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!!

our first week of school

Hi all! The kids first week was a success. Nathan said, "School gets better everyday because, 1, I am making new friends and 2, I am learning new stuff." As for Hannah, she actually cried tonight because she missed her new friends from kindergarten and she wished she had school tomorrow. Imagine that.
As for me, I spent the entire day Thursday in my classroom, getting it prepared for my 4 year olds that will come Tuesday. I hope I am ready to do this. With all that, Chris is the one who has had the busiest week. He has had 3 interviews this week, 2 on the same day. He interviewed with Glenwood springs, colorado; Norman, Oklahoma; and Danville, Illinois. Glenwood couldn't offer him a relocation package and wondered if that was important. He said that he couldnt make the move without it, so they are a no. The other two were super great interviews and he is anxiously looking to hearing back from them. Danville was a really fun interview. He said they mostly talked about teamwork and how being a hands-on manager was a necessity in their store. They only have 2 zone managers in their store, it is smaller and more laid back. Norman is bigger and more crazy, but since Chris is familiar with the area, they liked his heart and knowledge for the people there. The guy from Norman said he wished he didn't have to interview any other candidates after Chris' interview. WE are just praying that since both interviews went so well, that God will continue to do what he has so far; definate yes or no. So if you could be praying. Chris is assuming he will hear from them after the holiday, as Labor day is a huge one for them at the company.
Other than that, those were the big things this week. Tomorrow is church and I start teaching int he 2's and 3's. I am only doing it for September because Alisha needed someone to cover while she looked for replacements. I told her with all the unsurity of Chris and taking on a job outside of the home, I needed a break for my family's sake. It will be just me tomorrow, since my regular helper, Rebecca, has taken on 3 jobs for the sake of her family. I will miss her help, but totally understand her situation!! I just wish in a lot of ways that there was more support from the children's department or something. Seems like they are always begging for help and with no one stepping up to help, the workers who are involved get burnt out really fast. I know it is that way with just about every other church in america.
Anyways, Monday the kids and I are just hanging out. Tuesday is my first day with the preschoolers and Wednesday is small group kickoff. I am a little nervous about it since we haven't gotten a phone call about whether or not we got into a group. I would like to go to the kick off, but am a little anxious because it will be the kids and I going alone since Chris has to close all week.
Well, need to fold laundry, wash some dishes and finish some of my lesson for tomorrow. Hope all is well in your world and will post later this next week. Till then, all Gods blessings to you all!

1st day of school!!

Just had to post this morning. Kids have been at school for about an hour now. I was on to balance the checkbook and needed to write about last night and today.
Last night we were setting out clothes and making sure we had everything ready and Nathan says, "You know mom, I really want to get up tomorrow and read my bible before I go to school. I want to be good at that." I told him I thought that was a great idea. That anytime I started my day off with reading God's word, it was a great day. I tucked him into bed and he wanted to go ahead and start reading. I told him he could while I took a shower, but when I was out, he needed to shut his light off and get some sleep because school was today. So I get a shower and come out to check on him and he is still reading out loud to himself. He says to me, "Mom, I really love reading my bible. Can I sleep with it?" I said I guess so, so he stuck it under his pillow. Then he smiled at me and said, "I am sleeping with a real sword.". I said, what sword, and he pulled his bible back out. He said, "Now, when Satan tries to mess up my sleep, I can bonk him on the head and tell him to go away. " I smiled and said, " As long as you don't accidentally bonk Daddy or me..." We laughed and he went to sleep. Hannah was out, already excited about the day. She was up first this morning, raring to go. She reminded me again that she was not going to miss me because Mrs. Kingery was so nice.
Then she and I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and orange juice. We went and woke up the boys and enjoyed b-fast together and reading some of the bible before heading to get dressed.
I peeked in on Nathan in his room and he was sitting on his chair, with his little bible opened. I smiled at him and waved and went to put my clothes on. Coming back to make sure he was getting ready, he had turned on in his radio Phillips, Craig and Dean's praise album and was getting dressed and singing to God. It was the most amazing thing. It just reminded me that things are different in his heart and he really wants to be a witness to his friends. He on purpose put on a shirt that said, "Play hard, Pray hard.". I was really touched.
We did pictures at the house and at school, as it began to rain. I used my kodak and the barely remaining battery so I could blog those today.
WE took Hannah to her room and she hung up her backpack and set out her lunch and then started coloring at her desk. We did pictures of her in her room and then gave her hugs and told her we loved her. We headed downstairs to Nathan's room and all the 1st graders were waiting outside. WE saw one of Nathan's fellow classmates in the hall with his mom and he was crying. Nathan smiled and waved at him, but he was still sad. I leaned down to Nathan and said, "Maybe you could be Jesus to Zeke today. That might make him feel better." Nathan said, "I was just thinking that, mom. He could really use Jesus to make his heart happy." The bell rung and they all went inside. Nathan was the first one in and Ms. Milbourne, said, "well hi nathan." He went right to his desk and got his stuff out. Zeke chose to sit right next to him, so he smiled at us and we waved and took his picture and left.
I am so blessed with such wonderful kids and ones who are so thoughtful. I am so glad that God is with them and that they are aware of that. I will have to post again after they have had a chance to share what a good day they had. All I could think when i got home was, "God, I pray you show yourself to my kids and that Nathan has the best day, since he put so much of you into it this morning."
Ok, going to try to download the photos. Enjoy! Will write again soon!
Oh, one more thing I almost forgot. Chris got 2 phone calls here in the last 2 days. One from Glenwood springs, Colorado and Norman, Oklahoma. He has interviews with them tomorrow, so be praying for God to make it obvious to both parties whether this is his will.

ok, its been an hour and no picts. better luck next time, sorry!!

A big day for everyone

After a full weekend of baby shower, seeing cute little Rowdy Benedick and eating yummy zucchinni cake at Grandma's, we were home last night to get ready for open house at the kids school. We spent the morning digging in other areas to find my digital camera battery charger, but no luck. Found many other things that we forgot about. Anyways, so we had to run to the store so I could take pictures of their open house. We got there around 4. It was scalding hot and none of the schools are air conditioned, so we felt for the teachers. This was their first day back into the rooms, so they had been their all day. It seemed that most of them had gone home to clean up. We went in and walked the downstairs so that we could locate Nathan's new room. We saw that his friend Seth and Will were together in one room and that in the next room was his friend Caleb. His teacher's name is Ms. Milbourn. He has several of his previous classmates in their with him, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Well, since the older kids open house didn't start till later, we went upstairs to see where Hannah was. The first room we came up on was Mrs. Houser, who is like the mom of all the kindergarten teachers. She was in the hall greeting every kid she saw. She asked Hannah if she was ready for school and asked her to check her wall to see if she was up there. Nope, but her friend Carson was, so we moved to the next room. Mrs. Sauvage, who was pretty new last year. Hannah's name wasn't on her tree, so we knew she had Mrs. Kingery, who was Nathan's teacher last year. She got super excited and nervous as we peeked in the room. Mrs. Kingery greeted her and showed her where her desk was and where her cubby was. She then asked Nathan about his summer and if he had seen his room yet. We filled out a couple of papers and grabbed our packet to take home and then went into the hall to drop off supplies. As we were leaving the room, Hannah said to me "Mom, don't worry. I won't even miss you. I just knew I would have Mrs. Kingery and I am glad." I gave her a hug and told her I was really glad too. She was really eager to get her stuff in her class box. I was proud of her and her excited spirit about it. I am so happy and ready for her first day. It is sad in a way, but so exciting in another. We then went downstairs to meet Nathan's teacher. She was in the room and had the kids do a little scavenger hunt to put their supplies away. Then he got to choose where he would sit in class. He chose a desk in the corner by the window at a group of three. He was the 2nd kid to arrive, so he didn't actually get to see his friends. I had the kids make a gift to take the teachers like I did last year. This year we painted little terra cotta pots and then put flowering block in it and made lolly pops into flowers with tissue paper and stuck them in it. Both of the teachers liked that. Anyways, it was great night. We went to Wendys for supper and got frosties since Chris has to close their first day of school.
It was really fun!!
Lets see, other than that, Friday was an eventful evening. We were getting ready to go to Jadyn Kindley's party and the kids were reading in the living room as I was making supper when I heard the sirens got off. Luckily we were playing music and the kids were so involved, that they didn't hear it. Chris was in the bathroom, so I snuck in there and whispered, "I think the sirens are going off, just to let you know." I turned on the tv and sure enough, tornado warnings for us and the county next to us. I interrupted the kids and told them they needed to go to my room. Nathan started to panic. I told him to let his faith in God be bigger than his fear of tornados. I had already put supper in the oven, so I kept checking it and we picnicked on our bed as we watched the weather. Once the storm crossed the river, the rotation died off, but there still was a large hook echo at the south part of town, so they kept watch on it for a while. When they gave the all clear, I called Dawn to see about the party. They actually had been in Target and had to take cover. So they were just getting home and if we still wanted to come over, they had all the party stuff and would do something. So Hannah and I went to the party while the guys had a talk and hung out. It was a sweet party. There were probably about 6-7 little girls there all wearing hula skirts and pretty floral lays. They played 2 games and made little seashell bracelets before opening gifts. Then they had some cupcakes with ladybugs and butterflies on them. After all that, they got their pictures taken and then went downstairs to watch Cinderella. It was really neat. Hannah had a good time and it was fun to just visit and spend time with Dawn and Brian Kindley. He is our youth minister at church and since I don't have any jr. High or high schoolers, I don't know him or Dawn very well except that I had Jadyn in my sunday school class.
We headed to Mom and Dad's after that and got their around 11pm. It was wild. Shower Saturday and went to church with Grandma. It was really neat. Since they live out in the country, they have one minister for 3 little towns, so their services are short and to the point so he can make it to the next town in time for services. Probably about 50 people. The kids stayed until the sermon and went downstairs, had a bible lesson, colored a coloring page and came back upstairs. His sermon was about fortified walls. He had been to Greece and talked about how amazing it was to see the walls around all the cities. That is was made for the cities protection, but that even in the greatest manmade creation will eventually crumble. That our wall is Christ and that he will never crumble. He read from Psalm 71 and gave a blessing to the church, and it was over. It was neat. I really enjoyed it!!
We got home yesterday afternoon and that is a full circle for my blog.
Lastly, Heidi and Mary tagged me and I don't totally know what that means, because I am pretty retarded when it comes to online stuff. I am pretty old fashioned.
So, here are 8 random things about me:

1. I can't leave a bag of 24 rolls of toilet paper uneven. I will pull out way too many rolls and try to find them homes in the bathroom so that the bag is flat and I can stack things on top of it in the closet.
2. When I put dishes away, I am pretty paranoid about things lining up. kind of goes with the whole toilet paper thing. I will rearrange cups for over 5 minutes getting them just right. Wierd, I know
3. I only listen to Contemporary Christian music. I haven't listened to anything secular, on purpose, (elevator music excluded), in probably about 10 years.
4. I would rather snail mail than anything else.
5. One of my most annoying traits and sadly my son does it too, is that I silently repeat things after I say them. (yes, tim, you hate that!:-) Chris says it is fun to watch.
6. I like to plan things at least 6 weeks in advance. Any shorter than that throws me in a panic.
7. I can't sleep without a blanket. Something about the weight of it. 110 heat index outside and I have to have a blanket at least over my waist or I feel naked.
8. I LOVE football!! I don't know what it is about the sport, but it is so much fun. I don't like nintendo games or computer games, but I will play Chris in NFL Blitz and really get into it and kick his butt. I have no idea what I am doing on the game with the buttons and stuff, but apparently my love for the sport flows and I always seem to intercept his passes and score twice as much as him and be clueless as to how I did it. Odd, huh?

Ok, hope you enjoyed those because coming up with all of them has really irritated Percy, our cat, of whose chair I am still sitting in and she is ready for bed. :-)
Lots of love to all of you and will post sometime next week after a full week has gone by. (1st day of school, preschool meeting, church and such)

Exciting news!!

I just had to write tonight before I went to bed about an amazing evening at our house.
We have had a week where the kids had been really centered on them and their stuff. Anyways, we had run to the library today and then Hobby Lobby. I was tired of the attitude, so when we got home, we all sat down and talked about it.
I asked them what they would rather have, their room full of toys or me and they chose their rooms. I said that there was a problem when things were more important than people. Then I posed to them the scenario of what if. What if we had a fire and we could only take one thing out of the house. What would we pick. Nathan said puppy Crosswhite, and Hannah began to cry. I told them that everything in their room could be bought again at walmart. The only thing that wasn't replaceable was them. Hannah proceeded to say, well, if we had a fire, I could get a new bed. So I said, well, how about when Jesus comes back. When he calls to us and says come, he won't let us bring anything but ourselves and the people who love Him with. Then Nathan began to sob. So much so that he couldn't talk. When he finally was able to come to words, he said, "What about my friends? Do I get to take them with?" And then he began to sob again at the idea of leaving them behind. I was moved. I took him onto my lap and said that there was nothing wrong with crying about that. That we all should be moved to tears to think about people going to hell. I told him that was why it was so important that we shared Jesus with the people we care about. Then Hannah began to cry. When asked, she said, for nothing.
About this time, Nathan begins to sob again. I ask him why and he says, "Well, if people are that important, then God must be way more. Mom, I can't do anything without Him. I need Him in my heart for always. Can I ask Him for that?" I began to cry. I told him I couldn't do anything without God either and definately, he could ask. So he prayed, "Dear God, I can't do anything all by myself without you. I need you in my heart for always. Will you come and stay with me? In Jesus name, Amen." Then he looked up at me and said, "I felt Him come in. My heart got all warm inside of me." We hugged and I told him we needed to call dad. I also told him that when God knocks on your heart like that and you let Him in, the first thing he will ask is for you to get baptized. He asked why. I said it was like dying to yourself and God washes all of you clean so that whenever you sin, and you ask for forgiveness, he wipes it clean. I described it to him like a chalkboard. You can erase the drawings with an eraser, and it is clean, but when you wash it down with a rag, it is shiny. I told him that letting Jesus in and getting baptized was a little like that to his heart. He thought that was pretty cool.
After talking to Chris, they are going to talk more and we will decide what to do about getting baptized. I am so proud of him and so suprized and so full of wonder. How he came to those understandings I can't comprehend, but it sure gives me a lot to chew on as for me and my heart for the lost and all that.
As you looked at the title, I am sure you thought we got the job in Texas. Actually, Chris got a call from them and they said that he was the most qualified candidate and the best interview they had, but for some reason, their store manager wanted to go with someone else. He felt relief and told them that he had been praying about where God wanted him and he appreciated their time. They were really impressed with his response. so, on to the next interview!!
Well, going to bed. Couldn't sleep without letting you all know of Nathan's decision.
More later!!

Another week down

Hi all! Well, Chris made it home safely from Springfield. We had a good day at the preschool. I did more preparations for my class come fall. I am really hoping to have the opportunity to teach at least one month this fall. I have gotten name cards and have plans in the works for at least the first month. We met Chris at Palmas for supper Thursday night and then I visited with my sister as Chris unloaded his suitcase and went to bed. Friday we went to Lowes to get Chris schedule and then went home just to hang out together. Chris just wanted to be at home. Saturday we got up and went to Sarah Armstrong's wedding shower. It was the neatest shower I have ever been to. They started it with prayer and then introduced all of Sarah's family and family to be. Then they went through the food line, which was breakfast casserole and banana-strawberry-pinapple slush. it was good. Then Sarah opened her gifts and after that, everyone at the shower circled around her and the two moms and prayed that God would be honored in the wedding and the marriage and the preparation for it. Then it was over. It was so full of God and honoring all the things of Him. It was cool.
Then we headed to Culvers to meet Chris for lunch and then headed home to grab the birthday gift and head to the pool party. It was a neat little party. Will was on Nathan's t-ball team last summer and in his kindergarten class last fall. They are originally from Oklahoma, so we have a lot to visit about too. Well, the 4 boys got into the water and were having a blast. One of the boys had his sister there, so Hannah was glad for that. Within the first 10 minutes of being in the water, Nathan decided to be daring enough to follow his friends down to the 6 ft area. Now mind you , I am scared to death of water and swimming pools where I can't touch the bottom. But I don't want my kids to fear the water. So their practice in it has been limited. Basically, Nathan doesn't know how to do anything but doggie paddle. Well, he got to a point where he couldn't swim and began to sink. It was the most horrifying moment I have ever experienced in my life. I ran to the edge of the pool and reached out for his hand. Luckily, he had doggie paddled enough to be withing reach. I have no idea what I would have done if he hadn't been. WE pulled him out and he was ok. Super shock of adrenaline, and wanting a lifejacket, he hopped back in to resume chasing his buddies. He had a great time the rest of the party. I told him I was proud of how brave he was because if it were me, I would have not wanted to get back in.
We went home to see Chris and tell him of our expereince. WE decided as a family we need to find a way to expose them to swimming more often. Anyway we do, it will be costly, but never as costly as a life of our child.
Sunday was church. We went to 9:30 service and then the kids and I went home while Chris went to work. We spend the afternoon feeling tired and playing a little. hannah really wanted to play farmer, but we didn't get to it.Also, the pool party got cancelled, so since we had promised the kids we would hit Dairy Queen, we went anyways. It was fun. We saw Sarah, the children's minster, and her husband, Adam there.
MOnday Chris was off, so we finished up school supplies and groceries. That pretty much took the whole day. Chris also had his first zone manager interview with Gun Barrell City, Texas. He should know something tomorrow. He also put in 15 other applications with other cities, some of which include: Moore, Ok; Jefferson City, Mo; Texarkana, Tx; Augusta, Maine; Lakewood, Co; and Surprize, Arizona. As you can see, we are trying to keep God's options open. There is one Chris would really like to have, but it won't post until November and that is Neosho, Mo. It would start the first of the year. But we are praying for God's will. The possiblity of here is looking thinner and thinner, so we have resigned to the understanding that our time here in St. Joe is limited. Chris spent the evening with Mike Kadra playing games and stuff. They had a blast.
Lets, see. Tuesday, I went in and met with Pete Smith. He has had to take on a lot with all the changes going on at the church. I had been holding a heart with disrespect for him that I had come to recognize and wanted to go in and apologize to him face to face. It was a really good visit and a lot of good things came from it. I went home to find Chris feeling ill. So we ate lunch and then the kids and I headed out to look for birthday party stuff for Nathan. We went to party america first and scored big. Hot wheels racing stuff on sale for 99 cents. So we got a huge banner that said "Welcome race fans" and a trophy candle, and checkered plates. Then we headed to Michaels to look at cake stuff. They were remodeling, so we didn't find much. We got home to spending the evening with Chris reading stories and making homemade pizza.
Today we got up and went to Kansas City with Amy and Abram. We got there around 11, so we headed to Fritz Railroad restaurant. Abram couldn't get over the coolness of the trains. He didn't want to go anywhere else. We then went up to the crayola store and drew pictures and jumped on the shapes on the floor. by then it was 12:45, and time to head to Kalidescope. We went in and made a bunch of stuff. To our surprize, Holly McDowell and all 3 of her kids were there with grandma. For those of you who don't know who Holly is, she was pregnant about 3 years ago with Ariana and her water broke at 16 weeks. Doctors told her to abort, but she felt in her heart not to. Araina came through it all and is such a sweet little 3 year old. Anyways, they were there, so I introduced Amy and Abram to them. Then they were on their way to go potty, so we spread out from there. After time was over there, we went to Union station to see the trains. They have a new spot there where you can play Thomas, so of course we needed to do that. By then, Amy was looking a little worn. She actually said that anytime she was holding Abram, she was starting to have contractions, so I tried to carry Abram as much as he would let me. We headed home about 3:15 and stopped in Platte City for drinks. Amy was kind enough to get everyone gummy worms and the adults chocolate. (She knew my secret downfall:-) )
She laid down when we got back and Brett was home to take care of Abram. We unloaded our stuff and got started on supper. Then we read a bunch of books and did baths and here I am after putting them to bed, catching up on our news. 'Tomorrow is the only day this week left to clean up and find my camera and battery charger before Monday, open house at Coleman. Friday is Jadyn Kindley's birthday, which has been the highlight of the the week for Hannah. She can't wait. Hannah and Jadyn were Christmas angels together last year. Since then, they have had a way of finding each other in a crowd at church and sticking like glue. It is fun. You should have seen Hannah when she got the invite. :-) !!
Anyways, we are going to her party Friday and then heading to Mom and Dad's after that for the baby shower this weekend for my cousin. We have to be home for Open house Monday afternoon and 1st day is Wednesday!!!
Can't believe it is here!!!
Well, that's it. I have laundry I need to fold so I can go to bed. Till next time, all our love and God's blessings.

A week without Dad

Hello all! I am writing on one of the only nights I either haven't gone to bed early or am not in one of the 2 kids beds.
No one has slept much since Chris is in Springfield. He left Sunday afternoon, after lunch with Mike and Amber. He made it ok. He had his final at 7am Monday morning. We got a phone call at noon to hear that he passed it, a 90%. The rest of the week as been workshops on everything from retaliation to rules of reimbursement. He has connected with many of the guys there and they all have tried to eat out together every evening. One of the managers, Justin, from Weston, is going to travel with Chris home tomorrow. They figured since they were going the same direction, they would look out for one another. It has been a good week for him and he is feeling a lot more at peace with all of this. He should be home sometime tomorrow, depending on when they let out and stuff.
As for us, Monday, we did a school schedule here at the house. Tuesday we helped at the preschool, and today we spent most of our time with Amy and Abram. We all are going to go to Kalidescope next week. It was a REALLY good day. We went to the library and she got a library card. Abram checked out dinosaur books and a dinosaur movie. We found out one thing that was sad. Our favorite library man, Gary, passed away. It just won't be the same there. Everyone seemed a little down. The library both here in town and in Savannah will be closed in the afternoon so that staff can go to the funeral.
Tomorrow we will be at the preschool again. Friday is spending the day with Chris and Saturday involves a bridal shower in the morning and a birthday party in the afternoon. Sunday is the church pool party in Savannah, so that is what our weekend looks like.
Next week is prepping the kids school bags and heading to Kansas for a baby shower before school starts the following week.
Hope that all is well and that you all are ready for a fun fall!
Till next time....

Camping, friends and church stuff

Hi! Well, this week has been one that i have thought several times about logging on and blogging and here I am late to get it done.
Last Friday we all got up and got our stuff together to go camping and headed out after eating lunch at sonic. We stayed at a place east of st. joe called camp pony express. it was really neat. We got there around 3 and checked into the office so we knew where on the grounds to set up our tent. We stayed in Cozy corners, which had a tree swing made of rope and a log. the kids loved that. It had a picnic table and a fire pit. We set up the tent and put our sleeping bags in the tent and set out our coolers from the back of the truck. then of course the first thing to do was to check out the 2 ponds on the place. We fixed up the fishing poles and headed to the ponds. Hannah caught one on her own and was so excited. A little bluegill. After Hannah's first fish, she was done. Nathan caught probably close to 10. He was addicted to it like his dad.
Since Hannah and I were done, we headed back up to the office/guest house. We checked it out. It had a bathroom with a shower and a rec room and a mini store. And our favorite, a big porch swing. We walked back to our tent and sat down and had a really good visit. When the boys got back, we cooked hot dogs and ate chips. Then we whipped our some smores. To Chris and i's surprise, the kids didn't like them. so we ended up eating them all, at least the ones we had made. Nathan wanted an apple instead, and Hannah just wanted the marshmellows. It was funny.
then the kids swang and we just sat and talked for a while. We walked up to see their petting zoo too. they had llamas, sheep, a ram, and a couple of zebu. the kids really liked that. The boys went fishing again after it got dark and hannah and i started up a huge camp fire. We went to bed after the boys got back. when we woke up, we ate granola bars and juice and packed everythiing up. chris wanted to go fishing again. the kids wanted to play on their playground. So we did that and then headed up to the showers. Chris fished for a couple more hours while we swang and visited with the lady in charge.
We headed home and Chris cleaned up. We then went to the mall. They were having their tax free weekend so we got chris a new pair of work boots, which he really needed. We probably saved at least $30.
Sunday Chris had to start inventory at 5am so the kids and I decided to go to the 8am service. They were tired still but awake, so we went, but left at the end of Rodney's sermon. We missed the announcement of a church meeting for "Staff changes". We got home and everyone rested. then we got a phone call from our friends Mike and Amber telling us about the meeting. So, after chris got off work, we went out to dinner with them and then went to the church meeting. Pretty much, it boiled down to that the elders had let go of two staff members and that Rodney would be on sabbatical for 8 weeks in Colorado at a counseling center. Everyone seemed a little surprised. it will be interesting to see how things will go. Pretty much by the end of the meeting, everyone there had decided that the congregation as a whole had become lazy and that now was the time to step up and be what God has asked of us. A week has gone by, so it will be interesting to see what the atmosphere will be like tomorrow. I know for a fact that there are a few families who have left the church due to everything.
On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday we were at home doing our school schedule. thursday we were at the preschool and yesterday Chris was off, so he and Nathan started building a model car. Hannah and I played horses and painted our nails. It has been a nice week. We found out yesterday that families aren't going to be allowed to go to Springfield next week, so instead, we will be working at the preschool Tuesday and Thursday. Chris will be at training until thursday night, so we will know more about everything when he comes home.
anyways, so that is it. today Chris and hannah are going to spend some time today together since he spent the day with nathan yesterday. He will leave after church tomorrow, so he wanted to get some time in with each of them.
i would post pictures of our camping trip like I wanted so much, but the battery burnt out, so we were out of luck. I was really sad about it, but since the trip turned out to be such good time for all of us. Definately something we will do often!!
Ok, till next week, have a good one and keep loving the Lord.

Just Pictures

I am going to start posting from the beginning of the trip until the end. Enjoy!!

(by the way, all of you who regularly post pictures, you either have fast connections, have a lot of time to do this, or are masters at the computer. to you I say, "we're not worthy... we're not worthy" :-)








Pictures of us at Lorries:
#1- Nathan, Rowdy, and Hannah hanging out on the couch.
#2- Everyone getting in some good reading.

Pictures at Mary's:

#1- Everyone on the teeter-totters at Victoria park on the first night.

#2-Nathan, Harley, Hannah, and Hailey on the swings at Victoria park.

#3-Hannah and Hailey in the backyard.

#4- Hannah and Hailey in the guest closet, or should I say, "secret house".

#5- The "boys" playing legos in the living room.

#6- The nightly sleepover with all 4 kiddos!

#7- All the kids at Victoria park by the caboose.
#8- Reading with Aunt Mary

ok, here are some picts

Imagine this. I am on the laptop, and attempting to post some pictures. So, while i am downloading those, I will tell you about our week. We had a good weekend. We did start our school schedule Monday, and even went to Krug park to play. Tuesday, Chris was off and spend the day with the kids while I subbed for the office at the preschool. And it just dawned on me that I am a day early!!! yahoo!!

today we did school and the kids actually got so into doing things, that we went over time by 40 minutes. tomorrow we are helping at the preschool again. Friday we are planniing on going camping at Camp Pony Express. It looks really cool.



When I get all these pictures downloaded, i will make sure to make room for pictures of our camping trip. it is the first time I have been camping since my brother and i did at chase county lake, and the first time Chris has gone since boy scouts, so we are anxious. the kids are pumped!!



ok, here are some from the our trip. enjoy!!


Karen and Hannah at the Boot Hill gift shop being Daniel Boone.

Karen and Nathan being stage coach robbers.

The stagecoach with "real" horses!!

Everyone at the free zoo.

Ok, now, since I have figured this out. I am posting it and will do another one of just pictures and labels. :-)

continuation part 2

Ok, so I left of with our long journey to Mom and Dad's. The day before we left Karen's there was a huge chemical explosion north of Wichita, so I was wanting to take a route that wouldn't put us in the air, for Nathan's sake. We decided to take 56 through Great Bend and then go north on 156 to I-70 and then book it across. Well, eariler in the week, there had been major rain, so parts of 56 were detoured as well as 156 was closed to a point. Now, if you know Kansas very well, detour doesn't mean you get diverted a little ways. No, it means driving 20-30 miles only to go back 10-15 ,miles to dump you out somewhere else. We left Dodge around 10:15, and didn't make it to Mom and Dad's until almost 6pm. We stopped at one point at a McDonalds playland just so that I could rest and the kids could get out and run.
We did make it, though. Mom had supper ready along with some water balloons. We ate and the kids got distracted from the eminent water fight due to 2 things. A brand new kitten and Papa's new train cars. Hannah kept going out to see and sing and visit with the baby kitten. It was so sweet. I wish that I had caught it on tape. She was wandering around on the patio holding the newly opened eyes kitten and telling him how cute he was and singing, "you are a baby kitty" to him. It was sweet. Unfortunately, the mother cat decided to move the baby after the evening was over and the kitty was not to be seen the rest of our trip.
Nathan was evaluating the 2 new train cars that my dad had gotten from Tim for father's day. He lined them up behind a diesel engine and ran them around the track. Then he decided it was time for the steam engine to give it a try. . After Grandma's reminder of the water balloons everyone got a turn at throwing a couple. We then went inside to do baths and bedtime.
Thursday we woke up and mom made a nice breakfast for all of us of waffles. Hannah was her special helper. We then went down to grandma's for lunch and we spend the afternoon playing games. We played stadium checkers probably about 15 times as well as chinese checkers and regular checkers. The little people stuff was a big hit too. We had arranged to go to the farm that evening, since it would be the only time to see Joy. We planned to spend the night with Grandma Friday night, so we left there and went to the farm.
Now, since in the last 3 months the kids had been to Shatto dairy farm here in St. Joseph, they were much more interested in the animals and production at the ferdinands. Hannah was super excited about the calves. Nathan hit it off with Jake. We went and told Joy hello and then walked down to the newest calves before seeing the big mommy cows. Then we went to see the rest of the calves. while we were in the calf barn, my dad was cleaning their stalls and giving them new water and hay. So, Nathan and Hannah helped with that. They were having a good time of letting the calves eat hay from their hands. And it helped dad with the chores he was doing. We then decided before we hit the sand pile, we should enjoy some lemonade that Joy had offered us. After a glass of lemonade and about 10 minutes of chasing Jake, we made it to the sand pile. Who knew that Jake was so much fun in the sand. Nathan would race up, followed by Jake, who would sit down on his stomach and wait. Hannah was busy make a horse stall in the sand to bother with the "boys". Jake would watch Nathan slide down the pile and then he would put his front two paws out towards the bottom and slowly slide until he was sideways. Then he would roll over the rest of the way down and race back up again, only to do it over. I laughed and Nathan thought it was the best thing. He so needs a dog.
Anyways, then it began to sprinkle, so we got shoes back on and were looking to head back to mom and dad's when the bottles of milk for the bottle calves came out. Well, Nathan and Hannah were ready to be a part of that. After the first calf, though, Nathan was done. He didn't much enjoy the jerk at the end that the calf gave. Hannah, however, was glad to feed another. She ended up feeding 9 calves total. She was in farm heaven.
We went home and washed up and headed to bed. Friday, Dad was off, so the kids played with him all morning while I did some laundry and packed up for home. I made a seperate bag for spending the night with Grandma 8. We headed there in time for supper and played bingo with her before beginning the night routine. Grandma and I stayed up a little looking at some old pictures of her and her family. It was nice.
We woke up Saturday morning to eat some muffins that she had baked special and then got ready to head out for St. Joe. It was hard to leave her. I am so thankful that my kids get to know at least one of my grandparents and they have such an amazing friendship with her. It means so much to me.
Anyways, we made it home in time for lunch with Chris. The kids were hungry for Ryans, of all things. We showed him all our pictures and the kids played and hugged him for quite some time. It was nice.
At church, we realized that this week was Vacation Bible School. So they were excited for that. We missed Sunday night, however, because we got busy with Brett, Amy and Abram and lost track of time. We went Monday night and they kids were with friends they knew. It was a really fun week for them and they really learned a lot. Since I hadn't signed up to help due to not knowing anything, I went with Hannah's group Wednesday night and with Nathan's group Thursday night. It was my favorite of the VBS's we have been to so far at Central. Really memory verse focused.
Other than VBS, cleaning up after being gone 10 days, grocery shopping and a trip to the library were a part of this week. We are glad to be home and are starting next week on getting everyone back on a school schedule. We will see how that goes.

AS for things with Chris, he is in the final crunch time of his training. He had to be in Independence this week for some training and goes to Olathe 2 days next week for more. Then they have inventory, which he is a part of and the week after that they are sending him to Springfield for his final week, where they test him and evaluate him and pretty much scrutinize him to a fault. He will either leave that week an official zone manager, or a failed mtp candidate. He is really worried because in addition to all that, he has to have his department ready for heating and Christmas by the end of his springfield week. He lost 2 guys from his department while the kids and I were gone and so it leaves him, Eric and Charlie (who just returned from having pretty major surgery done to his arm). We have been doing a lot of praying about what God is going to do with us next. We really don't want to leave St. Joseph as it is home to everyone and we see so many things that we need to do here, however, at this point, there is no advancement at the St. Joe store and if the store manager had something to say, he would fire Chris if he had the option to. For Chris to become his assistant is not in the near future. There is a lot of unknown and a lot seems to be conflicting. We want so much to do Gods' will and we want to so much be a more active part of the church. We just don't see any openings in any direction. So, if you would be praying.

Well, that is about it from the land of the Crosswhites. I am hoping as I am starting a school schedule with the kids starting Monday that I will be on here every Thursday night. We will see, though. Until then, feel free to leave us a comment and we will look forward to writing again!!
Hopefully my next blog will be pictures of our trip. :-)
All our love!!!!

Its going to take two days for this one!

Hello all!
Well, since the last time I wrote, so much changed.
So, since there is so much to catch up on, I am going to start, and then finish tomorrow.

First off, in looking at our travel itenerary, it was agreed that doing all of it was not financially affordable and Chris really wanted us home for some major decision making regarding his job situation and stuff.

So, we decided to cut the trip to Louisiana. Not because we didn't want to see Chris' mom or help her, but because we knew she would understand. She had a friend, Mary Carter, coming to visit and we knew that she would be taken care of.

So, we packed up the car and headed out Thursday morning around 8:30. Our goal was to make it to my cousin, Lorrie's for lunch and see baby Rowdy again. After a mix up on my part, we made it there around 12:30. Rowdy had already eaten and had a nap, so he was ready to go. My kids enjoyed playing with Lorrie's dog, oreo and entertaining Rowdy. Lorrie and I got in a nice "mother's " visit and then convinced the kids that they could pause long enough to eat. Lorrie had prepared roast beef sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. Rowdy played with his feet in the bouncy chair as we ate. After lunch, the kids wanted to see Rowdy in his swing, so they played with him their. Oh, and when we arrived, we had brought a puppy soft book for Rowdy, unaware that he LOVES to read. So, Nathan read the story to him and Rowdy was an attentive audience. I will have to post random pictures from the laptop later.
Anyways, then before we left, Lorrie offered the kids oreo cookies and milk. It was such a nice visit!!!
We then headed on to Mary's. We got there around 5:30, as we didnt' leave Lorrie and Rowdy until close to 3pm. Mary's town was really nice and quiet, so after seeing how her and Jon had made it up since the wedding, we planned a picnic lunch and walked up to their local park. We teeter tottered until it looked like rain and then headed back to her house. We did showers and pajamas and then put the kids to bed. Mary and I stayed up looking up weather and talking.
Friday, we walked up to her post office, Nathan riding their garage sale bike. We also walked to their downtown to see the train go by and then crossed the tracks to hit their grocery store so that we could get Hannah some allergy medicine and some ice cream sandwiches.
The kids were thrilled with the town. The small size, the friendliness and the railroad tracks. I told Mary, I could live there with no problems. We went home and watched a movie "Princess and the pauper" and then played some more outside on the bike. About bedtime, Mary found out that Jon and the kids were on their way, so we stayed up to meet Harley and Hailey. They seemed a little confused as to why these new kids were at their dad's house. But, after about 5 minutes, Harley decided Nathan was cool and said, "Come on , best friend. Lets play". They were having so much fun. Hailey was a little more timid, but Hannah was busy trying to talk her into not being shy. We got them to bed around 10.
Saturday was nothing but legos for the boys and the girls deciding that mary's guest closet was the best little house for them to play in. They played all day and had such a great time. We took them up to the park again to play and then brought them home for supper. It was a huge slumber party in the living room that night as they had all become good friends. It was sweet to see. Once again, pictures to come soon, I hope!! After the kids went to bed, Mary and I went to Walmart and left all the sleeping kids with Jon. It was nice to get to disappear and visit. We got some chocolate and sodas, which were so good for us. :-) I sure do appreciate the friendship I have with her and it was nice to see her interaction with the kids. They were sweet kids and I know that the love of God that Mary and Jon show them will change their lives. That is my prayer. Anyways....
We woke up Sunday and got ready for church. Harley decided to share his fire truck video with everyone. WE all learned so much, at least, I did. Then it was a decision the the boys would ride with Jon and Mary to Church and with me to McDonalds and the girls would ride with me to church and with Jon and Mary to McDonalds. That was fun. A chance to hear them visit with one another. Church was really great and the kids had a lot of fun.
McDonalds for lunch before playing a little and then heading on to Dodge City to see Karen.
It was hard to part the kids. Harley asked a couple of times when he would get to come to our house, to which I didn't know what to say. I just reminded him that when Mary moved to Great Bend after classes were over that we would visit her and that means we would see them at their home. That satisfied him, but they were still sad.
I truly love them like a nephew and niece, so it will be nice to see them again in the future. They really were sweet kids with so much potential.
AFter McDonalds, we headed out to Karens. It took a little over an hour, but we got there. It was good to see her and her house again. The kids were really excited about her cat, Marty. Which reminds me, at Jon and Mary's, they have 2 cats. Hannah wanted so much to be friends with Lycan, but to no avail. There were moments when Zeva let her pet her. Well, at Karen's, Marty was ready and waiting for a play friend, so they loved having him chase strings and chase after balls and all that.
Karen's church was having a picnic that evening, so we went to that. It was a lot of fun. Hamburgers, hot dogs, homemade ice cream and lots of games. it was so much fun. I wish our church was as kind and friendly and so much like family as they were.
There was a balloon race, a treasure hunt, a water balloon toss, a tiger chasing game, and a newspaper fashion contest. Karen got to be the female model and an older gentleman was the male model. Well, our fashion design was a bride and groom. Since Karen's best friend, Kim, is getting married this year, it was lot of fun to think about saving all the costumes for their wedding. Pictures to come:-)
The kids met some new friends and were having a blast with all that. Actually, when it was time to go, the friend who was playing with Hannah started crying because, "she was never going to see that friend again". I felt bad. We headed back to Karen's and got everyone to bed.
Karen had a full Monday for us as downtown historic Dodge had some neat summer activities. We went down to Boot Hill and rode a real stagecoach. If you asked Hannah about it, her reply was, "A real stagecoach with real horses. It even had a kind of palomino." She really liked that. After that, we took a picnic lunch to a park in Dodge that had a free zoo. So we ate there and then saw all the animals. For a free zoo, it had a lot of neat animals. They had a tiger, 2 bears, some wolves, buffalo, cougars, monkeys and of course, horses. I guess the people of Dodge adopt an animal and that allows the zoo to be free of charge. it was neat.
Well, after that, the heat got to us, so we went back to Karen's apartment and watched "Eight below" and rested. Karen had a double header game that night, so we were resting for that. She played third base the first game and the kids enjoyed cheering for her. they won 11-4.
The kids by this time were getting a little squirmy, so I took them over to play at the playground nearby. We played there for a little while and then went to watche the last of her last game. She was center outfield and they lost 15-13 .
the kids were really proud of her. WE then made a Dillons run. The kids got to ride in a Nascar shopping cart, so of course, Aunt Karen had to take them on a few laps around the parking lot. it was fun. We went home and then went to bed. Tuesday we woke up and went to another park close by. She drove us by her new duplex that she is now moved into as of today.
We played there and then went back to her house to eat baby pizzas and then play in her neighbors sprinkler. She had class, so while she was gone to that, we packed up the car and stuff so we wouldn't have to do that while she was there. When she returned, she had planned to take us to their local band concert that was outside. Some friends from her church play in it. So the kids got to see again some of their friends from Sunday afternoon. After that, she took us to Dairy Queen for a treat. We headed home and that was the end of that day.
I didn't realize that she had class at 9 Wednesday morning. For some reason, I thought it was at 10, so we all woke up at like 8:45 and she was pretty much leaving for school. I felt bad. It was an awkward goodbye. So the kids and I made her notes to leave behind. We headed to Mom and Dads via a long day that I will have to save for tomorrow.

Right now I am tired and need some sleep, so to be continued...................