Speeding Through...

I can't believe that today is December 1 already. What happened to November?? Life in our house has been plugging away. I lost my voice at the beginning of the month which makes teaching difficult. I had to stay home that day. That also happened to be the day the Joe "disappeared". The next week Lydia was blessed with pink eye. I was sad to say home, but even more upset that she had to miss Awana. She loves going and spending time with other children, learning about God, and learning her verses. Her daddy and I are very proud of how well she is doing. The rest of the month went by without a hitch. We got the house all decorated, but decided to not put any up outside. Call me a Scrooge, but no one ever sees them and I freeze my toosh off taking them down each year (those that the wind or the dog haven't gotten yet). So, they stayed in the box. Black Friday shopping was fun with Darla. Although after 5:00 a.m. I just couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep on the way home. I got everything wrapped and under the tree already. I'm waiting for 3 books and 4 movies to come in the mail that will have to be wrapped, and I still have a gift card to purchase and then I'm COMPLETELY DONE!!!

Until next time...

"Missing" Family Member...

Since my sister, Darla, doesn't really blog, I'm going to tell the story for her...

Yesterday my brother-in-law, Joe, went to work for an 8:00 training meeting which was across the street from the place he works. Darla had talked to him at 7:30 and everything was fine. At 9:30 she found out that he had never made it to work. Thinking the worse (as anyone in this situation would), his employer sent out people to start looking for him and they also reported him missing. Darla called me (I was home sick) and I of course freaked out. I called my dad who came over so we could help look also. I called Gail at work and he left work to start looking. Joe's father left to head to Eddyville to start looking as well as Joe's brother-in-law, Kenny. Joe's mom, Cindy, and sister, Sarah, started calling all the police departments in the counties that he drives through on the way to work. No one had reported any accidents, but they said they would start looking. Joe's brother, Bill, called the hospitals in the areas, but no one could find him. Everyone had been calling his cell phone, but Joe wouldn't answer. At 11:30 Joe called Darla and said that he was fine, and that he had been at work. He had gone straight to the training meeting and not clocked in (not sure if he was to do this or not). When he hadn't clocked in, his car was not in the parking lot, and he wouldn't answer the phone, they assumed that he was not there. It really freaked everyone out, but in the end it all worked out and everyone was safe. I pray that we never that to go through that again.

New Church...

Gail and I have found a church that we BOTH like and enjoy attending - Mark Baptist Church. We've tried several churches in our area, but none of them felt like "home". I grew up attending church and was baptized at a young age. When I met Gail, we starting attending the Lancaster Baptist Church. Gail was baptized there and we enjoyed going. Over time pastors changed and the people changed and it started to feel more like an obligation to go rather that we really wanted to go. We stopped going for a couple of years. During that time I started to really think about what I wanted in a church. I actually had a check list.
#1 - We could enjoy worship as a family.
#2 - Had a great kids program.
#3 - Felt like home.
#4 - Great pastor.
#5 - Strong Church family.
#6 - Not to far from home. (I know that sounds bad).

I tried out a couple of churches, but they didn't meet every part of my checklist. During this entire time my sitter kept trying to get us to their church. Gail had wanted to go a couple of times, but I really didn't. Finally, one Sunday morning in early August I decided that we were going to her church. Gail couldn't go because he had something to do. I waited in the lobby for Tina and her family and they were surprised to see Lydia and I there. During that service I had so many emotions. The story really touched me. I laughed, I cried, and it was one of the best times that I've ever had. The next week, Gail went with me and he had the same feelings. We LOVE our new church. I love the feelings I have the entire week after going and I notice that my attitude has changed. I really watch the things I say and do. My check list has turned into my list of the things that we love about our church and I have also added another.
#7 - Being a Christian is not just a Sunday activity.

The church family up at our new church lives and breathes being a faithful Christian. I LOVE IT!!! I hope that all of my readers (hopefully I still have readers) have a church that they love and enjoy going to. I can honestly say that it has made a difference in our lives.

Awana Question...

Lydia started Awana this past week. Gail was a little questionable on her ability to remember her verses. However, we've been practicing on 3 verses that were in her handout she brought home. After a few minutes of going over them, all I have to do is say the first word and she gets it. I'm very proud of her. She is excited to go back this week (hopefully she'll still be feeling well by then).

I have a question for you Awana leaders out there - Does perfect attendance count the singing at church on Sunday mornings or just Wednesday nights? My computer at home is messed up so I can't get to facebook or any of my e-mail contacts. So just message me on here - THANKS!!

Back Into the Swing of Things...

It has taken a couple of weeks, but I've finally gotten back into the swing of things. The first week back to school (although it was only 3 days) was very straining. My yard and house work went to pot. The second week was better. That week I basically just got the yard mowed. It took for almost 7 hours and 2 days after school to get it done. This week, my yard still looks good, my house is getting cleaned, the laundry is washed (1 load is still in the dryer), and I've been pretty good at getting the dishes washed. I would complain at this point about not having a dishwasher, but I haven't had a dishwasher since I lived with my parents so I don't really miss it.

Lydia has finally gotten back into her routine also. We've had a few rough mornings, but overall pretty good. She will be starting Awana next week. I'm a little nervous about her starting because this will be her first "thing". She's not big on strangers unless Gail or I are around, and even then she really won't talk. I know that once she gets going she'll be fine and it will be good for her in many ways. She's grow socially and also learn about God. I'm also looking forward to the time when I can get things done around the house (quickly) so that we can enjoy our time together.

Gail had his yearly "August trip to the ER". It happens every August. This year he hit his hand on a table at work just kidding around and it started swelling and turning colors. He had apparently broken his hand a few weeks prior without knowing it. When he hit his hand he rebroke it. It was the 2 year anniversary of his horse accident. Next August 17, he's staying in the house!!

Until next time...

Back to Work...

In my last post I listed some of the things that I'm going to miss when I head back to work. Don't get me wrong, I have loved this summer, but I'm also kind of ready to go back. So to try and convince myself of this a little more I decided to make a list of the things I'm looking forward to.

1. Being around adult again. (I have the best coworkers EVER!!!)
2. Lydia going back to the sitter's house and getting out of her attitude.
3. Getting back into responsibility mode.
4. My "meditation" that I get each day while driving to work.
5. The 7:00 a.m. phone calls to wake my parents up.
6. Not feeling guilty when it is 5:00 and I have no clue what is for supper.
7. Starting Fly Lady again. (She really keeps me on top of things.)
8. To stop my addiction to Facebook games. (I wish I would have never figured them out.)
9. Seeing students everyday and TEACHING!!!

Until next time...

Headed Back to School...

I can't believe that August is here already. I completely and totally loved this summer. After my school year last year, I was in need of a nice long vacation. We haven't really done anything as a family this year. I'd still like to go to the zoo one weekend, but that doesn't look like it is going to happen with the rain and Gail trying to get the hay finished. However, Lydia and I have had a blast. I've decided to make a list of all the things I'm going to miss.

1. Watching Lydia learn and play.
2. SLEEPING IN!!
3. Staying in my pajamas all day.
4. Taking my time eating lunch.
5. Cuddle time in the middle of the afternoon.
6. Having my house clean before the weekend so I can do whatever I want to do.
7. Having the laundry caught up.
8. Laying on the couch reading a book.
9. Staying up late and have to worry about getting up in the morning.
10. Not hearing my alarm clock.
11. Lydia getting to sleep in.
12. Waking her up and her giving me a bug bear hug and smile. Not looking forward to the crying and begging to let her sleep.
13. Going for days without driving.
14. Watching movies with Lydia and not having to think about the stack of paperwork that needs to get graded.
15. ...many, many more!!