last day of work

Today wasn't as "bad" as I thought it would be.  In fact, it wasn't until I went & put my key on my boss's desk that I got teary eyed.  Up until then, I was alright.  Somehow, though, the finality of turning in my key made it seem very real.  Even so, the sad moment didn't last too long.  By the time I got in the car, the 90 degree humid heat was all that was bothering me.

I spent a ton of time today packing up my room.  My kids all brought me gifts.  I love that part of teaching!  :)  I got a lot of neat stuff and a little "parting gift" from the center.  That was nice!!

And ya know what?  God's got a plan for my future.  I'm not worried about it.  The interview(s) that I have coming up go the way God intended.  The words that spill from my mouth will be what God has me to say.  And if I'm supposed to get one of these jobs, He'll work out those details.  I just have to sit back & relax and let Him handle it.

I decided in the past 24 hours that there are tons of jobs out there---even if some of them aren't the most 'glamourous'.  I mean, really.....there are video stores, restaurants, retail stores and all sorts of places that typically are run by teenagers & college kids.  If all the jobs w/ the school system don't work out & I walk into one of those places at the end of the summer telling them that I'm willing to promise them the following nine months' time, I bet they'd jump on that!  I mean, most college kids/teens aren't exactly the most reliable or dependable & if they have an ADULT committed to be at work 5 days/week for nine months, that's better than most of their regular employees!  I could feasibly get a new job every August and quit at the end of the school year to spend summers at home w/ the kids.  I could spend every year doing something different, exploring the world via all sorts of different jobs.  It could be a great adventure, right?  :)

Seriously, that's an option......  I'm still going to be hunting for jobs in the meantime, but if the summer comes & goes and I am still looking, I will definately consider the possibility of something like this (above).

If you hear of someone looking for a willing, dependable, loyal employee to work during the school year only from 8:30 or 9:00 til 2:00 or 2:30, give them my name!  I'm their girl!  :)

Another interview!

On Tuesday, I have another interview!  This time it's at Holloway.  It's the job #3 in this post:  http://journals.aol.com/lizreeves2/Ourgrowingfamily/entries/2007/05/15/news-on-the-job-front/649

Say a prayer for me, ok?

 

OOPS!!!!!!!!!!  It's actually #4 from the post above, not #3.

the end of another season

In the Spring of 05, we registered Sarah for a Fall 05 Mother's Day Out program.  Her older siblings would all be in school in the Fall and for the first time, she'd be home "alone" (well, without any sibs).  We figured she'd get bored hanging out w/ "just mom" and she really did need some practice at social skills.  She is definately our most shy kiddo, so we signed up for a once a week trip to Mother's Day Out.  We never did any sort of preschool or MDO program for the older 2 kids, so this was a big deal for all of us.

After registering her, I started daydreaming of the "perfect" job for me.  I was thinking about the NEXT fall (2006) when she would start Kindergarten.  It hit me that the hours of the Mother's Day Out program would make for an ideal job for me---if they needed another Mother's Day Out teacher in 2006, that is.  The idea of working 2 days/week, making a little extra money, always being home when the kids needed me.....ahhhh....sounds wonderful doesn't it?  On a whim, I emailed the director of the center where we'd signed her up to see if she anticipated needing another MDO teacher the FOLLOWING Fall.  I figured she'd laugh me off as I listed all of my conditions to working.  As it turned out, they needed a Mother's Day Out teacher right away!  I was a little stunned, but agreed to think about it & talk to Larry.  Well, long story short, I took the job.  Sarah was able to go with me to work and she was right next door to me all year.  It was a great year for both of us!

I continued teaching the MDO program this year.  I have loved it!  Not only do I have the ideal job for a stay at home mom who still wants to be at home, I have the best place in the world to work!  My bosses are good friends.  My coworkers are like family.  The kids I teach feel like my own after having spent a year with them.  I really can't think of a better place to work.  When Larry had his back surgery in October, they called to check on him.  When A&K moved out in March, my boss told me to take the week off & take care of things at home.  They sent me a card to check on me mid-week & were there with loving arms when I returned.  The "family" I've become a part of up there is incredibly caring.

And yet, for all the emotional ties I have to this great place, that season is ending.  I can hardly believe that Thursday will be my last day there.  Today I began packing up 2 years worth of curriculum, 2 years worth of pictures the kids have drawn for me, 2 years worth of supplies.......and as I did, I realized just how much I'm going to miss this place!

No longer will I wear a lanyard with an electronic key attached.  No longer will I carry a walkie talkie around in case someone throws up or breaks an arm.  :)  No longer will I stop at the infant room twice a day to say hello or goodbye to the babies.  I won't be listening for the day care bus in the afternoons to announce my childrens' arrival.  I won't be hugged around the knees by 2 year olds that are just happy to see me walk into their room.  I won't be singing any more songs in chapel with funny hand motions & listening to a Bible story told by an enthusiastic day care director.  I won't be vacuuming up spilled lunches or fuzzy pieces of the feathers on the dress up costumes in the afternoons.  I'll no longer be walking a handful of 3 & 4 year olds to the gym when it's raining or trying to steer them clear of the mud at the construction site on the way to the playground.  No longer will you hear me singing songs about putting your ear/head/back/hand/shoulder/bottom on the wall.  I won't be pouring small sippy cups full of soy milk anymore and you won't see me tiptoeing around the day care center looking for the class's missing yellow duck during our pond unit.  You won't find me cutting out dinosaur patterns or bumble bee wings.

But ya know what?  You also won't see me wiping the tears from my eyes as I pray for "my kids".  You won't watch me hug my class goodbye in the afternoon.  You won't hear the classical music playing at naptime or see little arms reaching up for one more 'goodnight' hug.  You'll no longer see me urging along a potty trainer or snuggling tight a child with a booboo.  I won't be hearing sweet lunchtime prayers anymore or opening packages of fruit snacks for little hands.  I won't be telling Bible stories & memory verses while "my kids" eat a quick snack.  You won't see me on the holiday aisle at Walmart stocking up on treats & favors for my class.

On Thursday, my class doesn't know it, but they'll go to the playground with another teacher while I make a flying trip to McDonald's for happy meals--our last lunch together.  On Thursday, I'll wipe one last nose & change one more diaper.  On Thursday, I'll sing one last round of silly songs & practice walking like a dinosaur one more time.  On Thursday, I'll have a bubble in my mouth & a ducktail on my back.  I'll talk in silly voices while I read a story & act out the part of the silly goose one last time.  On Thursday, I will teach a Bible story and hug 7 more little necks goodbye...one last time.

And when the time rolls around and I take the May 2007 calendar off the door for the final time, I will clock out & drive away.  So if you see me driving down Troup Highway with tears in my eyes sometime Thursday night, you'll know why.

I love you Glenna, Becky, Brenda, Donna, Shanah, Marla, Heather, Heather, Kenda, Michelle, Kim, Mamie, Wendi, Cynthia, Mona, Kathryn, Danielle, Ann, Keri, Natalie, Emily, Monique, DeeDee, Cassie, Sophie, Gayla, Marcia, and everyone else!!!!!!!!!!!  (I couldn't possibly remember everyone's names, but please know I love you all!!)  You will be greatly missed.  Life may take us in 40 different directions this Fall, but my prayers will go with you wherever you go!

Farewell Pleasant Hill Child Development Center.

Savannah's got her first job!

A few weeks ago, Larry talked to Savannah's vice principal's wife at Samuel's T-ball game.  She told him that every year, they hire a 6th grader to "tutor" their two boys after school.  The truth is, it's more of a babysitting thing, but they tell the boys it's "tutoring" because they think they're too big to need a babysitter!  They have the 6th grader get the boys off the bus in the afternoon (at the same campus where Savannah will be) and take them to a particular room in the school to work on their homework til their dad finishes up his day.  (usually around an hour's time)  Then he takes the 6th grader & his boys home.  They pay the 6th grader to watch the boys every 2 weeks.  She was curious if Savannah might be interested.

When Savannah heard this, she was tickled pink & immediately went to school & told the vice principal that she would love to do the job.  He told her to wait til closer to the end of the year & they'd talk again.

On Friday, she came home all excited & said "I got the job!!!!!!!!!!!".  She is over the moon.  She's already planning on saving the $$ the first 2 months & buying a Nintendo DS with it.  She's been begging for one since before Christmas, so I know she'll stick with that & really do it.

Hard to believe my 10 year old is more job secure for the Fall than I am!  LOL!

Christian fiction suggestions?

Anybody got any good suggestions for me?  I fell in love w/ Francine Rivers after reading "Redeeming Love".  I've read "And the Shofar Blew", "The Scarlet Thread", "The Last Sin Eater" & "The Atonement Child" of hers.  Loved them all.  But...I can't seem to get "into" any of her other books.

I recently started reading Karen Kingsbury.  I'm on the last book from the Redemption series now & love it!  I've already checked out "Oceans Apart" from the library.  It's one of her stand alone books, but I want to read the Firstborn series next.

I've read some of Lori Wick's stuff & like it, but don't really get sucked into it as much as I've done w/ the other stuff I've read.

So......any suggestions for drama/romance sort of novels in the Christian fiction world?

quick update

We are waiting for daddy to get home so we can eat supper.  The kids are watching a movie we got at the library today, so I'm free for a few minutes.

Just a quick update on things I've posted about recently----

I think the interview went ok Friday.  I didn't come away with 2 best friends or anything, but I did feel pretty good about how it went as far as the impression I made goes.  Over the weekend, however, I felt a strong sense of "this isn't the right job for you".  It doesn't help any that there were other candidates better qualified.  I didn't feel like I'd ever really be comfortable doing the job.  I was afraid I'd spend the year sorta 1/2 way doing the job, hoping to get it done correctly.  It just wasn't something I'd ever get relaxed in, so I withdrew my application this morning.  Now I'm just moving onto the other things I applied for.  We'll see what happens with those.

We heard from Andrew & Kourtney Saturday night.  It was such a great phone call!!  Things are going better than we had previously understood them to be so that's awesome!  One sad thing, though, was that Kourtney got on the phone w/ me & cried & cried.  She wants to come back here.  :(  I felt so horrible having to tell her she couldn't.  If I could have her back, I'd do it in a heartbeat.  I love Andrew with my all my heart, but I know it just doesn't work with him here.  I never had a problem with Kourtney & would love to have been able to keep her here.  :::sigh:::  God is in control, God is in control....(gotta keep reminding myself)

On Sunday night, Savannah did her last performance w/ the children's choir at church.  Although they don't officially promote til later on, this was the last performance.  My baby girl is going into the Youth group!  Sniff, sniff...where did I put that Kleenex?

All is well around here.  PTL, He is good!

 

interview is over

Well...I'm not holding my breath.  It went alright, but I didn't really get a vibe either way....that they loved or hated me.  I guess we'll see.

Interview!!!!!

I've got a serious case of butterflies in my stomach.  I've got in interview in less than 2 hours for the job at Cain.  (See last entry--job choice 1.)

I'm not really worried about whether or not I'm qualified for the job or if the principal will think I'd do well at the job.  I'm just really nervous about getting tongue-tied or going totally blank & answering a question in some stupid way.  Please pray for my nerves to calm down!!!

News on the job front

Ok.  So Friday morning I turned in my application packets at the administrative office.  I know the personnel director & she told me later that afternoon that everything had been sent out in the intercampus mail.  So Monday rolls around & I am assuming by then that all the principals have my application for the jobs I'm applying for.  One of the jobs had specifically said they'd be starting interviews by the "middle" of this week.  I assumed if they planned to start interviews mid-week, they'd call Monday to set that up.  Right?

Monday came & went.  I didn't panic.  Just figured they weren't done looking through the applications yet.  I figured I'd get a call today.  At lunchtime I called home to check the machine & see if we had messages.  Nope.  I did that again after work.  Still nothing.

When we got home this afternoon, I had an email from a friend who is a teacher @ one of the schools where I'm applying.  She'd been talking to the principal about me & guess what?  He didn't have my application.  He called the admin. office to see if they still had it.  They said they didn't have an application on file for me.

Uh oh........

So at 4:15 this afternoon when I read this email, I panicked!  Where was my application?  Why didn't he have it?  It should've reached him Friday afternoon.  What happened??

I called the admin building to see & guess what?  My packet was still sitting there on the desk!  Oy.  I was assured the application packets would go out to the prinicipals tomorrow morning!  Whew!!!!!!!

After getting through a mild panic attack (just kidding...I didn't have one, but I was concerned where my stuff went), I got a phone call.  The friend who emailed me to let me know they didn't have my application was calling to reassure me that if God had this job in store for me, then He wouldn't let a little thing like a papertrail stop Him.  Whew...so true!

On top of that, I found out that a dear friend of mine has already pretty well been hired for another of the aide jobs, so I would get to work with her if I'm hired!  Small world!

I'm still torn between which job I'd enjoy most if I were to somehow be offered more than one.  I think I'd love them all, honestly.  My choices are:

1.  Elementary school- special education aide.  This is strictly academic special ed stuff, not a life skills type class.  I'd work one on one with kids who need extra help in whatever subject they're struggling with.  This is more of a resource/pull-out program, not a full day class of special ed. students.  This one is across the hall from Samuel's current 1st grade teacher.  We put her as #1 on the teacher request list for Sarah, so there is the possibility that if I got this job, I'd be right across the hall from Sarah all day.  I think I'd enjoy this job b/c I saw the benefit of the resource teachers in Andrew's life while he was here.

 

2.  Intermediate school-  Attendance clerk.  That's pretty self-explanatory I guess.  I was a bookkeeper for Albertsons before Savannah was born.  I know it's been a while & the technology has changed, but when it comes to reports & paperwork, I am very anal about it.  I could totally get into this job and would enjoy the computer work involved.  If I got this job, I would be at a great campus.  This is a 2 year campus, meaning the kids are there for 3rd & 4th grades.  Although none of my kids are there right now, when they did come to this campus, I could actually see them throughout the day for 2 straight years before they moved up.

 

3.  Intermediate school- PPCD aide.  This is an aide in a classroom of children who are mostly disabled/handicapped who need a lot of physical help as well as preschool type of curriculum help.  Some are more severely handicapped than others.  Super sweet class of kids who melt your heart & wrap you around their fingers quickly.  A perk to this one is that a good friend is the teacher in the class.  They're hiring 2 new aides to work directly with her.  She is a super Christian lady that would be great to work with.  A funny thing---she told me today that they'd already pretty well decided on who they're hiring for one of the 2 spots....and it turns out, it's an old friend of mine that is also a great Christian friend.  So I know I'd be in a great environment if this works out.

 

4.  Middle school -- ISS classroom.  This is the classroom where the kids are sent as a punishment.  I know it's probably not everyone's first choice for a job, but I think I could really get into it.  Having had Andrew here for the past year, I think I could handle just about anything a kid could throw at me.  It would be a ministry in a way (shhh!  don't tell the schools, but I'd be praying for each of the kids that came through the ISS room!).  You have to be stern & come off to the kids as a total meanie which is actually a little out of the norm for me demeanor-wise.....but I could do it.  You sit in the room with them, supervising them all day.  The teachers send enough work to keep them busy the whole time they're there (usually a couple of days).  The kids aren't allowed to talk or goof off at all.  It would be a quiet job that didn't mean taking home a lot of work or stress.  I'm sure I could get some reading done in that classroom.  (Certainly not all the time...but some!)

 

I've reached a point that I'm nervous about the interviews and am anxious for something to happen.  BUT, I'm very comfortable in knowing God will work out the details & put me in exactly the right job.  If He wants me to do one of these jobs, He'll make it happen.  If not, He'll show me the right one.  And ya know...I'm ok with that.

 

And so the waiting game begins.........

Dave Mason's coming home

A sweet friend of mine from Missouri has had a rough past year.  Her husband was deployed overseas in May (I believe?) of 2006.  He's coming home within the next week or so!  Hooray!!!!!!!

If you'd like to send him an e-card of thanks or a letter of appreciation, please contact me.  I will forward things to him as I receive them.

Dave & Ann deserve our appreciation as a country!

Mother's Day

This morning I woke up to the sounds of Sarah asking me to open her present.  At school, she made me a laminated blank calendar (with a picture of her on it!).  Included was a dry erase marker so that the calendar can be used year-round.  She also made me an apron at church in her Daisies class.  She made herself an apron a few weeks ago at Daisies so now we have a matching set!!  We can cook together & look cute doing it now!

Then came Samuel's gift.  Since I helped his class make their gifts, I already knew what to expect (a personalized mug he colored & decorated) but I had not seen the mommy questionairre he filled out for me.  It was really funny!  For example, one of the questions said "My mommy looks most beautiful when ____".  He wrote in "My mommy looks most beautiful when she's awake."  LOL!  Umm...ok....so I asked him to explain that.  He said "you know..when you're asleep, your hair's all messed up & you drool on your pillow."  LOL!!!!!!!  The goober!  All the answers on the questionairre were equally funny, but I won't share them all.

Savannah gave me a card she'd made at school.  It was very heart-felt & not just some silly poem they'd had all the kids write.  You could tell it came straight from her heart.  :)

In church, all the kids came in & sang a song to us mommies.  One of our pastors' wives gave a short testimony about Mother's Day---what it meant to her as a mom & the fact that it held some sad memories b/c she lost her mom when she was 7 or 8 years old.  She went on to talk about Mother's Day being hard for moms who've lost children in one way or another and boy did I start crying.  I really wasn't sobbing or all that overly upset.....but I welled up real quick and just couldn't stop the flow.

During our worship time, I prayed & prayed for Andrew and Kourtney.  I prayed for God to make Himself known to them every day.  I prayed for their grief today as they realize they've lost 2 moms in the past 2 years.  I prayed for their connection w/ their new mom to grow.  I prayed for them to see God's hand in everything that has happened these 15 months.  As today there was no doubt a lot of talk of "moms" at all the houses across the nation, I pray that they had at least a brief memory of me that brought a smile to their faces.  Maybe that sounds selfish or whatever....but I pray that they have happy memories of their relationship with me.

Last night was Sarah's dance recital.  I couldn't help but feel a little sad that Kourtney should've been on the stage, too.  I'm including pictures above of Sarah on the stage after the recital was over.  She did a GREAT job!!!

When we got home from the recital, Larry had 2 more bouquets of flowers (he gave her the flowers in the pic above).  The 2 he brought home were for me for Mother's Day.  (insert collective "awwww" here)

Tonight we went to my mom's house & hung out for a while.  I wuv ya mom!  See the pic above for our 3 generation ladies pic.  My mom, myself & the girls!

Love & hugs to all the mommies out there!

job stuff

The past few days have been tiring for me.  Not physically so much, but emotionally & psychologically.  I've gone back & forth, back & forth on the job situation.

Ya see, on one hand, if I stay with the day care where I work now, that would be a very easy & comfortable decision.  I know the people there.  I've spent 2 years building my curriculum and hate to toss that aside or give it away.  (after all, *I* made it, so *I* want to use it!)  I could pretty well take my pick of classrooms because there are a lot of openings this fall.  They pay into Social Security & the schools don't.  I already have a relationship with many of the kids and their families.  The teachers there are exceptional & inspiring.  I enjoy every minute of my job.  There is just a lot of 'family' & 'comfort' there.  It would be the easier choice because it's familiar (& have I mentioned I'm not a big fan of change?).  But..... I'd lose my summers with the kids because I'd work year-round.  I just can't imagine giving that up.  I don't want the kids to remember summers of day care (which they really abhor anyway!).  I want them to remember going to camp, day camp, hanging out with their brother & sister, going to the park together, making crafts with me, hanging out on rainy days & watching movies together.  All those things are soooo important to me.  I know that if we *had* to do it, we would, but I do have another choice.  Plus, there is uncertainty about the future of the center.  If I stayed, would I still have a place to work a year from now?  Do I trust God to handle that & figure it out when that time comes or seek something else?

If I were to be hired working at the school, I'd always have the same holidays/summers/hours as the kids.  I'd be gone only during their school days, so they really wouldn't miss me (pretty much the same as now).  I wouldn't be able to do as much with their individual classes, but I'd be at the same campus with at least one of them and could probably still take off to go to some of the class parties.  But...they don't pay into SS (of course, who knows if it'll survive til my retirement years anyway...but knowing that it's there in case something happened to me for my kids' sake is comforting).  Plus...as I stated above, I'm not a big fan of change.  Doing something new & different is always hard.  The positions I'm applying for are all things I'd really LOVE to do, so I know I could do those jobs well.  I am flexible & pretty easy-going so I can get along with just about anyone.

So you see......there are pros & cons either way.  I really do believe I could be happy in either environment, but there will be some sacrifices & changes in our lives either way we go.  I know we'll figure it out along the way, but my heart is torn.  I know this is all probably silly to all of you reading this.  I mean, after all, it's just a job.  But for me, it's really much more than that.  It's a matter of going from one season of my life (having small children, being a stay at home mom....) to a new season (no longer being home during the week, becoming a working mom...).  I should be a no-brainer I guess, but it's a transition for me that will take some time.

I've layed my fleece before God now and will wait and see what He does.  This morning I turned in my application for all the positions I'm looking at.  It's in His hands now.  If this (working for the school) is what I'm supposed to do, He will work it out.  If not, He'll work that out, too.  Now the waiting begins.....

I'll keep ya updated.

Prayer Requests

I have 2 requests that I'd like to ask you guys to pray for.

Several months ago, I asked you to pray for a friend of mine, Angie Bundy.  I met Angie online about 7 years ago when her son was about to undergo his first strabismus operation.  (This is the same eye muscle disorder Savannah was born with.)  We connected on the mommy-level as she had questions about her little boy's upcoming surgery & we'd already done it 3 times at that point.  Several years later, Angie found out she had a brain tumor.  After treatment, she was declared "cured" & labeled a survivor.  She went in every 6 months for repeat scans to verify that she was still 'cured'.  In December or January, the tumor had returned.  She's undergone treatments since then & found out today that none of the treatment has worked.  They declared the tumor inoperable because it is so deep inside her brain.  Operating on it would leave her with a very poor quality of life.  The doctor has turned her case over to a tumor team who is trying to determine what, if any, treatment is left to try at this point.  They are still believing for a miracle.  Please join us in praying for Angie's complete recovery.  She has a 9 year old son who needs his mommy & a sweetheart of a husband who wants to grow old & gray with her.

Second..........and I feel so incredibly petty to even ask after Angie's request----- but I really need to ask for prayers!

When Andrew & Kourtney moved out, we lost a substantial amount of income.  They were getting a benefit from the government and we have a precious relative who was also sending help.  Between the two, it really helped.  We didn't go out & buy a bunch of fancy things or go crazy running up bills, but we did incur debt during the time they were here.  Without going into a lot of personal details on the blog site, I can tell ya....we're really feeling it now.  I only work during the school year, so we're also about to lose my income.

I've looked on the Whitehouse ISD website & there are several teacher's aide positions available.  I'm going to apply for those jobs later this week & see what happens.  Although I LOVEEEEEE my job and adore the program I teach and the children I work with, we need more income than it provides.  I've considered staying there & just moving to a full time position, but there are a lot of things going on at my workplace that make me nervous about staying there.  I would love to stay forever, but I think this may be the right time for me to move elsewhere.

Please pray that if this is what I should do, it will all fall into place & any interviews I go on will be smooth and I will be calm.  If this is not what I need to do or the right place for me to work, pray that I will be able to see that clearly & seek work at the right place!

Thank you!!!

Just found out---Savannah will play the french horn in band next year!

Friday May 4

Today was a great day.  Larry & I are both off on Fridays, so that tends to be our 'date' day.  Some couples try to have a date night now & then, but Larry & I do date days.  It is easier to plan that when the kids are all in school, anyway.

Larry's battling a sinus infection at the moment, so I let him sleep late today.  I guess I had that in mind when I overslept, too.  At 7:15, Samuel was 2" from my face, whispering to me about going to watch cartoons.  Yikes!  We have to leave by 7:35!  Holy Moses!  I jumped up, ran around getting kids up & making a quick breakfast for them to choke back before we had to leave.  Somehow, we actually did manage to get out the door by 7:35....and realized that the next door neighbors hadn't even left yet.  Whew....

The kids have fallen in love w/ the Chris Rice song "What if Cartoons Got Saved" so we blared that on the way to school to get everyone wide awake.  (If you haven't heard it, it's a really cute song about various cartoon characters getting saved & singing praises---Scooby-Dooby-Do-yah!, Yaba-daba-doo-yah!, etc.)  Every time they get into the car they ask for me to play that song.  Before I got back home, Savannah called my cell to ask me to bring her something she forgot.  I swear...that child got her forgetful genes from her daddy!

I came back home & climbed back into bed with Larry & read from the Karen Kingsbury book I'm reading now....until after 10am!  Wow...what a nice morning!  I woke him up then, both of us took a shower & we took Savannah her missing items, then had lunch at La Hacienda.  It was really nice because we spent over an hour sitting there yakking about life, our beliefs, what we want in the future, missions & ministry.  It was really great.

We went out to check on the level of the lake.  It's rained so much lately that we figured it would be up some.  Larry had plans to take Savannah out in the boat this afternoon to fish, so he wanted to see how the water was.  It was pretty surprising to see the difference!  In November, we went out there one day when he was still on the walker after his back surgery and the pier was standing in mud--no water underneath it at all-- with a good 20 ft. high stilt underneath dry as a bone.  Now you can't even see the stilts.  Thank you, God, for all the rain!  We've needed it.  (whispering....but I think we've had enough now.....you can stop.....ha ha)

And just a word of advice for those of you who play 'chicken' with birds like us---geese don't scatter & fly off when you drive toward them at high speeds like other birds do.  LOL!  We nearly got to have goose for supper!  Dumb birds.

God has been revealing things to me lately that I've been too blind to see for a while.  I'll write more later.  Gotta go put the munchkins to bed now & go grocery shopping.  He is so good.....

Samuel's teeth...or lack thereof

Samuel's 2 top center teeth have been loose for at least a couple of months.  Tuesday night, he & the girls were acting crazy & he fell on his face---right into those 2 loose teeth.  He got the whole bloody lip & gums thing......and then he realized that his two loose teeth were now LOOSER.  He freaked out about all the other stuff, but loved how it had loosened his teeth more.

Well, last night, Larry pulled one of the teeth at church...it was a very bloody, yucky mess.  Ewww....sorry guys who were sitting there eating with us!!!  I told him at bedtime last night that I figured the other tooth would be out by tonight or tomorrow at the latest.  I was right!  Today he came home from school & it was hanging by 1 little thread.  By suppertime, it was out!

Tonight he thought it was hysterical when I told him to go get on his pajamas, brush whatever teeth he had left & get into bed.  Snicker, snicker.  It doesn't take much to make me burst into giggles, though!  :)

Savannah's classes update

A few of you emailed me yesterday & asked me to update when I knew what Savannah's doing next year.

She's chosen 1 honors class--language arts (which is her strongest area anyway) and for her elective, she has chosen band.  The band director is calling the kids in already in groups of 5 or 6 to do some 'testing' to determine what instrument they're best suited for.  I'm anxious to see what they tell her she should play.  She's got her heart set on the trumpet, but who knows if that will be what works for her or not.  I guess we'll see soon enough.

We've already bought her a combination lock to practice on so that she can get the hang of it before fall.  She shows me about 10x a day that she can open it.  :)