Waterdog

June Birthdays

2008-06-27T13:24:00.006-05:00

Well, just 2 days 'till Hayley's and my birthday! I'd thought about letting her invite church friends over for a party, but she'll be seeing them at church that morning and at Vision High that night! My parents and sister are coming over tomorrow, and we invited our RLG to come by. I don't think anyone from RLG will be here, except probably Nancy and Sarah. The one person I was hoping wouldn't come. Oh, well. There will be other people around to be a buffer.

So, I came up with this idea to do something for birthdays in our Sunday school class, but then couldn't come up with anything to do for them! I finally decided I'd use my digiscrapping skillz and make a birthday card for each kid with a birthday this month, and then we could pass them around the class for the other kids to sign them. I finished the 3 for this month (I didn't make one for myself LOL) and now I just need to print them out on cardstock! I used Digitreat's ABC kit on them. Hayley isn't into pink anymore, so I used Jump for her, Skip for girly-girl Dani, and Run for Garrett. Fonts are 2Peas Jana Banana, AL Young Crafter, and AL Handcrafted, respectively. For the girls, I used templates by Andrea Gold, and for Garrett, I used one from Sir Scrapalot.

Oh, and I found some of my missing pictures, including the ones of Nate and Sarah. Aren't they so cute??

I just checked to see if I have any new comments and I do! Thanks, Suz, for letting me know you're out there! I actually have a reader! LOL Well, that's about all from me for now. I need to get back to working on the heritage album I'm doing for my mil, and hope to be back soon (maybe even next week) to show you some LOs I've done for that! I think've completed about 50. So, I'll have a busy weekend, but will leave you with this passage:

Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety-nine righteous men who have no need to repent. Luke 15:7

Wow, it's been a while!

2008-06-12T11:02:00.006-05:00

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)

Good night or day!

Catch up

2007-12-27T20:02:00.000-06:00

Hayley did GREAT in the play! She rattled off her line just like a pro and sang her heart out! It was her very first time being on stage or performing in front of people at all, ever! The whole play was just the cutest thing ever! Minimal rehearsals, kids from 5th grade down to preschoolers. It was perfectly imperfect and it was wonderful! And I caught the whole thing on tape.

The visit with my father and step-mother went well. she didn't annoy me hardly at all, and she bought the kids lots of clothes, took us out for dinner, and brought us breakfast. The presents they brought weren't all that great. Pierced earrings for Hayley. Linda didn't bother to ask if Hayley has pierced ears or not (she doesn't) or whether we have a Tonka dump truck (we have 2) or a Sit 'n Spin (we have 1). She also brought zodiac-type readouts for Hayley and me, but misspelled both of our middle names on them. At least we got new frames out of that.

Mom, Dad, Traci, Ray & Logan came over yesterday to exchange gifts. The kids got more clothes, Hayley got an mp3 player that looks like an ipod, but isn't really and Nate got a grandpa-made toy box with his name on it. When Mom was up here for Logan's birthday last month, she dropped off a 2-seater wagon for Nate, so he got that, too. Logan loved his books and I only bought 1 that they already had, Goodnight Moon. That was the one that I thought might be a duplicate while I was picking them out, but I decided to get it anyway. Oh, well. If they're like us, they'll go through at least 2 copies, anyway.

We'll be leaving on Saturday (and so will Mom & Dad) to go down to the coast. We'll be staying with my in-laws like we usually do. Our 10th wedding anniversary is coming up on the 31st (Monday), and our original plans fell through. We were planning on staying out at my grandparents' trailer on the lake, since grandma called me a few months ago specifically to offer use of the trailer anytime we wanted it. So, I called her a few weeks ago to let her know we'd like to take her up on the offer. She said that would be great, but I think I must have woken her up from a nap because at least 5 times during the conversation, she asked if there was anything we needed or wanted to have out there ready for us, and at least as many times she asked what day we were going to be down there. I know she wrote it down at least once while I was on the phone with her that time. We decided to go by and get the key from them, and they'd show us around the place on the 29th. Then a couple of weeks later, she called and said that there might be a conflict, that someone else was wanting to stay out there on Christmas Eve and asked when we would be down there. I told her again that it was the 29th and she wrote it down. I let her know that it was just going to be Buddy and me for our anniversary, she said that was great and that we could get the key at some point, but that they should be home on the 29th. Then, a few days ago, she called back again and said it's too cold for us to stay out there, that there have been a few freezes lately (it's frozen here for the last 3 or 4 nights, but I guess it has down there, too). So, now we have to figure out somewhere else to stay for the night. We were thinking of going to the Armadillo, too, since it's right across the street from the lake, but I pointed out that it's probably full of kids and people we don't know, and that it's not BYOB anymore, so we might as well go somewhere else.So, Buddy booked a room in the hotel we got married in and we're thinking of going to the karaoke bar we used to go to or do something with one of my old friends we haven't seen in years. Buddy has recruited his parents to watch the kids (and dogs) for us. I'm sure they'll be overjoyed to find out that Nathan still doesn't sleep through the night and comes to our bed to nurse, and that the puppy isn't fully housebroken and cries, whines, barks and howls at night. So, the next time you hear from me, I'll have been married for 10 years and it will be 2008 (hah! I almost typed 2010! The kids are going crazy and I had to tell them to cut it out, and apparently lost my train of thought!)

Alright, on to scrapping business! Here are the latest LOs I've done with Pillowgirl's Beautiful Day kit. I love this kit! I LOVE blue & green, even better when they're together, plus this kit has so many elements I could probably make 50 LOs before I used them all! Anyway, here's Daddy's Boots:

Credits

And here is Too Much Computer"

Credits

I still haven't loaded the pics off the camera yet (the old camera or my brand new Sony Cybershot, either! So, when I finally do that, I'll have some cute Christmas play and Christmas Day pics for you. For now, I'd better go. Oh, but not before I give you one more link. I'm proud to announce the grand opening of my store on Etsy!! I'm selling some afghans that I made awhile back. I've been meaning to sell them for quite a while, but never have managed to get around to it. A few weeks ago, I finally put them on ebay and eventually sold 3 of them. There are 4 left, so I put them on Etsy. Please go have a look and buy them! LOL Oh, and I made a banner for my Etsy store using Pillowgirl's beautiful Day kit! Look!!

Ok, I'm going now, but I'll leave you with this passage:

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15:7

Good night or day!

Just some stuff

2007-12-15T20:02:00.000-06:00

Wow, what a busy week! For Hayley, anyway. Well, let's see, let's start with last week. We had our Bible study meeting on Wed, then Buddy went to work on Thurs and didn't get off 'till Mon morning. So, we didn't go to church on Sunday, but that's the only thing we missed. Then he went back to work Tues & Wed. The kids and I went to Bible study Wed night (potluck), then Buddy was home Thurs, so we skipped school and ran errands instead. Hayley had rehearsal for the Christmas play on Friday night, but we completely forgot about it 'till her ride showed up. We had our makeup day today (quiz day, so we couldn't skip it altogether), and tonight she's gone to a Christmas party at her Sunday school teacher's house. Buddy also happens to be at a Christmas party at work (he's on duty) so it's just Nathan, the dogs, and me here tonight. Maybe some day I'll get to go to a Christmas party. I went to one once when I was a kid, but it was Mom's office party...not really all that kid-friendly. On Tues night there's a Christmas party (potluck) at a church member's house and 3 different Bible study groups are invited, but I can't go to that one, either. Buddy will be at work, so the kids and I would have to bum a ride...again. Plus my step-mother, Linda, called yesterday and said she and my father are going to come visit on Tues and Wed. Hmmm...when was the last time I heard from them? Oh, yeah, it was nearly 2 years ago when I called to let them know they had a new grandson and they came to see us a few days later. Before that, about 5 years. She said they have Christmas & b-day presents for us. Oh, joy. Ok, enough complaining. I forgave her for all the crap she put me through as a kid. Now I need to give her a chance.

Anyway, Hayley's in the Christmas play at church this year. This is still the church's first year of existence, and our first year as churchgoers, so I think that's pretty cool! It's awesome to see God working in our lives! She's playing an angel. Yes, it's a stretch! LOL She gets to say the line about "For unto you this day is born a Savior who is Christ the Lord; and this shall be your sign: you shall find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothing and lying in a manger." And she gets to sing a solo. Well, really it's a duet, but the other girl sings the first verse alone and then Hayley sings the 2nd verse alone. I haven't been to any of the rehearsals, so I'm excited to see the whole thing all put together. I'm planning on taking my still camera to the dress rehearsal and my video camera to the actual performance. Both will be on Christmas Eve, dress rehearsal at 4 and the performance at 6.

This past week for our Bible study group, we finished reading The Purpose Driven Life and we were supposed to evangelize to unbelievers that we know. The assignment was 1 or 2 people each. I chose our neighbor, Everett, since 1) he was the only person I could think of and 2) I was wanting to clear the air with him. His house had been for sale for a while now, so I thought I should do it before he moved. Well, I didn't get around to it before Wed, and when Buddy was here on Friday, we saw that his house was empty and Buddy said that he'd seen a moving van over there loading stuff up. Today there was a U-Haul and 2 pickups over there. I don't know if they were moving things in or out, but Everett doesn't own a pickup. So, I guess I was too late. Oh, well, Maybe we'll get off on a better foot with whoever moves in there. And maybe I'll have a chance to invite them to church or evangelize to them. At least I won't have to go over there already knowing they don't like me.

Wow, I've got a lot to say today! Ok, so on to scrapping! So, I mentioned I'm on Pillowgirl's CT. I'm sporting these nifty blinkies around digiscrapping sites. For some reason I can't get them to be side-by-side here on blogger, so here they are, stacked.

So far, I've done these LOs with her Glitter for Christmas kit:

You can get the Christmas for Glitter kit here.

The latest progressive challenge ends tonight over at GDS and here's my finished LO:

Credits

Let's see...anymore LOs I've done but haven't shared? Ah, yes, there's one! I just realized I went from telling you we didn't have a puppy yet to telling you "Nell has gotten out of the backyard 3 times!" The day after Thanksgiving, we went and got our puppy! It went about as well as the rest of the communication with the breeder went, but we did finally get her and brought her home. We finally finished fixing the fence the other day. It took a few trips to Lowe's to get it done because as soon as we'd board up one hole, she'd find another. This time, Buddy bought one extra board just in case we still missed a hole. I can see a place where he might have to use it, but she's growing so fast she might not end up fitting through it. She can put her nose through, but I don't guess she can fit her head through or the rest of her would be able to follow. It wouldn't take much digging to get it done if she wanted to, though, I don't think. Anyway, here's the first Nell LO I've done.

Credits

Well, I desperately need a shower before we go to church in the morning and I'd love to take it as soon as possible, so I'm going to go put this little boy in his bed, put the little dog in her bed, and hit the showers, then put myself to bed. Before I go, I'll leave you with this passage:

Yahweh has heard my plea; Yahweh will receive my prayer. Psalm 6:9

Good night or day!

Omg! How exciting!

2007-12-02T23:20:00.000-06:00

First, just some odds and ends. Thanksgiving went well. All the company and food was great! Mom, Dad, Ray & Logan were here. Here is the LO I made for the Thanksgiving-themed progressive challenge. I used Jessica Alger's Indian Summer kit and the Vintage font.

Nell has gotten out of our fence 3 times now, so we went to Lowe's and bought some boards to close up some gaps, but the 3rd time she got out was after we did that, so we're going to have to go back on Wed and buy one more board for the last gap. We've been lucky that every time she's gotten out someone has been there and brought her back. So, we'll have to keep a close eye on her when she's in the back yard 'till we can finish fixing the fence.

Oh, and about all the excitement, I applied to pillowgirl's CT call a few days ago. I dunno why I didn't mention it here...too busy to blog, probably. Anyway, I just got an email from her saying that there's a position open for me if I still want it and to reply ASAP!! *Doing the dork dance* This was my first time applying for a CT and I got it! And with the awesomely talented pillowgirl no less!! How COOL is that?! I've had 2 awful, horrible days in a row...mainly my own fault for just being in a really rotten mood...and now at the end of the second day, I get this news! I'm so jazzed!

So, that's what I'm all excited about! I also listed 7 afghans to eBay today, but I'll have to post links next time 'cause it's time for me to put this little boy in bed and go get in bed with the big boy who's waiting for me in the other room! So, I'll leave you with this passage:

For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost. Luke 19:10

Good night or day!

Thanksgiving, dog update, Progressive Challenge 4!

2007-11-21T10:22:00.000-06:00

So, I found out Sunday night that I'll be hosting Thanksgiving dinner! Nothing like short notice, huh? LOL This will be my first time hosting any holiday get together. It's not really a big deal, though. It's just going to be the people in my household, plus my parents and my brother-in-law. Oh, and my nephew who just turned 1 year old a week ago. So, the big thing is where everyone will sit. We can fit 5 people at our dining table, and there will be 5 adults. Hayley can fend for herself and eat in the living room, but I don't know what we're going to do about the babies. We don't have a high chair,'cause Nathan sits in my lap to eat most of the time. If we give him a bowl of turkey, we could have him eat in the living room, too, but I don't know about Logan. Ah, well, I guess we'll figure it out.

Well, we still don't have a puppy, but the possibility is still there. The lady has apparently been too busy to shoot off an email because her husband has been out of town. Not too busy to sell 2 of the puppies to other people, but too busy to get back to me within a week or two of me emailing her. Anyway, Buddy finally called them on Monday and left a message (too busy to answer the phone, too) and the husband called him back yesterday and they have 1 female puppy left (we want a female), so we're going to go out and have a look on Friday morning. I have a feeling we'll be bringing her home regardless, but I just hope she's what we're looking for.

Elaine has started Progressive Challenge 4 (I wonder how many of them I'll keep count of) over at GDS. The theme this time is, of course, Thanksgiving, or what you're thankful for. She's already posted the guidelines for Step 2, which is to use 3 photos. I've never taken pictures at Thanksgiving, but I guess my first time hosting would be a good time to take some! But I'll have to wait 'till Friday to finish this step of the challenge! Maybe Thursday night I can find some time to upload the pics and work on it. That reminds me that I need to take pics of the afghans that I need to sell and get them on ebay! Anyway, here's my first step of the PC.

The papers are from Jessica Alger's Indian Summer kit.

Well, that's all I've got for you today, so I'll leave you with this passage:

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. Luke 10:21

Good night or day!

New kit

2007-11-17T18:43:00.000-06:00

I made a kit for the NovMember Roundup over at MIS. I don't have much to say right now 'cause it's dinnertime, but I just wanted to let you in on my latest freebie! Here's the preview:

And here's the download link!

I've gotta go, but I'll leave you with this passage:

He will yet fill your mouth with laughing and your lips with rejoicing. Job 8:21

Good night or day!

Hey there, Hi there, Ho there!

2007-11-14T15:10:00.000-06:00

Howdy, neighbors! No, I haven't been watching Home Improvement reruns! I'm just in a good mood, I guess. Both kiddos are stuffy and coughing, and Nate's been biting and pinching me a lot lately (because he can't breathe well to nurse, I guess), but I'm in a good mood anyway! It might be because for the past 2 nights, Nate has slept in his own bed all night! 'Till 8:30 when my cell phone rang yesterday morning (I didn't get to it in time and they didn't leave a message, but it wasn't a number I recognized), and 'till 7:35 this morning! We've got our REALife group meeting tonight. I've really enjoyed reading The Purpose Driven Life so far. Buddy's working for the second Wednesday in a row, though, so the kids and I will be getting a ride with one of the other couples in the group. I think he'll finally be off next Wed, but I'm not sure right now. I guess I should look to make sure before we go tonight so I can arrange a ride or let them know I won't need one next week.

This past weekend was really busy! Really, it was just Saturday, but it was so busy it might as well have been the whole weekend! First we had to clean the whole house. It was really a mess, and it really needed to be done. Then on Saturday afternoon, from 4-6, was my nephew's first birthday party. We ended up being an hour late because Hayley decided to go to someone else's birthday party instead and we had to go find her. Then from 6:30-9, I had a Bunco game with the ladies at church. Yep, I was late, but they were JUST about to start when I walked in, so I didn't miss anything. I'd never played before, and I started at the head table and stayed there for the first 8 rounds! I won 8 rounds in a row! I ended up winning 11 rounds in all, which tied one other person. We had a "roll off" and I won! I won a huge coffee mug (cappuccino-size) with 2 biscotti in it and a $10 gift certificate to Starbucks. We have some cappuccino pods here at home, so I've been enjoying the mug and the biscotti already. We were going to use the gift certificates Sunday morning after breakfast, on our way to church, but then we forgot! By the time church let out at 12:30 and I finally remembered, I didn't want coffee that late in the day. Oh, well. We'll just save it for another time. My name was also pulled for a door prize, but they didn't allow double prizes, so they drew another name instead. Oh, I almost forgot! That wasn't the end of our busyness on Saturday! While I was at Bunco, Buddy's oldest brother, Allen, and his new wife, Bonnie, came by to stay the night on their way to visit my in-laws. Allen lives in Utah now, so no one in the family had met Bonnie. At first we were all amazed at how much she looked like Allen's last wife, but she doesn't look all that much like her in person. She's really nice. I don't know how long she'll last, though, seeing as she's his 6th wife. Allen & Kim were married for about 8 1/2 years. That was his longest marriage.

So, Mom is now retired. She's been in touch with Kelly Services, so she might be going back to work full time. In other, unrelated news, the breeder that had 3 female puppies available two weeks ago (the last time I heard from her) now only has 1. The first time I emailed her, she got back to me the next day. I guess she set up an expectation by doing that, but the next time I emailed her, she didn't get back to me for 2 weeks. Now I emailed her again yesterday to try to arrange a day to come and see her one remaining puppy and she hasn't gotten back to me yet. I found another breeder who's a little farther away and doesn't have a website, but might be a better bet if they can actually communicate with their (potential) customers.

Ok, so I guess that's enough yakkin' from me. Here are some LOs I'd like to show you. First up is my final product from the latest progressive challenge over at GDS. I'm not going to bore you with each step in this post...just straight to the end. So, here it is:

You can view the credits here

Also, I made these 2 LOs of my grandparents. I think I'm going to print them and frame them and give them to them for Christmas. These are my father's parents, my bio-dad, who I hardly ever talk to. Grandma Ann is my very favorite grandparent of all. I get sad seeing her get older now, because I know she won't be around forever like it seemed she would when I was a kid. She turned 77 years old a little over a week ago. Popa is actually my step-grandfather. Grandma Ann married him when my father was 15 years old, 8 years after my grandfather died. But he's the only grandfather I've ever known on my father's side, and I love him dearly. He turned 80 this year on D-Day. Ok, anyway, here are the LOs.

You can see the credits here and here.

Well, I guess that's probably enough from me for one day. I need to go start getting ready for my meeting tonight anyway, so I'll leave you with this passage:

But I, by Your great mercy, will come into Your house; in reverence will I bow down toward Your holy temple. Psalm 5:7

Good night or day!

Happy November

2007-11-04T08:42:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I'm a little late on saying Happy November, but this is my first post of the month, so I guess it's ok. The Amazing Race starts tonight! Woot! The kids (and the parents) had fun on Halloween and got way more candy than we need. The boys were pirates, Hayley was a Midnight Fairy and I was a gothic slayer, I think. I'm using the pictures of us for the third progressive challenge over at GDS. They're doing a theme this time: Halloween. And we're starting with the pictures this time, which is harder than it seems. Here's what I came up with:

Now if I could just get it uploaded to the gallery, I'd be doing good.

Wednesday was my mom's last day at work. They're closing her department here in TX and are moving it to Michigan. They're "insourcing," I guess. And hiring people from outside the company instead of qualified people inside the company. Tomorrow is her first Monday not going to work in probably 37 years, so I'm going to give her a call and make sure she's doing ok.

Well, the breeder still hasn't emailed me back after I asked her how she likes to be paid, and she still hasn't put the pics of the pups online. She said she was going to put them online this weekend. Well, she does still have the rest of today to still make it the weekend, but I'm concerned that she still hasn't emailed me back. Why do business-people do things like that? I'll never understand. When I'm trying to sell someone something, I always make sure to respond promptly and do what I say I'm going to do. Not responding and not doing something you've said you will are not the way to sell things.

Oh, I made a LO with SandraK's Pipsqueak #5. Way back when she first gave away this quickpage, I knew just what to do with it. Hayley has a shirt that looks almost just like the pink camo paper, so I took her out in the backyard and took some pictures of her, but when I went to make the LO, I couldn't find the quickpage. Well, I figure it's probably locked up on one of the broken computers now, so I was at SandraK's blog a couple of days ago to d/l her latest pipsqueak and I'd just happened to look at my scrapping list a day or so before that and luckily I'd put the number of the quickpage. So, I searched her blog 'till I found Pipsqueak #5 and was thankful that the link was still good. So, I re-d/l'ed it and made the LO. I used the yelly font. So, here it is:

Our whole church is reading The Purpose Driven Life in our REALife groups (small groups) and it's going really well. Speaking of church, I'd better go get ready, so I'll leave you with this passage:

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV)

Good night or day!

Scrap Crazy

2007-10-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

Huey is home again. The dog catcher picked him up right at the end of our street. Buddy worked 'till Sat, though, so Huey was at the pound from Wed morning 'till Sat at 11am. I got in touch with a basset breeder who will have 3 females available about the middle of next month. We can see pics and try to choose one in about a week. We're planning on naming her Nell.

Buddy worked 1/2 a day today, so he was here for dinner, and he'll be here for the next 4 days! He doesn't go back to work 'till Saturday! I made a list of stuff we need to get done while he's here, including bake and eat a pumpkin pie, and clean the whole house. I wonder how much of it we'll actually get done and how much our laziness will prevent from happening.

I've been scrapping like crazy lately, it seems. I finished the second progressive challenge over at GDS. Here's the preview for that:

Credits: Raspberry Goodness kit by Raspberry Road Designs
Swirl by Valj
Fonts: Tork and Wild West Wind

I also made this LO for Andrea Gold's template challenge:

Credits: Template 13 Side A and Stars Forever kit, both from Andrea Gold
Font: AL Capone

And, finally, I made this LO for the technique challenge over at GDS. We had to use a wrapped frame. The Sunset LO I posted a few days ago was for the same challenge, so this was my second entry.

Credits: Bling Template and Bling Frame Cluster by KimB
Background paper from Andrea Gold's Easter kit
Font: 2Peas Jana Banana

Whew! Ok, well, it's beddy-bye time for me, so I'll leave you with this passage:

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." John 3:3

Good night or day!

Progressive Challenge

2007-10-25T23:08:00.000-05:00

Our dog, Huey, got out of the back yard yesterday morning. He's a runner, so since he didn't have his collar and tags on, I was thinking he might be gone for good this time. I called the vet in town to see if anyone took him in and she said that animal control had him. I called them and the lady said that she picked him up right at the end of our street. It'll cost $40 to get him back. It's pretty annoying, but I'm just glad he didn't get hurt or lost for good. And now we're talking about getting a basset puppy soon. I so don't want to housebreak a puppy, but Hound Rescue won't give dogs to people with little kids. So, I was looking at some of the most adorable puppy pictures online all day. Oh, and my husband actually asked me today if he could go to Vegas with a female coworker. I'll try to remember to tell you more about that later.

I forgot to show you Step 2 in the current progressive challenge going on over at GDS! Well, Step 3 is due tonight and I finally got it done, so I'll just show you that instead!

I've used the Raspberry Goodness kit by Raspberry Road, except for the swirl, which is by Valj. The pics are of my son, Nathan, on the rocking horse my dad made. Speaking of Nathan, he's conked out and ready for bed, so I'd better go and leave you with this passage:

All things work together for good to those who love God. Romans 8:28

Our small group from church (REALife group) started reading The Purpose Driven Life last night, so I'd better go read today's chapter! Good night or day!

Kit preview and a new LO

2007-10-22T10:50:00.000-05:00

Buddy was home yesterday and we all had a nice day together. Church was fun and everyone enjoyed it. I don't think Nathan even cried. Buddy dropped him off in the nursery and said that he put Nate down, Nate looked at the toys, looked back at Buddy, looked at the toys again and took off toward them and didn't look back! Buddy got out of the nursery without Nathan noticing. When Buddy came out, he let the door close on its own, though, so I don't know if Nate noticed that and freaked out or not. He was asleep in Todd's arms when we went to pick him up. All of the REALife groups are starting The Purpose Driven Life this week. I've thought of reading it before, but never got around to it. I guess this is my opportunity to. That reminds me that I need to email Cindy and ask her if we need to start reading for discussion on Wed night or if we'll be given our first reading assignment that night.

So, here's the preview of my Thinking of You kit that I promised you.

Again, you can download it here.

I also participated in Victoria's Inspired by Victoria ad challenge over at SBB. Here's the LO I made for the challenge:

Credits:
Paper: TCS_Naturescape_Paper_Special_BlossomBlue
Love overlay (no name on file)
Fonts: Palatino Linotype & More Than Enough

Well, it's Monday, so it's a long school day. Hayley's still eating breakfast, even though it's now 11:15. She got up before me this morning and we're still running late. I told her I wanted to start school at 11 (even though I'd have preferred 10), and here we are 15 minutes later and I'm hoping we can start at 11:30 now. I think maybe I'm doing something wrong. So, I'd better go, but before I do, I'll leave you with this passage:

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. Hebrews 13:!7

My Very First Kit!!

2007-10-20T16:48:00.000-05:00

Poor, poor Nate is sick, sick, sick. It's nothing major, just a cold or the flu, or something, but he sure has been miserable the past few days. When the fever hits, he's just been moaning and wailing nonstop. So, I've been trying to keep his fever down and his nose relatively dry. I think his throat was sore the first day, too, because every time he would cough, he'd scream. Last night around midnight his temp was 103.5, poor baby. He's doing better today than he was yesterday. I'm oping we can still go to church tomorrow. It'll be the first time in a month or more, I think. But now Hayley's stopped up (she had a sore throat yesterday) and Buddy just told me on AIM that he's feeling sick, too. He took a nap, but it didn't help. I guess I'm next. I'll try to remember to take an extra Vitamin C pill tonight and maybe that will help.

So, onto scrapping. the Members RAK at RAKScraps this fortnight is Thinking of You and since someone else already did some great word art, I figured I'd try my hand at a kit! I'll have to show you the previews some other time, 'cause Blogger isn't letting me post pics right now. You can go see the preview for the full kit right here until then. And here is the download link.

Well, hopefully I'll be able to post those previews here for ya soon. Until then, I'll leave you with this passage:

Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples. 1 Chronicles 16:24

Good night or day!

Another progressive challenge

2007-10-17T20:29:00.000-05:00

Poor Natey only got a 1/2 hour nap today at noon. He rolled over and I'm not sure why he didn't get back to sleep. I think it had something to do with Hayley talking to him. He tried to go to sleep at 6:15, but I knew that would be a bad idea. That's about what time he went to sleep the day before yesterday and we were up 'till about 2. So, I woke him up and cooked dinner. Then he tried to go to sleep at about 8, but I still had to change him into a dry diaper and pjs. So, I changed him and he went to sleep at about 8:30 and I went ahead and let him. I'm thinking he should sleep 'till 8 still, since he didn't sleep much today.

I forgot to post the LO I did of the flowers! We bought these flowers for a science project where Hayley had to dissect a flower. They were so pretty that I had to take a pic, and I made this LO for a template challenge, a quote challenge, and a font challenge!

Credits:
Template: Rock the Template Crop template by Amy Bleser
Spring Triad kit by Tiffany Casey
October Quote Challenge Word Art by Theresa Borntreger
Font: Everyday Ghost

Dang, I just realized I never posted my final product of the first progressive challenge! Here it is:

Credits

So, now that the first progressive challenge is over, Elaine has started another! Yay! I'm not feeling quite as confident this time, though. For step 1, we had to use 4 papers, 2 solid and 2 patterned. So, here's what I came up with, using papers from Raspberry Goodness by Raspberry Road Designs:

Ok, I think that's it, so I'll leave you with this passage:

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2

Good night or day!

Sunset and Pregressive Challenge LOs

2007-10-14T18:08:00.000-05:00

Buddy's home today and tomorrow! He had a meeting this morning, so we still didn't get to go to church, but at least he's home. Not much going on today except catching up on watching shows saved on our dvr. It was acting up and we missed Smallville and Survivor this week. Luckily, CBS airs their shows online, so Buddy already watched Survivor. I still need to do that. And Hayley and I still need to watch Kid Nation, too.

So, I made a LO lat night and used it for a couple of challenges at GDS. Here it is:

You can see the credits here.

I also did step 4 of Elaine's Progressive Challenge. Here's my updated version:

You can view the credits here.

Well, I think that's about all I've got for you today. We've gotta go to the store, so I'll leave you with this passage for now:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:28-30

Good night or day!

Progressive Challenge Step 3

2007-10-13T00:41:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to stop in really quickly and show you step 3 of my LO for the progressive challenge. All papers and elements are from ScrappyBlueStones' Bluestorm kit.

I've got to get this boy to bed, so I've gotta run, and I'll leave you with this passage:

Examine me, O Yahweh, and prove me; purify my reins and my heart. Psalm 26:2

Good night or day!

So much for the cloth

2007-10-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

So, he's already got diaper rash from using the cloth diapers again. I hope it isn't yeast. We've already battled that. It took 6 months or more to get rid of it, and that's why he was in 'sposies. I thought that with these new dipes that wouldn't happen, that it was the saller diapers that got yeast in them that wouldn't die or something. So, I guess my boy just isn't destined to wear cloth. He was just fine in them the first 6 months of his life. Oh, well. I can't say I didn't try.

So, I didn't come back Sunday to show you my next step in the progrssive challenge! Oops! This time, we had to add 3 pictures. I was planning on just 1, so I had to search for 3. I chose 3 pics from this year's family reunion for Buddy's side of the family. They're of Nathan and a cousin or something named Maycee. She's a month younger than him, and he was in love with her hat. So, here's what I came up with:

Round 3 is going on now, and we have to add elements. We have to use each of the following elements at least once in our layouts.
We can, if we choose to, use each element more than once.
Button
Ribbon
Something made with cardboard
Any element of our choice.
So,I need to get that done tonight, so I'll try to come back tomorrow and show you what I've done! I just looked through ScrappyBlueStones' Bluestorm kit (which is where I got the papers from) and I think everything I need is in there!! Yay!! So, I need to get that done quickly. I think the deadline is in an hour and 45 min! So, I'll leave you with this passage:

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

Good night or day!

Elaine's Progressive Challenge at GDS

2007-10-06T22:28:00.001-05:00

So, I FINALLY finished making the second size of cloth diapers today! I've been wanting to get this done since before Nate was born (he turned 18 months old 1 week ago)!! We're down to only 5 'sposies and Buddy won't be home for 2 more days, so we were down to the wire, had to be done today! I still have some more fabric cut out for some more diapers, but I don't have any soaker pads for them. Need to buy more fabric. So, the bub's back in cloth, just in time for potty training! LOL

So, over at GDS, Elaine started a progressive challenge last week. I've never participated in one of those, so I figured I'd give it a try. Here's what I did for the first round:

I used Bluestorm kit by ScrappyBlueStones. I'll come back tomorrow and show you what I did for round 2. I have just barely an idea where this LO might be going. I think I'll put a big pic of Nate in the semi-circle, making the edge match the edge of the semi-circle. Other than that, I have no idea. I don't even know what picture I'll use.

Well, I'd better head to bed. Nate's been asleep in my lap for about 2 hours, so I'd better go sleep so I'll be ready to wake up when he is in the morning. Here's a passage for you:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Good night or day!

We're home and a FREEBIE!

2007-10-05T13:19:00.000-05:00

We're home from visiting the family. Have been for a few days now, just getting settled back in. Everyone's doing fine, and there are more animals on the farm. Mom and I really enjoyed our massages, but not so much the soreness afterward. Nathan had a blast with his granny and Hayley harrassed all the chickens and turkeys. Nathan also learned what a turkey says, straight from the turkey's mouth. Every time he'd see Henry, he'd gobble right back at him.

So, now it's time to start school again. We did a split week, since we left on Thursday and came back on Tuesday (actually, we came back on Monday). I forgot that we had to do school on Wednesday, though, so she had double Latin yesterday. I guess she'll have double science today. Oops. Today is quiz day, so she had math and Latin quizzes this morning. She needs to work on her declinations, but her math was excellent. She's got a unit test in math tomorrow. I never can manage to not have to give tests on Saturdays. Oh, well. That's one of the benefits of homeschooling. You can do it when you want.

So...I made another word art freebie for RAKScraps, for the Oct 1 Members RAK this time. The theme is Zoo. There weren't just a whole lot of quotes about the zoo, so there aren't quite as many this time as last. Anyway, here's the preview:

And you can grab it here.

That's about all I've got for you today, so I'll leave you with this passage:

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. Philippians 3:8-9

Good night or day!

A FREEBIE!!!

2007-09-26T22:03:00.000-05:00

I've been so busy trying to get ready for our trip that I haven't had time to come and post the awesome word art I made! And today I woke up feeling like total poop. The night before last, I only slept about 3 or 4 hours. I just wasn't tired. I went to sleep at about 12 or 1 like I usually do, but I woke up at about 4 and just laid there, not tired 'till about 8, and then I dozed for about 1/2 an hour. All day yesterday, I felt just fine, like I'd gotten a full night's sleep, no problem. Last night, I got to bed about 1 and tried to read a little and failed miserably, slept 'till 8 or so this morning and woke up feeling like I wanted to die. I've got a huge headache now that's been building all day, and my left side hurts like mad. That's the side I woke up laying on, but I know I slept on the other side some last night, too, because I always lay on my right side when Nate wakes up and I bring him to my bed. So, I'm hoping he sleeps good tonight and that all I need is some sleep to feel better tomorrow. I'm going to take some Tylenol before I go to bed so maybe the headache will lessen so I can get to sleep.

Ok, enough of my whining. Mom and I are going to have our massages on Friday!! I really hope I'm feeling better by then, both my head and my side.I'm trying to decide if it would be appropriate to take my camera to document the event for a LO. I'm so looking forward to it! I hope Nathan doesn't freak out when I leave that early in the morning and that I can find my way to my mom's house from my in-laws' house! LOL Other good news: My best friend Deveron called me tonight! Totally out of the blue! we don't get to talk much at all now that we're both married with kids in different cities, so it was really a surprize to hear from him. I wish my head (and kids) hadn't been distracting me so much, 'cause I probably sounded like I didn't want ot talk to him, or something! I was also trying to figure out a new computer game when he called, so I was extremely distracted. Sorry Dev! Thanks for calling, though! Maybe we'll get to talk more soon.

I always (for the past sevreal months) make desktop calendar LOs for my dh and me. I made our October ones a couple of days ago.

You can see the credits here.

So, I guess I've rambled enough and you probably want the freebie now, huh? Ok. I made these for the September 15 Members RAK over at RAKScraps. It's a set of 16 Autumn word arts. Here's a preview:

Download here!!

Life goes on

2007-09-22T20:35:00.000-05:00

Well, sure enough, I didn't make it to round 3. Oh, well, life goes on. I was kinda bummed Tuesday night, even though I knew I wouldn't make it. But they form a whole new Supreme Team every 4 months, so I'll try again in January. So, onward and upward!

I did a quote challenge and here's what I came up with:

I made this LO for Theresa's September quote challenge on GDS. You can see the credits here.

So, I have an appointment for massages for Mom and me set for 9:30am on Friday. Mom didn't want a whole spa experience, just a massage, so that's what we're going to do. Of course, I'll have to get up at 7 or 7:30 to be there on time, but I think I can handle that, since it is for a massage after all! LOL We'll be leaving sometime Thursday to head down to see them and won't be back 'till next Wed (the 2nd). I might even take my laptop with me so I can show Mom The GIMP. She's using some online program/website to make digi LOs now. It's a lot more user-friendly than The GIMP, but you get a lot less control over your LOs. They have templates that you can recolor (but only pre-configured colors), and you have to put your pictures where the template lets you...more like quickpages, I guess. Anyway, it's nice for someone who just wants to get some pages done and isn't interested in the art of scrapping, or very much personalization other than journaling and the addition of your own photos. I doubt I'll convince her to change to The GIMP, but I think she'd be interested in seeing it, anyway. She also has a wireless connection, so if we make a LO, I might even post it from there.

Good night or day! Here's your passage:

He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. Proverbs 13:3

Round 2 LO

2007-09-16T18:50:00.000-05:00

I called my mom yesterday and let her know we'll be visiting in a couple of weeks and to find out if Friday the 28th will be a good day for our spa day. Now I just need to call the place and make sure they're not booked on that day, make an appointment if they take appointments. I'm so looking forward to this. I've never been to a day spa. I've only ever had one professional manicure, and one facial, on separate occasions. So, this will be fun. I had the idea to take her for a Mother's Day Out package (facial, hot and cold stone massage and parafin dip) for Mother's Day, but they were booked the one day I was down there and could take her, so she just said to do it whenever we get a chance, and this is our chance.

So, I finally finished working on and submitted my layout for round 2 of the Supreme Team contest. There are so many creative LOs entered this time that I'm pretty sure I won't make it to round 3, but I do like mine. Other than doing a total reworking of it with a totally different concept, I think it's as good as I can get it. Here it is:

Wish me luck! I'm going to need it. Results are announced on Tuesday night, so I'll be back then with a report. Good night or day! Here's a passage for today:

Jesus Comforts His Disciples 1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going." Jesus the Way to the Father 5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:1-6

Round 2 Kit

2007-09-12T09:07:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to stop in and show you the kit we'll be working with for round 2 of the Supreme Team contest at GDS. Here it is:

Isn't it just so comfy? I just want to cuddle up in it! And guess what! That's the name of the kit! It's Cuddle Up by Helen Ehrenhofer. You can pick it up here. And it's going for 30% off right now, too! Go! Run! Run! I'll be here when you get back!

The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. Proverbs 13:9

Good night or day!

Woohoo!!!

2007-09-11T22:07:00.000-05:00

Ok, so, guess what??

Isn't that awesome?? Only 15 people were cut and 70 people advanced to the next round. When I read that, I was feeling pretty confident, but I was still nervous when they got close to the end of the list. They announced the winners of round 1 in alphabetical order, so I was "and last, but not least." I'm so excited! I dunno how far I'll make it, but it sure is fun! Round 2 starts in the morning. I can't wait to see the kit we'll be using!

I needed something good like this to happen today. Today has been emotional, as I'm sure it has been for lots of people. I've been watching tv all day (like I normally do, lol) and 9/11 has been mentioned a few times. Hayley asked me (for the first time) what happened that day and I had to tell her. I told Buddy earlier that it's a good thing I'm not PMSing or I'd have been bawling. So, I was glad to have this distraction and to have a happy memory for today. I definitely don't want to forget, but sometimes remembering is painful. I didn't know anyone in NY that day, but I grieved right along with them, and with the rest of the country. One good thing is that I picked up a freebie today, a memorial kit, that had a Star of Life in it (the symbol for paramedics)! It's so hard to find paramedic kits, and especially ones that don't have to do with firefighting, so I was really happy to find that Star of Life!

Well, it's about time to get this little boy to bed, but I'll be back tomorrow with the preview of the Round 2 kit! I'll leave you with this passage:

God's Love and Ours

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:7-11

Good night or day

Sunny Sunday

2007-09-09T21:13:00.000-05:00

Today was a pretty good day. We went to church this morning, since Buddy was home. It was nice, but not as good as last Sunday. Maybe it was because we sang songs I didn't know, so I couldn't really get into it. I only knew one son, Refiner's Fire. I'm not saying that's a bad thing...I didn't even know Refiner's Fire until I learned it at this church. But a good mix of familiar songs and new ones is nice. We'll be missing church next week, but we'll get to be there the week after.

At 2, there was a meeting at City Hall concerning the construction of the houses in our neighborhood. We were all planning to go, but Nate fell asleep at 1:45, so I sent Buddy off on his own. When he came home, he said that there hadn't been any Lennar representatives there, but that the hoemowners were thinking of filing a class action lawsuit. One of the options that Lennar might take is to buy back houses. Buddy's been trying to get me to agree to move closer to his job, so this might be the perfect opportunity for that. Part of the reason I haven't agreed is because I know that we wouldn't be able to sell this house right now, even if I was willing to move out of it (our son was born here, among other things). Our church is all about planting churches in other twons in Central Texas, so I'm also hoping they plant one near where Buddy works that we could move to. I know my will doesn't always match up with God's Will, but that seems like a really good way to go to me right now. If that's His plan, then I'm all for it.

So, I said yesterday that I'd show you the other LOs I made while trying to get one suitable for the Supreme Team contest. I dunno if I wanna show the second one, but here's the first one I made. I decided not to submit it because even though I like it a lot, it doesn't show off the kit very well. There are so many papers and elements in the kit that it was difficult to showcase the whole thing. So, here is Princess Hayley and Super Huey.

Hayley was about 5 in this pic and she was playing dress up and decided to dress the dog up, too. I took this pic in our backyard and I just love it. It's my favorite picture. I was going to leave the flowers off and just have the gems scattered around, but then decided I needed to use more of the kit. Then I figured that a white space kit wasn't good for showing off the kit.

Well, I'd better go grab some freebies and head to bed. Have a great day or night and here's a passage for you:

Therefore, Christ having suffered for us in the flesh, also you arm yourselves with the same thought, because he having suffered in the flesh has been made to rest from sin, for him no longer to live in the lusts of men, but to live the remaining time in the flesh in the will of God. For the time of life having passed is sufficient for us to have worked out the will of the nations, having gone on in wantonness, lusts, drunkenness, parties, carousings, and lawless idolatries; in which they are surprised, you not running with them into the same overflow of unsavedness, blaspheming; who will give account to Him having readiness to judge the living and dead. For to this end also the gospel was preached to the dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but might live according to God in the Spirit. 1 Peter 4:1-6

My Supreme Team III Round 1 LO

2007-09-08T21:38:00.000-05:00

Whew, I got my submission LO uploaded and entered into the contest 26 1/2 hours before the deadline. So, now I'll post the one I entered into the contest. I'll get around to posting the others soon. I call this "What a Girl."

As I mentioned yesterday, I used Amy Fennell's Allure kit, and the font was Pea Amy. This picture is one that I took to scrap in a quickpage freebie that I got a little while back, but now I can't find the quickpage, so I just used the pic in this LO instead. I read a tutorial on that photo slicing technique quite a while ago, but this is the first time I've actually used it in a LO. I think it came our really well, if I do say so myself. Anyway, my best regards to all the other competitors in the Supreme Team contest. I'll be back tomorrow to show you my other LOs with Amy's beautiful kit.

Here's a passage for you:

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

Good night or day!

A scrapping blog?

2007-09-08T16:09:00.000-05:00

Since I haven't used this blog in so long, I just got the idea to convert it into a scrapping blog! About 2 years ago (has it really been that long??), maybe a year and a half, I got into digital scrapbooking. I dunno why, but I never thought before to devote a blog to it like so many others have. I guess I didn't think about doing it because I don't do any design work, so I don't have any freebies to give away. There are at least a few digi scrappers who put lists on their blogs of freebies other people have up on their blogs, though. And there's at least one (probably many more) who just post the pages they create to their blogs. So, that's what I'm going to do. I can't really see myself doing any designing, but I could at least post my layouts. Right now I'm competing to be on the Supreme Team at GDS!! I've never been on a CT or anything of that sort, so I'm pretty excited and nervous! Layouts are due tomorrow night at midnight (Monday morning at midnight, technically) and I've made 2 LOs so far that I'm not satisfied with, and I'm currently working on a third. There's just one or 2 more things I want to do before I'm done with it, but my scrapping stuff is on the desktop computer ("the big computer) and my LO is on my laptop. That's not normally a problem...in fact, that's how I usually work. But we had a storm a week ago that fried our network card among other things, and with Buddy working all the time, we just got a new network card a couple of days ago. He finally got the network networking yesterday, but it's down again today. He's at work, but told me to make sure the firewall is turned off on the big comp. I tried to do that, but now the mouse isn't working! I thought it needed its batteries recharged, but now they're all charged up and the mouse is still dead. *sigh* So...hopefully he can get the network talking again tonight or tomorrow and I can get my page finished and submitted by the deadline! The first LO I made is one I like a lot, but it's got a lot of white space, so it doesn't really show off the kit very well, which is kinda the whole point of a Supreme Team. The second LO I made had lots of stuff from the kit, but it was pretty much a garbled mess. So, with this third LO, I think I've found the right balance of showing off the kit and making it look good. I always have a hard time when I'm making LOs for challenges (basically when I'm making LOs for other people), so I dunno how well I'll do in this competition, but it's fun so far and I've already got 3 new LOs out of it and a beautiful kit! The kit we're using is Amyleigh Fennell's Allure Kit. Here's a preview of it:

I'll post my LOs after I've saved them as .jpgs (they're still in layers) and submitted my fave one to the gallery. I must admit, after my second page ended up such a mess, I did look through the gallery for some inspiration for my third attempt, but I think that what I came up with is unique from other LOs already posted. I know the techniques I used aren't anything new, but they at least haven't been used by others in this contest. This post is probably (hopefully) longer than future posts, but I did want to mention one more thing. Beckie (lillypug34) made a blinkie for us GDS Supreme Team contestants and it's just too cute! Here it is:

Isn't that great?? Ok, I'm gonna go for now. Bear with me while I convert this to a scrapping (and maybe crochet/knitting, too) blog. I have a Xanga for yarn arts, but I really only made it so I could see someone else's Xanga. Anyway, maybe I'll get some traffic in here for a change, especially if I actually post in here for a change!! LOL Before I leave, though, here's a little passage for you:

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. Hebrews 3:12-14

Good night or day!

2004-04-15T03:16:00.000-05:00

There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq during the month of January.... in the fair city of Detroit (Michigan) there were 35 murders in the month of January. That's one American city folks, about as deadly as the entire war torn country of Iraq!

Worst president in history?

The following appeared in the Durham, NC local paper as a letter to the editor Please forward to all on your list as this will put things in perspective:

Liberals claim President Bush shouldn't have started this war. They complain about his prosecution of it. One liberal recently claimed Bush was the worst president in U.S. history. Let's clear up one point: We didn't start the war on terror. Try to remember, it was started by terrorists BEFORE 9/11.

Let's look at the 'worst' president and mismanagement claims.

FDR led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us: Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost, an average of 112,500 per year.

Truman finished that war and started one in Korea, North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost, an average of 18,333 per year.

John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us. (I think history might show Eisenhower committed the troops and Kennedy was honoring that commitment.)

Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5,800 per year.

Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent, Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.

In the two years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Lybia, Iran and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people. We lost 600 soldiers, an average of 300 a year. Bush did all this abroad while not allowing another terrorist attack at home.

Worst president in history? Come on!

The Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking, but...

It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51 day operation.

We've been looking for evidence of chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records.

It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Teddy Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick.

It took less time to take Iraq than it took to count the votes in Florida!!!!

Our military is GREAT! PASS IT ON.

2004-04-12T12:44:00.000-05:00

MSN Careers - Pay: The Gender Gap - Career Advice Article

2004-03-31T03:53:00.000-06:00

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." - President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." - President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face." - Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983." - Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs." - Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI), Tom Daschle (D-SD), John Kerry( D - MA), and others Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." - Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies." - Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies." - Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and others, December 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them." - Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..." - Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do" - Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons." - Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real." - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

Aren't these the very same people who are currently condemning George W. Bush, and calling him a liar about having knowledge about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction?

2004-03-27T02:20:00.000-06:00

You are Mohair.
You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with
others, doing your share without being too
weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely
refuse to change your position once it is set,
but that's okay since you are good at covering
up your mistakes.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

2004-03-26T23:24:00.000-06:00

Ok, so my grandmother died the last of May and my grandfather's getting remarried tomorrow. I found out about these plans in January, but I think some of my family members may have known about it before I did. So, after being married to the love of his life, having known her since they were 12, never even having had another girlfriend, having 3 kids with her, taking care of her in her old age when she got Alzheimer's, dressing her and doing her makeup for her every day after she was no longer able to do it herself, living with her 'till she died at 73 years old, he found a new wife within 6 months. I'm sorry, but I just don't understand that. He isn't ill, doesn't need anyone to physically look after him, though I can admit that emotionally, a man who has always been married to a housewife would want a woman around. But he can obviously take care of himself and the house. He did it for years when Grandma was sick. My grandpa is the sweetest, gentlest man I know, except maybe for my other grandpa. I don't want it to sound like he was always bossing Grandma around all her life and now is some helpless old man who needs a woman to go get him another drink. That's why this is so strange to me. He's fully self-sufficient. I can't imagine him with anyone else. I just thought that if you love someone that much, you wouldn't want to marry anyone else, especially if you're 75 years old. All of his children still live in the area and my mom has always been there to help them with anything they ever needed. When Grandma died, I figured he'd mourn her for a while and then spend the next 20 years being the merry widower, doing his woodworking projects and his Christian (house) Building Project. Ok, and I just found out that it's posted on the web on their church website. And also on that site, on the Preschool page, she's already listed as a teacher with my grandpa's last name. There's no date on the page to say when it was updated, but I'm presuming it was before today. I know it doesn't matter, but it still makes me mad. I haven't met her yet, but she's got the same name as my wicked step-mother, so that doesn't help at all. Anyway, this woman goes to church with Grandpa...a lady at church introduced them. I don't know when they started seeing each other, or even when they met, but she's moving into his house because he owns his (and has for many years) and she doesn't own hers. She's 15 years younger than him, which I guess means she'll be around to take care of him when he starts declining and he won't have to take care of her like he did Grandma. She has 3 grown kids, just like he does, so now my mom's family will be like an elderly version of The Brady Bunch. Luckily they don't all have to live together. LOL Anyway, she divorced 8 years ago and her ex-husband is now deceased. So, it's not like the Bible says they can't marry. Her vow to her husband has been fulfilled, thought Paul does tell older widows not to remarry, but I don't see that as a command. But I do question the integrity of a woman who was divorced at age 48. Now, I don't know the circumstance of her divorce or of her marriage, but I just don't like this situation. I'm trying very hard not to judge her since I haven't even met her yet, but it's very hard. I pray about it often. Of course I want my grandpa to be happy, I'm just having a hard time understanding how this can make him happy. In January (6 months after Grandma died) my mom, who hasn't finished mourning her mom, had to go over and help her dad clear out all of Grandma's stuff from their house (which my mom and uncles grew up in. Grandma and Grandpa have lived in that house for 50 years.) so that this woman can move in. So then Mom had all of Grandma's stuff all over her dining table and had to go through it herself. I don't know why Grandpa didn't help her go through the papers. I called her while she was in the middle of sorting and she was telling me that she didn't know what to do with any of that stuff. Grandma & Grandpa's marriage license, Grandma's report cards, letters, just all kinds of stuff. I know it was a very unpleasant job, and on top of that, knowing that the reason she has to do this now and not later when she'll be able to handle it better is that he's getting remarried. It just blows my mind. This is not the kind of thing that happens in my family. I'm not saying people don't get remarried in my family because they do, after divorce, and given some time to grieve the relationship, but that my family is very conservative, especially Grandpa. He's been a deacon in the Baptist church for as long as I can remember. This just doesn't fit my image of him, I guess. And I'm really missing Grandma. I saw the wedding announcement in the paper with a picture of the two of them and it was so weird seeing my grandpa's arm around a strange woman. My grandma was a very gentle, loving, quiet woman, and this woman doesn't look like any of those things. Again, I'm trying to withhold judgment until after I meet her, but it sure is hard. My sister went down for the wedding, so maybe I'll get some info from her. I'm sure she'll take pictures, so I'll want to see those. I just can't bring myself to go. Maybe that's not Christ-like, but I can't help it. At least my sister will be there for Mom. Mom told me I didn't have to go if I don't want to. And I can use B as an excuse again. He had a clinical 'till 10 tonight, has one from 8-5 tomorrow (the wedding is at 2pm, 3-4 hours from here), and has to work Sunday. My other grandma thinks it's great that he's found someone. She's about his age and was a widow who remarried (but she was a young mom when she was widowed and she didn't get remarried 'till 8 years after my grandfather died), so maybe she understands it better than I can. She said something about people that say it's too soon after she died are just wrong, that that has nothing to do with it. I didn't say anything when she said that, so I think she knows how I feel about it. Well, I guess I've said about all I can say about this. I'll probably call Mom tomorrow or Sunday and see how she's doing. I don't know how she's feeling about all of this now and she might need some support. Therefore I'm not sure if I should call before the wedding tomorrow or if that would just get her upset. Maybe I should wait 'till tomorrow evening. Anyway, I need to go think about something else for a while. If you've made it this far, thanks for listening.

2004-03-17T03:01:00.000-06:00

Happy St Patty's day! We didn't do anything special today. We were thinking about baking green sugar cookies, but never got around to it. We went to the grocery store instead. B's on Spring Break, so he was off Monday and today. Tomorrow he works 'till 10pm, then he's off again on Friday (as usual). He's going to work a few hours of overtime on Saturday since he doesn't have clinicals this weekend. That's about all that's going on here lately. Luck o' the Irish to ya!! (Though I'm not really sure I can offer such luck, since I'm not Irish! lol)

2004-03-13T02:16:00.000-06:00

Well, it's raining today. Er, was raining today and it's raining again right now, since it's now actually tomorrow. Anyway, it was so nice and beautiful, mid-70s, not a cloud in the sky for the last 2 or 3 days. Today (Friday) I had a dr appt and so, of course, it was cold (53ish) and raining. Nothing special for the dr appt, btw. Just a yearly checkup. Anyway, not really much going on. Mom and Dad are in Illinois for a week, but they forgot to tell my sister they were leaving. lol My grandma had a knee replacement about 2 weeks ago and she's doing really good. She's still recovering, of course, but she says the pain isn't as bad as she thought it would be. My in-law's dog died a couple of hours after we left their house last weekend. He was really sick (with what, no one knows) while we were there. He seemed to perk up a little while our dog was there, but I guess when we left, he couldn't take it anymore. B did offer to let him stay for a while, but they figured one sick dog was enough to take care of, I guess. I don't blame them. Anyway, not much else is going on here. B's working overtime tomorrow from 9-2.

2004-03-08T00:28:00.000-06:00

Wow, it's been a while. I guess not much has been going on. Just got back from visiting the parents. B's parents' dog is about to die, my grandma's in the hospital for knee replacement, and my recently widowed grandpa is getting married in 2 weeks. The Passion of the Christ is a pretty good movie, but it had too many things wrong for me to really enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. I got to see my very first and brand new great-niece. She'll be a month old on Tuesday (in 2 days). Totally precious, of course. Her name is Cheyenne Renee Lennon.

2003-12-02T13:15:00.000-06:00

Following the Star : A Daily Advent Devotional Guide

2003-10-05T09:48:00.000-05:00

You know, I truly have no idea what that link was supposed to be to. Not much going on lately...just school for B and H, housework and teaching for me.

2003-09-17T16:18:00.000-05:00

The Christian BBS: Oh, memories...

2003-08-18T11:40:00.000-05:00

I started a new blog...check it out if you like. The link is in the list over there.

2003-08-18T01:12:00.000-05:00

Not too sure about this one. I guessed at a bunch of them, so...whatever.

Results...: "You are a Minister. You know the Bible in and
out...back and forth. Consider putting the
title 'Reverend' in front of your
name because you got most if not all of them
right!

How Bible-versed are you?
brought to you by Quizilla"

2003-08-17T11:07:00.000-05:00

Restore the Commandments ... a Vision America endeavor!

2003-08-13T17:46:00.000-05:00

Government schools started back in our town today. Austin's (5 min away) don't start 'till next Tuesday, but the district is apparently pretty sadistic here, so they're starting before the ides of August, even. So, today was our first Not-Back-To-School day. H would have started kindergarten today if we didn't love her so much. It was a roller coaster of a day, even though I didn't send my baby off to the nearest government institution. The weather was uncharacteristically nice yesterday and today (well, this morning, anyway. We just had rain a few minutes ago). So, I was thinking about taking her to the park and having a picnic, which we've never done! Then I was thinking of going to the library to find some books she's been wanting, which we've also never done, oddly enough! Then we had co-op to go to this afternoon. Well, before we could get out the door, I already wasn't sure about the picnic because I wasn't sure how much time I should allot for that, plus the library to get to co-op on time. H made that decision for me. There was a cat on our widowsill, which she promptly ran off. It went and laid down in the grass a few feet from the window and watched H for a while, then got bored and just looked around. After the cat got bored with us, I put some frozen waffles in the toaster for her, then came to the back of the house to see what B had said to me on AIM. I went to give H her waffles and she was nowhere to be found. Luckily now we have a dog, because he was staring at the front door, waiting for H to come back in. If he hadn't been there, I'd have been freaking out like the last time she ran off. So I, in my nightshirt and panties, yelled H's name out the open window, and just then saw her come running back, in her pj top and panties. She had gotten up at 3 am to use the bathroom and hadn't gotten her bottoms back on. So, of course, I had to take some privilege away, so we didn't go to the park or have a picnic. I didn't want to totally ruin her very first ever Not-Back-To-School day, so we went to the library and checked out Sam the Sea Cow, which she's been wanting for a month or 2, and 2 Arthur books. She read Sam the Sea Cow on the way to co-op, and read one of the Arthur books on the way home. In fact, she had started reading the Arthur book on the way there, since she had already finished with Sam, then decided to start it over when we got back in the car. We had a good time at co-op, but H did cry a couple of times (something she doesn't normally do) because a smaller kid wouldn't let her play with the train car she wanted to play with. I did take a picture of her in front of our timeline for her first day NOT in kindergarten!

2003-07-16T12:12:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is my mother's birthday.

Co-op is starting some new and exciting things. We've started a waiting list. Now instead of just turning people down, they'll be put on a waiting list. I don't know when we'll add anyone from the list, as no one will be leaving in the foreseeable future, but whatever. And we're starting a show-and-tell time. H has her book she's going to read for show-and-tell all ready. She gets to be in the spotlight, finally! Just what she's always wanted. We'll see how she does! I hope she doesn't get stage fright. B has registered for all his Fall classes. I've finished knitting my first knitted blanket and have started crocheting a layette I'll sell on ebay. Lunch is ready, so I've gotta go.

2003-06-29T23:24:00.000-05:00

Well, it was a pretty good birthday, especially for the big 3-0. We had the party yesterday and I hung out with my mom all day. My sister was here and we hung out, too, but she is sick, so she was pretty quiet. My in-laws were here, but they've been living in their camper for nearly a month because they had a major water leak in their house while they were out of town, so they were kinda bummed out and didn't stay long. My parents stayed overnight in a hotel, so they came by again today for about an hour before driving back home. The garage door is so great! It's metal, so it won't be rotting anytime soon! Lol It goes up and down so easily now, compared to the fights I used to have with the old one. H got some dress-up clothes from my parents so now she can dress up like a princess. We had a Disney Princesses party for her and B and I bought her a Belle doll...made by Mattel, but not quite as shapely as Barbie. Of course, she hasn't had her clothes off yet, so I may change my mind on that later. So, now my baby is 5. Seems like about time to have another! Seriously, though, B and I had decided years ago that we'd have another when she's 5, but we might have to put it off a couple of years. We want to get caught up on all our bills (which we did this month!) and get enough money in the bank to afford a down payment on a new house. That's going to take a few years just to do that, because we have $0 in our savings account. He'll get his Paramedic's license in 2 years (May '05), so we probably won't have another baby 'till then anyway.

Yes, it was a pretty good birthday until my parents emailed me that they'd gotten home fine, but that when they got there, they found that their dog had died while they were gone. She was a good (ok, sometimes pretty dumb) dog. She was technically supposed to be my little sister's dog. T was probably about 5...maybe as old as 10 when Jazz was born. So, Jazz was about 15 years old, give or take a few. She was a sheltie. Mom raised and showed shelties for a while, but in the end just kept them as pets. Mom said a few weeks ago that when Jazz died, she was going to be through with animals. I guess we'll see...Mom's only 52 (will be in 2 weeks and 4 days), so hopefully she has plenty of time to change her mind. This is turning out to be a pretty sad summer.

2003-06-22T09:54:00.000-05:00

You are Romans.

Which book of the Bible are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

2003-06-20T00:29:00.000-05:00

Oh, and B found out today that he passed his certification tests, so he is officially an EMT-B!! Woot!! Yipee!! Now we just have to wait a couple more weeks to find out if he made it into the Paramedic degree program. We're feeling very blessed lately! God is SO good!!

2003-06-20T00:26:00.000-05:00

I've been eBaying for our school books for next year. I only have 3 more things to find. I need Spelling Power, and I think I found the one I want today, but I'm going to wait a couple of days to see how the bidding goes. I also need the Bible and Artists & Composers timeline characters for KONOS, but I'll probably end up getting them from the company. Oh, and the Student Text for Math-U-See Foundations. I might have to get that from the company, too, but I'll look on VegSource first. I won For Instruction in Righteousness today. Brand new copy, so I only got $4.50 off, but that's still better than paying full price.

We'll be busy on Saturday. That's the main bad thing about B only having one day off a week. We do everything as a family when he isn't working, so that only leaves us one day a week to get things done. We have to clean the living room, change the guinea pigs' bedding, order the cake for the party, wrap the presents, wash the dog, mow, and he wants to clean the garage so it will be easier to install the new door. There isn't a lot of stuff in the way in the garage (it's only a 1-car garage and my car stays in it), but he wants to put some of it in the attic. We also need to hit the store for bread and milk, but we're running low on cash since I've been buying all the school books. And we both need gas. He gets paid again next week, and we have to pay the mortgage, car insurance, get Advantix for the dog, send a check for the FIIR that I won today, But we are getting caught up! Please, Lord, don't let any big, nasty emergencies come and knock us down again! Amen

I came up with a great idea for H's Bible study. There's an apple tree painted on the wall in one of the rooms at co-op and Gal 5:22 is painted beside it. I used that and decided we should make a paper tree and tape it to the wall, then make paper apples (or assorted fruits, maybe) and write above the tree "The fruit of the Spirit is..." then write on each fruit one of the words in the passage (love, joy, peace...). We could study one fruit a week, really get into it for a week, and put it up on the tree at the end of the week, then move on to the next one the next week. I told B my idea and he really liked it. Now I just have to come up with a unit study for the Fruits of the Spirit. Hmm...maybe I can find one online. I guess I'll research that tomorrow.

I heard a few days ago that Oprah was starting her book club back up. I didn't really think much about it because the last time she had her book club going, I usually either couldn't find the book at the library, or I'd miss the show the day she announced a new book, which was really annoying if I'd read the book before, since the show where she announces the next book is also the show where she reviews the last one. Anyway, she announced her new book on Wednesday, but the show is aired live in Chicago at 9am. Even though I'm in the same time zone, the show isn't aired 'till 4pm in TX. Apparently someone at iwon.com watched the show at 9 because when I went to that site on Wed morning there was a headline under Entertainment News that said that Oprah had picked East of Eden. Well, I figured, if she's doing classics now, maybe I should go ahead and try to keep up with her, since there are lots of classics I've never read but wanted to. So, I checked the online card catalog of our tiny library (I actually live in Pflugerville, you see, about 5 min outside of Austin) to see if there was a chance they had a copy. Sure enough, there was one copy and it was In! So, we left a little early for co-op on Wed, went by the library, and snatched up the only copy in town 4 hours before the show aired in my state. I was the only one around that knew it was Oprah's new book. Now it's past my bedtime, so I'd better go jump in bed and start reading!

2003-06-15T11:08:00.000-05:00

Well, we gave B his Father's Day gift yesterday. It was a paperweight with rocks on it that says "Dad Rocks!" He forgot to take it to work with him to weigh down his papers, though.

I've just been taking pictures with the digital camera for my dad of the garage door so he'll know what to expect when he gets here to install the new one. We just bought batteries last night, so I took the dead ones out of the camera and put the new ones in, and they have very little juice in them. They're already dead. I know the camera eats batteries like crazy, but not that crazy. I found some we still had around the house and put them in (Duracells with the meter on the sides) and it's working now.

B did get my scanner fixed last night!! Yay!! Now I don't have to trace all of H's handwriting sheets by hand anymore! Yeah, yeah, it breaks copywrite laws. Who cares. He loaded the software...again. I guess third time really is a charm! So, yay, that's one more thing we don't have to buy!

2003-06-12T18:02:00.000-05:00

Wow, man, what happened to blogging? Well, we went to visit the parents the 21st thru the 24th of May, took Huey with us and came back with fleas. Ran to the vet and bought a tube of Advantage, put it on him and the fleas disappeared. My grandma died on the 30th, so back we went, sans dog and B (H stayed with my in-laws while I was with my family). Got back and realized we had also picked up ticks the weekend before. If I'd known that the first time, I would have gotten him Frontline Plus, which kills fleas and ticks. Of course, if I'd really been on the ball, I would have planned for the worst and gotten some Advantix before we even left, which would have kept the fleas, ticks and mosquitoes off of him while we were there, and we wouldn't have any bugs in our house now. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

I've pretty well planned our first unit in KONOS and chosen what I want to do for the rest of the year. We'll be starting in Sept., so I'm using the summer to plan our KONOS units through next July. I've looked through the online catalogs of our tiny small-town and Austin's libraries and can get most of the books we'll need through one of them. We'll finish handwriting the last week of this month, then we'll do a review of this year's handwriting level and start on the next book. We'll finish Math-U-See in July, then take August off and start the Foundations level when we start KONOS. I'm still looking for something good to use during Bible time. I might just have to wing it for a while longer. I'm trying to find a used copy of For Instruction in Righteousness, but I might just have to buy it new. It's something your kids don't outgrow 'till they move out. We went to co-op on Wed. for the first time in a month. At the beginning of May, the triplets were sick (their mom runs the co-op), then we went to the coast, then the weather was so nice they decided to do something else, then they weren't sure our new meeting place would be ready yet, so finally, this week we had co-op again and it was in the new place for the first time! It was really pretty cool. There is a playground outside with a really cool playscape, and the rooms are really cool, with scriptures painted on the walls (it used to be a Baptist church), and the air conditioning works!! Since it had been so long since we'd been in a group of other kids like that, I figured we'd have some problems, but she's matured in the last month, it seems, and didn't have a total break down, like she usually does. Our birthday is on the 29th and she'll be 5, so I'm looking for signs of whether or not she would be ready for actual school, if we had been a "normal" family. Yes, "our birthday." I'll be 30! Someday soon I'm going to ask my mother at what age she felt like an adult, like she had some authority in the world. I'm just now getting a taste of that, I think. I still think of myself as a kid, or at the most like a teenager, I guess. A 'young adult" in the way that teenagers are called "young adults." The number 30 doesn't faze me at all!! Lol

My mom emailed me yesterday and asked me what I want for my b-day. I've been complaining about our rotting garage door for a while now and when she asked me in May what I want, I told her that I want a scanner that works. In her email she asked if I want 1) a new garage door, 2) a scanner, or 3) something else. I told her that I want the garage door!! We've been trying (VERY unsuccessfully) to save for a garage door, so if she'll get me the door, we can get me a scanner in July! In fact, B said he'd work on the scanner we do have on Sat to see if he can get it to work with our computers. When we tried it the last time, it warmed up, started to scan, and then just didn't. It used to work when it belonged to my mil, so we know it "should" work. We didn't jar it on the trip to our house from hers, so it must just be an incompatibility with our computers. Hopefully he can get it to work, but if not, we can spare $50 in July for a new one.

B took his National/State EMT-B Certification test, and we're eagerly awaiting results. He's also supposed to find out this week whether he's been accepted to the Paramedic degree program. He's taking A&P (Anatomy & Physiology) and Weight Training this summer and working OT on Fridays. The only nights he's home for dinner are Fri, Sat and Sun and the only day he's off is Sat. The good thing is that while we were looking at the bills and the checkbook last night, we figured out that we should be able to pay all of our bills off in the next 2 paychecks! We could be caught up on ALL (!!!) of our bills; the late ones and the not late ones!! Then we wouldn't have any late ones by July!! That will be the first time that's happened in...wow, about 3 years, if not more. Seems like we've been in the hole our whole marriage. Hey, wow, speaking of which, Saturday isn't just Flag Day, it's the anniversary of our first date. We have been together for 8 years on Saturday. And Sunday is, of course, Father's Day. Since B has to work Sun, we'll give him his Father's Day present on Sat. (after we go to the store and buy some Crazy Glue; hot glue doesn't seem to get the job done on this project). So, Sat will be Flag Day, anniversary and Father's day for us! Lol H and I are making him a present. I know he reads my blog sometimes, so I won't say what it is 'till after he gets it.

2003-05-18T10:08:00.000-05:00

Well, it actually took 'till Thursday before we got our piano back, but H was really good about it being gone so long. She was really happy to have it back, though. I've decided we should do Attentiveness first and Obedience second. While we do want H to be obedient, it makes sense to make sure she's being attentive to our commands before we can expect her to obey them. So, we'll be studying the ear, sounds, music, the eye, sight, the other senses, frontiersmen, tracking, trapping, predators, prey, Indians (Native Americans), and birds starting in Sept. We'll finish that unit in December. I didn't do it on purpose, but it worked out so that we'll be finishing up Indians the week of Thanksgiving. H is up now and asking me questions about how long various animals live, so I guess I'm done here.

2003-05-11T09:41:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day! I'll be calling my mom later on today. B cooked our favorite dish for me last night, and he's cooking our other favorite dish tonight. H woke up feeling bad. She says she's already feeling better, though, so hopefully we'll get to do our little bit of school we do on Sundays. Wed. is co-op day and Thur. is one of B's days off, so we take those off, too, and do school through the "weekend." B told me yesterday that I'm doing such a good job teaching math that he doesn't want to interrupt the flow, so I guess I'm the full-time math teacher. At least for a few more years. I got my KONOS Volume 1 in the mail a couple of days ago, and have been looking through it, trying to plan our weeks. I love this part of homeschooling. It's all so exciting and challenging. I still need the timeline figures, to make a timeline, and to finish planning our first unit (Obedience), then I'll be all ready to start KONOS. Actually, I want to get Spelling Power and maybe Writing Power before we start, too. We'll be finished with math in the middle of July (we took a month or 2 off after the beginning of the year), and are going to take a month and a half break from that 'till Sept. I think that's all...Easy Grammar and Daily Grams don't start 'till about 2nd grade, I think, and we probably won't start Latin or Greek 'till then, either. But today we just have to do Bible, handwriting, and math. And a lady's coming over to borrow our toy piano, to use it in the play You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Their Schroeder needs a piano prop. H got upset when I told her someone was borrowing her piano, but she got over it quickly. The lady will be bringing it back tomorrow afternoon.

2003-04-27T14:32:00.000-05:00

So, I'm being the substitute teacher for math. B is still the main math teacher, but we figure that math one day a week just isn't good enough. So, he'll teach the new lesson on Fridays, and then I'll reinforce it the rest of the week. Right now we're doing review of what we learned before our break and H really seems to remember all of it so far. We had lots of fun this morning. We played a little game where I sing, "If you're happy and you know it, grab a(n)...4, 9, 8, 2, etc." We use Math-U-See, so there are manipulatives that are little cubes for the number one, then 2 cubes stuck together for two, etc. So, whichever number I sing, she has to pick up the manipulative that represents that number. She just loved that. Last night we did a place value game where I pulled slips of paper with a digit written on each one and she had to build the three-digit number with the manipulatives. After math time today she asked if we could play that one again, but I had to tell her that we'd do that after her nap. So, we're just zooming through the review and she's just having a ball. Here she comes now. I think it's time to play with place values!

2003-04-21T11:34:00.000-05:00

He is risen!! Happy Resurrection Day! We started the day off by reading the Resurrection passage from Luke, then walked the dog. We'll do handwriting and listening skills sometime today, either before or after taking H and H to the park. B took the day off so he can study. He's got a test, then state skills tests, then his final, then his state cert test all in the next 3 weeks. The skills tests will take the next 3 weeks to do. So, we're leaving him alone and going to a park we've never been to with our friends from co-op. Then we won't have to walk him this afternoon. On Saturday we went to the house of a guy that's in B's class and chatted, ate barbecue and they worked on their skills. H and I got to be patients. Lol It was pretty fun, even thogh it did kinda rain on us while we were eating. H got to bang on the roommate's drums, chase the dogs, and just generally be a ham. Right before we left, she found some snails and lined them all up and watched them for quite a while. I think we all had a good time.

2003-04-05T23:35:00.000-06:00

Aren't these just the cutest dogs ever? Cynthia is the lady who hooked us up with our wonderful Huey. We've never met her, but have talked to her on the phone a few times. We keep looking at this page and thinking about fostering another, but we're still in a bit of an adjustment phase with Huey, so I guess we're going to hold off a little longer. Yesterday, Huey slipped his head out of his collar while we were on our morning walk. Between every two houses, he went to say hi to the dogs in the yards. Which is a good thing, since by doing that he only went 4 houses down before I caught him and got his collar back on...one notch tighter this time. He was mad at us today, kept sleeping in whichever room we weren't in. I think it was mainly because we had to wash his ears out today. But it may also have had to do with me putting his collar back on him yesterday after his taste of freedom. Or maybe it was because we took him to the pet store with us yesterday, then came home and dropped him off so we could go to the grocery store. Whichever it was, he was over it at dinnertime. Haha! Such a chowhound....

2003-04-01T18:48:00.000-06:00

Huey's still doing great. He loves going for walks in the morning and evening. Actually, he'd rather just walk all day, I think. He's such a sweety. He seems to be getting more comfortable with us. He'll get up on the couch with us sometimes (we told him it was ok), but he still seems to think he's not really supposed to be there and has trouble laying down and really relaxing. The guinea pigs started fighting just a few minutes ago and Huey bayed at them. It was really kinda cute. At least it wasn't the loud bark he gave the strange cat that was on our windowsill a few nights ago. He also loves meeting new dogs. He's very persistent once he spies someone he'd like to meet and always very gentle and wiggly as he says hi. Well, he just ran through the room carrying one of H's stuffed animals and ran out the door with it. I guess we need to get him some stuffed animals of his own. And as I was typing that, he ran through with another. I would say he's just playing April Fool's jokes on us, except that he did it for the first time yesterday. Hmm...he has been acting a little jealous of H, I think because she was gone when he came to live with us and hasn't figured out that she outranks him in the pack. So, I don't know if he likes stuffed animals, or if he's just wanting hers. I think we'll get him one or two either way. He was playing with his rawhide stick earlier. Trying to play tag with it...but he wouldn't play tag with me. I dunno, wierd dog. But he's cute. Well, I'd better go set up the VCR so I can record American Idol for B. He's in class tonight, so I get recording duties.

2003-03-26T18:14:00.000-06:00

The Average Military Man

The average age of the military man is 19 years.
He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy.
Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country.
He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never collected unemployment either. He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten-year-old
jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half
a world away.
He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or country or jazz or swing and 155mm Howitzers.
He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.
He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark.
He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.
He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.
He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march.
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity.
He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.
He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle.
He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you
are hungry, his food.
He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that
is his job.
He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering
and death then he should have in his short lifetime.
He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create them.
He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.
He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in
and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.
Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom.
Beardless or not, he is not a boy.
He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.
He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.
Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.

Prayer for our military:
"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen."

Please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our ground troops in Afghanistan, Kosevo , sailors on ships, and airmen in the air, and for those preparing for a war with Iraq. This can be very powerful. Of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Marine or Airman, prayer is the very best one.

2003-03-24T17:55:00.000-06:00

Huey's still doing great, but H has gotten too close twice while he's been sleeping, and he's growled and snarled at her. I think she's getting the point. It really upsets her when that happens, so hopefully it's a good deterent in itself, plus the discussions I've had with her after each time. Well, B's home...time to take the dog for his evening walk.

2003-03-22T17:59:00.000-06:00

Thanks, kernyen, for your comment. I did finally hear from the lady. She emailed while I was out of town. Woohoo for web-based email. Lol We picked up Ginger on Saturday...added 50 miles to our trip to pick her up from the farm. She was *such* a sweet dog, but was so lonely for her sister, and so used to living on a farm and having free oportunity to roam far and wide that it was just too mean to lock her up in our backyard and in our little house, so we gave her back on Monday. She wasn't eating at all and was just laying around moping. She did finally eat Sunday night/Monday morning (I just left food out for her all the time 'cause that's what the lady did.) We agonized over whether we could make it work and finally decided that she was just too big and needed too much exercise for us to keep her. If we could have taken her to a park and let her off her leash to go romp once a day, it may have worked out, but leash laws prohibit it. I felt so bad about having to give her back, but I think she will be much happier with a family with a much bigger yard. And she was always kind of uneasy in the house and kept following us around because she'd never been allowed in the house before she came to stay with us.

So, I looked online and found Hound Rescue and they had a sweet beagle pup named Cordelia. So, I emailed the contact lady and she said that Cordelia was being adopted, but that there was a male beagle that a vet had taken in as a stray, that he needed a home and would we be willing to give him a foster home with the option to adopt if he works out for us. I said yes and finally yesterday at about 4 in the afternoon, Huey came home. He's such a good dog! He hasn't tried to dig at all, hasn't barked or howled. He started to lift his leg to mark the piggy cage once, but after we told him No, he hasn't tried again. He seems to be housebroken and crate trained. In fact, I'm not really sure he even needs to be put in a crate at night. Last night he whined to get out because B and I still had lights on in the back room while he was in the crate. But he stopped when we turned the lights out and went to our bedroom. But he just got neutered the day before yesterday, and he still might mark in the house if we aren't watching him, and I'm still not sure I want him loose in the house at night, so the crate it is. When they found him, he had a collar but no tags, smelled awful, had really bad tartar, and his upper left canine was broken off. So, they neutered him and pulled the broken tooth, gave him a bath and he's good as new. They say that his teeth look like he's about 2-3 years old..probably 3 because he's got some gray hair on his face. He's such a sweety. Lots of kids came up to pet him while he was at the vet's office and he did fine with them. We saw a little one when we were at Petco with him and he just stood there and let her pet him. So I think he and H will get along great.

2003-03-12T18:29:00.000-06:00

So, we're leaving tomorrow afternoon. And I'm still wondering why the lady with the dog hasn't emailed me back. It's getting a little irritating. It's been 2 full days since I emailed her. Doesn't everyone check their email every day? I suppose not. But if you're giving your dog to someone who you don't know and has never met the dog, wouldn't you think they might want to ask you some questions about the dog? And since that person used email to offer to take the dog, wouldn't you think they might use email again to ask those questions? I'm just driving myself crazy. I'm sure she just doesn't realize how excited I am about the dog and hopefully she'll check her email sometime before Saturday. It isn't like I can't check my email while I'm gone, but it would be nice to have a reply within 5 days of having sent an email. As soon as I get those questions answered, I can stop obsessing over it. Ugh! Need to fold clothes tonight and finish cleaning the house and pack tomorrow morning. B's stress test was rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon, so we'll be leaving from there to go out of town. We're leaving the piggies at home, so we might end up picking the dog up on the way home after all. Well, B's almost home from work, so I should go think about dinner.

2003-03-11T16:45:00.000-06:00

I'm losing my mind! Not only did I get lost in downtown Austin on my way to pick up B from his stress test, which he missed, on the way back from the recycle center, but the lady with the dog hasn't replied to my last email in which I asked her all sorts of important questions so we can get ready for the dog, like, "What, how often and how much does she eat?" "Does she sleep indoors or out, and is she crated?" "Is she housebroken?" (Since she's about a year and a half old, I'm guessing she is.) Anyway, the lady really needs to check her email! I really want to know stuff about my dog! Lol

2003-03-10T02:19:00.000-06:00

A dog! We're getting a dog! We've all wanted one for a long time, but we have such a small backyard that we always said we'd wait 'till we get a bigger house/yard to get a dog. And the dog we're getting is big and hyper!! Lol A lady from our homeschooling group is giving her away. She's a Lab/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix and is about 1 1/2 years old. She's great with kids and her name is Ginger (which may or may not be changed after we get her). Since we're going out of town from Wed evening to sometime Saturday, the current owner is keeping her 'till we get back. Then she'll have a week alone with B and me before H gets back from Grandma's. She'll be a surprise to H. B said we could get her if I make sure to take her for a run every day, and we'll take her to the park once a week, too. This gives me a good excuse to excercise, which is probably part of the reason he agreed. We'll have to get her rabies shot, but all her other shots are up to date. She's great with kids, which is good, since H isn't great with dogs. The reason we're thinking about renaming her is that I've already had a dog named Ginger. She was a cocker spaniel and I just loved her. She was my friend before my sister was born. She listened to all my problems. Then my parents sold her without telling me because her fleas were biting the baby. We seem to have an H____y theme going with things we name. Our daughter and both of our piggies have H___y names, so we're thinking of renaming Ginger something like Holly, or maybe Honey, since honey is about the same color as ginger. Is it sad that I'm looking at baby naming sites to find a name for my dog? Hillary is one I hadn't thought of. I guess that gets thrown in there, too. We'll have to see how well she responds to the name Ginger before we can decide whether to change it or not. And we will eventually come to a time when we will plan to visit our parents when we actually have her in our possession. I guess we'll have to decide then whether to leave her here alone for 3 days or try to take her and 2 piggies with us. As it is we're trying to figure out how to take 2 piggies and have them not turn each other into bloody furballs. Whew, can you tell I'm excited about the dog? I waited all afternoon and evening for her to reply to my email that we could have her. I was checking my email every 5 minutes or so!! Ok, so we'll need to go shopping when we get back into town! We might just wait to do that after we get her, and take her to Petco with us. Yay, Petco!

2003-03-09T11:01:00.000-06:00

Had my yearly gyno exam on Friday and I've lost 15 pounds this year! Woot! Now imagine what I could have done if I'd actually been trying. B's chest pain is not caused by caffeine, so we can buy Cokes again and my headache can go away. My first word was "Coke" so I've been addicted to caffeine for a very long time! But we're keeping up the low-cholesterol, low sat fat "diet." His cholesterol is way down, but still high, and we don't know what mine is, so it's probably high, too.

We're leaving Wednesday to go visit our parents. (Actually, mine will be out of town themselves.) Then B and I will come back on Saturday and leave H with his parents. She'll stay there 'till next Wednesday, then my parents will take her. Mom's taking her to Disney on Ice on the 22nd. H will love that. It'll be the Disney Princesses, which she LOVES. My sister will bring her back the 23rd, the day before her (my sister's) birthday. So, I'll have a week of peace and quiet. I'll probably sit around the whole time thinking, "Gee, if H were here, I could take her to the library, and the park, and Connections, and the museum, and ..." All those things I should be doing with her when she's here.

And then my kid sister will be 21. I guess if there's any drinking to be done that night, her (31-year-old) boyfriend will be supplying it. Oh, well. I don't think either of them drink, anyway. Maybe B and I will have one for her.

2003-03-05T02:28:00.000-06:00

Amazing! I'm actually going to bed before 4am! But still 1/2 an hour later than I had planned...*sigh*

2003-03-04T15:30:00.000-06:00

It looks like my flowers didn't die in the freeze! Yay! at the end of January I planted a bunch of seeds: Columbine, giant hyssop, Canterbury Bells, violets, poppies. I fed them today and they look like they're doing just fine. I'm not sure about the Columbine, but there are definitely violets, poppies, and something else. I'm working on knitting a pillow and so far that's going pretty well. I keep losing track of where I am, having to count and recount stitches, but I figure it's pretty good for a first time. I'm thinking about giving it to my mom when it's finished. B had a dr appt this morning for his chest pain. The doc still doesn't know what's wrong, so he gave him another prescription. B's only 31, but he has as much medication now, that he's just started taking in the last month or 2, as a 65-year-old. Today is a belated laundry day (I try to wash clothes on Saturdays), so I guess I'll be folding them alone tonight while B's in class.

2003-03-01T23:01:00.000-06:00

Cool! We made the newspaper! Hill Country News: Wrapped in kindness

2003-03-01T01:03:00.000-06:00

Talk about scary!! 78(R) SB 586 - Introduced version - Bill Text I wrote a letter to Senator Barrientos before I read the bill for myself. It seems to answer all of my questions! Here's the letter I sent:

Honorable Senator Barrientos:

Thank you for your concern for public school dropouts. However,
registering law-abiding homeschoolers is not the solution. More
serious enforcement of the existing truancy laws is all that is
necessary. We ask you to withdraw S.B. 586 and keep homeschooling in
Texas free. Punishing private schools (for that is what
homeschoolers are) for the actions of public schools is no way to
solve misrepresentation of dropout data or truancy. If public school
officials are falsifying documents, it should be the public school
officials who pay for those actions.

I homeschool my 4-year-old daughter. If this bill passes and I fail
to register her as a homeschool student, will she be considered
truant? How about when she's 5 years old, or 6, or 10, or 16? Even
though she's never stepped foot inside a public school, will she then
be considered truant if she isn't registered as a homeschooler? Will
my husband and I go to jail? Will she be removed from our home? If
so, how will this help the TEA track public school dropouts? The
above scenerio is exactly what would happen if this bill were to
pass.

I hope you can see that it is very wrong to require registration of
homeschoolers in order to fix the error in the public schools of
misrepresentation of data.

Thank you,

2003-02-13T10:45:00.000-06:00

*eye roll* 24-Hour News Channel for Blacks in Works

2003-02-09T16:58:00.000-06:00

Ok, update time. Geez, it's been a while. Let's see...the piggies are getting along well now. B made a 93 on his first EMTB test. He's been on one clinical so far and sat on his butt all day, didn't get a single EMS call. He's got 2 more chances to get 3 calls, or he'll have to schedule another 8-hour shift. On Thursday he'll be in the labor/delivery room and he has to see at least one baby be born. He was there for H's birth, but apparently that doesn't count. Hmmm...what else? We got DirecTV yesterday, so H is watching Noggin right now. I'm totally loving it. Cable is nice, but there are so many cool channels and shows on sattelite! And it's $10 a month cheaper! Um, not much else. I've been trying out some really cool recipes. I'm making pesto spaghetti tonight, which I've made once before a couple of weeks ago, but tonight B is putting pork in it, so we'll see how that goes. I'm making a very colorful afgan right now. I found a pattern that calls for 11 different colors. While my colors don't mesh together quite as well as the ones in the pattern, it still looks pretty cool. And I get to use all those leftover skeins from Mom and ones from my own past projects. And I should be finished with it in the next couple of days. Well, I know that's just an overview, but maybe, just maybe I'll be back to give more details soon.

2003-01-19T10:13:00.000-06:00

Well, B has started his EMT Basic classes. They're on Tues and Thurs from 5:30-10 pm. He's one of just a couple of people in the class that have already taken A&P, so he's got a leg up, but it's been so long since he took that that it's coming back to him slowly.

We got a new guinea pig. A brother for Henry whom we've dubbed Harry. All I can say is that this definitely isn't Philly. I don't know what their problem is. Everything I've read says they should get along fine as long as there's no female present.

My sister and her boyfriend are coming over this evening. His computer is broken, so they're going to get B to fix it. So, I've got a bit of cleaning up to do today.

I crocheted some snowflakes for my mom, which I still need to let her know I finished. She had the pattern, the string and the hook, but had screwed up somewhere, so she asked me to take over the project. She's going to put stiffener on them and hang them in her kitchen next Christmas.I need to let her know they're finished and make sure she's the one doing the stiffening. Since I finished the snowflakes, I've nearly finished an afgan. I made the last squares last night, so all I have left to do is weave in loose ends, sew it together and do the border. This might be my favorite blanket so far. It's 5 shades of blue with a white center. It's gorgeous and it's called Starry Night.

2002-12-24T03:02:00.000-06:00

Presents are wrapped, house is pretty much clean (I still need to vacuum...again). B has to work through Christmas Day, so we won't be headed down home 'till the 26th. I'm pretty sure my family will open their presents without us. *sigh* Oh, well. I'm starting to think that we (B, H and I, at least) shouldn't celebrate Christmas. It's not actually Jesus' birthday, and besides, we were told to remember His death, not His birth. So, we'll discuss it and maybe we'll make a decision about it by this time next year. We aren't doing anything big for it this year, anyway...at least not here at our house. We got H 2 gifts, and last year I made stockings for each of us, that are now hanging and filled with candy. We have no lights, no tree, and just the 2 gifts for H. We buy her stuff all throughout the year and just give it to her then. My mother would always hoarde all the gifts and save them for Christmas and birthday (it was nice, though, probably for both of us, that my birthday is 6 months before/after Christmas). This added to the big hyped-up Christmas celebration, of course...and birthday, too. Even without the whole Jesus' birthday or not and whether we should be celebrating it at all, I already hated the materialism and commercialization, (and don't even get me started on Santa!!) so I'm thankful and feeling blessed that we are as poor as we are, so that we can't go all out and buy out the stores. Spending a lot of money has never felt comfortable to me, even when I was a child and it wasn't my money to worry about. But it has taken me a few years for the materialism of my mother to wear off. The first 2 or 3 Christmases after H was born, I felt like I had to buy her all the coolest age-appropriate toys; that she wouldn't feel special if we didn't buy her as many presents as we could afford. What Satan does for evil, God uses for good, and we've been blessed in many ways by our financial straits. I definitely think this is one of those ways in which He has chosen to bless us: by helping us escape the insanity of Christmas. Of course, we will still be having a big family dinner at B's parents' house, but even they aren't giving gifts this year (the money thing again...B is the youngest of 5, all but one with spouses and all with children). I'll miss the family dinner with my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins since they always get together on Christmas Eve and we won't be there 'till the day after Chrsitmas. But that's ok. It really hasn't been much fun since I was a small child, and this way I won't have to worry about H's behavior. So, it's going to be a rather low-key Christmas. The only big gift-opening time will be at my parents' house. I'm sure H will get tons of toys and things. My mother pretty much knows the kinds of toys I object to, so hopefully we won't have to make a trip to the store to return anything. I already know that she's got a Barbie and a Ken for H, but I can live with that as long as they stay at Mom's house. We've told H that she can't have a Barbie 'till she's 10, and I personally hope that by the time she's 10 she'll have decided she's too old for Barbie. But I also know that she'll be getting an easel, which is SO cool! I mentioned to Mom that I was looking for one and the next thing I knew, she said she'd ordered one! For her b-day, we got H lots of artsy stuff: fingerpaint, fingerpaint paper, Crayola ColorWonder Markers and paper, and a paint smock. So, now she'll have a place other than the constantly cluttered dining table to do her art! Anyway, here's wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. B's and my 5th wedding anniversary is on the 31st, so we'll be staying on the coast 'till the 2nd so we can go to Galveston to celebrate. I may or may not write again before we leave, but if I haven't written by the 26th, don't look for me again 'till next year!

2002-12-23T18:30:00.000-06:00

And yes, now a mere 3 hours later it is 47 degrees! Lol

2002-12-23T15:32:00.000-06:00

This, I think, is a pretty good reason not to like Barbie.

2002-12-23T15:29:00.000-06:00

Yes, that's right...it's December 23rd and it's 75 degrees with 69 % humidity. I love Texas!!! :)

2002-12-18T01:10:00.000-06:00

I sure haven't been very talkative lately. I guess the novelty of having a blog wore off...it happens. Well, let's see, has there been anything interesting happen since I last wrote? No, not really. I finished the colorful afgan and am now working on another bereavement blanket. Got an email from the Blanket Lady saying that the hospital that requested the bereavement blankets doesn't need nearly as many as they originally said they do, so since everyone kicked it into high gear to get those made, they have plenty. Which is good news, since for one thing that means there aren't as many dying kids as they originally said. And for another thing, when I finish the one I'm working on, I can go back to making happy, fun, colorful blankets for live (though usually sick, homeless or abused) kids instead of plain white blankets for dead kids. It's good to know your blankets will be enjoyed by someone, rather than being given to grieving parents to put in their kids' coffins.

Anyway, it's getting close to Christmas and I have all my presents bought! I finished way early this year. Before Thanksgiving even. Why does it seem like I've already said that? Probably because I already did. Anyway, I still have to wrap those few presents. B and I decided not to give each other gifts this year because money is so tight. So, we went to The Discovery Store and bought ourselves a board game set. They sell ones just like it at Wal-Mart. It's a wooden box with slide-out boards for, like, 7 different games. We got it at The Discovery Store instead of at Wal-Mart because since he works for Time Warner, they gave him a 15% off card. So, that's what we bought for each other for Christmas.

I think that's about all I've got for now. H is still doing great on her reading. Handwriting is moving right along. Listening skills isn't going so well (duh). And math is getting harder. She's had to do some review. I just hope it isn't a sign of what's to come and that this is just a rough spot. I'm TERRIBLE at math, but B's really good at it. So, it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibilities that she might be equally terrible at it, but I'm really hoping she's just taking a little extra time to process new information and will recover shortly. Then again, if she doesn't, that's not the end of the world, either. I've survived 29 1/2 years of life on Earth being mathematically challenged, so I'm sure she'll be fine, too. That's one of the reasons we homeschool...so she can go over and review any material that she has problems with until she has it mastered without worrying about being left behind or slowing the class down, or being embarrassed about not picking it up as quickly as other children. And of course, the converse...being able to move on ahead once she knows something and not having to spend an inordinate amount of time on material she already understands. In fact, today after our phonics lesson, she flipped past several lessons in the book and found a page of sentences and read them (she only made minor concentration mistakes), then said, "Now we don't have to read that lesson when we get to that page." hahaha Well, I guess that's true!

2002-12-16T17:25:00.000-06:00

WorldNetDaily: The 1st Coming of Huggy Jesus

2002-12-16T17:18:00.000-06:00

WorldNetDaily: The real reason the state opposes homeschooling

2002-12-16T16:24:00.000-06:00

You're water!

You're water! For the most part, you are very serene and gentle. If someone angers you however, you can go from serene to pissed in .0005 seconds.

What element are you?

2002-12-16T02:17:00.000-06:00

Which Sesame Street Muppet's Dark Secret Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

2002-12-15T11:28:00.000-06:00

Christian Message Boards: School Bans Saying "Christmas" in Sacramento, Ca.

2002-12-08T00:24:00.000-06:00

Well, we've all been sick this week. B got it first on Sun and stayed home from work on Monday, then H had diarreah from Tues 'till yesterday. I was sick on Wed, but luckily it was just the one day for me. H was invited to a birthday party today (Sat), but I wasn't going to chance her getting other kids sick. The party was postponed anyway, so she didn't miss out. She felt fine all day today, so ask long as she's fine tomorrow, we'll make co-op on Mon.

It's finally getting cold around here, but I've been so busy that it seems strange that Christmas is only 3 weeks away. We have all our shopping done. I ordered some gifts from catalogs this year, to be delivered directly to the recipients, so not much wrapping for me this time. As far as I know, B and I are not planning on buying anything for each other, so I only have to wrap my sister's gift and 3 things for H. I've written up Christmas cards, but I think I'm going to have to plug in my old computer to get some addresses off of it. I also need to write letters to go with a few of the cards.

B worked 1/2 a day on Thurs and 1/2 a day today for overtime. I think he's also working 8 hours a weekend through the end of the year. He has to work Christmas Eve and Day, too. Bummer that we don't get to spend them with our families, but at least he'll get paid double time and a half for them. Now he's got to find someone to trade hours with him so he doesn't have to work on the 1st. He's taking vacation from the 26th through the 31st, and his normal days off are Thurs-Sat. If he doesn't find someone to work his hours on the 1st, he'll be off the 26-31, work the 1st, and be off the 2-4. We'll be 200 miles away on the 26-31 and would really rather not have to drive back on our anniversary (the 31st) so that he can work one day and then be off for another 3 days. Speaking of our anniversary (#5), we're thinking of going to Galveston and either touring the villas or going to the Moody Gardens/IMAX/Rainforest/whatever else they have there. So, we're debating between the old and the new. I toured the villas in elementary school with my class and thought they were very interesting, but can't remember many details. He's never been. And neither of us have ever been to the Moody Gardens thing (though I've been to the IMAX there and we've both been to the IMAX in San Antonio). So, I guess we know what he and I will be talking about over the next few weeks.

2002-12-04T02:45:00.000-06:00

Ok, I hear ya! Sorry I haven't really updated since I left for Thanksgiving. We're back now, of course, and are back into our normal routine. I've been crocheting during all my spare time. I finished the eggshell-colored bereavement blanket I was working on before Thanksgiving and am now working on a color block sort of blanket of blue, red, green, goldenrod and purple. It's bright and fun and easy.

We had a phonics lesson and a handwriting lesson today. In phonics we covered the long e sound as spelled "ee" and in handwriting we started with the numbers 0 and 1. We did all of our schooling in 20 min today!

Ok, so you're dying to know about B's classes? Well, he got 'em!! YAY!! Mom gave us her credit card number so we could charge it, and he got them!! So, now we need to find out about his books and how much they're going to be. Then in January his schedule will change drastically. I dunno how he's supposed to find out about that class that the days and time were TBA for. Since you have to take the 2 classes together, and you have to take the same prof for each one, I wonder if he's supposed to wait 'till the first class of the TTh class for the prof to tell him when the TBA one is. Sounds kinda risky to count on that, though, 'cause if the TBA class ends up being on MWF, he could conceivably miss the first class by waiting 'till Tues to find out about it. I guess he'll just have to email her again to ask about that.

I wrote up Christmas cards today, but there are some addresses I'm missing parts of. I never know when exactly to send Christmas cards, either, so I always wait 'till I get one or two before I send mine. Well, I'd better go if I'm going to wake up tomorrow.

2002-12-02T02:19:00.000-06:00

Well, B will be up in just over 2 hours to register for his EMT classes through Continuing Education. I'm on my way to bed and will update as soon as I find out how it goes.

2002-12-01T15:18:00.000-06:00

What Type Of Retro Gal Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

2002-11-26T15:14:00.000-06:00

I've been packing today to get ready for our trip to the coast. We'll be leaving tonight and staying with B's parents. My mom wants to take "us girls" shopping Friday or Sat and leave the men at home to set up the Dickens Villiage. Should be interesting. Now that I think about it, my sister's boyfriend, R will be one of the men, since he'll be visiting with her...should be very interesting!! Anyway, I probably won't be blogging again 'till Sat or Sun. Though, if things get really crazy, I might have to fill you in while I'm gone. So, I'll be back next week, and I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!

2002-11-23T23:43:00.000-06:00

Hey, is anyone out there reading this stuff? B got an email today from the prof he's hoping to get. He had emailed her on the 18th when he found out all the classes were full, wondering if she had any suggestions, or if he could get into a full class. In her email she said he could try going through Continuing Ed. Gee, thanks, Prof. A little slow on the email there. Well, at least she didn't wait 'till after CE registration to reply. I did an "Indian" bead necklace craft with H yesterday, and about 5 minutes after it was dry, she broke one of the felt pieces that was holding one of the feathers on. Oh, well. It wasn't a masterpiece or an heirloom. Speaking of "heir" our phonics lesson today was over the long "a" sound as spelled with ay, ey, ei, and eigh. I know, we covered a lot of ground. So, I've got plenty of material for words of the day 'till the next phonics lesson on Tues. I'll probably go over them even more than usual, since those last 2 are so strange. I'll have to do Listening with her tomorrow, as well as handwriting practice. We're working on "e" and "s" this week, so she'll need more practice on them than she did on most of the other letters we've done.

2002-11-21T16:28:00.000-06:00

Ok, panic is over for now. B talked to the chair of the EMS program and she said he can take the classes as Continuing Education. They won't count toward his degree until he has credits at ACC, but they'll at least prepare him for the certification, and once he takes a class at ACC they'll roll over to credits. So, on Dec 2 he'll be on the phone at 5 am trying to register again. The reason the credit classes were full already was because a class of firefighters finished their firefighting courses last semester and now have to take their EMS courses (you have to be a firefighter and an EMT to get a job as a firefighter). So, that's why returning students had filled up the first 2 classes of a program. That and there are only 3 sections with 12 seats each. Under CE there are only 3 sections of 10 seats each, but he's hoping to get in early enough so that it's not full, and maybe the firefighters are all finished registering anyway.

2002-11-18T11:56:00.000-06:00

Ack! All sections for both of B's classes are full!! ARG!! These are the first 2 classes in the program! The only people that registered before him are returning students! Why are all these returning students taking the first 2 classes in this program?! Well, I guess now all we can do is wait to see if someone drops them. You have to take these 2 classes together, so if someone drops one, they have to drop both. How ultimately frustrating! I really hope he doesn't have to wait 'till next Fall to start this stuff. We're really looking forward to the extra money that the job pays...the one that he can get after he takes these first 2 classes. Arg, arg, arg!

2002-11-18T02:54:00.000-06:00

Finished the bereavement blanket. It's in the dryer blocking itself now. I have to call and register B for classes in the morning, then call Stephanie and find out where to drop the blankets off, then go with H to co-op, and drop the blankets off on my way home. Ahh, the dryer just stopped. Now I can see how the blocking turned out, and go to sleep!

2002-11-14T23:57:00.000-06:00

Dru said, "... however you are currently living, whatever priviliges you currently enjoy, you live that way and enjoy those priviliges because someone else suffered for them. You might think of it this way: whenever you find a "bargain" in today's exchange economy, be it a pair of shoes, or low prices at the gas pump, it is only a bargain because someone ELSE has paid dearly for it." I know she was talking about a completely different subject, but when I read that, it just totally reminded me of Jesus' work on the tree. Everything I have today is all because of his atoning death. Praise the Lord!

We did a bunch of stuff today...we went to ACC to price books for B's classes (which reminds me I need to email Mom and let her know how much they'll be), we went to Petco and got hay, food, and an excercise ball for Henry, and we went to Wal-Mart for a few things. H had her math lesson this morning, but I forgot to do listening with her, so we'll have to do that tomorrow. Oh, one of the things we got at Wal-Mart was white yarn, so I can finish the bereavement blanket. And I picked up a couple of new patterns. That's about all the news for today!

2002-11-13T01:00:00.000-06:00

Wow, not much happened today. We didn't make it to the park like I'd planned. I was too sleepy this morning, and it was too cold outside. H woke me up and wanted to play in the backyard first thing this morning. I let her go and was hit by an arctic blast as I opened the door. I figured that would be her outside time for the day. She didn't stay out there but about 1/2 an hour, though. She found a brown caterpillar-looking worm yesterday evening and it became her best friend. When she went out this morning it was gone. After she went to bed last night, I realized I should have had her look at it through the microscope we have from Connections. So, I was hoping it would still be there this morning. Oh, well, I guess we'll have to find another bug to look at instead. That girl loves bugs. She likes to share her food with the ants sometimes. *sigh* She even used to like spiders...'till she saw her daddy smash one on the wall once. Now she wants to kill all spiders.

I finished another afgan last night. It's one my mil started a decade or more ago, and put away and never finished. When I started crocheting she took it out and started working on it some, but now that she's blind, she gave it to me to finish. It's 70s orange, green and yellow. Or is that Sunset, Avacado, and Gold (Maise?)? Anyway, I'll be putting it in the auction during the family reunion. She's kinda the family matriarch, so surely someone will buy it when they know that she made it. She gave me another one that she'd started way back when and never finished, too. It's a ripple pattern white, pink, baby blue, and a varigated white, pink, and blue. I'll keep that one for the child we plan on having some day. After I wash it. I don't know what's on it, or how it got so dirty, but it's nasty. The orange, green, yellow one was the same way. My hands feel dirty after I've been working on it a while. And hopefully soon we can get to the store and buy some more white so I can finish the bereavement blanket I started and get it and the red, white and blue one to The Linus Connection so they can donate them. I've just got so many projects I want to do and not enough thread or money to buy thread for any of them. But things are still looking up. Praise God for putting us in the right places at the right times lately. Doh, I forgot to mention that B got his Healthcare Provider CPR certificate, so now he can take the classes at ACC, and apply for the job after this semester's over. Moving right along!

2002-11-11T01:58:00.000-06:00

What Sign of Affection Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

2002-11-11T00:34:00.000-06:00

Ugh, I think I may be sick: KRT Wire | 11/08/2002 | Chevy marketing campaign reaches out to Christian consumers. And especially this: "In June, Betz's team in Atlanta noted potential customers' strong response to Chevrolet promotions at an amusement park in Charlotte, N.C. About 8,000 people were drawn to the park's amphitheater for an evangelical music festival.
These were young families with disposable income, a fact that made them ideal Chevy customers. Clearly, the way to catch their eye was through their faith, Betz said." That's the slimiest thing I've read in a long time. Good thing I already don't like Chevy, I guess.

2002-11-09T02:07:00.000-06:00

You will live in House.
You will drive a red Accord.
You will marry Buddy and have 3 kids.
You will be a singer in Pflugerville.

Play MASH

Well, a lot of that is right...I do live in a house in Pflugerville with B...I might drive a red Accord some day, but the only way we're gonna be having 3 kids is if our next pregnancy is twins, and I'm never going to be a singer, no matter how much I wanted to be one when I was younger.

2002-11-09T01:52:00.000-06:00

We've been so busy the last 2 days that we didn't manage to "do school" today. I guess we'll try to do yesterday's lessons and tomorrow's lessons tomorrow. So, we got B enrolled at ACC, and now we just need to register him on the 18th. I say "we" because, that being a Monday, he'll be working, so I'll probably register him myself. I was looking at his transcript from SWT, and he was really a bad student when he was in college the first time. He made the dean's list the first semester, and then all of his grandparents died within the next year and he started failing everything. Then he just got lazy and stopped going to class and it became a 5-year habit. He was on academic suspension the last year he was there. No wonder he never graduated! That's not really a good excuse, though, because I had serious issues my first semester at college, too, and I graduated in 4 years with a double major.. Anyway, the good news is that now that he's married with child, he's grown up a lot and my mom (since she'll be paying for it) and I will kick his butt if he slacks off. Seems like I had something else to write, but I have no idea what it was. Oh, well, maybe tomorrow.

2002-11-06T23:30:00.000-06:00

Now that I've finished the koalas (I think I still have enough yarn for one or two more), I got an email from The Linus Connection lady saying that they need bereavement blankets. So, I started one tonight and it's coming along very nicely. It's a Red Heart pattern called Baby Pineapples. I told the JW's that I'd be home tomorrow totally forgetting that we're going to San Marcos tomorrow to get B's transcript from SWT. After we pick it up, we'll be taking it to AC and hopefully get him enrolled. Then I'll let Mom know how much $ it's going to be. Since we're out of district we have to pay an extra $500. I hope she doesn't freak out. She probably won't, but there's always the possibility, I guess. Then on Sat. he has his CPR for Healthcare Providers class. Then the ball will be rolling. I'm so excited, and I'm not even the one that's going back to college! So, if I can get the phone number off the answering machine message that I already erased, I'll call the JW's back, and if not, I guess I'll jsut leave a note on the door. And maybe put the flag out front... Well, back to the blanket for me.

2002-11-05T00:34:00.000-06:00

We went to co-op today even though it was raining. See, that's the good thing about co-op as compared to park days...co-op doesn't get rained out. There were only 2 other families there today, so it was cozy and pretty quiet. The kids "wrote" (dictated) stories for one of the moms to write down. Here's H's story:

Once upon a time, in a far away land, lived a little girl named H Ballet Dancer and she sat in her magical chair. She go'd to the blue island and Lacko was there. He killed her and she fell down dead. Then a prince came and kissed H Ballet Dancer and she woke up because it was only a spell. Then the prince go'd far away to Mars and H Ballet Dancer followed him. The end.

I wasn't in the room when she was "writing" her story, so I missed how this was all worked out, but I think it's pretty cute. I finished the koala and then ended up giving it to H. I'm making another for my mil and just need to make the arms, nose, eyes and claws, so I'll probably finish it tomorrow. I have enough to make at least one more, maybe two, so if anyone wants to buy one, leave me a comment and we can figure out payment, shipping etc. I figure I'll sell them for $12. They'd make great Christmas, birthday, or just-because gifts. We borrowed $500 from some friends, who we'll pay back $100/paycheck. That way we won't have to worry about the mortgage company. But we might be short on grocery and gas money this month. So, if anyone wants to make donations via PayPal, just let me know and I'll give you the email address. :)

2002-11-01T23:58:00.000-06:00

Which Founding Father Are You?

Koala is coming along nicely. I've got the head and body and both ears completed. Now I just need arms legs, nose, and a few stitches each for the eyes and claws. If I could just find someone to sell them to, I could make a while bunch of them! lol We borrowed some money from some friends today, which we'll be paying back $100/paycheck. Paid the roofers today, and some of the mortgage from what was left over, plus a post-dated check. Hopefully that will satisfy them until the next paycheck in 2 weeks and we can be all caught up. Then we have a $730 car insurance bill due on the 21st, but as long as we're paying them something, they don't mind how long we take to pay the balance. We went to Connections today. I've heard other homeschoolers mention it before, so the last time I saw Dru, I asked her all about it, then went to their website. They're kinda like a library, but you can check out toys, puppets, audio/visual stuff, etc, as well as books. We checked out 5 books: The Korean Cinderella, a book all about skeletons, Giant Panda, a book about butterflies and moths, and a book about chimpanzees. We also got 2 toys: a 2-way microscope (really cool) and a big bok (like to read to several kids at once) called Let's Measure It! If we can keep from losing the lens to the microscope, this will be really cool. We can keep the stuff for 2 weeks, and I have a feeling we'll be going there a lot! Well...I'd better go make arms for my koala.

2002-10-31T23:52:00.000-06:00

Woohoo! Halloween! It's some people's favorite holiday, but I'm not that crazy over it. I haven't dressed up the last 2 years, but that's mainly because of lack of creativity and money. We just weren't feeling it last year, a month and a half after Sept. 11, and this year, we're 4 months behind on our mortgage payment and just had a $2000 roof put on our house that we still have to pay for. (They finished today and will bring the invoice by tomorrow.) H dressed as an angel this year and she made a haul trick-or-treating. We only made it halfway around the block before the bucket was too heavy for her to carry. For the past 3 years she was a hot pink butterfly because she just loves butterflies. Every time we'd ask her what she wanted to be, she'd say a butterfly, so since her costume was always too big, until last year when it fit perfectly, we just let her go in the same costume. She was very cute as an angel (read: devil in disguise), and sometime this weekend we'll upload the pics from the camera and I'll post some here. We collected about $17 for UNICEF, including the $7 B scrounged from his coworkers. So, we'll be going to HEB tomorrow to put the change in the CoinStar machine, and mail the receipt to UNICEF. And I've got to get a haircut! It's looking really shaggy and flipping out in strange places. Though it would save money, I don't trust B with the scissors, and he doesn't trust himself with them, anyway. Luckily, my hair is short, in a basic man's cut, so it's pretty cheap. I'm sure they still charge more for mine than they would if my hair was on a man's head, but at least we're saving on B and H. Of course hers isn't but a couple of bucks right now anyway...most people don't charge full price for a 4-year-old, but some do. Anyway, I'm rambling now...I think I'm getting sleepy. I got the yarn for the koala today, so I get to start on it tomorrow!

2002-10-30T19:13:00.000-06:00

Yay! The roofers came today! They were a little late, so they didn't finish like they said they would, but it should only take them an hour or 2 tomorrow to finish up. There are shingles on the front of the house, so they just have to finish shingling and clean up. Henry didn't like all the hammering, so he got some extra attention and some extra time in his hidey box. H kept wanting to go outside and talk to the roofers, but we couldn't let her do that, of course, since 1) they had work to do, and 2) we didn't want her stepping on nails or getting hit on the head by falling shingles, etc. Hopefully they'll be done by the time we want to go to the park tomorrow, since their debris trailer is blocking the garage. Ah, what the heck, we probably won't be going 'till 1 or so, so as long as they get here before noon, we should be fine. If not, I guess we'll just have to wait 'till they leave. We also have to go gracery shopping tomorrow, so hopefully we can get yarn while we're out. Ok, H loves salt. She just came in here and picked up the salt shaker and shook some into her mouth. She's been doing that a lot lately...at CiCi's Pizza last week...I don't think it's possible for her to have a sodium deficiency, especially since she's been eating saltine crackers for the last 1/2 hour, so I don't know what the deal is. We carved our pumpkin today. I guess I should say B carved it. we bought a "carving pumpkin" from Wal-Mart this year. It's made of hard foam rubber, so we don't have to worry about that rotting business. It's pretty cute...used one of those carving kits... My (paternal) grandmother used to buy me a pumpkin every year, and then my (divorced) mom would have to carve it. This was before carving kits, so we always did it freehand. Well, not totally freehand...we'd draw on it with a magic marker first. lol We never made pumpkin pie, though, or even pumpkin bread (That's what canned pumpkin is for!) but we did roast the seeds once or twice. H asked me while B was carving if we could make pumpkin muffins. I said, "Not with this pumpkin, but at the store they sell cans of pumpkin goo that we could get and make muffins with. Only problem is I don't have a recipe for it." I guess I could find one online with no problem, though. Oh, well, I'd better go try to make koala ears out of the white yarn I have.

2002-10-29T23:44:00.000-06:00

I'm going to get this entry written while today is still today! H woke up at 6 something (3 hours earlier than normal) with an upset tummy. She was up before B had even left for work. So, I'm going to try to get to sleep pretty soon. My eyes are already so tired I can hardly see. She was feeling better a couple of hours later, so I guess it was something she ate last night. So, we stayed home from the park today, even though she really needed outdoor time after all the rain we've had. 12 days of no sun! I figured the park was still probably pretty wet, anyway, so no big deal. I let her play in the backyard this afternoon, since she was feeling fine. We'll be headed to the park on Thurs instead. I have a feeling I'll have windows and doors open all day tomorrow.

The roofer called this morning to say that they were finishing up a job they had started before the rain came, and that they'll be here tomorrow morning and do ours. YAY!! There are supposed to be more cold fronts coming in, and at least if they bring rain with them, it won't be dripping on our heads!! B has personal hours at work and he has to take them or lose them, so he's only working 2 hours tomorrow morning, then his weekend starts. It'll be nice to have him home an extra day. Besides, he has stuff he needs to do during business hours to set up his classes for his new career. :) I finished the red, white and blue blanket tonight, so next payday I can go get more yarn and start on my mil's b-day present.