My "DH" ---that is apparently "blog" language for "dear husband" has been bitten by the blog bug.
He has decided to start a new blog for the pursuit of discussing religious/philosophical questions. So far, so good!
You can check it out here.
Whether you agree or disagree, drop in, read and leave a few comments. He has thick skin. He can take it!
You get to see what a great guy with a wonderful heart that I married. Of course, I knew that, but now, some of you get to find out for yourselves.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Tuesday Tempest in a Teapot
Well, it is Tuesday, and we are counting down to G-Day, graduation of my first born on Friday. O.k., it is getting scary now. I guess that for some people, these things are not very big deals. I think that for me, it is because he is the first to go.
Someone told me about 20 years ago that first babies are special, and she was so right. It is not that babies 2, 3 , 4 and 5 are NOT special. They are all special! It is just that with the first one, you get the maiden voyage on everything.
So, this week, everything is winding slowly down. We are full of half-days and holidays this week, just enough to keep an already-mentally-challenged-mother hopping to try and figure out who needs to be picked up when.
Last week and the weekend was a total washout in trying to get anything done. We have passed this cold around and just about worn the thing out. It has thoroughly spanked us---that is for sure. This weekend, both the adults in the house had to run for urgent care and get the obligatory Z-pack, superdy-dooper antihistamine/decongestant/expectorant pill, and cough syrup. Then, there is the run to the next city because your own stupid little town is not progressive enough to have a pharmacy that is open when you are sick. There, you get to pay full price for the drugs, because your insurance card does not cover drugs bought at THAT pharmacy. Arghhhhhh. I am so sick of being sick that I am just going to ignore the sickness, and maybe it will go away. Does that sound like a plan? Nothing else has worked, so why not......??????
I've sat in the floor (not recommended for long periods of time for people over 40) for the past two nights making Daniel's backdrop for his senior table. It is a board about 4 feet wide and 3 feet tall just covered in memories. I had a great time pulling photos out of books and boxes and working on the thing. I will try to post a picture here soon, probably after graduation. I don't want to spoil the surprise!!!!
We have just a few more things to do. There are the framed pictures that have to be selected, medals and trophies to gather, and other odds and ends that will be part of his "senior table." He is busily polishing his speech, which I can't wait to hear, even though I will probably be blubbering all the way through it. Then, I have to load the video camera, the digital camera, and the regular camera, so that hopefully one of them will work and capture some precious images.
It just astounds me how much work there is to something as low-key as our graduation ceremonies at this little private school are!!! Hopefully, it will all come together, though, and be a night that Daniel can have fond memories of for a lifetime.
Birthday greetings and love go out today to great-grandmother Nina in Arkansas! She's a pretty young great-grandma, though, and she is a great family cheerleader!
A few more ticks of the clock....and it will be JUNE! Can you believe it? Better start getting out those Christmas decorations. It will be upon us sooner than we think!
Someone told me about 20 years ago that first babies are special, and she was so right. It is not that babies 2, 3 , 4 and 5 are NOT special. They are all special! It is just that with the first one, you get the maiden voyage on everything.
So, this week, everything is winding slowly down. We are full of half-days and holidays this week, just enough to keep an already-mentally-challenged-mother hopping to try and figure out who needs to be picked up when.
Last week and the weekend was a total washout in trying to get anything done. We have passed this cold around and just about worn the thing out. It has thoroughly spanked us---that is for sure. This weekend, both the adults in the house had to run for urgent care and get the obligatory Z-pack, superdy-dooper antihistamine/decongestant/expectorant pill, and cough syrup. Then, there is the run to the next city because your own stupid little town is not progressive enough to have a pharmacy that is open when you are sick. There, you get to pay full price for the drugs, because your insurance card does not cover drugs bought at THAT pharmacy. Arghhhhhh. I am so sick of being sick that I am just going to ignore the sickness, and maybe it will go away. Does that sound like a plan? Nothing else has worked, so why not......??????
I've sat in the floor (not recommended for long periods of time for people over 40) for the past two nights making Daniel's backdrop for his senior table. It is a board about 4 feet wide and 3 feet tall just covered in memories. I had a great time pulling photos out of books and boxes and working on the thing. I will try to post a picture here soon, probably after graduation. I don't want to spoil the surprise!!!!
We have just a few more things to do. There are the framed pictures that have to be selected, medals and trophies to gather, and other odds and ends that will be part of his "senior table." He is busily polishing his speech, which I can't wait to hear, even though I will probably be blubbering all the way through it. Then, I have to load the video camera, the digital camera, and the regular camera, so that hopefully one of them will work and capture some precious images.
It just astounds me how much work there is to something as low-key as our graduation ceremonies at this little private school are!!! Hopefully, it will all come together, though, and be a night that Daniel can have fond memories of for a lifetime.
Birthday greetings and love go out today to great-grandmother Nina in Arkansas! She's a pretty young great-grandma, though, and she is a great family cheerleader!
A few more ticks of the clock....and it will be JUNE! Can you believe it? Better start getting out those Christmas decorations. It will be upon us sooner than we think!
Friday, May 27, 2005
Busy Bees with a Cold!
I cannot believe it has been 10 whole days since I blogged last! I told my sister-in-law in an email today that I just cannot believe how the days are flying by. It seems that I just get going good when it is time to go to bed again!
We have had a NASTY cold/sinus thingy again. I am so sick of being sick that I am not even going to dwell on the details in this blog. Suffice it to say that I could not get over it on my own, and I had to get some antibiotic help to get over the hump. I still only have about 50% hearing in my ears right now. If that does not clear up in a few days on its own, I guess I will see my wonderful ear/nose/throat guy who will fix it all. In the meantime, dear friend Jen, if you are reading this, I don't know how you do it (go without complete hearing.) It is such a challenge with kids. Mine have just been horrified this week that they tell me things (holler from their rooms as they always do, instead of coming to find me) and I never hear the first bellow. I have to get things up to my ear before I can hear them clearly.
We got a couple of pieces of not so good news this week. First, my father-in-law, Bill, has to have a pacemaker put in, because his heart rate is dropping way down to like 17 when he sleeps. That is not good. So they want to do what they can to regulate it. Surgery will be in the next few days. Secondly, we learned that Tim's brother Kevin is going to Iraq. Of course, we are not happy that he is having to go, but we are very proud of him for being brave and serving his country. He believes in the mission, and he is focused and ready to do what he has to do. I hope we can find some way to see him before he leaves in June or July.
Well, in other personal news, my "baby"---you know, the 18 year old, 240 pound baby has successfully completed all his coursework, oral exams, etc. and is officially through with school. However, the principal keeps finding reasons for him to have to come over for an hour or so. And every time he does, I have to get the girls in carseats and drive over and back and get them in and out. We did that 3 times Tuesday, and I was sooooo sick that day. I think that is why I am so slow at getting better. I can never truly rest. But that's a mom's life.
So now, we have to get his senior table prepared and refine the graduation speech. I am so excited that he gets to give one, and I hope it will go well. I think it is going to be a sweet speech! But for those of you that know my Daniel, that should not surprise you! He is genuinely a sweet,sweet boy. Some girl is going to be very lucky some day to have such a caring and sensitive husband. Ditto for Sam, but this Micah-child of mine....well, I just don't have him figured out yet. He is cut from different cloth, and I am waiting to see just what it is that he is going to become! Right now, I'd bet that he would be working with the circus, but hopefully, he will come around and get more serious about life!
Well, it won't be long before I will be jumping back in the car again and heading for school-land...something that it does not look like I will be doing past next week! Hooray!!!!! Home Schooling is still in the plans for next semester if all goes well. I think we are all pretty happy with the decision.
This weekend is going to be wild and crazy. There are several gatherings scheduled, and I have all this art work to do on the senior table project, so we will be busy.
And if I should find a dull moment, there is enough laundry to last me until I am 80.
Have a great holiday weekend all!
We have had a NASTY cold/sinus thingy again. I am so sick of being sick that I am not even going to dwell on the details in this blog. Suffice it to say that I could not get over it on my own, and I had to get some antibiotic help to get over the hump. I still only have about 50% hearing in my ears right now. If that does not clear up in a few days on its own, I guess I will see my wonderful ear/nose/throat guy who will fix it all. In the meantime, dear friend Jen, if you are reading this, I don't know how you do it (go without complete hearing.) It is such a challenge with kids. Mine have just been horrified this week that they tell me things (holler from their rooms as they always do, instead of coming to find me) and I never hear the first bellow. I have to get things up to my ear before I can hear them clearly.
We got a couple of pieces of not so good news this week. First, my father-in-law, Bill, has to have a pacemaker put in, because his heart rate is dropping way down to like 17 when he sleeps. That is not good. So they want to do what they can to regulate it. Surgery will be in the next few days. Secondly, we learned that Tim's brother Kevin is going to Iraq. Of course, we are not happy that he is having to go, but we are very proud of him for being brave and serving his country. He believes in the mission, and he is focused and ready to do what he has to do. I hope we can find some way to see him before he leaves in June or July.
Well, in other personal news, my "baby"---you know, the 18 year old, 240 pound baby has successfully completed all his coursework, oral exams, etc. and is officially through with school. However, the principal keeps finding reasons for him to have to come over for an hour or so. And every time he does, I have to get the girls in carseats and drive over and back and get them in and out. We did that 3 times Tuesday, and I was sooooo sick that day. I think that is why I am so slow at getting better. I can never truly rest. But that's a mom's life.
So now, we have to get his senior table prepared and refine the graduation speech. I am so excited that he gets to give one, and I hope it will go well. I think it is going to be a sweet speech! But for those of you that know my Daniel, that should not surprise you! He is genuinely a sweet,sweet boy. Some girl is going to be very lucky some day to have such a caring and sensitive husband. Ditto for Sam, but this Micah-child of mine....well, I just don't have him figured out yet. He is cut from different cloth, and I am waiting to see just what it is that he is going to become! Right now, I'd bet that he would be working with the circus, but hopefully, he will come around and get more serious about life!
Well, it won't be long before I will be jumping back in the car again and heading for school-land...something that it does not look like I will be doing past next week! Hooray!!!!! Home Schooling is still in the plans for next semester if all goes well. I think we are all pretty happy with the decision.
This weekend is going to be wild and crazy. There are several gatherings scheduled, and I have all this art work to do on the senior table project, so we will be busy.
And if I should find a dull moment, there is enough laundry to last me until I am 80.
Have a great holiday weekend all!
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Clear Sailing....????
Well, I can see blue sky again! That is always a good thing. But I am not talking about the weather, here, although the weather has been pretty great lately. I have enjoyed the mild days, because it seems like here in Tennessee we have been doing this thing of going from one extreme to the other for years now with not a lot of middle ground. I can remember when we used to have four seasons here. For the longest, it seems to me that it has been more like two seasons yearly---hot and cold. Last spring, as I recall, we did not have a lot of time between winter and when the summer hit with a vengeance. And when it gets hot here, it is pretty miserable. Then, fall would come, and I would think, "Ahhh, here come some nice cool nights that I can go to some local football game and drink hot chocolate and watch the game..." But NOOOOOOOO! It would turn soooooo cold so fast that I could not stand to sit out in the extreme temperatures. There was just no pleasure in it.
So I am rather enjoying the warm days and kind of cool nights. Sometimes it gets so cool in the house that we still have to turn on the heat for a few minutes to break the chill. I just hope we have a little more of this before it turns, hot, hot, hot.
We had a pretty pleasant weekend. Saturday was the first day that we have not had somewhere to be in a while, so we spent the day cleaning the "junk room." It is that one room in the house where everything gets stowed. We got it lots better, but now the rest is suffering because we did not devote the weekend to it.
Sundays, we never get much more done than get to church two services---morning and evening. Mom and Dad and some of my other relatives took off for Florida, so since we usually spend the day with them on Sun. afternoon, we had nothing to do except come back home and grab a quick nap before turning around and making the hour drive again for evening services. I like Sunday evening services a lot, because it seems like the preacher knows that the real faithful folks will come back on Sunday night and he preaches on topics that are a little deeper than he does on Sunday mornings, in my opinion. I guess you would call the Sunday evening sermons "Apologetics" a lot of times---or why we believe what we believe. I am one of the few folks left in the whole wide world, I think, that believes that we can actually understand the Bible and do what it says the way it says to do. Most of my aquaintances don't think we can understand the Bible---that it is some big mystery. I don't think it is always easy to understand everything, but if you keep digging and working on it, the puzzle pieces start falling into place.
Well, in other news, my big 18 year old baby is winding down with his schoolwork, ahead of his brothers who are jealous because they have about 2 more weeks. One of the things they do at this school is a lot of rewards for good behavior, and they are going to East Tennessee this Friday to see Rock City (remember all the barns with "See Rock City" on them? and some other local attractions. My senior has a lot of preparation to do for his own graduation---we have to make a senior board for him, among other things. It is a display of all his accomplishments over the last 12 years. He has been asked to sing for kindergarten graduation over there, so I jokingly told him that he needs to use that as leverege to get some things he has been asking for for a long time, such as a tape from last year's graduation where he and another boy sang. We are also vying for a tape of that now infamous night that Red Bull met Mr. Shaq. For all those of you who joined the reading of my blog a little late, go to that link, go down a little and read that story. It was a great night. I am going to find a way to get a tape! I am determined!
Well, the Bee is ready to be fed yet again, so I must buzz on off and do that. Then, it is clean, clean, clean! My friend Jennifer knows my pain! Have a day full of sunshine and blue skies!
So I am rather enjoying the warm days and kind of cool nights. Sometimes it gets so cool in the house that we still have to turn on the heat for a few minutes to break the chill. I just hope we have a little more of this before it turns, hot, hot, hot.
We had a pretty pleasant weekend. Saturday was the first day that we have not had somewhere to be in a while, so we spent the day cleaning the "junk room." It is that one room in the house where everything gets stowed. We got it lots better, but now the rest is suffering because we did not devote the weekend to it.
Sundays, we never get much more done than get to church two services---morning and evening. Mom and Dad and some of my other relatives took off for Florida, so since we usually spend the day with them on Sun. afternoon, we had nothing to do except come back home and grab a quick nap before turning around and making the hour drive again for evening services. I like Sunday evening services a lot, because it seems like the preacher knows that the real faithful folks will come back on Sunday night and he preaches on topics that are a little deeper than he does on Sunday mornings, in my opinion. I guess you would call the Sunday evening sermons "Apologetics" a lot of times---or why we believe what we believe. I am one of the few folks left in the whole wide world, I think, that believes that we can actually understand the Bible and do what it says the way it says to do. Most of my aquaintances don't think we can understand the Bible---that it is some big mystery. I don't think it is always easy to understand everything, but if you keep digging and working on it, the puzzle pieces start falling into place.
Well, in other news, my big 18 year old baby is winding down with his schoolwork, ahead of his brothers who are jealous because they have about 2 more weeks. One of the things they do at this school is a lot of rewards for good behavior, and they are going to East Tennessee this Friday to see Rock City (remember all the barns with "See Rock City" on them? and some other local attractions. My senior has a lot of preparation to do for his own graduation---we have to make a senior board for him, among other things. It is a display of all his accomplishments over the last 12 years. He has been asked to sing for kindergarten graduation over there, so I jokingly told him that he needs to use that as leverege to get some things he has been asking for for a long time, such as a tape from last year's graduation where he and another boy sang. We are also vying for a tape of that now infamous night that Red Bull met Mr. Shaq. For all those of you who joined the reading of my blog a little late, go to that link, go down a little and read that story. It was a great night. I am going to find a way to get a tape! I am determined!
Well, the Bee is ready to be fed yet again, so I must buzz on off and do that. Then, it is clean, clean, clean! My friend Jennifer knows my pain! Have a day full of sunshine and blue skies!
Friday, May 13, 2005
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Back in the Saddle Again....
It is officially still Wednesday night, though there is not very much left of Wednesday! I am tarrrrrrrrd tonite, as we say down here in the South! Just got back from church and then made a Wal-Mart run, and now 4 out of 5 babies are in bed. I need to get there, as I could count the hours of sleep I have had since Sunday on my fingers. No one has been sleeping soundly at the same time, and when I get one down to sleep, another wakes up with issues and needs Mommy. Even the 18 year old and the 11 year old have been needing Mommy at the weirdest hours this week.
Well, my Mother's Day was very pleasant, despite a slight change in plans when Sarah and Hannah had wicked nights Saturday night. Sarah has had some kind of intestinal thing going, and while she is not in too much distress, she is "loose" and it is hard to take her places right now. I may have to end up breaking down and taking her to the Dr. in the next couple of days if she is not better. I am just growing weary. We did not make it out for Sunday morning services, but we had recooped enough to drag out Sunday night for services, even though I was not the most energetic that I have ever been.
Afterwards, we made a very brief but lovely stop at my Mom's house and dropped off her presents. While there, the kids and hubby gave me mine. They had gotten Sarah to grill me on what would make me happy and I said that jewelry was always nice! Except Sarah pronounces it jewrrrrrryyyyy with about 50 syllables instead of 2 or 3, and her daddy was not sure for a while what she was trying to say! The boys all went and each picked out something. They did not dare take Sarah, as she cannot keep a secret for anything yet. Sam picked out a watch, Dan and Micah each got me a bracelet with lots of the sparkley stuff I like, and Tim got me some gorgeous earrings. I only wish that someone had thought of a necklace, as I need a few more of them in choker length to cover my "nasty" thyroid scar. It is really not all that bad, but I am just sensitive to it, as it is in such a prominent place. All my other miles of scars are in places no one ever sees, but this one is like Rudolph's nose.
At any rate, Mom seemed to like her goodies. I fixed both of the mothers a "brag bag" this year---one of those totes with pictures of the kids and grandkids on it, and I got them each a pretty windchime. I got myself a chime too. I love them, and I love to hear them going out on the porch before a storm. I have got to get out there and fix it on the hook better, because it won't stay up through some of the storms we have around here. I also got Mom two crossword puzzle books, as she is off to Florida Friday with some of the family to see the grandparents and get a little R & R! She will enjoy sitting on the beach working crosswords.
But back to the main story...Anyway, Daniel came out of school today with the same loose problem. They don't have any other symptoms...no fever, no tummy ache, nothing. We surely have had some mystery illnesses this year. Someone even suggested that we have had such pitiful luck every since we moved in this house in 2000 that maybe we are located atop an Indian burial ground or something...??? I don't know, but I feel like if it were something environmental, we would all be sick. My South Carolina friend Donna found out recently that their water is polluted, and it has been for years. Her whole family is sick. When they grew up and moved out, they got better. Now, they are having to use bottled water or purified water for all cooking and consumption. It is a big hassle, but they cannot move right now.
I've wondered about this place, but none of us ever have the same symptoms at the same time. Sarah and Dan have the runs, and Sam has a sore throat. Go figure. Micah has been passed out every since he got in from school. I could not even wake him for church tonight. That is way unusual for him, first to take a nap at all, and secondly, to be that out of it. Maybe he is sick, too. There was that kid who came to school with 103 fever and throwing up last week!
So, it was just me and the Bee (Hannah Bee) on the road tonight headed north to our Wednesday night church. (We met DH there!) I am teaching this quarter (back in the saddle again) and loving it. It has been some time since I have tackled a class due to all my surgeries and getting over them! I have a neat little group of pre-school through 2nd grade or so. These kids are great, because lots of them bring their friends and their cousins, and I just never know who is going to show up. One mother brought her daughter and her daughter's friend in tonight, and she mouthed the words to me that the little visitor loved the class last week and really liked "the new teacher!" That made me feel good, as I really couldn't tell if they liked me last week or not. I am still in the name-learning mode, and it is hard these days, because parents can think up some doozies! To top it all off, I have a set of boys who are twins, and they look as much alike as twins can. They are darling, and I have a bit of an edge right now because one has a cast on his arm. Put the name with the cast, and you are o.k. What WILL I do when he gets the cast off? I should be an old pro at it after having identical twin brothers, but I still have problems.
My, my, my, I have not updated in a few days, and my thoughts are skipping around. Well, Daniel got back off his senior trip, and it was tolerable, but that was about all. The sights of Washington D.C. are interesting enough, and he got some good pictures, but the places they ate and sometimes the company itself left something to be desired. Everyone was on a shoestring budget, which I can relate to, but he would have preferred to eat at the Olive Garden on his last night there instead of Taco Bell. They really did not do anything too exotic the whole week. So much for glamourous senior trips!
Remember I told you all about the "Dara" thing---the Jewish waitress who supposedly was going out with Daniel to bowl on their last night there? Well, that turned out to be a big hoax perpetrated by the other seniors and chaperones upon Daniel. He was not all too pleased when he found out. In fact, it hurt his feelings a little, because they went to such lengths to build it all up. Turns out that the female senior on the trip disguised her voice and called him and pretended to be the waitress. Everyone but Dan got a big laugh out of it all.
Then, if that wasn't bad enough, they proceeded to jump him on the way back about his religious beliefs. The other four in the van were of one faith, and Daniel was all alone in his faith. For four hours on the way back, they browbeat him about how he wasn't "saved" and needed to do something about it. It just would not have done for me to be along on that trip. I've got news for them. For every verse they can pull out of the Bible and throw at him, I can counter with a position just as based on scripture, if not more so. I don't mind mature people discussing their faith, and I even believe it is commendable to do so, but to condemn another person so flagrantly seems rather self-righteous to me. When I am teaching others from the Bible, I prefer to let the Bible speak and let the Spirit do His work! He is much more worthy to convict sinners than I! I find it presumptious of them that they can so boldly state that my son is most definitely lost and they are saved. Even if they are so sure, they don't have to be pompous and arrogant about it. What if it is the other way around? Do they want Daniel to tell them they are all lost and he is saved? I doubt it!
Oh, well, it looks like we are back to home schooling next year! (Did I just hear a big whoop out of Will?) Right now, unless there are some huge drastic changes at our school, and a few broad, sweeping apologies, we won't be going back. Things have changed this year so much from last year. I don't know what the difference is. I have my suspicions on a few things, but I hesitate to speculate.
For example, we got a letter yesterday that was sent to all the parents of the combined 5th and 6th grade class who have one new teacher in her first year. Let's just say she has made few allies this year, especially among parents. I have mostly stayed out of the wars, because my child was happy enough, and as long as he could take it, I figured I could. Besides, I have to get better at letting go of my children so that they can fight a few of their own battles so that they will not be totally lost when they hit the real world. Anyway, a group of parents marched on the school Monday to speak to the principal, and he refused to see them that day. A letter came out the next day that basically said there would be no group meeting of the parents, but concerned parents could come in "one on one" so to speak. The letter also said, in effect, that two men mainly make the policy for the school, and if we as parents do not like it, we can find another place to send our kids.
Well, you know me! I am a big sucker for getting involved in the injustices of the world...in fighting for the underdog.... I cannot just sit back and be all neutral and let people tell me to sit down and shut up because my opinions as a parent on how my child's education should be handled do not matter in the least. I don't think that I am the activist type. I don't go looking for trouble, but when it finds me, I don't tend to let misguided people tell me what to do. The Bible does say to answer a fool according to his folly (right in the verse after it says not to answer a fool according to his folly. I think the point is that there is a time and a place to deal with fools.)
Pardon me, but when a teacher yells at kids all day and even goes so far as to hit one in the head with something, that teacher might need a little guidance in the proper classroom demeanor. If I cannot be a voice for my child, who is taught to respect authority and leave the challenging of it to the big folks, then perhaps it IS time to go.
Well, that is about the extent of my random ramblings for today. I am going into panic mode now, because I just found out that graduation is 6 days earlier (June 3, 7:00 p.m. for all the local people) than I thought it was going to be! I have a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it!
Hopefully, I will be back soon, if I don't have to "wrassle" me some religious people.... :)
Well, my Mother's Day was very pleasant, despite a slight change in plans when Sarah and Hannah had wicked nights Saturday night. Sarah has had some kind of intestinal thing going, and while she is not in too much distress, she is "loose" and it is hard to take her places right now. I may have to end up breaking down and taking her to the Dr. in the next couple of days if she is not better. I am just growing weary. We did not make it out for Sunday morning services, but we had recooped enough to drag out Sunday night for services, even though I was not the most energetic that I have ever been.
Afterwards, we made a very brief but lovely stop at my Mom's house and dropped off her presents. While there, the kids and hubby gave me mine. They had gotten Sarah to grill me on what would make me happy and I said that jewelry was always nice! Except Sarah pronounces it jewrrrrrryyyyy with about 50 syllables instead of 2 or 3, and her daddy was not sure for a while what she was trying to say! The boys all went and each picked out something. They did not dare take Sarah, as she cannot keep a secret for anything yet. Sam picked out a watch, Dan and Micah each got me a bracelet with lots of the sparkley stuff I like, and Tim got me some gorgeous earrings. I only wish that someone had thought of a necklace, as I need a few more of them in choker length to cover my "nasty" thyroid scar. It is really not all that bad, but I am just sensitive to it, as it is in such a prominent place. All my other miles of scars are in places no one ever sees, but this one is like Rudolph's nose.
At any rate, Mom seemed to like her goodies. I fixed both of the mothers a "brag bag" this year---one of those totes with pictures of the kids and grandkids on it, and I got them each a pretty windchime. I got myself a chime too. I love them, and I love to hear them going out on the porch before a storm. I have got to get out there and fix it on the hook better, because it won't stay up through some of the storms we have around here. I also got Mom two crossword puzzle books, as she is off to Florida Friday with some of the family to see the grandparents and get a little R & R! She will enjoy sitting on the beach working crosswords.
But back to the main story...Anyway, Daniel came out of school today with the same loose problem. They don't have any other symptoms...no fever, no tummy ache, nothing. We surely have had some mystery illnesses this year. Someone even suggested that we have had such pitiful luck every since we moved in this house in 2000 that maybe we are located atop an Indian burial ground or something...??? I don't know, but I feel like if it were something environmental, we would all be sick. My South Carolina friend Donna found out recently that their water is polluted, and it has been for years. Her whole family is sick. When they grew up and moved out, they got better. Now, they are having to use bottled water or purified water for all cooking and consumption. It is a big hassle, but they cannot move right now.
I've wondered about this place, but none of us ever have the same symptoms at the same time. Sarah and Dan have the runs, and Sam has a sore throat. Go figure. Micah has been passed out every since he got in from school. I could not even wake him for church tonight. That is way unusual for him, first to take a nap at all, and secondly, to be that out of it. Maybe he is sick, too. There was that kid who came to school with 103 fever and throwing up last week!
So, it was just me and the Bee (Hannah Bee) on the road tonight headed north to our Wednesday night church. (We met DH there!) I am teaching this quarter (back in the saddle again) and loving it. It has been some time since I have tackled a class due to all my surgeries and getting over them! I have a neat little group of pre-school through 2nd grade or so. These kids are great, because lots of them bring their friends and their cousins, and I just never know who is going to show up. One mother brought her daughter and her daughter's friend in tonight, and she mouthed the words to me that the little visitor loved the class last week and really liked "the new teacher!" That made me feel good, as I really couldn't tell if they liked me last week or not. I am still in the name-learning mode, and it is hard these days, because parents can think up some doozies! To top it all off, I have a set of boys who are twins, and they look as much alike as twins can. They are darling, and I have a bit of an edge right now because one has a cast on his arm. Put the name with the cast, and you are o.k. What WILL I do when he gets the cast off? I should be an old pro at it after having identical twin brothers, but I still have problems.
My, my, my, I have not updated in a few days, and my thoughts are skipping around. Well, Daniel got back off his senior trip, and it was tolerable, but that was about all. The sights of Washington D.C. are interesting enough, and he got some good pictures, but the places they ate and sometimes the company itself left something to be desired. Everyone was on a shoestring budget, which I can relate to, but he would have preferred to eat at the Olive Garden on his last night there instead of Taco Bell. They really did not do anything too exotic the whole week. So much for glamourous senior trips!
Remember I told you all about the "Dara" thing---the Jewish waitress who supposedly was going out with Daniel to bowl on their last night there? Well, that turned out to be a big hoax perpetrated by the other seniors and chaperones upon Daniel. He was not all too pleased when he found out. In fact, it hurt his feelings a little, because they went to such lengths to build it all up. Turns out that the female senior on the trip disguised her voice and called him and pretended to be the waitress. Everyone but Dan got a big laugh out of it all.
Then, if that wasn't bad enough, they proceeded to jump him on the way back about his religious beliefs. The other four in the van were of one faith, and Daniel was all alone in his faith. For four hours on the way back, they browbeat him about how he wasn't "saved" and needed to do something about it. It just would not have done for me to be along on that trip. I've got news for them. For every verse they can pull out of the Bible and throw at him, I can counter with a position just as based on scripture, if not more so. I don't mind mature people discussing their faith, and I even believe it is commendable to do so, but to condemn another person so flagrantly seems rather self-righteous to me. When I am teaching others from the Bible, I prefer to let the Bible speak and let the Spirit do His work! He is much more worthy to convict sinners than I! I find it presumptious of them that they can so boldly state that my son is most definitely lost and they are saved. Even if they are so sure, they don't have to be pompous and arrogant about it. What if it is the other way around? Do they want Daniel to tell them they are all lost and he is saved? I doubt it!
Oh, well, it looks like we are back to home schooling next year! (Did I just hear a big whoop out of Will?) Right now, unless there are some huge drastic changes at our school, and a few broad, sweeping apologies, we won't be going back. Things have changed this year so much from last year. I don't know what the difference is. I have my suspicions on a few things, but I hesitate to speculate.
For example, we got a letter yesterday that was sent to all the parents of the combined 5th and 6th grade class who have one new teacher in her first year. Let's just say she has made few allies this year, especially among parents. I have mostly stayed out of the wars, because my child was happy enough, and as long as he could take it, I figured I could. Besides, I have to get better at letting go of my children so that they can fight a few of their own battles so that they will not be totally lost when they hit the real world. Anyway, a group of parents marched on the school Monday to speak to the principal, and he refused to see them that day. A letter came out the next day that basically said there would be no group meeting of the parents, but concerned parents could come in "one on one" so to speak. The letter also said, in effect, that two men mainly make the policy for the school, and if we as parents do not like it, we can find another place to send our kids.
Well, you know me! I am a big sucker for getting involved in the injustices of the world...in fighting for the underdog.... I cannot just sit back and be all neutral and let people tell me to sit down and shut up because my opinions as a parent on how my child's education should be handled do not matter in the least. I don't think that I am the activist type. I don't go looking for trouble, but when it finds me, I don't tend to let misguided people tell me what to do. The Bible does say to answer a fool according to his folly (right in the verse after it says not to answer a fool according to his folly. I think the point is that there is a time and a place to deal with fools.)
Pardon me, but when a teacher yells at kids all day and even goes so far as to hit one in the head with something, that teacher might need a little guidance in the proper classroom demeanor. If I cannot be a voice for my child, who is taught to respect authority and leave the challenging of it to the big folks, then perhaps it IS time to go.
Well, that is about the extent of my random ramblings for today. I am going into panic mode now, because I just found out that graduation is 6 days earlier (June 3, 7:00 p.m. for all the local people) than I thought it was going to be! I have a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it!
Hopefully, I will be back soon, if I don't have to "wrassle" me some religious people.... :)
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Cousins
Some friends and family have asked for more pictures....so here they are. I have been editing wedding pictures off and on as I have a few minutes, and these are from that. These are pictures of the cousins. Sarah is really close to her cousins that live here in the same state, and she misses her New Jersey and Minnesota cousins SO BADLY! Hopefully, Grandma will send me some email with some pics of the Northern cousins to post here! Meanwhile, here are a few of the kiddos at some recent events.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Monday, May 09, 2005
Sunday, May 08, 2005
A Mother's Day Tale!
Well, it is barely still Mother's Day, and all my babies are safely tucked into bed--from the 18 year old to the 18 month old! (The 16 year old, the 11 year old, and the 5 year old are sleeping soundly, too.)
I could not help but remember today that there was a time when I thought that I would never have babies. I was with my first husband then, and we had tried from 1983 until 1986 with no luck. I even lost one in 1985. That was terribly traumatic. I had a giant collection of stuffed animals and dolls in a nursery that had everything in it but a real baby. Some of my "friends" made light of that. Maybe it was pitiful, but I had always wanted nothing more in my life than a good husband and lots of babies.
Eventually, I got my first blessing in the last possible month of 1986. He was born in South Carolina, and the journey began. He was followed shortly by his brother about 18 months later, and the third boy came in 1994. I thought I was done. My husband and I agreed that 3 boys was enough. We could have kept trying for the girl, we reasoned, but we would have just ended up with a house full of boys, in all likelihood.
Life has a way of taking you down roads that you did not intend to travel. In 1994, my first husband also decided that he did not want to be a "family man" anymore (another way of saying he wanted to be a swinger), and I suddenly found myself a single mom of 3 very active boys. I did the single-mom-thing for about 3 years, and I was just coming to the place in my life where I was happy again and comfortable with my "singleness." I was comfortable, I was blessed, and I had everything I needed---except a mate.
Not everyone needs a mate. I think it was Willie Nelson who sang, "There Are Worse Things than Being Alone." But God said, "It is not good for man to be alone..." and I trusted Him more than Willie Nelson. So I just prayed about it and trusted God to work it out, and He did.
It turns out that God had big surprises in store for me--the little girl who had wanted nothing more in her own childhood years than to grow up and experience motherhood and a good marriage. Around this time, (well maybe just a few years before) God created the internet just so that I could meet my second husband. :) I cannot see how we would have ever crossed paths if it had not been for the internet. He was up in Jersey, and I was way south of the Mason-Dixon Line. (Of course, nothing is too big for God, and to Him, a 1000 miles is no big deal!)God had saved Tim for me---kept him from marrying anyone and messing up his eligibility! At any rate, He put us in touch with one another through the Christian dating service called "The Christian Connection" which I think is now defunct, seeing His will has been done! We met around Valentine's Day of '97, and we married July 4, 1998.
But the surprises were not done. My new man had warned me before we married that he did not know if he would be able to father kids or not, for reasons that I will not go into now. I told him that it really did not matter, as I had my boys, and they were enough, if that was what God intended. But he was able to father children just fine, and we, too, lost a child--our first baby together--- in late 1998. I never knew the sex of that child, as I had not with my very first one, either.
Around mid-1999, I became pregnant again, and except for some nasty problems with gallstones, I did fine with the pregnancy and delivered a beautiful girl a month early in March of 2000, and then I delivered about 50 gallstones a month later!
We were twice-blessed by a second daughter in 2003. I delivered her in October, and then a few days later, I had to have extensive surgery where a scarband had wrapped around my large intestine and shut my digestive system completely down. They delivered my appendix during that surgery as well. My mother did not think I would live through the night that night, but I did, and I eventually got better, and I also eventually made it back home after about two months to begin the journey of raising 5 children, just as my own mother had done.
I can say that without a doubt, mothering a child or children is the most awesome experience available on the planet. No drug can induce a higher high than the pure exuberance that comes with creating and nurturing life. No adrenaline-producing stunt can equal the rush of motherhood. No sight on earth can equal the sheer wonder of looking into your child's eyes and seeing your own eyes staring back at you. No greater happiness exists than watching your own offspring grow and flourish, and no sadder feeling can be produced in the human experience than when your own child is hurting for any reason. Nothing can make you more elated, more despondent, more proud, or more angry than the accomplishments, or lack of them, by your children. When life is sweet with kids, it is very, very sweet, and when it is bitter, it is nigh to unbearable.
My heart rejoices when I consider the distinct possibility that I will someday get to meet my children that did not live up in heaven. I wonder what they would have been like, yet I trust that God knew best, and I would not have my Daniel or my Sarah today if these two other children had been carried to term. I cannot imagine my life without Daniel, Sam, Micah, Sarah or Hannah.
I know everyone brags on his/her kids, but these five are just spectacular kids, and I know that God gave each one of them the spirit that He did because He trusted me to deal with each one of them---and there are a few of them that not just anyone could have dealt with! Many a lesser woman would have swooned by now under the pressure! Those who know them personally can tell you that "I ain't lyin'!"
Yet, even with all the nights (like last night) that my head has not touched a pillow... (more about that in a later blog)...for all the days I have spent in hospitals and doctors' offices, emergency rooms and urgent cares... for all the time in principal's offices and on the phone with Grandma trying to figure out what to do with these kids!... for all the hours I have spent in fervent prayer for them...for all the days and nights changing diapers and cleaning puke buckets, moving endless piles of raunchy-smelling laundry, and cleaning up countless accidents on carpets, walls, and furniture... I would not trade you anything on earth for the experiences I have had in the 6,730 days I have been a mother!
(Happy Mother's Day with Love and Thanks to our Moms, Ginny and Sarah, without whom the many events and characters of this particular blog would not have been possible!)
I could not help but remember today that there was a time when I thought that I would never have babies. I was with my first husband then, and we had tried from 1983 until 1986 with no luck. I even lost one in 1985. That was terribly traumatic. I had a giant collection of stuffed animals and dolls in a nursery that had everything in it but a real baby. Some of my "friends" made light of that. Maybe it was pitiful, but I had always wanted nothing more in my life than a good husband and lots of babies.
Eventually, I got my first blessing in the last possible month of 1986. He was born in South Carolina, and the journey began. He was followed shortly by his brother about 18 months later, and the third boy came in 1994. I thought I was done. My husband and I agreed that 3 boys was enough. We could have kept trying for the girl, we reasoned, but we would have just ended up with a house full of boys, in all likelihood.
Life has a way of taking you down roads that you did not intend to travel. In 1994, my first husband also decided that he did not want to be a "family man" anymore (another way of saying he wanted to be a swinger), and I suddenly found myself a single mom of 3 very active boys. I did the single-mom-thing for about 3 years, and I was just coming to the place in my life where I was happy again and comfortable with my "singleness." I was comfortable, I was blessed, and I had everything I needed---except a mate.
Not everyone needs a mate. I think it was Willie Nelson who sang, "There Are Worse Things than Being Alone." But God said, "It is not good for man to be alone..." and I trusted Him more than Willie Nelson. So I just prayed about it and trusted God to work it out, and He did.
It turns out that God had big surprises in store for me--the little girl who had wanted nothing more in her own childhood years than to grow up and experience motherhood and a good marriage. Around this time, (well maybe just a few years before) God created the internet just so that I could meet my second husband. :) I cannot see how we would have ever crossed paths if it had not been for the internet. He was up in Jersey, and I was way south of the Mason-Dixon Line. (Of course, nothing is too big for God, and to Him, a 1000 miles is no big deal!)God had saved Tim for me---kept him from marrying anyone and messing up his eligibility! At any rate, He put us in touch with one another through the Christian dating service called "The Christian Connection" which I think is now defunct, seeing His will has been done! We met around Valentine's Day of '97, and we married July 4, 1998.
But the surprises were not done. My new man had warned me before we married that he did not know if he would be able to father kids or not, for reasons that I will not go into now. I told him that it really did not matter, as I had my boys, and they were enough, if that was what God intended. But he was able to father children just fine, and we, too, lost a child--our first baby together--- in late 1998. I never knew the sex of that child, as I had not with my very first one, either.
Around mid-1999, I became pregnant again, and except for some nasty problems with gallstones, I did fine with the pregnancy and delivered a beautiful girl a month early in March of 2000, and then I delivered about 50 gallstones a month later!
We were twice-blessed by a second daughter in 2003. I delivered her in October, and then a few days later, I had to have extensive surgery where a scarband had wrapped around my large intestine and shut my digestive system completely down. They delivered my appendix during that surgery as well. My mother did not think I would live through the night that night, but I did, and I eventually got better, and I also eventually made it back home after about two months to begin the journey of raising 5 children, just as my own mother had done.
I can say that without a doubt, mothering a child or children is the most awesome experience available on the planet. No drug can induce a higher high than the pure exuberance that comes with creating and nurturing life. No adrenaline-producing stunt can equal the rush of motherhood. No sight on earth can equal the sheer wonder of looking into your child's eyes and seeing your own eyes staring back at you. No greater happiness exists than watching your own offspring grow and flourish, and no sadder feeling can be produced in the human experience than when your own child is hurting for any reason. Nothing can make you more elated, more despondent, more proud, or more angry than the accomplishments, or lack of them, by your children. When life is sweet with kids, it is very, very sweet, and when it is bitter, it is nigh to unbearable.
My heart rejoices when I consider the distinct possibility that I will someday get to meet my children that did not live up in heaven. I wonder what they would have been like, yet I trust that God knew best, and I would not have my Daniel or my Sarah today if these two other children had been carried to term. I cannot imagine my life without Daniel, Sam, Micah, Sarah or Hannah.
I know everyone brags on his/her kids, but these five are just spectacular kids, and I know that God gave each one of them the spirit that He did because He trusted me to deal with each one of them---and there are a few of them that not just anyone could have dealt with! Many a lesser woman would have swooned by now under the pressure! Those who know them personally can tell you that "I ain't lyin'!"
Yet, even with all the nights (like last night) that my head has not touched a pillow... (more about that in a later blog)...for all the days I have spent in hospitals and doctors' offices, emergency rooms and urgent cares... for all the time in principal's offices and on the phone with Grandma trying to figure out what to do with these kids!... for all the hours I have spent in fervent prayer for them...for all the days and nights changing diapers and cleaning puke buckets, moving endless piles of raunchy-smelling laundry, and cleaning up countless accidents on carpets, walls, and furniture... I would not trade you anything on earth for the experiences I have had in the 6,730 days I have been a mother!
(Happy Mother's Day with Love and Thanks to our Moms, Ginny and Sarah, without whom the many events and characters of this particular blog would not have been possible!)
Thursday, May 05, 2005
05-05-05!!!
Well, it has certainly been one of those days! It is not that anything really out of the ordinary happened....well, maybe a couple of things, but we will get to that in a minute.
I had to call my dear hubby on his way into work this morning and remind him that today was 05-05-05! He thought that was neato-peachy-keen! Of course, he had to call his Mom and Dad and tell them, because his dad has always had an interest in numbers and has tried to share that interest with Tim who has no memory for numbers of any kind whatsoever (further proof he is adopted!) (Just kidding...anyone who sees Tim with his dad could not doubt the paternity there, as they look so much alike.) Anyhow, we all thought it was neat that it is 5-5-05! Tim tells me that this only happens every thousand years or so. Dumb me, I figured it kind of happened again in 2105. But I guess that is not the same.
I told Tim that I wondered if anything weird would happen today. The number 5 has played a big part in significant things in my life thusfar. My parents had five children, and now I have had 5 kiddos, too! My birthday is 8/5, my dad's is 3/5, and my son's is 12/5. Brother Dan's b'day is the 15th, his wife and daughter are 5/25 and 3/25 respectively, and new sister-in-law Brooke has her birthday 8/25.
In my family, we always laugh about numbers. My mother's number is 2. She was born on the 22nd. First son was born on the 12th, and last 2 sons were born on the 24th. Her previous house number was 1121, and now it is 412. Her newlywed son and daughter-in-law just bought a house with the house number...you guessed it... 22!
I was pretty relieved when we got through most of the day and the world had not blown up or anything.
My "baby," who is off on his senior trip, called tonight. It seems that his chaperones have been up to some funny business. I guess they are a tad bored chaperoning a class of 3 seniors in Washington, D.C., so they decided to make up some entertainment. I think it was Tuesday or so that they noticed that the waitress at the Cracker Barrel was making eyes at my son. So they got the phone number of the Cracker Barrel off their receipt today, and they called up and found the waitress that had waited on them and asked her out to go bowling with the delegation from Tennessee on Friday night. Being a girl with at least some character, she made sure that there would be another female present, but she did consent to show up! The Baptists on the trip prefer for women to wear skirts at all times, so they asked her if she would mind wearing a skirt. She said she would. Of course, the other four on the trip are having a ball with this, because they have not ever seen this side of Daniel before!
Daniel decided a while back that he would put his dating life on hold, after he read a book that made a lot of sense to him. It said that young people do not need to go on "single dates" until they are old enough and ready to consider marriage. Otherwise, the theory says, they just set themselves up for heartache and failure in their quest to stay pure for that one special person who will hopefully come along one day. The book suggested that young people date in groups, where there is less temptation, especially in the sexual realm. Dan and I discussed the concept, and being the pretty level-headed kid he is, he decided that sounded pretty good to him.
But back to the story in Washington. The group was delighting in the fact they had set Daniel up on this date, but that was not all there was to it. From conversations they had in the restaurant, they had found out the girl is Jewish. The majority of them being Independent Baptists, they figured that they had better take the chance to try and tell her about Jesus. I don't know how far all of them are going to get in one bowling session, but time will tell.
To top it all off, the girl's name is Dara! (Sort of Dana/Sarah combination????) Every girl that Daniel has talked to in the recent past has been named Sarah for some reason! He has three good friends, besides the Sarah he grew up next door to, all named Sarah! He is finding it hard to communicate with me at times, because his sister and his grandmother are also named Sarah, so he has five of them, plus other friends we don't see as often named Sarah! Dara drives a PT Cruiser (apparently given to her by her father for a birthday present!) Daniel told her that sure beat his old Gremlin! Of course, he was kidding, as he does not even have his license yet! So, we will see what this meeting of Dara means....
Meanwhile, Daniel and friends are seeing all there is of Washington to see. They have visited all the memorials and the museums, and they have taken several tours. They tried to visit our Congressmen, but they were out of their offices, so they had no luck there.
He will be home on Saturday, and I will be happy to see him. I have missed his face around the house!
We are just about one month from graduation now. I cannot believe it. This semester has really flown. There are a lot of ????? in Daniel's future, but I tell him that is o.k., because he really has not had a conventional upbringing. We have had lots of "time-outs" in our lives where this family has had to step back and get its bearings and sail on. That's o.k. Not everyone's life is a picture perfect storybook. I tell him we will take the future as we have taken the past, one day at a time, with lots of prayer----did I say LOTS of PRAYER?!!!!! God will work it all out. And if our gracious Lord would have Daniel be the instrument through which another soul learns the precious truth of the gospel, then so be it! Praise God and his Providence on this day, 5-5-05!!!!!!
I had to call my dear hubby on his way into work this morning and remind him that today was 05-05-05! He thought that was neato-peachy-keen! Of course, he had to call his Mom and Dad and tell them, because his dad has always had an interest in numbers and has tried to share that interest with Tim who has no memory for numbers of any kind whatsoever (further proof he is adopted!) (Just kidding...anyone who sees Tim with his dad could not doubt the paternity there, as they look so much alike.) Anyhow, we all thought it was neat that it is 5-5-05! Tim tells me that this only happens every thousand years or so. Dumb me, I figured it kind of happened again in 2105. But I guess that is not the same.
I told Tim that I wondered if anything weird would happen today. The number 5 has played a big part in significant things in my life thusfar. My parents had five children, and now I have had 5 kiddos, too! My birthday is 8/5, my dad's is 3/5, and my son's is 12/5. Brother Dan's b'day is the 15th, his wife and daughter are 5/25 and 3/25 respectively, and new sister-in-law Brooke has her birthday 8/25.
In my family, we always laugh about numbers. My mother's number is 2. She was born on the 22nd. First son was born on the 12th, and last 2 sons were born on the 24th. Her previous house number was 1121, and now it is 412. Her newlywed son and daughter-in-law just bought a house with the house number...you guessed it... 22!
I was pretty relieved when we got through most of the day and the world had not blown up or anything.
My "baby," who is off on his senior trip, called tonight. It seems that his chaperones have been up to some funny business. I guess they are a tad bored chaperoning a class of 3 seniors in Washington, D.C., so they decided to make up some entertainment. I think it was Tuesday or so that they noticed that the waitress at the Cracker Barrel was making eyes at my son. So they got the phone number of the Cracker Barrel off their receipt today, and they called up and found the waitress that had waited on them and asked her out to go bowling with the delegation from Tennessee on Friday night. Being a girl with at least some character, she made sure that there would be another female present, but she did consent to show up! The Baptists on the trip prefer for women to wear skirts at all times, so they asked her if she would mind wearing a skirt. She said she would. Of course, the other four on the trip are having a ball with this, because they have not ever seen this side of Daniel before!
Daniel decided a while back that he would put his dating life on hold, after he read a book that made a lot of sense to him. It said that young people do not need to go on "single dates" until they are old enough and ready to consider marriage. Otherwise, the theory says, they just set themselves up for heartache and failure in their quest to stay pure for that one special person who will hopefully come along one day. The book suggested that young people date in groups, where there is less temptation, especially in the sexual realm. Dan and I discussed the concept, and being the pretty level-headed kid he is, he decided that sounded pretty good to him.
But back to the story in Washington. The group was delighting in the fact they had set Daniel up on this date, but that was not all there was to it. From conversations they had in the restaurant, they had found out the girl is Jewish. The majority of them being Independent Baptists, they figured that they had better take the chance to try and tell her about Jesus. I don't know how far all of them are going to get in one bowling session, but time will tell.
To top it all off, the girl's name is Dara! (Sort of Dana/Sarah combination????) Every girl that Daniel has talked to in the recent past has been named Sarah for some reason! He has three good friends, besides the Sarah he grew up next door to, all named Sarah! He is finding it hard to communicate with me at times, because his sister and his grandmother are also named Sarah, so he has five of them, plus other friends we don't see as often named Sarah! Dara drives a PT Cruiser (apparently given to her by her father for a birthday present!) Daniel told her that sure beat his old Gremlin! Of course, he was kidding, as he does not even have his license yet! So, we will see what this meeting of Dara means....
Meanwhile, Daniel and friends are seeing all there is of Washington to see. They have visited all the memorials and the museums, and they have taken several tours. They tried to visit our Congressmen, but they were out of their offices, so they had no luck there.
He will be home on Saturday, and I will be happy to see him. I have missed his face around the house!
We are just about one month from graduation now. I cannot believe it. This semester has really flown. There are a lot of ????? in Daniel's future, but I tell him that is o.k., because he really has not had a conventional upbringing. We have had lots of "time-outs" in our lives where this family has had to step back and get its bearings and sail on. That's o.k. Not everyone's life is a picture perfect storybook. I tell him we will take the future as we have taken the past, one day at a time, with lots of prayer----did I say LOTS of PRAYER?!!!!! God will work it all out. And if our gracious Lord would have Daniel be the instrument through which another soul learns the precious truth of the gospel, then so be it! Praise God and his Providence on this day, 5-5-05!!!!!!
Monday, May 02, 2005
Sunday, May 01, 2005
May Day!
This may be a short one, as I am tired this Sunday night after a long weekend of activities!
It seems like yesterday that I was complaining that April had rolled around, and I have not accomplished nearly as much as I had wanted to after Christmas. Time is really rolling along.
Saturday, it seemed like all we did was drive. Daniel had been up in Kentucky where he met up with about 40 old and new friends and had an all night party of the Christian variety! They had a dinner, they went bowling, and they stayed up all night playing cards and games and soaking up as much as they could of one another before all returning to where they came from.
We drove about half-way there, and we picked him up at a nice family's house. There was a two-hour delay that we did not expect, so we spent some nice time visiting and getting to know them better. When Daniel arrived, he was falling-down tired. We stopped at Cracker Barrel, and we were aggravated with an hour and a half wait overall before our food got to our mouths. When it did, it was not very good either. That was unusual for this particular C. B.
Then, we brought Daniel home, put him to bed, picked up his two brothers who had spent the night elsewhere, and got back on the road for a "tool and gadget" bridal shower for a couple in the next town. We attended that, and we came home and readied ourselves for Sunday morning as best as we could and fell into bed!
Sundays always start too early around here. Today was no exception. I awoke with a start, thinking that it was Monday and that Daniel was late for his departure for senior trip! I was quite relieved when Tim informed me that it was Sunday, and we were on time!
We took off for our hour-long drive to church, and on the way, Sarah was still hacking so badly with her "seal cough" that we decided to have Tim take her on to Grandma's, where "Meme" was already scheduled to keep her sick cousins home so that my sister-in-law could go to her services and teach class. We figured one more sick girl would not be too much for an old pro like my Mom!
After we attended church, we loaded up again and made the 30 minute drive back to Mom's where everyone except the wee babe, my niece Lauren, was happy. Steph had made lasagna and salad for the whole family, and nearly everyone showed up to wish my little nephew Ben a happy 5th birthday! He is such a doll, and he is so close to my Sarah. They were born 2 months apart and have always loved each other a lot. Sarah, Ben and Kelsey are the 3 Amigos, and little Hannah is trying to edge in, but I think she is going to have to wait for Lauren to catch up!
Anyhow, we had a short, but very pleasant, afternoon visiting with the family, and then we visited where they all attend for evening worship. We always enjoy the services there! They have great singing in their building, and it is always an encouragement to us to get to attend there. We don't get to visit as much as we used to, because the boys are busy in the services of our own local church, but occasionally, we sneak away and visit the country church.
I am a little sad tonight because my baby is leaving on his senior trip tomorrow....this year is getting away from me. I hope he will have a great time and get some great pictures he can share upon his return next Saturday!
Well, that's the weekend news around here. Hopefully, this week will be warmer and prettier here, and all my coughing babies will get well. Hope it is warm and sunny where you are....
It seems like yesterday that I was complaining that April had rolled around, and I have not accomplished nearly as much as I had wanted to after Christmas. Time is really rolling along.
Saturday, it seemed like all we did was drive. Daniel had been up in Kentucky where he met up with about 40 old and new friends and had an all night party of the Christian variety! They had a dinner, they went bowling, and they stayed up all night playing cards and games and soaking up as much as they could of one another before all returning to where they came from.
We drove about half-way there, and we picked him up at a nice family's house. There was a two-hour delay that we did not expect, so we spent some nice time visiting and getting to know them better. When Daniel arrived, he was falling-down tired. We stopped at Cracker Barrel, and we were aggravated with an hour and a half wait overall before our food got to our mouths. When it did, it was not very good either. That was unusual for this particular C. B.
Then, we brought Daniel home, put him to bed, picked up his two brothers who had spent the night elsewhere, and got back on the road for a "tool and gadget" bridal shower for a couple in the next town. We attended that, and we came home and readied ourselves for Sunday morning as best as we could and fell into bed!
Sundays always start too early around here. Today was no exception. I awoke with a start, thinking that it was Monday and that Daniel was late for his departure for senior trip! I was quite relieved when Tim informed me that it was Sunday, and we were on time!
We took off for our hour-long drive to church, and on the way, Sarah was still hacking so badly with her "seal cough" that we decided to have Tim take her on to Grandma's, where "Meme" was already scheduled to keep her sick cousins home so that my sister-in-law could go to her services and teach class. We figured one more sick girl would not be too much for an old pro like my Mom!
After we attended church, we loaded up again and made the 30 minute drive back to Mom's where everyone except the wee babe, my niece Lauren, was happy. Steph had made lasagna and salad for the whole family, and nearly everyone showed up to wish my little nephew Ben a happy 5th birthday! He is such a doll, and he is so close to my Sarah. They were born 2 months apart and have always loved each other a lot. Sarah, Ben and Kelsey are the 3 Amigos, and little Hannah is trying to edge in, but I think she is going to have to wait for Lauren to catch up!
Anyhow, we had a short, but very pleasant, afternoon visiting with the family, and then we visited where they all attend for evening worship. We always enjoy the services there! They have great singing in their building, and it is always an encouragement to us to get to attend there. We don't get to visit as much as we used to, because the boys are busy in the services of our own local church, but occasionally, we sneak away and visit the country church.
I am a little sad tonight because my baby is leaving on his senior trip tomorrow....this year is getting away from me. I hope he will have a great time and get some great pictures he can share upon his return next Saturday!
Well, that's the weekend news around here. Hopefully, this week will be warmer and prettier here, and all my coughing babies will get well. Hope it is warm and sunny where you are....
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