Christmas blessings

Well, since I last wrote, that saturday morning a friend of ours from church called and asked if we would be there a little while. We said yes, and she came by with a food/supply donation that the school had taken. Over 10 boxes of groceries, shampoo, toilet paper, and other basic supplies. We were overwhelmed. We headed up to the reunion a little late, but realing in the generosity of others. When arriving, we had a surprize. Noel had driven up just because and so we got to spend the afternoon visiting with relatives we had never met. We went to Grandma and Grandpa's after that so Noel, Clyde and Chris could replace the brakes on the car that were going out. And just in time, the weather turned ugly Monday. Temps were -4 when i headed to work so Chris kept them out of it. Forgotten to me, Chris' truck has no heat in it, so he didnt want to risk Nathaniel's asthma.(which Chris recieved money from my Grandma to help fix that asap!! Blessings!) then, tuesday, the ice came in and so everyone but me was home. by wednesday, nathaniel was throwing up and everyone was getting really tired of being stuck together, minus me, of course. All this time, I was working like a mad person at mazzios. Most of the people have either quit, or just didn't show up. A usual day this week was me, shirley, a manager, and a cut person. Maybe a cashier once in a while. it was crazy.
Anyways, nathaniel was feeling better thursday morning, which was good considering he was in a christmas play that morning, which I missed. Chris said he did well. since thursday was Chris birthday, he went to a friends house to play computer games while the kids were in school and i was at work. we hurried home to bake a cake and decorate. we then splurged and took him out to eat something other than ramen or rice and came home and passed out. Friday i was actually off, so I let Chris sleep in and took the kids to school. I did some cleaning around the house and enjoyed being here doing things. i got a call from the kids principal around noon asking if I could come into her office before heading to the kids party.
A little worried, i agreed. Chris went to blanchard to use some anonoymous donated money to take care of our car tags, which was another wonderful blessing. I headed to the school, Chris planning on meeting me there. I went into the office and the principal took me into her office and closed the door. she sat me down and said, "you know anyone here is family and your family is our family. We take care of family. And we know how hard it has been for you guys and we really wanted to help." She pulled out a card that basically was a reminder that Christmas is about Gods love and showing it to others. Inside were 3 gift cards. 2 to walmart and 1 to Target. She then said, "we heard you don't have health insurance and the kids weren't going to get gifts this year. there is over $500 in there. we hope it helps. We know you and we know that when God brings you back to your feet, you will pay it forward." I began to sob. A $20 gift card would have been more than enough, but 500 was overwhelming. Then she pulled out a bag and said that the kids teachers had instigated the whole donation and had gotten the kids gifts. Inside was a huge plush horse for Hannah and a container full of dinosaurs with play mat and nountains. I gave her a huge hug and cried somemore. After leaving the office, i ran into chris who was just arriving. He went into the office and gave her a hug and then when we went to the parties, we thanked the teachers.
Also this week, I recieved a card in the mail Wednesday from my sisters. they knew we were hard off and that i wouldn't be able to afford to even get Chris a birthday gift. The purchased tickets to Brian Reagan, Chris' favorite comedian, who is coming to OKC in february. they sent the tickets and said to give them to Chris on behalf of us. I was overwhelmed.
Overwhelmed is the only word for all of this. I am really having a hard time processing all that God is doing. There is no answer to why, but I am trusting in that he is working. I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future. I appreciate the generosity of others and am looking forward to when we can reciprocate the favor. it is just so humbling to have everyone helping provide for our needs and even some of our wants. My parents and their help with the utility bills and the generosity of everyone will allow my measly paycheck to pay the mortgage and everything else is taken care of. I am just hoping that the love shown to us will carry us all through this season!! All our love to all of you who check this!! merry christmas!

Our update for the last 2 weeks!:-)

Well, as you may have guessed, the lack of updating is due to the fact that I have been so busy at work. I have been opening the store myself. I was given a key and a security code. I have been going in at 7 and starting all 3 batches of dough, then rolling out all the pizza shells and by 9 I am joined by Shirley, who sets up the front, and another person in the back to help set up prep for the lunch rush. Depending on who the manager is, Tony and Scott usually show up around 8:30 to set up the registers and take the money to the bank.
As for the rest of my family, they are doing alright. Chris is still looking for a job. He has been really good at helping around the house. When i get home, i am so sore and tired from all the stuff at work, it is nice to know that i don't have to worry about dishes and laundry and all that. I have helped him out, but he has been workiing really hard. He takes the kid to school in the morning and I pick them up. He had his christmas musical last weekend. it was titled "I'll be home for Christmas" It was a powerful program centered around Pearl harbor and how a christian family deals with the ups and downs of a spouse being over seas and not knowing of their return. Trusting in God and that His dreams are better than ours was kind of the theme.
My parents were down to go to the Oklahoma City train show at the state fair arena that weekend. They got to go to the Saturday evening program. it was nice for them to be able to go to his program.
We had a great time. At the train show, Nathaniel got to drive a few trains in an area they called switching control. The guy was really helpful and he had a good time. My dad had a great time seeing all the new scenery and getting new items and ideas.
Hannah had her first grade program the following Monday. Her program was super sweet. All the first graders walked in with jingle bells and they were all dressed up. They had their teachers out dressed like the chipmunks and sang with them for a few songs. Their principal came out dressed like "polar pup" too. they sang silent night and her good friend Courtney got to sing a special part. Hannah did a great job! We took her out for a special drink at sonic afterwards. That night was also Nathaniel's first night of Upwards basketball. Chris took him to that since it started at 6pm and Hannah had to be at her program at 6:30, for it to start at 7 and that was when Nathaniel's practice was over. He was really excited about practice. He is number 8 and he is on the team "Flash". His 2 coaches, chris said, were really encouraging and are really big into them learning their skills and the bible verses that go with their training program. it is really neat. I can't wait to go and see this coming monday night. They will practice every monday night at 6pm and his games will be all the month of January and february on saturday mornings at 8am. their games are a half an hour, with 6 minute quarters and a half time. Every child is guaranteed to play 2 quarters. he is really loving it.
Lets see, what else... We can't believe that this coming week is the kids last week of school and that Chris' birthday is this coming thursday. since we are struggling financially, we won't be able to do gifts for anyone, especially each other, so we are trying to come up with fun things we can do to with each other for gifts. Thanks to my parents, they brought about 4 or 5 gifts with them when they came, so the kids will have something to open on christmas day. I am off today, but there is a huge Crosswhite family reunion in Dover, and Grandma Crosswhite wanted us to come up. they would help out in anyway they could, as long as we would be there.
We are hoping that God will show himself faithful to us this holiday season. We are trying to rest in His presence, since we think back on the last year and wonder why all these things have happened. Chris loved his job at lowes and was on the way up, we bought a property we love, we have a church home we love, Nathaniel got baptized this year, and yet, here we are, barely able to pay our morgage and bills, were denied health insurance and food stamps, and aren't able to do hardly anything this holiday season. We know that God is in it all, so we appreciate your prayers more than anything at this time. Satan is definately on the prowl. We want this all to be about Christ, more than any time in our history for all those reasons. We hope you are having a good time and enjoying the time we remember God's greatest gift and hope you are staying warm and dry.
will hopefully write again before Christmas!! If not, have a great one!!

Life

Well, it has been a while. I now live at the Blanchard Mazzios. :-) No, seriously, I helped clean and set up before training the week before thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun. training went well. The kids went home with a friend from church who has a son and a daughter. Chris picked them up after work. They had a great time. I trained from 4-10 on Thursday, 7:45am-noon, and 4-10 on Friday, 7:45am-6:30pm on Saturday and 2-6 sunday. Lots to learn. much like Pizza hut was in high school, except that Mazzios has so much more on their menu and corporate office wants it to be a mix of pizza hut and olive garden, so that is fun.
Chris by the end of his first week was no longer working there. He has been working with Aunt lisa on the possiblity of working a govt. job. For right now he is at home, which he is enjoying, but is hard.
We went up to Kansas Tuesday morning to hang out with the family for Thanksgiving. We had a good time. Wednesday we went down to my grandmas to see her. She had me cut her hair and the kids helped her clean and Nathaniel helped her peel apples in a spiral. Chris went with Dad to the dairy farm to help him grind feed. He said it was really neat to see how that was done. He got to get a good visit in with Uncle John and Aunt Joy as well as Erin and Tryon. Karen and Mary arrived Wednesday night. Thursday we had turkey, noodles, rolls, green bean casserole, sweet potatos, mashed potatoes, and a sweet dessert, thanks to mary. It was chocolate galore!! We went outside to have a tire race and came in to eat some more. Jon was able to make it for a few hours and that was a lot of fun to be able to hang out with him for a while. We played some board games and then went to bed. Friday we got up and packed up the car to head to Grandmas for the big cousin thing. It was supposed to be come and go, but ended up everyone being together, which I was super thankful for. Kristen and Cory weren't able to make it as well as Yachal, but it was so good to see all the babies. Everyone's family was so precious. For me, to see everyone and how they are with their kids is such a blessing. I don't feel as alone anymore.
We left around 5, as Lorrie and her kiddos did as well. It was her birthday and she was meeting Yachal in town to go out for her birthday. Everyone was so much fun to visit with and watch. I wish it could have lasted longer, but....
We got home around 11:15 and put the kids to bed. I had to be at work this morning at 8am. The store manager is hoping to train me to be one of their shift leaders since I am the only one with pizza experience. We were hoping to get to some of that today, but with the Bedlam game, we were steady with business all day long. I headed up the make table area as well as some of the dough with the assistance of another worker named Mike and the store manager from Anadarko. It was good to get back into the swing of something I knew. Minus finding where things belonged and where to find stuff, it went pretty smoothly. I got home around 5. I need to go in for register and safe (the money) training tomorrow morning, so sadly I will have to miss church. This will be my last weekend to have to work, so that will be nice. On my availability, I put Monday- Friday 8-2 and they are going to honor that. They just want to complete the training proceedures before settling into a routine. Seemed today they are evaluating who works best together doing what also.
That is about it. I am doing a little housework tonight and then heading to bed. I am tired!!! I am sure I assisted with the making of over 100 pizzas today as well as at least 15 pastas and sandwiches and prepping 5 batches of dough. Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and I will write again soon, when I have another break in my new schedule.
Please continue to pray as the kids are having to adjust to my working and we will be pushing it pretty tight as the Christmas season comes on. Kind of sad in moments when I think that this year we won't be able to do much. Takes me back to not understanding why God is allowing these things, but then I have to encourage myself with the verse that says, "These light and momentary troubles are achieving for me an eternal glory that far exceeds it all. So I should fix my eyes not on what is seen, for what is seen is temporary. What is unseen is eternal."

Chris' 1st day at the new job

Ok, so many of you want the scoop on how his first day went. Well, here it goes...
He was super nervous about the title "store manager" because he has never had that title before. And over a company that he is unfamiliar with made him even more nervous. I reminded him that God doesn't give us more than we can handle without Him and that God had fully equipped him for every good work. So, I sent him into OKC after prayer around 11:30. He was ok, but feeling a little overwhelmed.
In visiting with him tonight, he said the day was full. Full of trying to learn something foreign to him from a lady who was doing her best to show him all they did, all the while speaking in spanish, since the store he was at was mostly hispanic. He said the most stressful part was the fact that he had no idea what anyone was saying. "How can I learn when I don't know what they are talking about? "So, that is how it went. Right now he is taking a super hot bath and just vegging. Continue to pray for him. He has been so anxious to get into a job and do something and now that he has one, he is frustrated that he has no idea what is going on. Considering he is going from a multi-million dollar company to a small business, it is a hard transition for his mind to make.
Anyways....
I filled out paperwork for Mazzios Sunday afternoon and recieved my shirt, apron and visor. I will go in this week to help them clean up after the construction workers and attend my first orientation. I am excited. They seem to be really flexible and organized. There is a possiblity that I will be able to work the morning dough shift, considering I have pizza experience. If I do that, Chris will take the kids to school and I will work 7am-2pm and pick them up. We will see. They haven't gotten that far. Right now they are just trying to get the building built and ready for training and setting an opening date.
We are planning on heading to Kansas some time thanksgiving week. I am excited to see all my new baby cousins and their parents!! Finally the family has family!!!:-)
Until next time, thank you for all your prayers and we will keep you posted!

Ok......

Ok, here is where I update you on all the things that have happened in a week that has seemed like a month.
The mcdonalds thing fell through, which, oh well. I looked into preschool stuff, since that is all that is on my resume, and I need an associates in child developement to do any more with that. I can't sub for more than a week, a month unless I am a certified para. So..... I have an interview with Mazzios on thursday. if that turns out, awesome. if not, I think I am going to have to go back to school.

As for Mr. Chris Crosswhite, he was asked saturday to run the Your-tel store in Oklahoma City. He is excited but really nervous. He doesn't know much about phone service. I have reminded him that he knew hardly anything about mowers when he started at Lowes, so I was sure he would do great. He went in yesterday to do a background check and a drug test. If all that turns out well, which it should, then his first day will be the 17th. He will be working Monday through friday 9:30-6:30 and alternating saturdays 10-2. He is really excited about that.

I helped with our church's first ever children's clothes swap last friday and saturday with a friend of mine. It was a lot of fun. We had 7 full tables of girls size 4-5. we are planning on doing another one in the spring. Just in time for everyone to pull out their clothes to rotate and toss the small ones. It is nice to know that rather than go and invest a few hundred dollars in clothes that we as a church family can just trade with one another. And the best part is that you don't have to bring clothes to take them. We had such a blast. I really enjoyed it.
Yesterday I went in to resolve my situation with DHS in regards to the kids medical insurance and also to get us on food stamps. We should know something in 10 days.
That is about it. I am super behind on the house work and yet here i sit typing on my computer. :-)
Our only event coming up is a trip to Kansas for Thanksgiving. and a birthday party the weekend of the 22nd. I hope this finds all of you doing well.
I need to get some laundry done and vacuum, so until next time.....:-)

Correction

Ok, so went to orientation and found out that I didn't have the paperwork I needed, so they sent me home. I went to the store on hwy 9 and another manager forged all the paperwork so they could get me into the orientation tonight. I mentioned that I wasn't ok with their documents and that I was unable to attend tonights orientation because I had church commitments, to which they said either tonight's orientation or not at all. So, I am NOT employed with Mc. Donalds and am still looking as well as Chris.
I am contemplating just moving in with Mom and Dad and I can sub at USD 251 and we can help out at the farm in place of my dad. Seriously, that is a thought in my head, but it is not a plan in the works as of yet. We are waiting to hear from the Yourtel people. We are just praying that an answer will be obvious to us soon. This is wearing on our emotions, especially mine.
Thank you for your prayers and more to come soon!

Since last time...

Well, since I last wrote, I subbed for Ms. Colvin's 1st grade class, which was a lot of fun. The kids were great. The end of that week was the Book Character parties. I spent the 2 days I had before them getting ready. Hannah's class did Curious George. A dad came dressed as the man in the yellow hat. Nathaniel's class did Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett and they decorated sugar cookie babies. It was a lot of fun. We were also in on the planning of a surprize retirement party for Noel. Brent, Sarah, and their kids as well as us were going to meet in Gainesville, Tx to decorate a hotel room for Noel. Lorna was going to drag their trip out as long as she could to give us time to be ready. It was a fun time. He didn't know about it until Lorna started getting all kinds of texts from Brent and I about how we were progressing on getting there. We went out to eat at the Main street grill and then went back to the hotel for cake and to toast him with juice. Then all 11 of us went swimming. It as a lot of fun! We were home Saturday in time for the Texas vs Texas Tech game, as there were church commitments that kept us from celebrating the whole weekend. What a game!!
In coming home from Texas, we stopped at the Mc.Donalds on Hwy 9 so that Hannah could go to the bathroom. There were signs all over begging for help during the day, so I asked the lady for an application while I waited on Hannah. They didn't have one in english, but told me to take a 20 questionairre to see if I needed to bother. After doing that, the asst. manager visited with me and told me she would like to hire me, she just needed paperwork. So, sunday after church, I went to tri-city to their mc.donalds and picked up an app. I then ran it down to hwy 9. She scanned over it and handed me all my paperwork and said to be in OKC Wednesday morning to fill out final paperwork and attend orientation. They will have me work 8:30-2:00 whenever the kids are in school. She said they would work with whatever I needed.
So, starting tomorrow, I am employed at Mc.Donalds. Chris is still waiting. Trying not to be discouraged, as he has had many emails saying that companies are "going another route". Much more has gone on at Lowes, meaning he has gotten calls from the Oklahoma Business association and the ethics commision for Lowes. He is hoping for the best and trusting that God is challenging his faithfulness. He says, "God gives and He takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I just want to be found faithful."
Kids are doing well. Our next day off is thanksgiving break, which will be here before we know it. Anyways, will post picts when I get more photo disks burnt and can upload the photos from my camera of Book character day and the trip to Gainesville!!
Till next time, all my love to all of you!!

My wonderful trip to Oregon!!!

What can I say? Spending 4 days with this sweetheart was such a wonderful blessing!!! Isn't she precious!!! Thank you to Tim and Heidi for sharing her with me!!!

Let's see, let me start at the beginning. Friday morning I finished making sure I had all the things I needed and we headed to the airport around 2pm. Kids were excited and sad at the same time. I was too. I have never done that and with circumstances being as they were, I was a little nervous. My flight left on time and I arrived in Phoenix 20 minutes early. It was 93 degrees when I arrived. I called Heidi to let her know I was there and checked in with my family. They had gone mini golfing and ate at Cici's to kick start the weekend with Dad.

I left Phoenix and arrived in Portland about 20 minutes early as well. Tim met me outside the airport and we headed back to his house. We were excited to see one another and he was glad not to get yelled at anymore by the mean old airport traffic director!! I was wide awake when we got there, so I visited with Heidi a little before we all headed to bed. I got the official tour and got to see little Kairis sleepin.I went to bed and found myself with a new bed partner, Emma.

I woke up Saturday at 6:15 Portland time because to my body, I had slept in enough. Got dressed and called the family, since I didn't detect that anyone was awake upstairs. They were on their way to Uncle Brent's. Tim and Heidi and Kairis came downstairs, unaware I had been up for over an hour, which was ok. We got ready to head to the beach and I got to see little girly get all dressed. She had such good smiles for her Aunt Angel.

We headed to the beach around 9:30. Tim and Heidi were trying to decide the whole way where to begin our beach adventure. We opted to go to Gearhardt to their favorite bakery, Pacific way. By the time we got there, Kairis would be ready for her bottle and we could have some brunch as well. And, by doing that, I wouldn't get to see the ocean quite yet. I had a marionberry scone, Tim had a raisin snail and Heidi had a lemon danish. We visited with some locals and had a nice time enjoying breakfast. Then we drove up the way to see the beach. We turned around and headed to Seaside, which is another beach town where my parents have a time share. We parked the car and decided we would walk the boardwalk. The beach there was neat because it was really kid friendly. Swing sets and such on the beach. I thought that was really cool. We walked around the town and stopped in at a local thrift shop and found some souvienir items for my family. We then decided to head to Canon beach to get our feet wet. This was the location for Haystack rock. When the tide is out, you can see sea life in the tide pools. However, we got there at tide in. Thats ok. We got our feet wet and took some picts before deciding the cold wind probably wasn't good for little girl. But, since our feet were dirty, they decided we would go back to Gearhardt to pick up some seashells before heading to one of their favorite restaurants, Mo's. At Gearhardt beach, Heidi stayed in the car with Kairis while Tim and I went to get sand and shells. It was so much fun!! We walked and talked and scared seagulls!! Heidi called us and wondered when we were coming back because she was getting hungry. :-) We went to Mo's to eat some real seafood and so I got to try clams, halibut, scallops and clam chowder. It was really good food!! We got Kairis ready for bed and then headed back to Portland. It was a really good day. The ocean was neat. A little overwhelming for someone who has never seen it. I didn't really know how to react. A whole new experience of one of God's amazing creations. Oh, meant to say too, we were at Mo's for sunset, which was gorgeous!!

Sunday, Tim and I had our morning coffee, so I could share with Hannah. We got ready and we went to second service so that we could go to church with Tim and Heidi's best friends, Joel and Lani. It was neat to be at their church. The pastor's sermon was from Romans 12 and 13, which was good to re-read. I read it to Chris when I got home. We went out to lunch with Joel and Lani after church. Tim and Heidi are so blessed to have such great friends. From all we talked about, they can be so open and honest and fun with each other and that is a blessing that doesn't happen to most people. We probably visited for a few hours before Joel had to go home to do some school work. Lani came back to Tim and Heidi's with us to just visit some more. We spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out in their living room. I called the kids and they got to visit with Tim and Heidi as well. I got to feed Kairis and hang out with her that morning while they got their bags ready for church. We decided to go to evening church, which was called the "gathering". It was a lot more modern and the music was a little more "funk" than I am used to, but the message was awesome. About the adulterous woman and how many of us are the people with the rocks, ready to stone people; or some of us are the adulterous woman, whom Jesus is asking to "stop and sin no more." Tim and I talked about how the last time we were together in a similar setting, he was the one dropping something off at the foot of the cross. We stayed and ate some soup there as well as visited with people. We didn't get back to their house until close to 10/10:30. Kairis had been awake the whole time, so her schedule was a little bit off. Oh, and I forgot to tell that her new best friend is her thumb. It is so adorable!!!

She woke up late Monday. Tim had gone to work, so it was girls day out. Since Kairis had slept in, our morning went pretty quick. I got dressed while Heidi fed her and then I played with Kairis while Heidi got ready to go to IKEA. The 30-45 minutes we spent together was so precious to me. We played golden sun on her play mat and then just chatted on the couch and she reclined on my knees. We made it to IKEA about noon. Heidi and I walked around admiring the creativity of the rooms and just talking heart to heart. It was so nice!! We ate lunch there and had swedish meatballs with raspberry sauce. It was really good!!! We went home to let Kairis have a really good nap and I wanted to finish the onesies I was working on for her. Heidi started a college class this week, so she needed to look at her syllabus. We just hung out at the house. She warmed up some chicken tortilla soup and made spaghetti for supper. Tim got home and we spent my last full evening there just visiting and reminisced of the past. We laughed so hard I think we all might have thought we were going to wet ourselves and stayed up way to late!! It was such an awesome time.

We woke up about 5:30 to head to the airport and for Tim to go to work. Hugs and thank yous were said and then it was off to a short day, thankfully for me. I left Portland around 7:30 and arrived in Salt Lake at 10am, mountain time. I arrived at Denver at noon, mountain time. I had a 2 hour layover which was nice. To just sit back and rest. We actually boarded the plane a little early, as a storm was on the way. However, we were stalled a half hour due to a wind burst that preceeded the storm. I made it home a little after 5 central time. We went home and I

gave the kids their sand and shells and souveniers.
Oh, and to all of you who have been there, in all the time I was there, I did not see Mt. Hood. I laugh that I will save that for next time. It was either night time, or it was covered up with clouds. Isn't that amusing?

They went to bed with the promise we would hang out after school the next day. Chris and I stayed up and talked heart to heart, which was good. The time apart on this one was good for both of us.

Wednesday, I took the kids to school and then headed to tri-city to print off my brag book!! I saw a sign for someone needing childcare help mon, wed, and fridays from 9am-noon. I applied and should hear something next week. It seems like perfect timing. I sub tomorrow, Monday and tuesday for 1st grade, so that works out great. I had intended to get a lot done around here before tomorrow, but today the jet lag caught up with me and I slept from 9:30 this morning to 1:40. I surprized myself. That's about it. Chris hasn't been answering the phone, as the issues at the Lowes continue to escalate. The corporate ethics line contacted him today asking for more statements. He just wants to keep his nose clean. He is doing good. Has panic attacks every once in a while. Just wants God to be glorified in all this and to be a good example to the kids as to what happens when Satan tries to get you down.

This weekend is our Sunday school classes harvest party and we are really looking forward to that. It was cool. Yesterday Bruce, our minister, called. I answered the phone and he quickly asked if we were all ok. He said we had been on his mind the last few days and he thought he would call. I told him about what was going on and he wanted to speak to Chris. It was neat that God had prompted his heart to reach out. I am just so thankful for our church and the people there!!

And there you have it. My updated life story with picts to enjoy. I hope you all are keeping warm and dry!! We love you all and appreciate your prayers, as this last week wouldn't have been as great as it was without them. Chris was distracted by it all and throughly enjoyed caring for the kids. It made him feel valuable, where as if I had been here, he might have had time to mope. They encouraged him in so many ways, he said, and I am so thankful for answered prayers!! So thank you!!

Please pray!!

I write with many different feelings in my heart. One, excitement, because I am heading tomorrow to Oregon to see my new niece and my brother and sister!! Two, shock, as Chris has been let go from Lowes due to some very unfair circumstances, which have crushed him personally. Three, fear, that Satan will attack him while I am gone; as he will have ample time alone. Four, sorrow and worry, as I am uncertain what the next chapter for our lives will hold. We thought that we had finally reached a happy ending to the chaos of our lives.
Five, confidence, because whatever God allows will always lead to His glorification.

Just seems like on the week when I am reveling in all the blessings; a son making a decision for Christ, a husband who is succeeding in his job and being allowed to perform amazing memories on behalf of the kingdom, a home that is a place where we can invite others over and actually have room for them; that we get the blow of insecurity, stress, grief.
If you would please just be lifting Chris up in prayer. That in this time of grief and loss, God will show himself faithful to Chris and that he will be strong enough to draw close to God in his weakness. That I will be able to enjoy my trip and that worry for my spouse won't ruin the time I was looking forward to. That the kids will be able to bless him as he spends this time with them and that they will be blessed in return.
That is all I can think of to update on. Our week other than this has been good. Monday i went to get groceries for my trip. Who knew the cracker aisle would be such a nightmare. tuesday I cleaned house and went to ladies bible study. Wednesday, I went on the 2nd grade field trip. It was wednesday afternoon when Chris was let go. He called, deeply hurt, and we went to bridge creeks fall break home game tonight to just do something that felt good. They won, 34-20.
Anyways, please pray. Thank you!!

Its official!!

I know many of you would want to see picts of the baptism and it went really well. Everything turned out so good and thanks to my sister, Karen, I have some photos of it. Of course, I LOVE our church and the people in it and they had been praying all week about issues that had come up from Satan to distract us from this big day.

Chris' parents, my parents, my grandma and my sister Karen were all here. It was such a good thing. Words can't say how it was to see Chris get to speak before the congregation and then baptize Nathaniel. We are truly blessed!!

Chris presented Nathaniel with a sword after the baptism, explaining that he had now entered the service of the Lord and he was a knight for God. He explained what Jedi knights stood for and what knights of old stood for. That a knight was, "an elite warrir sworn to uphold the values of faith, loyalty, courage and honor." Then he gave him the brown marble sword. He really liked it.

Mom and Dad gave him a BNSF hat, saying that since it was his favorite, it now could stand for something new. "Born new, saved forever." A full BNSF train is coming at a later date so that when he plays with it, he will remember that he is saved forever and is being renewed through Christ everyday. Noel and Lorna presented him with a new bible. One for when he gets older, but it has his baptism date in it, so that is really neat.

We came home after a great church day and had mashed potatoes and chicken noodles and a special chocolate cake in celebration of Nathaniel . It was such a good day.

I now get to prepare for my upcoming trip to Oregon to see my niece. I am so excited. The kids will get the weekend with their daddy, which they are thrilled about.

Chris is still having issues at work, so continue to pray for him. Other than that, just counting a lot of blessings in my life right now!!!

Thats about it. I am going to eat supper now, but I wanted to get picts up for those of you who would be looking for them. :-) All our love!!

What a week!!

Well, it has been a good week! I'll start with where I left off. Monday we went to the dentist and Nathaniel had good report. He was in the chair for less than 10 minutes, it seems. As for Hannah, she has had this one front tooth that was chipped and developed a little bump in front of it. It never bothered her, but the dentist said it was an infection that might affect her new tooth, so they removed it. She didn't cry or anything and now she has this cute little lisp. I will post pictures when I get our computer a little more under control. Apparently I have so many pictures on here that the memory is full. :-) So I will be burning cd's like a maniac this month along with the other things going on!!
Tuesday I went into town to get kids their winter clothes and groceries. I found all kind of good deals and came home with a whole lot of great warm shirts and pants for the kids. I even got winter coats for everyone and came in under $100!!! Wednesday my friend Megan came over and we studying the integrity of God's word. It was nice to visit with her. Then Awana was that night and that was a blast too!!! Thursday and Friday I subbed for 3rd grade. Wow!! It was so much fun. Made me seriously think about finishing off my degree and becoming a teacher. :-)Friday night we went to the Bridge creek home football game. What an awesome game!! I LOVE FOOTBALL!! It was one of those games where one team was up, and then the other team was up. Lots of interceptions and fumbles and 80 yard runs and 40 yard field goal kicks. In the end, in the last 2 minutes, we won!!! We played washington, which is the number 1 team in our district, so.....:-)
Saturday the kids and I went into town to go by the bank and drop off my sub check and we played at the park all afternoon!! We came home with a papa murphys pizza and watched a movie!!
Then to finish off with yesterday. Our church had a ministry fair and so sunday school classes were cancelled so that everyone could go and look at the booths. the kids came with us to church and it was an interesting service. Hannah was sitting by me and making me NUTS!!!! She was continually rubbing on me like a cat and she even spilled grape juice on me during communion. Everytime I tried to sing out to the Lord, she did something to distract me and I was getting pretty annoyed!! Meanwhile, on the other end of the Crosswhite family, God was moving in Nathaniel and Chris' heart. Chris said he couldn't sing because the sound of Nathaniel truly raising his voice in praise to God made him cry. Nathaniel was asking him, when can I go down. God wants me to go down. So, at the end of the service, he and Chris went forward, saying that he wants to get baptized. We are planning that for this coming Sunday.
I didn't really fully get to hear what happened till I was tucking him in last night and I apologized for my attitude and Hannah's rudeness. He said, "well, thats ok mom. it was wierd coming home because usually home feels like home, but today, I just wanted to go back to church and feel that again. do you know what I mean? that feeling in church was the goodest feeling i have ever felt. wouldn't it be cool mom, if we could have church every day, not just on sundays.". I smiled. He knows what it was like to be at the feet of God. Yesterday for the first time, he was in the throne room of God and understood. I replied, "buddy, that is what every christian thinks. It is hard to go back to the real world, but God wants us to go out and let people know that the best feeling you will ever have is being in his family and experiencing his presence. It is your job to show that to the other 2nd graders. it is daddy's job to show that to people in norman at lowes. But the great thing we can look forward to is that heaven will be a big great church service that will never end. " He smiled and was really glad about that and said, "well, then I want a really springy pair of shoes so I can go their now. " We smiled and I tucked him in and thanked God that Chris was able to experience that with Nathaniel. All the other things that God has done in his heart, Chris has been at work.
So, next sunday, at 10:45ish, Chris will baptize Nathaniel. The church records special events like that, so we will have a copy, if anyone wants one.!!
Anyways, this week is looking to be that I will clean up the house for whoever is coming this weekend for our big event. Nathaniel wants to play Upward basketball, so that signup is tonight at first baptist church. Tomorrow my friend Megan will be back. Wednesday is Awana. Thursday Chris is off so we are headed in to visit with Bruce and help out at the church. Friday is Hannah's field trip and sunday is the baptism.
I am so thankful that God moves. And in the life of my son is a true blessing. He is special and for him to be going through this is just really amazing!!

Crazy!!

That is the best word to describe the last 10 days!!
Last Thursday was the kids parent teacher conference. It went really well. Hannah is doing awesome! Nathaniel is reading at a 3rd grade level and making all A's. Friday they were off from school, so we played here all day. That afternoon we went into Norman to spend the rest of Nathaniel's birthday money. He found his beloved HO scale BNSF engine at a new hobby shop there. It is run by 2 vietnam vets. They are really nice. He got a free ball hat and all from that. Saturday Chris was off. His parents had decided not to come, so we went to the State fair for the day. It was fun!! We saw Clydesdale horses, a llama show, spaghetti cake, dogs catching frisbees, and rode the space needle and the octopus. After doing all of that, we went to our Tim Hawkins show. He was hilarious. We got his new cd and then headed home. Sunday we went to church and then our friend Jenn had her first book written and was having a party for it. We went and spent the rest of the day there. It was so good to see them.
Monday the kids had their annual checkup. All went well until word came that they needed their Hep A shot, thanks to Oklahoma law and Nathaniel was up for his first tetnus. Since that was unexpected and it took so much longer than we thought, we took them out to eat at Cici's. They spent the rest of the day out of school, since we didnt get out of norman until pushing 2pm and they get out of school at 2:30ish. I had planned to do way more than nothing all day. So I wanted to start Tuesday off right. I spent the morning in the parking lot of Woodland hills reading my bible and just spending time with God. I didn't want to get distracted by all the work. then I got back and began to get started when some Jehovah witnesses came by. They were nice and considering I had read all morning, I let them in and just visited with them. They had a little book they left, which I went through, but by doing that, Satan took over me mentally. I struggled with what do I believe and why. Some of their stuff had valid points that I had never asked myself. I just believe it because that is what I have always heard was right. Along with that, Chris was having a hard day with people and so by the end of the day I was beat up. I went to bed feeling defeated. I was scheduled to sub Wednesday for 4th and 5th grade special ed kids. I was so worried about it, due to the day before. They were great!! And Chris got a visit from the district manager and said he was the best in the district at what he did. the rest of the day, other zone managers from zone 1 were there taking pictures and all, telling Chris that Collard had said that if they didn't have their zones looking like his by the end of the week, it was their jobs. He then proceeded to tell Chris that he thought he should be promoted and grilled Joe, Chris' boss, as to why he hadn't promoted Chris sooner. Chris has to choose between Sales manager and Administration manager. The decision has to be made by tomorrow. He is nervous, because he has to do something or Collard will be disappointed at his lack of attempt to acknowledge his wanting to be promoted. Sales takes him to district-wide control of pricing and sales. Administration leads him down the path to getting his own store, or working in human resources, which is what he really wants to do. He wants to make the right decision, so...
With that all falling Wednesday, along with church that evening, it voided the horrible day before. I was also able to book my flight to Oregon for the 17th of October and I am so thrilled about that!!!! Thursday I was able to get some things done around the house and visit with Heidi about my upcoming trip. I also baked a lot of apple goodies for the kids Johnny appleseed day. Homemade apple butter and apple bread and carmel apple crisp.
Friday I visited with my grandma, who fell a few weeks ago, and volunteered to work the kids book fair. We went to town that afternoon to get some bulbs for my front porch area.
Yesterday we worked in the yard with the flower garden and the kids just got to be kids and played all day. We got ice cream to finish the day off!! It was great. Today we went to church and then went to a Wildlife expo in Oklahoma city and got to ride in a kayak. Nathaniel went in one on his own and LOVED it. Hannah rode with her daddy. We also got to fish in their pond, and Nathaniel was the grand champion in the Buffalo chip throwing contest. Yes, he threw buffalo poop into a basket and was the best at it!! He won a little board game about identifying the states. It was a fun day. We came home to play in the yard and get ready for bed. I am on here because it has been way too long and I have another busy week ahead.
Tomorrow I really need to get caught up with laundry and do some dusting. The kids have their annual dentist appointment tomorrow afternoon and then we are headed into town to help our friends Clay and Jenn move into their new house. Tuesday I need to finish the flowers in the yard and Wednesay is church and I am volunteering again in the book fair. Thursday is free and Friday Chris has off, so we are going to paint his shed and go to the Bridge Creek home football game.
Anyways, just thought I would catch everyone up with what was going down here. hope it finds all well and enjoying the fall weather.
I need to think about heading to bed. Love to you all and praying that you all see God in all things!! Thanks for your prayers and for keeping up with us. Feel free to comment whenever you want. It is encouraging when there are notes in my email that you are in touch with us all.:-)
Till next time!!

A few new pictures and a story. The first one is the one I wanted to post last time.

Then, the rest are from our "Mole hunt". We were out watering our trees and plants and Ben went nuts on a mound in our yard. He dug for over an hour. Chris said he was pretty sure it was a mole. Quite entertained by himself, we had a hard time distracting him. Even water didn't work, so that was a shock! (If you know Ben at all, you know his biggest motivation is the thought of getting shot with a hose!)

Rest of our week so far has been starting a new bible study with the ladies I have been a part of. A study by Beth Moore called "Stepping up". Hannah spiked a fever that night and so she was home yesterday with me. Am hoping she is better. Not sure what it was. She went up to 101.9, which is underarm, so add a degree. YIKES!! It was normal by yesterday morning, but I kept her home to rest.

Parent teacher conferences are tonight at 7 and then we are going to just do nothing all Friday!! Saturday is our Tim Hawkins concert that we bought tickets to a few months ago. We are excited about that. And then we are planning on going to the state fair together on Sunday afternoon. Noel and Lorna might be here this weekend, but I haven't heard for sure. They got a lot of rain and damage last weekend with hurricane Ike.

Thats about it. Hope this finds you all well and praising God for all his many blessings!!

birthday weekend!

This past weekend, what do I say?...

Well, considering we had no idea what we were doing, which is super abnormal for me, we were assured of one thing. That was Mom and Dad coming down. We went to the homecoming football game friday night, which was a lot of fun. Bridge Creek won 13-6. Mom and Dad arrived about 30 mins after we got home, so the kids were still up!! Everyone crashed for the night and then the following morning we got up and did a scavenger hunt for his gifts. He got new bike tires, a remote control Charger, 2 lego ships, and a huge blow up millenium falcon. (Thanks Tim and Heidi! He loves it!! see attached picts)

Hannah wanted to make him some cinnamon rolls for his birthday and thanks to my sister Karen, I had just the right recipe. She worked really hard at decorating too! After opening all his gifts and building his lego things, we decided to take a trip into town to purchase some HO scale stuff with the money that Grandma and Papa were giving him. He came home with a tank car, a hopper, a BNSF caboose, a goat boxcar and a red flat car. We then called Sarah Crosswhite, because David really wanted to see Nathaniel on his birthday, since we had invited them. They didn't end up having a crosscountry meet, so we met them in Edmond to do something. Ended up raining so we went to Quail springs mall and wandered around. It had cosmic golf, so we all played that. Nathaniel said it was a great birthday because lots of people he really loved were there.

Sunday after church we stayed here and Nathaniel and Papa built the cars he had bought and then played with all his goodies. We played some games too and just hung out. It was a good weekend!

Today I subbed for Mrs. Kelly, which was a LONG day!! I was grateful to be able to go home and enjoy my kiddos. They have a short week this week as parent teacher conferences are thursday night and friday they are off. Chris and I are off tomorrow so we are going to get some major grocery shopping done as well as set in stone a budget. Wahoo!! Hope everyone is doing well and managing to adjust to the fall like temps!!! I am loving it!!

Enjoy the picts!

A good one I wanted to post won't load up, so be looking for it next time. It is Nathaniel choosing to sleep in the falcon the last 2 nights. He looks so sweet!

Strange coincidence

I was surprized today with a strange coincidence. I was subbing this afternoon for a 3rd grade teacher and saw a woman at the homecoming pep assembly that seemed familiar. In thinking about it, I knew she was a mother of a little girl I had taught when I co-taught 3yr olds at Antioch. Mrs. Sparks. Her daughter, Emily, was the most notorious 3 year old. On open house, she ran away from Ms. Linda and I and was consistently testing our patience. I remember one time her parents offered her a kitten if she was good for an entire week. She was and got the kitten.
Anyways, I went up to her and asked if her name was Ms. Sparks. She recognized me immediately and said, "Emily still carries a picture of you and her in her wallet. She is in 7th grade now." I was shocked. She turned 13 today. That means it was 10 years ago that I made an impression on a little girl who is now becoming a woman. After the assembly, she approached me(Emily) and with an awkward and shy smile, she gave me a hug. I was so touched. We visited for a while and then I had to go back with the 3rd graders. After school, I introduced her to my kids and them to her. It was such a neat experience. Just another reminder that God always sees the future and that somehow 10 years ago, I made enough of an impression in loving Emily the way she was that she has carried a picture of me in her wallet all these years. Wow!! Wow!!
Overwhelmed is an understatement for how I feel. But knowing that I was able to help her grow up in some way and that I will be able to reconnect with her is cool. And, she still has the kitten. Her name is crackers and she has a thing for cats. imagine that!
Mom and Dad are headed this way for Nathaniel's birthday tomorrow. Chris and I are repairing his bike and Hannah is replacing his remote control car. I made him a root beer cake today and I have no idea what tomorrow holds. His friend joey's mom was in a car accident Tuesday night and they are struggling with all of that plus their other commitments. He probably wont' be able to come over. I guess we will figure it all out tomorrow!!
We are headed to Bridge Creek's homecoming football game tonight. We went to their parade last night, as Hannah was in the parade. It was fun. Looking forward to staying for the whole game this time! We play the wildcats, so I will have to be careful not to accidently say, "go wildcats," even though it is in the blood. :-)
Will write again soon!!

Change of plans

Just a note. We won't be having the baptism this sunday. Nathaniel went to church with us and said it wasn't the right time, so we will wait. And we got phone calls from all his party invites and none of them can come either, so we are trying to quickly come up with another alternative for the weekend. Probably still go to homecoming. Bless his heart, at least my mom and dad are planning on coming.
I am trying to get a bunch of stuff done here today so that I won't have to worry about it tomorrow or wednesday. thursday and friday I will need to think about getting groceries and presents, since we are waiting on payday to do all of that.
Just wanted to post a short addendum about the baptism being on hold. Anyone is welcome to come to the birthday activities, whatever those will be, and we will keep you posted on the upcoming baptism.
Till later, all our love!!

another week is over.

It is Saturday morning and another week of the kids school is over. We are becoming more acclimated to the school. I didn't end up subbing at all this week. The one day I was scheduled, Nathaniel's asthma flared. Most of the week was spent in doing laundry, dishes, shopping for groceries and mowing the yard. Chris was off yesterday and we set up the cheap patio table we got and cleared up the sidewalk. Our minister from church was coming over to visit with Nathaniel about the questions he was having about getting baptized. He has been asking for about a year now. It was so neat to hear him talk about when he asked Jesus in his heart. I think I posted about that the night it happened. He remembered it in clear detail and described it as "being face to face, nose to nose with Jesus". Bruce asked him if he still felt that way, and Nathaniel replied, "no, but it is because those guys forgot about it". Then Bruce pulled out a dollar bill. He told Nathaniel to put it in his pocket. He asked Nathaniel if he could feel the dollar in his pocket, and Nathaniel said no. Bruce asked him how he knew it was there, and Nathaniel said, "because I put it in there". Bruce said, that is exactly the way it is with Jesus. When we put him in our heart, even when we don't feel him, He is there because He promised to never leave.
It was a great time. Bruce said the first thing he wanted Nathaniel to do was to come to big church and experience that and when it comes to invitation time, if he feels God asking him to come down to get baptized, to do that, because confessing in front of others is something God asks us to do and it inspires others to think about their relationship with God. When he feels God asking him to do that, then we can plan when to have him baptized. He said that because it is a representation of what we are doing with our lives with Christ, it is very important. We are tenatively planning on the baptism being sunday the 14th, so if you can make it, that would be awesome!!
It was nice to have Bruce and Mike in our home. They are so great and it gives me a sure peace about our church home and our involvment there and this being our home. I miss St. Joe and Rodney, but I also realize it is different up there now, so it was good timing that God set us here.
Lets see, also this week, we all went to the Bridge Creek home football game. Since Nathaniel had been home, he only went for the first half. Chris stayed for the rest of the game. The superintendent said there were over 500 people at the game. Can you imagine a crowd like that at Northern Heights?? That is about the same size of school. They beat Blanchard 9-7. Chris was so excited. Next Friday is their homecoming. It is also the tenative slumber party for mr. Nathaniel's 8th birthday!! I hope it all turns out for him.
Well, today we are planning on making a bunch of birthday and anniversary cards, since Sept. is full of them and just playing in the yard. Chris opens so tonight I think we are just going to hang out here and play some board games and read. Tomorrow he works an overnighter and the kids and I have an AWANA meeting at 5. Then I sub next tuesday and wednesday. So I am sure I will post before then. Until then, sending all my thoughts and love!!

A great weekend!!

With a busy week last week of substitute teaching, I was ready for somthing different. We left Blanchard around 4pm and headed north to go to Mary's first. About an hour into it, we ran into some heavy rain in Kingfisher. That town floods somethin terrible. Within just a few minutes, people were freaking out about the water on the road. Only one point of it concerned me. That held us up just a little while. We made it Mary's around 10-10:30. and the kids were excited to see both Mary and Jon. So excited we didnt get them back to bed until pushing midnight. Next morning we got up and played pretty much all day at Mary's. Cars, Barbies, store, and a whole bunch of board games. It was fun!! Sunday morning, before heading to Dodge, she took us by the hospital she is interning at. It was really nice just to veg at her house, especially after the crazy week we had been through. I feel bad, though that she didn't get to show us all the places she hangs out at, and stuff. Or the thought occured to me that with Jon working alot, she is probably at home a bunch and might have wanted to get out. But I know we all had a good time just enjoying her home.
We headed to Dodge and made it to her church in time for morning service. We actually arrived about 20 minutes early and found Karen's name in the bulletin like 3 times, so we made it a game. After church, they had a potluck dinner, which was good. Then we decided to head to Garden city to see their FREE zoo. It was, as far as I am concerned, better that the Oklahoma City zoo, which you pay $8 a piece to get into. We hung out there and enjoyed the animals. Then headed back to Dodge where we made tacos for supper. We then watched muppets in space and everyone got to bed around 10.
Monday we hung out at her house too, playing board games and making a homemade pizza. We also got to help her water her garden, full of yummy looking veggies. We headed back, feeling more rested than when we left, which, for a weekend trip is good!! We got home in time to go straight to bed. It was an awesome time!!
On a side note, while we were gone, the conservation agency came out and radared our hill, and found 138 active lizards and 12 live nests. They said for that species of lizard, we had a Massive colony and that if it was ok with us, they would carefully extract the nests out and put them on protected property. We could keep some since this was their natural environment, and would set us up with a permit to have them. So, effective when they call, they will be digging into our shale hill to save the lizards. Crazy, huh?
Well, i need to get off here. With the wild week last week, i never made it to the grocery store, and with hurricane gustav's leftovers hitting us tonight and tomorrow, I want to make sure we have things to eat in case we get stranded by the flash flood waters. They are still predicting that we might get 5-7 inches a day. No one is for sure of the projected path yet, I saw this morning that it is parked over where Noel and Lorna live, so that should be interesting to hear about how they brave it. Will post again when I get a chance!! Love to all!

Well, it will be a while!

I find it so amazing that I get surprized when God works things out in my situtations. I was a little worried about the whole interview last week and how I wasn't sure how that would all play out. I had a lot scheduled for today, and was supposed to hear about that middle school job. Chris and I had been praying like crazy about it.
This morning, I got a phone call to sub for a teacher who had to go to the hospital for emergency surgery. I was glad to fill in. It was a great day. I got to see and spend some time with Hannah at recess and meet her friend Tory. :-) I also got to eat lunch in the cafeteria with Nathaniel!! And the kids in my class were great!! I will be in there all week, as this teacher is not for sure when she will be able to return. The other 2nd grader teachers have been great at helping me out. I thought to myself as I sat in her classroom during planning period, "what were the chances of me getting a long-term sub job on the day I was supposed to hear about the other job? Especially for my first one." Only God knows and sees that. I felt so much more at home teaching 2nd grade math and language than I would ever in coordinating special ed kids tests. A huge peace fills me tonight as I am so thankful God hears us and is compassionate to our lives.

On that note, I am pretty sure with being a full time fill in this week along with trying to do all my other chores on the side in the evenings and preparing for my trip, I won't be on again until next week. We are headed to Jon and Mary's Friday after school. Planning on staying with them Friday night, and all saturday and saturday night, as Karen will be with her youth group at a concert. Then Sunday morning, we will head to Dodge to go to church and her church dinner and spend all Sunday and Monday with Karen until we have to head home. I am excited about it, since it has been over a year since we have been that way!! and we will get to celebrate Karen's birthday while we are out there!!!
Until I write again, hope everyone is going well and staying healthy!!

Since last time:-)

It is Sunday night and I write after a long week. As you know, it rained monday and tuesday, prohibitting us to get Ben's pen done. Well, after being cooped up all week, I tackled the last of the laundry on Wednesday so I could clean up the yard. That was what I did all day Thursday. I put up the corner post in Ben's new pen, which amazingly went in really well with the soft ground. I also stumbled on a new find for our hill full of shale. Apparently, it stinks for yard decor, but makes a great home for an indangered lizard, some kind of horned lizard. All the holes we thought were snake holes and the "snake" eggs we found when we planted the oak up there, were actually this horned lizard. Ben and I found one while putting in the corner post. I thought it was just a regular lizard, but when I noticed it looked more like a mini dinosaur, I got really excited. When Nathaniel got home, I showed him and we were really thrilled. you cant even catch one without the state of Oklahoma's permission. So, tomorrow, we are going to call the wildlife reserve, since we have now seen at least a dozen in working on the pen. I think with the amount of holes we have seen, our ugly hill is actually a nesting ground for them, so that is cool.

Friday I put in some more posts and then wrapped the fencing around it lightly so that Ben could get a feel for it. I actually think now it is a form of security for him. He is really liking being on the hill and the fence around him. I need Chris to help me get the rest of it put together, but he came home early Thursday sick and slept all day and through the night. He went to work friday morning and worked from 4am till 8pm. I guess the dept. manager was slacking on his job and there was this showdown and Chris had to stay to make sure the guy did his job. Saturday he was off, so he slept in. I went out and mowed the north part of the yard. with all the rain, it needed it. So, I had quite a work out. 1/2 acre of push mowing is quite the workout as well as cardio. Whew!! The kids did great, playing with Ben and helping him catch frogs while I mowed. We went that afternoon to bowl with our sunday school class. That was a lot of fun!! I am really glad that God has blessed us with those people in our lives. It was such a time of encouragement and everyone's kids were pretty much the same age. We came home and played horses and hot wheels and went to bed.
Today was church and we had another great time there. We talked to Bruce a little about Nathaniel's asking about baptism since like a year ago and with all the chaos, we have still yet to do it. Chris is supposed to call Bruce tomorrow and maybe we can go in to see him to talk this week. However, we have planned to head to Mary's and Karen's this weekend to see them and celebrate Karen's birthday!! Which speaking of birthdays, since Nathaniel hasn't hit the jackpot with a bunch of friends yet this year, we are talking about seeing if his cousins, Robert and David, want to come down and spend the night with him. They only live about an hour away and have never gotten to come to his birthday party. We thought maybe we could take the 3 of them lazer tagging or something, since most birthday parties here in norman are SUPER EXPENSIVE!!! Last year in st. joe, we had the bowling alleys "party pack". 10 guest, pizza, drinks and 2 hours of bowling for $20. Here, you get a Party coordinator along with all that stuff and the cheapest event, be it lazer tag, mini golfing, or bowling, is $150. I about choked. So we are talking maybe a trip to Cici's and one game of tag or something. I don't know. I feel so bad, but this state/city is crazy!!!! I miss Missouri!!!
Anyways. Today i spent the day after church checking in on Ben. somehow he has a puncture wound on his abdomen. I think he either laid on a hard stick or one of the yard tools Chris left laying in the yard. not sure, but it was oozing and he was acting like he wanted to snuggle. it was kind of sweet and with it being on his side, I was just hoping it wasnt in far enough to get an organ. I looked up online what to do and followed that proceedure. He seems to be feeling better tonight. Up to wrestling with an old shoe, which shows he is feeling better. :-)
Tomorrow I am hoping to finish up mowing the yard and the kitchen. Have some phone calls to make too as well as get things ready for this coming weekend. With Chris batching it for a few days, sometimes that can be an event all by itself, :-)
Love to all of you and hoping everyone is well!!

It has been a few days and I thought I would write. I just got home from a job interview with the middle school at Bridge Creek. They are looking for a para to follow special ed students to and from class, as well as answer phones for an hour to relieve the secretaries and have my own homeroom. I think it went well. I am a little nervous about the possiblity but also realize that if this is what God wants for me, He has already equipped me for the job. It just seems a little overwhelming at the moment. I should know something before Monday.
Chris and i didn't get the pen done. It rained like 7 inches in one day, so needless to say, we spotted out where we want it and hope to get it in while the ground is still soft, but...
I got some hand sewing done and Chris and I watched a couple of movies. Felt really lazy, but you know when you set your mind on something big and then you dont' get to do it. It is really h hard to get motivated about anything else.
Thats about it. Kids are really enjoying school. Yesterday was their first day of homework. Super easy. I know they do a lot of review in the beginning, but I know the 2 of mine are looking to get past counting by 2's and what does the letter d say. For 1st and 2nd grade I am a little surprized, but with experiencing so many different school systems, I have to understand that every place does stuff differently. I guess with Nathaniel doing algebra at the end of his 1st grade year in Norman, going back to counting by 2's to 20 seems a little immature. Anyways, just be praying for all of us, as I await whether or not it is God's will that I get that job at the middle school, and for the kids to be patient as they wait to be challenged by their teachers.
And for Chris as he deals with the stress of completely redoing the seasonal department. Yes, heating and Christmas. Of course, at this point here, with all the rain and unseasonably cool temps, the heaters actually sound good. Last year, they set heaters when it was like 100 degrees outside.
Till next time!!!

A good weekend!

Well, we had a great weekend. Friday after school, we met Chris at Rib Crib and visited about the kids day. Nathaniel had a much better one. I have a feeling after today, when they share their 5 things about themselves that make them special, that he will be feeling more confident.
Hannah said that she and her new friend, Tory and her friend from church, Courtney, started a new club at recess. It is the horse lovers club and to be a part of it, you have to chase pretend mustangs and put them in your ranch by galloping around the playground. Chris joked that with their initials, it could be their "C.Ha.T" group. I told him we didn't want to encourage discriminating friends, but that the idea was cute.
Then the boys headed to see the star wars movie. Nathaniel really enjoyed it and of course Chris did. Hannah had our minds set on roller skating, until we pulled up and found out that it was High school nite and the only option was to skate from 7-2am. We opted out. While trying to figure out what we were going to do next, we went to Ross. I had yet to take her there. She tried on 3 dresses, one being a big pink one that spun really good when she twirled. We didn't buy it because she really wanted to go mini golfing, but as we wandered the store, she saw a yello one and said, "you know, since it is Ruthy's birthday tomorrow, we could come back and buy me the pink one and ruthy the yellow one and we could match." I told her that since the dresses were $15 a piece, I didn't think we could do that, but she could draw a picture of them in the dresses and send it to Ruthy and that would be nice.
We did end up buying some sparkly headbands, though, for a dollar.
Then we headed to Perfect swing and played 2 rounds of mini golf. It was a lot of fun. She said at one point as we were walking down the paths, "Mom, isn't this place wonderful!" I am so glad she is such a dreamer!!
Church was great yesterday. WE really love our sunday school class. We actually are going to go bowling this saturday. Chris has the weekend and we have debated many times what we are going to do, but as of yesterday, he knows there is a lot to finish here and he really wants that time with good Christian friends. So I think we are just going to stay home. His last weekend off we went to Dallas, so I think he just wants to do something around here.
After church the kids and I went to the newcastle city park. it had 2 sand volleyball courts, so we played in the sand a while and swang and went down the slides. It was a lot of fun. Then we came home and did some scavenger hunts. That was a blast. Then we finished up Nathaniels homework of filling a bag of 5 things that show special things about him.
They made it to school well today. Actually, they have tv's in their classrooms and when we walked in, they were all watching the super why's, which is one of the kids favorite PBS shows. I thought to myself, what motivation to go into the room.
Chris is off today and we had intended to build Ben a good pen, but with it raining right now, we are going to wait until it clears off a little. He is really needing a place to run at all times. He gets so bored and then when we let him off his chain, he goes crazy and doesn't listen when we call. WE are hoping with the wet ground it will make it easier to do the fence.
Thats about it. Aiming to get a lot done around here while the kids are gone and praying all is well in everyone elses world. Till next time!

1st day!

Well, the kids headed off for their first day at Bridge Creek yesterday and overall it went well. When we picked up Nathaniel, and asked him how it was, his comment was, "Well, not so good." Most of the kids in his classroom weren't so hip on being his friend. They were more interested in catching up with each other. He said he felt like he didn't make a single friend. Chris and I encouraged him that it would get better. A lot of those kids were just excited to see old friends and that I was sure that someone would see what a great kid he was and he would have lots of freinds before he knew it. I felt bad, though.

Hannah, on the other hand, had a great day. She made 4 new friends and said her teacher was great. "Ms. Lauirence read all kinds of stories and my new best friends are Tory and Mattie." She was really excited about going to school today. I am so thankful.

Today the boys are going to see the new Star wars movie and Hannah and I are going to go skating. Something to celebrate them doing a good job and being brave at starting a new school.

Here are some picts of their 1st day!! Enjoy!!

Tomorow is the big day!

Tomorrow is the kids first day! I am anxious and excited. Open house was a success! The kids have great new teachers and they are really ready for school. We spent today together just enjoying each other. Chris suggested taking the kids to Chuck E. Cheese, since we had never been there and he got a coupon from the paper!! We had a blast. Then we went fishing. It has been a wonderful last few days and we are all excited about tomorrow. Just wanted to post some of my favorite picts from the last few days. Will post more tomorrow!!

My new niece, Kairis Elysa!!

My little Oregonian niece arrived safely on August 8th, 2008 at 6:16pm. Her name is Kairis Elysa Thomas and she weighed in at 8lbs, 10oz. 21 inches long.

Isn't she just adorable?! From what I last heard, baby and mommy get to go home today!! Yeah!! I am so glad that she arrived safely and quickly, just as we have been praying for since we heard she had missed her due date!! What an awesome birthday to chose for yourself!!

Just wanted to post this since it has been a highlight for the end of our week!!

Our car and thoughts it triggered!

Since I last wrote, I took our car into an auto repair shop to see if they could figure out why our car won't hold air conditioning. With the average high this week being 105 and the kids going to school next week, it seemed like a good thing to do.
And while I sat in the waiting room as I saw them lift our lovely green beast up, I thought about what a sweet car it has been for us. When we got it back before Nathaniel was born, it was shiny, it smelled new, it felt cool because everything seemed so fresh and un-old. We had 2 kids we brought home from the hospital in it. It has endured 3 major moves with us, which included many trips to many places to see family and such. Overall, in the almost 10 years we have had it, it has done us really well. It even endured us using it as a single car and Chris scratching the front end of it on every parking spot, as well as the kids using it as a jungle gym. I thought of all the fun memories we have had in it as I sat there.
From its exterior now, it looks like a real winner. Covered in red Oklahoma dirt, with little dents and dings all over its body and an awesome green strap holding the trunk shut along with the squealing hubcap and lack of a/c, it is no question now that the new "fresh" has worn off and has been replaced by an old, mostly reliable car.
As I sat and waited some more, I was struck by the verses in 2 Corinthians 4:1-18, especially vs 16-18, which say, "Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. ". I am like our car. When God gave me to my parents, I was fresh and new. As time and circumstances have passed, the new has worn off and what is left is a decaying old jar.
As it says there, our light and momentary stuggles achieve for us eternal glory that renews us everyday, so that we may focus on what's important, and that is Christ. That was an awesome thought for me, considering all the little bumps in the road we have gone through in just about every step we have taken in my adult life.
I am not sure what the future holds for our car. With a few repairs, maybe a couple 100 miles and more memories, but for now, she is going to remind me everyday that I drive her that underneath my flabby, overweight, 30 year old body is a heart that God loves and wishes to renew by His awesome glory everyday, if only I seek Him and allow Him to do so.
Just something I wanted to share.
On a side note, kids got enrolled in school well and we won't know teachers until next week when they have open house. Today we just stayed inside and did pretty much nothing, it was so hot. Tomorrow we are hoping to play in the swimming pool and outside for some fresh air before the heat hits. Friday Chris is off, so we are thinking of going to OKC and heading to the memorial gardens and eat at Krispy Kreme for b-fast!!
Hope all of you are well and doing fine. I just wanted to post that thought before I lost it. :-)
Living one day at a time and learning to continue to trust the great God that holds my heart!