My new journey

Well, I have decided to change my lifestyle. I am trying to lose weight with Weight Watchers again and be more committed to getting exercise. Between WW and watching Biggest Loser and am encouraged. I lost almost 5 pounds my first week which is great and so far this week (I weigh in on Tuesdays) I am doing really well at sticking with my points. Now I want you to know I can say all this not to brag but to of course give credit where credit is due and that is totally with GOD! This time when I started my new journey I emailed several friends and asked for not only their prayers but accountability. I had a friend say to me the other day..."is that a real pop?" To which I answered "diet caffeine free". I have had others email me and ask me how my week with food is going etc. It is so refreshing to have friends who are asking me and keeping me in line. But this is also only week 2 and everyone including me is still praying. God is currently delivering me from the desire to want to eat sweets all the time. I just have to remember that I have to do my part for Him to keep me where I am. I have to pray and I have to keep praying. Isn't it amazing that all the parts of our lives that we fall short (yes sin) can be fixed by doing what we are created to do? All we have to do is worship Him-pray, be in the word and share it. We do we have to resist it so much? Why do we feel that while we are resisting it that we are winning some sort of a struggle, that we are in control when we are so far from it? Then when we really are where God wants us in that struggle it is so clear we were so far from control. It's so clear yet so muddled.

Anyway, today I went for a 2 mile walk/jog. I went on Tuesday with Haven. I told her and Aspen I was going and she wanted to go with me. It was fine but I told her I was taking my ipod. She said "oh that's fine". Then she proceeded to want to talk. Of course I had to do my mom duty and talk when I had enough air and listen the whole time. Side note-that is one of the hard thing about having 4 girls...they want to talk all the time, I know I have to give them my attention and listen but goodness gracious it gets taxing! Anyway, today I went alone as Haven was at cross country. I listened to my music (and had my arms waving in the air in praise at times) and ran much more then I would have without the music. I try and run down the hills and walk up them but I pushed myself up a little bit of a couple hills because I was deep in music and thought. I have decided I like to jog even if I am slow and have to walk in between. Once again, God has made something good for me...ALL about HIM! Imagine that, if I just take care of this temple he has given me...it will all be good!

Well, I have rambled long enough and it is bed time for my dreary eyes and my aching legs.

A wonderful ministry...

I thought I would share this with some of you in case you think your church might like to adopt the idea also. My friend Kim came from a church that had a prayer ministry for the kids. She in turn started the same idea here at West K. The basic idea is this, they took pictures of all the kids and had the parents fill out permission slips. Then they took the pictures, put them on a small card with the child's info: Name, address, DOB, grade, school and parent's name. Then this evening we had a special service where couples went up and picked a prayer card and will pray for that student all school year and into the summer. At the service she tried to get a boy and a girl each to represent lower elementary, upper elementary, middle school, high school and home school. They got up and just gave examples of things that they struggle with at their school at their age so we had ideas of things to pray about through out the year. We all ended up picking 2 cards and those that could not be there, signed a list and we picked for them too.

I just think this is going to be such a blessing for our children so it thought I would share it with all of you too.

The fine line...

You know what? I have decided I hate "the fine line". Some of you may call it the gray area. I call it the fine line. I am a very visual person and a line works for me. You know the fine line I am talking about about, I know all of you do. It's there for all of us. The fine line between the right and the wrong decision, the fine line between the Holy Spirit talking to me or Satan totally deceiving me, the fine line between being a good, fun parent and being a push over, the fine line between giving my kids privileges and being too busy and the list can go on.

The most important 'line' is of course the one between the Holy Spirit nudging me and Satan deceiving me. Sometimes I just don't listen closely enough. Sometimes I listen to my sinful nature and try to take control myself. We all know only God has control! I even give it to God, pray about it, and then I go to thinking it through and taking it right back only to realize I have to give it back to God. It's what Dr. Emerson Eggerichs in LOVE AND RESPECT calls the crazy cycle. He of course is referring to marriage but this is the same thing. But instead of it being me against my husband, it's me against God.

I just hate the fine line. I want to move the line over so much that Satan ceases to exist. I totally anticipate with joy the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ if for not other reason then that I can get rid of this ever dreaded fine line!!!

P.S. Since it came to mind, I have a plug for a GREAT book!!! If you are married (I don't care if you have been married 60 years) or about to get married, I strongly suggest the book LOVE&RESPECT by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. I do not comprehend self help type books well because I am so visual but it was a great read and I got so much out of it, I need to start again.

The rains has stopped...

We have gotten double our September allotment of rain in the last 3 days. Lost of rain=lots of flooding. We are actually on top of a knoll so we do not flood but my van won't start. Because I still have the stuff in the garage from the garage sale and was in the process of packing things up to give to the Gospel Mission, my van was parked outside. We don't know what happened or if it was rain induced but my van that has lived a good life is dead. No, not necessarily dead for life but dead for today. The tow truck just left to take it to the van hospital. I think it is begging to be retired from the Black family who is forever running it into the ground. But apparently we are not ready to do that yet. So we shall see if it can live on! :O)

You don't realize how dependent on a vehicle you are till you don't have one anymore. Thankfully (Totally in God's plan for me this week) I have nothing scheduled all week through the day when Andy is at work.

I have to confess...

I have to confess that I am struggling. This if the first year in 9 years that I have not taught in the preschool wing for Sunday School at church. I have always taught 2's, 3's or 4's except one year I took a breather and worked in the baby nursery.

My friend Kim and I did VBS this summer, we are serving on the fellowship committee for Women's Ministry and we are working for our new Wednesday night kids program called Solid Rock Kids. I know that is probably enough serving at one time (and they are just trying to prevent burn out) but I still miss my little ones down in the children's education wing. I am working with 2nd and 3rd graders for Wed. night and I had all of them when they were little. I know I have to move onward and upward and server in other areas as I grow. I know God is growing me more and more through this but some things certainly don't make sense while we are smack dab in the middle of them.

I guess I should add with a sigh that the preschool children are in very good hands without me. :O) Thanks for listening to me 'let it all go'.

I have also had a garage sale...

It's not a huge thing to have a garage sale and I was actually going to continue it today and tomorrow but we are having rain and storms so I hope to finish it up next week. I have 2 reaons to mention this garage sale. A lot went into it. I spent 3-12 hour days sorting through my basement to get to the garage sale. I still have one small area of baby/kids clothes and Christmas stuff to go through. But that won't take long and I may get that done before next week. But also with the garage sale we decided to get rid of all our baby things. It was a sad day for me to decide we were not having any more babies. I mean I had already come to that conclusion but selling all my stuff makes it real. I lived my whole life wanting to be a mom, loving kids, as you all know I am a baby person! I know I will always be a mom, I will always have kids but I am very sad to give up being able to have a baby. I know it's not a good idea at this point, I am almost 40, my hip is bad from time to time, and I am over weight. I know I cannot have babies forever but I miss it and always will. I was always told I would know when I was done...I don't think that applies to everyone! So now I have to wait patiently for 10+ years to be a grandma. :O)

I think it is time to update a little...

As I said we went to the Corvette Museum. I like this one, isn't it cute.
Here is a picture in the caves on our second day. It was so wide open compared to the day before when we were taking stairs down an old water shaft (my camera battery died that day)
Here is something that growes on the ceilings of the caves we were in. I was going to remember what it was called...of course I don't. The girls probably do though. I thought it looked like flowers here.
Here are my girls with the Stauffer kids. Left to right in back: Carson, Haven, Makenna, Aspen, Cameron, Coleman and Camille is in front. They had so much fun together!!!

I have not posted for a while because I cannot add my few pictures from our Kentucky/Ohio vacation. See, I am now using my old laptop and have no photos on it anymore. My good laptop was sent in to be repaired. We did have a great time on our vacation though. We took our vacation with our friends the Stauffers that we go to church with. Kim and Jared have 4 kids. Cameron who is Aspen and Haven's age, Coleman is in 3rd grade, Carson is in 1st grade and Camille is 3.5. We stopped first in Louisville, KY to go to the Louisville Slugger bat museum and factory and we found a couple letterboxes (if you want to know what this is, let me know I would LOVE to share it with you!). We then went to spend the night in Elizabethtown, KY where the kids got to swim at the hotel and we found another letterbox at the Coca-Cola museum. The next day we headed to Cave City to go on a couple tours at Mammoth Caves National park. We also took the time to go to the Corvette Museum. The kids were a little bored but the adults really enjoyed it. We found some more letterboxes while we were in the Mammoth Cave area too. We were there 3 night and we then went on to Maysville, KY. We spent 3 days there. We got to show Kim and Jared where we are from. They were amazed by the hills and curves. Jared really enjoyed Chicken Hollow Road. How could you not? :O)

We were all amazed at how well behaved the kids were and how well things went. I will try and add photos when I get my laptop back. :O)

Two days in a row with photos to boot

Well, I have something else to report. Haven was outside trying to unwind the dog from the patio chairs and bent down and hit her forehead on a patio chair. The metal from of the chair is what she hit. She gashed her forehead so we had to go to the Dr.'s office. They went back and forth to decide whether or not she needed leave peds. office and go to urgent care for stitches. It was somewhat gapeing but it wasn't too deep. So they finally decided on starry strips. I am grateful because the urgent care would have been $250.00 but the office visit was only $20. Obviously it would have been worth the money if that is what she needed. I was just worried about how it would heal being on her forehead.

Anyway, it doesn't look too bad with the starry stips on it but I took pictures anyway.

I have pictures, I have pictures

Today is Makenna's special day! The camp called me today to see if we were okay with Makenna getting baptized. Of course I told them I had expected the call yesterday so I was totally fine with it. She had talked about it for a while, so I wasn't surprised that with a week full of knowledge for VBS last week and then a week full of knowledge from camp this past week was enough for her to decide she wanted to do it. We had already talked to her at length over time too. Anyway, I decided to let you all know and thought you might like to see the pictures.

VBS and since then

So I know I have been delinquent again! I guess the first thing I need to tell you about is that we had a very successful VBS week. My friend Kim and I directed it not fully knowing what we were doing. Our goal was to have about 50 VBS kids and we had an average all week of 80. It was absolutely wonderful! The reason I say we didn't fully know what we were doing was to point out the fact that GOD gets the glory because without HIM Kim and I would have surely flopped at it!!!

Also this week Makenna is at camp. My baby got to go to camp for 5 nights! She comes home tomorrow night and I am just thinking that she has just got to say she can never do it again because she missed me too much. Now as I type that, I will tell you she WILL NOT say that. She loves camp and was so excited she could stay 3 extra nights this year.

On Monday this week the girls and I went blueberry picking with my friend Crystal and her oldest daughter Alyssa who is Aspen and Haven's age. I LOVE blueberry picking. Mainly because you can eat as many as you want as you pick. I will try to remember my camera next time and share some pictures with all of you.

I also haven't mentioned that I have 3/4 of my basement cleaned out. It took my 2 FULL days and I know I have 1 day to go. My voice is not good right now and I do not want to make it worse by cleaning down there. The last time I did it for 2 days I was really sick (asthma) for a few days. But I need to get the rest of the stuff gone through because I am having a garage sale (with the help of my friend Crystal) the second to last weekend in August.

We are going to be going on a family vacation with Kim and Jared next month. We are going to be going to Mammoth Caves, KY and Ripley, OH. Well, we will actually have to stay in Maysville since Ripley doesn't have a hotel to speak of. :O) Then while we are all gone, Kaelyn is going to be going to CA with a friend and her family to meet another friend and her family there. The ones they are meeting there are from LA and live here in MI now. They invited Kaelyn and Grace and will be taking care of their needs. They are going to get to go to the taping of a Hannah Montana show and possibly meet her backstage afterwards. Now I know that TV stuff isn't everything but it's just such a neat thing for her to get to experience. She is so excited!

Oh, I also forgot to mention when we got home from out July 4th visit in Ohio we came home to slowly find out that we had been hit by lightening. We lost our stereo receiver, a DVR/satellite receiver, a phone, an alarm clock and our cable box on the outside of the house was fried. Needless to stay it will be an expense to replace it all. Thankfully the cable co. fixed that for free since it was outside but we have yet to even seriously consider replacing our stereo. It ended up being the most expensive thing on the list to replace.

I am thinking that's it for now. I hope to take a bunch of pictures on our vacation to share with all of you. Maybe Kaelyn will have some fun CA pictures I can share too. :O) But for now I am picture-less!

A little funny...

Aspen and Haven are finally having their Birthday party this weekend. We are going to go roller skating and they are going to have a sleep over. I am sure they are going to have a great time but in the mean time, I keep telling Haven and Makenna (they are currently sharing a room) that they need to get their room cleaned up. They have been working on it but it was more then a day job. LOL! Well, Makenna had been up working on her stuff and came down and said "Well, my stuff is almost done, I am working on trying on clothes and sorting them now.....but Haven, you will not open our closet and show it to anyone, it is just atrocious! You can tell my 8 year old is on a much higher reading level because she comes out with these large words all the time. I had to stop myself from laughing because she was so serious.

Sorry, it's been a while again...

I just asked a friend today if she journaled. She answered "yes" and I told her to record that. "That" being that her son gave her a baggie full of pennies for her Birthday today. I love those moments that the kids make tears come to my eyes yet I am horrible at recording them. It's just not natural to me. I will keep trying though!

I thought I would tell you all about something fun and interesting that the girls and I got to participate in yesterday. As you know I just couched GOTR and all my girls were involved also. My co-couch is my good friend Crystal and she has 3 girls, 2 of which were just involved as GOTR girls too. Well, we had been given a flyer that we could show up yesterday at 6:30 to help sing for a GOTR theme song. One of the guys whose wife is on the Kalamazoo area GOTR board is a singer on the side. He decided to write a theme song for GOTR and then he recorded it. Well, yesterday, those of us that wanted to sing, showed up at a church of their choice. We sang several small parts of the song. Some sang the high parts, some the low and some the mid-range. He then took them all, put them together and times it by 3. So instead of it sounding like the 50 people that we were, we sounded like 150. He then played it back for us. It was great! They have a friend in GR who is going to sing it and then they are going to add the choir sounding parts (us) to it. It will be out in November and he hopes to have it on line so we can download it to our MP3's and ipods! How fun is that? It is a local song right now but I really can't believe it won't spread way beyond Kalamazoo as it is an awesome song. It was such a neat experience for the girls to get to be a part of and what a fun memory!

Memorial Day weekend in Ohio

This is the girls with their cousin Daniel...Andy's sisters son.
Here is Kaelyn with Haven. The other 2 gave up on me and went to play and I thought this was a good one of the 2 of them.

We went to Ohio for Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday we went to Andy's 20th year alumni. It was nice to see the other 4 that showed up but we were disappointed because we were told several more were going to be there.

Then on Sunday we went to church and went to lunch with my grandma and my aunt Martha Kay.

Monday we went to my cousin's daughters graduation party and it was also my aunts retirement party. It was nice to see a bunch of family there. All of my mom's 7 of my mom's siblings were there, 15 of us 24 cousins (from my best count) plus all their spouses and kids.

We got home at 11:30 pm Monday night. The time in Ohio is always too short. I do have all my laundry from the trip done and went through a bunch of stuff that had piled up lately while I was so busy.

Now Andy and I just have to find time to see Indiana Jones. :O)

I am so behind...

Kaelyn above is her ballet, then jazz in the cheer leading costume up off the floor and the last one is with her 2 best dance friends Grace and Emily.

These 2 above are Haven in ballet and then jazz.

These 2 photos are Aspen. The top one is her way up in the air in her ballet dance and the bottom is her jazz dance.

These 2 photos are the back of back of Makenna but I wanted to show you how high she gets.

I am sorry that I have dropped the ball. Things got a little crazy around here with dance wrapping up and finishing up GOTR. I did try to post once and when I went to hit post there was an error and it was all gone. So, I will try to update.

The girls all did very well at the recital. It is always a long night on rehearsal night and there is no way to know what the timing will be. It is impossible for them to even stay on time because you never know how things are going to work on the stage. This year was a little longer because there were a few home school classes added during the week so it made for more dances in the recital.

Today is the day!

Today is Aspen and Haven's 11th Birthday. I cannot believe they are so big. We have a very busy evening and unfortunately after GOTR the rest of the evening is a couple of Kaelyn's activities. So today for lunch I am taking the girls lunch and eating with them. Something I have never done and they are so excited. They have chosen Subway.

I wanted to also tell you all about Kaelyn's Solo and Ensemble. It was a long day but she really enjoyed it. She got to watch 3 of her friends perform which she not only enjoyed but learned from. Her ensemble played at 8:00 am and they got a second division rating which is like getting a "B". Her ensemble was made up of her and 5 boys a few of which she wasn't fond of their lack of responsibility so I think a 2nd rating was great. :O) Then her solo was supposed to be at 2:04 but by then they were running late so it was more like 2:40. But she got a 1 division rating which is like getting an "A". She was very pleased. The judge had her French horn there and actually used it to help her see what she needs to work on. It was certainly a great learning experience.

This is Andy's week in Germany. They went to France for a day went a castle and drove/rode ont he autobahn. I am sure that will be a highlight for him. :O) They then went on to Germany. He has gotten to see another castle and the black forest. He says I will want to go to Germany the next time we travel because it is so impressive. I could have told him that. He says it is very expensive too! Regardless, I think they are actually going to the mill today. LOL!

I have been going to physical therapy and I know it's helping but I just can't see the problem going away in a month of PT. Although I pray that is the case. I hate not being able to exercise the way I want and my hip still being swollen.

I have been trying to plan GOTR details for our practice run and end of the program party and plan VBS with Kim. I am very excited about both but concerned I can't give either my full attention and I pray I am not falling either short.

Our weather has been gorgeous. We have been in the mid 70's and sunny but I know the cooler temps are coming this weekend....

I think that is all the update for now.

We're back...

Well, we just got back yesterday from our FL vacation. We drove down to St. Augustine (the oldest city/town in the US) and did a little sightseeing there. There is so much history within the town. We got there Friday and my sister (who flew there via SkyBus) and my parents (drove there) were already there. Sat. morning we went to eat and Regan saw the newspaper headline that said SkyBus went bust. Needless to say she was on the last flight to FL on Friday and had no way home from there. The rest of Sat. and Sun. we road the trolley around town and stopped to see some sights. It did rain off and on but Sat. was beautiful for the most part. Of course Sat. evening when the girls were finally going to swim at the hotel pool, it started storming. Needless to say they were bummed that they only spent 5 min. in that pool. Sunday afternoon we headed south to my mom's house. It's kind of a blurr what happened when but I will just hit on some highlights. Andy, the girls and I went to downtown Disney for some of one day. They each got to buy something with their money and they got to play in the jumping fountain which they loved. We also went to the Heritage Village and Botanical Gardens in Largo. That was more history and the best part is that it was free. I know we did that on Thurs. because my dad was off work and it was me and Andy's 15th Anniversary. Regan surprised us and had them bring out a piece of Apple pie and ice cream for Andy and a banana split for me. Course we both shared. :O) We then left from lunch and walked on the beach for a few minutes. After that we went to the mall so Andy could get me a Anniversary gift (a new camera backpack that actually fits my camera and accessories). Also one day me, mom and the girls went to thrift stores and the goodwill. They girls found a few pieces of clothes. Friday was our last day. Me, Kaelyn and Andy went back to the mall (because the camera bag wasn't quite the right size) and exchanged my camera bag. Meanwhile Regan was going to take the other 3 girls to the water park in town but it was closed. They then went to the community pool....also closed. So she instead went to the store and bought them a slip and slide. :O) Friday night my mom's sister Joyce and her husband Jack came over for supper. We had pork that Joyce made and it was very yummy, scalloped potatoes, green beans, wilted lettuce and cake for dessert. Andy and I were talking that next time we will have to have the big meal earlier in the week because we left poor mom and dad with tons of left overs. Sat. we got up at 3:30 and left at 4:30 to head home. We first headed to NC to drop Regan off and then to my in-laws in Ohio. We were on the road from 4:30AM to 10:00PM...it was a long day. Then yesterday we got up, got ready and headed home. When I got home, Kim and Scarlet had left us a whole meal and straighted and swept my downstairs. It was nice to come home to that! I really enjoyed having a home cooked meal after 2 says of restaurants! It was a nice vacation and the sun was warm.

Here is Haven (left) and Aspen sitting on daddy's diet Mt. Dew

Here is Aspen (left) and Haven feeding their babies together.

Here is Haven playing with Aspen's hair. Aspen could care less

as it was a normal thing. Haven had such a fascination with hair!

And last but not least here they are as infants. They always

slept in this "circle" in the living room until they were just too

big. And yes, I let them sleep on their bellies if it meant mom

got a rest time or they would sleep at night. I just prayed about

it a lot! :O)

The soon to be birthday girls...

There has been so much commotion in my mind with Kaelyn turning 13 and all the changes that seem to come within a few months of that. To be quite honest I am still adjusting to the idea of having a teenager. I know I will never adjust with having a teenager because there is no normal. But I have been thinking about Aspen and Haven the last few days. They are going to be 11 next month and yes, they are starting to act like pre-teens. Not as bad as teen but getting to that point. I asked them if they wanted to have 2 separate parties this year. I have been putting it off thinking of the work involved...twice but I decided to bite the bullet this year. I told them they could each have several girls over on 2 different weekends and have sleep overs. Well, they decided that one party would be better because then they could do something more fun then a sleep over. Here I have been putting off asking them each year never dreaming they would turn it down. Aspen wants to go roller skating and Haven can't decide. I told them they need to decide cause dad will miss the party and I want to okay everything with him before his trip (we may not have a decent way to communicate while he is away). Part of the sleep over party problem is that they don't both have separate good friends. This school year it is Aspen with all the friends and last year it was Haven. It all depends on who is in their class that year. Last year Haven had the class with all their friends and this year it is Aspen. Haven has one really good friend in her class (which we are all grateful for) but that's about it.



Having twins has more obstacles then you could ever imagine. Most of them are not major but they are still details we have to work through. Every stage is certainly different and the obstacles are not physical like they used to be but they are still there and to be honest I liked that physical work better then all this emotional/mental stuff!



I just don't know how they got SO old. I am going to try to stick in a few baby pictures I have of them on my computer. Enjoy my precious babies.

Can you say what a 24 hours or so?

Yesterday I went in the morning to get a blood draw. It was just routine and time. I knew I needed my thyroid levels checked and I always get my cholesterol checked with our family history. Well, I got the call last night that all my labs were good but that I have high Cholesterol. I of course have to eat less fat (I do watch my fat), more fiber (I eat high fiber every am for sure) and exercise (I admit this is a downfall but with GOTR I hope it to get better). But I have this strange feeling none of these things are going to make a difference and I am going to be on more meds. for the rest of my life.

Then this morning Andy got me up at 6:30 (before he had to go to work) and we set the water bed up to drain because our new mattress was coming today. There is a way to hook it up to the sink with the water running and it causes and suction for the bed to drain out. We have done this before. Well, after it was all hooked up, he left and I went back to bed for a little while, in the guest bed. I got up and the bed had not drained at all and to top it off the spray from the fitting had drained through the faucet and down into the cabinet. My carpet was wet but it had went to the ceiling below. Thankfully the ceiling dry wall is fine as it still dries but it is stained a rust color because of our wonderful water! Needless to say, I was a little stressed this morning. But in the end our new bed is set up and ready to use tonight.

P.S. I love my new refrigerator! It is wonderful and we finally have enough room for a 6 person family! I just keep thanking the Lord for all our blessings. They flow endlessly. God is faithful!

Our trip and more

Well, we left last Thurs. evening to go to Ohio. We had a good trip after we got out of town. With GOTR it was late before we even tried to get started. Then when we got going we had to get food, the Envoy washed, and gas. In that process, I remembered I had not cord to charge my cell so back home we went.
Friday here we had about 14" of snow or so we hear. We were in Ohio and it was 65 and sunny. Andy stayed home and helped his dad install things on his new computer. They girls and I had a slow day and didn't get out of the house till about 4:00. We then went to buy Easter shoes. It was so nice to get out of the Envoy and not have to have a coat on. The weather was beautiful.
Saturday the weather was much colder. But it was a good day. We were going to my aunt Constance's house for an Easter pot luck at 4:00. I made a main dish and a dessert during the day. Then we went to visit my grandma Kirk. It was nice to see her doing well after breaking her tailbone a while back. After our visit with her we went back to Shirley and Cecil's to finish the food and head to Constance's house. When we got there a lot where already there and more continued to come. It was such a fun evening with family. I got to see my cousin Ben and Danielle's new baby Samuel. I even got to hold him for a few minutes. I got to talk to cousins I just don't see much anymore which was nice.
Sunday we went to the Joe Black (Andy's grandpa)Memorial Breakfast at Andy's parents church. Then we went over to Ripley Church of Christ for our Easter service. It was another cold morning but the sun ended up shining. After church we headed back to Andy's parents house to get changed, get the Envoy loaded and head home. The long weekend visits are always too fast but it was a nice relaxing weekend. I told Andy I want to go back for Memorial Day weekend because my cousin's daughter is having her graduation party.

Since we have been home, my new fridge was delivered. I love it! It is nice and roomy and it works! :O) We are also scheduled to get our new mattress Saturday which I am also excited about. I know it will take some getting used too but I know it is time to make a change from the water bed.

I also went to the Dr. and she referred me to a Physical Therapist for my hip. She says it most likely won't finish healing on it's own unless I have 1 to 2 weeks to devote to doing NOTHING! Well, we all know that isn't happening so off t physical therapy I will go! I also have to get my routine blood work and a routine ultrasound on my thyroid. Everything else is good. I had her check over my moles and they all look fine.

GOTR is going well. We finally felt like we had a normal routine yesterday. I think it is going to be a lot of fun! The girls all seem to really enjoy it! I even did the stretches and some running yesterday. I figure I will do what I can handle till I find out what I can and cannot do from the PT.

Well, that is my 'catch up' from not posting in a while. I will try to keep up for the next week or so. No promises the week after that because we are leaving for FL next Thurs. :O) Can't wait for nice warm weather!!! We also get to see my parents and my sister. The girls are SO excited!

getting old...

On Sunday (a week ago) as I mentioned, we got a Wii. It is very fun ...or so I hear. I bowled 3 times on Sunday, then Monday I bowled a game and then played a game of baseball. I'm not really a baseball fan but I thought, one game, not big deal. Well, turns out I hurt my hip. It started hurting on Tuesday. Finally on Friday I went to the chiropractor. He said my Bursa sac in my hip was full of fluid. I knew it was full of something because it was swollen. I haven't been able to wear zip and snap pants since Thurs. Anyway, I have been putting ice on it and taking ibuprofen with strict orders to not stretch, exercise or do anything to irritate it. It is getting better but it is a long process. I can lay and stand but sitting is very hard. Okay, so the Wii isn't only about exercise...there is some caution to be had too. :O) GOTR starts Tuesday so I am praying it's okay by then or poor Crystal will be wore out trying to do everything for both of us. Getting old is the pits!

The girl's school rented 2 theaters today for Horton Hears a Who! We got in, had a small popcorn, small pop and pixie stix for $3.50. Really they charged $5 and change but our PTO picked up the difference. My verdict is that it is a really cute movie. There certainly are some lessons to be learned in the movie.

Well, I get to go to get 2 of my old fillings replaced tomorrow morning. It's the back two so it will be 1.5 hours of holding my mouth way open. I am not looking forward to it...although my ipod will come in handy. I now have one hundred and thirty some songs on it.

Can I also say that I am so enjoying the time change. I love that it is a few minutes after 8:00 and there is still some daylight out there. I think my winter depression is fading. With the more hours of light and having some days that have been warmer (ie:above freezing) it feels good. Can't wait to go to Florida and warm my bones!

Guess that is all for today! I think I will watch Makenna box on the Wii now..... LOL!

my epiphany

I almost forgot to share my epiphany. Well, it did happen a few weeks ago and even though I almost forgot to share it, I certainly haven't forgotten about it.

Andy hasn't been too happy with his job for a while. Basically, to make a long story short, too much work, not enough time and not enough help. He does love what he does though. He talks about moving and starting a new job IN THE SOUTH and I am always supportive of the talk (and would be a move too). Well, he would love to transfer to the mill in Macon Georgia. For some reason the co. is not on the same boat with him so far. They also have a mill is West Monroe, LA. He went down there recently and it was brought to his attention that they would love to have him transfer to West Monroe. He then made a comment about his wife not liking that idea. He had every right to make that comment because I had my heals so dug in the ground I wasn't going to budge at the thought of moving to Louisiana. But a few days after he got home is when the epiphany came. Actually to be truthful, I think God hit me upside the head because one second my heals were dug and the next they were free. He made me realize that it wasn't my choice. I don't get to decide where God want us to be. I am not in control. If God wants us to move to LA, then we will move to LA. It was funny, I told Andy all this and then when I was done I told him I would go to Louisiana if that is what God wanted from us, but I still wouldn't choose it. I don't know if we really will end up in LA at some point or if it was just a means for God to remind me it's His will not mine! Either way, it was eye opening. I need to be in support and respect of my husband in all things that are not against God's will. Not to say Andy wants to go to LA either, but they want him there and who am I to hold him back if he wanted to choose to do that?

Plus, it's gotta be warmer then Michigan! :)

Things I am getting ready to start...

I have now entered the volunteer stage in my life...at least that is what I am thinking it is. I felt like there is more I could be doing but didn't want to take the time (or thought I didn't have it) plus I am not found of the unknown. But I have some good friends who I am either coming along side or they are coming along side me.

First I guess is Girls on the Run. My friend Crystal and I were both considering coaching a program called Girls on the Run (I will refer to it as GOTR). When one or the other of us brought it up to the other, we were surprised that we had both been thinking about it. Needless to say we are in the process of getting ready. Not running mind you but everything else. :) We are both now CPR and first aid certified and had 8.5 hours of training. Are we ready for a class of 15 3rd and 5th graders (odd that no 4th graders signed up but that's okay)? Only time will tell. You are all certainly welcome to pray for us! Now, what is GOTR? It's a program that we will coach at the school but it is not a school program. There is a "teaching" part where we are basically teaching them self-confidence, helping them have a good body image and of course teaching them to be fit and healthy. They will have to run each time in the "teaching" part but then there will also be time reserved for just running. We will build them up the 5K and there will be a GOTR 5K. I think the Kalamazoo area leader said we are the 4th largest group in the US. We will meet on Tues. and Thurs. right after school from 3;30 to 5:00 from March 18th through May 23rd (?) when we have the 5K. Crystal and I are hoping to have a better body image and be more fit and healthy by the end too. :O)

Something else I am volunteering in is Women's Ministry at the church. My friend Kim and I went to a planning meeting and we both got ourselves signed up as co-chairs for the fellowship part of Women's Ministries. Good fit or what? So we will be planning fun fellowship!

And last is that my same friend Kim has a passion for VBS! We have held VBS before but it really hasn't be a hit. I have come along side Kim to help her with her vision of making this a wonderful VBS! I am sure this will be much fun as well.

So even though things are busy, I think a lot will come from it. They are all such wonderful causes.

exciting stuff...

If you are into stuff, we got some exciting stuff this weekend. I had asked Andy recently if I could have a MP3 player or ipod. He was fine with it so we bought me an ipod this weekend. It is pink and shiny and very thin but it still has no music. I want to put music on it but don't know where to begin. I need to get the CD's out of the van and start to organize what I want on it. It seems too much work just to figure out what I want to listen to. But it will get filled with songs and I will use it, I just have to get motivated to do it. :O)

Also over the weekend we got a Wii. We had wanted to get one for Andy's birthday in January but as I am sure you all know, they are very hard to get your hands on. Well, a lady that works at Meijer gave my friend Kim a tip. She told her to check the ads on Sat. night on line and if it was in the add to come when they start the ads which is 6:00. He ended up getting on yesterday am. Anyone who will argue you don't get exercise while playing the Wii needs to feel my muscle in my bottom down into the back of my thigh because it hurts! It is going to be a lot of fun and exercise!

Will the illness ever end?

The first thing I had to be at this morning was at the elementary school. Aspen got the Student of the Month award for the 5th grade this month. She also got the award in 1st grade. She really is a good girl. :O)

I did go to the Dr. today and I have bronchitis again and another sinus infection. Haven has started a dry cough and is a little hoarse. She is the only one who has not been sick all fall and winter. I just want it to END! Thank you Jesus that spring will come! :O)

Andy found out today he is definitely going to Germany and Sweden for 2 weeks in April.

Doctors, teeth again and news

Well, I had to take Kaelyn back to the Dr. yesterday morning. She went twice last week for breathing/asthma stuff and boarder line bronchitis. She ended up having to have steroids for 3 days. Well, her head was still a mess and she was complaining about her ear hurting. So we went back to the Dr. She has a sinus infection and ear infection. This has been our sickest year since they girls were all little. I won't even list all that we have had. I am going back tomorrow cause I have a wheeze/crackle in my lower right lobe of my lung. UGH!

I also took Haven and Makenna to get their teeth cleaned and they have wonderful teeth. Whew! Once again, just down to me...I got one old fillings taken out and re-filled yesterday while they got theirs cleaned. I get to have 2 more done Tuesday. I know you all are so excited for me. :O)

I had my friend Kim watch Saxon and Grace for me while we went to the dentist. Yesterday was the day she found out results from her final testing to see if she is compatible to give her son Coleman a kidney when the time comes that he needs one. She has a cyst on one of her kidneys and they are going to have to check into that which is scary but she is still in the running and they want to use her.

Also yesterday, my friend Debbie got home from Florida. It is so strange when someone who is in your life almost on a daily basis is gone for a while. I felt like there was a void. I think I handle those things well because it was such a way of life for me but it's still not fun. I am so glad she is back! :O)

Last but not least Andy found out yesterday he is most likely going to Germany and Sweden for April for 2 weeks for work. He has to miss Kaelyn's Solo and Ensemble for band, Aspen and Haven's Birthday and my Birthday. But what a great chance! I wish I could go with him. I am just going to make a list of things he has to bring me back!

Wednesday

On Wednesday my friend Kim went with me to Kaelyn's band festival in Holland. It was a totally new experience for me (and Kim). We watched them play 3 songs on stage. Then we went to another room for Sight Reading. I had no clue what this was and since some of you may not either, I will explain. They are given a piece of music they have never seen. Their instructor goes over it with them and they can 'sing' it (but not play). This means they sing the song by saying numbers to get all the components down. They get 7 minutes to go over and play 2 pieces of music. I was a little afraid of what I was going to hear. After all they are in 7th grade and only in their 2nd year of band. They were wonderful! I was so impressed! When you go to festival you get rated with a number in all categories. 1 being the best. They got all 1's.

We really enjoyed it!

Teeth

Well, today was the first of 2 dental appointments for the girls and I this week. Today was for me, Aspen and Kaelyn.

Kaelyn's teeth were great! Aspen's teeth were great too which was a huge concern for me. She actually had her 6 year old permanent molars pulled a while back so she has had no molars to chew one. Well, she is getting her 12 year molars already (she will be 11 next month-Kaelyn got hers early but not this early), I am wondering if it is because the 6 year old molars weren't there? Anyway, the new molars look great. She will get them sealed when she goes back in 6 months and they are in a little more.

I on the other hand had the issues...imagine that! I have 4 teeth that he wants to replace old fillings. 2 of which are my very back teeth on the top and have had enamel issues from way back. He would also like to eventually crown them, can you say Cha-Ching? Yes, I know the cost as I have a few crowns. I also have a tooth that had a root canal that is bothering me. He thinks I may need to go back to the Endodontist and get it worked on again. UGH!

Stay tuned, Makenna and Haven go Thursday. I expect no problems with their teeth either...it's just me. I am the only one who can see really well without glasses and I am the only one who had a filling (and I have enough for the whole family).

On the bright side, I got to go see a chick flick with 3 of my friends tonight! It was nice to laugh although I missed my friend Debbie who is in Florida for a few days for work. I said I missed her, not feel sorry for her. :O)

Tomorrow is another day I will try to fill you in on after it happens...

P.S. I will try to add photos in the future but I really haven't taken many this winter. We haven't seen the ground or been above freezing more then I can count on one hand this winter!

Let's try again...

I have struggled for 2 days to be able to use my blog. I guess because Blogger is now owned by Goggle, I can't use my old blog. I can access it and read it but not post on it anymore. So, I am starting again with a new blog. Same great look but no old posts.

Anyway, I hope to stick to my blogging longer then in the past. I am so far from any family that it would be nice to have them keep up a little by reading here.