Christmas lights

christmas light show with musical accompaniment (Trans-Siberian Orchestra?).

Pictures!

Hopefully these will download. Enjoy!!

Just a short one!!

Ok, am on the laptop because I am letting Chris sleep, however he needs to get up in about 15 minutes to finish his classes and he needs this computer.
So, iI thought I would post a short update.
Sunday's program was super cute. However, there was a little mishap at the 2pm show. As the angels were walking in, the speaking angels were separated from the standing angels. so, Hannah and Jayden were separated. Well, another little girl, no names mentioned, was standing next to Jayden and so when Jayden and Hannah's line came up, Jayden went to help Hannah down the stairs, and the lady prompting the part, cued this little girl to say Hannah and Jayden's line. Needless to say, this little girl and her parents were thrilled that she has stolen the show. However, Hannah and Jayden began to cry. they had missed their big moment and were really sad. I had to rush to the front to get Hannah to calm down. I told her that there was another show at 6 and that it had been an accident. the lady prompting people didn't know her very well and probably just got confused with all the costumes, etc. She calmed down and went back up to sing. Jayden got calmed down too.
So, fast forward to the 6 show, the lady prompting kids apologized to both girls and it was made an effort to keep the speakers away from the standers. so, when their line came up this time, they took turns saying it and it was really sweet. They were so proud!
of course, the little girl who had swipted their line in the 2 oclock show was really mad because that had become her verse. Oh well. i will see if Chris can help me tomorrow to post some pictures.
monday I watched Abram and the kids had school. Chris was off, so we had a nice dinner and opened another of Gma & Gpa Crosswhite's gifts. Chris and i decided it would be fun to give each other something from our stocking. He got a fish decal for his truck and i got a no-spill coffee mug. Nathan opened up some Lightening McQueen notepads with pencils, so it is now the record keeper of his Nascar races and who wins the championship. Because Jimmy Johnson and Lowes won the Winston cup, Chris has brought home some really neat stuff and it has boosted this interest with Nathan about race cars. You can only imagine. !
Hannah opened a candy necklace pack that had a pink candy necklace with a matching bracelet and two rings. And the most exciting part was that you could eat ALL of it. I told her to stop and then found her in her closet sneaking bites.
Her Christmas program was last night. She was so excited all day. Her my little ponies had a program. Even the pennies we were counting from their savings boxes had a program.
They walked in with reindeer heads on. the funniest part was near the end of her classes singing, another little girl next to her said really loud to Hannah, "I like your dress." then forget the singing, they were comparing beautiful dresses. Oh well.
today, my plan is to finish remodeling the bathroom, since it has been postponed for the last 2 weeks due to being busy with babysitting and other stuff.
this is my only day to do it until next year, i think. Anyways, need to go wake up Chris. My 15 minutes are up.
Hopefully will get pictures up tomorrow. Be looking for them.
also, chris' 30th birthday is next Monday. I am making a book for him and wondered if any of you would like to send a note or comment I can include in it, that would be great. He is having a hard time with it. Feels like the last 30 years were wasted in some ways. I sent some snail mails out to family and such to see if they would send their favorite memory and maybe a picture to put in this book. I didn't get everyone one sent, so if you check this and have something you'd like to share, just email it to me and I can print it off.
Hope everyone has a good week. Adult Christmas program is this weekend and so Chris is looking forward to that. Also, Paul has convinced me to play my flute, so I guess I have that on the list of things to do this week too. Practice, practice, practice!!
Sending all our love

It's about time for an update? :-)

Hi strangers! Wow, sorry it has been so long. I know that the last time I wrote, it was looking like an easy week. It didn't turn out so simple.
That week we had an ice storm, which put school out on Thursday. We decided to put up our christmas tree and open our first gift, even though it wasn't quite December. Saturday, Hannah decided to go to bed in the afternoon while we were making a gingerbread tree. She woke up crying and said she was dizzy. We took her to Urgent care to find out she had an ear infection in both ears. Chris was headed to the Big 12 game in Kansas City with his friend Coker. They stayed until the 3rd quarter, at which time they were so frozen, they left and went back to Coker's house in Independence and finished the game and drank hot chocolate.
The following week, I guess which would have been this week, Hannah went to the doctor Tuesday for an ear check up and her ears were clear. Dr. Evans said it was probably viral and would have cleared itself up. He said 80% of ear infections are actually viral and can heal themselves. We kept her on the meds, though so that the infection wouldn't affect her bladder and femine areas. I watched Abram Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and today. He is learning to go potty all by himself so that has been fun. He is so little.
Since it iced the week before, Hannah's field trip to Wonderscope was rescheduled to this past Wednesday. It was really neat. An old school converted into a hands-on museum. Each room had a theme. If I can ever get the dial up to do my pictures, I will post some of the trip. Nathans school had an early out, so he got to come with us. there was a room devoted to all the things you could do with balls. One was a space room and another was all about muscles.
Today we went to the kids clinic at Lowes and built a castle out of wood. it was neat. then we went to practice for the children's Christmas program, which is tomorrow afternoon. I actually just got done making sheep vests with ears to go with for several of the kids.
Nathan is a sheep and Hannah is angel #4. she has a speaking part with Jayden Kindley.
It should be really sweet. For any of you who know them, Emily Bledsoe is Mary, Asher Smith is the donkey, Madison Parnell is a shepherd, so is Zach Vega. Zoey Vega is the star. Jagger Lawerence and Zoey Brand are wisemen. it is pretty much the kids say lines as they set the nativity. It should be really sweet. At the end, they all will sing Away in a manger and Jesus loves me (by request of Emily, Madison, and Jayden) I will try to post pictures of that too, if I can.
this week is looking like Hannah's preschool christmas program is Tuesday night. the adult Christmas program is next weekend and Chris is in the choir. His 30th birthday is next Monday.
Hard to believe that Christmas is just a week or two away. I hope that this finds everyone doing well and enjoying the time when we remember that God found "a way in a manger to make a way to the cross".
Sending all our love and wishing everyone a happy holiday season, since we may not get a post on till then. :-)
All our love~~
I hope everyone is doing well. I am hoping to

Been awhile!!

Hi all! As you can imagine, things here have been busy. Nathan wanted to help write the last post, so I typed while he talked about what he wanted to say.
Lorna arrived safe Saturday afternoon. It was like 45 degrees, so she was in for a little shock. We headed back to St. Joe to meet Chris at Lowes since he was due to get off at the same time we were arriving into town. He showed her his department and then when we got home, I started finishing supper. We had Hannah's favorite meal, meatballs and macaroni and cheese along with some veggies. We finished the night off with watching Cars. Sunday was church at 8am. Sunday school at 9:30 and lunch at Cici's after that. The church Thanksgiving dinner was that night, so when we got home after doing some playing, I told the kids we needed to lay down for an hour. Usual bedtime is 8 and since I wasnt sure how long we would be at church, I wanted to make sure they werent' too tired for school. While we were resting, Chris and his mom went out for ingredients for our items to take with to the dinner. They stopped by Goodwill and bought the kids their own christmas tree. The kids were really excited about that and spent the afternoon decorating. Lorna and I baked while Chris went across the hall to Brett's to watch the Chiefs game. We went to the church dinner and Nathan made new friends with a man named Michael who drew him a picture of a train.
Monday was taking the kids to school with Lorna. Chris had off and I was watching Abram. Since Lorna and Noel will be in Tennessee taking care of her parents all their Christmas break, she wanted to get everyone's Christmas gifts while she was here, so we could keep them here. So, we went shopping all Monday. Chris and her were having a blast. I am not a big shopper, so I kind of felt like a damper, trying to keep Abram out of breakable things and give my two cents. Abram liked Lorna, so it made a nice trip to the store overall. We picked up Hannah and then Nathan. I had prepared Heidi's chicken casserole ahead of time and we had that for supper. A regular nights schedule of stories and baths before bedtime. After the kids were asleep, it was gift wrapping time.
Tuesday, Lorna's last day with us, we went to morning storytime at the library and then she met Nathan at school for lunch. She came back to take a nap and then she, Hannah and I went back to Target to get Chris' christmas gift. She took us out to Rib Crib for supper that night. We were sad to see her go. It was really nice letting her be a regular part of our lives. Lots of good memories made. Chris took her to the airport at 5:30am Wednesday morning to fly to Oklahoma City.
I had Abram Wednesday and we played at the house. Nathan had an early out, so he got to play some with Abram before picking up Hannah. We headed home and played outside a little. Then it was inside to read a little and do our chores and recover from our visit with grandma. We opted the daily jobs while she was here, so we caught up.
Chris had to work till midnight, so we decided to eat our own Thanksgiving dinner together and then the kids and I would head to mom and dads since Chris was going to have to work all Friday and Saturday. We went to Grandma Ferdinand's friday for a dessert. Saw a lot of people I haven't seen in years. Brent and Katherine Stirtz were there with their 3 kids. Louisa is 6, Adialine is 4 and Benjamin is from China and is 18 months. My kids had a blast with them. They promised each other that they would always be friend. It made the visit really sweet.
Saturday we played outside with grandma and grandpa before heading home to eat supper with dad. We re-set the chair swing in the tree, and got the mini basketball hoop out. Dad's old wagon took the rocking fish for a ride and tree climbing, leaf pile raking and swinging.
I also helped mom a little on working on a family history book that mom is trying to re-do from Grandma's pink notebook. Some really neat stories. I am looking forward to the finished project.
When we got to St. Joe, we went to sonic for supper on our way to a surprize. Holiday park lights!!! Sunday was church again. My last sunday for the quarter. I am sad to see it over. So is Rebecca! We have volunteered to check kids in this next quarter so we can continue to see the kids. We moved about 5-7 up. We hope that will help Hawley this next quarter in there.
We played outside all afternoon since it was so nice.
Today was school again and I had Abram. He helped me grocery shop. He really was a good help. He napped as we cruised Target for some necessities. Picked up kids and watched Thomas while having a snack. Read books, and ate supper and called it a night. I have a lazy cat on my lap right now and Chris is working on his homework. That is about it.
Tomorrow is library day and Wednesday is another field trip for Hannah! Friday I go walking with Margret, so it looks to be a nice week.
Hope this finds all of you doing well and looking forward to the holiday season where we remember Christ's birthday and the meaning of all that to our salvation!
All our love!

Hi, this is Nathan

Hi! This is Nathan. We wish we were there.
I am 6 now.
This week at school in gym, my favorite center was swinging across the alligator pool. I swinged over the alligator pool 2 times. I jumped on the knot of the big, big rope hanging from the sky of the gym. That was cool!
Outside for recess we started a clubhouse in the pile of leaves. I was one of the gates and my friend Ish was the manager. We all got a turn to be the clubhouse manager.
I ate chicken nuggets with purple ice cream, bread, 2 kinds of vanilla milk, and I had carrots with honey. That was good!
Well, I need to go eat breakfast. My grandma comes today in the afternoon. Well, see ya later!
Bye!
Nathan

Wow, has it been that long!!!

I am so sorry. I started a blog a week and a half ago and wanted to post some pictures. I never finished it.
Well, so highlights of the last two weeks. Well, Halloween was the kindergarten party. I was a homeroom parent so Hannah and I went to help. I was different since our family doesnt celebrate Halloween. The school wanted to take it as a fall party where everyone came dressed as what they wanted to be when they grew up. That would be the theme. I appreciated that and that made it more a costume party than the druid celebration of death.
Anyways, Nathan wore the train engineer vest he got a couple of years ago for Christmas. Hannah put on one of her princess dresses. I was in charge of the craft and we made cat puppets. I also read the class a story about two mice sharing a pumpkin. It was a nice time.

Then the following Saturday, we all went to our first Missouri Western football game. It was a great day for it. 65 degrees for kickoff at 2pm. They were playing my sister's school, Fort Hays State University. The kids really liked it. We bought nachos and drinks. Hannah really liked the marching band. Nathan really liked the parachuters coming in with the American flag. The game was a pretty good one. Final score. MWSU- 24 FHSU-10.

Sunday our 2&3 class went to the 4&5's for the first time. It went really well. The kids liked it and the lesson fit. We were starting to talk about Abraham and how God called Abraham to move to somewhere he didn't know. Then we went down the hall and played a game and made a craft and came back to our room. Yesterday we did it again and it seems to be working really well. The first week of December, we will move the older kids in my class up and hopefully they will be ok.

I forgot to mention that Friday of that week, I went to my friend/mentor (Margaret Triplet)'s house to walk and pray. It was really cool. We walked about 2 miles and then went inside and drank some tea and prayed. We are meeting again this Friday. We are still getting to know one another, but she is such an encouragement to me as she is still a stay-at-home mom and is such a blessing to her family.

Lets see. This week in highlights, I watched Abram Wednesday and it was a really nice afternoon. Temperature about 75, so we played at Nathan's school after everyone got out. I swang and snuggled with him. My kids don't do that as much, so it is really nice. We were expecting my Uncle Dave to arrive, and called my grandma to see what was up. He decided to take a bus to Emporia, which I was kind of relieved about. We are going to have to make a special trip to see him, however. The kids had his bed all made and such.
Chris' mom will be here Saturday for her thanksgiving stay. Everyone is looking forward to that.
Chris had this past weekend off, so we spent it just hanging out , as the weather turned cold again and we had some snow flurries. Chris is working so hard on his classes. He did that most of yesterday. The kids and I colored, and played games and did some reading.
They are getting so smart.
Well, that is about it. I am hoping to post another one after this with a bunch of pictures. the one above is everybody at the game. We send all our love and I will hopefully not be so long next time.
Till then, try to find a way to encourage someone with Christ!! You will make their day.

What a long week!!

Hi all! Wow, compared to the rest of time, this was one LONG week. Lets see, last Sunday, we didn't end up needing to move our sunday school class to the other room; which worked out nicely since we were going to have to spring it on them last minute anyways.
We only had half our class. Most were out sick with stuff that is going around.
Which, Chris had Sunday off, so we spent the afternoon together.
Monday, Nathan had picked up a persistant cough along with a low grade fever, so it was off to the doctor with him. Dr. Evans said that is was probably a respiratory infection coming on and he put him on an antibiotic along with recommending that we "stablize" his environment, which means no outside recess, straight to school and straight home. No extra activities and stuff. Just taking it easy and trying not to be in extreme changes too much.
So, we started that and he rested most of Monday. Tuesday he went back to school. Hannah and I hung out as she was a really good helper all day. We worked on some house cleaning and then we went to the library. We picked up Nathan, who seemed to be much better. Called Aunt Karen that evening and visited with her and then to bed.
Wednesday, it was off to school for both kids and I watched Abram all day. Chris was off, so he spent the morning sleeping in, and the afternoon working on his school work. Abram and I played and then rested before picking up the kids. We read some books when the kids got home and then Brett picked up Abram. We had pizza from Pizza Hut for supper and then spent the evening hanging out. Thursday, it was kind of a gross day, so Hannah and I worked on our special project (Karen's idea for Christmas). That was fun. We ran to Walmart to pick up some supplies to work on it. Then I got online to check some email and Hannah played in her room. Only to find out later that playing in her room was actually drawing on the wall with a pencil.
She had to wash it off. We went and got Nathan and did the regular routine. Home, look at stuff from school, daily chores, play, supper, pick up stuff, baths, stories, bedtime.
Friday was Hannah's school's field trip to the apple orchard. I dropped off nathan at school first since I was driving for the field trip. hannah, her friends Gage and Carson rode in the car. It was a yucky morning for it too. not raining, but cloudy, grey and cold. they got their apples and pumpkins and then we headed back to school. I dropped her off and then met Chris at Lowes for lunch. We had laughed about not getting to go out anymore on real dates, so we met for lunch. We went to Rib Crib. it was really nice to spend the 40 minutes together.
i came home and took a nap after that. After the entire week of getting up every 2 hours to administer medication or to check on Nathan, I was exhausted. woke up from the nap to get the kids from school and then chris got home. We did our usual night schedule only instead of books, we watched a movie on our bed.
Saturday, Chris was off, so we let him sleep in and there was grocery shopping to do. The kids, however, were having so much fun together that they didn't want to go with me to teh store, so I went alone. i was done in time to come home for lunch. chris had finished his homework and tests and we got ready to make a surprize trip somewhere.
We had talked to mom and Dad about meeting them in Lawerence to pick up the fold-up bed for when Uncle Dave will be here to spend the night. We didn't tell the kids, but we were meeting them for supper. While we got ready for that, the kids played with Joey, Abbie, jamison and Abram outside, since it was like 75. We left for lawerence about 3:30, thinking that if we got there a little early, we could see the town. We saw some paratroopers on our way down. Nathan thought that was cool.
We got to lawerence about 5 and hit the walmart there to go to the bathroom after wandering around. We headed back to the meeting place (Burger King) and by this time, the kids had figured out who it was we were meeting. About 6, Mom and Dad pulled up and the kids were shouting out the window at them.
We drove to the visitor's center and train station, hoping to find a train and an idea of where was a good place to eat. We then drove through downtown, before heading to IHOP.
We ate there and then loaded up the truck with the fold-up bed and the bike. We said our goodbyes and headed home. It was a lot of fun!
Today, the choir sang in church again. it was nice. With the time change, it wasn't so impossible to go to the 8 service. Hopefully we can get into a routine of that from now on. Found out from Sarah charley that the people working the 4yr old room were actually ready to give it up and wondered if Rebecca and I could do 2,3 & 4's. She told them that wouldn't really solve our problem, but that she would work on replacing them. by the end of the church services, Jamie and Brad lawerence had offered to permanently teach that group. so, as of NEXT sunday, we will be combining the groups and trying to go from there. After church, we came home ate lunch and then the kids played a little more with Abbie before we needed to go to Seth Browns house ( a kid in Nathan's kindergarten class). I am one of the kindergarten room parents along with Seth's mom. We were getting together to finalize some stuff for their fall party on Tuesday. The kids played and had a great afternoon. It was really nice to get to visit with another mom too and make a new friend. We got home, ate supper and then everyone was ready for bed. Techincally it is 7pm, but it feels like 8, so everyone is off to bed. Extra rest can only do good, since we all have been coughing and nathan could realy use the rest for his lungs.
I am ready for bed too, sadly.
Well, that is about it. I hope this finds everyone doing well and maybe thinking of relaxing in the presence of God's grace and love.
I know I am going to try to as the next week rolls along.
All our love!

Just a breath

Well, it is Saturday evening, and I am just amazed that the week had gone so fast.
It reminds me of my reading this week, that we are but on this earth for but a breath. No wonder time seems to me like it slips away so quickly.
Wednesday is where I left off at. Took Hannah to school. She gave Ms Catherine her sorry gift and they started the day well. Nathan was having a field trip to the skating rink, so I went and was with him for that. When I got home around lunch time, I called the preschool to see how Hannah was doing. Great day! I was so relieved. Got me to thinking about how I have those days. When I am overwhelmed by insignificant things and that finally last year I checked it out and it turns out I have a hormonal imbalance. I got to wondering if that is what is up with Hannah. If she has some form of PMDD. If I can pass it on to her and if she is old enough for that to affect her since she hasn't hit the age of puberty yet. Something I m going to check out. Anyways, I turned around her bookshelf, which she was thrilled about. We then went to get Nathan from school, as he had an early out. We all (Chris, Nathan and I) went to the library to get some early readers for Nathan and then went to pick Hannah up. We then went to tour Menards. WOW!! It was pretty amazing. The size alone is so much. In addition to that, they had a play area with a mini rollercoaster and play cars and houses. Chris said that every moment he was there, he got sicker and sicker. Things he can't carry because he doesn't have the room were in stock and on the shelf and cheaper by like $30.
We went home and had supper. Books and bedtime to finish the day.
Thursday, we took Nathan to school and then Hannah and I had more time to do some heavy duty cleaning as part of her consequences. I don't honestly think she minded. We were doing something together. Picked Nathan up and headed to Lowes.We stopped by there because Chris was working a mid shift and then was off to choir practice. Nathan had gotten to take home the class pet, Pete. (A stuffed panda bear) He came with a little journal notebook so that we could document his adventures with us. We picked up some supplies for redoing the bathroom. (I asked the landlord if I could tear down the awesome southwestern peach and teal wallpaper in our bathroom and do something else. She said to do whatever) We then headed home.
I had been cooking chili so we finished preparing that and ate. Hannah had her shower while Nathan had Pete ride and build trains in his room. We read a bunch of stories and then to bed.
Friday, everyone to school. I came home and got to work trying to peel the paper off. After many things, I got online and found out that the easiest way to remove that kind of paper was to steam it. After a couple of hours, I managed to peel one wall. I turned on the shower, super hot and created some good steam, but my arms were tired. I went and got Hannah. Another great day, so we headed to a friend of ours to see how she was doing in the time inbetween picking up Hannah and Nathan. Got Nathan and ran to Lowes for the kids to see Chris. Chris had taken his lunch to go and eat with Nathan at school. Nathan thought that was cool.
We came home after a while and had supper. We played a game of Candyland and the kids finished their chores for the week and we did stories and baths and bedtime.
Today, we woke up and it was rainy and cold. A perfect day for snuggling under the covers, except the kids wanted to get up.
We ate some breakfast and then the phone continued to ring. One was my grandma. She was calling to let me know that my Uncle Dave would be stopping by to spend the night November 8th. Then a call from Alisha, the girl in charge of the preschool area at church.
We (Rebecca, my co-teacher and I) have been trying for the last few weeks to resolve a problem in the 2 &3's room. We have been averaging 16-17 kids in our room with only the two of us. We asked for another helper the 2nd week and didn't receive anyone. We then noticed that with all the kids, we were having to spread both tables out to get them all a spot, which left no room for them to move around. We talked about splitting the 2's and 3's up and taking a group of them somewhere, but during the 9:30 hour, all the rooms are full. The church had to go to some Sunday school classes meeting during the 8 & 11 hour so there would be enough rooms for everyone. Finally, I called our children's minister and asked if maybe we could combine our class with the 4's since there are only 3 or 4 in their room and it is a lot bigger. Then we could acclimate the 3's into that room and when Winter quarter comes and teachers switch, if we need to , we can have just 2 year olds in the current class, and combine the 3's & 4's and leave the 5's and Kindergarteners in the room they use for Sunday school. that would make the average class size around 10, which is so much more do-able.
Anyways, Alisha hadn't been in on the loop of all of this and was trying to figure out who said what and why and where and when. I had to explain all that to her.
During all the phone calls, the kids were enjoying their time together as friends. I was really grateful for their patience and self-entertainment as I took care of all that. Chris came home for lunch and we ate homemade Chicken and Noodle soup. Then the kids and I played a bunch of board games and stuff. Chris got home around 4 and spent some time with the kids while I washed some dishes. Then my sister, Karen, called. We visited with her until supper time and then we were off to see a comedian who had come to our church.
Chris was really looking forward to hearing him. He loves Brian Reagan, a clean comic, so he was psyched to hear a Christian comedian. When we got there, it was a packed house. Standing room only. He was ok. Funny, but at times a little out of line considering the crowd. Chris was a little disappointed. Hannah had to go to the bathroom about half way through and we saw Marcy Shilling, (the McDonalds lady:-) and her daughter who is now 5 months old. Hannah was dancing and making baby Emma laugh. I caught up with her and that was fun.
We came home late and got the kids to bed and here I am writing.
I was checking everyones blogs and all have new posts. I am so glad to read and hear that everyone is doing well.
Well, I need to get to bed. Chris is off tomorrow, so we will see what the day holds in store. Nathan has a homework project we are going to work on, so that is a for sure.
Hope this finds all of you well and praying that you are keeping Him in focus.
Until next time.....

AGGHHHH!!!

Ok, since last post, Chris ended up having to go to Urgent Care. He was running a temperature of 104. They decided they had no idea what it exactly was, but it sounded like some sort of virus. To rest and drink lots of fluids. So, he was in bed from Wednesday through Saturday. Thursday I didn't watch Abram and hung out. I honestly can't remember what we did, sorry.
Friday I had Abram in the afternoon. Nathan had an accident with his pants and so we had to run up there and get him a change of bottoms. Then to get Hannah and back to get Nathan. We stopped at Price Chopper inbetween to pick up some oranges that Chris wanted to suck on.
Saturday we went to the Pumpkinfest here in town. The kids had earned their allowances, so they used it to ride the carosel, feed a burping camel, and Nathan rode those huge slides that you sit on a gunny sack? They played a couple of games and won an inflatable dolphin. They had a good time.
We then went grocery shopping and then spent the rest of the afternoon playing outside with Joey( Amy's brother), Abram and Brett. I also kept tabs on the Missouri game. (Congratulations to the A&Mers!!! )
It was a pretty good game to keep up with. Now, however, MU isn't undefeated. :-(
Sunday we went to church and then it rained all afternoon, so we played some games, the kids ran around playing hide the "something". We hid a stuffed pig, a bracelet, and even a candy pumpkin. It was fun.
Monday, our week started out a little hairy. I dropped off Hannah and then Nathan. I then ran to Hobby Lobby, because I am a homeroom mom for Nathan's class and am in charge of the craft for the fall party. I need to get some construction paper, googly eyes, etc.
I got home to find 3 messages on the answering maching in regards to Hannah. She was having a fit. Ms. Catherine couldn't get her to stop screaming. She couldn't touch her thumbs together right in their daily prayer, the toilet paper wasn't coming off the roll right, etc. They didn't want me to come get her necessarily but that they wanted to talk about what was up.
Everyone seems to think she might be slightly autistic. I don't know anything about it, but she has been quite a struggle from time to time. Chris' mom thinks she is just strongwilled and we should read "The strongwilled child". Can't hurt.
Anyways, I called Chris and we decided to get our point across that her actions were unacceptable, we removed everything from her room except her bed and her little table. All the toy boxes, play shoes, pretty dresses, and such were taken to storage. Her bookshelf and doll house were turned around to face the wall.
Ms. Catherine also left her in the office during recess time. When I picked her up, she acted as if nothing had happened. I made it clear to her that I was disappointed and that there were severe consequences. When we got home, and she saw her room, she was surprised. She got her spankings and naughty corner to go along with it.
I read her the story of Cain and Abel and that God had warned Cain that sin was knocking. After their situation, Cain called his punishment too severe and how God still loved Cain, but had to punish him.
Lorna had a good idea about having a note come to her from God with scripture that was applicable to the situation. I left her and Nathan one. Hers was, "A gentle word turns away wrath, but a harsh one stirs up anger. Let your gentleness be evident to all for the Lord is watching." She was pretty glad to see a letter from God. I have also been working on a devotional she and I can do together about Princesses and using the Disney princesses as references. Since we are God's princesses and He expects certain things from us, I thought it would be good for her and I. So I started that today. We talked about Cinderella and that she was yelled at and her stepsisters had things she wanted, but she never yelled and she always served them with a smile. When she was forced to do extra work, she sang while she did it. We talked about that Jesus was a little like Cinderella in that He didn't come to be served but to serve. And our verse was Galatians 5:15, which says that Jesus has given us the freedom, not to sin, but to serve others with love.
She made Ms. Catherine an "I'm sorry" gift and it will be in the classroom as a reminder to her that Ms. Catherine is her friend and that friends treat each other with love. All I can do tonight is pray that her eyes are opened and her heart is what God expects of her. She is such a sweet girl that it pains me when she is this way. It is like some days she is two different people.
I agree more with Lorna that she is just testing her way. And Hannah admitted to me today that she acts that way because she wants others to do things for her. I reminded her that princesses don't expect people to do everything for them, but that God wants his princesses to show others remarkable love.
Please pray for her.
On a lighter note, at the end of that day, (Monday) Chris and I were praying over Nathan before he fell asleep and he said, "You know what. I bet the Chinese people are just now eating their breakfast." Chris and I couldn't stop laughing. We had pictured in our head little chinese people with chopsticks eating eggs or something. Nathan went on to say, "Well, you know, they are waking up when we go to bed. They are on the other side of the world, you know?"
Chris just said it was the little bit of Leach in him. :-)
I hope this finds you all well. We are hanging in there and I am just now starting the Purpose Driven Life, so I am praying that through every stress in life, God is teaching me something new.

On a last note, I attached another link. It is to Kim and Mark Hubbards blog. They are some amazing people from our church and I am looking forward to developing a closer friendship with them. I am excited to keep up with what is in their lives, so if you want to do so too, you can connect there.
Until next time, maybe gentleness and love season everything you do. I hope that will be my motto this week.
All our love!!

So many things I have forgotten

Well, lets see. The last time I was on, my brain had a melt down..
Monday was Wendy's night for Coleman school, so we went, after pulling Nathan's top tooth, as pictured in the last blog. He really enjoyed that. I had watched Abram that day and the kids enjoyed playing outside one more time before the cold.
Tuesday, Chris was off again and ended up chatting online with a friend from Nebraska while Hannah and I went to storytime at the libary. We checked out a bunch of books and finally got some boxes mailed. (It is coming, Tim and Heidi!!!:-)
We went by the mall to see the library's book sale that they have every year. We found the story of Ferdiand the bull. I hadn't read that in years. We are going to go by tomorrow, when they have their, by box of books for $1. We stuck all the ones we wanted together in a certain area. Hopefully they will still be there.
After that, we headed home and played Strawberry friends until I went to get Nathan.
I have been really exhausted lately. I can't decide if it is me, my PMDD, the weather, the fact that Chris rarely is around and when he is he wants to do anything but help me around the house, or a combo of all of the above. I told myself I had to give up coffee. I was getting addicted to it. It was the only way I was functioning, and yet I felt like i was on drugs. We will see how long i can survive without. "-)
We called and visited with my sister Karen Tuesday night too. It was nice to catch up with her a little and to hear that she is doing good.
Ok, Wednesday, that would be today. In my tiredness, I took the kids to school and watched Abram again. Wow, he was into everything!! I kept my cool, and tried to be entertaining, but i was so relieved when it was naptime. I rested on the couch, but I was steaming a little. Chris decided he wasn't feeling well, when I woke him up when i got home and slept all day and called into work. I wanted to be sympathetic, but i was jealous that he was sleeping all day long and i was so tired.
We picked up Hannah and then Nathan. They played "Wrap up the burrito" with Abram for a while before his dad came to take him home. "Wrap the burrito" is pretty much wrapping a blanket around someone lying on the ground and then that person coming out of the blanket.
We had supper and read a bunch of stories before bed.
I am sleeping on the couch tonight, just incase Chris is contagious.
I hope this finds you all well. Oh,yeah, i added another link.
My youngest sister and her husband started a blog. Check it out if you get the time to.
well, am signing off. All our love!!

"All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth!"

Well, as you can see, Mr. Nathan has lost his front two teeth within the last week or two. He is excited that he can drink with a straw without opening his teeth.
A lot of things have happened since I last posted. For one, it is now October. How wierd is that!
We went to church the 1st, and heard Chris sing. It was really nice. He really enjoyed it!
The kids thought it was awesome. They were so proud of their dad.
Lets see. Last Monday, the kids went to school and I didnt' watch Abram, so I did some work around the house. Tuesday Hannah and I went to the library for the first storytime. It was about apples. Really nice. We went to Hobby Lobby for fun and then home. That afternoon, Chris was home, and Hannah had fallen asleep. I went to get Nathan from school and when I got back, Hannah had woken up and was crying. She was having a migraine. We put her to bed after giving her some ibprofen and reading up on what to do.
By morning, she was better. We are watching her. So far not another one.
Wednesday the kids were in school and I had Abram for the day. We played and he had a nap while I cleaned up the kitchen. After picking up Hannah, we got home and Brett picked up Abram before we got Nathan. He was upset, but he had an early out Thursday, so he looked forward to seeing Abram then.
When he got out early around 1:30, they(he and Chris) were going fishing with Charlie at 3. Hannah and Abram and I had made a leaf pile, so for the couple of hours before their big fishing trip, they spent time jumping and fluffing and rolling around in them.
At 3, they went to get Charlie and then took his boat to a lake. Nathan was so excited about it. He caught a bass and heard coyotes. He loved it! Hannah and I watched a girly movie and hung out. The boys got home around 9. Nathan was so tired, but it was like the best day, he said ever.
Friday, the kids were in school and I rested. Saturday, we played outside and went to the Child Identification Program sponsored by the Shriners. Really neat.
Ok, getting tired. Sunday church and playing with Abbie. Today school, watching Abram and Nathan lost the 2nd tooth.
Ok, am signing off for a day when my brain is on. All our love!!

Its Friday!

Hi all!
This week flew by just like I thought it would.
Lets see, Tuesday Nathan went to school and Hannah and I went to the library. We picked up some new books and a movie that Hannah had on reserve. It was "The princess and the pauper". When Nathan got home, we all read together, did our daily chores, and watched the movie. It was really good. It was a musical, so we have been singing some of the songs all week.
Wednesday, kids were in school and I didn't watch Abram. I was beginning to wonder about what was up. I worked in the kitchen; dishes, etc. After picking up the kids from school, we ran by Lowes so Chris could see their school work. We came home to do daily chores and hang out a little. The kids were so tired, I had them go to bed early. Kind of hard, since we have been getting calls from people from church who are wondering if we want to be a part of Wednesday night programs.
Chris really wanted to get plugged in this year and signed up to be a part of a small group, but the group we asked to be a part of was full and the other one we were interested in is off campus and doesn't provide childcare. Then we found out it was going to cost us to send the kids, and we decided that since we really didn't have a group, and haven't found our nitch, we would just bow out this year and get the kids adjusted to school before throwing in evening activities. I have mentioned to a few ladies of our church about maybe meeting in the mornings or afternoons about getting together to pray for our kids and their schools. I think that might me a good alternative. And Chris is in choir this year and is joining the men's ministry that they are going to start in a couple of weeks. Hopefully that will help us out.
Anyways, Thursday Hannah and I played in her room while Chris slept. He was prepping for his overnighter. We also did some dishes and our chores. After picking up Nathan, we woke Chris up and ate supper. I had a room parent meeting that night for class parties and activities. It was nice. The kids got some time with Chris and I got to go sit with some other moms.
After getting home, Chris headed to choir practice and we did the bedtime routine.
Friday Nathan had a doctor appointment to get his inhaler for school. We dropped off Hannah and then headed to their new office. Everyone was so excited to have him there. When we went into the hall where they did the vision test, he was reading the letters when Dr. Evans came up behind him and started tickling his ear. Nathan struggled and tried really hard to concentrate on the letters. Quite a while went by before he said, "Would you stop that?" He turned around expecting it to have been me, and was surprised to see Dr. Evans there. He showed his newest loose tooth to Dr. Evans. They gave each other a big hug and then we went back to the room. We got the prescription for an inhaler with a spacer.
I ran him to school and then headed to Target to fill his prescription. It was a crazy issue and I got home around 11am. No inhaler, has to be special ordered. And the spacer isn't covered by insurance, so that is about $40. We will see how we are going to do that.
Got home and gathered my stuff, ate some lunch and headed to the library to write some letters and read. Went and got Hannah and found out that she had thrown some fits so when she got home, she sat in the naughty corner. She stayed at home with Chris while I went to picked up Nathan. When I got there, he had lost his front left tooth. He was really excited about it.
We spent the evening just hanging out, reading books and playiing games. Went to bed at a fairly decent time. Woke up this morning and we played outside until lunch time. Ate lunch and then went to Lowes to see the Christmas Chris had set up. We all were impressed. The kids already have picked out the things we need at our house this year. :-)
We got some groceries before coming home and playing a little more before supper and a movie.
Tomorrow is church and the choir sings, so that will be nice. The kids and I are planning on just spending some more time enjoying the nice weather before it gets cold again.
Well, I need to get off here. Chris is home and needs to do some homework on here.
Hoping this finds you all well!
All our love~

Our weekend!

Well, all, I am actually posting before the week is over. Amazing!!
After I blogged last time, I went to pick Nathan up from school. He was as white as a ghost and was running a temp around 100. He was crying, complaining of his lungs hurting. I asked him how long he had felt that way and come to find out it started around 10am. When I asked him why he hadn't asked Mrs. Kingery to call me, he said, "But we were having a wowee party today. I didn't want to miss it."
I took him home and gave him an albuterol and he laid down for about 2 hours until supper time. By then he was seeming a little better. We ate supper and then I got him to bed and finished his night off with another breather.
Friday morning he had spiked another temperature, so he wasn't headed to school. I went ahead and took Hannah. It worked out to get the Clifford movies because I wasn't letting him get out of bed. I thought I would play it by ear and see how he was feeling before I headed home for the reunion. By afternoon time, he has sparked energy and was running around acting like a crazy horse, so I decided we could go ahead and go, but he needed to take it easy.
We picked up Hannah and headed to Lowes to see chris. Then to Ks. When we got there, we had supper with my parents, and my grandma and the kids went to bed early.
Saturday my grandma came up again and we visited and had lunch and waited for my sister Mary and her husband Jon to arrive. We also waited for Sarah to come by. We had decided to ride together and since Nathan was struggling and the kids hadn't seen Mary and Jon since their wedding, I would leave them at Moms and just go to the reunion for a little while.
Sarah arrived first and met the kids. We headed to town around 3:30 and Mary and Jon hadn't arrived yet. I told Mom that if she needed me I had our cell, and left her with all the nebulizer instructions.
We got to the park where the reunion was and the shelter house was full of a bunch of people wearing orange shirts. We were pretty sure that wasn't our group. As we waited to see what would happen, she broke down and shared how much she was struggling and just was at a loss as to what was next. I didn't know what to say. I can't wrap it around my head how that would feel, let alone explain why. They don't know what happened. Cause of death was unknown. That makes it even harder to grasp. I am sending her a Jeremy Camp Cd because I got to thinking that he lost his wife at a young age and has such a powerful message about how we walk by faith and that sometimes broken roads are God's will for us.
I hope it helps. Please continue to pray for her.
Anyways, we sat there and waited for about 15 minutes when we thought we recognized the class president, Chris wilson. We followed her until she stopped. She came up and visited with us and said that we were supposed to have the main shelter, but that we could just set up in the side one.
Shortly after, everyone began to arrive. For some who are interested, Angela and Cody were there with there new little baby; Chris and her husband Dave were their with their 8 month old daughter; Phoebe and her husband were there with their 18 month old; Tracy and her husband were their with their twins; Jerrid Calhoun, Brandon Cahoone and his girlfriend, Andy Smart, Casey Piper and Erin Calhoun; Jason Tyson and his pregnant wife and their 3 year old daughter;
Melissa and Allen Korte with their 4 kids; Cameron Birk and Sarah and I.
It was an interesting group, considering that most of them were the popular group in high school. Chris said that they were going to send paper invites and then decided that probably most everyone still was in contact with someone from school, so word of mouth was easier than researching where everyone was.
They started to barbeque and then the beer came out. I think the only ones who weren't drinking were Phoebe and her husband, Tracy and her husband and Sarah and I. We said our hellos and then Sarah was ready to leave.
I was too, except that I felt kind of bad for Phoebe. She was alone in the yard with her son, kind of alone and looking for good conversation. If I had brought the kids or had gone alone, I might have tried to develop that friendship.
Anyways, Sarah and I went to Coach's for supper and then headed back to the house. She said to call her and maybe she would come to St. Joe just to get some fresh air and maybe I could help her with what she need to do now.
Mary and Jon were there and so she met them. We got the kids to bed and then watched United 93. Off to bed for the day.
Sunday we woke to go to church and get Billy's tires ready for Jon and Mary to take it back. I felt kind of bad because I really miss Mary and I know that it is really hard being away from your family when you are first married. All you have is your spouse and sometimes you get home sick. I did and Chris had my parents surprize me at a restaurant. It was really cool!
I thought of that when I saw her this time. How much I haven't been a good older sister to her and how lonely she might be. I didn't get much time with her this weekend, but my kids did Saturday afternoon.
They had brought their two cats with. They were so sweet!!
Anyways, we took the car in and got tires and then headed back to Mom and DAd's to get ready to head home. Packed the car and Mary and Jon and the kids and I all headed out about 4:30.
We got back here, ate some supper and headed to bed after showers.
Nathan was feeling super and they were both excited to go to school today.
Chris and I while the kids were at school rested a little and then cleaned up from the trip before he had to go to work. His beams finally showed today, so he was going to hit the Christmas aisle hard to day. Thursday he is working an overnighter with his specialist, so that could be interesting. :-)
Otherwise, that is about it. No more sick people, so that is good and I am going to watch Abram Wednesday and Thursday, so I think our week is planned. I hope this finds you all well.
We miss everyone and are looking forward to maybe seeing some of you around Christmas.
Until next time, all our love!

This week has flown!!

Hello all!
I just can't believe how fast the weeks go. Seems like yesterday we had posted a blog.

Monday, of course was spent in grocery shopping and in the mean time, I forgot to send snack with Hannah. so, I dropped it off in the running around. I got home in time to do some major cleaning and rearranging in the kitchen and living room.
Picked up kids and came home to just relax. the kids have been fighting off colds. Saturday it was 95 and Sunday it was 63, so as you can imagine, everyone's nose was running and "the Cough" has begun.
Tuesday Hannah and I , since it was chilly, did some cooking. We made apple jelly, and put a batch of cream cheese chicken soup in the crock pot. Nathan's back to school night was that night, so we went back to school and he gave us the tour of what they do eveyday. it was really neat. All these phrases are now making sense after being there.
Wednesday, Nathan was off. Teachers had a work day. He was so excited to get to spend the day with me. he slept in while I took Hannah to school. then when he woke up, we colored a little and then I had him sign his birthday checks. We got dressed and headed to Target. he had a spongebob hat to return that he had gotten at the birthday party. he used his money from the return and grandpa leach to buy some new tracks. His money from grandma and papa crosswhite was sent for him to buy a family sized tent. he also got a computer game from mom and dad about puppies and of course, some more train stuff. He got some knee pads and elbow pads from karen in the mail. he is phyched because he knows that means she got him a skateboard. Never seen anyone so excited about elbow pads!!
We went to Cici's for lunch and then home to build train tracks. After picking up Hannah from school, we all played a little and then began the night routine.
Today it is raining. Chilly and rainy. I think it is 58 out there, so it is a good day for hot chocolate and a movie. Hannah and I went to the library to get some Clifford movies and to pick out some books to read. Nathan got his sheet to fill out to earn book-it pizzas, so we have a bunch to start with.
Tomorrow, as the kids are in school, I am going to try to finish organizing the house and pack the car. We are headed home for my reunion. I talked to Sarah last night and she would really like to go just to do something different. She is going to call tonight and we are going to work out details about whether or not I am picking her up or if she is ok with driving.
I hope this finds you all well. Stay warm and drink lots of vitamin C!!!!
Till next time, all our love!

A great weekend!

Hi! I last posted Friday. Well, after picking the kids up from school, we headed home and looked over their school work. Chris got home shortly after that and then we had supper. It was around 7:45, that the doorbell rang. I knew, but the kids did not, who was on the other side.
Nathan opened the door, and seeing nothing, said, "There is nobody out there.". He looked again with Hannah and saw my parents. It took a couple of seconds to register who it was before he and Hannah shouted, "Grandma, Papa!!!!" It was a fun surprize. Mom and Dad got a kick out of it too. Nathan started talking about 100 miles an hour. He told me tonight, "You know mom, they don't ever do that. I am really glad they came and surprized me. I hope they do it every year. " We will see. I finally got them to bed around 9.
Nathan was up at 6:30 the next morning, saying, "Today is my party!!" We ate some blueberry bread I had made for breakfast and read our morning devotion with Grandma. We were talking about God's mercy and how we should be merciful. Nathan out of the blue says to mom, "You know what Grandma. God made everyone...... washable." We laughed for a while about that. The things we take for granted, right.
After the guys got up, we collected all the party stuff and headed to the park. When we got there, the shelter house was taken, so we moved up the hill. The wind was terrible. Probably gusts of 35 miles an hour. We attempted to hang streamers. I had made doggy ears out of rubber headbands and felt cut into ear shapes. The kids put those on and chased around the ball I had brought for one of the games. About 5 till, guest started arriving. He had 3 kids from his kindergarten class and 1 from t-ball. Tyler, Will, Samantha, Lane, and then their little siblings and Hannah. They started off by running around in their dog ears. As Chris got the pizza, I had them play our Dog game. I had hidden a cat, a truck and a ball in the yard. Taped to each of them was a small sentence they could read. Like "find the cat". then, while wearing their dog ears, they looked in the yard. They prize at the end was a pile of dog bones (which were actually cut out of paper and stuffed with fruit snacks). They liked the game so much they decided to do it again, this time hiding the bones and having all the moms find the clues. I started to help in the hunt when a gust of wind blew everything off the table. A frantic rush to catch things came. The kids found the rest of the things they had hidden and came back to the table just in time to eat pizza. After pizza was cake and then presents. Nathan got some neat stuff and was really excited to just have kids to play with. WE headed to the play ground before everyone headed home.
We took all the goodies and leftovers back to the house and then headed to the southside festival. A friend of Chris' from Lowes has his ponies there and had promised free rides. WE got there and sure enough, Charlie was leading the little ones. So both Hannah and Nathan got to ride twice. They gave Charlie big hugs and then we went on. The kids got to choose one ride. Nathan rode the ferris wheel for kids and Hannah rode in the pink train car. We finished walking around when we bumped into Gretchen, who is the kids favorite person in the whole world, at least in St. Joe, you know. She was out looking for onion blossoms. We visited with her for a while before heading home. WE then decided it would be fun to go mini golfing. So Mom and DAd took us out to Arbys and then we went to Coolcrest. It was a lot of fun. Nathan won a free game. We went home and headed to bed.
This morning was church and after that, we took mom and dad by Nathan's school and hit walmart for some necessities for the morning, like milk. I ignored laundry and grocery shopping because of the party and stuff on Saturday. That is on my agenda for tomorrow. I dont' have to watch Abram this week , because Amy's sister is back from 8 weeks of being in Omaha, and she really wants some time with her family, so she asked Amy if she could have Abram all week.
Anyways, before mom and dad left, the kid had them play a game or two of Pit before they headed to bed.
It was a lot of fun. If I can get this think to post my pictures, I will.
I have been trying and it keeps telling me that I don't have a server. Oh, well.
I hope this finds you all well and I added our friends to the side bar, so check out their links as well. My brother in Oregon is one, our friends who welcomed us to St. joe are there, my cousin and her husband are there, and some long lost friends are there.
Until next time, may God be reaching to you and showing you His unfailing love!

Wow, where did the week go?

Hi! Can't believe it has been a week since I posted. This week has been so wierd. Lets see, Friday, Hannah went back to school. She had a couple of times where she screamed and cried. We had a serious talk when we got home about how that was unacceptable. I told her I would be asking Mrs. Catherine and for anytime she screamed, she would get that many spankings and that many times 4 minutes in the naughty corner. Her eyes got HUGE! Since then, we haven't had any problems. She has made a new friend named Whitney. I guess they play soft animals most of the day.
Nathan is getting acclimated to kindergarten. We met the little girl who sits at his table with him. She is super sweet. Her name is Lindsay. More of what he does during the day is coming out. Still feel bad about sending him, though. He is so exhausted when he gets home and he isn't getting enough time to eat his lunch, so when he gets home, he is tired, super thirsty and starving. I think it is more traumatic for me to think he is that rushed in everything. He is seeming to have fun, but still misses preschool.
Last weekend we played inside as it rained most of the weekend. Sunday was church and just spending time together. Monday was back to routine. I was kind of glad all the firsts were over and we could start getting things into a regular schedule. Chris had a tough weekend at work, so he slept in as I took the kids to school. I went to the library and wrote some cards and went to JC Penneys to get a pair of jeans. Then Chris and I went to the mall and ate at the chinese place there. It was really good. We didn't finish our food, we had gotten so much and it only cost us 2.99. We were impressed. We played games after the kids came home. We taught them how to play Pit. It is their new favorite game.
Tuesday Chris was off and so was Hannah, so they spent some time together as I worked on cleaning up the kitchen and living room. After Nathan got out of school, we went to Rib Crib. Chris got his refund back from his school loan, so he wanted to treat everyone with a nice dinner.
Then the kids went to bed and we decorated for Nathan's birthday.
He woke up Wednesday thrilled to finally be 6. He has been waiting for so long. Mostly because he turned 5 the 2nd day of preschool last year and he started school this year still 5. He feels like he has been 5 forever,. We took Cosmic brownies to school for snack. He also invited all his little friends to his party. He had already been telling them. Chris and I wantead to keep this one simple, but then we also didn't want his friends to feel bad for being left out. We figured, seriously, how many will be able to come. Not all of them, but the fact they were all invited would be good. So far, he has 3 who are definate, so he is excited.
I watched Abram that day. it was kind of weird having just him. Nice, but odd.
Nathan and Hannah were excited to have him pick them up from school! When we got back from school, Abram helped Nathan open all his presents and we ate some cake. Hannah had helped me make it Tuesday. We took him to Cici's for his special birthday dinner.
Yesterday, I watched Abram again and Hannah andI played dress up.
Chris all week has been working overnights, as they have been receiving all their Christmas stock and they don't have the shelving in yet to set the dept. So he has had to go in and receive the truck and then find place for it in topstock.
He is in today, 7-4, to hopefully set the shelves as they are supposed to arrive. He is looking forward to the weekend off.
Well, I think that is about it. it has been so quick. Once things get into a pattern, maybe I will be more frequent on here.
One more thing, I want to apologize for some of the ways I seemed kind of rough on here. I have been re-reading some of the entries and noticed that my attitude was lacking. For that, i apologize. Like Paul says, what I want to do, I don't.
I miss so many of you and have meant to keep in better contact and here is has been weeks. For that, I also apologize.
Well, have things I need to get to, so I will sign off.

Hannah's first day

Hannah's first day was good! We took her in and got her settled. The pictures above are ones before we left.
She was excited. However, once we hugged her and left, she began to cry. Mrs. Catherine said she had several moments during the day when she remembered, "Oh, yeah, I am sad."
However, today, when we got up, she wanted to go back. So, I think she had more fun than she wants to admit.
She has a smaller class, which is nice and it seems a lot more laid back. I am sure that once things get into the swing, she won't want to come home. "-)
As for Chris and I, we laughed about what we would do with them both in school, since he had gotten the day off. We opted to take a huge nap. It was so nice. We said we were catching up from when they were babies.
It was nice to just snuggle together, and sleep. No worries. Chris says that we should have scheduled more of those in our lives up till now.
Anyways, today Hannah and I hung out. Did a little cleaning and ran to Walmart to buy birthday cake supplies for Nathan's birthday.
OH, and I forgot, Wednesday afternoon, as a celebration of the two kids doing so good being grown up, we took them to the dollar theater to see Cars. We had hestiated, but heard so much good. We usually preview the animated movies before the kids see them. Now-a-days they are so much more aimed for adults than kids.
Anyways, it was wonderful. The kids really got into it and had a great time.
Ok, back to today, after we picked up Nathan from school, we headed to the church to do some work in the 2's & 3's room. Organization of the teachers cabinet to be specific. it really needed it. We ran by Lowes just as Chris was getting off and headed home for supper.
Kids are asleep right now and Chris went to choir practice. I am ready for bed, but wanted to get these on here.
On a side note, Tuesday night, I was doing all my computer stuff and checked my email which I haven't done in like a week, and there was an email from my best friend in high school that I haven't heard from in years. She was reaching out in a cry for help.
I called her and talked to her for a couple hours. Her fiance had died and so many other things have tested her new faith. I am planning on keeping in close contact with her.
I am thinking now that I am going to still go home the weekend of the 23rd, and if she wants to go to the 10 year, we can go together, otherwise, if she isn't interested, I will just visit with her and continue to comfort her in her grief.
I think God is getting ready to open up a really neat ministry opportunity for her, and it is so neat for me, since I have been praying for her salvation for years.
Well, I need to head to bed. I heard Chris just got home. gonna go.

Hannah's about to go!!

Well, I am posting the night before Hannah's first day.
She had open house tonight. Wow! I forgot how much I love that preschool.
And Mrs. Catherine, it was so good to see her and visit. Hannah is so excited.
There are 8 in her class; a couple of kids dropped. 6 girls and 2 boys.
The theme this year is "God's promises", and each of the rooms is decorated to look like a room inside Noah's ark. Really neat.
Over the weekend we did some much needed cleaning and grocery shopping. The kids enjoyed both at we made the cleaning a game and they got to pick "sack lunch" food for school.
It was a little wierd tonight as I packed both of their lunches. I had always imagined what it would be like, packing my kids lunches for school, and now here I am doing it.
Chris laughed about how tomorrow after we drop them off, we have one of two options. We can sleep all day and catch up on lost sleep from when they were babies, or we can drink pop, eat bon bons and watch movies (since that is what supposedly stay-at-home mom's do). More than likely we will opt for some of the first. Catch a nap that we never get and do some serious cleaning in our room. It looks like a bomb went off.
I hope this finds all of you doing well and I will post tomorrow with some of Hannah's first day pictures.
Oh, forgot to post last time, but the evening of Nathan's first day, Chris met Chris Coker in KC because Coker had acquired some free Chiefs tickets. He had never been to a NFL game. He called from there and it was so loud. He LOVED it. I think it birthed a Chiefs fan in our home.
He said it was really neat. They sat above the tunnel where the players came out of. He also said that an ex-player sat right behind them and it was really easy to get into high fiving the people around you when something good happened. I turned on the tv one time while he was there and had called. KQ2 was broadcasting the game, so we thought maybe the kids could see Dad and Uncle Coker on TV.
I am pretty sure the Chiefs won that night 10-9. He said he also got to hold his nephew Nathan for a spell before he was afraid Nathan would put him to sleep.
Well, I need to get to bed. Another big day for all of us. We send our love, and will write again tomorrow.

First days of school

1st days of school!!


Finally got the pictures to download. Ok, lets see. Tuesday we dropped off all the radiology stuff. Came home to make sure we had all our open house stuff together and played a little. It was around then that we headed to Wyatt Park Baptist to load the school bus. The picture above is Nathan loading. He sat third from the back. We thought they would wait for all the parents to leave the parking lot before they pulled out. However, before we even made it across the parking lot, the bus had already pulled out. We hustled and could see it about 10 vehicles ahead of us. By the time we made it to Coleman, they were already unloading the kindergarteners. There were no parking places, so I told Chris in a panic, "Let me out now." He said to wait until we were out of the street and on a side road. So we pulled off and I hurried to the front yard. By this time, me and another mom were asking the bus driver where the kindergarteners were, to which she replied, "Inside, I think" So I headed in. TOTAL CHAOS!!!!
They had PTA tables set up in the doorway and there were people everywhere. I asked a lady where the kindergarteners were that had ridden the bus. She asked another lady and they both agreed they had no idea. So I asked a second lady who said she thought they were in their classrooms. Since we had no idea whose class he was in, we looked on each door. Luckily, he was listed on the first door, so we headed in. We looked amongst the chaos in there and saw no child. By this time, I was about to bawl. I was headed to the other classrooms when a page came over the intercom asking Mrs. Kingery if the Crosswhites were there. They hadn't claimed their child and that he was in the office. We hurried there and found him fine. All I could think of was a couple weeks ago when I had asked them what I could be praying for and he mentioned that he was afraid he would get lost. Here it was 1st experience and he was lost. I hugged him and asked him if he was ok. He said, "Yeah, mom". I asked him if he was scared because he was lost and alone. His reply shot me back to the reality of what I should have been doing. He said, "Mom, I wasn't alone. I had 3 people with me. Puppy Crosswhite, God and Jesus."
Out of the mouths of babes. That entire time, I hadn't once acknowledged that God knew exactly where Nathan was. Instead I was panicked about where and how fast to find him.
We went back to his class where we picked up like 60 sheets of forms to fill out and go home.
WE went home and I stepped outside and cried. It was the only time in my life I had been that scared about where my kids were.
Wednesday we wanted to do something all together before Nathan's first day, so we went to the Savannah park. We met Chris at 4 and split up. Nathan had had some time with his dad one on one, and wanted some with me. So we had a "date". We ate at Cici's pizza and went to the arcade. We came home and played hot wheels. He was in bed early, so we could start him off right.
Thursday morning we woke up and he had eggs, shredded wheat and juice. WE headed to school, after having Dad spike his hair so he would look "awesome". We took him to class only to find out that they couldn't let him in until we had visited with the school nurse.
According to her, they had no copies of his shot record or that he had asthma. I had given them that information at screening, but apparently they had lost it.
So, I promised I would bring it to her in an hour. She said she had put a list of kids up at open house, but like I would have known where to find that. It was so disorganized.
Anyways, we took his picture at his desk and then let him go.
He had a great day. So much I could write and my brain is already shutting down on me.
Mrs. Kingery is really nice and he really likes her. He has already had gym class and art. In gym, they will be climbing a rock wall and in art, they were creating pictures with the letters of their names. He really loves it.
Hannah starts next week.
Well, need to go. Kids are getting antsy. Will write more later.
Maybe tonight. There is some stuff I know I missed.
Till then, all our love,
Angel

Nathan's first days

Trying to get some pictures to download and either the computer is being a pain or the internet.
Anyways, I am totally exhausted from trying, so I am headed to bed, and will try again tomorrow. Please check again and maybe I will be having more luck.
Till then...

pictures!!!!!!

Here we go...

Well, another week, just as scheduled, right. :-)
We had a good weekend. The train night at the library was neat. The kids really liked it. Got to make their own train out of shapes and eat a snack.
Friday it rained, so we stayed a home and did all kind of playing. Saturday morning we went to the library and hung with dad before work. Then Hannah and I made little banana loafs and a purse out of a cereal box. Nathan wanted to play trains instead.
Sunday was a children's meeting, so we were there from 8am-1pm. We did some shopping afterwards. Milk, peanut butter, you know, the necessities in a child home.
Went to bed early.
Monday was our day to KC. WE headed out around 10:30 in order to gas up. We were going to meet my mom at Crown Center at the train restaurant. From there we headed to Mercy. We got there a little early because we wanted to make sure we could find it and get around some construction in the area. We arrived about 1:45. We were in the room by 2. They gave her some apple juice and some teddy grahams and we waited for her to pee.
After she did, it was about 15 minutes before Dr. Blowey came into the room. He visited with Hannah a little, asked us some questions, reviewed what Dr. Castle had sent and then examined Hannah. He left to look at her x-rays and her urine sample and would be back in to talk.
After evaluating everything, he determined that her problem was a combination of two things. One, her intestines were pushing against her bladder, causing it to be off shape due to the largeness of her stool. He suggested putting her on a natural stool softener daily to see if we could change her regularity to a daily thing. He also said that because of her kidney infection when she was first potty training, she had trained her bladder to be inconsistant. He said what that means is she trained it to respond to her only when it was extremely full and it was almost too late for her. He said that for that, we needed to get into a regimine of re-training her bladder to function more on a routine.
We were glad to hear it was not something major. Little things we can work on that will require discipline and time, but nothing like surgery or the likes. We are supposed to call him in a month to see. during the next month, we are supposed to chart her progress.
The above picture of her is in the room. She and pinkie pie were enjoying the pampering.
Afterwards, we met Nathan and my mom at a park and filled her in while the kids played. It began to rain, so mom headed home and we headed to Independence to see baby Nathan.
Above is a picture of both Nathan's. Our Nathan thought he was the coolest after holding him once. He kept whispering, "can I hold him again?". He was a sweet baby. On the next post, I am going to include more picts, since Chris Coker (thank you man!!!) taught me how to do it.
We brought them pizza and visited until 8:30. By then, Cindy was about to fall over and the kids were getting sleepy.
We are so glad he (baby Nathan) is doing so well and is such a cutie!!
Well, am going to post some more picts and then will write again tomorrow, because I haven't even gotten into today which was Nathan's kindergarten open house when he rode a school bus for the first time and met his teacher.
Until then, enjoy the pictures. And Coker family, I am snail mailing you copies of all this too for baby Nathan's scrapbook.
All our love

Where did August go?

Hi! As I sit here, I can't believe how fast time has flown. This week we got enrollment forms for Hannah's preschool to fill out and Nathan's first day is a week from today.
I got an email from David Toelle about our 10 year class reunion. Wow, he has changed a lot. It is kind of funny. He has gotten a lot larger. Actually, when I went to his myspace account and saw his picture, I couldn't believe it was him. He is married and has a 3 year old son. He is the sports director at Kansas Weslyan in Salina. He won't be at the reunion but was asked to help find people.
It will be Sept. 23rd at 4pm at Hammond Park. I think the kids and I will go. I haven't seen people like Johna Forbeck, Sarah Burris, Michael Spade and others. It will be interesting to see who shows up and how much they have changed.
Anyways, lets see, our week last week. Friday after Chris got off work we went looking for laptops. He is starting back college at Liberty University online. His classes started Monday and he needed a laptop so he could hook up to wireless DSL to download videos for class. Our dial-up here wasn't going to cut it. We talked about getting rid of the desktop since it hates me anyways and maybe we can sell it to a student and pay for some of the laptop.
Anyways, he shopped around. On Saturday, he slept in while the kids and I played. We ran to the post office to mail a belated birthday package to the Bond girls. When we got back, we ate lunch and then went to the mall and the libraries. It rained all Friday and Saturday. It was nice. We really needed it. Sunday, we went to church. I helped in the 2's & 3's and we went to service. After that, we hit McDonalds for lunch and got groceries. A picnic to the park to burn off some stored energy finished off our night.
Monday the kids had their dentist appointment. Dr. Goodrick said Nathan's new teeth looked good. No cavities for either kids and they were looking forward to seeing them in 6 months.
We went home and spent most of the day outside. It was only 83. We all made a cardboard school for the strawberry shortcake friends since the kids have been excited about school. Blueberry muffin was the teacher and for recess, Nathan had us race hot wheels.
Chris got home around 4 and hung out with us before heading to our room to start his studying. He is taking Theology 202 and Humanities. Next quarter he is taking Biology and something else. He is really liking his Theology class.
Today, I woke up early and went walking at Mark youngdale. it as an awesome morning. God home and the kids were up. They have been working on memory verses. if you see them soon, ask them to recite Psalm 19:14 and Psalm 139:23. They have made a song combining the two and it is really sweet. They have also been praying their verses to God, thanking him for his work. It has been really awesome to see their faith grow. Nathan the other day prayed that God would put Satan in his home where there was a lot of fire and that God would protect himself from Satan. He also asked God to "repair" him for school. (prepare). Hannah has been asking that God help her to obey.
And one final thing. Today we got a call around 10 am that our friends Chris and Cindy Coker were in the hospital having their baby Nathan. He called tonight and Nathan Allen Coker was born at 8:21pm and weighed 7lbs 4oz and was 21 inches long. They all are doing well and will probably go home Thursday. We told them that maybe when we were in KC for Hannah's appointment at Mercy that we would stop by and see them.
Well, I think that is about it. Tomorrow we are going to try to do something fun all together and Thursday is a train storytime at the East Hills Library. Hannah's appointment is Monday, Nathan's open house is Tuesday and our month of August is gone.
I pray that all of you are trying to take time to enjoy the beauty of God and to thank him for it.
will write again, probably in another week, right??:-)

Wow, has it already been a week?

Hi! Wow, hard to believe it has been another week.
Well, lets see, Vacation Bible School didn't get much better. Hannah continued to dislike it. We tried putting her in a different group, to which they said she cried all night. The last night, she said she really wanted to try again, so we let her. When we picked her up, she was in a totally different group. Chris was furious. We talked to her and the leader of the newest group. Apparently she was manipulating people to get her way. So, we talked to her at home and set down that if she cried to just get her way again, she would get spanked and go to the naughty corner. She hates that. We told her that if she screamed for any reason other than an emergency or if someone was taking her, she would get a spanking and the naughty corner.
As for VBS, we told her she would not go up front with her friends.
We endured the program. Nathan continued to have an awesome time. However, after the whole human enchilada, he couldn't recall anything that was the theme or the stories. All he could remember was the one song they sung every night and that Sarah was really gross.
I am going to mention something to Sarah about it. I came upon my VBS certificate when I was home and saw that I had earned by attending and by memorizing the verse. And my grandma told me a story about that my grandfather never really attended church. His parents were so busy with the farm that he never went. But every summer they let him go to the local Vacation Bible School program. It was through that experience that he came to know Christ and was fed.
I want my children to have a similar story.
Anyways, after VBS, and after the human enchilada thing, Marcy (the McDonalds lady) came up. Her nieces were there and so we caught up and she introduced me to her new baby. Meanwhile, everyone abandons Sarah, who is covered in cheese, beans, and salsa and doesn't know what to do. She says she wishes there was a hose around, and that is when we remember we have a hose in our car that we are taking with to grandma's for the sprinkler. We pull it out and she gets to clean herself off. We laughted about how God provides in all things.
Anyways, we arrived in Ks after that around 10:30.
After visiting with everyone, we hit the beds. Saturday we woke up and headed to the farm to say hi. We played in the sand with Leah and aunt Karen. We saw John and visited with him a little too. Around lunch time, we headed home. The kids were dirty from the sand but had a blast. We got back and ate some lunch. The kids played in the bay window while Mom, Dad, and Karen did a dance party with the Barbie dolls that Hannah had brought with.
I got it on my digital. Dad thought Tim really needed to see it. That it would bring back memories and that he could laugh about what his parents were doing on a Saturday afternoon.
After the dance party ended, Karen decided she wanted to make some Oatmeal scotchies for the family dinner, so she and hannah baked some cookies. Then they all decided a water balloon would be a great way to end the day. With over 100 balloons, we all had a "blast". Supper would follow and then Karen got out her pictures from Nicaragua. It was amazing to see how God showed himself to her in the kids she met. And definately through the minister's wife. Her stories were my favorite part.
We headed to church the next morning and then to Grandma's for dinner.
Erin, and her husband, Tryon were there. Joy, John, Leah and Lorrie as well. Yachel was in Colorado doing a government fencing job. WE had taco burgers, potato salad, fresh fruit, deviled eggs, and apple cake. Karen showed everyone her pictures and then we all sat around visiting. It was then that Lorrie sat down and announced to us Thomas' that she and Yachel were expecting in February. She had a miscarriage with their first, so she waited to announce until they were pretty sure it was safe. She has been to the doctor and heard the heart beat. They are telling her the farther along she makes it, the better. However, Yachel is saying that he will probably be in Colorado until November. He is coming back this weekend for a wedding and Lorrie said she and a friend will go out Labor day weekend. If you could pray for her, I think that would be great. Being pregnant and without your spouse will be a hard one, and I know God will prove himself faithful for her.
We spent the night with grandma. She was excited to spend extra time with the kids and they have to come to love being at her house. Just as much as I do. We all sat together before going to bed reading the Bible and praying together. We woke up and ate breakfast and played Go fish, Memory, Dominos and another game I can't remember. Hannah got out the Mary Ann dolls I used to play with and we just hung out. The plan was to head home after lunch. We had leftovers from Sunday and Grandma got out her daily devotional. As we ate, we heard her read and it was a memory I will forever log in my mind. As we cleaned up and loaded the car, Hannah began to cry. She did'nt want to leave Great-grandma. They sat together and we stayed a little longer before getting in the car. It was hard, but we headed on to Topeka. We had planned on stopping by Mom's school on our way home. We got there and she gave us the official tour along with meeting some fellow workers. We stopped by Sonic on our way out of town for 1/2 price drinks and to chat a little more before heading home.
We got home in time for supper prepared by Dad. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Mac-n-cheese. To bed and slept in. Abram came over later and we watched him the rest of the afternoon. We all watched a movie last night before calling it good.
Today, Abbie, Jamison (her little brother), and Abram were over to play all morning. We spent the afternoon outside playing and then headed to TNT mortgage to talk to a lady about our chances of thinking about buying a house. We have some things to iron out in regards to the foreclosure on our record, but she thinks we can do it.
We came home to clean up after the day of play and then to bed. I am exhausted, but glad that we are enjoying our days.
I am hoping to continue to keep steady and to produce the fruit that God asks of me.
I am praying that all of you are well and that you seriously are looking to Him for your life.
Will write again when it isn't so late and I don't have so much to write. :-)
Till then!!!

Vacation Bible School

I write this tonight because it is the second night of vacation bible school, and I am so disappointed. Last year, I was excited to be a part. This year, I didn't sign up to be a volunteer, first of all because not knowing what job I might be involved in for the fall, I didn't want to commit to something I wouldn't be able to do.
We arrived last night, to find out that I had been pre-signed up for group H. Ok, well, that was fine because I don't have a job that interfers, however, the only person in my group was Hannah. The kids in front of me didn't have a teacher, so I offered to be there. Instead, a girl named Leah, who had no specific job except to help with the songs, said she would do their group. Well, needless to say, Hannah, as opposed to last year, hated it. She cried almost the entire night because she had no friends. And she wasn't just making it up. The two girls in front of us paired up and got into trouble the whole night. And Nathan and a boy named Kegan paired up. That was it. She watched as the other groups around had several of her little friends in it. There were supposed to be 4-5 per small group, with 20 in a main group.
So, tonight, when we arrived, I spoke with a lady about the situation. I told her that 1, I had not offered to be a volunteer, so I thought it was interesting that I got signed up. What would have happened if I couldn't be there and I was suppose to lead a group unknowingly. I would have looked like a skip out, but it wouldn't have been my fault. 2nd, my daughter was the only one in my group, and she had a miserable time. I wondered if she could be put with some other kids her age, to which they said they would work on it.. She had a horrible time again tonight, crying most of it.
I am half tempted not to go back the rest of the week, except Nathan is having such a good time. I talked to my friend Lisa who had a daughter Mary Rose who has come over a couple of times. I said that maybe if Mary Rose took Hannah to her group as a "friend", not only would Mary Rose get special points for bringing a friend, but maybe Hannah would have a bettter time. I guess I am kind of upset that first, they signed me up unknowingly and second, that they left my daughter alone in a group. It is kind of an insult.
Anyways, I hope everyone elses week has been better.
Monday started off so good too. We had a GREAT day with Abram and everyone was looking forward to VBS.
I guess since I grew up with Summer Bible School being something fun but also you actually opened up your Bible and in the end, you got the reward of learning something, not seeing someone else be completely humilated in front of people. I guess that isn't my way of showing others who don't regularly attend church who Christ is. It is more like those wierd Nickalodian shows you see.
I am hoping that going with Mary Rose, Hannah will have a better time. She loved it last year. And I have no idea what I will do. My only group kid is my daughter and to me, the whole point of VBS is 1. to have a good time, 2. to learn about Jesus, 3. to build friendships.
They are with me all day long. I want them to reach out and build new friendships, not cry all night long because they are being left out.
Ok,enough of my rambling. I need to get to bed. Hannah has her doctor's appointment in the morning. Another urine sample and more visiting about our prep for Children's Mercy.
Will write again before we head to Kansas on Friday/Saturday. Until then, I hope you are all well.

Can't believe its been another week!

Wow! It has been another week. I am trying to remember what even happened. Isn't that sad!
Monday, the kids and I went to the library to find some Elmo books for Abram. Amy didn't need me to watch him Monday or Tuesday because her mom had off and he was spending the day with Grandma and sleeping over.
I honestly don't really remember Tuesday or Wednesday. I know it was hot and it was supposed to storm Wednesday. It didn't even rain, though it did cool down for Thursday.
I guess I was in a sleep walking phase, bless the kids hearts that I don't remember the week.
Thursday we had Abram over. We went to the park since it was cooler. We took a picnic. It was really fun. When it was Abram's naptime, we headed home. While he rested, the kids and I made cards for Baby Javan and Baby Nathan. We had a good time doing that. Cutting out stuff and glueing. When Abram woke, we went outside and spent the rest of the evening there. Friday Chris had off, so he took the kids out for breakfast at McDonalds and they got to also play in the play area with him. Then they went to Target. They let me sleep in. They came back around 11 and we grabbed our grocery list and hit Aldi's before running those groceries home and hitting Cici's for lunch. We then hit Rays, and Walmart for the rest. We were home in time for supper and decided to watch a movie. It was a nice day.
Saturday, the kids and I went to East Hills library, because they had a Disney princess movie on hold for Hannah. When we got there, the animal shelter was there having a animal story time and were trying to get people to adopt their puppies. You can only imagine Nathan. A little black lab was really excited to see him. It broke our heart. Chris and I said it was time to see if we could get into a house. We are going to talk with our landlord tomorrow about if she has any for sale that maybe we could rent to own.
That brings us to today.
I write with more seriousness because it is. We were headed to the Coker baby shower after church. Chris didn't have to work until 11, so we hit the 8. It started with a video clip that Paul showed for communion thought about coming home for supper. About how in the older days, kids had to wash up before coming to supper and when they were ready to leave the table, they asked to be excused. That it was kind of the same during communion. We come to be washed up and when we are finished communing, we ask God to be excused. His answer is always yes.
Well, then Rodney proceeded into his sermon series about the basics of faith.
Now I pause here because lately I have been struggling with my self idenity; partially because of the upcoming change in our lives with the kids going to school and partially because of a hard visit to my past. Anyways, it dawned on me during the service that this year is my 20th spiritual birthday. Rodney gave an example about how it is normal for a baby to not be able to walk, talk, or feed itself and that it makes messes in its pants. Same goes for a baby christian. (minus the messy pants) Instead, they still make messes in their lives. But as we grow, we mature. A mature 5 year old can walk, talk, feed himself, and no longer makes messes in its pants. If a 5 year old still acts like a baby, then there is a serious problem.
That got me to thinking. He was asking us where we were in our christian walk and our maturity. I had to admit that I wasn't acting like a 20 year old in the faith. That I had a serious problem. I was closer to a 1st grader or something. In some ways, maybe even a preschooler.
As I was thinking, the closing song was "I surrender all". I knew I couldn't sing that and mean it unless I went forward.
During the second verse, I squeezed Chris' hand and said, " I have to go." and headed to Rodney. He said, "what is going on?" By this time, I was crying so hard, I could barely talk. I said, " I turned 20 this year and I am not 20. I am so tired of pretending." It was all I had to say. He knew my heart. He is so awesome at that. He said, "Maybe the reason for this sermon was so that you would realize that He still wants you." After he spoke to the church, so many people from the church came forward and told me that they had been there. That they loved me and that God would prove to be faithful to me. It was so awesome.
Rodney asked the church to hold me accountable for taking the next steps. I plan on starting tomorrow. I have to spend time with God every morning, asking Him to help me grow.
I don't want to be where I am.
My sister Heidi wrote me too, and said that she could see the growing time coming. I am just so overwhelmed at how blessed I am. I was so blinded in my self absorption, that I couldn't see what was around me.
It is hard for me to admit failure and to do it in front of 250 people is even more so. I thought I was going to fall over, I was shaking so badly, but God is faithful. I needed to remember that He is and that there are some amazing people in the body.
Anyways, so pray that I can continue to turn daily towards God and that He will get me through this. I knew it was coming. I just didn't realize how much and how far I had gone. I had done such a good job of covering that I even bought it myself.
After church, we went home and packed Chris' lunch before heading to Kansas City for the shower. We got to Chris and Cindy's and headed to Pizza Hut for lunch. After some visiting, we headed back to their house for a little while; long enough for them to change and sit for a couple minutes. Then off to the shower. It was 102, and so it was nice to be inside, but still hot. a lot of people were there to celebrate with them. I would guess at least 30. And they got some really nice stuff. They have everything they need, except a carseat and they got a lot of gift cards, so I have a feeling they are covered there. Baby Nathan is due August 21st, so only a couple more weeks.
We loaded down Chris' car and the kids and I took Cindy back to their house. We unloaded the stuff and sat down to drink some koolaid. After a little while, they had to head off to youth group stuff, and so we headed home. Ran by Long Johns for supper and then home. Abram came over to bring stuff over for tomorrow. He is sharing pizza rolls for lunch tomorrow. Nathan read him a book and then everyone headed to bed.
I hope this finds everyone doing well. I am sorry it was so long. Hopefully now that my heart is right, maybe my head will follow. (Ha, ha...)
Oh, by the way, I do remember that Tuesday I visited with my sister, Karen. She went to Nicaragua on a mission trip. She told me a couple of stories. I am anxious to hear about how God worked with her. We checked out the website to see pictures. I am amazed at how God works. You can check out her trip at the following website: radiomissiontrip.com
She made some strong connections that will last forever. I am excited to see her this weekend.
Well, I need to stop and head to bed.
I love you all and am so thankful for those of you who keep up with us on here.
Will write again and not so long from now.