Organizing

Today we had Ryan and Bradley over for a few hours, and while they all played, I was able to do some organizing. I worked on an area that really gets dumped on... or am I the only one with one of those? Anyway, I clean it up and got it looking like a normal place and then I tackled the file cabinet. The file cabinet was so full, that nothing else could be put in there, so I knew it had to be worked on...and maybe the papers that were stacking up on my desk might have been another clue, but.....

The next area will be my kitchen. I am moving stuff around too much for everyday stuff and it is driving me crazy. Since this is a big project I am not sure when I will do it and I have something for church that needs to be worked on, so that takes top priority, so it will have to wait a little longer, perhaps next week.

Well, that's all for me. Have a great night.

My Doctor Appointment

Well, I am very happy to report that everything came out looking good. There is no sign of cancer, which was a concern given my history. I will see the doctor in 3 months and see how things are going and make any decisions from there.

Thank you all for your prayers; they are greatly appreciated!!

Sunday Pictures

Some pictures from tonight at church:

As the announcement said last week...a heart shaped cake with two shades of green because you can't make camo with one shade of green. I just had to make this... I know I am silly.

Due on Wednesday, but Pastor is saying 2am tomorrow!!
A big hit of the night!
My wonderful helpers... a little camera shy.

Science Fun

We have been working on a unit titled "Deceit and Illusion" this week. We have been talking about people in the Bible who were deceived or deceitful and used optical illusions to show that you can't always believe your eyes.


We got this idea from a neat book called "It's Not Magic, It's Science". We cut the bottom of a milk carton and taped a plastic bag over the end. Lite a candle and blow out the candle by using the smack on the bag to force air out. The point was that even though we can't see the air, it is still in there and we can do something to make the air move and get the result we want.

No Results

Okay, I know I told you all I would tell you today what the results were, but after getting to the doctor's office and waiting a while; he had to go deliver a baby! So, what does that mean? It means I have been rescheduled for next Tuesday and then I will let you know.

Everything is going well with my health. I don't have any pain or anything at all for that matter... it was the easiest surgery I have ever had. I am very grateful for every one's prayers because I know that is what has made all the difference.

Just Hanging Around

Today I have been just hanging out: I read my Bible, took a nap, watched/showed Kyle how to give the dog a bath (training myself out of this job), watched Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End, and worked on a skirt for Beth for a little while...basically I did a lot of nothing. Thanks to another family at church we had another great meal tonight. I don't have any pain and therefore I am not taking the pain medicine. Isn't God so good!! Now, to complete my busy day (ha ha) I am off to bed.

Post-Op Update

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Hi everyone!

I am feeling good at this point without any pain, of course the large dose of ibuprofen helped I am sure. I feel "out of it" still, like I haven't sleep in way too long or I slept way too much and my head just feels cloudy. I was taken to the OR at 11:30 and they tell me I was in recovery about 12:15. I spent the most time in the recovery room because I apparently don't wake up really well and my nurse wanted to keep an eye on me a little longer. (I talked to my Mom when I got home and she told me I woke up the same way when I had my wisdom teeth pulled.) I made it back to my pre-op room about 2pm, had to drink and get medicine and got sent home at 3:15. I basically won't know anything until I talk to my gyne next week; he wants to see me Thursday or Friday.

We had a wonderful dinner made by one of the ladies in our church and it was so good! She made stuffed cabbage and fresh homemade bread and we ate almost all of it!! Our church is such a blessing!!

Thank you all for your prayers; they are greatly appreciated!

Homeschool Meeting

Well, we got some stuff together tonight at WalMart for an "afternoon box". It sounds like a wonderful idea to us! I was so excited when Jim suggested that we go shopping tonight for some items. It was wonderful and very encouraging to me!! I can't wait to see how our days go. I think this is something the kids will really enjoy. It is just like Julie said, the box isn't full of anything "special", but of ordinary things they will like to do. We got some plaster animals to paint (they were only 44 cents each or a box of 6 for about 2.50!) small cardboard boxes to paint, clay, alphabet stamps, paint brushes and stickers.

Thanks Julie for working so hard for our home schooling families. Thanks also for the CD!!

Just A Thought

I was just looking at Beth's 4th Grade Comprehensive Curriculum book and I saw the life cycle of the tadpole. At first glance I thought it was a page teaching something about evolution, which of course is a lie I don't want her to learn, so I almost crossed the page off. I looked at the picture again, not quite like this, but the same concept and I started to wonder....

If it took "millions of years" for every other animal to change to it "present day form"(which I DON'T believe), why does the tadpole change in just weeks to a frog!! Do you think God made this certain cycle to show everyone how fast he can change one animal and show us that evolution is really foolish????




Genesis 1:20-21 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Our Week

Hi again all!

Well, we made it through our school week very well. It was really nice to get back to a routine; I function so much better with a routine. It is strange how I never had one before home schooling and when I go off it now, it messes me up. Kyle is back to his regular workbooks and Beth and I gave the Alpha Omega 4th grade books a once over, and I still think it is just too much for her.

On Monday she was uneasy and not very excited about doing her work, which isn't a good thing as you can imagine. Well, I gave her some other papers that I printed off a website http://www.schoolexpress.com/ (very helpful for younger grades, it is pushing it with 3rd grade, but it got us through) and she did them pretty well.

Jim and I talked tonight about what we should do with her and we are getting the "Comprehensive Curriculum for 4th grade". She did very well with the 3rd grade one we finished in December, so we thought it would be a good start to her 4th grade stuff and you can't beat the price...7.89 at Sam's Club.

So, tonight Beth and I went to Sam's and she was just so cute. I picked up the book and told her I was done and she saw this other book about Tigers that has a model inside and as you turn the pages and it shows you and tells you about the parts of the animal as it reveals different layers, and her eyes lit up. She called Kyle and made sure he thought it was a good idea and so we picked up that book too. Then as we walked down the aisle a little more, we saw the same type of book for a castle and she nearly flipped!! So, she called Kyle back and asked him about that book too and after his approval, we picked it up also. So, she giggled, bounced, and skipped to the check-out. I said to her, it is too bad you aren't excited about these new books. She just opened her eyes wide and said how excited she was. When we got to the check-out she asked me to hold the two "layer" books so she could check out the new workbook and as she did she started telling me that it doesn't have a "spelling" section, but it does has a "writing" section and she opened it up and got excited all over again!! It is so nice to see her getting excited about school again rather than stressed out. After we got home and as soon as Kyle got the chance he was checking out the Tiger book.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is one of the books we got.

So, that is it. I am off to bed. Good night :)

Round Up!!!

WOW!! Another great Round Up!!!

A big thanks to eveyone that helped with set up, serving, cleaning and taking down!! Our church is so great when it comes to helping! So many people were cleaning it was done SO fast. Of course a reall big thank you needs to go to all the chili cookers...without them it wouldn't be possible! It was a real treat to hear Bruce Frye also! I really enjoyed his music and the teaching he did.

Running again...still, something like that.

Hi all!!

Just a quick note as I am once again short on time. I have been feeling ill off and on since Sunday with a head thing which has now turned into a cold. I sound like someone else today and hmmm hope I can still talk tomorrow. (sometime I lose my voice completely) I went to the doctor on Wednesday and did some running around for some items for Round Up. On Thursday, I did a little bit more shopping, one stop for church and a couple for hour household things, and a stop at the library as we are starting schooling again next week (how that went by so fast is beyond me!) I made lots of phone calls yesterday and did set up stuff at church today all for Round Up. I can't believe it is here already. Well, I am off to do a "few" more things before bed.

2008

I hope you all have a wonderful 2008. May God bless everyone that follows Him

A Year In Review...With Pictures!

Peaceful Moments

Well, I finally checked everybody's blogs today. I had been so busy I didn't have time to check any... I barely made the time to write mine!!


It sounds like everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I have enjoyed reading what you were doing.


I enjoyed the past several days very much!! This Christmas I can just feel the peace. (you know..after I went crazy and then talked to God!) I have enjoyed time to just read my Bible, read a good book and get a couple things done in my regular routine.

As I looked over the Lego and Playmobile pieces that the kids were still playing with on Christmas day and yesterday, I just sat on the couch enjoying the memory of Christmas. It wasn't really the gifts I got (but Jim did a WONDERFUL job with them and with very little help from me), but it was all it represented. I realize that God has given us a great gift... our family still together. It is amazing to me that Christmas of '01 was so close to being our last one together. God has given us so much to be thankful for.

As I was sitting there yesterday, I asked God to help me focus on this time. Of course, all year long I realize what Jesus did for me personally, that God saved our marriage, and has given us so much to be thankful for. I also know that I have to stay focused on Him. Today I am alone. The house is completely quiet. I am enjoying the moments of quiet. It is easy to focus on God at times like this. Why am I tell you all this? I don't know. I realize how quickly I can take my eyes off of our Lord. I guess this is a post to remind myself to remember and just take time to stop, think and be thankful all year long.

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful day like we did! We started with reading Luke 2, opened our gifts, had snacks and a WONDERFUL meal completely cooked by Jim!!! (he even cleaned it up)Jim gave me the best gifts: A basket of massage oils, "coupons" he created, and lotions!, a nail care kit, movie, and candles. Kyle got mainly Legos, one of his favorite things and Beth got a mix of horses and a stable and Playmobil. Jim got a big pot, gift cards, white shirts and ties.

Family Christmas Party

Last night was my family Christmas Party and it was really fun! We all enjoyed a wonderful afternoon and evening at my sister's home. The kids eat and open their gifts and they go off to play, and then we eat and open our gifts.

This is my sister's husband. He dresses up every year for the kids and gives them gives. Kyle and Beth and two of the cousins got Nerf guns, which of course they LOVED!!
The kids table!
My gift to my sister. There are three snowmen "holding" up the platter.
This is an "already filled up" picture frame from me to my sister. She is really bad about getting picture out, so I took several pictures from years ago when her daughter was about 3 up to a couple years ago and filled it up for her. She loved this.

Non-Stop

www.clipartheaven.com

That pretty much has been my life for the past couple of days, with the exception of a few hours today. I have all the Christmas shopping done and the gifts are wrapped for my family party which is tomorrow! I can't believe it is here already!! I have more wrapping to do for some friends and I haven't done any of the wrapping for Jim and the kids. I am just doing the next thing, and that doesn't have to be done until Monday. I keep thinking about what Julie said about having peace and the post I did recently http://menmythree.blogspot.com/2007/12/another-email-but-worth-it.html and it was a challenge on Wednesday (when I spent lots of time shopping and finding very little) and on Wednesday night and Thursday morning I prayed and asked God to help me stay focused on the reason I am doing what I am doing and to get everything finished. I am sure I don't need to tell you, but I will... He answered me and has been doing that very thing. Actually, I have been noticing people at the stores and praying for them. As I walked out of Target tonight I saw a man, maybe in his 40's or 50's pushing the cart, limping, and holding his cane and at Wal-Mart tonight the poor man that was ringing the bell for the Salvation Army was coughing so bad he couldn't even say Hi or Merry Christmas to most of the people that passed by. I, in my rush on Wednesday, didn't notice any of those people, but after spending time with God, it was so easy to see and thank Him for what he has given me: health, family, money, and so much more.

So, in my non-stop crazy life for the past couple of days, it has been really great to see God working in my life.


May God bless you this Christmas!

Time With Conner

Today we got to watch Conner for a couple of hours. You know how his Grandma is always telling us how good he is... well, it is SO true!! He was so happy and interested in everything. He listen so well when we told him "no". Jeremy and Sabrina are doing a great job with training him. Here are lots of pictures from our day!!

He is playing with colored noodles. It is really easy to make: use any type of noodles, fill a large container with rubbing alcohol and food coloring, let soak for hours and then dry. Lots of fun and good for feeling all kinds of textures, and it is inexpensive.

I think Pastor will like this!!! (Daddy too)

No, Kyle did not shoot him.