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!!

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

(As an aside, if you click on the link above, note that I did not pay that much for the treat. I was lucky and found it on eBay, brand new, in the original box for $17 plus shipping!!)

B, C and I agreed that for C to earn the Transformer Star Wars Death Star, C would have to read “Hop on Pop” a full length book by Dr. Seuss.  (On the front of the book is says, “The Simplest Suess for Youngest Use.”)  We agreed that C would have to read the book to both B and to me.

“Hop on Pop” is 64 pages long and has a lot of rhyming words like mouse-house and walk-talk.  It was a good beginner book, although it has quite a few words (contractions, etc.) that C found difficult and I didn’t force him to read, but helped him.  However, C did read the majority of the book just by sounding out the words.  Awesome!

C finished reading the book to me a couple of weeks ago, but just now, this evening, finished reading it to B.

C was rewarded with his Transformers Star Wars Death Star. (We took pictures this evening, but I don’t have them on the computer, yet.  The pictures are still in the camera.  I will request pictures from B, as I don’t know how to import them, using B’s fancy camera.)

B took the Death Star out of the package and sat with C on the kitchen couch to transform it from the original state of being transformed into Darth Vader, into the Death Star.  The age on the toy is 5+, however B said that the 5 years must be in dog years…  I think C will find transforming this toy almost as challenging as learning to read.

We are so proud of you, C!!  Welcome to the wonderful world of books.  May you have hours of entertainment and enjoyment on this fabulous journey!

This evening at AWANA Cubbies, the opening craft was to give the children some dough (from canned biscuits) and let the kids shape the dough into the shape of a bear (as a bear is the mascot for AWANA Cubbies).  The kids really enjoyed it, and we had cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on the dough.

Kari and I went to a small kitchen area in the wing of the church where our Cubbie classes are located to cook the dough for part of the kids’ snacks.  (Each dough bear was labeled with the child’s name.)

Through no fault of our own, the oven wasn’t very clean and as the bear biscuits cooked, smoke began to accumulate.  There are water sprinklers in the kitchen, but no smoke alarms so we weren’t too worried about an alarm going off.

Not even a minute after we got the biscuits out of the oven, the fire alarm sounds.  Ugh!  Kari used her walkie-talkie to let important people know what had happened and that it was a false alarm.

After about a minute, the alarm went off and Kari and I thought we were in the clear.  Not so.  Less than two minutes later, the fire alarm sounded again… and stayed on.

We got back to our classroom after delivering the bisuits to the classes and hear a noise - Fire truck!

We went and met the firemen (the children’s pastor was already there at the kitchen).  After they checked out the kitchen (and took Kari’s name for the report) the firemen let our preschoolers checkout the fire truck and ambulance.

As I was leaving this evening, I laughingly told our children’s pastor, “We won’t be cooking again next week!”  He said that it wasn’t our fault that the oven wasn’t clean and said that it would be remedied very quickly.

Our kids had a great evening, and I am going to make sure that my oven here at home is clean tomorrow!

On Sept 24, 2008, at 3:13 PM, BB wrote:

Hey, if you know where the little Megatron figure is (the 2″ posable one),
can you set it aside? I have a request to make a matching megatron picture
to my Optimus Prime. The last time I tried it did not come out well so I
want to retry…

Thanks!

BB

Here is my reply to B, detailing my conversation with C, as I don’t have a clue what the different Transformers look like and wanted to make sure that I located the right one for B.

Conversation with Chris…

Mom-  What does Megatron look like?
Chris - blank look
Mom - Do you know where the little Megatron is?  Is it the red, white, and black one?
Chris - (nods head affirmatively) I gave it to Daddy.
Mom - Daddy just emailed me for me to find it, so he could take a picture of it, like the picture of Optimus Prime.
Chris - Daddy already took a picture of it.  He just doesn’t know where it is.

Any more requests…??

(Aside - I did find Megatron and put it on the kitchen bar for B.  I think B enjoyed my emailed response.  As he works a lot, he isn’t privy to these frequent conversations.)