A Day in my Life 4/16

*I am LOVING the 4th Katie book. Ok, there was not doubt in my mind that I would. But I did not expect it to become my favorite of all the books, which it quickly is becoming. The setting of this book opens up so much wonderful stuff for Robin to teach us. And there is even a good healthy dose of Forever Friendships sprinkled in, despite the distance!

*I have an annoying habit. Well, maybe not for me, but for those around me. When I read a book, I like to jump into a bubble. The world in the book. And it irritates me to have my bubble popped by the real world around me! Especially at very key parts of a book. Not such a great thing when you are mom and people need you in their world! I think that is why I like to read at night. Let everyone else sleep so I can stay in my bubble. But, John gave me a lecture last night about not staying up all night reading. So, I am left to read with others inside my bubble! It doesn't help that my bubble is tied to my computer screen!

Maybe I need one of these*My friend, Britt Hauck, wrote this wonderful blog entry and I thought I would share it. A good reminder about loving those around us and being patient with their stories. And remembering that everyone has a story that directs their life. It reminded me of something Robin wrote in the 3rd Katie book.

One of her characters says, "So, if I love God, and I mean really love God with abandon, then I must come to love myself, my life. I need to love my story at the heart level. That's what I believe life is for all of us. A story being written by God. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. When I start to love my story, with all its messed up twists and turns, then I can love other people who are living out their own stories with all their messed up twists and turns." He goes on to talk about someone he needs to forgive and says, "I don't know that guy's story. Why would he do that? What demonic force pressed in on him to act that way? I mean, if I am going to go around saying I love God, then I have to trust him and believe that everything in my life first passed through his fingers. Nothing happens outside his control. He alone will bring all things to justice one day. All I am supposed to do is love my story so that I can love that guy's story too."

*Finished Katie this afternoon. Love, love, loved it! Sad to see it end though. The nice thing about Robin though is she continues to give you little tidbits about characters in other books. So, I am hopeful this is not the last we hear of Katie. I can't wait for my girls to read the book so we can talk about it. It has so much good stuff in it!

(DeEtta, after I read Bre's Princess post, I got the idea that she might enjoy reading the Katie books. All of the Forever Friend books are good and I enjoyed the younger one's even at my age, but Katie's books are more her contemporary and the princess analogy really reminded me of Katie. I don't know if any of your girls have read these books, but I highly recommend them. I also thought it was cool that the there seems to be an Open Bible connection going on. I am not sure if Robin used to be in Open Bible or not as she doesn't really talk about denomination, but I think she was, and the University that she created was inspired by an Open Bible school.)

*Jessica had Life Skills coaching today. She spends 3 hours, 2 times a month, with a Life Skills coach who helps her with skills to get around in the community. They have been working on money skills and interviewing lately. This is a service that became available to us after she got her case manager with Regional services. This summer she will work with Life Skills in their STEP program. Summer Teen Employment Program. She will work with a job coach at a summer job in the community. We haven't yet found out where she will be working.

*Still waiting on news from the new pastor. I joked on FB that it's all a ploy to up the hits on the new church website as we all head to it multiple time a day in hopes of news. :-)

*Working on adding game cards to our Forever Friends game. The Katie book provided lots of cool stuff for our Sightseer cards. Had to update our Gunnopoly game as well as I had discovered that we had one of our locations wrong. Decided to change one of the other graphics as well, which, unfortunately, is on the complete opposite side of the board of the other change, so I had to print both sides again.

*Working on "gifted training" over at Webkinzinsider site. They have a very structured trading policy at the site which requires extensive training to insure that members make fair trades.

*Read all of 1 Thessalonians last night since our prospective pastor preached out if yesterday and it provides a key verse in the Katie book. I literally l laughed out loud when I got to chapter 5 verse 26 "Great each other with a holy kiss." Since we had a "kiss cam" going at times yesterday and I had actually been thinking of that verse.

The pastor gave us a bit of Bible trivia. 1 Thessalonians is the only book in the Bible that mentions the second coming in every chapter. Sure enough, it was in every chapter. Of course, I didn't check the validity that the other books don't do the same. :-) but I trust him on that!

A Day in My Life 4/15

*While sitting in church, having just handed in my ballot, I posted on FB, "We are moments away from hearing the answer to 2.5 years of prayer." Later in the day, I posted, "Somehow, it seems appropriate, after such a long wait, to still be waiting. Good to be waiting with peace though."

Yes, we are still waiting. 96% of the members voted yes, but we are still waiting for the new pastor to hear his final confirmation from the Lord. Everyone is pretty confident we have a new pastor, given what he has already told us, but we are continuing to wait on the Lord.

It is hard, I will admit. It was a let down to walk out of that church and still not know. But, as I said, it seems somewhat appropriate. And I have to say, not surprising. This time is going to be different. We knew that 2 years ago, when we lost our former new pastor. That this time would have to be different. Last time we RUSHED everything. So, the fact that we are taking this so slooooow seems right.

We are still reserved, but we are at peace. And I will be glad when the waiting is over!

(Though I personally will still have to work out what it looks like to have two churches. But, I think I can make it work. I have for 1.5 years, I think I will be able to continue to do so, but it sure would help if we could go back to two services!!)

*"So, I am thinking we started on that connect and get to know each other thing this morning. Maybe a few people a little too well. ;-)" - I posted that statement because of what happened in the long time we had to wait for the vote to come back. One of the things that the perspective pastor said was that he felt we didn't know each other. After being "stuck" in a sanctuary for a looong time with about 500 people waiting for the vote to come back, things go a little fun. The camera men had fun playing like ballpark cameramen, focusing on various people and putting it up on the "jumbotron" aka screens. It was a fun and hilarious time and I think it was good. Though, I kept thinking that if after that party atmosphere, they came back with a no, it was really going to be hard! And it was hard to come down from the party with "wait". But, it was a good time while we sat and waited together!

*"Today, I won a trophy on Webkinz that took a lot of patience. But, then I turned around and bought an e-book that should arrive any day in my mail box. So much for patience. LOL"

I won the Happy Little Rocket trophy on Webkinz. Have tried for it many times, but failed. Came VERY close several times, but failed. In those attempts, I discovered that it was going to take at least a half hour to finish the game and win. So, it's been a few months since I have tried. I didn't have the time or energy to put into it for awhile. But, today, I decided to go for it, and I won!! I have been saying for awhile that that trophy is a trophy for patience because you definitely need patience to play and win that game.

Zoe the Peace Puppy in the Rocket "trophy"

But, then what did I do next with my time? I impatiently went to Robin Jones Gunns' FB page to see if there was ANY indication of when we would get our Katie books. She said they were packaging and shipping them last week and we should get them soon. Sigh, ok. Then I noticed a fan's comment on her page. While the book is not available on Kindle, it IS on Google Play! Had never heard of Google Play, but you can bet I googled it immediately and minutes later I started reading the long awaited 4th Katie book. So, so much for patience!!

Of course Alex is happy because now, when the book arrives in the mail, I will hand it over to her, rather than make her wait. And all her friends will be happy because that means it will start making the rounds to them faster too! :-)

*Speaking of Robin Jones Gunn, I decided to tweak our game some more. I have really wanted to do something with all the wonderful scripture verses woven into the stories from the beginning of our planning stages, but haven't been able to figure out how to include them. I think I may have finally hit upon a plan. So, I will be working on that, along with adding all the wonderful little bits of fun from Katie's book to our other cards! But, for now? Back to Katie!

A Day in My Life 4/14

Most of the day was spent in Meet and Greet meetings with our potential new pastor. More on that tomorrow after we hear him preach and see how things go. But, so far, I like what I hear. Just want to be very open to God's will.

But, I just have to mention one thing. Last time the (non church related) thing that stuck out to me was that the pastor's family was a homeschooling family. This time? The pastor has been a bone marrow donor! Sadly, in his brother's case, the transplant didn't work. But isn't that awesome that I could have a pastor who knows what that looks like?

Status Updates aka A Day in My Life

*Bought tickets for October Baby tonight. Date night with John.

*Dropped Jessica off for class then ran errands. Got gas, price slightly better than the last time I filled up. Found some good after Easter sales at Walgreens. Bank. Library. Grocery store- stocking up on yogurt and frozen fruit for smoothies.

*Ordered LLATL for next year. Really like that language curriculum and just felt like we could use a bit more than the lit and comp with Notgrass. Still looking into a writing program.

*Still trying to figure out what classes I will have Jessica take next year. So strange not to have them all taking the same classes. But I have to adjust to her schedule at the Voc school. She will get three elective credits there. Have to decide which core to do at home.

*I called the hospital about the 27 page bill. I was correct in that it was (in part) a bill for the stem cell donor match test. One page of it was tests from a doctor's visit. Oddly enough, the lady I talked to said that it wasn't yet processed and I don't owe anything at this time. Ok. Good to get the bill and see what they think will be paid, I guess. But, I usually just look online for that. Not sure why they sent a bill they weren't ready for me to pay. Glad I called first! Not sure if this bill was for both my brother and me, or just me. I forgot to ask that part. His test is supposed to be billed to my insurance, but not sure if they are billed all together or not.

*Dinner at Macaroni Grill and then the movie. Both good.

There were some young people in the theater that snickered every time the failed abortion was mentioned. Not sure why. I am guessing they didn't know what the movie was about? I don't know. Then they started running in and out of the theater and eventually settled down. But, other than that it was good. Not a large crowd by any means. I am guessing most people went opening weekend.

We were surprised to see the "Snake King" guy from Courageous in the movie. Didn't know he was going to be in it. I also was surprised to see Jasmine Guy in the movie! Wow, she made me feel old.

I think the movie was well done.

It was nice to go on a date with John that did not include a trip to a doctor's office or hospital.

*Tomorrow we will meet the prospective new pastor for our church. We are approaching this opportunity with mixed emotions. It's time for a new pastor. We have been without one for 2.5 years. So ready for this to happen. And yet, it is hard not to go into this with reservations. We were so excited last time. Really liked the new pastor, were excited about his vision. Even though I knew that it's not all about a man, it's about God, it was hard to have it all crash down in 5 weeks. We had already begun to build relationships, etc. And then they were gone. It's hard not to be a little more reserved this time. We want it to be good and yet, we are almost afraid to get excited about it. Continuing to pray for God's will. And praying that we will listen hard for God's voice and his will as we vote.

I still believe that the last experience was not a mistake. God had a plan. He did not allow so many of us to believe it was His will for no reason. There was a reason for what we went through. Even though it was hard.

Blessed Be His Name played the other day while we were in the car. This is our former new pastor's favorite song. I have cried so many times when it came on. After he left, I started to and continue to use it as a prompting to pray for him and his family and to pray for our churches and our leaders. It was a good reminder again, as we head into this new season. Blessed be the Name! No matter what.

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status updates 4/12

*Going to get my weekly blood test today. Curious to see whether my platelets will be the lowest we have seen them or if they will have bounced back up on their own despite being on the higher dose still.
And the answer is, they are lower. Waiting to see what doc has to say about that.

*Wooohoo! For the first time since December, my phone bill is right. An annoying situation brought on by a lapse in my brain that caused me to actually believe a solicitor when they told me they would lower my phone bill. When in fact they raised my bill and messed stuff up for months. Finally fixed!

*Lunch with John at Mario's after blood work. Yum! John has now taken after me and orders his Philly Cheese-steaks on a pita. Good stuff! I went for a gyro this time.

*Took Jessica in for her endocrinologist appointment for her periodic Vitamin D check up. While discussing things, I told him the results the rest of us got on our D tests. He was a bit shocked! Told me we really need to eat more dairy! We don't drink a lot of milk, but we do eat cheese, ice cream, etc. I guess I need to start making more smoothies, etc. Of course, the chiropractor has told Alex to drop the dairy to help her ears. Kind of a conundrum! John is the only one who hasn't been tested and the doctor wants to test him next time he goes in for his diabetes check up. Wants to see if it is our diet or my genes.

*Jessica now gets speech on a day she doesn't have class. Making it an almost daily trek to school. Not my idea of fun. Guess it's getting me ready for next year when she is at Voc school 5 mornings a week. And it's much better than no speech which is what most of this semester has looked like.

*I will be so glad when all the respiratory junk is over with in this house. So ready to be done with coughing and earaches. The kids are miserable.

Status Updates 4/11

*Got a 27 page bill from the hospital today! Not exactly sure WHAT it is for. Can't read most of it. But, I think I have the bottom line. What I owe. :-) Then again that amount shows up on all 27 pages! :-) (But I think I really only owe it once.) Need to call hospital.

*I won a Webkinz from a Facebook contest. But, sheesh the legal red tape I have to go through to get it!

*Got coupons in my email to PeiWei's and Cecil Whittaker's both. Hmmm. Making me hungry! Really hope I can use my PeiWei's BOGO. LOVE Pei Wei's!

*When, oh when will Katie arrive? I am holding off starting another book so I can jump into Katie's book, but it's still not here! :-)

*Feeling a little off and anxious today. Not sure why.

*Finally finished To Kill a Mockingbird with the kids. Now, I have read it twice. For some reason, I was never assigned this book in school. I read it as an adult after becoming curious about the "Boo Radley" reference in Benny and Joon. It was interesting to re-read it as a tie in to our history lessons. I love learning the current events that are behind these books that we are assigned. Gives them more depth.

*Trying to get back "on program" with my eating. Less sugar, less artificial junk, etc. Really need to get back to healthy eating to improve my immune system and to lose weight. Doing pretty good, but could do better. Poor Alex is having to cut back on her sweet tooth cravings and dairy to help with her congestion. Though we did read about a study that says that people with a sweet tooth tend to be more compassionate people. Holds true for the sweet tooth people in my life. :-)

*Got some very sweet thank you notes for the baskets we delivered last weekend. I don't know why it surprised me so much. I guess because I wasn't doing it to be thanked. Just wanted to do a random kindness. I actually prefer to be anonymous. But decided that it would be better to just deliver them in person. Which was good because most of the people we delivered to were outside at the time we went by!

*Ordered the Anomia game after seeing my friend, Kristine, post about it on FB. Always love a good game and this one sounds fun.

Status Updates 4/9

*Holiday over, back to the regular schedule. I could use another day!

*Wooooohooo! The 4th Katie book, Finally and Forever, will be here soon! Can't wait to start reading it! Gonna have to sneak it in the house though or I will be competing with Alex for it. LOL

*Trying to figure out insurance EOBs is mind boggling.

*Computer class for Jess. Library for us.

*Chiropractor for Alex. He says her ear is looking better. Hopefully one more adjustment.

*School. History is approaching what I have lived through. :-)

*Simple supper. Grilled cheese, soup, watermelon.

*Walk at the lake.

Status Updates 4/8

*Up early for sunrise service at the lake. The weather was chilly but clear. Perfect for a beautiful service.

*Quick stop on the way home at Mario's Donuts for breakfast donuts. We love Mario's!

*Put together some Charoset for lunch. Did not have the energy for a Seder this year, so decided to just include some of our favorite Seder dishes for Resurrection Day lunch.

*Waiting for my parents' church to let out. Blogging and relaxing as we wait.

*Nice lunch with my parents and brother. Then back to the lake to walk/ride bikes. Gave out lots of eggs while walking around the park.

Status updates 4/7

* Happy Birthday Dad!

*Gathering gifts for our Resurrection Day baskets for friends and neighbors and for the kids.

*Water pressure in the house questionable this morning. Really need to figure out why. With a 2 million gallon water tower less than 500 feet from the house, you really wouldn't think we would have water trickling out of the faucet. :-)

*Lunch at El Maguey's for my dad's birthday. Then peanut butter cake and homemade peanut butter ice cream. Yum!

*Rearview mirror fell of the van. If it had been the car, whose windshield we just had replaced, it wouldn't be as surprising. Stopped at Auto Zone for a repair kit.

*Enjoyed handing out eggs to those we met on our errands. Also had fun delivering our Resurrection Day baskets to friends. So fun to bless others when we can. Was fun deciding who we should give them to this year.

*Checked out the lake, scouting out a good spot for our sunrise service in the morning. Can see a few new improvements since we were last there. Campground was busy already!

*Home for a nap, trying to kick a bad headache. Still have it. :-(

*Got my cute badge clips in the mail.

*Spent some time "window shopping" on the Craiglist car pages. Found a cool VW Thing, a VW camper bus, lots of great Mustangs. But, all just dreams.

*Watched the last Andy Griffith on Netflix. No spinoffs available, so I guess we start over again.

Status Updates 4/6

*Went to Wash U doctor today. Pretty good visit. See my Caringbridge site for details. If you need the address, let me know. I prefer not to post it on a public site.

* Love that cancer centers have free guest wifi. Makes the wait more bearable.

*It amused me that the nurse kept saying, "Sorry for your wait." right before patients would step on the scale. The first time she said it, I really thought she said weight. :-)

*Lunch at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries.

*Went to Dierbergs to do some Passover shopping. The store in Creve Couer always has a good selection of yummy goodies at Passover. Delicious gluten free baked goods (how is that the Jewish bakeries have perfected gluten free baking and us gentiles are still trying to figure it out?) and Coke with sugar instead of HFCS. I wish it could be Passover all year! :-) I found our favorite Star Cookies. They are soooo good. Last year none of the stores ordered them and we missed them! Also love the raspberry jelly rolls. Picked up some Hamen Tashen as well, but unfortunately, since they are a Purim treat instead of a Passover treat, they are not gluten free. I was hoping to make it to the Jewish market as well, but no time.

Got a free Haggadah at the store with coffee. Always like to try new Haggadah's. This one changed the blessing from "Blessed are you King of the universe...." to "Blessed are you Monarch of the Universe..." Ok, same meaning, but kind of different. Is there something not PC about King?

*Made mowing the yard a family project. I mowed the front, the kids each took a section of the back. Everyone hates mowing my yard because of the trees and swing set. But, once you learn to mow our yard, you should be able to mow any yard! LOL I used the gas powered mower and gave the kids the reel mower. I figure that it makes a good trainer. I don't worry as much about them running over something or throwing rocks, etc.


*Filled plastic eggs with chocolate hearts and scriptures that proclaim the Gospel message and verses of comfort. Will carry a basket of eggs with us as we are out and about this weekend and hand eggs to people.


*Worked on our program for a family sunrise service for Resurrection Sunday. John and I prefer quiet family services, outdoors, at sunrise on Resurrection Sunday to crowded Easter services in church buildings after sunrise.

*Nice walk around the block. Trying to get my endurance back up and get back in shape. Got about a mile in today.

*Watching Finding Neverland with Alex.

Status updates 4/5

* You know you are tired when it is an effort just to hold your Kindle up.
*Computer class for Jess. Bank, library and grocery store while waiting for her to get out of class. Finished Sisterchicks Say Ooh La La!
*Chiropractor for Jess and Alex. Hoping some adjustments will help with ear drainage for Al. Shoulders definitely not level.
*Awana night. Hard to believe the Awana year is almost over. Next week will be the last club night for the year.
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Status Updates 4/4

*Survived working the election. But it was a long and tiring day and I came home, ate supper (which my loving husband had kindly prepared) and went to bed. I love the group that I work with. And I tell you, it is a reminder that party affiliation does not define a person at all. The democratic supervisor and I see eye to eye on a lot of things, a relationship with Christ most of all, much better than my fellow republicans.
*Tried to sleep in today, but got a call early in the morning from the speech therapist wanting to schedule a therapy schedule for today. Managed to get it for Friday. Too much today and I am wiped out anyway. Praying that we can get some more consistent therapy going.
*Sent the kids off with my mom for Bingo this afternoon. Once a month the kids run run the Bingo game for a local assisted living home.
*Got an Apologia catalog in the mail today. Immediately went looking for their microscope option. Still deciding on where we will order our microscope and Biology lab stuff from. Election check will help pay for that. While browsing the Biology pages, I found that they have a flash card app for the Biology book. Too cool! Will definitely be getting that for the kids.
*Algebra books arrived today. Now I have all the curriculum that I have ordered. Still just need to decide on a writing program. (Thinking about Essentials in Writing. But possibly Adventure Novel).
Also planning on trying to sign the kids up for some outside classes next year. Jessica will be at the local Voc School 5 mornings a week, so that makes it easier for the others to sign up for classes. Her block schedule at the high school has made that difficult. Probably a Spanish supplement class, maybe speech for Jacob. I still like to do all the core subjects myself. Though I would love to turn writing over to someone else (hence the appeal of Essentials in Writing.)
*My Kindle battery was drained today. Got 7 days out of it before I had to charge. Not bad considering how often I was having to plug the old one in. Was a bit disappointing to get the "no charge" message as I was out when it happened, but I can't complain. At least it is as simple as charging it back up.

*Gotta love an Expo board that is so detailed and caring that they sent a list of lost and found items from the weekend that is so detailed it even lists the Dr Pepper lip smacker and the green binky. :-)

Status Updates 4/2

*Back from doctor with Alex. Came home with two prescriptions for nasal spray and a prayer that this clears it up and we don't have to do a tube. Ear infection apparently cleared up, but tube still full of fluid.

*I won two badge clips at NOAH's auction. They are so cute. Here is the daisy clip I won. Made from Noah's IV med vial lids.

*Finished the newest Neta Jackson book, Stand By Me, today. It was very good and I am ready for the next one! Wonder when it is coming out and who it will focus on. Not sure what I am reading next, better decide tonight since I have a long day at a elections tomorrow!

*Enjoyed an "end of the year" dinner with my homeschool support group (which meets Sept-April), Homeschooling with Grace, tonight. Great fellowship and good food. But, now I am tired. Worth it though.

*Talked to the nurse at the transplant center today and found out that my brother matches on all 6 markers that they looked for!! Also did some research and discovered that there was only a 30-35% chance we would match at all. God is SO good!

Status updates 4/1

*Spring break- where did you go? I think I need another one. One with the family well enough to go do some fun things. But, alas, the new week is dawning with a very full calendar of doctor visits, election day, and meetings. Oh and school must fit in there too.
*Bought a cute badge clip from NOAH's auction. It's a cute little flower made from the tops of Noah's IV vials. Plan to use it for my security badge at church. Bid on a couple other things. Hope I win them, if not, I am glad to at least help earn some more money for NOAH by upping the bids.
*Took a bubble gun full of bubbles to church nursery tonight. Came home with an empty bubble gun. But the kids had fun. :-)
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Status Updates 3/31

*Enjoyed book club. Good fellowship. We discussed Lisa Whelchel's book The Facts of Life and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me
*Went to Goodwill and stocked up on some new clothes. I've gained so much weight, nothing much fit me anymore, and I also decided I needed to improve my wardrobe some. Most of my clothes are very casual. Must work on taking off this weight though. It's not all spleen.
*Heading to the grocery store. Already breathless, let's see how I am when I get back. Shopping can be like hiking when done with anemia/low blood counts.
*Day 5 with my new Kindle. Hasn't been charged since since I charged it when it first arrived. Turns on every time I want it to. Amazing!
*Bought flowers for my porch and for our Resurrection gift baskets.