I'm a homeschooling mom of 2 great kids. I've been married to my wonderful husband since 1997. I love to crochet, knit, and digi scrap. So, you never know what I might post about!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Sorry for my absence! After getting home from our Christmas/anniversary vacation, there was so much to do to settle back in, and so much to say that I kept putting it off. I didn't expect to put it off for 6 months, though!
We had a nice time on our Christmas vacation. For our anniversary (our 10th!) my parents took us to a Houston Rockets basketball game (I still need to scrap that!). Then we got a room in the hotel we were married in. We tried to go to the bar where we used to karaoke, but it was all closed up. There was another bar in the same hotel as the old karaoke bar, so we went there and had some drinks with people we didn't know. I guess it's true what they say...you can't go back home. It was nice anyway.
In January, Buddy turned 36. In March, Nate turned 2. The grandparents came up and Mom brought Logan over for cake and ice cream. Nathan bit Logan as soon as he saw him. I think Nate doesn't like other kids coming into his house. We haven't been to the coast since New Year's, so this is the only time I've seen my parents since we were down there, and it was the only time we'd seen Rodger & Joy until this past weekend.
This weekend was Buddy's family reunion. It was nice, and not nearly as hot as it usually is. I learned a lot about family history and genealogy, since I've been working on a heritage album using a bunch of pictures that Joy has. There were kids Nate's age (Maycee was there again, plus some others) and kids Hayley's age (Lillyan and Haylee were both there for the first time since they were babies, plus some others), so they both had playmates and I got to relax some. On Saturday, Nate didn't have a nap, and we went swimming in the lake in the late afternoon. We had bought him a floatie that he could sit in with his legs in the water, and when he finally got still, the waves started rocking him to sleep. It was too cute! Of course, since I was in the water, I didn't have my camera. We took the kids swimming next door yesterday, too. Well, Buddy took them while I went to get his Father's Day present, but they were still in the pool when I got back, so I got some pics there.
In April, we started getting more involved with our church. They had a notice in the bulletin one Sunday saying that they needed teachers for Children's Ministry and there was a sign-up sheet in the lobby, so I signed up and the very next day, a friend from our Bible study group asked if I could substitute for her the next 2 Sundays. She didn't even know I'd signed up! While I was subbing for her, Hayley's teacher asked if I would take over the other spot in their classroom so that her co-teacher could move to Children's Worship. So, except for this past weekend when we were out of town, I've taught Sunday School every week since the middle of April! And in May, we went to the Membership Seminar and will be introduced as new members on my birthday (as if we need an introduction, but it's nice anyway). We can transfer our membership to the new church they're planting in August when we get there. This Sunday we'll be doing the baby dedication ceremony with Nathan. Buddy and I are going to be rebaptised in September, even if we've already moved by then and have to drive down here to do it. I'm hoping to keep teaching at least until our new church starts up if we move before then. The facility for the new church doesn't seem to have any place for Children's or Student Ministry, so I don't know what they're going to do about that. Maybe I should email the pastor and let him know we'll be moving there soon and ask what's up with that. Buddy already knows one of the pastors and has been invited to a meeting party, so if I don't ask, I guess he can do so then.
Also, the last Thursday in May, I started keeping a little girl from church for an hour once a week. Her mom is in our Bible study group, so Nate gets to spend a couple of hours a week with her there, and now one more hour a week. Our Bible study group meets on Wednesday nights, and she's here on Thursday nights. I thought she was going to be in his Sunday school class, too, but she moved up to Preschool B at the same time that he moved up to Preschool A. Anyway, tonight is the night she'll be here, so we need to straighten the living room a little bit today. She gives me $5 for watching her. They have a $4 charge for childcare for our Bible Study group ($2/child), so I use what Nancy pays me to pay the RLG babysitter, and then I have $1 left over to tithe with on Sunday! I got some really cute pics of her and Nate last week...which seem to no longer be on my computer...hmmm. We bought Buddy a new laptop a couple of weeks ago with our economic stimulus check, and I inherited his old one, and I think some things got lost in the transition. I thought I saw those pics on this computer, though...like yesterday. Very strange. I'm missing the pictures from last year's reunion, too.
Meanwhile, in May, Buddy went for the WilCo job one last time. After much too much waiting, he finally got his rejection letter. So, we'll be moving soon. We can't stay here and keep paying $400/mo in gas. We're probably going to rent a house 'till we can save up a down payment on a more permanent place. Of course, I didn't want to move again ever after moving in here, and now we're talking about moving 2 more times in the next 2 or 3 years. Ugh. And now that we've started looking, it seems likely that we'll be going back to a duplex. At least the duplexes there are new construction, and not falling down like our last one was. The main question is whether we'll be able to sell the house we're currently in. We saved it from foreclosure just to lose it a week later to the job.
I talked to my uncle last night and found out my grandparents are on vacation. I noticed in May that I hadn't heard from Grandma in a while, so I sent her a Mother's Day card and called her on Mother's Day, but her phone just rang and rang, no one ever picked up. I expected her to call and say she got the card, but didn't hear from her, so I sent Popa a birthday card at the beginning of this month and wrote in it that I hadn't heard from them in a while, expecting one of them to call after they got that card, but still didn't hear from them. So, I called a few days ago and the phone still just rang and rang with no one picking up. I finally looked up my uncle's phone number yesterday and gave him a call, left a message for him to call me back on my cell phone, which he did a little after 9 last night, while we were leaving our Bible study group. I called him back when I got home and he told me where they were. He mentioned about Grandma getting senile (I've noticed it for the past few years) and said it was getting worse. He said that the doctor gave her medication for it, that Popa's supposed to be making sure she takes every day, but that he's getting forgetful, too, so my uncle's not sure how well that's going.
And one last bit of bad news before I post some LOs. Buddy is leaving, as I type, to go to the funeral for a paramedic that died a few days ago. She worked with him a while back, but was working for an air transport company at the time. She and her partner had just picked up a transport patient when the helicopter went down 6 minutes after take-off. The investigation is still ongoing. Her mother still works with Buddy, so Austin is covering their service area so everyone else can go to the funeral.
Ok, enough of that. Here are a couple of LOS from the way-back machine. LOL As I mentioned, in November, we got a puppy. She's 8 months old now, and a horse for Nathan, but these pics were taken when she was still brand new. This first one is Forever in Your Heart and I used it for both a quote challenge and a font challenge:
Credits: Wonderland kit by Jessica Alger; Buttoned Up template by Tracy Drane; January 2008 Word Art by Beckie Wallace; Font: Eat More Chocolate
This one is Little Abby:
Credits: Maia's Garden kit by Pillowgirl, Template 9 by Andrea Gold, Font: Eat More Chocolate
Ok, I'm sure that's way more than enough from me today. I'll leave you with this passage:
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. (Luke 4:4)
