Prayer Requests

I have been meaning to post these for a while now.  The following are the websites of several children that I check in on daily & wanted to offer you the chance to do the same.

Noah   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ourquiverfull 

Noah's mom is part of an email group I am in called MOMYS.  That stands for Mothers of Many Young Siblings.  In other words, big families.  I was a read-only member of the group for many years before I got the chance to post about my own family when Andrew & Kourtney were with us.  Noah's mom has been updating the group for a while now about her baby boy.  He has a host of medical problems---mostly all digestive system related things.  His anatomy was reversed, but that has been repaired.  He's been in the hospital for the last 6 weeks & they are hoping he can come home in the next week or so.  Kate is expecting a new baby girl, so she is exhausted from living in a hospital room for a while now...but she is such a sweet lady of God, always thankful for whatever has happened that day.  Just read it...you'll see what I mean!

 

Ethan  www.ethanpowell.com

Ethan was born in Dec 06 & was diagnosed with Leukemia in Feb 07.  He went into remission but the leukemia has returned.  He & his parents moved into St. Jude's several months ago & have been living there for a while, trying to get him well.  He's a cutie pie...take a look!

 

Anna Jane  CaringBridge.org - annajane 

Anna has cancer, too.  Her mom writes a daily update.  I learned about Anna from another friend whose son died from a brain tumor in July 03.  Her son, Anna & my Samuel are all the same age, so it's hard to see their babies with this awful disease.  I am so grateful that my kiddos are healthy!!

 

"Thunder" (nickname)  http://caringbridge.org/visit/thunder

Thunder is in his last days, alsoa cancer baby.

 

Thank you for following my blog & keeping my family in your prayers, but this week, I'm asking that you pray for these families instead.  You can subscribe to Noah & Thunder's blogs & get updates via email when they have new posts.  Ethan's & Anna's have to be visited to see if there is new news.

Another cute Sarah-ism

This morning on the way to school, Sarah looked at the clock in the van & was disturbed---she thought we'd be late.  (we weren't!)  She told me that if she was late too many days, they would count the tardies as 1 absence & then she wouldn't get the "Great Attendance Award" at the end of the year.

 

At first I thought she was describing the award as 'great', so I tried to figure out what the prize is....and then it hit me, she was calling the award a "Great Attendance Award".

 

I thought that was cute.  I suppose anytime you can't remember the right word for something, you can just substitute another one for it.  After all, great...perfect....it's all the same, right?

 

Samuel

Today I went to the school & filled out a few papers to have Samuel evaluated for Dyslexia.  The teacher said she would turn it in before she left the campus today & then the lady who does the testing would come over & visit with Samuel in a few days...or maybe in a couple weeks.  She said she couldn't really guarantee how long it would take for her to get there, but she would let me know when she hears something.

2 Cute Sarah comments

Several times, Sarah has commented on something they did that day in school while at "Motor Skittles" class.  (everyone goes to a Motor Skills class at her school)

Today, I was wiggling her top center front tooth when she proclaimed "that tooth is as wiggly as a dang pig!".  I had to sit & stare at her with a "HUH?" look for a while before I finally burst out laughing!  I have NO IDEA what that meant, but she seemed stunned that I thought it was funny.

Updates

I'm sorry that I am going so long in between updates.  I wasn't prepared for everything that comes with working 5 days a week I guess.  If I'm at home, I'm playing catch up on housework or cooking supper or something during the week.  On the weekends, I'm too tired to do much of anything.  I know it's just a matter of adjusting & it's getting there, but boy... I haven't done this in years and it's hard to get back into the routine I guess.  The last several years I've only worked 2 days/week, so moving to 5 days/week has been interesting.

I'm still really loving my job.  The money isn't the greatest, but the work itself & the hours are.  I guess most teachers don't make a whole lot, though, so I guess that's no big NEWS to anyone.  ha ha!  My co-workers are fabulous & the kids I'm working with are precious.  The school is divided into 13 (or 14?) classrooms.  There is one Kindergarten class & two or three Pre-K classes.  The rest of us are preschool for 2 & 3 year olds.  I have kids who are turning 3 this Fall, so they're all "almost" 3.  Most of my kids have birthdays in Sept-Nov, so they're 3 the majority of the school year.  I love what I do!  I might one day go to working w/ the PreK kids at the (public) school, for now I'm happy where I am.

Savannah is loving all that 6th grade brings.  She is having fun in band & is doing quite well w/ her horn.  I'm actually beginning to hear some notes that sound musical these days.  She still has plenty of "moose" noise going on, but it's beginning to sound like it should.

Samuel is doing well in 2nd grade.  He is not a big fan of reading or anything that has to do with language & I'm beginning to wonder about dyslexia with him.  Since it definately runs in our family, I'm keeping an eye on him.  His handwriting is AWFUL, spelling is worse.  He can read pretty well once he gets "into" it but he has no desire to do it on his own.  I thought that as he got a little older, that would all get easier for him, but instead it's just a continued struggle.  I'm still wondering if this is just an area he'll always have to work extra hard at to make the grade or if there is really some sort of problem.  This page describes Samuel to a "T":  http://www.dys-add.com/symptoms.html  (well, about 85% of it anyway)  I'm sending an email to the awesome dyslexia lab teacher that helped Andrew.  She works at Samuel's school in the mornings, so I'm going to get her to evaluate him & see what she thinks.  Other than that, he's doing fine.  He loves school & enjoys playing with his friends and all the other things that being in 2nd grade brings.

Sarah is doing great.  Her teacher tells me that she is very polite & sweet at school and always finishes her work quickly.  Most of this first six weeks is a review, so maybe once they hit new material she'll be a little more challenged.  For now, she's just having fun!  While she isn't doing anything extracurricular after school, she enjoys our little Shady Lane social group (as Larry & I call it) every day.  It's so cute to see all the bigger girls (mostly all about 8-11 years old) playing with her like she's a big kid.  They're all really good girls, so I'm not worried about her being negatively influenced.

All in all, life is good.  We're so richly blessed in so many ways!  God has His hands in our life and it's obvious every day.  I'm so grateful for my life & my family!

B&N gift card

I don't know who is responsible for making my day yesterday, but if it was you....THANK YOU!  Can't wait to use it on some Karen Kingsbury stuff!

Work, work, work....

I just realized that I really haven't posted anything since I started working.  I don't have very long now, but I wanted to get in a little bit of a blog post!  (it's 8am as I type this & I have to leave in about 45 minutes!)

Work is going real well.  I take the kids to school & have time to run home, start a load of dishes and/or laundry & finish getting myself ready and then I leave & head to work about 8:45.  I have kiddos from 9:30-1:00 & then clean up my room, prep for the next day & head home by about 1:45 usually.  I then have about 45 minutes in the afternoon to rest before heading off to go pick up kids from school.  We spend our evenings doing homework & extracurricular stuff.  Tonight is Samuel's first night back to Cub Scouts w/ Larry and Sarah is going to try out Girl Scouts tonight.  Savannah & I are going to tag along to see what it's like.  Savannah had dance Tuesday night & is thrilled that they chose a HSM2 song for her class!

All in all, everything is going well with everyone!

I'll post more later.  It's 8:05.  Gotta go get ready & out the door!

Savannah & her french horn

He is faithful

Tonight on my way home from the grocery store, I was listening to my Chris Tomlin CD & was once again stunned by his song "Everlasting God".  Every time I hear it, I get into a worshipful mode.  Now, I'm not talking about the typical worship as in what you'd think of in a church service.  I'm talking about true worship.  God doesn't just ask us to worship Him in church services.  Our lives are to be spent worshiping Him.  I can worship through honoring my family's needs & working to earn a paycheck.  I can worship Him through living by the standards that are set for me.  I can worship Him by living a life that tells other people something is different about me, therefore making them want to have a little of what I've got.  They may not realize it, but that "something" is GOD.  Anyway, I digress.  The point I was making is that worship does not just mean standing in a church service & worshipping in whatever style your church worships.  When I hear this particular song, my heart leaps out of my chest, my face can't contain the smile He produces in me.  My hands are raised (try that one on for size while driving!  ha ha).  I can't sit still...I'm wiggling & dancing as I drive because I can't hold in my JOY for Jesus.  It's almost as if I see His face before me and the JOY that comes from His presence is so overwhelming that I can't help but let it out!  I want to reach out & touch Him, to physically TOUCH His presence.  That, my friend, is worship.  And when you experience it, you can't help but shout & dance and sing.

The anthem of the song is that God is everlasting.  He's on the throne.  His love endures, no matter what.

In times of pain, He loves me. 

In times of joy, He loves me. 

In moments of fear, He loves me. 

In seasons of grief, He loves me. 

In times of celebration & excitement, He loves me. 

In the times of happiness when life is good & I barely acknowledge Him at all, He loves me. 

When I mess up, He loves me. 

When I do well, He loves me. 

When I fall down, He loves me. 

When I lose a friend to cancer and I cry & ask WHY, He loves me. 

Worse--when a friend loses their child to cancer & I ask again, WHY, He loves me.

Worse yet -- when more than one friend loses their child to cancer & I ask WHY, He still loves me.

When I stand in church with my arms outstretched in worship, He loves me. 

When my children give me reason to scream, He loves me. 

When my children give me a reason to CHEER, He loves me.

His love for me is not conditional.  It is not bound by my feelings on that day or my circumstances at that moment.  He loved me when He formed the earth.  He loved me when He created man.  He loved me when He walked on the earth.  He loved me when He died for me.  He loved me when He ascended to Heaven.  He loved me when my mother was born.  He loves me now, He loved me then, He loved me before I was even formed in my mother's womb.  His love is truely EVERLASTING, constant, eternal.

He is faithful to me when I am faithless.  He is faithful to me when I ask Him "WHY".  He is faithful to me when I need Him, and faithful to me when I don't think I need Him.  He is faithful.  He doesn't sway, He doesn't blow with the breeze.  He is faithful to me when I screw up.  He is faithful to me when I am laughing.  He is faithful to me when I cry.  He is God, He is EVERLASTING.

When I am sick, He is God.  When my child is hurting, He is God.  When I ache & mourn, He is God.  When family members die, He is God.  When a child is born, He is God.  When I lay down at night to rest and when I rise in the morning, He is God.  When I honor Him and when I don't, He is God.

He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last.  The everlasting Father, the Holy, righteous, blameless, pure spotless sacrifice for MY blunders...for MY faults...for MY sins.

Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord!  He is FAITHFUL.

(partial lyrics to the song I am talking about here are below--I included the parts that really slap me in the face & throw me across the room to recognize how wild I am about Jesus--and maybe part of the worship experience is the actual music itself, so if you haven't heard this song, you ought to!)

Everlasting God Lyrics
Artist(Band):Chris Tomlin

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord

Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer

Chorus:  You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles

 

Would you believe it????

Can you believe this?  Today Samuel got in the car at school carrying (yes, you guessed it...) a fundraiser form!!!!!  They want him to sell candles while the girls sell cookie dough and discount cards!  Good grief.  You'd think the schools would at least stagger them so that I don't have three kids ALL selling something at one time!  Geez.....

Tuesday Sept 4

Have I ever shared how much I love school fundraisers?

Last year, Samuel finished up one fundraiser & took the money/order form to school to turn in.  I kid you not....the NEXT DAY he came home w/ a new fundraiser.  I threw it in the trash.  No way was I going to bug the same people all over again to buy more crap.

This year, on the first day of school, his teacher sent home a school newsletter that explained all the plans for the first month of school.  It mentioned a fundraiser.  I tried to just overlook that & read the rest, though.

WELL.....on Friday, Savannah brought home her first fundraiser for the year.  These are discount cards/coupon things for local restaurants mainly.  I emailed local friends/family & asked if they wanted one, but felt guilty for doing that much.  I know people get sick of hearing about what the school kids are peddling each week.

Today Sarah brought home a cookie dough fundraiser sheet.  Good grief.  You'd think the schools could coordinate their efforts & at least get these things in some sort of staggered order so that every kid in every neighborhood isn't selling something all at the same time.

Larry told me last night that Samuel's Boy Scout fundraiser (popcorn) will begin soon.  Not to mention the one that he will do for school apparently sometime this month.

The dance studio does a candle sale at some point.  At least w/ that one I can guarantee where the money goes!  It goes toward paying for her costume at recital time & her recital fees!  That one I may really pursue doing, if anyone can stand to see me show up at their doorstep by then!

As much as I hate selling stuff for the schools, I'm a total sucker for the kids who show up at my door.  If your kiddo sells something, let me know.  I always fall for a sweet face saying "can you buy a ....... for my school?".  Until then.....anybody want cookie dough or a local discount card for restaurants around here?

Update from yesterday's blog entry

Just so ya know....I got it done today!  (Well....Larry helped me with it.  He's such a good little house husband.  What a big help!)

I had the best of intentions, really....

I told Larry last night that I'd fold all our laundry today.  Really, I planned to.  But then....

I woke up to Sarah playing on the computer at the foot of the bed.  It was sorta late, but it was so nice to sleep in a little bit!  She saw Larry & I starting to move & quickly pounced on us with her pink blankie.  (I love that she still has the soft little Carter's blanket that she used as a baby...so sweet!)  She told us to wait while she made our breakfast, so we looked at each other & decided to see what it was she was up to.  In a couple minutes, she emerged with 2 little saucers full of mini-donuts.  I bought donuts for the kids to eat for breakfast & apparently she decided that we needed to eat ALL the leftovers.  ha ha!  :)  We dutifully got up & ate donuts til we couldn't stand any more & thanked her for her sweet gesture!  I got up & declared that I was off to fold the laundry.  That's when Larry reminded me that we had a swing set to assemble & set in concrete today.  Hmm....ok.  So I'll do the laundry after that.

We headed to hardware store.  After gathering the needed supplies for swingset assembly, we headed back home to put together this massive wooden thing we inherited from some friends whose son has outgrown it.  After spending the entire morning & early afternoon in the yard, we got the swingset into the holes, concrete poured & covered the concrete with dirt, surely it was time for me to fold the laundry.

Wait...you people want lunch?  Well, ok.  I hunted & gathered some frozen pizzas & served the nutritious delicacy to my family for lunch & then headed for the baskets. 

To my chagrin, my husband needed help cutting some limbs off trees in the yard, so out I went to hold the ladder & drag limbs with my sweetheart.  When we were done, the kids needed to have some rest time & Larry had some other manly outdoorsy work to do, so I headed inside to direct my offspring to their resting areas.  I quickly checked my email before letting Savannah get online (her favorite rest-time activity).  When I left my bedroom (where the computer is), I spotted the Avon box that was delivered yesterday.  Had to call mom about her order and wouldn't ya know that we ended up talking for 30 minutes.  By the time we hung up & I vacuumed the living room & started the dishwasher, it was nearly 5:30pm.  My darling hubby came in to ask for more help outside.  I helped him hook up the trailer to his truck & off he went to drop off limbs & sticks & twigs at my parents' house (they have a big burning pile we add stuff like that to).

When I walked in, someone again mentioned hunger and I realized that it was time to cook dinner.  I pulled out meat & threw it in the microwave to defrost, at about the same moment one of the kids reminded me that we needed to go to the dollar store for heir three $1 items to swap at church tomorrow.  Oh boy!  We really did need to get those before the Dollar General closed, so out the door we went with our partially defrosted meat waiting in the microwave.  ha ha!  It was still a pretty solid brick of ground venison when we left, so I knew that it would be safely thawing while we were gone, sealed away in the microwave so no germs (or flies!) could get to it.  We got our 3 items & came back home within half an hour.

I gathered up the other ingredients for my casserole and prepared it.  I still had to bake for 35 minutes, so while it baked, I pondered what veggie I'd put with it.  Being the undiagnosed A.D.D. patient that I am, somewhere between green beans & a salad, I remembered the laundry.  Ugh...it still wasn't even touched!  I went and started a load of laundry & got the kids to bring me their baskets from their bedrooms.  After sorting it all & starting a load, I headed back to the kitchen where I saw that the dishes needed to be taken out of the dishwasher & the others in the sink needed to be loaded.  Check!  Got that done real quick. 

Oh wait, I never figured out my veggie.  BEEP!  (that is my timer going off, telling me that the casserole is done)  CLICK  (that's my front door closing as Larry entered the house, back from his trip to drop off the limbs & sticks & twigs on the burn pile)  FLICKER!  (that's the lightbulb over my head as I got an idea!)  I pulled out the spinach/artichoke dip I got at the grocery store last night & paired it with some whole wheat crackers (2-3 per plate) and called it our vegetable!  It counts, right?

We all sat down & ate supper.  Afterwards, I sent the kids to start taking showers.  Larry andI talked for a little while.  It wasn't long til it was the kids' bedtime.  I made rounds tucking them in & headed to the kitchen where I realized that the dishes were still sitting there from supper.  Recognizing that Larry was then in the shower & the dishes wouldn't clean themselves up, I set about my domestic task of cleaning up the kitchen.

Somehow I'm drawing a complete blank of whatever I did between now & then, but let me tell ya.....I'm tired.  It's 10pm and there is no way I'm starting to fold all that laundry now.  Ya know why?  Because I usually fold it on my bed!  I'm tired.  I'm going to finish this up, take my shower & pass out here in a minute.

I guess that just goes to show that no matter how good your intentions are, being a wife & a mom is a 24 hour a day job that never ends.  Sometimes other things are more important and get in the way of the everyday tasks like folding the week's laundry.  (Yes, it's nearly a week's worth!)  Ya know, Monday is Labor Day so our church isn't having services tomorrow night.  Looks like I know what I'll be doing tomorrow evening.  Hmm....sounds like I'll be having my Labor Day one day early.  :)

It never ends, does it?