Still no way to write a title. This is annoying me, even though the title of a post was often the hardest part for me. It's like naming a story. You have to capture the essence in just a few words. How do authors do that? I am continually amazed at that at work. They must be very creative people.
Today was a long day. I worked at BAM all day. My feet hurt. I really wish Hubs were home so that he could rub them. My feet!!!
Where were the boys? Bman went to daycare. We haven't used it in a few weeks. We're only paying half each week, to hold his spot. But we were desperate and Jane can only handle one of the boys at a time. Evidently, they can be overwhelming. So Cheeseman went to Nanas house. First, though, they went to a free movie with Aunt Nikki and Madison. They saw Everybody's Hero. He said it was good. I asked what it was about. "Baseball" that's all he remembers. Oh, to have the ability to be so concise.
A cute thing Cheeseman keeps doing: "Are you my conscience?" I don't know where he got that from. I know Pinnochio asks Jiminy Cricket that in Pinnochio, but I don't think the boys have seen that movie. If they did, it wasn't at our house. For all the Disney movies we have, we don't have that one. (hint, hint. I'd like it!) Anyway, Hubs and I have tried to explain that God is his conscience, but he does not seem to care. I think he just likes asking.
Another thing he does, which can get annoying at times, is ask "what's after bedtime?" Then, "what's after waking up time?" and further "what's after breakfast?" and on and on and on. Until you're at the next day and making up what's next. My word! That boy loves to hear himself speak!
Bman is also loquacious (look at my big word). The problem is, you can only understand about half of what he says. Power Ranger becomes "pow jane ger." It's an issue. So this Friday, we are starting speech therapy. ONE HOUR EVERY WEEK. Um, I don't know what kind of crazy that woman is, but Bman is NOT going to sit and work with her for an hour. Never gonna happen. That boy can't even sit still for a 20 minute cartoon! It's worth a shot though. The therapist, Jill, said that his main problem is enunciation. Sigh. I thought my kids were going to be perfect.
In other, unrelated, slightly strange, news, I got a random email today. From an old boyfriend. That I was engaged to. On my work email, of all places. Just a note to wish me a happy birthday. It was odd. I wrote back thanks, and the family is all fine. It was just so out of the blue. I haven't seen him, even in passing, in over two years. I run into his mom occasionally, because she works in the same school district as I do. Last I heard, he was married with a couple of kids. Dunno. It was nice of him to write though. I can't believe he remembered my birthday. I have NO IDEA when his is. Early in the year maybe?
I've been reading this devotional, Streams in the Desert. It is great! Today's entry really spoke to me:
No prayer is ever lost, or any prayer ever breathed in vain. There is no such thing as prayer unanswered or unnoticed by God, and some things we see as refusals or denials are simply delays. Christ sometimes delays His help so He may test our faith and energize our prayers. Our boat may be tossed by the waves while He continues to sleep, but He will awake before it sinks. He sleeps but He never oversleeps, for He is never too late.
Chew on that. I know, personally, there have been many times I've wondered if God was listening. Mostly when Cheeseman was so sick and in the hospital. Why couldn't he get well? Or when Hubs was struggling so hard with school. Why couldn't he do better? I know in my head that God is hearing me, and that He will do what is best according to His will. I just need to keep on praying, because God is hearing me and doing His thing.
"And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened...If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11: 9-11, 13
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Monday, July 09, 2007
Happy birthday to me!
Why won't Blogger let me enter a title for my entry? It wouldn't yesterday either. What gives?
Hubs remembered to call this morning! I was going to seriously divorce him if he couldn't find someone's cell to borrow. He hardly gets service anywhere. I think something is wrong with his phone. Mine gets service everywhere! Anyway, he's having a good time at Salkehatchie. He's not on one main site this year. Just kind of driving around wherever they need him.
I got my bday present from Dad and Gigi today. The card is SO cute!! It's one of those cards that plays music. It plays "Bear Necessities" from the Jungle Book movie. I LOVE that movie! Only my dad could have picked that out for me. They also got me the City On a Hill CD set. I am importing it onto iTunes right now. Love me some praise music!
Cheeseman, Bman, and I have had an eventful morning/day. We went to the post office, but I couldn't remember the correct zip code for my in-laws, so that was a waste. Then we went out to lunch at Applebee's. Bman didn't eat anything. (Skipped breakfast too - wonder what's up with him?) The boys got balloons, which they played with very well. Cheeseman mostly sat still and ate. Bman was all over, as usual. But he mostly stayed near the table, so that was good. Our waiter was REALLY super nice. And helpful. He tied slipknots at the end of the balloon ribbons, so we were able to attach the balloons to the toys.
Afterwards, we went to the grocery store. I spent WAY too much money. It was a lot of junk food, I must admit. But it was good-for-you junk. Like Baked Lays. And Weight Watchers snacks. And there was lots of fruits and veggies as well. Bman is CRAZY for fruit.
As an aside, why won't my left breast stay in my bra cup? The right one is fine. But the left one bulges out. It is quite unseemly.
Anyways, we head to my mom's for a cookout tonight. My sister, her husband, and daughter will be there as well. Mom and Jane just got a pool for the yard, so I imagine there will be some swimming going on. Good. The boys like the pool. I hope the clouds hold off. Or not. It is insanely humid outside right now.
I just found out that my stepmom, affectionately known as Gigi, reads my blog. I will be on my best behavior from now on. I don't want my family knowing ALL of my business.
9:58--It is now after dinner. The day is mostly over. The kids are asleep. They almost fell asleep on the drive home. It was a little late. Bad mommy. But they did get a bath, and I didn't have to give it! I did have to change Cheeseman's bag, though. Yuck. But he was really good and laid still.
The boys had such a fun time tonight. When we got there, it hadn't started raining yet, so they got to swim in Nanas' new pool. They are really getting into that swimming thing. Nikki got them Spiderman floaties, so now they are much more confident. And Nanas got them water guns too! They were just beside themselves.
Then cousin Madison arrived. The party really started up! And then it rained. The cookout got moved into the garage. The kids all went inside and played Hullaballoo. It was a cute game. We will have to get that once Bman figures out his colors and shapes. Then it was time to eat. I was really good tonight. I only had one burger, no cheese, corn on the cob and a pickle. Then later, had a bowl of fresh watermelon. MMMMMMMM...... I love watermelon! Jane even put candles in it so we could pretend it was a birthday cake. You know, since I'm on a diet and all.
We had a fun time watching the kids dance to one of my gifts, the soundtrack to Happy Feet. We saw it at the free movies last week, and loved the songs. The kids were so cute! Especially Bman and Madison. They are crazy dancers! I also like my new flashdrive I got from my sis. Thanks, Nikki! (Even though you didn't say happy b-day to me until about an hour after you got there!)
It was a nice day. Thanks to everyone for all the nice gifts! Even my "baby" brother, who is getting married in less than 3 weeks, remembered to call. Without being prompted by my mom! Guess he really IS growing up.
Why won't Blogger let me enter a title for my entry? It wouldn't yesterday either. What gives?
Hubs remembered to call this morning! I was going to seriously divorce him if he couldn't find someone's cell to borrow. He hardly gets service anywhere. I think something is wrong with his phone. Mine gets service everywhere! Anyway, he's having a good time at Salkehatchie. He's not on one main site this year. Just kind of driving around wherever they need him.
I got my bday present from Dad and Gigi today. The card is SO cute!! It's one of those cards that plays music. It plays "Bear Necessities" from the Jungle Book movie. I LOVE that movie! Only my dad could have picked that out for me. They also got me the City On a Hill CD set. I am importing it onto iTunes right now. Love me some praise music!
Cheeseman, Bman, and I have had an eventful morning/day. We went to the post office, but I couldn't remember the correct zip code for my in-laws, so that was a waste. Then we went out to lunch at Applebee's. Bman didn't eat anything. (Skipped breakfast too - wonder what's up with him?) The boys got balloons, which they played with very well. Cheeseman mostly sat still and ate. Bman was all over, as usual. But he mostly stayed near the table, so that was good. Our waiter was REALLY super nice. And helpful. He tied slipknots at the end of the balloon ribbons, so we were able to attach the balloons to the toys.
Afterwards, we went to the grocery store. I spent WAY too much money. It was a lot of junk food, I must admit. But it was good-for-you junk. Like Baked Lays. And Weight Watchers snacks. And there was lots of fruits and veggies as well. Bman is CRAZY for fruit.
As an aside, why won't my left breast stay in my bra cup? The right one is fine. But the left one bulges out. It is quite unseemly.
Anyways, we head to my mom's for a cookout tonight. My sister, her husband, and daughter will be there as well. Mom and Jane just got a pool for the yard, so I imagine there will be some swimming going on. Good. The boys like the pool. I hope the clouds hold off. Or not. It is insanely humid outside right now.
I just found out that my stepmom, affectionately known as Gigi, reads my blog. I will be on my best behavior from now on. I don't want my family knowing ALL of my business.
9:58--It is now after dinner. The day is mostly over. The kids are asleep. They almost fell asleep on the drive home. It was a little late. Bad mommy. But they did get a bath, and I didn't have to give it! I did have to change Cheeseman's bag, though. Yuck. But he was really good and laid still.
The boys had such a fun time tonight. When we got there, it hadn't started raining yet, so they got to swim in Nanas' new pool. They are really getting into that swimming thing. Nikki got them Spiderman floaties, so now they are much more confident. And Nanas got them water guns too! They were just beside themselves.
Then cousin Madison arrived. The party really started up! And then it rained. The cookout got moved into the garage. The kids all went inside and played Hullaballoo. It was a cute game. We will have to get that once Bman figures out his colors and shapes. Then it was time to eat. I was really good tonight. I only had one burger, no cheese, corn on the cob and a pickle. Then later, had a bowl of fresh watermelon. MMMMMMMM...... I love watermelon! Jane even put candles in it so we could pretend it was a birthday cake. You know, since I'm on a diet and all.
We had a fun time watching the kids dance to one of my gifts, the soundtrack to Happy Feet. We saw it at the free movies last week, and loved the songs. The kids were so cute! Especially Bman and Madison. They are crazy dancers! I also like my new flashdrive I got from my sis. Thanks, Nikki! (Even though you didn't say happy b-day to me until about an hour after you got there!)
It was a nice day. Thanks to everyone for all the nice gifts! Even my "baby" brother, who is getting married in less than 3 weeks, remembered to call. Without being prompted by my mom! Guess he really IS growing up.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Something weird is going on. The kids are asleep. I'm at the computer. Oh, yeah, Hubs is not home. This week, Hubs has gone away. He is participating in Salkehatchie Summer Service. If you have not heard of this, it is a wonderful mission opportunity.
Basically, a group of adults and youth (mostly youth) go out into a community and fix up houses. The catch is, these are very NEEDY houses. Many of them have holes in the walls/floors/roofs. They have no air or heat. They have water that doesn't work. These homes are also usually full of people. One at their camp this year has about 11 people living in it. I have seen the "before" photos, and they are often horrific. It is sad and scary to think that people actually live in conditions like these for extended time.
This year, the Calhoun County Camp is servicing about 5 houses, I think. They do all this using donated items such as used mattresses, sinks, stoves, refrigerators, etc. They paint walls, install fans, lay carpet, and change lives. It happens from Sunday (today) until Friday. It's like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, only without all the money and camera crews. The volunteers stay in the local middle school. Their food is provided by local churches. They pay $200 a person for the privilege of participating.
This is Hubs' 5th year, I believe. Every year, this camp falls on my birthday week. (It's tomorrow, by the way.) Do mind that he misses my big day? Not much. The fact that he is out there, making the world a little bit better for a needy family makes it okay.
I miss him already. It is lonely in this house without him, even with the kids. They cannot make up for the large cold spot in the bed.
By the way, I ate way to much tonight at Mom's. Why is it that whenever I go over there, I feel the need to eat everything in sight? Ugh!
Basically, a group of adults and youth (mostly youth) go out into a community and fix up houses. The catch is, these are very NEEDY houses. Many of them have holes in the walls/floors/roofs. They have no air or heat. They have water that doesn't work. These homes are also usually full of people. One at their camp this year has about 11 people living in it. I have seen the "before" photos, and they are often horrific. It is sad and scary to think that people actually live in conditions like these for extended time.
This year, the Calhoun County Camp is servicing about 5 houses, I think. They do all this using donated items such as used mattresses, sinks, stoves, refrigerators, etc. They paint walls, install fans, lay carpet, and change lives. It happens from Sunday (today) until Friday. It's like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, only without all the money and camera crews. The volunteers stay in the local middle school. Their food is provided by local churches. They pay $200 a person for the privilege of participating.
This is Hubs' 5th year, I believe. Every year, this camp falls on my birthday week. (It's tomorrow, by the way.) Do mind that he misses my big day? Not much. The fact that he is out there, making the world a little bit better for a needy family makes it okay.
I miss him already. It is lonely in this house without him, even with the kids. They cannot make up for the large cold spot in the bed.
By the way, I ate way to much tonight at Mom's. Why is it that whenever I go over there, I feel the need to eat everything in sight? Ugh!
Sunday, July 01, 2007
A Whole Year
I just realized that I have been doing this for a whole year. I have kept up a hobby for more than a few months. And Hubs said I have a short attention span. This from the poster child for ADHD. Geez! I am so excited! A whole year! Amazing!
Happy 18th Anniversary to Dad and Glenna!
Anyway, this was not a good day for me. The beginning showed some promise. Cheeseman got up early but Hubs took him and Bman out to the living room to play. I got to sleep in about another hour. Yay! Had some fruit for breakfast. Then Hubs left for church, and I finished getting the boys ready.
We walked over a little before Sunday school time. The boys played in the nursery until Cheeseman's teacher got there. Still, no problems. Bman stayed in the nursery, playing with all the little cars and such. He was having a great time with the tractor.
Then we went upstairs to the sanctuary for the worship service. And it all fell apart. Suddenly, Cheeseman and Bman were devil children. They would not sit still. They colored on my nice, white pants. (I know, what was I thinking?) Bman started running up and down the middle aisle! During the opening prayer! I was mortified! As soon as Hubs finished with the children's moments, I took them both out. Back to the nursery.
That lasted about 15 minutes. Then they started fighting over the plastic slide. It was awful. They were yelling, and it was hurting my ears. So I walked them back home. Of course, then they just kept on. And they found their little plastic guns, so they started shooting each other too.
I was livid! We only have communion once a month at PUMC, and this was the week. So I missed it. I missed Hubs' sermon again. I missed singing. I missed the whole dang service! And I actually look forward to it every week! I have just begun being a Pastor's wife, so I have not yet learned to hate it. Not that I would, but I really like going to church. I hope this is not going to be a weekly thing. And the problem is, my two are the youngest in the whole church. There is no one in the nursery to staff it during worship. No one else needs it. Just me. And I have no help, because Hubs is up front leading the service! Argh!!! I thought the crayons and coloring books would help! What do I do??????
Anyway, the boys beat each other up most of the afternoon, until Bman passed out from exhaustion during the reading of Jonah. Hubs was also taking a nap. Then finally Cheeseman fell asleep, but not until AFTER his colostomy bag leaked and I had to change it. Again.
What a day!
Oh, and did I mention that we ate at Mom and Jane's tonight? I had 2 helpings of spaghetti. 2 pieces of cheesy bread. AND ice cream with chocolate syrup. It would not have been so bad if we hadn't eaten at McDonald's last night. I am out of flex points for the week already! And last week I put on 4 pounds while at Disney. I am feeling really dejected right now.
Happy 18th Anniversary to Dad and Glenna!
Anyway, this was not a good day for me. The beginning showed some promise. Cheeseman got up early but Hubs took him and Bman out to the living room to play. I got to sleep in about another hour. Yay! Had some fruit for breakfast. Then Hubs left for church, and I finished getting the boys ready.
We walked over a little before Sunday school time. The boys played in the nursery until Cheeseman's teacher got there. Still, no problems. Bman stayed in the nursery, playing with all the little cars and such. He was having a great time with the tractor.
Then we went upstairs to the sanctuary for the worship service. And it all fell apart. Suddenly, Cheeseman and Bman were devil children. They would not sit still. They colored on my nice, white pants. (I know, what was I thinking?) Bman started running up and down the middle aisle! During the opening prayer! I was mortified! As soon as Hubs finished with the children's moments, I took them both out. Back to the nursery.
That lasted about 15 minutes. Then they started fighting over the plastic slide. It was awful. They were yelling, and it was hurting my ears. So I walked them back home. Of course, then they just kept on. And they found their little plastic guns, so they started shooting each other too.
I was livid! We only have communion once a month at PUMC, and this was the week. So I missed it. I missed Hubs' sermon again. I missed singing. I missed the whole dang service! And I actually look forward to it every week! I have just begun being a Pastor's wife, so I have not yet learned to hate it. Not that I would, but I really like going to church. I hope this is not going to be a weekly thing. And the problem is, my two are the youngest in the whole church. There is no one in the nursery to staff it during worship. No one else needs it. Just me. And I have no help, because Hubs is up front leading the service! Argh!!! I thought the crayons and coloring books would help! What do I do??????
Anyway, the boys beat each other up most of the afternoon, until Bman passed out from exhaustion during the reading of Jonah. Hubs was also taking a nap. Then finally Cheeseman fell asleep, but not until AFTER his colostomy bag leaked and I had to change it. Again.
What a day!
Oh, and did I mention that we ate at Mom and Jane's tonight? I had 2 helpings of spaghetti. 2 pieces of cheesy bread. AND ice cream with chocolate syrup. It would not have been so bad if we hadn't eaten at McDonald's last night. I am out of flex points for the week already! And last week I put on 4 pounds while at Disney. I am feeling really dejected right now.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Funtime days
We are done with vacation now. All we have to do is clean up the dishes and take out the garbage. I can't believe it is over already! It has been a fun week. Can't you see how much fun we were having?
Aren't we adorable? We've been having a fun time at Disney this week. I will be posting more pics later, when it's not the middle of the night.
We went to Magic Kingdom on Monday, MGM on Tuesday, and Animal Kingdom today. The boys had such an AWESOME time! Cheeseman had a hard time deciding which thing was his favorite. Except at MGM. The Power Rangers were his absolute favorite! Just getting to watch his face when doing all the fun stuff made it totally worth it to us.
Even Bman had a good time. People told us that 2.5 was too young for Disney, but I think he enjoyed it. He didn't understand what was going on half the time, like never putting on the 3-D glasses for the shows, but he smiled and waved. I think he really liked the parades. He waved at ALL the characters. He wasn't a big fan of Pooh, which is odd since he sleeps with one sometimes. But everyone else, he was fine. And the Incredibles kind of freaked him out, but they had giant heads. Who can blame him?
My favorite part, other than watching their little faces, was the hug and kiss I got from Pooh on the first day. That was nice. I didn't get my picture made with him, but he knew. It didn't seem to be too bad to stand in lines. It didn't seem too hot. It was humid, but never actually rained. That is pretty strange for FL in the afternoon. It was practically perfect.
I'll report more later, when I'm not tired. And sunburned. Ouch. I wore sunscreen, really. But it was hot and sunny. Luckily, I lathered the boys up. They are still pretty pasty-white! I'm sure Mom will give me a hard time about that. Oh well.
Friday, June 22, 2007
iPod Meme
THE iPOD MEMEINSTRUCTIONS:
1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn’t make sense.
NO CHEATING!
How do you feel today? Any Man of Mine - Shania Twain
What's your outlook on life? Come Together - The Beatles
What does your family think of you? Supergirl - Donovan
What do your friends think of you? Word of God Speak - Kutlass
What do your exes think of you? All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
How's your love life? Stop It Girl - New Kids on the Block
How will your love life be in the future? Heaven Is a Place On Earth - Belinda Carlysle
Will you get married? Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
Are you good at school? Funky Town - Pseudo Echo
Will you be successful? Sick Cycle Carousel - Lifehouse
What song should they play on your birthday? Wild Thing - Tone Loc
What song should they play at your graduation? Mickey - ???
The Soundtrack of your life? Tequila - The Champs
You and your best friends are? Take It Easy - the Eagles
Happy times: New World- David Wilcox
Sad times: Is Forever Enough - Hawk Nelson
Every day: Walk Like an Egyptian - the Bangles
For tomorrow: Sweeter - Hillsong
For you: God of Wonders - Third Day
What does next year have in store for you? We Are the Champions - Queen
What do you say when life gets too hard? One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer - George Thorogood
What song will you dance to at your wedding? Ice, Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice
What do you want as your career? La Bamba - Ritchie Valens
Your favorite saying: the 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy) - Simon and Garfunkel
How will you die? Centerfield - John Fogerty
Thanks to the View From the Manse for this great idea! I could not believe how many of the songs actually fit! And no, we did NOT dance to Ice, Ice Baby at our wedding.
1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn’t make sense.
NO CHEATING!
How do you feel today? Any Man of Mine - Shania Twain
What's your outlook on life? Come Together - The Beatles
What does your family think of you? Supergirl - Donovan
What do your friends think of you? Word of God Speak - Kutlass
What do your exes think of you? All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
How's your love life? Stop It Girl - New Kids on the Block
How will your love life be in the future? Heaven Is a Place On Earth - Belinda Carlysle
Will you get married? Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
Are you good at school? Funky Town - Pseudo Echo
Will you be successful? Sick Cycle Carousel - Lifehouse
What song should they play on your birthday? Wild Thing - Tone Loc
What song should they play at your graduation? Mickey - ???
The Soundtrack of your life? Tequila - The Champs
You and your best friends are? Take It Easy - the Eagles
Happy times: New World- David Wilcox
Sad times: Is Forever Enough - Hawk Nelson
Every day: Walk Like an Egyptian - the Bangles
For tomorrow: Sweeter - Hillsong
For you: God of Wonders - Third Day
What does next year have in store for you? We Are the Champions - Queen
What do you say when life gets too hard? One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer - George Thorogood
What song will you dance to at your wedding? Ice, Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice
What do you want as your career? La Bamba - Ritchie Valens
Your favorite saying: the 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy) - Simon and Garfunkel
How will you die? Centerfield - John Fogerty
Thanks to the View From the Manse for this great idea! I could not believe how many of the songs actually fit! And no, we did NOT dance to Ice, Ice Baby at our wedding.
154.5
Yowzers! Jeepers! I have no idea what I am doing to lose this weight. I didn't work out yesterday at all. I even ate a half a slice of the lemon pound cake. I may have to ask the Braggs to bake us another one, since every day I've eaten it I've lost weight. Hmm... lemon pound cake leads to weight loss. I like it! I should write a book!
Packing for the weekend in Pageland and the week in Disney. Should be fun!!! Must do the last load of laundry. Must also get a shower gift for next weekend. Or maybe we'll pick them up something at Disney. I don't think Chris or Kristen is into Disney. Oh well. And Nikki dropped off her laptop yesterday, so now I can upload photos from the camera every day. I was starting to think we'd have to buy a new memory card! I plan on taking plenty of pics of the boys. Maybe not as many as Nikki takes of Madison, but enough for us. I don't want them to ever forget their first trip to the happiest place on earth!
Packing for the weekend in Pageland and the week in Disney. Should be fun!!! Must do the last load of laundry. Must also get a shower gift for next weekend. Or maybe we'll pick them up something at Disney. I don't think Chris or Kristen is into Disney. Oh well. And Nikki dropped off her laptop yesterday, so now I can upload photos from the camera every day. I was starting to think we'd have to buy a new memory card! I plan on taking plenty of pics of the boys. Maybe not as many as Nikki takes of Madison, but enough for us. I don't want them to ever forget their first trip to the happiest place on earth!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
155.7
I have met my 10% Weight Watchers goal! YES!!!
I have been so good. Even after a weekend of home cooking and lemon pound cake. (Man, that stuff was good!) I still managed to lose weight!
This has been a good week. Hubs has been "officially" diagnosed with ADHD. That would not seem like a good thing, except that now we know how to work on getting him better. He is supposed to be starting some medication soon, that will help him stay more focused.
I led our Beth Moore study tonight. It was fun! I have been feeling a call toward leading a Bible study at our new church, so I wanted to try out leading with friends. I think it went well. I was thinking about a study of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. It is such a good book! It has really made me look at my life and trying to find more balance between "doing" and "sitting". I am definitely a doer. What mom isn't? But I need to try and take more time to just sit and learn, and be with Jesus.
Only 3 more days till Disney World!!!! I think I may be even more excited than the kids. I know how awesome it is, so I have more anticipation!!!
I have been so good. Even after a weekend of home cooking and lemon pound cake. (Man, that stuff was good!) I still managed to lose weight!
This has been a good week. Hubs has been "officially" diagnosed with ADHD. That would not seem like a good thing, except that now we know how to work on getting him better. He is supposed to be starting some medication soon, that will help him stay more focused.
I led our Beth Moore study tonight. It was fun! I have been feeling a call toward leading a Bible study at our new church, so I wanted to try out leading with friends. I think it went well. I was thinking about a study of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. It is such a good book! It has really made me look at my life and trying to find more balance between "doing" and "sitting". I am definitely a doer. What mom isn't? But I need to try and take more time to just sit and learn, and be with Jesus.
Only 3 more days till Disney World!!!! I think I may be even more excited than the kids. I know how awesome it is, so I have more anticipation!!!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Our First Sunday
I have to report. It was our first Sunday at our new church. Pageland United Methodist in the little town of Pageland, SC. WOW! I could not believe that the self-assured man standing at the front of the church behind the lectern was my Hubs! His voice boomed. His gestures were sure. He didn't stumble or hesitate. It was like someone else. I have never been so proud of him. It brought tears to my eyes.
All the things I was frightened of, being a pastor's wife, were totally unfounded. The people at PUMC were super nice and friendly. I went over with Cheeseman just before Sunday School time. We played with Bman in the nursery for a few minutes. Then two nice ladies, I can't remember both their names now, came by with the other members of his SS class. There were two little girls, ages 6 and 10, and one little boy, age 5. Perfect! So Cheeseman went with them, and had a great time.
Bman and I stayed in the nursery and played. They had lots of "old school" toys. Like those little plastic things that hook together by a hole in one end. I can't think of what they are. They are baby toys, but Bman totally loved them. They even had a cash register, like the one I had when I was a toddler. It didn't work anymore, and all the plastic money was gone, but still!
The church service was great! I'm still not a HUGE fan of traditional music, but it sounded different without an organ blasting. They only have a piano, and that made a difference to me. I liked it better. All the people were so nice, coming up and introducing themselves. I met one lady, Miss Rachel. She said that I had met her "little" sister the day before, Miss Ruth. Miss Ruth is 92. Miss Rachel is 98. The church is 102 years old. WOW! Miss Ruth sings in the choir, and Miss Rachel is the head of the trustees. These ladies are still going strong!
I have never gone to a church with so much history. It was really neat.
The parsonage is nice too. The boys love it! It is about twice the size of our house. The boys are sharing a bedroom, since Bman is not ready to sleep on a double bed by himself. They did okay with that. The first night, they made noise for about 10 minutes before settling down. But we wore them out on Saturday, and they went right to bed at 8:00.
There is a large open field right down a small hill from the house. It's church property, so the boys played baseball down there. There is also a playground right across the street. It has swings, a metal slide, metal jungle gyms (plural!!), and a climbing wall. Even a tire swing! We were there for over an hour! It was AWESOME!!!
There is no TV at the parsonage. It was not even a problem. We played outside, read books, played Power Rangers. Hubs' parents came and stayed Saturday night as well. It was a great Father's Day gift for his dad to hear him preach his first sermon in his first church. They were almost as proud as I was.
I went for a walk Saturday morning. I think I saw most of Pageland in 40 minutes. There is a KFC, Subway, Bojangles, Pizza Hut, Sub Station 2, Burger King, CVS, Dollar General, Family Dollar, BiLo, Rent-A-Center, and Advance Auto. There is no Wal-Mart, KMart, or Target. When we went "shopping" to get stuff for the house, we went to Dollar General. It was actually not too bad. When we went out to lunch after church, people spoke to each other. That small-town thing was not too bad. I think I liked it.
Anyway, I won't mind going back and staying there on the weekends. It will be nice to unwind and slow down on the weekends. If the washing machine were larger, it would be perfect, but you can't have it all!
All the things I was frightened of, being a pastor's wife, were totally unfounded. The people at PUMC were super nice and friendly. I went over with Cheeseman just before Sunday School time. We played with Bman in the nursery for a few minutes. Then two nice ladies, I can't remember both their names now, came by with the other members of his SS class. There were two little girls, ages 6 and 10, and one little boy, age 5. Perfect! So Cheeseman went with them, and had a great time.
Bman and I stayed in the nursery and played. They had lots of "old school" toys. Like those little plastic things that hook together by a hole in one end. I can't think of what they are. They are baby toys, but Bman totally loved them. They even had a cash register, like the one I had when I was a toddler. It didn't work anymore, and all the plastic money was gone, but still!
The church service was great! I'm still not a HUGE fan of traditional music, but it sounded different without an organ blasting. They only have a piano, and that made a difference to me. I liked it better. All the people were so nice, coming up and introducing themselves. I met one lady, Miss Rachel. She said that I had met her "little" sister the day before, Miss Ruth. Miss Ruth is 92. Miss Rachel is 98. The church is 102 years old. WOW! Miss Ruth sings in the choir, and Miss Rachel is the head of the trustees. These ladies are still going strong!
I have never gone to a church with so much history. It was really neat.
The parsonage is nice too. The boys love it! It is about twice the size of our house. The boys are sharing a bedroom, since Bman is not ready to sleep on a double bed by himself. They did okay with that. The first night, they made noise for about 10 minutes before settling down. But we wore them out on Saturday, and they went right to bed at 8:00.
There is a large open field right down a small hill from the house. It's church property, so the boys played baseball down there. There is also a playground right across the street. It has swings, a metal slide, metal jungle gyms (plural!!), and a climbing wall. Even a tire swing! We were there for over an hour! It was AWESOME!!!
There is no TV at the parsonage. It was not even a problem. We played outside, read books, played Power Rangers. Hubs' parents came and stayed Saturday night as well. It was a great Father's Day gift for his dad to hear him preach his first sermon in his first church. They were almost as proud as I was.
I went for a walk Saturday morning. I think I saw most of Pageland in 40 minutes. There is a KFC, Subway, Bojangles, Pizza Hut, Sub Station 2, Burger King, CVS, Dollar General, Family Dollar, BiLo, Rent-A-Center, and Advance Auto. There is no Wal-Mart, KMart, or Target. When we went "shopping" to get stuff for the house, we went to Dollar General. It was actually not too bad. When we went out to lunch after church, people spoke to each other. That small-town thing was not too bad. I think I liked it.
Anyway, I won't mind going back and staying there on the weekends. It will be nice to unwind and slow down on the weekends. If the washing machine were larger, it would be perfect, but you can't have it all!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
OOPS
I may have neglected to mention that Sunday was also our anniversary. Our seventh anniversary. Yay!
We didn't do anything special. In fact, we didn't do anything at all together except attend church. When we got home, Hubs ate lunch then fell asleep due to not getting home from the Braves game until nearly 3 a.m. He napped for about 3 hours, then got up in time to play with the boys for a little bit until it was time for youth group. When he got home, it was time to put the boys to bed. Then we sat and watched TV for a while, then both fell asleep on the couch.
Oh, the excitement!
So! I decided we needed to celebrate. After all, seven years is a big deal to me! I arranged for a babysitter. I picked her up on my way home from the bookstore on Monday. We also picked up a pizza. The sitter and I walked in the door, and Hubs' jaw dropped! I told him that we (he and I) were going out! So I took him out to Carraba's for dinner.
(We are really, really broke. But I had found 2 gift cards from students that totalled about $35. I figured we could both eat on that. And if were not for the beer and wine, we would have.)
It was nice. We got to really talk at dinner, instead of just trying to convince two little boys to eat. Instead of playing "blast off" and "airplane" and "train" with forks in order to bribe them to eat. Instead of picking food up off the floor. Instead of washing dishes.
Grown up conversation. We talked about how his first counselling session went. It was good. He has a second one next Tuesday. And today we got a letter from the insurance saying that they would cover his doctor visits! YES! I was a little concerned about that. Like I said, we are BROKE.
Anyway, it was a lovely evening. We still are not back where we were before all the breaking news, but we are at least sitting at the same table. It is going to take some time before I am able to trust him completely again. That's okay. The things we work for are the things that mean the most to us, right?
And tomorrow, BabyNet is coming to talk to us about our goals for Bman's speech therapy. At 8:30 a.m.!!! Um, I'd like for people outside of Hubs and me to be able to understand him. Duh!
We didn't do anything special. In fact, we didn't do anything at all together except attend church. When we got home, Hubs ate lunch then fell asleep due to not getting home from the Braves game until nearly 3 a.m. He napped for about 3 hours, then got up in time to play with the boys for a little bit until it was time for youth group. When he got home, it was time to put the boys to bed. Then we sat and watched TV for a while, then both fell asleep on the couch.
Oh, the excitement!
So! I decided we needed to celebrate. After all, seven years is a big deal to me! I arranged for a babysitter. I picked her up on my way home from the bookstore on Monday. We also picked up a pizza. The sitter and I walked in the door, and Hubs' jaw dropped! I told him that we (he and I) were going out! So I took him out to Carraba's for dinner.
(We are really, really broke. But I had found 2 gift cards from students that totalled about $35. I figured we could both eat on that. And if were not for the beer and wine, we would have.)
It was nice. We got to really talk at dinner, instead of just trying to convince two little boys to eat. Instead of playing "blast off" and "airplane" and "train" with forks in order to bribe them to eat. Instead of picking food up off the floor. Instead of washing dishes.
Grown up conversation. We talked about how his first counselling session went. It was good. He has a second one next Tuesday. And today we got a letter from the insurance saying that they would cover his doctor visits! YES! I was a little concerned about that. Like I said, we are BROKE.
Anyway, it was a lovely evening. We still are not back where we were before all the breaking news, but we are at least sitting at the same table. It is going to take some time before I am able to trust him completely again. That's okay. The things we work for are the things that mean the most to us, right?
And tomorrow, BabyNet is coming to talk to us about our goals for Bman's speech therapy. At 8:30 a.m.!!! Um, I'd like for people outside of Hubs and me to be able to understand him. Duh!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
The Last Sunday
That we are going to "our" church. I will truly, truly miss NEUMC. Hubs and I have been attending church there since January of 2001. We went the first time by invitation of some of my students who were going there. Thanks Audrey and Ryan! Hubs got involved fairly quickly. It was my fault, really. I volunteered him to sing in the choir. Oops. Then, I also volunteered him to work with a small, student-led Bible study. He loved both! Soon, I was also involved with adult Bible study.
Then I got pregnant with Cheeseman. I volunteered that summer at VBS for the first time. It was scary! There was a little boy in my group who was SO HYPER! I just knew that my little one would be just like that. (which he is) Anyway, we continued volunteering with choir, youth, and children's ministries.
It has been the most wonderful experience. I would not trade it for the world.
My favorite thing about being there, though, has been the friendships I've made through singing with the Praise Team/Band and our Sunday school class. Yes, Sunday school for adults. These relationships have been the backbone for me especially. I have my closest friends there. Lisa, Shannon, Bonnie, Kay. These are my girls! And while it will be hard not to see them, not to sing with them, I know that we will survive this. Because God is part of these friendships. And I know He does not want them to end. I am not leaving my friends, just the building where I met them.
It has taken a lot for me to come to this realization. And yes, I did cry this morning, saying good-bye to the Band. But I know that they will always be with me. And I'll be singing with them on their non-Sunday-morning gigs. Like at Salkehatchie in a few weeks. It'll be okay. For them, and for me.
So while I'm still sad a little, from having to say farewell, I am okay. The Lord is standing next to me, holding my hand, helping me along this path that He wants us to take. He is making me stronger, and making my faith stronger as well. Together, I will get through this. I might even like it!
Then I got pregnant with Cheeseman. I volunteered that summer at VBS for the first time. It was scary! There was a little boy in my group who was SO HYPER! I just knew that my little one would be just like that. (which he is) Anyway, we continued volunteering with choir, youth, and children's ministries.
It has been the most wonderful experience. I would not trade it for the world.
My favorite thing about being there, though, has been the friendships I've made through singing with the Praise Team/Band and our Sunday school class. Yes, Sunday school for adults. These relationships have been the backbone for me especially. I have my closest friends there. Lisa, Shannon, Bonnie, Kay. These are my girls! And while it will be hard not to see them, not to sing with them, I know that we will survive this. Because God is part of these friendships. And I know He does not want them to end. I am not leaving my friends, just the building where I met them.
It has taken a lot for me to come to this realization. And yes, I did cry this morning, saying good-bye to the Band. But I know that they will always be with me. And I'll be singing with them on their non-Sunday-morning gigs. Like at Salkehatchie in a few weeks. It'll be okay. For them, and for me.
So while I'm still sad a little, from having to say farewell, I am okay. The Lord is standing next to me, holding my hand, helping me along this path that He wants us to take. He is making me stronger, and making my faith stronger as well. Together, I will get through this. I might even like it!
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Fun Night
Well, we're finally home. Spent the evening at sis's house, letting the kids play together. I don't know about hers, but mine are sleeping soundly. Cheeseman did ask to stay up for a few minutes, but as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out! Bman is also snoring right now. Really snoring. We've got to get that checked out.
The children had a wonderful time. They played with all Madison's toys. They played on the swings, went down the slide. We played "baseball". (That would be Bman hitting off the tee, and Cheeseman getting pitched to.) We ate lasagna. Both boys finished their dinners, which is kind of a miracle. Then we watched High School Musical. Evidently, Madison knows all the words to the songs. I have to say, it is entertaining. The movie, and Madison singing.
A good time was had by all. And I ate too much. And now I'm going to have an English Toffee ice cream bar. Because I've already gone over points. I'll just work harder tomorrow!
Hubs is still in ATL. I don't expect him till well after midnight. The game is still going strong. Last I saw, my Braves were still winning! I am having to update my bro-in-law as to the score of the UNC/USC super-regional baseball game. He's a USC FANatic, and he's missing the game to do this male bonding thing. Isn't that nice?
The children had a wonderful time. They played with all Madison's toys. They played on the swings, went down the slide. We played "baseball". (That would be Bman hitting off the tee, and Cheeseman getting pitched to.) We ate lasagna. Both boys finished their dinners, which is kind of a miracle. Then we watched High School Musical. Evidently, Madison knows all the words to the songs. I have to say, it is entertaining. The movie, and Madison singing.
A good time was had by all. And I ate too much. And now I'm going to have an English Toffee ice cream bar. Because I've already gone over points. I'll just work harder tomorrow!
Hubs is still in ATL. I don't expect him till well after midnight. The game is still going strong. Last I saw, my Braves were still winning! I am having to update my bro-in-law as to the score of the UNC/USC super-regional baseball game. He's a USC FANatic, and he's missing the game to do this male bonding thing. Isn't that nice?
I hate running
But I'm getting better at it. When summer started, and I was determined to get into better shape and lose some weight, I didn't want to have to get into a hot car, drive to the gym, work out, get back into a hot car, and drive home. So I started walking in a nearby neighborhood. It's only across one semi-busy street. And there's a sidewalk and sprinklers.
The first week, all I did was walk. 15 minutes out, 15 minutes back. The next week, I tried to run some. I was able to get up to 3 minutes of running at a time.
Last week was even better. I was running for about 8-10 minutes at a time.
Then yestereday, I ran for almost 12 straight minutes. When Hubs measured it, it was 1.1 miles! Yay!!!!!! Today, I did the same distance in 11 and 1/2 minutes. I took 20 seconds off my time! Felt good, felt good.
So, even though I hate running, I'm glad I'm getting better at it. And I'm down 14 pounds. And a waist size. I'm in a 12 now. I even have one pair of 10 shorts that fit fine. Guess that particular brand runs large. But I can still boast that I can wear a 10!
Waiting on Bman to get up from his nap so we can go to Nikki's. The menfolk are in Atlanta going to the Braves game tonight, so we ladies are getting the kids together to play. Should be fun! I'm providing lasagna.
The first week, all I did was walk. 15 minutes out, 15 minutes back. The next week, I tried to run some. I was able to get up to 3 minutes of running at a time.
Last week was even better. I was running for about 8-10 minutes at a time.
Then yestereday, I ran for almost 12 straight minutes. When Hubs measured it, it was 1.1 miles! Yay!!!!!! Today, I did the same distance in 11 and 1/2 minutes. I took 20 seconds off my time! Felt good, felt good.
So, even though I hate running, I'm glad I'm getting better at it. And I'm down 14 pounds. And a waist size. I'm in a 12 now. I even have one pair of 10 shorts that fit fine. Guess that particular brand runs large. But I can still boast that I can wear a 10!
Waiting on Bman to get up from his nap so we can go to Nikki's. The menfolk are in Atlanta going to the Braves game tonight, so we ladies are getting the kids together to play. Should be fun! I'm providing lasagna.
Friday, June 08, 2007
A much better day
It was, oh, it was! Finally, we are seeing some progress. I wasn't so sure earlier, especially last week. Yes, Hubs went to meet with Kevin. So that was something. But he hadn't remembered to call the doctor to make his appointment. Then he did it. And he went. And he came home with Lexapro.
I know all is not healed with anti-depressants. But he also has an appointment with a counselor on Monday afternoon. And this morning, he told me that he is committed to finding out what is causing "this" and fixing it. Or at least figuring out what it is so that I can see it coming. Yay! This is 7 years in the making. I am so thankful that he has decided this is something important. It has been taking its toll on our marriage.
It has also affected the children. Cheeseman asked me the other day why daddy is always so mean. Why he yells all the time. And I had to try to explain in 4-year-old words that it's not Daddy's fault. He's just sad. Luckily, and this sounds bad, Hubs' grandmother had just passed, so Cheeseman thought I meant sad because Grama died. Well, it made sense to him, so I let it go. But it really hit home. He had noticed a change in his dad, and he wanted to know what was going on. I also had to emphasize that Daddy loves him very much, even if he seems mad sometimes. It nearly broke my heart.
But today, today was good. Hubs and I have been walking/running in the mornings, before the heat really kicks in. We all went to the grocery store together, which is always an adventure. I don't think we came home with anything NOT on the list, which is a miracle. We stopped at McD's for the kids to get Happy Meals. New Surf's Up toys! We tried to have naptime, but neither Cheeseman nor Bman was having that. I did my Bible study while they had "quiet" time. (HA!)
This afternoon, we went to the mall to buy Hubs some new swim trunks for VACATION!! We also bought him a grill for Father's Day. Unfortunately, it won't be here till the 29th, but he can dream about it until then. We've already started planning our first party.
I cooked dinner tonight, Tuna Noodle Casserole, the WW way. It was YUMMY, and only 6 points. Then we all went for a walk together around the block. The boys desperately need a bath, but it's such a pain! Hubs has gone to a movie with my little brother and our bro-in-law. Boys night and all that. Weenie. Left me to bathe the chilrens. Oh, well.
It was still an awesome day!!
I know all is not healed with anti-depressants. But he also has an appointment with a counselor on Monday afternoon. And this morning, he told me that he is committed to finding out what is causing "this" and fixing it. Or at least figuring out what it is so that I can see it coming. Yay! This is 7 years in the making. I am so thankful that he has decided this is something important. It has been taking its toll on our marriage.
It has also affected the children. Cheeseman asked me the other day why daddy is always so mean. Why he yells all the time. And I had to try to explain in 4-year-old words that it's not Daddy's fault. He's just sad. Luckily, and this sounds bad, Hubs' grandmother had just passed, so Cheeseman thought I meant sad because Grama died. Well, it made sense to him, so I let it go. But it really hit home. He had noticed a change in his dad, and he wanted to know what was going on. I also had to emphasize that Daddy loves him very much, even if he seems mad sometimes. It nearly broke my heart.
But today, today was good. Hubs and I have been walking/running in the mornings, before the heat really kicks in. We all went to the grocery store together, which is always an adventure. I don't think we came home with anything NOT on the list, which is a miracle. We stopped at McD's for the kids to get Happy Meals. New Surf's Up toys! We tried to have naptime, but neither Cheeseman nor Bman was having that. I did my Bible study while they had "quiet" time. (HA!)
This afternoon, we went to the mall to buy Hubs some new swim trunks for VACATION!! We also bought him a grill for Father's Day. Unfortunately, it won't be here till the 29th, but he can dream about it until then. We've already started planning our first party.
I cooked dinner tonight, Tuna Noodle Casserole, the WW way. It was YUMMY, and only 6 points. Then we all went for a walk together around the block. The boys desperately need a bath, but it's such a pain! Hubs has gone to a movie with my little brother and our bro-in-law. Boys night and all that. Weenie. Left me to bathe the chilrens. Oh, well.
It was still an awesome day!!
Saturday, June 02, 2007
I Mean Really!
How hard is it to push some toys out of the middle of the floor?
If you are four and two, obviously it is very hard. Especially if your daddy doesn't make you.
If you are the daddy, VERY, VERY HARD, because you'd rather sit on your lazy ass and not do anything. When I got home from work (back at the bookstore, yay!), the living room was a mess. It immediately irritated me. Hubs was asleep on the couch, as usual. I woke him up and he apologized for the mess. He always apologizes. If I wanted an apology, I would ask for one. Instead, I asked for him to just push the mess out of the way. He says he "meant" to clean it up, and just sat down to rest for a minute. That's why he was LAYING down. He obviously didn't notice when he fell over asleep.
And the kids didn't get a bath either, even though they'd been over playing at a friend's house for the afternoon.
My God! Do I have to do everything around here?
And now he's gone back to sleep on the couch. Mess is still there. As usual. I'll be the one to clean it up, because I have no patience for this bullshit.
I mean, really. Seriously. This is about ridiculous!
If you are four and two, obviously it is very hard. Especially if your daddy doesn't make you.
If you are the daddy, VERY, VERY HARD, because you'd rather sit on your lazy ass and not do anything. When I got home from work (back at the bookstore, yay!), the living room was a mess. It immediately irritated me. Hubs was asleep on the couch, as usual. I woke him up and he apologized for the mess. He always apologizes. If I wanted an apology, I would ask for one. Instead, I asked for him to just push the mess out of the way. He says he "meant" to clean it up, and just sat down to rest for a minute. That's why he was LAYING down. He obviously didn't notice when he fell over asleep.
And the kids didn't get a bath either, even though they'd been over playing at a friend's house for the afternoon.
My God! Do I have to do everything around here?
And now he's gone back to sleep on the couch. Mess is still there. As usual. I'll be the one to clean it up, because I have no patience for this bullshit.
I mean, really. Seriously. This is about ridiculous!
Friday, June 01, 2007
Better day?
Today was a better day, vacation-wise. I got to go for a walk this morning. I only ran for 8 minutes today, but I walked for an additional 30 "briskly" so that was good. Then Cheeseman and I went to Wal-Mart to get a present for his buddy. He's going to the party tomorrow afternoon, so it was a good thing. And we picked out some more flowers for the front of the house. Hubs wanted to hang them tonight (the flowers), but we didn't have any hooks. Oh well, maybe later this week.
Cheeseman didn't want to eat much at lunch today, barely half his grilled cheese. Which is usually his favorite. He did eat a lot of Doritos though. That's his new thing - Doritos. Whatever! This afternoon, Cheeseman, Hubs, and I went to Baskin Robbins. Yes, I know, the diet. But it's okay! Sugar Free ice cream is the way to go. All the taste, with not near as much fat! Yippee! Only 4 points.
Then we went to the grocery store. Doesn't sound to exciting, but it was fun. Hubs pushed the racecar cart, and I did the navigating. We are trying to eat healthier. Most of the cart was filled with fruits, veggies, and whole wheat selections. Yay us! Tonight, we had salmon and the most awesome pesto rotini ever! It was seriously yummy! We even went for a walk together as a family after dinner. And the kids went straight to bed, not too much fussing. Usually, Bman gets up once or twice trying to escape bedtime. Only opened his door once. Turns out he just wanted Mommy to come in and sing to him. Such a sweetie!
Hubs went and met with our pastor today. He (Hubs) has suffered from depression at times. When we first got married, we didn't live in the same place for the first six months. I was here teaching, and he was finishing his last semester of school. At least, that was what he was supposed to be doing. Instead, he was going to movies, driving around aimlessly, basically just wasting days. When he finally sat down and told me, it was frightening. He went on an antidepressant and had some counselling. Then he moved down here with me, and everything was fine.
This spring, unbeknownst to me, this depression came back. I had noticed some off behavior, sleeping on the couch every night, and I asked him about it. He said nothing was wrong. Then, a couple of days later, he confessed. He hadn't been to class in a week. That was in April. Evidently, there were other times when he just couldn't get himself to go. His grades were not good. He was already on probation academically, and the seminary told him to take a year off. To get help and get straightened out.
It has been frightening. Again. And this time, there are two other little people to think about. It has not been a good time around here. Every day, I asked him how his classes were. Many times, he lied to me and made up stuff. I feel so betrayed! How can I believe anything that he says? I feel like I need to check up after him, make sure he's done what he's telling me. Like calling the doctor. Like going to talk to Kevin. But I'm not his mom! That is not what marriage is about, keeping watch like a hawk. It's supposed to be about trust and respect and love. I'm not really feeling those things on my end.
And I'm concerned about him continuing on this path. He's got an appointment to be a part-time pastor at a church about an hour and a half from here. Basically, we go up there on weekends, and he does his thing. The district office is okay with him going on and doing this. I have some reserve feelings. How can he pastor others if he can't even take care of himself? Doesn't he need to focus on him, and getting himself better?
And yes, truth be told, I don't really want to leave our church. Not at all. But I'm mostly thinking of him. He says that this is just what he needs to see if this pastoring thing is his calling. Isn't there another way? Wouldn't the failing grades and lack of motivation be an indicator?
Also, I'm pissed. Mad at him for lieing to me. Mad at me for not seeing it. Mad at him, because I've been working my ass off all year. And for what? For him to dick around and not go to class? I think not! I have neglected my children and not put them to bed for 3 nights, not even seen them for 72 hours, so he can skip class?! That makes me angry. AND, now that he has added at least one, if not two, more years to his schooling, that is more time that I have to spend in hell. Teaching. How could he do that to me?
But it's not all about me. It should be about him. About getting him better. About fixing this thing that's wrong. But I'm still allowed to feel these things, right? I can still be angry, and hurt, about what has happened. I just can't say anything about it.
Cheeseman didn't want to eat much at lunch today, barely half his grilled cheese. Which is usually his favorite. He did eat a lot of Doritos though. That's his new thing - Doritos. Whatever! This afternoon, Cheeseman, Hubs, and I went to Baskin Robbins. Yes, I know, the diet. But it's okay! Sugar Free ice cream is the way to go. All the taste, with not near as much fat! Yippee! Only 4 points.
Then we went to the grocery store. Doesn't sound to exciting, but it was fun. Hubs pushed the racecar cart, and I did the navigating. We are trying to eat healthier. Most of the cart was filled with fruits, veggies, and whole wheat selections. Yay us! Tonight, we had salmon and the most awesome pesto rotini ever! It was seriously yummy! We even went for a walk together as a family after dinner. And the kids went straight to bed, not too much fussing. Usually, Bman gets up once or twice trying to escape bedtime. Only opened his door once. Turns out he just wanted Mommy to come in and sing to him. Such a sweetie!
Hubs went and met with our pastor today. He (Hubs) has suffered from depression at times. When we first got married, we didn't live in the same place for the first six months. I was here teaching, and he was finishing his last semester of school. At least, that was what he was supposed to be doing. Instead, he was going to movies, driving around aimlessly, basically just wasting days. When he finally sat down and told me, it was frightening. He went on an antidepressant and had some counselling. Then he moved down here with me, and everything was fine.
This spring, unbeknownst to me, this depression came back. I had noticed some off behavior, sleeping on the couch every night, and I asked him about it. He said nothing was wrong. Then, a couple of days later, he confessed. He hadn't been to class in a week. That was in April. Evidently, there were other times when he just couldn't get himself to go. His grades were not good. He was already on probation academically, and the seminary told him to take a year off. To get help and get straightened out.
It has been frightening. Again. And this time, there are two other little people to think about. It has not been a good time around here. Every day, I asked him how his classes were. Many times, he lied to me and made up stuff. I feel so betrayed! How can I believe anything that he says? I feel like I need to check up after him, make sure he's done what he's telling me. Like calling the doctor. Like going to talk to Kevin. But I'm not his mom! That is not what marriage is about, keeping watch like a hawk. It's supposed to be about trust and respect and love. I'm not really feeling those things on my end.
And I'm concerned about him continuing on this path. He's got an appointment to be a part-time pastor at a church about an hour and a half from here. Basically, we go up there on weekends, and he does his thing. The district office is okay with him going on and doing this. I have some reserve feelings. How can he pastor others if he can't even take care of himself? Doesn't he need to focus on him, and getting himself better?
And yes, truth be told, I don't really want to leave our church. Not at all. But I'm mostly thinking of him. He says that this is just what he needs to see if this pastoring thing is his calling. Isn't there another way? Wouldn't the failing grades and lack of motivation be an indicator?
Also, I'm pissed. Mad at him for lieing to me. Mad at me for not seeing it. Mad at him, because I've been working my ass off all year. And for what? For him to dick around and not go to class? I think not! I have neglected my children and not put them to bed for 3 nights, not even seen them for 72 hours, so he can skip class?! That makes me angry. AND, now that he has added at least one, if not two, more years to his schooling, that is more time that I have to spend in hell. Teaching. How could he do that to me?
But it's not all about me. It should be about him. About getting him better. About fixing this thing that's wrong. But I'm still allowed to feel these things, right? I can still be angry, and hurt, about what has happened. I just can't say anything about it.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
What a Week!
Finally, I am staring Friday in the face. It could not have come fast enough. You'd think that with school out, it would be less stressful. But it's like the stress waited until it could just knock me over to come.
Cheeseman is doing better. He is still not eating much, at least not consistently. He'll eat some days really well, like at McD's the other day. Then other times, like tonight at dinner, he'll barely touch his food. And he likes chicken nuggets and macaroni. Those are two of his favorite foods! It doesn't make any sense. I'm keeping an eye on him, just in case.
Bman is doing okay. BabyNet came by today to do a speech eval on him. Mrs. Deborah had called them to take a look at him through the daycare. And some guy came to the house today to do the official look over. Evidently, they think Bman may be speech delayed. I know a lot of people can't understand all of what he says, but I can! Of course, Hubs says that's just because we're used to it. And we understand his special grunts and when he points. And when he screams at stuff that he wants. And when he just gives up because we don't understand. Evidently, that also is a problem. He's supposed to get frustrated that we don't understand. But Bman is just really laid back. He's very self-sufficient. He'll sit and play by himself all the time. So, should I feel guilty for not reading to him enough?
All year, we've been so preoccupied with Cheeseman's medical stuff, in and out of hospitals with doctors and all, we haven't had time to do as much with Bman as we did with the first one. Is he suffering now because I didn't make the time? Well, I guess I wouldn't say he's suffering, exactly. He's still going with the flow. And luckily, BabyNet is free. They will provide whatever speech therapy he needs for FREE until he turns three. (in October) Then they will turn him over to the local school district. Which I happen to work for. Which Aunt Nikki also teaches in, at the elementary school that serves our neighborhood. Where Bman would probably go for speech. Yay! I guess it could be worse.
That's all I'm going to write about today. Another day, probably tomorrow, I will share the story of Hubs. I'm not sure I can write about it yet, because it's still pretty fresh. But I will share. Because when I read about this in a few years, I want to always remember what we went through, and how it made us stronger.
Cheeseman is doing better. He is still not eating much, at least not consistently. He'll eat some days really well, like at McD's the other day. Then other times, like tonight at dinner, he'll barely touch his food. And he likes chicken nuggets and macaroni. Those are two of his favorite foods! It doesn't make any sense. I'm keeping an eye on him, just in case.
Bman is doing okay. BabyNet came by today to do a speech eval on him. Mrs. Deborah had called them to take a look at him through the daycare. And some guy came to the house today to do the official look over. Evidently, they think Bman may be speech delayed. I know a lot of people can't understand all of what he says, but I can! Of course, Hubs says that's just because we're used to it. And we understand his special grunts and when he points. And when he screams at stuff that he wants. And when he just gives up because we don't understand. Evidently, that also is a problem. He's supposed to get frustrated that we don't understand. But Bman is just really laid back. He's very self-sufficient. He'll sit and play by himself all the time. So, should I feel guilty for not reading to him enough?
All year, we've been so preoccupied with Cheeseman's medical stuff, in and out of hospitals with doctors and all, we haven't had time to do as much with Bman as we did with the first one. Is he suffering now because I didn't make the time? Well, I guess I wouldn't say he's suffering, exactly. He's still going with the flow. And luckily, BabyNet is free. They will provide whatever speech therapy he needs for FREE until he turns three. (in October) Then they will turn him over to the local school district. Which I happen to work for. Which Aunt Nikki also teaches in, at the elementary school that serves our neighborhood. Where Bman would probably go for speech. Yay! I guess it could be worse.
That's all I'm going to write about today. Another day, probably tomorrow, I will share the story of Hubs. I'm not sure I can write about it yet, because it's still pretty fresh. But I will share. Because when I read about this in a few years, I want to always remember what we went through, and how it made us stronger.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Doing Weight Watchers
I joined Weight Watchers on April 20. Originally, it was to take off some weight to look good in the bridesmaid's dress for my brother's wedding in July. And it was also a little because my pastor mentioned that he did it, and they were running a free week special. I figured if a GUY could stay on it, surely it couldn't be that hard.
The first week, I lost two pounds. It didn't seem like much, and my clothes were still tight. The next week, it was three. I had lost five pounds! That was exciting. The clothes were fitting better.
In the last three weeks, I've lost 6 more pounds. Bringing my total to 11! Wow! My new capris that I bought at Old Navy in April: too big. I put a pair on today to go to church and I had to belt them really close. I didn't want them to fall off when I was singing. It felt good. Even Hubs said that he could really tell I'd been losing when he looked at me in the mirror the other morning. I tend to stand around in my underwear while I'm doing my hair and makeup.
It has improved my life. I want to go shopping to buy some new clothes, but I'm going to wait. I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff now, then have it not fit in another month. As much as I love to shop, we just don't have the money for that kind of thing.
Also, I'm feeling much better about me. I've always had self-esteem issues. Since I was a teen. I know that, and I've tried to work through them. I'll be doing really well, then gain weight and feel bad again. The thing is, that doesn't just affect me, it also affects my marriage. When I feel bad about me, I don't want Hubs to want me. I feel like he can't possibly want to have sex with me when I'm looking (in my mind) fat. Then he feels rejected because I don't want to sleep with him, and it's an ugly cycle. We've been doing it ever since Cheeseman was born.
Now, though, I'm liking my body a bit more. And I want him to notice me. It's improving our marriage. Yay! Thank you, Weight Watchers, for helping my marriage!
The first week, I lost two pounds. It didn't seem like much, and my clothes were still tight. The next week, it was three. I had lost five pounds! That was exciting. The clothes were fitting better.
In the last three weeks, I've lost 6 more pounds. Bringing my total to 11! Wow! My new capris that I bought at Old Navy in April: too big. I put a pair on today to go to church and I had to belt them really close. I didn't want them to fall off when I was singing. It felt good. Even Hubs said that he could really tell I'd been losing when he looked at me in the mirror the other morning. I tend to stand around in my underwear while I'm doing my hair and makeup.
It has improved my life. I want to go shopping to buy some new clothes, but I'm going to wait. I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff now, then have it not fit in another month. As much as I love to shop, we just don't have the money for that kind of thing.
Also, I'm feeling much better about me. I've always had self-esteem issues. Since I was a teen. I know that, and I've tried to work through them. I'll be doing really well, then gain weight and feel bad again. The thing is, that doesn't just affect me, it also affects my marriage. When I feel bad about me, I don't want Hubs to want me. I feel like he can't possibly want to have sex with me when I'm looking (in my mind) fat. Then he feels rejected because I don't want to sleep with him, and it's an ugly cycle. We've been doing it ever since Cheeseman was born.
Now, though, I'm liking my body a bit more. And I want him to notice me. It's improving our marriage. Yay! Thank you, Weight Watchers, for helping my marriage!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Summer vacation begins
School is out and it is my summer vacation yet again. This year, we get twelve full weeks of summer, thanks to the powers that be in the state house and congress. Whatever. I am (somewhat) looking forward to spending time with my little guys. If only Cheeseman would quit whining every five seconds about Bman hitting him/throwing something at him/looking at him. Those two!
Hubs is on his way to O'burg tonight. He got a call from his aunt saying that Gramma is not doing so well. She has Alzheimers, and has been going downhill pretty rapidly. They think she may not make the night. Poor hubs. I know this has been hard for all of them. Especially Aunt, because she lives right there in town and does most of the taking care of stuff.
I've lost 11 lbs. using Weight Watchers. Yay! It's been 5 weeks. I fully intend to keep it off, and even lose some more. If only I could stop eating those damn brownies!
And I can't find my cell. Where the hell is it? I've tried calling it, and I can't even hear it ringing. That is not good.
Hubs is on his way to O'burg tonight. He got a call from his aunt saying that Gramma is not doing so well. She has Alzheimers, and has been going downhill pretty rapidly. They think she may not make the night. Poor hubs. I know this has been hard for all of them. Especially Aunt, because she lives right there in town and does most of the taking care of stuff.
I've lost 11 lbs. using Weight Watchers. Yay! It's been 5 weeks. I fully intend to keep it off, and even lose some more. If only I could stop eating those damn brownies!
And I can't find my cell. Where the hell is it? I've tried calling it, and I can't even hear it ringing. That is not good.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Published laughing jewelry
I am a published author. I am so excited about this! I have been writing in some form or another since second grade: diaries, journals, poetry, memoirs, short fiction. This is the first time I've ever had something really in print.
Where can you go to read my moving piece?
Shine! The literary magazine of the middle school where I teach.
Man, when I opened up the mag, I was so excited! I turned to the page, and there it was. In it's black and white glory. With my name on it and everything. I think I squealed.
What's fun about it is that some of my students have read it too. Wow! Actual people, reading my stuff. Well, if you consider middle schoolers to be people. Which I mostly do.
Funny from today. We were having too much immature fun in class today (Apollo has many duties [doodies][hee hee]) and one of the kids says "You are so immature!"
I answered "If you spent all day with middle schoolers, you'd be immature too!"
She replied "I DO!"
"And there you go."
Okay, looking at that makes it less funny. But if you could see the look on her face, it was all worth it. Right there.
In unrelated news, I think I am addicted to jewelry. I love it. I must have more. I went to another jewelry party tonight, and bought a bracelet, necklace, and ring. Must stop.
Where can you go to read my moving piece?
Shine! The literary magazine of the middle school where I teach.
Man, when I opened up the mag, I was so excited! I turned to the page, and there it was. In it's black and white glory. With my name on it and everything. I think I squealed.
What's fun about it is that some of my students have read it too. Wow! Actual people, reading my stuff. Well, if you consider middle schoolers to be people. Which I mostly do.
Funny from today. We were having too much immature fun in class today (Apollo has many duties [doodies][hee hee]) and one of the kids says "You are so immature!"
I answered "If you spent all day with middle schoolers, you'd be immature too!"
She replied "I DO!"
"And there you go."
Okay, looking at that makes it less funny. But if you could see the look on her face, it was all worth it. Right there.
In unrelated news, I think I am addicted to jewelry. I love it. I must have more. I went to another jewelry party tonight, and bought a bracelet, necklace, and ring. Must stop.
Friday, May 04, 2007
My dirty little secret
If I write it, it will be real. I told Shannon tonight, because I really just need someone to talk to. I have no one. I'm here, I'm all alone. I have no one to talk to. I told Shannon.
Hubs has been sleeping on the couch all week. Not because I made him. Because he doesn't come to bed because he's "not tired." Then he falls asleep. T
he one time I woke him up to come to bed, he tossed and turned for 45 minutes then went back and slept on the couch.
Every morning, I wake up to the living room light on. The TV on. Sometimes a kitchen light on. Sometimes the front door still unlocked.
I feel like my marriage is in trouble. He doesn't see it. He doesn't see that I am bothered by this. I'm scared to say anything to him, because I don't want to get into another fight.
He won't even be home tonight at all. He's off with the youth group on a Lock Out. Then he has to work the lunch shift at the restaurant. So he'll be home (maybe) to shower before 10, then not again until after 4. Then he'll sleep and sleep and sleep. Bet he'll sleep in the bed then.
Do we need counselling? I wouldn't even know where to look. Should I talk to my pastor again? He knows that Hubs and I are having issues. He keeps saying 'I've got to talk to him' but he hasn't yet. I don't know what to do. I'm so embarrassed.
Am I so repulsive that he can't stand to be in the same room as me? He hasn't tried to touch me in almost 2 weeks. He's never been like that! What is going on?
I cry on the way to work sometimes, I'm so depressed. What do I do?
Hubs has been sleeping on the couch all week. Not because I made him. Because he doesn't come to bed because he's "not tired." Then he falls asleep. T
he one time I woke him up to come to bed, he tossed and turned for 45 minutes then went back and slept on the couch.
Every morning, I wake up to the living room light on. The TV on. Sometimes a kitchen light on. Sometimes the front door still unlocked.
I feel like my marriage is in trouble. He doesn't see it. He doesn't see that I am bothered by this. I'm scared to say anything to him, because I don't want to get into another fight.
He won't even be home tonight at all. He's off with the youth group on a Lock Out. Then he has to work the lunch shift at the restaurant. So he'll be home (maybe) to shower before 10, then not again until after 4. Then he'll sleep and sleep and sleep. Bet he'll sleep in the bed then.
Do we need counselling? I wouldn't even know where to look. Should I talk to my pastor again? He knows that Hubs and I are having issues. He keeps saying 'I've got to talk to him' but he hasn't yet. I don't know what to do. I'm so embarrassed.
Am I so repulsive that he can't stand to be in the same room as me? He hasn't tried to touch me in almost 2 weeks. He's never been like that! What is going on?
I cry on the way to work sometimes, I'm so depressed. What do I do?
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Did Ya Miss Me?
I've been away for far too long. I have felt unhappy, lethargic, and downright nasty. It must be because I haven't been writing. Even if no one reads this, it makes me feel better. I write because I must. If I don't, I will shrivel up and die.
This is my out. This is my way to tell myself that everything can't be as bad as it seems. Even when it is just as bad as it seems. It's my way to let out the drama that is inside me.
This week has been rough. It's my own fault, really. I waited until the last minute to make my final exams. I waited until the night before it's due (tonight) to work on my paper for my class. Oops. I'm a procrastinator. I'll admit it. But my paper is good. And it's done. All I have to do is copy some extra stuff, and I'll be ready to go.
Exams start tomorrow. Tomorrow, the torture begins. They have to translate. It's not great on a good day, let alone when they are nervous. Then Friday is the grammar. Hee, hee, hee. I've been practicing my evil laugh. The tests are all multiple choice. I don't do that to be nice to the devils. I do that because I have very little time to grade these things, and m.c. is easy to grade. And I can get Hubs to help out. Even he can read the letters. Don't have to know Latin for that!
Tomorrow after school I have 3 places to be. 1) homebound instruction. Guess I'll have to call and cancel that. Maybe she can meet on Friday. 2) Class. So I can turn in my paper. We're supposed to be having dinner/appetizers. That sounds like way more fun than... 3) meeting. We have to talk about 8th grade graduation. And summer staff development. Fun.
I've started Weight Watchers. The first week I lost 3 pounds. This week, not so much. In fact, not at all. I've not been very good this week. It's got to be the stress. I can't lose weight when I've got all this stuff on my mind. (it just took me three tries to type m-i-n-d. Geez!) Must stop the stress. Must stop the stress.
This is my out. This is my way to tell myself that everything can't be as bad as it seems. Even when it is just as bad as it seems. It's my way to let out the drama that is inside me.
This week has been rough. It's my own fault, really. I waited until the last minute to make my final exams. I waited until the night before it's due (tonight) to work on my paper for my class. Oops. I'm a procrastinator. I'll admit it. But my paper is good. And it's done. All I have to do is copy some extra stuff, and I'll be ready to go.
Exams start tomorrow. Tomorrow, the torture begins. They have to translate. It's not great on a good day, let alone when they are nervous. Then Friday is the grammar. Hee, hee, hee. I've been practicing my evil laugh. The tests are all multiple choice. I don't do that to be nice to the devils. I do that because I have very little time to grade these things, and m.c. is easy to grade. And I can get Hubs to help out. Even he can read the letters. Don't have to know Latin for that!
Tomorrow after school I have 3 places to be. 1) homebound instruction. Guess I'll have to call and cancel that. Maybe she can meet on Friday. 2) Class. So I can turn in my paper. We're supposed to be having dinner/appetizers. That sounds like way more fun than... 3) meeting. We have to talk about 8th grade graduation. And summer staff development. Fun.
I've started Weight Watchers. The first week I lost 3 pounds. This week, not so much. In fact, not at all. I've not been very good this week. It's got to be the stress. I can't lose weight when I've got all this stuff on my mind. (it just took me three tries to type m-i-n-d. Geez!) Must stop the stress. Must stop the stress.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Spring Break - Day 1
What a lovely start!
I got up at 5:30 this morning. Drove 2 hours to MUSC so that Cheeseman could get his rectum dialated. I did get to see him after he drank his "silly juice". He is a funny drunk. The doc says that his rectum looked exactly as he'd hoped it would. It's a bit looser, so we'll maybe only have one more procedure.
Once done, we headed home. We stopped at "old McDonalds" so that he could get the latest TMNT toy in his happy meal. Then he watched TMNT all the way home on the DVD. We stopped off at the bookstore (where Mommy used to work) to get him a treat for being such a brave boy. He picked out TWO new Spiderman 3 books. We also got a book for B-man and one for me. Daddy didn't get a book. He's a student, he has enough to read.
We played Candy Land once we got home. I haven't played that in AGES! He beat me the first game. But I won the second game. Then Cheeseman refused to play again. He's not used to losing. He doesn't like it. Must work on gracefully losing.
The whole family went out to dinner tonight at Hubs' place of business. It was ... well, it was. The boys wanted quarters for the game room, and Hubs watched all the Sportscenter on the TV. I wasn't really hungry, since I'd had the big McD's for lunch, and B-man ended up eating half my quesadilla anyway! It was nice to eat all together as a family, though.
A little girl smiled at B-man while he was running around. He came up to me and growled in his 2-year-old way, "She smile at me, Mommy!" Then he pointed at her and gave her his best scary "RRRRAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHH!" It was cute. Guess he is NOT interested in the opposite sex at all. Yay! I want my boys to stay little and innocent forever. I know it won't happen, but I can hope.
Watched Dancing with the Stars tonight. Loved Ian and Cheryl and Joey and Kym. Used up all my votes. I'm so glad Hubs lets me watch that on Mondays.
I got up at 5:30 this morning. Drove 2 hours to MUSC so that Cheeseman could get his rectum dialated. I did get to see him after he drank his "silly juice". He is a funny drunk. The doc says that his rectum looked exactly as he'd hoped it would. It's a bit looser, so we'll maybe only have one more procedure.
Once done, we headed home. We stopped at "old McDonalds" so that he could get the latest TMNT toy in his happy meal. Then he watched TMNT all the way home on the DVD. We stopped off at the bookstore (where Mommy used to work) to get him a treat for being such a brave boy. He picked out TWO new Spiderman 3 books. We also got a book for B-man and one for me. Daddy didn't get a book. He's a student, he has enough to read.
We played Candy Land once we got home. I haven't played that in AGES! He beat me the first game. But I won the second game. Then Cheeseman refused to play again. He's not used to losing. He doesn't like it. Must work on gracefully losing.
The whole family went out to dinner tonight at Hubs' place of business. It was ... well, it was. The boys wanted quarters for the game room, and Hubs watched all the Sportscenter on the TV. I wasn't really hungry, since I'd had the big McD's for lunch, and B-man ended up eating half my quesadilla anyway! It was nice to eat all together as a family, though.
A little girl smiled at B-man while he was running around. He came up to me and growled in his 2-year-old way, "She smile at me, Mommy!" Then he pointed at her and gave her his best scary "RRRRAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHH!" It was cute. Guess he is NOT interested in the opposite sex at all. Yay! I want my boys to stay little and innocent forever. I know it won't happen, but I can hope.
Watched Dancing with the Stars tonight. Loved Ian and Cheryl and Joey and Kym. Used up all my votes. I'm so glad Hubs lets me watch that on Mondays.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Easter Eve
It's the day before the celebration of the resurrection of Our Lord. Tomorrow, the celebration of Christ's rising from the dead. His triumph, for our sake, over death.
Today, another egg hunt.
We went to Zachary's house. I think we were just invited because I'm the only person who has boys. All the other little ones there were girls. That's beside the point. Zachary's mom teaches kindergarten with my sister, and will be Cheeseman's teacher in a couple of years. We hope.
We went over around 2:00. The boys all played together. Everyone shared. They have a nice, new house. Really nice. We could have fit our entire house into 3/4 of their downstairs. Sigh. Maybe someday. Anyway, about 45 minutes later, the kids finally got to "hunt" for eggs. They were mostly out in the open, so there wasn't much hunting going on.
Cheeseman and B-man both got LOTS of eggs. The girls were all going after the pink and purple eggs. My boys just picked up whatever they came across. Then they got sidetracked by the play area. It came complete with a lizard! They jumped a bit on the trampoline, but it was cold outside. So that didn't last too long. The parents couldn't stand being out in the cold any longer.
Such a change from last weekend, when we were all in shorts. Today, I had on jeans, a long sleeve tee, and a sweater. And I was still cold. Crazy. I'm not even sure I can wear my pretty new Easter dress tomorrow, because the high is only supposed to be in the mid-50s!
Hubs is at work. He worked last night too, so I got to watch the Devil Wears Prada. It was cute. Pretty predictable. But something I wouldn't have gotten to see if he'd been home. Now I'm out of movies though. I'll have Pirates of the Caribbean for next weekend though. Looking forward to that one! I've never seen the first one, just the second. I thought it was the first one while I was watching it, then Hubs informed me that it was actually the second one. I was like, why did you let me watch it then!? He shrugged and couldn't believe I hadn't seen the first one. What? When would I have had time to do that?
Well, gotta go stuff eggs for the morning. Have a Happy Easter! Praise the Lord!
Today, another egg hunt.
We went to Zachary's house. I think we were just invited because I'm the only person who has boys. All the other little ones there were girls. That's beside the point. Zachary's mom teaches kindergarten with my sister, and will be Cheeseman's teacher in a couple of years. We hope.
We went over around 2:00. The boys all played together. Everyone shared. They have a nice, new house. Really nice. We could have fit our entire house into 3/4 of their downstairs. Sigh. Maybe someday. Anyway, about 45 minutes later, the kids finally got to "hunt" for eggs. They were mostly out in the open, so there wasn't much hunting going on.
Cheeseman and B-man both got LOTS of eggs. The girls were all going after the pink and purple eggs. My boys just picked up whatever they came across. Then they got sidetracked by the play area. It came complete with a lizard! They jumped a bit on the trampoline, but it was cold outside. So that didn't last too long. The parents couldn't stand being out in the cold any longer.
Such a change from last weekend, when we were all in shorts. Today, I had on jeans, a long sleeve tee, and a sweater. And I was still cold. Crazy. I'm not even sure I can wear my pretty new Easter dress tomorrow, because the high is only supposed to be in the mid-50s!
Hubs is at work. He worked last night too, so I got to watch the Devil Wears Prada. It was cute. Pretty predictable. But something I wouldn't have gotten to see if he'd been home. Now I'm out of movies though. I'll have Pirates of the Caribbean for next weekend though. Looking forward to that one! I've never seen the first one, just the second. I thought it was the first one while I was watching it, then Hubs informed me that it was actually the second one. I was like, why did you let me watch it then!? He shrugged and couldn't believe I hadn't seen the first one. What? When would I have had time to do that?
Well, gotta go stuff eggs for the morning. Have a Happy Easter! Praise the Lord!
Friday, April 06, 2007
Spring Break
My brother recommeds this movie. In fact, he has proclaimed to his fiancee that he is going to see it on opening night. I watched the trailer. Judge for yourself.
Spring Break begins today.
I have no plans.
Except to take Cheeseman to get a rod stuck up his ass. No, really. In order to get his rectum ready for the colostomy reversal, they have to dialate. The surgeon knocks him out, then sticks a rod up his butt. Lovely.
I got to see the actual rods. The ones they were sticking in my son's butt. I probably could have done without that.
Anyway, that's the most exciting thing I'm doing this spring break. Anyone else got better plans?
I'll be starting the end of school countdown soon. Yippee!
Spring Break begins today.
I have no plans.
Except to take Cheeseman to get a rod stuck up his ass. No, really. In order to get his rectum ready for the colostomy reversal, they have to dialate. The surgeon knocks him out, then sticks a rod up his butt. Lovely.
I got to see the actual rods. The ones they were sticking in my son's butt. I probably could have done without that.
Anyway, that's the most exciting thing I'm doing this spring break. Anyone else got better plans?
I'll be starting the end of school countdown soon. Yippee!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
What an awesome day! Got the boys up and ready for church. They are so cute! I'll have to post pictures later. Anyway, Cheeseman sang in our Children's Choir this morning! Argh! And he even played a bell! I couldn't believe it. I thought for sure he would chicken out. He's not big on the whole performing thing. But he stood up there, in front of the whole congregation (about 200 people) and sang with about 12 other kids. He's the youngest in the group, but he did a great job. And he managed to make silly faces at Hubs and I. What a clown!
This afternoon we went to John and Shannon's house. Their neighborhood was having an Easter egg hunt, so they invited us to bring the boys. Cheeseman and B-man had a GREAT time! Cheeseman even found some eggs with money in them. What kind of Easter bunny do they have? I need some of that!
After the egg hunt, the kids got to play outside some more. There's a trampoline, which Cheeseman loves. B-man was partial to the ride-on mini-car things. They have one that looks like a jeep. Man, he did NOT want to get out of that thing. He is not a good driver however. He kept running into trees. I think he's not getting a license until he's about 30!
Cheeseman and B-man were driving along. They came to the pole of the swingset/fort thing. They decide to drive UP the pole. They managed to flip the jeep over. With them in it. I was watching it, and the world seemed to slow down. Like slo-mo. It was awful! Hubs ran over there and picked up the jeep. They were fine. They crawled away, as Hubs put it back down. Then B-man climbed back in, ready to go again! I nearly had a heart attack.
I am so glad that the boys are making such good friends. B-man, by the way, is betrothed. There's a little girl at church who has decided that she is going to marry him. She's 3. He's 2 and 1/2. I don't see it lasting. But, her daddy is some kind of doctor. He could do worse.
And we found out today that Cheeseman has another girlfriend. Shalee. He's already got Mrs. Julia (his nurse from the hospital last summer), Ms. Suzanne (a doctor assistant), Mrs. Johnson (a teacher at his school), and now Shalee! What can I say? He's a chick magnet! Please keep in mind that the youngest of these women (except Shalee, who's 4) is about 25. Well out of age range. And they are mostly married as well.
Cheeseman doesn't understand the whole girlfriend thing yet. So glad for that. He's only 4! He doesn't need to know. I'm impressed he can keep up with all of them at the same time though. Most boys have trouble keeping up with just one!
This afternoon we went to John and Shannon's house. Their neighborhood was having an Easter egg hunt, so they invited us to bring the boys. Cheeseman and B-man had a GREAT time! Cheeseman even found some eggs with money in them. What kind of Easter bunny do they have? I need some of that!
After the egg hunt, the kids got to play outside some more. There's a trampoline, which Cheeseman loves. B-man was partial to the ride-on mini-car things. They have one that looks like a jeep. Man, he did NOT want to get out of that thing. He is not a good driver however. He kept running into trees. I think he's not getting a license until he's about 30!
Cheeseman and B-man were driving along. They came to the pole of the swingset/fort thing. They decide to drive UP the pole. They managed to flip the jeep over. With them in it. I was watching it, and the world seemed to slow down. Like slo-mo. It was awful! Hubs ran over there and picked up the jeep. They were fine. They crawled away, as Hubs put it back down. Then B-man climbed back in, ready to go again! I nearly had a heart attack.
I am so glad that the boys are making such good friends. B-man, by the way, is betrothed. There's a little girl at church who has decided that she is going to marry him. She's 3. He's 2 and 1/2. I don't see it lasting. But, her daddy is some kind of doctor. He could do worse.
And we found out today that Cheeseman has another girlfriend. Shalee. He's already got Mrs. Julia (his nurse from the hospital last summer), Ms. Suzanne (a doctor assistant), Mrs. Johnson (a teacher at his school), and now Shalee! What can I say? He's a chick magnet! Please keep in mind that the youngest of these women (except Shalee, who's 4) is about 25. Well out of age range. And they are mostly married as well.
Cheeseman doesn't understand the whole girlfriend thing yet. So glad for that. He's only 4! He doesn't need to know. I'm impressed he can keep up with all of them at the same time though. Most boys have trouble keeping up with just one!
Friday, March 30, 2007
Vote for Melanie!
Help Melanie in Orygun win the great honor and privilege of getting paid to blog. Click on the lovely box below and vote for her.
I am sure she will be most appreciative.
I am sure she will be most appreciative.
ch-ch-ch-changes
I'm trying so hard not to think. When I think, I feel. And when I feel, I cry. It's like something has dropped out of me. Like my chest is hollow, but still full of something. Something big and heavy. And it hurts me.
What is giong on? Last night, he was in tears wondering if being a pastor iswhat he really wants to do. He hadn't been to classesin nearly a week. Skipping because he felt overwhelmed. Like he was too far behind and wouldn't ever be able to get caught up again. He didn't wantto tell me. He'd flat out lied to me about it the other day. I knew something was wrong, and I kept asking him and asking hem, but he said it was nothing. Turns out it was something.
It's the depression again, I'm almost sure ofit. He feelsdisconnected from the churhc. Disconnected from us, his family. Disconnected from God. We haven't been worshipping together in a few months because of his internship assignment. He's had to go somewhere else every week for church. It's been hard. On all of us. Even Cheeseman wants to know why Daddy isn't going to church with us.
The breakdown came last night. He told me right before we left for Holy Grounds. Said he hasn't been going to classes all week. He wonders if this is really what he is supposed to be doing. Wonders if maybe he should not do the MDiv for ordination. That's fine. As long as he finishes the semester. We've put so much into this. He was going to talk to his professors about getting caught up. He was going to talk to Pastor Kevin about his calling.
Instead, our DS (the local head pastor guy) calls this morning offerring a student pastorship of a church about an hour from our house. It comes with a parsonage. Hubs has an hour to decide. He calls me, and my first instinct is to say no. It's too far, I can't commute that far every morning at 6:30 to be at work on time. Hubs tells him it is just not feasible right now. I can't commute, can't quit my job, it's not gonna happen.
So the DS calls back later in the day and offers him a student pastorship of a church which (I think) is even farther away. In some town I've never even heard of, and I've lived in this area for 16 years now. He'll have to do services on Sundays, and be available Saturdays and for funerals and stuff. I told him to do whatever he wanted.
What a mistake.
He said yes.
Now, I have to leave my home church. My friends. My singing. The kids Sunday school classes and friends. And it makes me want to die inside.
I know that as a pastor's wife, this is my life. Every few years, some DS is going to call us up and say it's time to move on. But you're never really ready for it. And I thought I had a couple more years until it was time. That I could mentally prepare. Extract myself from stuff so it wouldn't be so bad.
Who was I kidding? I don't want to ever leave our church. That is our family! And I know, consciously that God is everywhere, and we will meet perfectly nice people somewhere else, maybe in that new church, but it doesn't make the hurt stop.
It would be different if we were picking up and leaving. Really moving. Then we wouldn't have to still see people. Still drive past the church. Still feel the emptiness. We could make a clean break. I didn't do so well with this the last time, when we went to that church in Camden. I still wanted to be with my old friends. And being with them made the not being there hurt that much worse.
What am I going to do?
What is giong on? Last night, he was in tears wondering if being a pastor iswhat he really wants to do. He hadn't been to classesin nearly a week. Skipping because he felt overwhelmed. Like he was too far behind and wouldn't ever be able to get caught up again. He didn't wantto tell me. He'd flat out lied to me about it the other day. I knew something was wrong, and I kept asking him and asking hem, but he said it was nothing. Turns out it was something.
It's the depression again, I'm almost sure ofit. He feelsdisconnected from the churhc. Disconnected from us, his family. Disconnected from God. We haven't been worshipping together in a few months because of his internship assignment. He's had to go somewhere else every week for church. It's been hard. On all of us. Even Cheeseman wants to know why Daddy isn't going to church with us.
The breakdown came last night. He told me right before we left for Holy Grounds. Said he hasn't been going to classes all week. He wonders if this is really what he is supposed to be doing. Wonders if maybe he should not do the MDiv for ordination. That's fine. As long as he finishes the semester. We've put so much into this. He was going to talk to his professors about getting caught up. He was going to talk to Pastor Kevin about his calling.
Instead, our DS (the local head pastor guy) calls this morning offerring a student pastorship of a church about an hour from our house. It comes with a parsonage. Hubs has an hour to decide. He calls me, and my first instinct is to say no. It's too far, I can't commute that far every morning at 6:30 to be at work on time. Hubs tells him it is just not feasible right now. I can't commute, can't quit my job, it's not gonna happen.
So the DS calls back later in the day and offers him a student pastorship of a church which (I think) is even farther away. In some town I've never even heard of, and I've lived in this area for 16 years now. He'll have to do services on Sundays, and be available Saturdays and for funerals and stuff. I told him to do whatever he wanted.
What a mistake.
He said yes.
Now, I have to leave my home church. My friends. My singing. The kids Sunday school classes and friends. And it makes me want to die inside.
I know that as a pastor's wife, this is my life. Every few years, some DS is going to call us up and say it's time to move on. But you're never really ready for it. And I thought I had a couple more years until it was time. That I could mentally prepare. Extract myself from stuff so it wouldn't be so bad.
Who was I kidding? I don't want to ever leave our church. That is our family! And I know, consciously that God is everywhere, and we will meet perfectly nice people somewhere else, maybe in that new church, but it doesn't make the hurt stop.
It would be different if we were picking up and leaving. Really moving. Then we wouldn't have to still see people. Still drive past the church. Still feel the emptiness. We could make a clean break. I didn't do so well with this the last time, when we went to that church in Camden. I still wanted to be with my old friends. And being with them made the not being there hurt that much worse.
What am I going to do?
Sunday, March 18, 2007
I'm a Winner!
After much deliberation and background research, I made my choices. It was a well-thought-out game plan. I checked and double-checked my choices. Then, finally, I submitted my entry for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Baxter Championship group.
Yeah, right.
My brother sent out an email to the family inviting us all to join a bracket pool. This was Tuesday during school. Tuesday after school, I spent about 5 minutes seeing who had the most wins. Or which school had a better mascot. Or which school I'd even heard of! And I submitted my brackets!
And I'm winning!
Will wonders never cease?
I must point out that I don't pay any attention to basketball season, except for my Duke Blue Devils for whom I have an unholy love. My brother, husband, brother-in-law, and father love the game and watch it a lot. It's ironic that I'm now beating them all. Hee hee hee!
Yeah, right.
My brother sent out an email to the family inviting us all to join a bracket pool. This was Tuesday during school. Tuesday after school, I spent about 5 minutes seeing who had the most wins. Or which school had a better mascot. Or which school I'd even heard of! And I submitted my brackets!
And I'm winning!
Will wonders never cease?
I must point out that I don't pay any attention to basketball season, except for my Duke Blue Devils for whom I have an unholy love. My brother, husband, brother-in-law, and father love the game and watch it a lot. It's ironic that I'm now beating them all. Hee hee hee!
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Wonderings
I am sitting here at the computer, finished uploading Cheeseman's latest soccer pictures (2 goals!), and I grabbed a book that Hubs has sitting next to the bed. I had picked it up before and read just the first chapter, but I wasn't really paying attention. It was just surface reading, ya know. But I'm bored and not quite tired enough to go to sleep. So I'm reading this book, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, and it's "nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality." Which intrigues me, now that I'm paying attention to it. I want to know what that means, so now I'm paying attention.
I get to the third chapter, where he's talking about magic. And the elements of a story. It seems kind of unrelated like that, but it all ties together nicely when you read it.
So there's this quote: "I liked the idea of Jesus becoming man, so that we would be able to trust Him..."
Because we don't generally trust people that we don't know. Why would we want to believe in a god whom we could never see. One who just said - hey, come follow me! Worship me! Believe in me, because I will make you whole.
Seriously? Not gonna happen.
But instead, our God became man. He walked among us, doing good and healing others. Loving everyone regardless of who they were or what they had done. He came to us so that we could see Him, hear Him, touch Him, see what He is all about. He gave us a blueprint, a map of sorts, to follow so that we could be like Him.
What better way to help people believe than to come and live among us?
And what do we do? Are we loving others? Are we doing good? I know you can't earn your way to heaven, but we are supposed to strive to be more like Christ. By believing in Him, and trying to follow His example, it's supposed to make us want to do better. To want to BE better.
What have I done to be more like Christ?
I get to the third chapter, where he's talking about magic. And the elements of a story. It seems kind of unrelated like that, but it all ties together nicely when you read it.
So there's this quote: "I liked the idea of Jesus becoming man, so that we would be able to trust Him..."
Because we don't generally trust people that we don't know. Why would we want to believe in a god whom we could never see. One who just said - hey, come follow me! Worship me! Believe in me, because I will make you whole.
Seriously? Not gonna happen.
But instead, our God became man. He walked among us, doing good and healing others. Loving everyone regardless of who they were or what they had done. He came to us so that we could see Him, hear Him, touch Him, see what He is all about. He gave us a blueprint, a map of sorts, to follow so that we could be like Him.
What better way to help people believe than to come and live among us?
And what do we do? Are we loving others? Are we doing good? I know you can't earn your way to heaven, but we are supposed to strive to be more like Christ. By believing in Him, and trying to follow His example, it's supposed to make us want to do better. To want to BE better.
What have I done to be more like Christ?
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Reading List
Cherrye over at My Bella Vita got this book meme from somewhere else. It just so happened that I had seen it elsewhere and was frantically trying to find it again, since I liked it but did not have time to do anything with it the first time. You know, not having any time to myself. So away we go!
Instructions: In the list of books below,
Bold the ones you’ve read
Italicize the ones you want to read
Mark in RED the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole
Put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf
Mark an asterisk (*) beside the ones you’ve never heard of
1. +The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. +To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. +Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. +The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. +Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. +Bible (darn near all of it anyway)
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. *The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. *The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. +The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. *Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. +The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. *A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)
Now, I did work in a bookstore for a few months, so I've heard of most of these books. I can even describe the titles of most of them. I'm pretty proud that I've read almost a third of these books. I don't know that they are all great literature, but most of the ones I read took me somewhere else. And isn't that what reading is all about?
And yes, I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I cannot wait until the final installment comes out: July 21 at 12:01 am.
Instructions: In the list of books below,
Bold the ones you’ve read
Italicize the ones you want to read
Mark in RED the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole
Put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf
Mark an asterisk (*) beside the ones you’ve never heard of
1. +The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. +To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. +Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. +The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. +Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. +Bible (darn near all of it anyway)
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. *The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. *The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. +The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. *Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. +The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. *A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)
Now, I did work in a bookstore for a few months, so I've heard of most of these books. I can even describe the titles of most of them. I'm pretty proud that I've read almost a third of these books. I don't know that they are all great literature, but most of the ones I read took me somewhere else. And isn't that what reading is all about?
And yes, I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I cannot wait until the final installment comes out: July 21 at 12:01 am.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Living Between the Trees
I went to Holy Grounds last week. It's our mid-week "worship" service at our church. There's coffee, tea, cookies, some music and a message. Often the message is a discussion. About how Christ fits into life today, and how we grow in our faith and show it day to day. It's really fun and inspiring. Definitely gives you a lift.
Last week, we had a small discussion then watched a short video. It was by a guy named Rob Bell. Check him out. He's got such a gift for teaching and living God's Word.
Anyway, he was talking about our role on earth. It started in Genesis, when God created man and woman. There was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It ends in Revelation, where there is a Tree of Life. And we are here, living now, between the Trees.
He talked about not just being here, waiting for the end of our life so that we can get to the next. It's not about just being here, taking up space, waiting for the end. It's about working to make this world that we live in a better place. It's about making our world as much like the Kingdom as we can in the time we have. It's about helping others, planting trees, making disciples, making ourselves better.
It's not like we have to earn what we're getting, God has graciously given it to us. This whole big world, with all its niceties and craziness. What a gift!
What do you think? I know I haven't explained it very well. I wish I could find the DVD and see it again. Maybe I should ask Fred.
Last week, we had a small discussion then watched a short video. It was by a guy named Rob Bell. Check him out. He's got such a gift for teaching and living God's Word.
Anyway, he was talking about our role on earth. It started in Genesis, when God created man and woman. There was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It ends in Revelation, where there is a Tree of Life. And we are here, living now, between the Trees.
He talked about not just being here, waiting for the end of our life so that we can get to the next. It's not about just being here, taking up space, waiting for the end. It's about working to make this world that we live in a better place. It's about making our world as much like the Kingdom as we can in the time we have. It's about helping others, planting trees, making disciples, making ourselves better.
It's not like we have to earn what we're getting, God has graciously given it to us. This whole big world, with all its niceties and craziness. What a gift!
What do you think? I know I haven't explained it very well. I wish I could find the DVD and see it again. Maybe I should ask Fred.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Visual DNA
Thanks to Cherrye over at My Bella Vita for showing this to me. If you want to know me, this is truly it!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
More sick...
If you are visiting from the Ultimate Blog Party, my party post is here. Otherwise, keep reading. Well, keep reading anyway.
Last week, Bennett was sick. He was sick Monday night, stayed home with Hubs on Tuesday. Was fine all day. And Wednesday. Got sick again Wed. night. Stayed home with Hubs on Thursday. Was fine all day. Ate lots and is all better.
Cheeseman got sick this morning. Thank God I was already at work. He had to stay home with Hubs today. Hubs missed classes. Oops. But I'm being the good little wifey and staying home tomorrow.
It is such a pain in the tush to get a sub for school! I had to make idiot-proof lesson plans, find my roll sheets, make copies, lock up all my personal stuff. Ugh! Just so that I can stay home with a sick baby.
Who is feeling fine and asking for ice cream, by the way. I say NO WAY!
My mom came and got Bennett for the evening. She took him out to her house to walk Chico (her new Chihuahua?) (how the hell do you spell that anyway?) Then to San Jose for dinner. Because if he gets the stomach bug again, I want to see Mexican food come back up. Geez!
Hubs is at the restaurant, waiting tables. Did I mention they've "trained" him to work the bar? It's all about the perfect head on a beer. And the correct amount of wine in a glass. That's all they sell as far as bar items. It took him THREE HOURS to train on Saturday. I could do that in 10 minutes! Oh, well. He was getting paid.
Anyway, my throat hurts, nose is stuffy, I'm coughing. I'm going to eat some Oreo ice cream to make it all better. I should probably do my Bible study while I'm at it. It's a Beth Moore study. If you haven't tried her, she is AWESOME!
Last week, Bennett was sick. He was sick Monday night, stayed home with Hubs on Tuesday. Was fine all day. And Wednesday. Got sick again Wed. night. Stayed home with Hubs on Thursday. Was fine all day. Ate lots and is all better.
Cheeseman got sick this morning. Thank God I was already at work. He had to stay home with Hubs today. Hubs missed classes. Oops. But I'm being the good little wifey and staying home tomorrow.
It is such a pain in the tush to get a sub for school! I had to make idiot-proof lesson plans, find my roll sheets, make copies, lock up all my personal stuff. Ugh! Just so that I can stay home with a sick baby.
Who is feeling fine and asking for ice cream, by the way. I say NO WAY!
My mom came and got Bennett for the evening. She took him out to her house to walk Chico (her new Chihuahua?) (how the hell do you spell that anyway?) Then to San Jose for dinner. Because if he gets the stomach bug again, I want to see Mexican food come back up. Geez!
Hubs is at the restaurant, waiting tables. Did I mention they've "trained" him to work the bar? It's all about the perfect head on a beer. And the correct amount of wine in a glass. That's all they sell as far as bar items. It took him THREE HOURS to train on Saturday. I could do that in 10 minutes! Oh, well. He was getting paid.
Anyway, my throat hurts, nose is stuffy, I'm coughing. I'm going to eat some Oreo ice cream to make it all better. I should probably do my Bible study while I'm at it. It's a Beth Moore study. If you haven't tried her, she is AWESOME!
Saturday, March 03, 2007
3 Goals!!!
Cheeseman scored three goals! THREE GOALS!!! He was the star of the team!!! And the grin on his face.... OH MAN! I am one proud momma! He's such an awesome kid!!! I am talking and thinking in exclamations!! Yay Cheeseman!!
I'll post pics once I get them off the camera which is in the diaper bag which is with the in-laws who came to the game then took the kids for the afternoon.
As a side note, Hubs will soon be a bartender at local eatery where he's been waiting tables. Yes, a future pastor serving alcohol. Does anyone else find this funny? He wants to "contribute more" to the household. Such a guy!
First week of homebound went well. I made $80 in only 4 hours. And I tucked my babies into bed 6 nights in a row! Yippee!!!
edited: Check out my boy playing soccer!!
I'll post pics once I get them off the camera which is in the diaper bag which is with the in-laws who came to the game then took the kids for the afternoon.
As a side note, Hubs will soon be a bartender at local eatery where he's been waiting tables. Yes, a future pastor serving alcohol. Does anyone else find this funny? He wants to "contribute more" to the household. Such a guy!
First week of homebound went well. I made $80 in only 4 hours. And I tucked my babies into bed 6 nights in a row! Yippee!!!
edited: Check out my boy playing soccer!!
Friday, March 02, 2007
Ultimate Blog Party
Welcome!
I'm not much of a partier anymore, but this seems like my kind of thing.
I can visit anyone's place, at any time.
I don't have to stay up till all hours of the night, but if I want to I can.
I don't have to clean up and worry about what other people will think of my place.
I don't have to get all dressed up.
I can meet new people!
These people will not judge me!
Yay!
This is perfect for shy folks like me. Thanks to Janice and Susan for being such gracious hosts of the Ultimate Blog Party.
I'm got wine, sliced cheese, and saltines. Sorry, I'll go to the store tomorrow and get better party fare. (This was kind of last minute!) Please sign the comments before you go!
And remember, friends don't let friends drive drunk!
Added 3/3: About me: I am wife to my Hubs who is a seminary student. Mom to Cheeseman (4) and Bennett (2). I teach Latin in middle school. I sing with our Praise Band at church. I love to read, write, and sing, not necessarily in that order. Right now, I'm on a my-son-scored-three-goals-in-his-soccer-game HIGH! I am so proud! Thanks for stopping by!
I'm not much of a partier anymore, but this seems like my kind of thing.
I can visit anyone's place, at any time.
I don't have to stay up till all hours of the night, but if I want to I can.
I don't have to clean up and worry about what other people will think of my place.
I don't have to get all dressed up.
I can meet new people!
These people will not judge me!
Yay!
This is perfect for shy folks like me. Thanks to Janice and Susan for being such gracious hosts of the Ultimate Blog Party.
I'm got wine, sliced cheese, and saltines. Sorry, I'll go to the store tomorrow and get better party fare. (This was kind of last minute!) Please sign the comments before you go!
And remember, friends don't let friends drive drunk!
Added 3/3: About me: I am wife to my Hubs who is a seminary student. Mom to Cheeseman (4) and Bennett (2). I teach Latin in middle school. I sing with our Praise Band at church. I love to read, write, and sing, not necessarily in that order. Right now, I'm on a my-son-scored-three-goals-in-his-soccer-game HIGH! I am so proud! Thanks for stopping by!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
HE SCORES!
My Cheeseman played in his first soccer game this weekend. He scored a GOALLLLLLL! If you click the link on his name, you can watch his score. He was so excited. It's all he talked about all weekend. He's a natural. He gets it from me!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
And so it is done...
The bookseller era. I did it. Today. I called and told Tom that I'm through. I just can't take the hours anymore. And not seeing the boys for three straight days. And being bone tired every day of the week. Never being able to catch up on my sleep. Not grading papers for a week.
Well, that will probably still continue.
When I told Josh last night, the first thing he did was offer me more money to stay. But I think he realized it was hopeless when I told him that I could cut my hours in half and still make enough doing homebound. I did tell Tom to keep me on the books for the summer. I'd hate to never be able to come back.
I still feel like a little part of me is dead. I really loved working at that bookstore. I liked working with all those weird people. People who are smart and funny and not afraid to be different. It was such a melting pot. Do you know, in all the jobs I've had, all the places I've worked, I've never before worked in an environment where I truly liked all the people I've worked with. Just there.
I will truly miss being there. Thank you, bookstore. For everything.
Well, that will probably still continue.
When I told Josh last night, the first thing he did was offer me more money to stay. But I think he realized it was hopeless when I told him that I could cut my hours in half and still make enough doing homebound. I did tell Tom to keep me on the books for the summer. I'd hate to never be able to come back.
I still feel like a little part of me is dead. I really loved working at that bookstore. I liked working with all those weird people. People who are smart and funny and not afraid to be different. It was such a melting pot. Do you know, in all the jobs I've had, all the places I've worked, I've never before worked in an environment where I truly liked all the people I've worked with. Just there.
I will truly miss being there. Thank you, bookstore. For everything.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Ramblings of a Tired Mom
They don't tell you it's going to be like this. This constant frustration. The compelling need to hit someone, something. Like you're going to explode if you don't get it out. No one talks about this.
How sometimes, you just want to scream. Or run away. Somewhere the little demons can't find you. You get so fed up.
You lock yourself in your room with the lights off. You can hear them in the other room, playing. Hitting each other. You hear one scream, but then it stops. He's okay. You hear banging, but figure if they aren't screaming it's okay.
You just can't take it.
How long can I go on like this? Working three days a week after school until 10 pm. Then getting up at 5 am the next morning and teaching all day. Something's gotta give.
I've been looking at doing homebound instruction. You know, helping kids who can't - for whatever reason - make it to school each day. We are bound, by law, to provide services for them. It pays $20 an hour. Which is almost 3 times what I make at the bookstore. Which means I could do this 6 hours total a week and make what I'm working my ass off for now. It makes sense. Why would I not do this?
Because I love being at the store. I really like the people I'm working with. And I'm scared I won't know enough. What if I have to instruct some kid in Calculus? Chemistry? Physics? French? I don't know that stuff. I would be worthless. At the bookstore, I'm never worthless. I know most of the answers. I'm hot stuff there. I'm the one they turn to when they need their card percentages up. Stick me on a register and let me go.
Why can't I give it up?
And now I'm home. The demons are finally in bed. I'm drinking wine. It tastes good. I need to relax. I'd take a bath, but I'm afraid I'll fall asleep. Maybe I'll just read. From the large stack of books next to the bed. I do work at a bookstore you know.
How sometimes, you just want to scream. Or run away. Somewhere the little demons can't find you. You get so fed up.
You lock yourself in your room with the lights off. You can hear them in the other room, playing. Hitting each other. You hear one scream, but then it stops. He's okay. You hear banging, but figure if they aren't screaming it's okay.
You just can't take it.
How long can I go on like this? Working three days a week after school until 10 pm. Then getting up at 5 am the next morning and teaching all day. Something's gotta give.
I've been looking at doing homebound instruction. You know, helping kids who can't - for whatever reason - make it to school each day. We are bound, by law, to provide services for them. It pays $20 an hour. Which is almost 3 times what I make at the bookstore. Which means I could do this 6 hours total a week and make what I'm working my ass off for now. It makes sense. Why would I not do this?
Because I love being at the store. I really like the people I'm working with. And I'm scared I won't know enough. What if I have to instruct some kid in Calculus? Chemistry? Physics? French? I don't know that stuff. I would be worthless. At the bookstore, I'm never worthless. I know most of the answers. I'm hot stuff there. I'm the one they turn to when they need their card percentages up. Stick me on a register and let me go.
Why can't I give it up?
And now I'm home. The demons are finally in bed. I'm drinking wine. It tastes good. I need to relax. I'd take a bath, but I'm afraid I'll fall asleep. Maybe I'll just read. From the large stack of books next to the bed. I do work at a bookstore you know.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Getting Ready for summer
Can you believe it? Only 15 more weeks until the end of school! Am I counting???
Anyway, my little bro is getting married this summer. And our WHOLE family is coming from Illinois for the wedding. And they want to stay for an extra week afterward at the beach so we can spend some quality time together. However, some people can only stay a few days. And some people say that all the houses we've found are too expensive. Do they not realize that the beach in SC is expensive in the summer? Oh man! We have been round and round about the cost. Really, I was thinking that $200 a person isn't too bad. For a week at Myrtle? That's nothing! And it was beachfront!
I don't know what to do. I don't want to be in charge of this project. Now they're saying they want to stay in Hilton Head. Um, hello! Way more expensive! Whatever. I'll just keep finding places. Even if it ends up just being me, sis, and Dad's families. NBD.
Anyway, my little bro is getting married this summer. And our WHOLE family is coming from Illinois for the wedding. And they want to stay for an extra week afterward at the beach so we can spend some quality time together. However, some people can only stay a few days. And some people say that all the houses we've found are too expensive. Do they not realize that the beach in SC is expensive in the summer? Oh man! We have been round and round about the cost. Really, I was thinking that $200 a person isn't too bad. For a week at Myrtle? That's nothing! And it was beachfront!
I don't know what to do. I don't want to be in charge of this project. Now they're saying they want to stay in Hilton Head. Um, hello! Way more expensive! Whatever. I'll just keep finding places. Even if it ends up just being me, sis, and Dad's families. NBD.
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