappointment well because of their age). I got to the guest services and the lady was very nice and told me when the makeup date was, that we could upgrade our ticket vouchers (except for Caleb's since it was reading certificate) to Big 6 passes for only $9 apiece. She also told me the concert tickets would be honored on Sep. 5 and that we would also be able to park for both day for one price of $15.
At this point, I took her up on the offer (we had a free ticket at home from another teacher so we all could still come back on the 5th), but I was still disappointed about the concert and a little agitated that I hadn't heard anything about why the concert was postponed.
Boom!!! I was waiting in line for Scooby-Doo with my kids (sans Carrie and Hannah, because the sign said "no infants or lap-riders" although there was a lady carrying an almost 3-year-old who got on right after us, but I digress) I struck up a conversation with a 17 year old who was there for the concert. He told me that he had heard that there had been an accident. Whoa! I was upset and focused on what I was missing out and the band had been in an accident. I then began to use my cell phone for something other than checking email and sports scores and started trying to find out as much as I could. After posting on mobile facebook to pray for the band, one of Carrie's friends posted with the details from the Mercy Me website, which kept timing out when I tried to access it. Anyway, a car made a left hand turn, either in front of them or directly into the side of the bus and 2 people in the car were killed as well as the unborn baby of a 18 or 19 year old in the car. She is the only one from the car still living and she is in critical condition.
Here I was moping about spending an extra $40 and complaining that no one had said anything on the radio about the concert being cancelled, and 3 people had lost their lives. That hit me like a ton of bricks (and then some). Then I realized that we do that a lot in our daily lives, don't we. We complain that it's too hot, even though we have the AC on, not realizing that there are people throughout the cities who don't have even a window unit or fan to survive the heat. We complain that our steak is burnt, even while there are people fighting over pieces of bread. I could go on and on about how we look only at ourselves and forget to look at others, but you get the point.
How do we solve the problem? Look around you. See what you can do to help that person around you. Instead of throwing something out that you can't use, see if someone else can use it. Donate your used clothes to Salvation Army, Goodwill, or maybe a homeless shelter instead of simply trying to have a garage sale. I'm not trying to put myself up on a pedestal by any means...just trying to say that God can use us if we look for ways to be used, both with our gifts and with our possessions.
As far as the accident, take time to go to merycme.org and check out their blog. I believe there are almost 200 posts in response to the accident, and I am sure there are 10 times as many people who want to post, but don't really know what to say. Lift them up in prayer, then lift up those around you in prayer, and ask God for ways to give you a new perspective on life.
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