Game Night Group

Posted October 4th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

One of my dear friends, Theresa is moving to North Carolina. Her last day here will be Friday.

As a going away gift, our Game Night Group met to get a picture of the group. Jill is the only one missing.

B took these pictures (Thank you, my loving husband!) and I couldn’t decide which one I liked the most, so I printed them both for each of us.

On the front row is Lisa and Theresa. Kari, Margaret, Cheryl, Donna and I are on the back row.

Some of us have been together for over 4 years and will hate to see Theresa move. Our group started out playing Bunco once a month and now we meet on the second Thursday evening of the month and the hostess picks what game we play. We have played a variety of games including Trivial Pursuit, Bingo, Left-Right-Center, and of, course, Bunco, just to name a few. Some months we just get together for dinner and chit chat. It is always a wonderful time full of laughter and I wouldn’t intentionally miss a single time. The last time I missed was because I had pink eye and was VERY upset!!

Girls - you mean a lot to me and you are very special!!

10.4.2008

Posted October 4th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

There is a major difference in being able to “get out about town” with just 1 child vs. 2 children!

For example, I was able to:

1.  Get J’s hair cut on Tuesday AND take him to story time at the library

2.  Take J to the dentist AND the eye doctor on Thursday

3.  AND go to Walmart with just J and GET DONE in under 1 hour!

However, poor C has been needing a haircut for several weeks and I finally managed to get him to the salon this afternoon.  Even the hairdresser mentioned that C definitely needed a haircut!  (yes, it was getting THAT long…)  Also, Fall Break is coming up in a couple of weeks and I have C set up for a dentist appointment.  He had his eyes checked before school, and at school and his eyes are fine.

J is really enjoying his 1-1 time and I am learning more about him and his abilities.  Just today J brought me a book and started sounding out words in it!  I am going to have to find him a book that is easy for him to work on sounding out words this next week.

At the dentist, J’s teeth look great (except for the missing one.)  The dentist said that he is really looking forward to the adult tooth coming in, so we can stop worrying about spacing.

At the eye doctor, J doesn’t need glasses, but we need to do exercises with him to strengthen his eye muscles.  When the doctor used her finger for J to follow from closer to her to closer to J, he stopped following her finger about 2 inches from his nose.  (This is why we have noticed him covering one eye sometimes when he does school work - to make his “double vision” go away.  As J sometimes sits too close to the table.)  We will be doing the exercises with him for several months and his eyes should be fine by then.

Not much else has been going on here.  In kindergarten C received 2 G’s in conduct and 3 E’s.  Since he received more E’s than G’s, he is going to get to watch Star Wars Episode 2 with B this weekend.  J and I are going to watch the Jungle Book, as neither of us has seen it.  (There is too much violence in Star Wars for J, so C and B will watch Star Wars in our bedroom and J and I will be in the living room.)

I finished painting the hallway that leads to the bedrooms.  I don’t know if I mentioned that B and I inadvertently picked out THE EXACT SAME COLOR that was already on the walls.  The only difference is that the new paint is in satin sheen as opposed to the flat sheen that was before.  This is much more washable.  The flat paint was horrible and washed off the sheetrock instead of being “cleanable.”  Now the walls are clean and fresh.  Very nice!

I also painted below the chair rail in the music room (we call it the music room as I have my piano in there.  It was designed to be a dining room.).  I finally had to tell B that I painted in there 3 days after the fact, as I couldn’t hold in my happiness.  I painted it a medium sage green.  With the cream color above the chair rail, it is really pretty in there.  I was able to move the piano and the secretary that we received from B’s paternal Grandma, but I was unable to move the bookcase, so I painted around it.  When we get the hard wood floors (hopefully in the spring or near future), I will finish painting the green.

This past week I had the piano man come out and tune my piano.  It sounds great now!!  I also had him sand down the edges on the keys, as some of them had gotten chipped due to little hands opening and closing the top of the piano, not so carefully.  Now the keys look great as well!

B is in our bedroom working on some web designs, so I need to quit typing and go put the kids in bed.  It has been a great day here.  I have had the windows open airing out the house and accomplished quite a few personal tasks.

Enjoy your week!

New Friend

Posted September 29th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

One of the joys of going to school is meeting new friends.  For the past few years, C and J have been playing with children that live next door or just with each other.  We had to go to school to learn that a very sweet boy lives just down the street in a cove.  I’m sure JT and C will be friends for a long time.

I went and had lunch with C one day a couple of weeks ago and he and JT sat together.  I also know that they sit together on the bus, and next to each other in school (maybe this is why C has gotten in trouble for talking…?).

A perk for me… JT’s mom is very sweet as well and I look forward to spending more time with her!

He IS Listening!

Posted September 28th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

This morning we went to church.  First B and I dropped off C and J in their respective Sunday School classrooms and then B and I went to our Sunday School class.  After Sunday School was over, B and I fetched C from his classroom to take him to “big church” with us.  (Yes, I know it is really called “the worship service,” but since I have called it “big church” since I was C’s age, it will always be “big church” in my mind.)

We had a guest speaker in the worship service today.  At one point, he made a joke about all his fat cells screaming out for Blue Bell ice cream.  C piped up with a very vocal “Yummy!” that everyone around us heard.  As he was coloring in a coloring book, I was unsure about how much he was listening.  Apparently, he was listening to everything being said, and comprehending it.  B turned bright red due to containing his laugh and from a bit of embarrassment.  It was a really cute moment.  It reminded me of being in big church, I’m guessing that I was about C’s age, for a revival.  The preacher was getting all fired up and said, “The devil is in this place!”

I spoke up, quite loudly (while looking all around), and said, “Mommy, where is the devil?”  (As, I was taking things quite literally and wanted to see the devil…)

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At another point in the sermon, C looked at the back of the pew in front of him.  There were two little cups in the cup holders (from the worship service earlier that morning where the Lord’s Supper was partaken) and C asked me what the cups were for.  I took him outside the sanctuary and explained to him the basics of Jesus breaking bread and drinking wine with his disciples before he was crucified and how we have the Lord’s Supper now in remembrance of Christ dying on the cross for our sins.  Also, that we have to accept Christ into our hearts before we can participate in the Lord’s Supper.  C said that “I’m ready to accept Jesus in my heart” but I’m not sure if he just wanted to participate, or if he is really ready.  I will talk with him more.  I was 6 when I accepted Christ, so C might be on the threshold.

As C has never been in a worship service where we did the Lord’s Supper, he didn’t know anything about it.  This is all part of the learning experience for him, as he is growing up.

In the coming days I will go into more detail with C, reading books to him and reading passages from the Bible to him, explaining this concept to him.  C was fine with not eating the little cracker and not drinking the grape juice, although he did want to see the “bread” and smell the “wine.”  (If I had been aware of today being the day to have the Lord’s Supper in church, I would have explained it to him last night, but this worked well.)

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This morning we watched two little girls being baptized and it was very special to me, as I personally know their parents, and went to the baby shower awaiting the birth of the oldest girl.  Watching their baptism visually “brought it home” for me that B and I are responsible for teaching C and J about Christ.  Wow.  Feeding my children physically is not enough.  I am responsible for feeding them spiritually as well.

And I will.

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At another point in the service, C reached his little arms up to B’s shoulder and up to my shoulder and said, “I’ve got both of you!”  :-)  Yes, you do, my dear, you have both of us, and we have you.

Pantry… Clean Up Thyself!

Posted September 27th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

Every now and then I refuse to purchase any groceries except the utmost necessities (milk, eggs, MEAT!, etc.).

I know it is time to purchase a full load of groceries when I run out of the luxury items.  Today was the day to find out that it is time to make a full grocery shopping list.

I didn’t have any powered sugar to make icing, so I borrowed it from my neighbor (thanks Sophia - I will get you another box very soon!), I was going to cook hamburgers, but I am out of hamburger buns, so I am currently defrosting steaks in the microwave, as the outside grill is on (with the initial intent to make hamburgers).  I have been intentionally ignoring these steaks in the freezer, as the last steaks we cooked from this batch, we cooked, tasted, cringed, and then threw over the fence the remainder of the cooked steaks for the animals.

As I was making the icing for the cake, I realized that we were also at the end of the Crisco.  As I was making some sides for our main course, now steaks, I chose a box of Pasta Salad (that had an expiration date of May, 2006 on it.  I wasn’t too concerned about the expiration date, as it is a dehydrated food.

While the pasta cooked, I made the dressing for the pasta and realized that the mayonnaise in the fridge was -like as old- as the pasta… Luckily I has the foresight at some point to purchase new mayo and it was in the pantry (see the need for a pantry clean-up?!)

Pause

The steaks are now on the grill.  Pasta salad is ready to consume.  B is monitoring the steaks that hopefully will be better than the last ones.  Oh, I neglected to mention that while the steaks were thawing in the microwave, I looked for steak seasoning.  Apparently, I am out of my favorite steak seasoning as well.  I went for a new seasoning that B loves.  It is called “Kick n’ Chicken.”  It has the neat little grinder on top to freshly grind the seasonings.  Hopefully it will be as good on steaks…

While the steaks cook, I will go put some rolls in the oven and make up a LONG list of necessities.

A Love Story

Posted September 26th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

I think it was back in February, near Valentine’s Day that K-Love Radio had a contest for people to send in their love stories and a famous singer would make a song for them.  I don’t remember who the singer was.  I did, however, enter the contest with this essay…

Many years ago when B and I were in first grade (1980), B’s mom came to school for a Thanksgiving party and, at one point while she was there, gently placed her hand under my chin for me to look up into her eyes.  She told me what beautiful blue eyes I had.  I now look at those deep, blue eyes when looking at my children; and that lovely lady is now my wonderful mother in law.

B and I went through grade school together up through 4th grade - when my family moved to the suburbs.  B and I were reunited at school registration for 6th grade, after his parents moved as well to the suburbs. 

It wasn’t until 9th grade that B and I had a class together.  We shared homeroom our freshman year in high school.  In January of that year (1989), B asked me to “go with him” and walked me to my classes while carrying my books.  Valentine’s Day approached and we exchanged gifts.  A mutual friend told B that I wasn’t pleased with my gift and that evening, he called me and broke up with me, without giving me an explanation.  I was confused and heartbroken. 

For years we didn’t speak, but traveled in the same group of friends.

In my junior year of college, my college Sunday school class went roller skating.  A mutual friend invited B.  He wouldn’t have come if he had known that I was to be there - same goes for me.  He was late getting to the roller rink, due to a car wreck.  (Fortunately he wasn’t hurt.  God was protecting my precious love.)

We were cautiously friendly to one another.  As the evening was ending, someone asked if he would like to go on the white water rafting trip that the Sunday school class was taking the next weekend.  B agreed.  He already had the Friday off of work - with no plans, he just somehow knew that he needed that day off of work. (God was working, still.)

The road trip to the Ocoee River was a little stressful, not knowing how to talk to each other.  However, that evening, we stayed up all night talking about that Valentine’s Day long ago and each other’s lives since then.

After returning home, B sent me a half-dozen long-stemmed red roses and a handwritten card with a long apology note referencing that long ago Valentine’s Day and paving the way for a wonderful future.

God was not ready for us to be together long ago in 9th grade.  However, He did intend for us to be together for the long-run and guarded our bodies and hearts in preparation for our lives to come together.  We have now been married almost 12 years and have 2 beautiful boys - C, 6 and J, 4.

All things work together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

I am truly blessed by Him.