Great song

Tonight when I bought groceries, I picked up a new worship CD. It was in a clearance bin. I'm always looking for good worship music, so this one struck my fancy. One of the songs on it really hit home tonight. It's Mark Schultz's "Clean Hands". This is the video. The lyrics are below. It's what Larry calls a "7-11" song....meaning that the same 7 words are sung 11 times in a row. ha ha! It's more than 7 words long, but it does repeat the chorus over & over. I love the meaning of it, though, so I don't mind the repetition.



The video says that it's by Chris Tomlin, but the version I have is Mark Schultz. I realize you can read the lyrics on the video, but a few people who read my blog are still on dial up (hi mom!) so they can't see the video. For those folks, here are the lyrics:

We bow our Hearts
We bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes from evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
And God let us be
A generation that seeks
That seeks your face
Oh God of Jacob
And God let us be
A generation that seeks
That seeks your face
Oh God of Jacob

We bow our Hearts
We bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes from evil things
Oh Lord we cast out our idols

So give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
And God let us be
A generation that seeks
That seeks your face
Oh God of Jacob
And God let us be
A generation that seeks
That seeks your face
Oh God of Jacob
So give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Give us clean hands
Give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
And God let us be
A generation that seeks
That seeks your face
Oh God of Jacob
And God let us be
A generation that seeks
That seeks your face
Oh God of Jacob
Oh God of Jacob

We bow our hearts to you

Thurs Jan 29

::blink::
The month is gone. I can't believe that it's already been a month since 2009 began. And I feel like I just blinked & it was over. Wow.

I haven't "really" blogged in a while. I promise to (attempt to) do better in the coming week. We've just had a lot going on this week, so I haven't been feeling like posting. I'll catch everyone up soon!

Beautiful!

I love this! It's a letter from the Bush twins to Obama's daughters. No matter who you voted for, the sweetness of this video will not be lost on you!

Driving Lessons & Pinewood Derby Racing & Diamonds

When I was about 13 or 14, my dad put me behind the wheel of his truck for the first time & said I needed to start learning to drive. Now mind you, we lived in the middle of no where, so driving around in a pasture was not a big deal. I had ZERO chance of running into something or running over someone, so it was a good place to figure out the basics of driving. We only had standard transmission vehicles, too, so I figure if I had to start out driving a standard (which really means killing it every 6 feet for a long time!), it's best that I wasn't on a roadway to do it!

Today, my 12 1/2 year old got her first chance to do this. We went out to the lake on a whim to see how the level of the lake looked. We do this from time to time because during dry seasons, it's so low that you can see the bottoms of piers, boats sitting in mud on the dry ground, etc....and during heavy rain seasons, it's cool to see how much the water has risen. Anyway, while we were there, we were in this GIANT parking lot all by ourselves. There wasn't another soul around & I half jokingly said "Hey Savannah, want to drive?". Of course she wanted to! I got into the backseat & Larry did all the driving instruction. After slamming on the brakes the first couple of times, she got the hang of things & really did VERYYYYYYYY well. She made big circles around the parking lot for a long time with her little brother & sister making jokes in the backseat the whole time. Larry even had her drive in a straight line down a path of blacktop down the center of the parking lot to see if she could pulling off staying in a "lane". She did great! I was really proud of her, even if we were totally breaking the law by allowing a 12 yr old behind the wheel. Shhhh! :) Check out her mad driving skills!

Before the morning driving lesson, we went to Samuel's Cub Scout Pinewood Derby Race. This is his car. He called it The Patriot.

This is the group of Cub Scouts in his rank (Bear) that were racing a car. He's the 3rd one from the far end.

Each car was raced 4 times. In his four races, he got 3rd place twice & 4th place twice.

Tonight was the Pack meeting to hand out awards for this morning's race (speed, design, etc) but due to some unfortunate behavioral issues, he did not get to attend. Alas, he has a regular Scout meeting Monday night, so if he did get any awards, he will get them then.

As I mentioned in the end of my last post, I realized earlier tonight that one of the diamonds has fallen out of my wedding ring. I am sooooooo sad about this! I've had that ring on my finger for nearly 15 years now, so it feels so odd to take it off. The only times it has been off before was toward the tail-end of my first pregnancy when I was too swollen to wear it and once when we had it re-sized. I already feel naked without it! We decided it was best to take it off & not wear it until we can get it fixed. We are planning to do that for Valentine's Day. It appears that one of the little prongs that holds the diamond in is missing, so it has to have broken off & that's when the diamond fell out. Fortunately, it was one of the little diamonds on the side, not the big one in the middle, so it shouldn't cost a fortune to get it fixed....but still, it's my wedding ring! I'm just sick that it is messed up at all! 'Til it is fixed, it's locked away in our safe inside a ziploc baggie just in case any more diamonds decide to fall out! :(

The ABCs of Me

I saw this on my friend Kelley's blog & had to play along. See if you can figure out the ABCs of you.

A. Attached or single? very attached
B. Best friend? I have 3 of 'em.
C. Cake or pie? Cake, usually.
D. Dog or cat? I like them both, but I think I'm more of a dog person. I love my sweet puppy dog! (although he's 10 years old, so I'm not sure he qualifies as a "puppy")
E. Essential item? my computer, duh!
F. Favorite color? red
G. Gummy bears or worms? umm, I'm not sure. Not a huge fan of either one.
H. Hometown? The same one I live in now....which means I'm not gonna say! See, ya thought I might slip up, didn't ya?
I. Favorite indulgence? People magazine & a hot bubblebath (which I intend to do in a few minutes!)
J. January or July? January, hands down! July is HOT!
K. Kids? I have 3 & teach 12 others (this year anyway).
L. Life isn’t complete without? my husband
M. Marriage date? Aug 20, 1994
N. Number of brothers and sisters? 2 sisters
O. Oranges or apples? Depends on my mood. I like both!
P. Phobias? Going over a bridge in the car w/ my kids & trying to get everyone out & to the surface safely. Thank God they can all swim/doggy paddle enough to just about do it on their own now. This was a HUGEEEEEE fear when they were babies!!
Q. Quote? I can't think of a good one at the moment.
R. Reasons to smile? There are tons!! My husband, my home, my kids, my family, God's mercy & grace, my job...the list is lengthy!
S. Season of choice? Winter! (but I do enjoy the latter part of the Fall & early Spring, too!)
T. Travel dreams? I'm not picky. If I get to go somewhere & enjoy something beautiful with someone I love, it doesn't matter where!
U. Unknown fact about me? I *JUST* realized (like, 5 minutes ago!) that one of the little diamonds has fallen out of my wedding ring. I am soooooooo upset & am doing this goofy ABC thing to try to get it off my mind. :(
V. Vegetable? I like most vegetables.
W. Worst habit? I bite my nails.
X. X-ray or ultrasound? I have had both. Xrays of my right ankle & ultrasounds of my babies!
Y. Your favorite restaurants? Olive Garden, Red Lobster, LaHacienda
Z. Zodiac sign? Scorpio

sick folks

We went to the doc this afternoon for Samuel's ear check up. After 2 antibiotics, he's still got fluid in there. The doc said that it doesn't look "too" bad, but that he felt like we needed to go ahead & see the ENT. He prescribed another antibiotic because we all know that if he's got fluid in his ears on Friday, he'll have an infection by Saturday.....that's Murphy's law, Samuel style.

On another subject, Savannah's now feeling pukey & puney like I did last night. So far, she doesn't have fever, but I'm keeping an eye on her.

All better....well, mostly anyway!

All in all, from 2:30 yesterday afternoon til 6:00am today, I slept about 13 hours. I guess I needed it. I had a bit of fever & a funky-feeling tummy, no energy, no appetite, just a general blah feeling. Nothing really HURT, but I just didn't feel right. I am assuming I had a touch of a passing virus of some sort.

Today I'm not quite 100% better, but I do feel much better than I did yesterday. Thank goodness!

yuck

This afternoon on my way home from work, I was hit with waves of nausea. By the time I got home, I was soooo tired & felt like I needed a nap. I layed down for 30 minutes before I left to go get the kids and after getting them home, I layed down for almost 2 more hours....of course, I was interrupted & awakened a dozen times during that timeframe. When I got up, I had 101 fever, felt cold (but I often feel like that when I have fever) and the nausea was still there. No energy, fever, no appetite, nausea....is that the flu? Good grief I hope not.

I've called a sub for my class tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be good by Monday so I can get back to work!

Will it never end?

Ok, so Samuel's got the ear issues. Savannah's been coughing for about 2 days now. And now....Sarah's coughing again.

Samuel woke up this morning saying that his ears hurt. I finally convinced him to go to school on the promise that I'd pick him up when I got done at work. That was about 1:40, so it wasn't all THAT early (he usually gets out at 3:00), but it was enough to make him feel "safe" about going to school. I think he was OK...just wanted some mama time. He got more Motrin & Robitussin at bedtime tonight. He'll take the final dose of his antibiotic in the morning.

Savannah started coughing during the night on Monday night. Yesterday she coughed quite a bit & took some cough medicine. Last night she was coughing off & on all night long and woke up a zombie from it. She was able to go onto school, but by this afternoon she was falling apart, drawing tombstones & saying "I'm dying.....just shoot me now!" ha ha! Poor kid. She was pretty miserable. Tonight I doped her up. Benadryl to dry up all the drainage & help her SLEEP, Robitussin for the cough & Vicks on her feet & chest. She coughed a little when she first layed down, but totally stopped & is SNORING, so I know she's sleeping well! Praise the Lord!

Sarah has been FINE til tonight. She was coughing this evening, so she got a dose of Robitussin at bedtime, too. (I swear...it looks like a pharmacy on my kitchen counter right now!) She layed down & proceeded to cough & cough & cough & cough. When she got up to go potty I gave her a dose of her steroid inhaler, hoping it might help, but it didn't. It's 12:30am now & she seems to have finally stopped coughing....thank goodness. I was hoping she'd be able to sleep tonight. Maybe she will now!

You know, perhaps it has something to do with the weather (sarcasm intended!). Swinging back & forth from the 20s to the 80s in a single days' time.......shifting from thick coats to air conditioning in a matter of hours....it's crazy! That will mess with anyone's allergies & sinuses. Ya gotta love living in Eastern Texas. And just about the time it warms up & Spring hits....then it's hayfever season. Yahoo! (ha ha)

update on Samuel's ears

I talked to the pediatrician's nurse yesterday. I wanted to let them know that Samuel has another infection so they could put it in his chart. Since he will be done w/ this antibiotic on Thursday, we're going in Friday afternoon to let the pedi re-check his ears & see if the infection is totally cleared up. Whether it is or isn't, we're going to discuss calling the ENT w/ him then. We're hoping he can flip through his chart & tell us how many infections he's had in the past year so we'll know what we're really looking at. It seems like, in the past year or so, he's had several. Colds, sniffles, sneezes....it all tends to end up in his ears as an ear infection. If he does suggest going back to the ENT, the nurse said that they could probably call & pull some strings to get him in a little quicker than whatever luck we'd have if we call ourselves.

What a 24 hours!

Last night at about 5:00, Larry was called by a family from our church. The husband of this couple went to work Friday morning like usual. Throughout the day he began to feel run down & exhausted. That evening he went to the hospital because he felt so awful. He is a very healthy guy so he knew something was wrong. They began running tests & found his white count to be up in the 200,000+ range. They admitted him for more tests, suspecting leukemia. When Larry arrived at the hospital last night around 5-6pm, the oncologist was there, confirming the diagnosis of leukemia (AML). The doctor told them that this was a very aggressive form of leukemia & even advised them to begin praying. Larry stayed with them for a couple hours & came home.

At 10:00, they called him again. The gentleman had been moved to ICU as he had taken a bad turn. He went & stayed with them for an hour or so, praying with them & offering comfort.

At 1:45am, the man died. Just like that (snap!). I find it shocking that Friday morning he didn't even know he was sick. Less than 48 hours later, he was gone.

As Larry left the hospital about 3am, he ran into another family from church who had a family member there on life support. He stayed with them until about 5am, then came home. Since he was up most of the night, he stayed home to sleep this morning while the kids & I went to church.

Halfway through Sunday School, Samuel came & found me. He was holding his left ear telling me that it hurt really bad. He said "I think it's infected again." Unfortunately he just finished an antibiotic for a double ear infection last weekend & on Wednesday when we went to the doctor, his ear was infection-free. I thought it was odd that his ear was hurting now, though, because he had seemed fine before church & on the drive to church. I hugged him, loved on him a little & promised that we'd go to the doctor if he still felt bad later. I sent him back to SS & told him to come find me if he still felt bad when worship service began. Sure enough, just a few minutes into the church service, Samuel came walking in to find me, holding his ear & almost crying "It hurts!!!!". I gathered up our stuff, picked up Sarah from children's church & headed to the urgent care/after hours place. After waiting for about 2 hours, we saw a doctor and....sure enough...his left ear is "blazin' red". :::sigh::: He's on Zithromax now. I'm beginning to wonder if it's not time to call the ENT again & talk about the possibility of him needing tubes again. They worked wonders for him when he had them before. Most kids outgrow the need for tubes when their body grows, but Samuel is still a teeny little guy, so I guess we just haven't reached that point yet.

When I left the church to go to the clinic, I called Larry to tell him what was going on. I woke him up but he was happy to come sit with us for a little while before going to the hospital to visit the 2nd church family who he saw in the wee hours of this morning. We ended up getting back home at about the same time.

We layed down for a short nap but the phone rang. The church alarm was going off. Up Larry went again. He drove to the church & locked the unlocked doors & reset the alarm and drove back home. About the time he walked into the front door, his phone began to ring again. The lady he'd visited this morning & this afternoon passed away. He's back at the hospital now.

You know...sometimes life comes at you a little at a time. Sometimes it seems to hit all at once. The past 24 hours have been like that...a thousand things all at once. And while it's been hectic for us, it is my sweetest joy to see my husband going to the hospital to comfort a family at a time when they need a strong arm to hold them up & a shoulder to cry on. I am so proud of him. This is the reason he followed a call into ministry. I'm so glad he was obediant to that call.

Please join me in praying for the 2 families who have lost a loved one in the past 24 hours. And please pray for Samuel's healing. Luckily, the kids & I are all off work/school tomorrow so we'll have a chance to rest a little.

Saturday Jan 17, 2009

This morning was Samuel's 2nd basketball game w/ the YMCA. He's doing great. Despite a slight head injury this morning, everything went great. (honestly, he was knocked down & konked his head on the concrete floor enough to scare the coaches and all of us who were watching, but after a couple minutes, he was totally OK & got back into the game)


After the basketball game, it was time to get our annual "Leaf Party" started. You see, we live on a very heavily wooded street. The street name even has to do with all the trees. And because of all those trees, we also have a ton of leaves!

We get all of the kids involved each year, taking turns w/ the leaf blower, rakes, wheel barrow & whatever else needs to be done.


King was our audience today. He walked back & forth, watching us rake & blow leaves...but he mostly stayed in this position. Have I mentioned how much we love this dog?

Sarah had a good time raking with me, stopping to grin & twirl her rake around fairly often. I think that, truth be told, *I* raked the entire backyard. But I did have some help. Part of the time.


Samuel used the leaf blower for a while. It was hilarious because we could all hear him "singing" over the noise of the blower. And let me tell ya...that was some (umm....) lovely singing we heard. I'm not sure what song it was, but he was singing at the top of his lungs.



We have a giant rock garden in the front yard. We created it by hauling in 2 tons (seriously, 2 tons!) of rocks, one shovelful at a time from the trailer that Larry drove to the rock place to buy the rocks. It was a major job. In the end, we had extra rocks, so they went into a big pile in the backyard. That was 3 1/2 years ago. We've taken some & used them for this project or that project over the years, but most of them have ended up sinking into the ground. Larry needed some rocks to use for another landscaping project, so one of today's jobs was to get down on the ground in the area where we had stacked them & dig for rocks to fill up this bucket.


Each of the kids took turns digging up rocks. At one point, all five of us were on our hands & knees digging for rocks. I told them that I'm sure everyone driving by was wondering what on earth we were doing. Larry joked "just tell 'em I lost a contact."

Speaking of Larry's sillyness, we all got a little goofy & were taking pictures being funny. Sarah snapped these two pictures of Larry & I.



We weren't even totally done at this point......that's ALL leaves.

To give you a little perspective on how big of a pile that is, compare it to my 12 yr old child.

Luckily, our town offers a service to pick up the leaves for you. If you'll get them to the curb in a big pile, they have a big vacuum truck that will come by & suck them up!

By the time we were done, my biceps were screaming & we were all tired! It was a great day!

Have you ever....?

I saw this on a friend's blog & thought I'd play along. I've starred the ones I've done.

Have you ever...

1. Started your own blog **(well, duh!)

2. Slept under the stars (does it count if we were inside a shelter? It wasn't fully enclosed, so we were sorta camping....right?)

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii **

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity **

7. Been to Disneyland **

8. Climbed a mountain **

9. Held a praying mantis (No, but only b/c I haven't ever been a position to do so. Holding bugs doesn't bother me.)

10. Sang a solo** (as a LITTLE girl!)

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm **

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child** (well...sort of.)

16. Had food poisoning (I'm not sure.)

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty**

18. Grown your own vegetables **

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight **

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort (hello? This is TEXAS we're talking about!)

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset **

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors **

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied **

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing**

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke.**

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain**

53. Played in the mud **

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business ** (I was an Avon rep for years.)

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen **

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason **

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I sure wish that I could!!!!)

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check **

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial**

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square**

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper **

85. Read the entire Bible **

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox **

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one **

94. Had a baby **

95. Seen the Alamo in person**

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit**

98. Owned a mobile phone **

99. Been stung by a bee **

100. Read an entire book in one day **

Thurs Jan 15

Whew...much better! Last night, I took 1 Benadryl & Robitussin. I put Vicks VapoRub on my chest AND my feet (if you don't know the story behind that, ask me) AND I stacked myself up on 3 pillows. And ya know what? I don't think I coughed a single time all night long!!! And I slept good!

Funny thing is... I react SO strongly to antihistamines. If you don't know, antihistamines serve to dry up extra fluids/mucous (along with other things, but that's one of the things they do) ...and it worked so well that I had to get up twice during the night to go potty & was SOOOOOO thirsty all day today. Larry laughs at me because I'm such a lightweight where medicines are concerned. He takes 2 Benadryl every night to help him sleep. I took ONE & was still feeling the effects of it 18 hours later. LOL! I've drank a million gallons of water all day long. Even now as I type this, I am thirsty. Boy.....it worked...and it worked & worked & worked.

I did cough a little today but NOTHING like I had coughed a couple days/nights ago. Wow!

Tonight was the 3rd grade parents' TAKS meeting at the school where Samuel & Sarah go. For you non-Texans, TAKS is the devil. Wait, what I mean is TAKS is the standardized test that children in Texas must take. It starts at 3rd grade. At the 3rd grade level, if you don't pass the reading portion of the test, you fail the 3rd grade. It is SUCH a stressful test for the kids (& the parents!). Now mind you, Savannah is in 7th grade so we've been through the TAKS tests with her for a few years now. She always aces the whole thing with no effort. That's just who Savannah is. But Samuel is a whole different kid. He is not a fan of reading. It's not that he hates to do it or that he WON'T do it, it's just not his "thing". He doesn't get sucked into books like some people do. He could care less if he owned any books. (He does like comic books, though, so I'm going with it as often as I can find a comic book!) Anyway, tonight they showed us some of the 2006 reading test & wow......this is a hard test. The entire thing is 4 lengthy passages, each followed by a bunch of questions. It's not the questions that will stump him. It's the mile-long reading passages. I'm fairly certain that he will read about the first 2 paragraphs, get bored with it & just skip over to the questions where he will GUESS at the answers & then wonder later why didn't do well.

The math section is a whole other story. There are NO straight outright math questions like 26 + 17= ____. EVERY question is written in story problem form with a chart/graph/picture or whatever to illustrate it. Often there is extra info thrown in for the sole purpose of tricking the kids & confusing them...making them pull out the correct info to solve the problem. Now to ME, it sounds like a fun test. I *enjoy* Sudoku & Logic puzzles, so things like this test intrigue & challenge me. But then again, I'm not a 3rd grader (8-9 years old!) who is terrified of failing the test. Thankfully, this year is not one of the years where the Math portion will make or break things. That comes later on when the kids are a bit older. They do take the math portion of the test & they certainly try to pass it, but if they don't, it doesn't factor into whether or not they pass or fail the grade.

Anyway, we're a little worried about this "big" test. It's March 3rd. Will you join us in praying for Samuel's focus & understanding between now and then? He really *must* pull this off. Worse case scenario -- If he does happen to fail the test, he has a 2nd chance to take it April 29th. If he were to STILL fail it then, he has a 3rd chance in summer school in July. We are praying & believing that he won't even need the 2nd chance -- that he will ace the test on the first try!! Join us, please!

Wed Jan 14

I didn't sleep much last night because I spent the majority of the night coughing. When I lay down, my sinuses drain and I cough. yuck. Funny thing...when I am up during the day, I don't cough & don't even have a runny or stuffy nose. I know it's all allergy-related. Grrrr...how annoying.

Today I got to work & (thankfully) made it through the morning circle time/art/snack before I got the phone call from the school nurse. Apparently Savannah had already tried to call Larry and when he couldn't leave to come get her, she called me. When I picked up the phone, I knew she felt horrible. I could hear it in her voice. I asked what was wrong & she said she had felt like she was going to throw up all morning. She had spent most of her morning in the bathroom, leaning over a toilet. Poor kid! I went to pick her up. When I got there, she looked OK so I asked her to tell me again what was wrong. She described her symptoms this way:

*The muscles behind my eyes feel really tight & it hurts. (sinus pressure?)
*I have a headache. (sinus pressure!)
*I feel like I'm going to throw up. (sinus drainage!)

We came home & I gave her some sinus medicine. She spent most of the day laying down, playing her Nintendo DS or reading. She played on the computer a little bit too. In the meantime, I tried to sneak in a short nap to make up for getting 4 hours' sleep last night. It didn't do me much good though. I just layed there & coughed my head off. :::sigh:::

After school, we went to the pediatrician for Samuel's follow-up appointment. He had a double ear infection 2 weeks ago. While his ears are clear now, he's still got some congestion & is coughing some. When he does, it sounds 'productive' and he says that he's spitting out "gunk"...which means he's still got some drainage & yuck going on, too. The pediatrician said that his ears are clear "for now"...but that he's on the train to getting another infection based on the cold symptoms he's still having. We're holding off on doing any further med's with him right now. He said to go ahead & run the humidifier in his room at night and continue to treat the congestion/drainage stuff. Hopefully we can ward off another ear infection. If we don't, we may have to consider doing another set of tubes for this little man considering that he's had quite a few ear infections again in the past year. He *should* be outgrowing the age to need tubes, BUT he is also a teeny tiny little guy, so his body is not up to the almost-9 year old size that it should be, therefore his ears are still teeny & functioning as a teeny person's might. I'm hoping that with Spring on the way, we can avoid another ear infection!

We met Larry for supper after the doctor's appointment and then headed home, instead of going to church. With Savannah halfway sick, Samuel still recovering, me feeling droopy....it just seemed like a better idea. It was 6:00 before we got home & the kids still hadn't opened their backpacks yet. We're just relaxing now.

cough, cough, cough, cough....

See the title line? That's me.

I've got sinus drainage & can't stop the stupid coughing. It's not quite as bad during the day, but nighttime is horrible. Last night was the worst. I realized that cough medicine only lasts for 4 hours...then you wake up coughing your head off & have to go take more. ugh... I think I'm going to Walgreen's today to see if I can find a longer-acting cough medicine. Maybe Nyquil! :::yawn::: Gotta go get ready for work.

beautiful song

I have fallen in love with this song. I know it's not a new one, and you've probably heard it before, but if you haven't really listened to the words, take a minute & listen to it this time. It's beautiful.



The lyrics:
Lord I have a heavy burden of all I've seen and know
It's more than I can handle
But your word is burning like a fire shut up in my bones and I cannot let it go
And when I'm weary and overwrought with so many battles left unfought

I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

Lord it's all that I can't carry and cannot leave behind
it often overwhelms me but when I think of all who've gone before and lived the faithful life
their courage compells me
And when I'm weary and overwrought with so many battles left unfought

I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars
I see the shepherd Moses in the Pharohs court
I hear his call for freedom for the people of the Lord
And when the Saints go marching in I want to be one of them
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

I see the long quiet walk along the Underground Railroad
I see the slave awakening to the value of her soul
I see the young missionary and the angry spear
I see his family returning with no trace of fear
I see the long hard shadows of Calcutta nights
I see the sisters standing by the dying man's side
I see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
I see the man with a passion come and kicking down the door
I see the man of sorrows and his long troubled road
I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
and when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
I want to be one of them
I want to be one of them
I want to be one of them

Personality test results

I took a little personality test on this site (click the thingy above). Of course, I pretty much knew this info already. :)

This info (below) is really what shocked me. It's way beyond accurate. I read this stuff & literally my jaw dropped. Whoa...this fits me to a "T"!

"ISFJs are characterized above all by their desire to serve others, their "need to be needed." In extreme cases, this need is so strong that standard give-and-take relationships are deeply unsatisfying to them; however, most ISFJs find more than enough with which to occupy themselves within the framework of a normal life."

"modest, not confrontational, easily hurt, observer, prone to crying, not spontaneous"

"ISFJs have a rich inner world that is not usually obvious to observers. They constantly take in information about people and situations that is personally important to them, and store it away. This tremendous store of information is usually startlingly accurate, because the ISFJ has an exceptional memory about things that are important to their value systems. It would not be uncommon for the ISFJ to remember a particular facial expression or conversation in precise detail years after..."

"At work, ISFJs contribute loyal, sympathetic, consistent, and considerate service to others. They are know for their kindness and for their willingness to go to any length to help those in need. They take the practical needs of people into account when they do their work, and their strong follow-through skills allow them to carry out organizational goals. They do at least what is expected to them and oftentimes more, without attracting attention to themselves. They are painstaking and responsible with detail and routine, and feel it is important to have the right things in the right places at the right times."

"The primary desire of the Protector SJ is to be of service to others, but here "service" means not so much furnishing others with the necessities of life, as guarding others against life's pitfalls and perils, that is, seeing to their safety and security."

Remember those 4 dead deer?

Between them, my dad & his friend ground just over 100 lbs of meat. We gave them some, but still ended up with 75+ pounds of ground meat in our freezer. When you add that to the (about?) 10 pounds we still have from the last deer, that adds up to a lot of ground meat! I am tickled. That means 85 meals that I don't have to buy the meat for. That's 85 times that I get to save paying $1-2 per pound for ground meat. That's a savings of (approx) $127.50! Wow.

(and this is not even anywhere close to all of it....I only took a picture of a few million of the bags)

It's happening.

This morning, I stood in the bathroom getting ready to put on my make up. I pulled my hair back in a headband & put on my SPF-laden moisturizer first & then my foundation. I put on my eyeliner, eyeshadow & then mascara. That's when it happened. I was holding my little hand mirror to see my eyelashes because, after all, my eyes just aren't what they used to be. No more standing 3 ft. from the mirror & actually hitting my LASHES with the mascara wand. I've got to either have my little hand mirror or I have to lean across the counter to get inches from the big mirror. Anyway, I was putting on my mascara when I saw it. A little hair. Not up in my hairline or in my eyebrows. At first I thought it was a hair falling into my eyes from the hairline so I brushed it out of the way. When it fell down a second time, I pulled against it & realized that.....OH MY GOSH...it was connected to the MIDDLE OF MY FOREHEAD!!

When did this happen? Since when am I old enough to have hair growing in all sorts of weird places? About 5 years ago, in my late 20s, I discovered the womanly joy of having to use a (ahem...) facial hair remover cream. Thank God I sell Avon & can buy it from myself without having to hand it to the checkout lady at the drugstore who will immediately eyeball my upper lip to see why I'm buying such a product. But when did I start growing hairs in the MIDDLE OF MY FOREHEAD? Good Lord...the next thing ya know, I'll be plucking chin hairs or using my husband's ear & nose hair trimmer.

I realize that I'm aging. I really am at peace with my age. It's just a number & doesn't bother me. I don't mind getting these nice little lines around my eyes. It doesn't bother me too much that my nephew---the one that was born when I was 11 years old-- is now old enough to be married & expecting his first child. I don't mind that I have to wear my glasses when I drive & that my sight is getting progressively worse. I'm not really shocked that I can't sleep on the living room floor anymore without regretting it afterward. The whole idea of "getting older" doesn't really phase me.

But really... forehead hairs were NOT on my list of things that I expected. Sagging & drooping, wrinkles & gray hair.....but FOREHEAD hairs? yikes! No one warned me about that!

Jan 5-6

On Monday morning, Larry had a medical procedure. No big deal, they didn't find any problems, all is well. But the after-effects of anesthesia on this big teddy bear of a man I married were quite humorous! I won't go into all the details here, but trust me... Larry is a funny drunk!

When we got home, there was a package on the porch containing a book I ordered a couple weeks ago. I was so excited to get it & read a good portion of it last night. It is called 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny. It's a book of funny (& some sweet or inspirational) stories written by this teacher, Phillip Done. For any teacher in your life, this is a great gift. He/she will love it! I don't teach 3rd grade, but the things he talks about aren't specific to one grade level or another. He talks about the types of teachers & classrooms (the Shock, the Hospital, the Piler, the Chi, the Natural & the Model Home) and I've already pegged most of the teachers at my school. And just so ya know...if you read this book, I am so Mrs. Wilson. ha ha! Don't hate me for it. :) You can get it cheap here.

Today was my first day back at work after a nearly 3 week long break. Wow. That's a long time to be off work. It was great, though. Today was a good first day back. The kids were ready to be back in school and I was tickled to see all their little sweet faces. We started the Winter unit, learning about winter weather this week. Next week, it's winter animals (polar bears, penguins, etc). Today we made Koolaid & ice paintings. Sprinkle the Koolaid powder on paper & rub ice over it. It smells fruity, makes a cool picture....and oh, by the way....stains your hands like crazy! ha ha! I'm hoping that by sometime next week my fingers won't still be purple.

I'm sleepy so I'm going to go crash now & read some more of my book. Have a good one!

4 Dead Deer

There's something special about seeing my kids' faces light up & giggles abound when this pulled up in front of my house today. Are we country folks or what?

Sincerely...we were excited. 4 deer means that I won't be buying ground meat for a longgggggg while! Thank you, Parkers!!

Saturday, Jan 3

On Christmas Eve, Samuel started complaining off & on of a sore throat. He was coughing occasionally at night, but then again, so was Sarah. I put the humidifier in both of their bedrooms at night & dosed them up w/ cough medicine & Motrin when they needed it. And that was that.

Slowly, Sarah's cough tapered off & went away altogether, but Samuel continued to complain of a sore throat. On Wednesday, when Larry got up to go to work, Samuel was already up & in the living room watching TV (this is NOT out of the ordinary for our little man...he wakes up with the chickens!). Larry took one look at his limp-as-a-dishrag appearance & came to wake me up. He said that he felt like Samuel had gotten worse all the sudden. He had that "look" of a sick kid. I took him to the doctor that morning & sure enough, he had a ton of fluid on both ears. The doc said he was surprised that he could hear us at all with all the fluid in there. While his ears technically weren't infected, given his history of (TONS OF) infections, the doc went ahead & wrote me a Rx. Considering that the next day was a holiday ---and I think we all know that a kid who's "almost" sick will inevitably become very much sick on a holiday when all the doc's offices are closed & the only option is to visit the mucho expensive ER--- I went ahead & filled the Rx and began giving it to him. Since then, he has had ups & downs. He seems perfectly fine one minute, playing & running & being your average typical crazy boy....and then he falls apart the next. Tonight I was looking at his eardrums & his left one is bulging. Gosh I hope these antibiotics kick in & kill off the yuck quick. I'm giving him Motrin too (for the pain) & if his eardrum still looks yucky tomorrow, I'm adding an antihistimine to it, too....gotta get that fluid dried up! He goes back to school Monday morning. I don't want him to feel yucky then.

On New Year's Day, we went to Larry's hometown to have a traditional New Year's lunch with his family. Honestly, it was the first time I've ever done the whole black eyed peas & cabbage thing...and it wasn't too bad after all. I kinda expected it to be gross, but Mammaw passed the test again with her awesome country cookin'. We also had sweet potatoes & cornbread. yum!

Savannah went out of town to visit her girlfriends on Wednesday. We just picked her up today. It's always such sweet fun to see the way she & these girls interact as we leave after a visit. You see, they moved away the summer after they were all in 1st grade. Remember...she's in 7th grade now, so it's been a long time since they left. Beginning about a year after they moved, she began going for a visit in the summer. Over the years, those visits have stretched out to Spring Breaks, Christmas holidays, summer & just about any other extended school break that they can fit a visit into. It's hard to believe that these girls are still so close & love each other so much after all these years of living in different towns, but they are. Today when we left them, their mom told Savannah that they are hoping to book a month-long visit this summer. ha ha! They love having her there & she loves going...but they may have to start charging rent for her visits. :)

As the holiday break winds to an end, I'm sad. It's always this way after a break from work/school. I love my mornings of sleeping a little later, hanging out in my pajamas all morning, having time to cook breakfasts that are just too time-consuming during the school days. But alas, it is that time. Monday morning will mark our first morning back after nearly 3 weeks off! But I'm not TOO worried. I'll only be at work for 2 weeks til I get another long weekend....and Spring Break is right around the corner....

January 1st, 2009

Someone sent me this in an email & I saw it posted on a friend's blog today. I love the questions, so I'm going to share it with you here!

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
I went to Moberly, MO to meet Bethany in person for the first time. :) (Notice I said "for the first time"? I'd love to go back!) We also had our first Stay-cation! It was awesome!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't think I made any, so it wasn't any trouble keeping them. ha ha!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes...Alyssa had her sweet baby Julianna and there were a few new babies at church this year. But most of my closest girlfriends have either finished having babies or they haven't started yet. Total opposite ends of the spectrum, I know....but I love it. I can celebrate w/ the new mommies and compare notes w/ the others.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No one who was super close, but I have "felt" the deaths of so many...friends of friends, family members of friends, etc. So many prayers for dying children & adults were lifted this year.

5. What countries did you visit?
Just this one that I live in! :)

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Gosh, I don't know. I feel pretty blessed already.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
early May 2008, on a Sunday morning before we went to church -- Sarah asked Jesus into her heart (can't remember the exact date at the moment, but it was a great day!)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Being voted "Teacher of the Year" in May was pretty awesome, but SO far beyond that was completing another year as my husband's wife and my children's mom. I consider my family to be my biggest mission field & having made it through another year with great joy & blessing is a such a sweet variety of success.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Hmm...I don't know. I mean, I always wish I'd spend more time on the important things & less time on the silly stuff, so maybe time management?

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
nothing major

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Gas & groceries throughout all the months when gas was nearly $4/gallon! ha ha!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My sister & brother in law's. They accepted a 2nd foster child into their home this year...and we're all so glad they did!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
No one personally, but I could name a few politicians & celebrities!

14. Where did most of your money go?
See #11! ha!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My trip to Missouri in August. I probably drove Bethany nuts for a month in advance of my arrival. With a daily e-card & countdown on myspace, she was probably just hoping that the trip would come & go and be over with ASAP. ha ha!

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Rachel Lampa-- Blessed

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? about the same, unfortunately
c) richer or poorer? about the same

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
exercised, eaten better, spent more time with family

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
wasting time

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Scroll back a few days in the archives. :)

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Every day...with my husband!

22. What was your favorite TV program?
HGTV's House Hunters

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
no

24. What was the best book you read?
Karen Kingsbury's "Sunset"

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
"One of these Days" by FFH (love that song!)

26. What did you want and get?
a massage gift certificate (got it for Christmas!)

27. What did you want and not get?
tee hee...the list is long, but it's all stuff that I don't NEED.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
can't remember

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 33 in November. The family took me out to eat. I got to watch Samuel attempt to eat crab legs...which was hysterical.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Gosh, I don't know. It was a really great year. Maybe a vast fortune falling in my lap?

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
quite casual most of the time

32. What kept you sane?
a loving relationship with God, prayer, good music, my precious husband, naps on the weekend, bubble baths with a good book

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Sarah Palin was awesome to watch this year!

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
The Presidential election

35. Who did you miss?
friends & family who have passed away

36. Who was the best new person you met?
all my new online buddies

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Count your blessings every day. Look around you & recognize the little joys of life; there are more than you may realize. Laugh every day.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
same song I mentioned above (Rachel Lampa--Blessed)

Verse 1: I may never climb a mountain so I can see the world from there
I may never ride the waves and taste the salty ocean air
Or build a bridge, that would last a hundred years
But no matter where the road leads
One thing is always clear

Chorus:
I am blessed, I am blessed
From when I rise up in the morning
Til I lay my head to rest
I feel You near me
You sooth me when I'm weary
Oh Lord, for all the worst and all the best
I am blessed

Verse 2:
All along the road less traveled, I have crawled and I have run
I have wandered through the wind and rain until I found the sun
The watching eyes asked me why, I walked this narrow way
I will gladly give the reason
For the hope I have today

(chorus)

Bridge:
You've given me joy
You've given me love
You give me strength when I want to give up
You came from Heaven to rescue my soul
This is the reason I knowI know

(chorus)