Merry belated Christmas and a happy new year!

Merry late Christmas!

It has been way too long since my last post and I was having a melt down.

The weekend away with my siblings helped. So much fun!!!

It went way too fast, though. Let me see, before that, I took Nathan to our new doctor/ physicians assistant. Pretty much, they didn't have anything else to say to us but to keep doing what we were doing, so that was helpful.

We headed up to Kansas early Friday because we knew that snow was on the way and wanted to be in Wichita before it got there. We got to Wichita about 3, due to horrible fog. We hung out at Target and then went over to the hotel. We got to be in a room and we were there only about 30 minutes before Dad arrived. WE hung out and brought in all the holiday goodies before deciding to head to Karen's baccalaurate. Because of the snow out west, we got a call from her that she wasn't going to make it. We stayed for half of it and then met her at the hotel to eat supper and head to bed.

The next morning we got up and Karen got ready for the graduation while the kids, my dad and I went downstairs to get some breakfast. While we were down there, Mary and Jon arrived. We all headed out shortly after that. The graduation was really nice. Mom and Dad had reserved a room at Ryans for a reception. Due to the weather, it was us as well as my brother,Tim and his wife, Heidi from Oregon, my sister Mary and her husband Jon, Karen, and my parents as well as some friends from Dodge who had been to Wichita the day before for a doctors appointment. It was small but really nice.

Everyone went back to the hotel for a nap after that, since Tim and Heidi didn't get in until really early that morning. Mom and Dad went to the hot tub and Jon and Mary went shopping for a refrigerator. After a failed attempt at a nap, our giggle fest with Karen went downstairs to the pool. WE hung out there for a while and then made it upstairs to eat holiday goodies and read the Bible and talk about what Christmas means to all of us. It was a really awesome time.
We also found out at that moment in time that Tim and Heidi are expecting their first baby in August. WE were all really excited. They actually posed it to everyone this way as we were getting ready to pray for supper. Tim says, "Heidi and I have an announcement to make. We saved a lot of money by switching to Geico." We all laugh and then he says, " No really, we have decided to open up our own bakery." Now, they are notorious for changing their lives about once every 3 months, so I think some of us thought they were doing a career switch until Tim patted Heidi's stomach and said, "We already have a bun in the oven.

Everyone is really excited about it. Heidi was feeling pretty sick, so we all understood the "flight sickness" carrying into the next day.

Of course, during all this, my kids get really tired from all the activity and take a nap at like 7pm. We woke them up when we were done with our Bible study at like 8:30. WE opened gifts and had a lot of fun. Nathan's hip was bothering him so he opened gifts in bed with ice on his leg. Hannah was our dramatic gift opener, with the highlight being a stuffed book from Jon and Mary and the cowgirl set from Karen. Picts below. Nathan got an HO scaled train set from my dad as well as a nascar movie.

After opening gifts, we played the game Apples to apples. It was a blast. By this time, as much as everyone wants to continue the fun, it is moving on midnight. We all head to bed, knowing the fun will end in the morning with everyone parting ways.

WE wake up, and load up cars, along with snowball fights and a prayer meeting in the lobby. It was really encouraging to be with everyone. The only sad part was that Chris wasn't there. I really wanted him to be a part of all of it. My family is such a blessing to me and they continued to surround us in prayer as we were there, adding comments and reminders I could take home with me. It helped so much!! I am so blessed.

We headed to the mall and hung out there a little before Karen had to head to Dodge for a bell concert. Tim, Heidi, and my dad were headed that direction so we all said our goodbyes. Mary and Jon were off in search of their refrigerator and Mom was headed home alone to go back to school. WE headed south as well.

Monday I met Chris' aunt Lisa and his grandma in Yukon to help shop for Christmas gifts. In their family it is a great honor to be asked to help with this notorious project. We went to many places and ended up doing a bunch at Walmart. I headed home later that evening, thankful that Chris had the day off and could pick up the kids from school. I got home around 6pm.

The next day was Chris' birthday. I let him sleep in, which was good so I could bake his birthday cake. I took him out to lunch at Teds and then we went shopping with his birthday money. He got Lost 3 with a Borders discount which was his best part. WE picked up the kids and then headed home so he could open his gifts and eat a piece of cake. Then it was off to Incredible Pizza on the north side of the city to play and eat. We got there and played a bunch of games and mini golf and then ate. WE headed home around 9pm. It was a great day.

When we got everyone to bed, we returned a message from my brother, who was wondering if he and Heidi could come down.

So, Wednesday, they came to Oklahoma, Heidi's first trip. They gave me time to clean up the house and when they arrived, Chris got home too. We all played legos, and Chris grilled hamburgers. Then we vegged and watched Frosty the snowman on CBS and Chris' new Brian Regan DVD. WE headed to bed and the following morning I took Tim and Heidi to see the kids school and Chris' lowes before they headed to OKC to see the bombing memorial. They were on their way back to Mom and Dad's after that as I was on my way to help with Hannah's class party.

It was a lot of fun having them here. Nathan said it about right, when we were on the way to school. He said, "Mom, I really like having them around. Wouldn't it be neat if they were our neighbors." I sure enjoyed the short time we had with them. I really do miss them often!

Friday it didn't slow down any. I had gotten a call that Grandma needed me to help her with a little more shopping before Tuesday. Could the kids and I help her out? We went up and the kids did great. They pushed the shopping cart while I wheeled Grandma in the wheelchair. They did awesome. In return, they got lunch and a book and a coloring book. They had a great time. While I helped her unload and put away, they played with her dog, Tagger. They actually didn't want to leave, but it was a rush to see who would get home first. Chris got off work, but with a flat tire and Noel and Lorna (Chris' parents) were due to arrive. We were last, as traffic was pretty crazy. Norman on a friday night at 5.

We did Christmas with them Saturday morning as the snow fell hard. It was nice to have them here too. We played games, put together puzzles, made a wooden Nascar and all kids of stuff. Then we braved the elements to meet with Brent and Sarah in Yukon to exchange gifts. Noel and Lorna went on up to stay with Grandma and Grandpa till Wednesday, when they would head to Tennessee to see her folks.

Sunday we went to Journey church here in Norman. it was a really neat service. Live nativity and some awesome music as well as a candlelight communion. We then decided we would see a movie so all 4 of us went to see Enchanted. Really good movie!!! Promotes marriage and thinking about who you marry before you do and believing in things you can't see. Great!!

We also made snowmen on top of Chris' truck. WE had yet to really play in the snow. Good thing, because by the time we got home from our trip to walmart, it was all gone.

We decided to open our gifts on Christmas eve since Chris had it off so that we all could enjoy mroe time together playing and such. It was really nice. The kids gave us the best gift of all. WE slept in until 9am before opening gifts. After opening gifts, we had pizza and played with all our goodies. The kids let us sleep in again Christmas day, this time until close to 10. They were so content playing on their own. Chris and I remarked that we have the most awesome kids in the whole world. WE really are becoming more and more grateful for that fact that God has gifted us special as a family. We really enjoyed our time together while Chris was off.

Thats about it. The rest of this week looks like just hanging out and getting ready to go back to school. I am looking to get a job this spring to help Chris out, so that will be on our list of things to do. Other than that, we are looking ahead to this next year, hoping that we can see more of God. I was reminded the other day when talking to Hannah that "it isn't about me. it is all about God. I will choose my attitude to be like Jesus" and a verse I read the other day is my motto for this new year. Exodus 9:13 says, "I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

We are hoping that maybe spring break we can make a trip to Missouri and see our friends there and keep our heads to the sky. God will guide us as long as we are looking his way.

We thank you all for the prayers. WE are still taking it one day at a time, but like I said before, we recognized that last few weeks that God equipted our family special and that is something to hang onto. Hoping you all had a great holiday season and wishing you a wonderful new year!!

What else could go wrong?

That has been the phrase this past week as things have been really rough here. If you have seen national news, you know that we got slammed with ice here. I am going to try to post the picts of our back yard. We saved a baby bird in the process. his tail feathers were frozen in a block of ice. we thawed him and set him free.

But lets go back to when I last wrote. My parents came and we had a great time at the train show. it was cold, but taking my dad and nathan was like going to a chocolate shop for chocolate lovers. They had so much fun. We all did. there were 2 pink trains, so Hannah thought that was awesome. She also loved the magic show they had. Nathan loves seeing all the displays and the lego train set. he also loves shopping with papa and grandma.

Mom had a little bit of pnemonia, so i felt bad that she had to cough so much. We even celebrated my dad's birthday and watched ou beat my tigers. It was a nice weekend.

The rest of the week, Tuesday I began a volunteer opportunity at the local nursing home. I went in and played bingo with a bunch of the ladies and colored with them as well. it was a lot of fun. they are a neat group. i am looking forward to getting to know them. I decided to do that beacuse I figured at this time of year, they are as lonely as I am. I can reach out and share myself to them and accept them where they are and maybe they can do the same for me.

Wednesday Nathan came home with bruises on his face and his shin. When asking him what was going on, he said he had slipped that the playground. thought nothing of it until he was up at 4am complaining his leg hurt. I thought maybve growing pain so we sent him to school the following day with that. he complained when we got home that it still hurt, so I called the doctor we have yet to see and they said as long as he had no fever and his leg wasn't hot, he could wait until Monday for our appointment.

He was up Thursday night too with pain and friday morning was sobbing about how much it hurt. Chris and I thought maybe a pulled muscle and heated it and iced it and sent him to school again, not being able to find a reason to keep him home. when I picked him up, he collapsed into my arms crying about the pain. When we got home he fell asleep and so I thought maybe it was the combination of lack of sleep and the muscle and so I let him sleep. Saturday it was worse so we went into the ER. Upon 2 x-rays, they determined he did not have a broken bone but he had what is called hip pointer. pretty much it is a deep bruise to his hip bone at the place where it connects to his leg. Usually found in football players who get hit direct with a helmet. It can alsom come form a hard fall. they put him on some codene for the pain. Well, Sunday it began to ice here. Really bad. And nathan began to break out in a rash on his leg, so we quit giving him the codene and waited to see if the power would go out. Sunday came and went and we were good. Lots of thunder, rain, ice and sleet. Everything got covered in about 1 1/2 inches of ice. by monday the doctor called to cancel the appointment. no power to the east side of norman. more thunder and heavy rain to fall on the already burden power lines and trees. By now, nathan's leg is covered in a wierd rash and he is sobbing of the pain, so chris and i decided to give him a half dose of the codene just for pain. surely the rash will go away. then the power goes out. We try to find out where to go and my mom called Chris with a shelter to go to.

Of course, all this time Chris is at work becaues everyone needs salt and sand and generators and heaters, so we are doing all this via the phone. We go to the shelter at a local church and they feed us and put us up for a while.

By 9:30, Chris calls to say we have power back on at the house and to head home. He will be there about 11. We go back after being grateful for the kindness of strangers.

In all of this, I am going on small amounts of sleep and am just wishing we were back in st. joe, where it is home. Friday after sending nathan back to school hurting, Chris was crying about how he wondered if moving to norman wasn't the biggest mistake we had ever made. he is working all the time for the same pay. our cost of living is incredible and mostly it is utility bills. And on top of all that. with all the rain and ice, we have discovered that our roof has a huge leak in it. we have trash cans in closets and doorways and stuff catching water that is pouring into our home. the wall behind the kitchen that the back side of it is the garage, the ceiling in the garage is falling down and the wall is beginning to buckle. I am trying to keep strong, but am wondering myself what God is doing.

not much has seemed to go right. we rarely see Chris, Hannah isn't doing so well at school, the apartment is crumbling and we can't find a doctor we can trust. we had all those things going for us in st joe. we knew doug evans well and trusted him with our lives and knew that if we had an emergency he would be there. And our aparment we could count on joann to have an answering service and cell phone incase of emergency. Mrs. Kingery was the best teacher ever, there was much adult supervision at coleman recess where as here it seems to lack. I just miss missouri so much it makes me sick. and the most horrible thing is that we can't go back. we feel so stuck. we want to see God in this like we did before but with everythign crumbling around us and all, it is so hard to see Him right now.

Please be praying for us. we are really struggling right now. I am just looking towards Christmas, but am dreading the possiblity that with all that is going on with the roof and stuff that we may have to move out of our apartment and go somewhere else. I am looking forward to the coming weekend with my siblings and hope that the getaway will be good for us all. maybe it will get me to quit eating to comfort my lack of securty and maybe i can get some focus.

we love you all and hope you are warm and dry. will post again later with more updates. looking to the skies to see a savior,

Angel

Happy belated Thanksgiving and stuff!!

Hi! It has been a while and I apologize for that. I did find my cords, so we will see how our new DSL does downloading stuff.

Ok, where to I start? Since I last wrote, everyone came down with the stomach flu, I got to see Misty and her family the 15th, I got and still am getting over an eye infection, the Missouri tigers won the north big 12!!!!!, we went to Grandma Violet and Grandpa Clyde's for thanksgiving, Nathan decided to take his name back to Nathaniel, he met a new McDonald friend who actually came over to our house. I think that sums it up about. :-)

The week I left off, I went out to Tuttle to see Misty Williams. She had invited me to an Arbonne party, but when I called her, she said it was actually so she could just visit while everyone else ordered product. It was nice to see her and her daughter Dacia. I saw Josh a couple of times as he was watching the OU basketball game. She will graduate in May with a degree in deaf interpretation. Dacia already knows all the alphabet and certain phrases. It is cute to see her. She is 2 but has her daddy's legs, so she looks 4. The following weekend, Chris, and Nathaniel went down with the stomach flu. This week Hannah had it.

The week of thanksgiving, I was designated as Hannah's home room mom for her class, so I went to the kids thanksgiving parties and took pictures. Hannah has made some really close friends, which I am thankful for. She talks about Kaia, Jenny, Allison, Sarah and Brianna a lot. I think she and Kaia are "best friends" . Nathan's class they all get along well, but 2 boys have adopted him into their "friend club". Blake, now called Jeffery, and Zach. Which reminds me. In his class, there are 2 Nathans, so in order to help Mrs. Carson out, Nathan decided to be called Nathaniel, so she wouldn't have to call them, "nathan c and nathan k". Well, when he did that, there were also 2 Blakes. So, Blake E, who is one of Nathan's new friends decided to do the same. His real name is Jefferey, so now he is Jeff. It is funny. They have a good time in there and I like that for him.

AS for the eye infeciton I am fighting, I have no idea except maybe it is leftover pink eye form Nathaniel, but its been going on for a while, so we will see.

Lets see, thanksgiving week, the kids were out wednesday, but it was supposed to turn cold, so I took them to the park and to Mcdonalds for supper before we cleaned and baked all wednesday. A lady offered me a place to sit and we began to visit. Her grandson was running around with Nathaniel. His name was Braden. He and Nathaniel had so much in common and we exchanged phone numbers to see if we could get together and play sometime. Well, friday morning, they called and they were in town and wanted to know if they could come over and play. We said sure and so the boys played trains and board games and hot wheels. Hannah drew pictures and Sharon, the grandma brought over a huge brown bag full of unshelled pecans. So we talked and shelled pecans. It was nice.

As for thanksgiving the day, we worked wednesday on hannah's baked mac and cheese, nathan's apple crisp, my green bean casserole, and Chris' carmel cream cheese brownies. We took all that up to Piedmont around 10. WE helped Aunt glenda set stuff up and Hannah proceeded to stick herself up to grandpa Clyde. They looked through her pony coloring book and she showed him her my little ponies. He showed her his new project, a yearling foal named Dolly. WE ate food and visited with Codie and her little girl as well as Aunt Lisa and everyone except Lisa's family and ours left to go to other families houses. Lisa, Charlie, Jerry, Greg and us stayed with grandma and grandpa and watched the first half of the cowboy game. By then it was getting dark and so all of us headed home. In the leaving, I left my purse at Grandmas, so yesterday, I went carefully up there and spent the morning and afternoon visiting with her and helping her with a couple of projects before eating sonic and visiting some more. It was a really special visit and I think I am going to make sure to do that at least once a month since it only takes about an hour to get there.

Finally, this last weekend, we stayed up to cheer on the tigers and jayhawks in the big 12 game!!

I was cheering for both for different reasons. Both of them are underdogs, and I am a sucker for underdogs. It was an awesome game and the tigers won!!!! Now, this weekend they MU tigers will play the OU sooners. Chris has to close, so the only one here cheering for the sooners will be Nathaniel. :-)

We are slowly adjusting however, we all still really miss St. Joe. Hannah the other day started crying in front of her classroom door and said she missed Mrs. Kingery. I started crying too, because I miss everyone there too. I told her that God promises to walk with us and that He was the strength that keeps me going somedays too. It was so hard to make her go when I can totally understand. And in thinking about Christmas, and what we were going to do together as a family, it just is so foreign here. WE know that God is good and in control, so we continue to rely on his strength to keep pressing on.

Chris' job is getting easier just becasue he and Joe have come to some understandings which make them work really well together and there is a good support system still in St. joe that Chris is leaning on when it comes to situations here. Continue to pray for him, though, as his schedule due to the holidays is crazy. He closed last night and was home about 1:30. He had to be back in and in disguise for some issues at 9:30. He puts on his vest and works his normal shift to close tonight and then he closes tomorrow too.

Well, I also forgot in looking at pictures, that Nathaniel lost another tooth. He just pulled it out himself and was so proud. And we decorated the house for Christmas this last weekend. that was fun for all of us to do together. Well, am going to finish up posting picts. Included will be pictures of when mom and dad were here to help move us in. they will be here this weekend for dad's birthday and the huge train show at the fair grounds. we are looking forward to that.

going to go!! all our love!

a quick update

Hey! Just to let you know, the plumber came by Friday and come to find out a piece of the toilet itself had fallen into the pipe below the toilet. Enough "stuff" had gotten clogged around it that when that fateful flush happened, the toilet shifted and the water backed up and shot around. he completely took the toilet, however, his company did't have a replacement one at the moment. The soonest he could bring one was tuesday. so, the smell of the sewer is all our master bathroom is. We got a rug doctor so we could wash the junk out of the carpet and that helps with the smell. along with keeping the bathroom door shut.
And, that day that I wrote where Chris had to go in early. he ended up having to also stay until 2:30 the following morning helping check in 2 delivery trucks. Be praying for him. His new postition is really wearing him out. yesterday he was the manager to handle ever customer complaint, so all he did for 12 hours was hear people gripe about how they weren't satisfied for whatever reason. And he did that all on minimal sleep. I am afraid he will get sick or something just because he isn't getting enough rest and when i pack him a lunch, he usually doesn't eat it or he eats it when he gets home at 3am. on top of that he is frustrated with certain people in his life right now who have been really negative and not understanding and they are pushing him and his patience button. he really wants to enjoy the kids when he sees them and really misses being a part of our family. he said, "i was really glad when you were coming down because i would see you, but it is almost harder now to be here and see you for just a while and then have to leave and be gone away from you all for days in a row"
so, if you could pray for him, I would appreciate it. he needs it now more than ever!!
Ok, going back to bed. got up to take some allergy medicine and it has kicked in now, so I need to get some rest. We are headed to Clay and jenn's church. Chris has to be at Lowes at 9 and work till close, so we figured we would go into town and see them and maybe get some groceries and stuff. will write again later. just wanted to update you about the exploding toilet and give you the prayer request for Chris.
till next time, leaning on "the rock of my salvation".

What a week!!

Ok, I guess I should start from last Thursday. We got the kids enrolled in school. They got to explore the building while I filled out about 20 sheets of paper. Then we headed to Piedmont to see Chris' grandparents. They were going to show us Grandpa's new model airlplanes and test fly them. We had a great afternoon of visiting and laughing and then we ate supper at Fire mountain. We split ways and they went home and we came back to Norman.
Friday was Chris last day off, so we went to the library and hung out at home. Saturday Chris went back to work and the kids and I hung out here and unpacked more boxes. We met Jenn Atchley and Eli at burger king for supper and to catch up. It was a lot of fun! Sunday we went to Journey church again and then spent the afternoon watching the nascar race and went to the mall to play at their play area.
Sunday I was starting to have a hard time thinking about letting the kids go. Nathan's teacher seemed super nice and we hadn't met Hannah's. I was really nervous, scared, sad, etc.
Well, Monday came and Nathan woke up with crusty eyes. Yep, you guessed it, pink eye. That was what I suspected, so since we dont' have a doctor yet because we don't have insurance yet, we went to the urgent care. I walked Hannah to school first and then Nathan and i went. $90 later, we had eye drops. Doctor said he could go to school the next day if his eyes had cleared up.
Well, we did that tuesday, however, after looking at Nathan's load, he is definately being challenged. Grading starts here in 1st grade. In Missouri, they don't do that until 2nd. Anyways, so there will be a lot of studying. He has daily homework that I have to sign. Wednesday I was feeling sick, so after sending the kids to school, I came home and slept all day. I felt better in the afternoon, which was good, because "after school special" story time was at the library and "1st Wednesdays" at Journey. We went to both of those. Then today our landlord came by to do a "move in inspection" which pretty much consisted of us listing things that were already scuffed up or stained when we got here. That way when we move out, we dont' have to take the blame for it. Kids and I were looking forward to a fun night when out of no where, the master bathroom's toilet started spewing water from the bottom of the toilet. We called the maintenace line and they told us to shut the water off and keep a minimun use on the water till they could get to us in the morning. So, $50 later with a new shop vac, I spent this entire evening sucking up sewage out of our carpet. It had leaked into the living room, the master bedroom, the hall and of course, the master bathroom was covered in about 2 inches of filth.
So, when I title this, what a week, I am telling you, God has drug me about 30 different directions. On top of that, the district manager came into Chris store and ripped all the new zone managers a new one, saying that if the store looked that way the next time he visited, he would fire all of them. Chris stood up and said, "None of us were trained very well and haven't been here long enough to know what we are doing. You can't threaten our jobs when we haven'g even learned them yet." He said the other zone managers were like, "What are you doing? Yoiu are going to get fired today." It will be interesting to see what happens from here on out. He got called in early today and recieved a warning from the store manager for being too mouthy. He wasn't going to write him up because he liked him and wanted to give him a chance to learn. He left me a message saying, "I hate my job. I wish we had stayed in missouri". I had to remind him that we can't go back, we have to keeping stepping forward." That is hard for me, considering I have had the hardest time being behind this move. It seems like when I start to feel like I am finding my nitch, something like an exploding toilet brings me crashing back to reality. I am nothing. I am a speck of dust and my life is only but a breeze. On my own, I am nothing. The only way I can do this is if I am doing it fully and completely trusting in God and taking Him at His word. Swallowing His promises whole and making them what my life is about. As I was sucking sewage up tonight, all that crossed my mind was the song, "I will praise you in the storm." And an image of my kids singing the psalms and dancing crossed my mind. I wish I was more like them. Innocent and willing to lift up His name, even when things aren't the way I want them.
Anyways, so that is where I am. I am hoping you week was one that was more calm and full of God's peace. I am working on the pictures of the place. I haven't found my cord yet, so....
Well, until next time, trying to trust in Him with EVERYTHING!!

1st post from Norman!!

Ok, we made it!! Thought that since it has been almost a week since we got here that I really need to put up an update.
The week of the move was a wild one. Monday my friend Margret came over to help me clean the apartment and stuff. It was nice to see her one more time before the move and visit. She was super helpful. I don't think my oven was ever so clean. Tuesday morning the movers came and helped me box up the kitchen and stuff. They were really nice and helpful. It was a father and his son. They were really great and made me feel much better about having someone load us up. I went that evening to pick up my dad so that he could drive the truck for us. Wednesday after dropping off the kids at school, my dad and i went to get the truck. We had a little bit of a mix up. My confirmation said a 24' truck, but they had emailed the guys that we needed a 15' truck. We had to call the headquarters and that put us about an hour behind. I got a call while the people were figuring things out from the moving guys wondering where we were. Because it was Lowes' error, luckily we didn't have to pay for the guys wait. I did, however, buy them lunch so that they wouldn't have to leave for that.
They got us loaded in great time. They started around 11am and were signed for and gone by 3:15. I picked up the kids and then got pizza, as we were having a pizza/movie night with Brett, Amy and Abram as a final good-bye. It was fun. We watched Meet the Robinsons and played and visited and cried. It was a good way to leave them.
Thursday morning arrived and I had to go and finish paper work at the budget company, so Amy watched the kids and they played for a while. Needless to say, Lowes didn't have the paperwork, but it gave Amy the chance to write the most important letter I needed in regards to this move. I had been needing to hear words of encouragement that would get me through this, and the majority of the things I was hearing were either voices telling me how to do and what to do, and all that, or avoiding the topic all together. Amy wrote just what I needed to hear to be able to pull away that day. I gave her a hug and we both began to sob and so I just left. I was crying so hard by the time I reached the car that I wasn't sure I could do it.
Then I read her letter. It made me cry more, but I knew she was right. She gave me the strength with her words to put the car in reverse and go.
Amazing how God works!!
The trip in general was good. My dad took turns letting the kids ride in the truck. i think they helped him stay awake . When he had Nathan in the moving truck, they looked for trains and train tracks. When he had Hannah in the truck, they looked for horses. We got to Norman about 8pm. We ate supper and came back to the duplex to sleep.
8am, right on task, the movers from here arrived and unloaded everything in record time. They were out of here by 10am. That left us to get things unboxed and put away, which we are still doing. Mom arrived shortly after, hauling home baked goodies and such. It was so nice of her to bring us a freezer full of food to eat.
We took the truck back and then worked at the house to get more unloaded. The phone man came by and in visiting with him, he invited us to his church. He is a small group leader there, so that was neat. WE went there Sunday morning. It was called journey church. You can look it up online. They broadcast online at journeychurch.tv. It was really loud and big, but really awesome the way that they really wanted God to be the center of everything. You could see why it was 3000+ members. I guess it started as a group of 36 people who wanted to change the city of Norman.
Anyways, it was cool. Oh, which speaking of cool, I totally skipped Saturday. WE took our boxes by the Norman recycling area. Wow, they recycle everything and it is so easy. I am really excited about that!! After doing that, we all went to Double Daves pizza for supper and played with Grandma and Papa at the arcade. They also had lazer tag. Nathan says that is next on the list of things to do. It was really nice having mom and dad here to help us. Chris took them out to his new favorite restaurant as a thank you. They went home Sunday afternoon, after letting us drag them around diffrent stores. Oh, which also reminds me, I think maybe it was Sunday afternoon before they left, but we went to find the norman train station which has amtrak. There was this really neat walking path where you learned all about the city of Norman. it was really awesome! Nathan and I smiled and said we found a new train walking place. WE used to go walking and bike riding in St. Joe down by the river and the train tracks. Now we can do kind of the same, only there won't be a river.
Lets see, Monday we slept in and then attempted to do driver's licenses and stuff. Chris had no problem, however, me. I was ineligible for a license. apparently when I got my speeding ticket 5 years ago in Nebraska, I didn't sign the back of my ticket, so when I paid the ticket, they couldn't process it. When they tried to mail it to me at NCC, we were already gone, so NCC sent it back to the court. I had a Oklahoma license then since we were students, so Oklahoma suspended my license, even though I had gone on to get a Missouri one. Chris laughed about how Oklahoma must know that I don't want to really be here so it was out to get me.
I have to sign a slip pleading guilty to the ticket so that Nebraska can process it. Then I have to pay $50 for Oklahoma to re-instate my eligilbility for a license. What a mess! Chris is his humor, bought me a Oklahoma t-shirt to help change my luck!
Tuesday we got a call from Clay and Jenn. they wanted to meet us for lunch. We were planning on being out all day getting groceries and stuff anyways, so we met them in the city. It was so awesome to see them again!!! They were on their way to have Jenn sign a contract for a children's book she is getting published next summer called, "A match made in heaven". Seeing them and visiting them was another reminder to me that God is watching over me and he knows what I need. I need them here. Anyways, we talked with them and then when they had to go to the publishers, we went on with our Aldis, Lowes, Walmart run. Got home about 8; just in time to do jammies and go to bed.
Today our plan was to actually get more boxes unpacked and stuff. Chris had an eye appointment since his glasses broke. The kids rooms are coming together and we are planning on working on them some more tomorrow. We got 2 really sweet phone calls also. One from Chris' grandma and one from our friend Amber, from St. Joe. Both of them just wondering how we were doing and stuff. It was really great! We worked hard and so we went to Clay and Jenns church's fall festival. It was a fun time. We don't celebrate Halloween, so we never even mentioned to the kids why we were going and they didn't mind. we thought it would be a great opportunity to meet more people and spend more time with Clay and Jenn. The kids had a blast. They had a really cool hay ride out to where you could roast hot dogs and marshmellows. In the end, Clay send home 3 bags of candy with the kids. Jenn and I are planning on having a play date Saturday as Clay will be at a youth thing and Chris heads back to work.
it was great to see Clay and Chris reconnect too. chris really needs someone to just hang out with. someone who knows all about him and is willing to just be real with him. Who better than Clay? They grew up together. They were laughing with Clay's mom, who was there tonight, about how one time they stayed up all night trying to beat some nintendo game and they had each drunk a 6 pack of jolt. Crazy!!
Well, that brings me to now. Tomorrow we are going to try to get the garage clean enough to park both cars in there and repair the back yard fence so our cat can stop driving us nuts with wanting outside. WE are also going to get the process of school transfer going. Kids apparently need a shot before enrolling on Monday. Thank you for the time change!! I will be waking them up only 30 minutes earlier than their regular time. That will help with the adjustment. Friday we are planning on finishing up whatever we need before Chris goes back to work and our schedule changes and we go to normal life.
When I find my camera cord, i will down load picts of the duplex and our house. We have DSL, so I can actually do that and it won't take 30 years!!!
Well, until next time, we are trusting in His care! I know more everyday that God will walk with me. As they song goes, "my savior loves, my savior lives, my savior's always here for me" I am trusting in that phrase as we go into this next chapter of life!!
Hope that you are resting in His care too!! All our love!

Last St. Joseph blog

Hi friends! This will have to be my last blog before we move. I need to disassemble the computer tomorrow for the move. Things have progressed even more.
Last week, Monday I had a dentist appointment and went by Lowes to see if they had any boxes. I was a little weepy, just because I like this town so much. The laid back of it all contrasts the chaos of Norman. I also had to run by the school to give Nathan his albuterol. Tuesday the kids in my class knew and they were a little weepy. It was a good day, though. Wednesday was more boxing and moving stuff. Thursday was my last day at the preschool. It was interuppted because Nathan had an asthma flare and I needed to run to the school. His blood oxygen level was low. Probably was a good thing, so that I wouldn't cry.
I took him by the doctor and they said less activity, more albuterol. So, he is doing better. I also got him on some decongestant to help with the mucus build-up from the reaction to whatever. It is seeming to help.
Making me a little anxious for Norman and healthcare, but just one more thing to place in God's hands.
Chris is doing better. The management there is coming together. One of the fellow zone managers' grandfather passed away this week, so that has caused some bonding. I am glad about that. Tomorrow I have a friend from church coming over to help me with the finishing touches here and tuesday after school I will meet my parents in Lawerence to pick up my dad. He is going to help me disassemble the big stuff and drive the truck there.
Wednesday is the day the movers come and load us up and Thursday is the long one where we drive forever to our new place.
Chris thinks that inventory will be done by 4pm thursday afternoon, so he is planing a surprize for the kids when they get there.
Unloading starts early friday morning at 4203 Monticello so hopefully all will go well. I am ready for this to be ober with. I am so exhausted from all this.
Praying that all of your lives are a little more simple right now!!
Till next time, all our love.
See ya from Norman!

Trip to Norman

Well, we went to Norman Thursday night so we would be able to fill out paperwork and tour the kids new school. We went and saw the duplex and it is nice. We signed the lease on it and then headed to the school. It is about a half mile from the duplex, and has a nice park next to it too.
The school wasn't as laid back as Coleman. They people didn't want me to do paperwork afterall, so it was a little uncomforting, since that is my biggest worry, however, the one kindergarten teacher we met was super nice, so I am praying that Hannah gets her for a teacher.
We went to the store and met 2 of the fellow zone managers at the store. They were nice too. In general, the visit was ok. In a brief overview, I can now recall why we thought St. Joseph was the most friendly town we had ever been in. Compared to Norman, it was such a welcome to come back to St. Joe, but almost overwhelmingly sad because we HAVE to leave it. The thought that crossed my mind was Moses.
How much if he could have chosen, he would have stayed in Midian as a shepherd and lived a quiet life, but instead, God wanted him to go back to a place that would make him more uncomfortable than he had ever felt in his life. And it didn't get any more comfortable, even after he confronted and broke his relationship with his adopted brother. Wandering in the desert for years with a bunch of stubborn people, I would have rather been a shepherd too. So I know that God gives the strength to do the uncomfortable and allows His glory to shine when we have to return to places that we may not want to. Just continue to pray for us all.
The kids have now both said, "St. Joe isn't home, anymore, mommy, because daddy can't be with us here". And last night on the way home, Nathan was already cheering for OU to beat my MU tigers. I am thankful for that.
And the people who are housing Chris are so sweet. Jerry and Susie were so kind and encourageing to me while we were there. Susie has had to do what I am doing many times. She said her kids had to switch 6 schools in Jerry's time with the military. Just knowing she understands is a comfort.
And when I got home last night and tucked the kids in bed, I saw Amy and broke down crying with her. Considering that we are leaving them, they have been the most support of all. I am sure to make it a point to keep in contact with them after we go. They are friends we have made for life.
Well, I need to go to bed. I have a dentist appointment tomorrow along with finalizing things with the movers. Will continue to keep you posted as we know more.
On a side note, my sister Karen was here today. she had gone to KC to see a friend in a play and surprized us. It was a fun couple of hours. I sure do miss her too!!
Till next time, trying to trust in His plan,

Moving; it's all coming together

Just a short blurb as I am super tired.
Chris looked at that duplex and it is a definate yes. He filled all the paperwork out today and upon their making sure we aren't criminals or anything, it is ours. We can move in whenever we give her the deposit.
I called to get an estimate on utilities and such and got a new phone number in the process, so that was nice. I also talked with the moving company and it looks like we will actually move the 24th of October. They only load and unload Monday through friday, so they will load us up the 24th, and we will drive it to Ok the 25th. Then they will unload it the 26th for us there.

It is nice to have things in the works and to give the kids an address and phone number to start memorizing since this one will no longer work. :-)
Well, really need to get to bed. kids were home today due to coughing excessively. Pray that they will get the rest they need to kick it. We go to see the doctor tomorrow and I assume they will put N back on pulmicort. We usually do at this point of the year. I am wishing now , though , that we had it last week. Oh well.
Until next time, all our love!

A Chris update

Hi! I write this so that those of you who check this can know how Chris is doing down there.
He arrived Thursday and spent Friday at the new store looking around and meeting people and then looking at duplexes and housing for us.
Saturday was his first day and at first he said he really felt out of his element. He said he "wanted to just put on a pair of jeans and crawl up in the shelves" and it would make him feel a little more at ease. He is working in the electrical department all week to get a grasp on that. He said he really likes the department manager there. He surprized the guys by helping clean up the department and stock shelves. Chris told him he would feel wierd if he didnt. Then later, Chris was helping some customers load a cart full of light fixtures and stuff. The dept. manager was really shocked that Chris was so down-to-earth. Chris told him that he would work hard and he expected the same from this guy. The guy's response was, "well, I will be sure to get you your bonus" and Chris said, "your success is based on my success too." He was working on paper work with the store manager later in an office next to the break room and overheard this dept manager telling others, "That zone manager, Chris, he is a good one. I am sure glad for him" That made the rest of Chris' day. And it was just what I was praying for. The zone manager over zone 1 has also been a lot of help. He is making good relationships there, and that is good. He said most of it is learning all the stuff about electrical department as well as what he is supposed to do as a zone manager. As he would describe it Saturday, "my head is going to explode." I reminded him that he didn't have to learn it all in one day.
He also thinks he has found a duplex for us. It is down the street from the store. It is within walking distance from an elementary school. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a 2 car garage, a backyard and sidewalks!! It looks on the internet like it is nice. If you want to check it out, it is on soonertraditionsrealty.com. Go to duplexes and the address is 4203 Monticello. Cost of living is quite a bit more, but his salary takes that into account, which is hard for me, but I am getting used to thinking about having to spend more.
Will keep you posted on that. He wants me to call the realtor tomorrow and get him an appointment to look at it tuesday. if he thinks it is a go, then the kids and I are thinking of heading down this coming weekend to see it and the school area and stuff like that. Then it will be getting the relocation funding so we can do deposits and stuff. Our goal is still the 25-26th of October.
As for here, we are hanging in there. We spent all saturday at the parks and resting at home. Today we went to church and then met my parents in Atchison for a train show and rode the trolley. I really enjoyed that. Lots of information. The founder of that town was actually president of the united stated for 23 hours and they have trees planted at their local lake to represent every state in the us, including one that the seed went all the way to the moon in 1969. We had ice cream at Dairy queen and then headed home. It was a great day of just hanging out with Mom and Dad and visiting with them.
I am planning on doing some more cleaning of the apartment and boxing stuff. Our room is empty except for the bed, the computer, the deep freezer and the dresser, aka: tv stand. I already bleached the walls and vacuumed. The kids rooms are for tomorrow as well as the bathroom. I have about half of the kitchen done and the living room only has big furniture in it. I need to take picts down and wash walls in all rooms. That is pretty much it.
So, I feel like I am doing pretty good. Hannah has been labeling boxes for me, so I will need tomake sure that in large marker I put what is in the box so there is no confusion. :-)
Well, I am headed to bed. I am exhausted. Will keep you all updated as I know more.
Just keep praying for Chris. In the down time, Jerry and Susie are taking good care of him, but he is lonely. He has tried to get a hold of Clay and Jenn several times, but to no avail. He is kind of disappointed about that.
Well, till next time!!

Sorry for the delay!!

Hello all! I had hoped to write while at Disney, but to check your email or use their connection cost a lot, so we didn't use it. We were a little busy anyways between doing things we had planned and keeping the others in the family posted about our itenerary that we had sent them before. It was a lot of fun. I will have to post pictures and do all that later when I have access to the laptop, which will be about a month. Which brings me to the latest.
While we were in Florida, the hot water heater blew in the storage area and leaked into our apartment, flooding all of storage and our room and the laundry room with about 1/2 foot of water. Brett and Amy did an awesome job of taking care of it, but it was a chore to get things out of water and all that when we got home. So, needless to say, it wasn't as bad as we thought, however, it required us throwing away or boxing almost 2/3's of our apartment. In additon to that, Chris found out that he wasn't in the system at Lowes and they had made that promise to him before we left. He wouldn't find out until Oct. 1st what was up.
It ended up that it was was Norman who had to submit all Chris' informaiton, not Chris. So he faxed them all his info and that actually got the ball rolling. He got a call 24 hours later from a Prudential moving counselor, which was good, considering that he left today for Norman. So, if that explains the lack of picts and such.
Needless to say, it has been just unbelievably crazy here. The positive side of it all is that since the water flooded so much, in order to clean it up, we are weeks ahead in the whole moving thing, so we are aiming for the 25-26th of October to move. That only gives us 3 weeks to get things together, but there are so many people on either side that are helping, it will be no problem. I told Catherine at the school yesterday and that was sad. And yesterday was Chris' last day and that was sad. They had so many nice things to say and gifts and words of encouragement. It was awesome to send him off with all of that.
AS of today, actually, the prudential counselor is submitting the estimate to Lowes' bank and then their bank will contact our bank and there will be some negotiating and then a check will drop into our account. She said 2 weeks is a long time to get that done. She estimates that his relocating funds will drop in about 7-10 days.
The kids 9 weeks ends the 25th of October, so that is why we are looking at that. Chris will start looking for housing next week and that will determine schools.
So, that is where we stand. I have so much to write about in regards to the Disney trip, but right now, that seems like years ago. :-)
When we get to Norman and I have the laptop to plug into and time to spare as I won't be working, maybe I can get you caught up. Everyone had a great time and it was awesome to spend before all of this. My favorite part was seeing the kids with the characters. Hannah met all the princesses except Cinderella. Nathan really enjoyed meeting the general Disney characters like Mickey and Donald.
Well, have so much to catch up on and my room is one of them. Since Chris left today, it is taking what he left out and moving it out of the way.
Continue to be praying for us as this seems like it is a rollercoaster ride!
We love all of you and hope you are doing well as it is now fall and moving quickly on holiday time!!
Hope to see you all soon!!!

Disneyworld, here we come!!

I just printed our boarding passes for the morning. We leave at 7am. You can't even imagine how thrilled Nathan and Hannah are. They got up this morning singing, "tomorrow we will be in disneyworld, tomorrow we will be in disneyworld".
We all recovered from the virus. After I rested all weekend, I was ready to tackle this week. Between packing and making sure we had everything we needed and prepping a sub for my preschool class, I think we are ready to go. Suitcases are in the car and carry-ons are waiting on the couch. Even the refrigerator is cleared out except for supper tonight.
This past Tuesday night was the kids Back to school night. It was fun for them to get to show us everything they get to do in their room. I love both of the kids teachers so much!! I have some pictures to post, but they will have to wait.
Yesterday was my last day at the preschool before this trip and it was a long, long day. It makes me really ready for this vacation. For a time, I was really dredding this trip, mostly because of the nerves about the other families going on the trip with us, but I have made my focus that this is Chris sharing something from his childhood with me and the kids, and with that, I am excited to see the kids reactions to the princesses, and all the stuff. I am worrying only about my own 3. It really struck last night when I was talking to Lorna and she was just beginning to see if she had the right t-shirts and that Brent and Sarah hadn't even begun to think about packing. I thought to myself, "I am not worrying about them. They have known about this trip for 9 months now." So, we are going to make this a good time enjoying Chris before he leaves us for 2 months.
In regards to that, Tuesday Chris was having doubts because he still hadn't heard from them about relocation. I told him to call Joe, the store manager there, and voice his concerns. To be honest with him about how he felt. He did, and said that he didn't want to go to disney still carrying this on his shoulders. He wanted it to be resolved.
Joe said he totally understood and apologized for the lack of communication. He then got Chris all the info he needed. They are still waiting on an amount from corporate, but Joe told him they would do anything to get him there. He even offered Chris an extra paid week's vacation to move us if that helped. Chris really felt confindent after talking to joe. So then we talked about what was real.
Since corporate still hasn't decided an amount on cost of living move, aiming for the 1st of November is unrealistic for the fact that if we want our deposit back from our landlord, we need to give her 30 days, and we would barely be doing that. It seemed to rushed, so instead, we are aiming to move the last week of November. The kids and I will work on boxing stuff up and storing it in our storage area. Then the Tuesday before thanksgiving, will be all our last days at school. We will enjoy dinner somewhere with a family and then Chris will come to St. joe to help with finishing touches and get us settled. That will give him time to look for a place for us too.
The kids had a day off the 26th of October, so we are planning on heading down then to look at schools and housing and stuff. And Chris and I can be saving for deposits and all. Lowes will move us, but doesn't cover the deposits on things, which we don't have the $ for right now.
Several friends down there have offered Chris a place to stay, so he figures if he rotates around, he won't overstay his welcome to anyone and it will cover him till we get there.
Just keep praying for it all. We are getting more excited about what God has in store. I wrote a letter to mail out to friends here and to give to the church and to the school and read it to Nathan. He was really comforted that I was going to go to so much effort to keep in contact with everybody.
Which, speaking of our church, we got a letter this week that Rodney has resigned his position at Central. he was due to come back from his sabbatical the 1st weekend of October. He wrote that he thought it was time for the church to have someone else lead them. Chris and I talked about how it could only be God's timing for this to happen and for us to be leaving. It just works out well.
Anyways, I need to get back to finishing things up around here. brett and amy will be taking care of our apt. while we will be gone. I don't want them to feel obligated to wash any dishes or stuff like that:-)
Will post picts from Disney if I get the chance. Till then, all our love!

week ended not so well

Hey! I am up writing because I am to nauseous to sleep.
Went to pick up kids wednesday from school and nathan was pale. got to the parkiing lot of the school and he threw up. he came home and slept for 2 hours, waking up with a fever. it spiked that evening at 103.7. took him to the doctor on his birthday to find that it was a virus that has been going on. Well, we celebrated in style, with chicken noodle soup. thursday night, Chris and hannah went down too. so everyone stayed home and watched movies and ate soup. Well, needless to say, we canceled our trip to norman. come yesterday, everyone got up feeling chipper except me. seeing that everyone was well had me going, "Ahhh!" Oh, yeah, now you've got it. I don't know if it is that or I am just exhausted from the last 4 days of no sleep.
anyways, so i slept yesterday while the kids and Chris played. We took them down to the southside festival to ride Dave (a friend from Lowes) ponies. We all needed the fresh air. We met my parents in lawerence so they could give Nathan his birthday gift, since we weren't going to be seeing them. We visited at the burger king and then headed home.
i imagine it will take me a couple of days to catch up on sleep. i was feeling alittle nauseous, so i got up to drink something hot and write on here and then see if i can go back to bed.
will keep you posted this week as we prep for disney.
hope all of you are well and enjoying the cooler air!!

Well, 2 weeks and so much to catch up on

Oh where do i start?

I wrote the first of September, not having started preschool and Chris had just had 2 great interviews for zone jobs.

Well, i had better start with Chris. He found out after Labor day that the company is downsizing. due to lower housing sales and stuff that affects their company, they need to cut expenses and the best way to do that is staff. You cut one person, there is 30,000 back into your budget. Anyways, so there became a crunch to place their manager candidates. that way they could have them in place and see where they need to cut. Well, the Norman store is growing and the day he had his interview, their district manager was there to determine staff. he told the HR manager to hire one more zone as it looked like they could make budget and the company would allow them one more hire. So, their store manger emailed chris and said, "call me tuesday. we want to offer you a postition"

upon a phone call, this is the deal in Norman. he will be a "zone manager" in electrical and plumbing until February, when Lowes fiscal year starts. At that point, the Norman store is projected to move up in status and will be allowed to have one more zone on staff. At that point, they will move their current zone 1 manager to night stocking and Chris to zone 1. the reason they are placing him in P/E is because that is the part of zone 1 he is least familiar with. he already knows inside and outside garden well.

We are waiting on relocation information. That has been our fleece all along. As of yesterday, he got a email from the area HR manager down there that his relocation had been approved and an amount and paper work on it will be here in the next few days. A friend of his at the store who has already gone through this said that "paperwork" means a check. We were surprized to hear that since Chris has signed no agreement that he will even come. they want him really badly, though. If he agrees to all this, his first day there will be Octobe 6th.

Luckily, due to God's timing, Clay and Jenn Atchley were placed there about 2 months ago. Clay and Chris were really good friends growing up and he and jenn can be credited to setting Chris and i up. We are very grateful to them and look forward to catching up and drawing close to them again. And Clay and Chris have hearts for inner city people, so it will be neat to see what God has in store.

So, in short, it looks like we are moving to Norman Oklahoma!

i am excited about that, and I am sad about that. so many great people here in St. joe and nathan is having a really hard time with this. hannah, on the other hand, still is surprising me. last night when we were all having a heart to heart about it, she said," I am looking forward to Norman because we can get a house. I will miss my kindergarten friends, but (and then she threw up her arms and said) I trust in God!" it was a good reminder to me that I need to place all my concerns in His hands. If my daughter who has struggled so much with security can be excited about change and "trust in God" then so can I.

We have talked about Chris will go down the 5th of October and either live with some friends, or borrow his parents 5th wheel and do that until I can settle everything here and get a school transfer in place. We have talked about either the end of the kids 9 weeks, which is the 2nd week of November, or at the end of their semester, which is the 2nd week of December. Relocation will probably determine that as well as Norman school district.

As for Danville, you might ask. he never heard back from them. So.....

He is really going to miss the guys and we are plannng on having a thank you picnic with all of them the sunday before chris leaves.

Now would be a good time to pause and mention, Did you see I posted pictures? -) First day of school picts finally!!!

I am also posting pictures of Nathans birthday party that we had Saturday the 8th. He invited 5 first grade friends to bowl. Everyone had a code name. Aka: Nathan = Jimmy Johnson, Will= Kyle busch, etc...

They had a blast!! It was really good for him because he rarely gets to see these kids because they aren't in the same class this year and they are the ones he will miss so dearly. so to get them all together and be silly was a really good memory for him. Notice the goofy pictures!!

Now, a back track to the first week of september.

Labor day weekend, Chris worked of course, so the kids and I played at home all day. Nathan decided during this time that he wanted to learn to ride his bike without training wheels, so we went over to the little lake across the trees from us and in 2 days, he got it. he was so proud and so were we. tuesday I started my first day at the preschool. I have 9 in my class. One who about made my hair come out and one who just blew me away with her sweetness. i have all girls. Not one boy in the bunch. Shallon was the one who was quite a challenge. she didn't want to listen and on thursday, she thought it would be funny to have the class hide when i was in the bathroom and they were supposed to be standing quietly in the hall. 4 girls, one of them Emmaleigh, who I will talk about later, did not go anywhere. i walked down to our room, pointed my finger and said "the 5 of you are in so much trouble with me. Get back in the hall" One little girl, Vada, tried to reason with me, but i reminded her, good choices have good consequences, which means, the 4 who stayed will get a surprize at the end of the day for obedience. Whoooooo boy, she did not like that. She worked hard the rest of the day to earn back something. She did, i gave Vada a special helper sticker because I wanted her to know that even when we do something wrong, we can still earn redemption. Now, this girl Emmaleigh, i had circle time at the beginning of the day to talk about the weather and day of the week and rules of the class. She raises her hand and says she knows something we should all remember to have a good day. She stands up and folds her hands and says,, "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you o Lord my redeemer, my strength." and she sits down. it was so cool!!! I told her I wanted to say that everyday because I thought she was right, we should all know that. she said, that means we should do good things and think good thoughts.

Each and every one of them is precious and I am really enjoying my time there. Like yesterday, we started talking about the letter A and I read the story of Adam and Eve and we talked again about good choices. they were so attentive and even Shallon worked hard on her worksheet of the letter A. probably did the best job of anyone!! i was surprized. She had a good morning.

chris was off so he went down to the Kansas speedway to give blood. they were having a NASCAR blood drive and so he was planning on giving anyways. Well, he calls from there to me during center time and says, "hey, today is my gallon donation. they said I get something special. havent found out yet what it is, but I got a hat and a shirt and a lanyard to wear. i think I might get to ride in the pace truck around the track." cool, I think. Then about 30 minutes later, he calls just animated on the phone. Nope, no pace truck. that was for the regular donators. he got to ride in Jeff Gordons promo car. they took him on the track, all suited up and helmeted and everything and took him out there at 170 miles an hour. he just couldn't talk slow enough on the phone. it was the best day for him. And he got to go to Cabelas. they were having a major sale, so he got himself a $3 polo shirt to wear for his first day as zone manager.

Nathan was so excited for him when he heard about it all. i sure wish I had been there with my camera. What an experience. I guess all the "special" donors were going to get a ride either in Jeff's promo car, Tony Stewart's promo car, or just a regular track car. Still, pretty cool. now nathan is motivated to give blood when he is old enough.

other than that, fall kick off was last Wednesday night, so our first small group meeting is tonight. Really looking forward to that. They will probably be my support system when Chris is gone. and last night we spent the evening fishing with Brett and Abram. Caught 2 enormous catfish. One actually took Chris' pole underwater. he and brett had to follow the waves and wait for it to spit his pole out. His best pole and reel.

tomorrow is Nathan's 7th birthday. After school we are planning on taking Brett, Amy and Abram with us to Cicis and then having cake and stuff after that. Friday we are headed to Norman after chris gets off work and we head to the southside festival to see Dave and Charlie and ride their ponies. We will go to mom and dads first and spend the night and then on to Norman Saturday morning. We thought that maybe going into the store as customers we could get a feel for it and let the kids see where we are going. Look at apartments and the area. On sunday, go to church with Clay and jenn and then head home for work and school.

We leave next saturday for disney with Chris' family. kids are really excited about that too!!!

well, going to get off here and fold laundry. Highs this week only in the mid 70s upper 60s, so I got out all the winter barrells to sort and wash warm clothes. Mary, I have a huge pile for haley!!

anyways, and the kids have an early out today, so lots of work in little time. Hopefullly it wont be as long next time. I thought about getting on here several times but was just so exhausted.

Hope everyone is well and keeping healthy!

All our love!!