Atlanta - 2008

Posted June 30th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

It has now been confirmed by another person - I am directionally challenged when driving. Kari and I both laughed lots about how, when driving in the cities where we needed to change highways or roads, I prefer/needed to be under the big green interstate/highway direction signs. Plus, Kari - as the navigator for this trip - had to be sure to point out the exits when changing roads, or I would have kept on driving straight… Luckily, we didn’t have to turn around more than a few hundred times… Seriously, with her excellent directions (and the help of Mapquest), I only turned around once, maybe twice. Plus I only backed up - in the middle of a main street - only once (but first made sure that there was no one behind me!) so I could pull into the hotel. We both agree that if I hadn’t backed up, we would have had a hard time navigating downtown Atlanta and trying to get back to the hotel entrance!

Kari and I traveled to Atlanta this weekend for the Lifeway Women’s Conference. We left on Friday morning and returned around 6 last night. It was an incredibly wonderful, fantastic, fun, and refreshing trip.

Traffic was a bit heavy on the way to Atlanta. We made it to Atlanta around 6. The conference was to begin at 7, with the doors opening at 6. We quickly checked into the Hyatt Place Hotel (which we would both highly recommend!) and then took the hotel shuttle to the Philips Arena for the conference. The hotel shuttle was a great perk of the hotel! We were able to go from the hotel door to the door of the arena. Considering my directionally challenged brain, if I had driven to the arena, we would have been so late, that we would have missed the Friday evening session in its entirety! There was a lot of traffic in downtown Atlanta with the arena having sold out - 19,000 tickets. Quite a few streets were blocked off for the walking traffic and police were everywhere directing cars to move along. I am so glad we didn’t have to pay to park at the arena, or have to fight traffic to get there! Like I said, the shuttle was great!

Friday evening at the conference, since we got there so late, we were in the extreme top/last row of the Philips Arena where some folding chairs were set up for additional seating. Serious high altitude seating. When we were to stand for worship music, we stood BEHIND our chairs. Otherwise, we would have been too close to “fall over and die” territory - which would have really ruined our weekend! I was really glad that the Friday evening session was to be only a couple of hours. I really did not like these seats! (Seating was first come, first serve in the arena both days.) Fortunately, on Saturday we arrived early - thanks to the hotel shuttle - and got great seats which we were able to keep for both the morning and afternoon sessions.

For the Friday evening session of the conference, there was a time of worship music and then Priscilla Shirer spoke. She is an incredibly gifted teacher - funny, intelligent, able to mix life stories with practical scriptural application. Mrs. Shirer used the Bible passage Exodus 19:9-11 as her main focus and moved around the Bible scriptures to pull out points in her teaching. She spoke on the different seasons in our lives and how in some seasons we are walking through difficult times (wilderness). The tough times are to draw us closer to God, as we trust and lean on Him. The tough times are necessary so we can appreciate the good times.

Both days, it was awesome to hear the turning of pages in almost 19,000 Bibles. Oh, how great it was to be in the presence of God and so many Godly women!

After Mrs. Shirer’s time on the stage, Mandisa gave a mini concert. Kari and I didn’t stay for the concert, as the hotel shuttle stops at 10, and by the time Mrs. Shirer stopped teaching, it was 9:30. We didn’t want to be stuck trying to get a taxi or (as our husbands would have strongly protested) walking back to the hotel which was about 5 blocks from the arena, all in downtown Atlanta.

Kari and I arrived back at the hotel and we were starving. We had not had time to stop for dinner, as we did not take into account the time change from Central to Eastern (we lost an hour) and knew that if we did stop for dinner, we would not get to the arena on time. Next to the hotel was a restaurant called Max Lager’s Wood Fired Grill and Brewery. It was delicious! I got a steak and mixed green salad with a orange-ginger dressing. Ooh! It hit the spot! Back at the hotel, we each got a fresh baked cookie and Kari got a cup of Starbuck’s coffee (another perk of the hotel, although these treats weren’t free, as the shuttle is!)

Saturday morning, we enjoyed the continental breakfast. I had cereal, fruit, juice and a slice of toast with grape jelly. Yummy! Then Kari and I boarded the shuttle for a full day at the arena.

Saturday morning at the conference began with high energy worship music and then Kay Arthur taught the morning session.  She taught from Jeremiah 36 and focused on how our country needs to turn back to God and away from sin.  Mrs. Arthur brought out also Hosea 4:6.  The last part of that verse reads, “Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.”  Wow!  That is something to ponder!  Mrs. Arthur taught how that God is perfect and hates sin and therefore punishes sin.  We are to desire to be like Christ and to turn from sin.  It was a powerful message!

The afternoon was broken down into 2 sessions. First there was a round table discussion where Mrs. Shiver, Mrs. Arthur and Mrs. Moore answered questions that had been posted on the women’s conference blog. (You can click on the blog link to see pictures from the Atlanta event this past weekend that we attended.) The round table time was filled with laughter as their personal stories were relayed and also it was a good “getting to know you” time as we learned more about our teachers. Some of the blog questions also required looking into the Bible scriptures for answers. The round table was very interesting.

After a break, there was a time for personal reflection while the event Praise Band performed and then Beth Moore taught the last (third) Bible session.  Mrs. Moore taught from John 1:1-18.  We are to have Jesus Christ as our Number 1 in our lives.  If we want to know about God, we have to research and learn about Jesus - by reading and knowing our Bibles.  As our Bible is the word of God.  People/family/friends will disappoint us, but God never will.

After the conference concluded around 5:30 pm, we hopped onto the hotel shuttle again and deposited our bags at the hotel and then went to the Atlanta Underground Mall. It was not what I remembered it to be and we quickly left. While the heritage of the area is great to discover, the people were not friendly and we felt extremely uncomfortable.

Since it was still early evening, we walked towards the hotel, hoping to come upon a good restaurant. Well, good was an understatement for the place that we found. We ate at Ray’s in the City. Linen table cloths and live music. Our meal, including the tip was close to $100. And we didn’t have any alcohol! That is how pricey the food was. But, oh my, the food was grand. We had fried calamari for an appetizer and I had mahi mahi for my dinner. Kari had the sea scallops. We split for dessert a milk chocolate cheesecake with an oreo crust. Wow! It was truly a meal fit for the last evening of a vacation!

After we were sufficiently stuffed, we started our walk again towards the hotel. It was early evening by this time, but still daylight. It was approaching sunset when we got back to the hotel. After sitting all day in the arena and after a wonderful meal, we enjoyed the walk.

Sunday morning dawned and we slept in a bit. We opted for a light breakfast - coffee for Kari and juice for me and we stopped for brunch at Cracker Barrel about an hour outside of Atlanta. This made for a pleasant drive and a fulfilling meal. We both loved their blueberry pancakes. Plus at the Cracker Barrel shop, we were able to pick up small treats to give her kids and mine when we got home. I got a set of Jacks for C (he has never had a set before!) and we have played them lots. For J, I got him an electric bubble blower and bubbles since he LOVES to blow bubbles. I also picked up a treat for B - a whoopee cushion. Have fun, B!

I am glad to be home, but another few days in Atlanta would have been fun. Especially as I sit here and type and hear the washing machine, dryer and the dishwasher going. Back to reality!

6.23.2008

Posted June 23rd, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

Summer School is going well for the boys. I am taking today off, I have such a bad cold - but the boys are well. I’m not used to being the 1st one sick. Usually I am the one taking care of the others while praying that I don’t get sick. I’ve got a goal to be 100% by Friday, when I am leaving for Atlanta for the weekend. B is staying home with the boys for a boys weekend. My friend Kari and I are driving to Atlanta for a Lifeway Women’s Conference.  We will meet up with several Sunday School friends that are driving down on Thursday.

Anyway, back to school, C is reading “Hop on Pop.” It is a book by Dr. Seuss. If C gets all the way through it, he will receive a death star transformer that transforms into Darth Vader. Ooooh, he is excited! So far, we are around page 20. There are 64 pages in the book.

J is enjoying his school work. Or, at the very least, he is enjoying the time that I spend just with him.

The boys are doing well in Level 2 of swimming lessons. In Level 2, they are working on arm movements. I wish the instructors would start on treading water. If nothing else, the boys could keep their heads above water without their floaties on if they knew how to tread water. What do I know? Maybe they will learn treading water this week. Level 2 completes on Thursday.

Life is pretty dull here. B is home -and back to work today- from spending last week in Philadelphia. I’m sure he was not prepared to come home to a sick wife! Sorry!! Thanks for taking care of the kids (and cooking dinner) this weekend so I could get on the road to mending.

Like I said, not much going on here. I just wanted to post an update on our lives.

Summer School - 2008

Posted June 16th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

The boys and I just completed our first adventure at home schooling for the summer. We sat at the table in the kitchen - with J on one side of me and C on the other. The boys have workbooks that I took to Kinko’s yesterday and had the bindings cut off and holes drilled in the workbooks, so I could put them into 3 ring binders. This allows me to choose what pages they work on and they already understand “worksheets.”

Both boys are doing the Summer Bridge Activities book for pre-kindergarten. C is also doing the kindergarten workbook for Hooked on Phonics. It is a book where C is learning to read beginning words and filling in the vowels for words like h-a-t and v-a-n.

J is doing pre-k Hooked on Learning, that is from the same Hooked on Phonics people. J’s book is focusing on shapes, colors, patterns, matching, and the like. I have a feeling that J would be happier with C’s book, and will attempt reading with him as well very soon. If J continues to be interested in sounding out letters and words with C, I will get J the same Phonics book as C.

C is very proficient at his letters and sounds, as is J. C and I gave each other “high-fives” as he read 2 letter and 3 letter words and C talked about how the words rhymed. Awesome!!! C said, “I’m learning the read!” with a huge smile all over his face!

This should give some structure to our summer break, now that Vacation Bible School is over. We will have playtime first thing in the morning with school around 11 to 11:30. After rest time is swimming lessons and then evening playtime/tv show/bed time books.

I think I have a plan that will work… if only the kids will cooperate with it…

Another Animal to Add to the List

Posted June 15th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

Over the years that we have lived here, we have made note of the various animals that have called our yard their domain. Examples include deer, a bobcat, armadillo, rabbits, opossums, just to name a few… (not to even bother mentioning the demonic beaver that live behind our house in the drainage ditch, with their currently rebuilt beaver dam - a dam that will be destroyed very soon…)

Our newest animal is… wait for it… wait for it… A MOLE!!! This animal, or this family of animals, has invaded our side yard, on the south side of our driveway, and the front yard. We haven’t checked the backyard to see what damage has been done, but I’m sure it is not without its fair share.

The fence has kept the largest animals out of our yard. We still have the occasional rabbit, but I’m okay with them since they are so cute.

However, this mole… it is not a cute animal, and it is messing with my yard. I’m glad we haven’t gotten the sand to smooth out the yard. Next spring we will need it for sure to fix this mole mess.

If you want to come and kill the mole, COME ON OVER!!!

Week ending 6.13.2008

Posted June 13th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

This has been an extremely busy week!! I have taught in the 4th grade class of our church’s Vacation Bible School with my mom. The kids had swimming lessons each afternoon except today and then this evening, B and I took the kids to the Children’s Museum for the opening of the Curious George exhibit. Whew!

Vacation Bible School was a lot of fun. We did lessons on the fruit of the spirit, found in Galatians 5:22-23. The theme of this year’s VBS was “Son Harvest County Fair” and decorations focused around the days old county fairs that were -and are- so much fun.  I have to admit that I could never get the fruit of the spirit straight when I desired to say the verse.  Now that I have some arm motions and a song to go along with it, I can recite it correctly.  It is great to see that I am growing as I am teaching!

For our missions focus this week in VBS, we concentrated on a village in Nicaragua that was devastated by a hurricane a couple of years ago. Some people are going down there to build a playground for the local children. The kids that came to VBS learned about the people in Nicaragua and were encouraged to bring money to help with the playground equipment and were also requested to bring indoor games - for rainy days, outside stuff like kick balls, sports balls, Frisbees, and other play toys for Nicaragua and local missions. C brought 2 kick balls and 2 sets of checkers with game boards. (C and I like to play checkers together and I wanted him to understand what he was giving and how much he enjoys it.) J brought 2 kick balls and 2 sets of dominoes. (J and I play with dominoes together - mainly lining then up as a road for his cars, but he is getting introduced to the game.) I was proud that C and J are learning about how other kids need things and how C and J are very willing to help others.

I had all the names of the kids in our room memorized by Wednesday and could call each child by name - a fact that pleased all the children - and me!

Wednesday morning was very hectic. I got to church for VBS and got C and J settled into their rooms. When I was walking into the church, I realized that I forgot my name badge. Since the 1st-4th grades had worship in the sanctuary first thing, I ran home real fast and retrieved my name badge - a fact that I didn’t relish, with gas prices being so high. I remembered my badge the rest of the week!

Last night (Thursday) was “family night” at church for all the parents to see what the children have been learning and for the children to demonstrate their singing and hand motions to the songs that they have learned - quite a bit of sign language. It was really neat to see the kids that were in my class singing on the stage.

At “family night,” C and J were really tired. They had just finished their last swimming lesson of Level 1 and I quickly showered them at the gym and dressed them for us to go directly to pick up my mom to go to church for dinner and the VBS program. When walking into church, C complained that his eyes were hurting him. (I have no doubt they were, since his eyes have been red after each lesson - he won’t consistently wear his goggles - and the chlorine in the pool irritates his eyes really bad. So, C decided to walk with his eyes closed. Not a good idea - he ran into a concrete pole/pillar that holds up part of the canopy in front of the church. He received a big knot on his head, resulting in quite a bit of crying. As I was carrying C into the church building, I didn’t see J and fell over him. J ended up with a skinned knee. (At this point, I was seriously considering skipping dinner at church and the program. Oh, did I mention that I was suffering from a migraine headache as well? It was not a good afternoon for us. My mom helped me by giving me some migraine medicine, so I had a caffeine drink with my dinner to keep me awake for the VBS program in the worship sanctuary. Today, I am over the migraine, but above my left eye the skin is tender. Strange.)

During the VBS program (1st-4th grade), C for the most part sat really still and listened. At one point, he got a little restless and started looking at a pew hymnal. At one point I looked over to see what he was looking at and I thought it was perfect that he was looking at hymn 555 - “I am a child of the King.” Such a precious, big boy! As for J, this precious, little boy fell asleep on my shoulder and slept for about 15 minutes until it was time to leave. I told you he was really tired! I was surprised that he fell asleep, as towards the beginning of the program he was complaining that the music was too loud. Maybe the music was keeping him awake and THAT fact bothered him…

In swimming, both C and J passed Level 1 and received their certificates. Level 1 consisted of very simple arm and leg movements, blowing bubbles in the water, blowing air out of their noses as they jumped into the pool, and back floating in the water. Way to go, boys!! I’m so proud of you!! C and J will begin Level 2 lessons on Monday. C is more advanced than J in swimming - partly due to his extra year of swimming with his floaty swim suit on last year (and the fact that his brain is 2 years older!). C is already able to “dog paddle” for more than 6 feet in the water on his own and on Wednesday was able to float independently - usually the instructor holds the kids and assists the kids in floating. However, C was able to float for 10 seconds on his own!!

I’m sure I will think of other things to let you know about later from this busy week, but it is very late on Friday evening and I need to get to bed. Brian and I have an early meeting to get to and I need my rest.

Ta Ta for now…

C’s 6 year old checkup

Posted June 8th, 2008 by Mom | Comments (0)

C went to see the pediatrician on Friday. He needed a wellness checkup before starting kindergarten. C is 43 inches tall and weighs 37 pounds. He is in the 10th percentile for height and in the 5th percentile for weight.

The doctor also checked his hearing and eye sight. Hearing in both ears was fine. His eyesight is fine as well at 20/25.

C didn’t need any shots, as he is up to date. However, he did get his finger pricked. All blood work was normal, as was his urinalysis.

Some medicine that C takes is suppressing his appetite too much. In March, he was in the 10th percentile for height AND weight. So, I got him a milk shake as we left the doctor’s office… Gotta get more calories in the little fella… (or maybe I can share some of my extra weight with him through osmosis and snuggling?)