Bolen's Bounty

The Mysterious Muddy Footsteps

2011-08-21T00:50:00.000-05:00

Today I was cleaning our shower and started to wonder how all those muddy footprints get in there. Jerry and I are both adults and usually clean up after our selves. Yet every time I clean the shower there are muddy foot prints in the bottom of it. Last week end I watched the girls on Thursday through Friday. Our church had a teen conference and since Josh is the Teen Pastor he and Jessica were very busy. To keep from having the girls stuck in the nursery for 3 solid days they stayed at Mema and Bepa's. We had so much fun with them. Then this week we watched the girls on Thursday night so Josh and Jessica could celebrate their anniversary which was actually July 31st. As I was scrubbing the floor in the shower it suddenly dawned on me
how the footprints got there. When Kyndra was smaller and we took her to Menards with us several times. One of the highlights of our trips was when she was allowed to play in the shower stalls they had set up. She loved going in and out of the doors. Of course that's how the prints got int he shower! Kyndra was playing. One less mystery in life.

Looking on the bright side!

2011-05-02T21:22:00.000-05:00

I just realized that I am an optimist. No matter what happens I look on the bright side (this doesn't mean I don't have things I could get sad or depressed about). I do sometimes get grumpy or discouraged but for the most part I am content where I am. I know that part of this is because my step dad always looked on the dark side. He was constantly complaining about the weather, the economy, the news, business, life, whatever. I determined then not to be like that. Everyone gets down sometimes but for the most part we choose our attitude. We decide how we are going to look at things. As for me...I choose to be happy.

Leaving in the Morning

2011-04-21T00:25:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow morning I am leaving for Washington, Iowa. I am going to a youth conference with our teens. I am very excited. The name of the conference is Our Time. It is at Marion Ave. Baptist Church. This church has been lead by Bro. Larry Brown. At Pastors School Bro. Brown announced that he is giving up his church and become a traveling Evangelist. His son is in the running to take over the church. Bro. Browns wife died last year and he really has the gift of spreading the gospel. I can't wait to attend this conference. I am also excited to get to know the teens better. Praying for a safe trip and for the teens to be changed.

My Darling Class

2011-04-20T19:04:00.002-05:00

What a Wonderful Life

2011-04-15T17:32:00.000-05:00

God has truly blessed me. He gave me a wonderful, loyal, hardworking, loving husband. He gave me 2 fantastic daughters, 2 adorable granddaughters, 2 son-in-laws that love and care for our daughters, a great church and lots of friends who we love and care for. I am so thankful for all of it. He has given me so much that I can't even thank him for everything.

We recently had a visit from one of our favorite people. Rachel was here from Oregon with her 2 little girls. We were so happy to see her and to get to know her babies. She is just like one of our own kids. Sometimes in life you think you will never see someone again. We never thought we would see Rachel's parents or even Rachel again. It was a very pleasant surprise to see her parents when we went out to lunch with Rachel, Gary and Cassie. Gary arranged to surprise all of us. He was pretty proud of himself.

I am getting more and more excited about my Mom coming to come visit. She will be here May 13th. Jerry is killing himself to get the house done before she arrives. I can't wait for it to be all done and to see Mom.

School is nearly out for the year and I feel really good about it. The kids are all reading and are all doing very well. I am proud of them and how hard they have worked.

AGAIN

2011-04-02T20:48:00.000-05:00

About a month ago we were informed of some exciting news. Jessica is expecting again. We are so happy and just can't wait to meet # 3 in the Graham family. We had to promise not to say anything for awhile. Our new grandbaby is due Oct. 21st. I'm hoping for my birthday on the 28th. Jessica posted the cutest video of them telling the girls about the new arrival. Kyndra is so funny.

Speaking of funny... today I asked Kyndra if she wanted a baby brother or a baby sister. She said she wanted a baby brother. I then asked her what we would name her baby brother and she said Bree. I explained that that was a girls name She thought for a minute and said OK we should name him Shadrack. How funny. As we were walking around the thrift store she saw a bunch of old records. Look Mema, Really big Cd's. Gotta love her.

PASTOR'S SCHOOL

2011-03-25T18:23:00.000-05:00

I just got back from Pastor's School/ Educator's Convention. It was such a great blessing. I got to hear many great men of the faith and attend hands-on classes in different areas. My biggest problem in my Christian life has always been prayer. I try very hard to do what I know what I should do but I fail everyday. I say the quick God bless my food prayers and I ask God to help people who need help but I don't seem to be very good at having long conversations with God.
One of the sessions I attended was entitled "Why You Hate To Pray" by David Gibbs III. He talked about the reasons we hate to pray and I suddenly understood something. I wasn't the only one. I am just like everyone else. Bro. Gibbs said, "The only way to have a great prayer life is to have a great prayer list." This struck home to me. I will be working on a great prayer list. I already have many things I pray for everyday but I need a more detailed list. A list that pinpoints the areas of life that really need help. I am so thankful that God showed me how to talk to him and I can't wait to get started on this great journey.

IS IT SPRING YET?

2011-03-09T17:00:00.000-06:00

One really nice thing about living in the midwest is that there are actually 4 seasons. Pretty soon it will be spring. I can't wait to start doing yard work and fixing up the outside of the house. My husband has been working very hard on the inside. The dining room is almost finished. We plan on moving the dining room table and some other furniture for the dining room this week. It will be so very nice to have a real table and another room finished in the house.

Kyndra had a third birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese last night. She is such a delight. She picked up the card from Beth and said,"Oh boy! A card....with no money." It is so hard raising a smart kid!

All I can say is I LOVE MY LIFE!

POOR ME

2011-02-28T12:53:00.000-06:00

Last time I blogged Jerry was sick. Now a week later it is my turn. Please feel sorry for me because I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. Just kidding. I have been praying for everyone with this stupid bug. It sure has been going around and it really hangs on. So more TV and more reading and more sleeping for me. See you all soon.

POOR JERRY

2011-02-21T21:51:00.000-06:00

My wonderful husband planned a get away for us this past week end. He got us a room in Springfield and we went to the Lincoln Museum, saw Lincolns home, and went to a big mall. He didn't feel real good but decided he could handle it. Sunday instead of going anywhere else he asked if we could go home. Of course we did. When we got home about 3pm he went directly to bed. Around 6:30 he woke up with a 103 fever. After 3 Advil it still didn't go down. He had the worst headache and he was coughing and just feeling awful. I gave him a vicodin and an hour later his fever still wasn't down. I called the advice nurse at our insurance company and after a profile they said to take him to the ER. The ER decided he had Bronchitis. No flu, no pneumonia. They gave us meds and sent him home. As soon as we got home he started throwing up. After a couple of hours with no relief I called the ER. They said to give him Dramamine wait 1/2 hour and then give him more pain meds. He threw up the Dramamine so after another 1/2 hr I took him back to the ER. This time they gave him a shot of morphine and something to keep him from throwing up. He has now slept all day and so far not thrown up anything else. He is still taking vicodins for the headache but no coughing . I think he is on the mend. Love this guy. He is such a trooper. He keeps apologizing for ruining the week end. I'm pretty sure he didn't do it on purpose.

WHAT MAKES IT WORTH IT?

2011-02-10T22:38:00.002-06:00

Have you ever wondered what makes a person devote much of their lives learning to be a doctor or face danger everyday as a police or fire person? Do you wonder why Pastors give up any chance for a normal life by being on call 24/7 for their congregation? What about someone who does something less heroric? What about a stay at home Mom? I was fortunate enough to be a working mom and a stay at home mom. We started out with me working full time plus at a start-up electronics company. I worked 8-9 hours plus an hour commute each way. I did that until Cassie was 3 and then we decided that I needed to be home. At first I felt home bound and isolated. Then I started to enjoy staying home with my girls. When they were both in school I got a series of part time jobs so I could be home when they got out of school. I got to stay home every summer with them and we had a wonderful time. I was able to teach them about gardening, housekeeping, grocery shopping, and lots of other things. We never got a new car. We seldom had an extra penny but it was worth every bit of the time I spent at home. Our girls turned out to be beautiful accomplished young ladies. Jessica is a wonderful wife and mother. Cassie is a great wife and I'm sure someday she will be a great mother also. Was it worth it? You bet.

SNOW DAYS

2011-02-03T01:29:00.001-06:00

Well living in Illinois has been a real adventure. Last winter it was really cold living in the motor home. It snowed more than we had ever seen and all the locals told us it was more than usual. This winter has broken records of snow fall. Chicago announced the first school snow day in years and years. We have 2 1/2 to 3 ft drifts on our deck. Jerry had to dig our cars out this morning. Now that the blizzard is over the temp is dropping like crazy. The forcast is for -9 tonight. It is now -1 outside. We have been out of school for 2 days and will not have school tomorrow either. The truth is I kind of like it. It feels like winter in a way that the rain and clouds never did. I like the cleaness of the air and the way everything is all soft and white. I like unexpected days off from work and getting to do things around the house we usually don't have time for. I am sad for the people that were stuck on Lakeshore Drive in Chicago for up to 12 hours in their cars and for anyone who has been injured or hurt due to the snow. Illinois is a all new experience for us. Cold in the winter, hot and humid in the summer. Taking all of that into consideration I LOVE IT! So glad to be with our kids and our grandkids. So happy for all the new really good friends we have made. So happy that our house is coming along and that we both have jobs and that we are healthy. God has truely blessed us in everyway. He deserves all of the honor and glory. So loving my life.

BEING SICK

2011-01-27T18:33:00.000-06:00

What do you do when you are home sick all day? It's fine for the first day. You can catch up on your reading, tv watching, sleep, etc. On the second day you start getting bored. You've watched all the tv you want, you've read for hours. You start climbing the walls. If you try to sleep you can't. You know that you need to stay down and rest but your body is sick of laying around. The longer this goes on the worse it is. I have had a headach for 3 days. Not the throw up kind but the kind that just hurts. It is really hard to teach when you have a headach. You have little patience and all you really want to do is go home. I decided today to stay home. I have slept off and on all day. I have watched enough tv to last me a month. I have facebooked, blogged, searched and googled. My head still hurts but by golly I am going to work tomorrow.

SONS OF THUNDER CONFERNCE

2011-01-24T07:59:00.001-06:00

Tonight starts our Sons of Thunder Conference. We always so enjoy having the Gray Brothers come and preach. Satan is fighting us tooth and nail. This morning school was cancelled due to freezing rain. Yesterday it snowed 2 inches. Praying that both brothers arrive safely and that all of our members can make it to church for the conference. Can't wait to hear what God and the Gray Brothers have in store for us.

WINNING

2011-01-21T17:05:00.000-06:00

I have a new hobby. Well not really new. I started last summer and it has been fun and somewhat lucrative. There are posts on facebook from people who take the time to find all of the best freebies, sweepstakes, instant wins, contests, coupons, etc. I started signing up for the contests and sweepstakes and in the first month I won a $500.00 gift card to Office Depot for my class room. Kay and I had a great time spending it. I have gotten several free magazine subscriptions, a $10 Starbucks card, 2 months worth of Toaster Strudels, many shampoo and conditioner samples, toothpaste, lotion, coffee, tea, snack bars, free Sobes, free cough drops, pain relief patches, movie tickets, and paint. This last week I won a $10 Dollar General gift card and a $50 Visa gift card. I believe that God is allowing me to win so much because I told him Iwould use anything I won for the benifit of the church. I spend 10 to 15 minutes a day enter contests and requesting samples. I have a separate email that I use for these so that any junk mail goes to it. My favorite blogs for this are stockpiling moms and freebies 4 moms. Both are on facebook and you can link them to your email. I actually have fun with this and I am so blessed whenever I win. Its fun to try and figure out how to use the winnings for God. If you have any questions just comment below and I will try to answer them.

BIBLE READING

2011-01-09T22:39:00.000-06:00

Ok so this Bible reading stuff is pretty cool. I have read the Bible thru a few times and have read different sections many times. Every time I read it I learn something new. This week I read about Lot. In Genesis 19:8 that scumbag offered up his virgin daughters to the men of Sodom so they wouldn't come into his house and bother the angels of God. What kind of father would do that. I guess that explains why later his daughters did what they did. Not only did they have a scummy Dad but they were raised in Sodom and were surrounded by all the sin and debauchery that went on. I am constantly amazed at what God shows me. If only those girls would have had a loving bus worker or a Sunday school teacher who cared, or a youth Pastor to give them guidance. Maybe they wouldn't have tricked their father into sleeping with them. This encourages me to keep working in jr. Church and loving on those kids.

New Year New Bible Reading Schedule

2011-01-06T22:47:00.001-06:00

I am so excited about reading my Bible this year. Jerry now has a Daily Bible too so we are literally on the same page. We get to talk about what we have read that day. One thing we discovered
Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.' Before Eve messed up Adam didn't rule over her! I guess God figured she needed practice obeying!

WHAT I'VE LEARNED FROM GOD

2010-12-30T17:46:00.000-06:00

As I think about the new year and all the things I want to change in my life one thing is clear, I need to spend more time with God. I have tried to read my Bible everyday and I try to pray everyday but this year I fell flat on both. I read all but the last 30 days of my Bible. I do pray every day but not the meaningful walk with God kind of prayers. God wants me to read my Bible and spend time with him. I have enlisted my husbands aid in this quest. I have asked him to read with me and pray with me. This accountability should help a lot plus we will get to spend spiritual time together too.

CHRISTMAS DAY

2010-12-25T17:55:00.000-06:00

What does Christmas mean to you? It used to mean getting up at the crack of dawn and watch two little girls tear through their presents, then loading everyone up to go to Grammy and Papa's house. Now it means something different. Josh and Jessica spend Christmas with Josh's family. They drive up on Christmas eve and come home usually Christmas night late. Cassie and Gary spend Christmas with Gary's parents. Jerry and I spend Christmas with each other. This year it has been spent putting in a tile floor and kitchen cabinets. It will be so nice to be able to cook real meals and wash dishes in my own sink with my own dishwasher. I am making chili in the crock pot but it just isn't the same as having a kitchen. Gary and Cassie came by to say Hi. Maybe next year we can sit in the living room and talk. This year we stood in the dining room and talked.

Please don't think I'm complaining. I am so very thankful for everything God has given us. A new granddaughter, a new home, new jobs, new friends, and a wonderful new church family. We are so grateful and happy. We feel so fulfilled. We so love teaching our Jr. Church and we love our Preacher and his family. We have learned so much about faith and prayers and needs. God has taught us so many lessons this year I can't even begin to list them.

God has given us such a wonderful amazing gift. When we die we know we will go to heaven and all because on this day over 2000 years ago a baby was born in Bethlehem. Thank-you God for your sacrifice.

Merry Christmas to all of you. Stay safe.

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS EVE

2010-12-23T19:10:00.000-06:00

I am so excited. We just figured out that Jerry gets two three day weekends. That means we get to spend some time together over my Christmas break. Today we took my car in and had a remote starter installed. This is my Christmas present from Jerry. It will be so nice on those cold Illinois mornings. I will be able to climb in a nice warm car.

I was able to get all of my Christmas shopping done today and I even bought me a present.

Jerry nearly has the kitchen floor done. We should be able to get the bottom cabinets and counters in this week end. I might actually have a kitchen done this week.

Tomorrow Dish network is installing our dish. It will be nice to watch the news again.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED BEING MARRIED 32 YEARS

2010-12-19T21:32:00.002-06:00

It doesn't matter who wins a fight you both loose. It is better to agree with my husband than prove I'm right. Sometimes I forget these two points.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED FROM GOD

2010-12-17T19:59:00.002-06:00

When Jessica and I went to Ladies Spectacular I expected to hear all sorts of deep Biblical truths that would change my life. What I actually heard was something that really shook my mind.
Satan can't read our thought so the only way he knows what we are thinking of is by our actions and by what we say. When we gossip we give him a window to our hearts and he can see what we think. It suddenly dawned on me why gossip is wrong. Not only does it hurt people but it also hurts you and it helps Satan. It really made me think. I always knew that gossiping was wrong but now I know why. I have been praying and asking God to help me to be a better person.

WHAT MY CLASS TAUGHT ME THIS WEEK

2010-12-15T16:54:00.001-06:00

This week I learned that it takes a lot of patience to teach kindergarten and first grade. I learned that I have more patience than I thought and that I don't have as much as I should.

2010-12-10T22:10:00.002-06:00

Well, I am back now. We finally got internet again and I am only working 1 job now so I think I'll have time to blog more. I won't fill you in on everything tonight but I will post again soon and give you all the details. I am going to start a new weekly post about things I've learned teaching kindergarten. It will be about something my kids have taught me this week. I will also post one a week about something I have learned either from my Bible, sermons, chapel, or listening to sermons on cd. I will also post once a week something I've learned about being married. These are just some things I've been thinking about in my down time. I figure if I have specific things to write about on specific days I will be more diligent about writing. I will be back soon. Have a great week-end.

2010-11-04T21:43:00.002-05:00

For my birthday my husband wanted to have the jacuzzi tub hooked up and running so I could sit in the tub and relax. He worked so hard and even got the bedroom carpeted and ready for us to move in to. Unfortunately the sewer line seems to have a problem and the tub couldn't drain. He rented an auger and spent most of Sat. trying to clear the drain. He couldn't get it cleared so now we are going on to step 2. We have some chemicals that will help clear tree roots from the line. If that doesn't work we will have to hire some professionals to come out and try to fix it. Poor Jerry. He was so disappointed and upset about me not getting my tub running. I really don't care it was for sure the thought that counted. I love that man. God sure did bless me.

Ladies Spec

2010-10-24T15:16:00.002-05:00

For the third year in a row I was able to go to Ladies Spec. I always have so much fun spending time with Jessica and the girls. This year we only went Wed. night and Friday morning but it was worth every minute. Thursday we had planned on going to Kina's to have a photo shoot for the girls. Kina had to cancel so we spent the whole day together and then went out to eat with Josh's family. We got to see Johnny and Michelle's new house and got to see the changes they are going to make to Josh's Mom's apartment. It will be so nice when it is done.

We ran into Mrs. Vicky and had a wonderful but sad conversation with her. The loss of her mother and brother are still heavy on her heart but still she made us laugh.

I loved hearing Mrs. Young and Mrs. Schaap teach. I got the cd's for Mrs. Cowling and Mrs. Wolfe. I learned so much and truly enjoyed myself.

As always it is still nice to come home. Got home late Friday night (stopped for the photo shoot with Kina on the way home). Swung by McD's and got a McFlurry. It didn't set to well and by the next morning I realized I was sick. No Saturday date with my hubby for me. Fever and upset stomach all day. Feeling better today but not 100%. Pretty sure I'll be able to go to school tomorrow.

I know I keep repeating this but I am so glad that we moved here. I love that I can drive to Ladies Spec and Pastors school. I love that my daughter can go with me. I love that it gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer. I love that everyday I can see my family or not see them if thats what I want. God has blessed us so much and I am so very thankful for everything he has done for us.

What's up!

2010-10-14T19:19:00.003-05:00

School is going great. We are having a blast and all the kids are starting to read pretty well. It is very interesting watching the kids learn. Each one learns in their own special way. Some are fast. Some are slow. Some struggle with math, some with reading. It is so fun to see how they each look at things and react. I am a very strict teacher. I want them to understand the rules and expect them to obey. Once they learn their lives will be so much easier.

Tonight Jessica is having a New To You Party. Everyone brought clothes, shoes, jewelery, and accessories that they don't want anymore. Then we traded. She also had a hair stylist, a nail technician and a massage therapist was supposed to be there. It is truly fun and everyone got new stuff and new hair.

2010-09-21T09:14:00.002-05:00

This year I am embarking on a new journey. I will be teaching kindergarten/1st grade. I am really nervous about this because I think that they are the most important grades. Kids learn to read in these grades. I have been teaching now for 5 weeks and I am excited to say all is going well. The 1st graders were already pretty good readers and the kindergartners are still learning their letters. So far it has been a rewarding and challenging experience. I have decided that the main thrust of my class will be reading. The rest the kids can catch up on if need be. If they don't learn the basic reading skills they will struggle forever. I have 7 kids in my class. I have 3 kindergartners and 4 1st graders. Of the k's one has had pre-k, one is pre-k, and one is new. All of the 1st graders read. 2 read really well and 2 struggle a little more. So far my biggest challenge is behavior. We have now settle all of those issues and have settled into a great routine of school work and fun.

Now to top everything off I am sick and have missed 2 days of school. I think that we will be able to pick up where we left off when I get back.

So excited to see the outcome for this year.

Kyndra

2010-08-29T00:07:00.002-05:00

The other day we were taking Kyndra to Lakeland Park to feed the ducks. We went by the church to get some loaves of bread that were left over from food bank. Jerry ran in the building and I sat in the car with Kyndra. I was filing my finger nails and Kyndra said, " Mema, I don't like that noise." I replied, "I'm sorry Kyndra." and kept filing my nails. After a few seconds she said, "Mema, Bepa doesn't like that noise either." So smart for such a little girl.

We have been having such a wonderful time. The weather has cooled down a little and the humidity has let up a little. School has started and I teach from 7:15 to 2:00 everyday. So far 4 days a week I am working at Kmart. It keeps me busy but it's not as bad as I thought it would be. The kids are so cute and are very well behaved. We are getting into a routine and the kids are doing great. Work at Kmart has been very good also. Not too many hours.

Jerry starts at Cat on the 7th of September. It is a temp job with no benifits. It is also 2nd shift. He will be making the bottom of the pay scale but it gives him an in at Cat. The worst part is that due to our schedules I will only get to see him when he comes to eat lunch with me at school. I will be asleep when he gets home and he will be asleep when I leave. We will get to spend time together on Sat. and Sun.

Jerry has been working on the house like a mad man. Won't be long and he will be mudding and taping. He is the most wonderful man I know.

Today Jerry bought a little electric 4 wheeler and a little go cart at a garage sale. Kyndra is anxiously awaiting her Bepa to fix them so she can drive them.

Tomorrow is my favorite day of the week. Sunday. On Sunday morning we get up and go to church. We set up our department, print the bulletins, and go to our Sunday school class. Then we rush downstairs to get to Jr. Church before the kids. Each week is a new adventure. We have the best workers anywhere. Our adult workers all arrive right away. Then in come the kids. Somewhere during all of the huslte and bustle our teen workers arrive. We average about 16 workers every Sunday. 6-8 are adults and the rest are teens. Our department is a training ground for church workers. We run between 30-40 kids between 3rd and 6th grade every week. Many of these are bus kids. Lots of them are crazy. We have so much fun with all of them. Every week a different adult worker preaches. We have specials and learn hymns. We have games and prizes. It is the highlight of my week.

WOW!!! I am so excited!

2010-08-04T12:51:00.002-05:00

On facebook there are sights that tell you when there are good sales at different retailers. They also tell you how to match up coupons and sale prices to save even more. Sometimes they have a link to the coupons you need. There are also sites that list Sweepstakes and instant win sites.
In the evening TV I have been playing some of the sweeps. So far in the last 2 weeks I have won a six pack of Snapple, a Rockstar, and at the Sobe site if you don't win the prizes they still give you a BOGO coupon. CVS (a local drug chain) has Sobes BYGO this week. I have so far gotten 16 free Sobes. The biggest and the best thing that I have won is a $500.00 gift card for Office Depot. I entered the sweep as a teacher and I can't wait to use it (or some of it anyway) to set up my classroom. I plan to use the rest to buy paper and supplies for the church.
My 2 favorite facebook sites are : Freebies 4 Moms and Sweets Sweeps.
It is really fun and I can't believe I have won so much already.
I must truly be God's favorite.

OH BROTHER!!!

2010-08-02T22:48:00.003-05:00

I'm sure you have had it happen to you. You think, I'll do it later and somehow you never remember to do it. I can give you all the excuses, I've been busy, I didn't have time, I forgot, but the truth is I just didn't do it. I now have to make up for nearly a month of inactivity.

Starting with VBS... VBS was so awesome. It is held in the evening form 6:30 to 8:30. The buses drop off the kids at the church at 6:30 and they are divided into the different age groups. They are taught a lesson and then color a picture. Then they go outside and get a snack. They run around for awhile and then everyone goes to the auditorium where we see a skit that has Sheriff Ogle and his loyal deputy Cactus. They battle Mr. DeVil The story continues each day ending with the HAC tour group singing and helping Sheriff Ogle defeat Mr. Devil and his gang. We had 248 children on the last day. All together we had over 1100 children visit our church that week with 50+ salvations.

The next week Josh and Jessica went to youth camp and youth conference. They spent 2 nights camping with their teens and then went to the youth conference at First Baptist. Many hearts were touched and a good time was had by all.

The next week we took off and went to ST. Louis for 2 nights. We had a wonderful time at the zoo there. It is 90 acres and free.

Now we are caught up to this week. I found out that I am teaching kindergarten/first grade. I am really excited about it. I will start working on my classroom this week. I want to paint it and figure out how I want to decorate it. School starts Aug. 17 TH.

August 15 TH we are having a carnival to raise money for our youth conference. Jerry will be in the redneck dunk tank.

On August 20-21 our church is sponsoring a youth conference. We have 2 speakers coming with over 100 confirmed teens coming. We have volunteered to help in anyway we can.

I am still working at Kmart and when school starts I will be working 2 jobs for awhile. We are able to purchase medical insurance from Kmart at a good price.

Our house is coming along really well. Jerry has been working so hard and I am so proud of him.

Our friend and Sunday school teacher just got the news today that he does not have cancer. God is so good.

We have been truly blessed. God has continually answered our prayers and we are so very thankful.

God must love me best!

2010-07-10T10:21:00.003-05:00

ABOVE ARE PICTUES OF THE PROGRESS ON OUR HOUSE

I am so excited. I got a call from Preacher the other day asking me if I would like to teach this year. Would I like to teach? You've got to be kidding. I LOVE to teach. I will still work at Kmart because I get benefits for us through them but, I will probably only work 12 hrs a week there.
Jerry has been diligently working on our house and I know we will be moving in in just a few months now. I wonder what it will be like to us the water without turning on a pump or going to bed without having to climb a ladder?
I am so thankful for everything God has given us. I know that when the time is right Jerry will find the perfect job for him also.
Meanwhile we will just keep doing what we are doing. Every time we do a little thing for God he just rewards us a whole bunch. Can't beat that.

2010-07-04T23:12:00.002-05:00

I love the 4Th of July. My whole life it has been special to me. I think that maybe part of it is because my Mom is not a citizen and I am so thankful that I was born in the USA and I am a citizen.

Friday we went to the dump in Macomb. It is about an hour from Canton. On our way home we passed the "From Sea to Shining Sea" bike riders. I later looked them up on the Internet and learned more about them. There are between 25-30 disabled vets who made a decision to prove to able bodied people that nothing is impossible. They are riding across the USA on bicycles. Some of them are missing limbs and some have other problems. Many other Vets have joined them for part or all of the ride. They started at San Francisco 6 weeks ago. They reached Canton on July 2ND. It brought tears to my eyes as we passed them. They made such huge sacrifices for our country and for us. People all along the rode were lined up with flags cheering them on. There were miles and miles of people spread out. The riders were saluted and and people stood at attention for them. The American people are unique in this world. We have freedoms that other countries don't have. Yet over and over again we have proved that we will stand up for what is right. We will help the weak and the helpless. We will risk our lives and our own freedom to help others gain theirs.

I am so proud to be and American.

2010-06-27T23:15:00.002-05:00

Have you ever wondered about what would have happened if you took a different path? For example: If I had married the guy I dated in high school or gone to college to become a teacher.

I used to wonder about those things sometimes but I have to admit I haven't even thought about it for a long time. I can't imagine a different life than the one I have now. I am so content with everything. My husband, my job, my church, being with our girls and their families. God laid out his master plan and for once we just followed it. We trusted him to take care of us. I have learned so many things about myself. Things I used to think were important just aren't anymore. I am happy in our motor home with the man I love. If we never get out of here I'm ok with that. I have learned to live with what God has given us. I now understand that there is no such thing as security. The only security I have or want is in God. I am so sorry that it took us this long to get to this point. We must have disappointed God so much. We have decided to do what we can to make it up to God. We will serve him to the best of our ability for as long as we can.
Thank-you God for all that you have done for us.

2010-06-20T17:06:00.001-05:00

The previous posts about my Mom were on March 23rd and April 8th. Enjoy!

More about Mom

2010-06-19T22:30:00.000-05:00

This is my loving Mom, Maria Ganger.
In order for all of this to make sense you will have to read the previous posts about my Mom. While we were on vacation I picked her brain and we added the following to the story I have already posted

In a castle in Prague, Czechoslovakia there was a children's home. When the Russians came they loaded the kids up to take them to Austria. There were 300 kids loaded into a cattle car on the train. by the time they reached Austria there were only 33 kids left alive. They had been bombed on the way by the British. Once they reached Austria they hid in a basement across from a German Army hospital that became a American army camp. For the first 2 weeks the kids watched the Americans load the Germans up and haul them off in trucks. The kids snuck out at night and crawled on their hands and knees to where the camp was because they could smell the food the Americans were cooking. They were afraid of the blacks as previously blogged. They put chocolate out to lure the kids in. Also little cans of ration food. They never did anything to the kids they just fed them.

Mom was about 12 or 13 at this time. Then Mom was sent to a farmer in the area. He and his wife kept Mom for a year. At first Mom couldn't eat because she had been starved for so long. The farmers wife made her cream of wheat and she could finally keep it down. Mom had first communion there and they bought you a communion dress.

The Red Cross was trying to locate every ones parents then and they came and got her and took her to her home town in Essen. They told her there was nothing standing. A man took her to her Aunt's house (Aunt Finchen). She was her Mom's-moms-sister. She found out that her Mom and Dad were divorced because of little baby Evelyn who was not her Dad's baby. Her Aunt opened the door. Her Dad was at work. When her Dad came home from work she jumped out from behind the door. Her Aunt gave them a room in her apartment to live. Later her Dad's mom came and lived with them, her name was Maria also. Now 3 of them lived in the same room. One day her Dad took her to eat rabbit at a restaurant. They were enjoying their meal when Mom needed to use the rest room. On her way to the ladies room she had to pass the kitchen. There she saw cats hanging in the kitchen in various stages of preparation.

When the war was over Uncle Paul, Aunt Sophie, Cousin Ruth, and Cousin Ferdie Kischlat came from Poland to live with them. Uncle Paul was high up in the Nazi's and Hitler must have sent them to Poland during the war. Uncle Paul died of a heart attack 2 weeks after he came back to Germany. If he wouldn't have died he would have been tried at Nuremberg. The Aunt and Uncle stayed in another room at the apartment. Ruth stayed in Mom's room with them. Ferdie was a Professor at a German university so he mostly didn't live there.

When Mom was looking for her Aunt's house she also looked for her Grandpa's house. His house was gone. When someone left a forwarding address a stake was stuck in the ground with the information on it. There was no stake at her Grandpa's house. Mom went to the bakery one day and in walked her Grandpa (her Mom's step-dad). He didn't recognize her because he hadn't seen her for so many years. She walked up to him and said Hi Grandpa and he started to cry. He had been looking for them also. So she took him home with her and after awhile he asked her Dad if she could go with him to work on the farm in where he was working because food was so scarce in town. Her Dad said yes.

So then Mom went to Bavaria. They had no food and rode on a train. Essen was in the British sector and they had to go through the French sector to get the the American sector. At every sector they had to get off the train and the train was searched. Grandpa asked on of the solders if he could leave the train station to go find a loaf of bread because they hadn't eaten for 2 days. The solder said no. Then he saw Mom standing there and told him that if he left mom there he could go. He found a loaf of bread and brought it back for them. Then they got to the farm the farmers wife took her in. Grandpa and her shared a bedroom with straw mattresses. One day you were working in the field and there was a thunder and lightning storm. Lightning came down and hit one of the helpers on the farm. He was holding onto a big metal plow. He was killed instantly. No one would tell Mom where her mother was. Not her Dad, not her grandpa. Somehow she found grandmas phone number in some of grandpas papers. She snuck out and used a neighbors phone to call her mother. Her mother wanted her to come visit. She went back and told her grandpa what she had done. He was really mad but finally agreed to let her go see her mom. He put her on a train. That is when she found out she had a sister. She stayed with her mom for 1 month at old lady Klotsbucher goat farm where they had been evacuated after their home in Essen was bombed. Along with her mother were her two brother Hans and Mario. Hans and Mario have a different Dad than Mom. Their Dad was my moms Dad's best friend. My moms Dad learned this during the divorce proceedings.

Mom returned to farm with her Grandpa where she stayed until she was about 16 and then you returned to Essen because her Grandpa had coal miners lung and was getting sicker and sicker. There you found out that your Dad was getting married. Mom's new stepmother drank a lot and she hit your grandma Mom thinks it caused a stroke. Grandma died shortly after. The aunt told moms dad about his wife hitting grandma. Mom had never seen her Dad so angry. She thought he was going to throw his wife down the stairs. Then Grandma sent a letter to mom saying that she was leaving for America.

Mom went to a trade school to become a nurse but she got sick at the sight of blood so then she learned secretarial skills. She then married Hans Heyn. They were married for two years and then decided to come to America. She didn't tell her Dad that she had put in for her papers to come to America because she didn't want to hurt his feelings. When she finally told him he was very upset. On the other hand he understood.

When they got to America her husband went to work driving a garbage truck in Oregon City. Mom worked at her Moms restaurant. Mom says that mostly they got married because he wanted to come to America and she had a sponsor. They had to be in the US for one year before they could get a divorce and when the year was up they did. Mom lived with Grandma and her husband Earnest. Mom worked in the restaurant form 7 am to midnight. She went home and checked on the kids in the afternoon and made sure they did their homework.

Teens

2010-05-22T21:52:00.002-05:00

No matter where I go or what I do I end up being around teens. My husband and I were the Sunday school superintendents the teens at our church in Oregon and we had about 50 teens every Sunday. Because I get summer jobs every year I tend to work with teens who are also doing summer jobs. Since we moved here and our son-in-law is a youth pastor we spend time with teens. Every Wed. I drive a group of teen girls to go soul winning. I taught teens in school this year. I once again work with teens. And yes I hate to admit it but I love them. Every problem they have makes my heart hurt for them. The teens I work with very often have poor home lives. One girl who was 17 and not yet graduated from High school told me that she lived with her boy friend at her parents house for 2 years before he moved to Florida. A young man told me that he had been kicked out of high school and was going to an alternative school that lost its funding. He had just been accepted to a GED program at the local community college. He was living on his own (with his girl friend) and supporting himself on a part time job so he would be able to study. I don't know what lead to these circumstances and I don't know what kind of relationship these kids have with their parents. I don't know if they have pushed away the authorities in their lives and now have to deal with life on their own or if their authorities let them down. All I know is that these stories break my heart. I try to picture the kind of adults that will be produced by these lives. Then I realized...the lives aren't all that different than mine. Many of us had rough teen years. Many of our parents let us down or we let them down. We made mistakes. We messed up. We showed how immature and irresponsible we were. And guess what...we turned out OK. Sure we didn't have an easy go of it. We did learn from our mistakes and grew and eventually we made it. I just hope that I have an opportunity to share the gospel with these young people. I know my own life would have been easier if I would have found the Lord earlier so maybe I can help them that way. Please pray for me.

OK Here It Comes

2010-05-12T15:17:00.002-05:00

Every year at this time of year I feel a little let down. I am relieved that it is almost summer vacation and I won't have to do lesson plans and report cards and disciplining children but, I am also sad that I won't be spending time with people I have grown to love. I love teaching. I think that that is kind of funny coming from someone who until I had my own kids didn't even know it I wanted any. I have discovered my passion in life. I like the order in it. I like watching their faces when they finally "GET" something they have been struggling with. I like teaching them about responsibility, hard work, dedication, and fun. I like teaching all ages. I have worked in daycare and taught 2 1/2 year olds. I have taught High School. I have taught 3-12Th grades. I like teaching everything except English. I don't like teaching English because I just don't get it.
This year I got to teach at Calvary Baptist Academy. I taught math and literature. I have only taught since February although I subbed some before. As graduation rolls around I start to feel sad. Sad that some are leaving and sad that school will be over for summer. Today they had a teacher appreciation meal for us. It was wonderful. I have taught for 14 years now and never had a meal given to me before. I enjoyed every minute of it. Then Preacher gave us a end of the year bonus. That was another first for me. How exciting.

On the brighter side. Jerry and I are now teaching Jr. Church. It is so fun. The first week we had a big day at our church and we had 70 in our department. That is 3rd - 6Th grade. Last week we had 30. Once again I love watching their faces as they learn new truths and hear stories they haven't heard before. I like teaching them songs and playing games. Jerry is wonderful with object lessons and keeps them enthralled while he teaches. We have many workers in our department and each of them brings their own special type of talent. We are in the process of planning for the summer. We want to get the kids excited about God and what he can do in their lives. Please pray for us as we work on this project.

Our Work In Progress

2010-05-04T23:19:00.005-05:00

New back door

sheet rock in the closet

Sheet rock in the living room.

light hanging over the jaccuzzi tub

Calvary Baptist 30th Anniversary

2010-05-02T14:00:00.003-05:00

Josh and Jessica went to a Youth Conference named Our Time. It is held at Marion Ave. Baptist Church by Bro. Joe Brown. At the conference Josh was honored and received the Carrying The Torch Award. He gave his testimony and then they awarded him a traveling trophy and a plaque he gets to keep. What a wonderful honor for such an amazing young man.

Today was Calvary Baptist's 30Th anniversary. It was such an awesome day. Preacher had decided that Jr. Church was getting to big so he asked Jerry if he would be the leader of the Jr. Church for 3-6Th grade. Today was our first day and boy was it crazy. There was 145 kids in Jr. Church and they were supposed to sing in the main service. We practiced and practiced and then about 1 1/2 hours into the service we took all the kids upstairs to sing. They did a great job. When we came back down stairs we divided into our separate rooms. We ended up with 71 kids and we were blessed with 14 workers. They were so good and our workers did such an awesome job helping. Next week we will be able to have a schedule and kind of keep it. After church all the bus kids went to the zoo. The rest of us got to go and eat bar-b-Que pork sandwiches, beans, potato salad, and desserts. It was wonderful. There were many, many visitors and 170 on the buses. I know for sure there was one baptism. So So So great!

My husband has put up 11 sheets of sheet rock up in our house. He has all the lighting in the bathroom done and will soon start on the floors. He's been working like a mad man.

I have started working at K-mart. I will work about 12-20 hours a week. So far I like it.

Jerry is thinking about applying for a job in Pekin. I'm sure he would like it but it's 3rd shift. He's going to talk to Preacher and pray about it.

Friday night we went to a base ball game in Peoria. The Chiefs are a semi-pro team. I have never seen a ball game that was as fun. The Chiefs won 4-0 and the pitcher was an Oregonian. It was so fun. All of a sudden the heavens opened up and buckets of rain came down. WOW!!! I don't think I have ever seen it rain that hard before and I'm from Oregon.

Kayla rolled over for the first time at 4 am (according to Jessica). Kyndra is talking more and more. She makes so much sense when she talks now. She is growing up so fast.

Kina's Wedding, ETC

2010-04-20T23:41:00.001-05:00

Wow, last week we traveled to Boilingbrook, IL to attend the wedding of a very sweet young lady we met about 9 years ago. Her name was Kina Fink. She was Jessica's room mate in college and they have been friends ever since. She spent spring break at our home one year and we had such a great time. She was in Jessica's wedding and then came to visit during Cassie's wedding when Josh and Jessica were home from China. Whenever she was at our home she was a delightful person and we are so glad that Jessica and Kina are friends. She had the sweetest wedding we had been to in a long time.

Kina's father is Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Lockport,IL. We went there for church Sunday morning. What a loving and friendly church. Pastor Fink didn't preach while we were there. His new son-in-law's father did and it was really good. After the service the Finks invited us over for lunch. We had such a wonderful time of fellowship with them. They are such nice people. Now we know why Kina was so sweet.

We own a time share in Orlando. While we were moving we forgot to bank our week so we have to use it this year or loss it. We found out we could go to Myrtle Beach, SC so we booked a condo for 1 week. We figure it will take us 2 days each way to drive there. We invited Gary and Cassie to go with us but they just couldn't be gone that long. My wonderful husband called my mom and told her we would fly her out her so she could go with us. I am so excited. She will come the week before we leave and stay for a week after we get back. She hasn't seen Kayla yet and the last time she saw Kyndra she was about 4 months old. Can't wait for her to get here.

I have applied for about a million jobs since we have moved. I applied at the local Kmart when we moved here and I had an interview. They didn't hire me then. Tuesday I had another interview and they hired me on the spot. I will be working 12-20 hrs a week which is just perfect. I get Sundays and Wednesday nights off and I can have the time for our vacation off. I will also get Medical Benefits. I don't know all of the details yet. Tomorrow night I will start my training so then I will know more.

Bro. Darrel "Chainsaw" Cox preached for us Monday and Tuesday night. It was so awesome. He is a very powerful preacher. We certainly felt revived by his preaching. Tonight our Preacher preached and we all love to listen to him. He told us that another church was getting new pews and they thought that they had their old ones sold. The deal fell through so they offered them to us for free. Their church seats 500 so we will have lots of extra pews. God is so good to us. What a blessing. :)

A lesson learned

2010-04-11T22:24:00.002-05:00

This week my husband has been gone. He went back to Oregon to finish up some business and visit family. I couldn't go because I'm teaching and because the tickets were just so expensive.
A couple of weeks ago he was at Pastors School. I missed him then but since Josh was also gone Jessica and I spent a lot of time together and did some girl stuff. This week it was just me. I popped in the house and said Hi once in awhile and I ate dinner with them but mostly I was on my own. I really really missed him.

This morning I was sitting by myself in church. It felt really odd to be alone. It reminded me how very fortunate I am to have a husband who goes to church. I thought back to all the ladies I have known over the years who's husbands didn't go to church with them. How they had to negotiate church activity time with their husbands. How they tried to raise their children for the Lord but their husbands weren't on board. Even if their husbands weren't against the church they sent a message to the children that church wasn't important. God tells us not to be unequally yoked. I never really thought about it before but this week made me understand.
As I was sitting there my friend who's husband died 4 years ago came it. She was looking for a seat for her and her daughter. The church was pretty full this week so I motioned her over. She came and sat by me and I have never felt so thankful in my life. I realized that every week she has to find a friend to sit with. Her husband can't sit with her anymore. In the pew in front of me a sweet older man in our church sat by himself. His wife has been very ill and isn't strong enough to come to all the services. He still comes faithfully and sits all by himself every service.

These people are my HEROES. It is so easy for me to go to church. They have to be by themselves and are still faithful to our Lord. I'm sure that God must have very special plans for them.

Thank-you God for giving me my wonderful husband to sit with.

Mom Continued

2010-04-08T20:56:00.002-05:00

Well I finally got time to finish writing about Mom. The stories get all mixed up in my mind since I have heard bits and pieces my whole life. I remember Mom talking about after the war. The Red Cross put all of the children on trains to take them back to their families. They told Mom that her family was all dead. The train stopped in an area close to where her Aunt had lived. She wanted to get off the train and go check her Aunt's house. They told her there were no houses standing in the area where the house had been. Mom snuck off the train and found her Aunt's house. When she knocked on the door her father answered.

There was very little food in the area that they were in. Grandma and Grandpa divorced and Grandma took all of the kids and moved out to a farm where they lived and worked for the farmer. They slept over the goat barn. Mom said she woke up at night and there was a rat eating my Aunt Evelyn's hair. Grandma had twin babies. I don't know the sex of both of them because one died at birth. The other was my Uncle Mario. He was really, really small and couldn't drink cows milk. That's why they lived on the farm they lived on so he could have goats milk. Uncle Hans had really bad asthma and nearly died when he was a child also. I think the lady who owned the farm was Old Lady Klutzberger (spelling). After I was an adult my Mom said something about being terrified of lightning storms. I told her I never knew she was scared of them. She said she had been ever since she was working in the fields with some other people and the man right next to her got hit with lightning. I know this all happened when she was a teenager.

Some how my Mom's Grandfather was there. He would take my Mom out for special times. He took her out for rabbit at a restaurant. Mom had to go to the bathroom and as she walked down the hall she saw cats hanging in the kitchen. My Mom never again would eat rabbit.

My Grandma met and married an American service man. She went to America with the other 3 children. Mom was living with her Dad and Step-mother. Mom wanted to go to America also but she wasn't old enough to go with out her Dad's consent. He would not let her go so she married a young man who was going to America. When she got here my Grandma had a restaurant in Oregon City. Mom and her husband lived in Oregon City and my Mom worked at a huge hotel that used to be in West Linn. She was a waitress. The Americans made fun of her because she couldn't speak English so she learned English and would never again speak German. Mom says that Grandma interfered in their lives so much that her and her husband got a divorce.

Mom then met my Dad and after 6 weeks they got married. 10 months later they were blessed with me. My parents were married for 12 years and then they too got a divorce. Mom married my Step-Dad Tom about a year later. They were married for 31 years and Tom passed away.

Mom will be 77 years old in a couple of weeks. She is one tough lady. She has never given up and works from sun up till sun down. She was the best Mom she knew how to be. She took good care of me and loved me and did everything she could to help me to grow into a responsible adult. I am her only child and I feel bad that we live so far from her now. I think someday she will move to Illinois with us. Love you Mom!

My Mom

2010-03-23T09:15:00.004-05:00

I have wanted to write this for years but somehow just never got around to it. I've asked Mom to do it and she hasn't done it either. Her story is amazing and tells a lot about her. I'm not sure if I will get it right because Mom seldom talked about growing up and as a child I seldom asked questions. What I'm going to write is what I remember of stories I've heard or been told.

My Mom was born in Essen, Germany, on April 18 1933. She has 2 brothers, Hans and Mario, and one sister, Evelyn. Her first day of school WWII started in Germany. She told me she remembers someone boarding the windows of a church up and setting it on fire with all the people in it. I think it was the Nazi's and the church was a synagogue. As the war progresses Hitler took all the pure German children away from their parents and put them in orphanages so they could move them around and try to keep them away from the war. Mom was taken from her family and raised in the orphanage until the war was over. I can only imagine what it must have been like being raised in such a place. There were food shortages due to the war and I'm sure that there was illness too. There couldn't have been much nurturing and loving for these poor kids.
Mom tells one story about when the Americans came. None of the German kids had ever seen a black man except at Christmas. At Christmas St. Nicholas came to the door of each house and asked if the children had been good. If they hadn't his black assistant would spank them. I don't know if the assistant was really black for just painted black. When the Americans came there were several blacks in the group. The children were all scared of them. The soldiers would put chocolate out to lure the children to them. Since they were half starved and hadn't had chocolate in a long time this tactic worked.
Mom said that one time they were being bombed. The children were learning to knit when the bombs started dropping. The children were all running for cover when Mom felt an excruciating pain in her rear end. She thought for sure she had been shot but somehow with all the confusion she had been stabbed with a knitting needle.
Well I will have to come back and continue my story later. Just writing this reminded me how thankful I should be for the life the Lord has given me. Thank-you God.

2010-03-16T09:52:00.002-05:00

My biggest struggle in my Christian life hasn't been giving up old habits. I admit that when I smoked I would have said it was quitting smoking but, when I actually quit it was pretty easy. My biggest struggle has been forming new habits. Maybe it's because I was so old when I got saved. I didn't have good habits and it's harder to form them when your older. I really think that I am just making excuses. I struggle over and over again with reading my Bible everyday and praying. I don't mean before meals but the kind of time with God that helps you grow.

One thing that has really helped me is buying The One Year Bible. There is a date and a section from the Old Testament, the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. Each day you just read the dated passage. I admit that I still get behind but, then I know exactly how much I need to read to get back on board. Another thing I started doing was to post a Bible verse on Face book when I am done reading. I ask the Lord to shown which verse from the daily passages that I should post and then I do it. I look forward to the Lord showing me the verse and sometimes I get a lot of responses from it.

I really don't understand why praying is so hard for me. I love spending time with God and I love walking in his will. I think that I just feel awkward. I have decided that the best way to deal with my prayer problem is to set a timer on my phone and pray for 15 minutes at a certain time everyday. When I do that consistently I can add more time. Of course I can pray any other time I remember too.

When we were waiting to hear about our house we parked across the street and prayed for it at least once a day. I pointed out to Jerry that we hadn't prayed for jobs at Cook once. So now every time we drive by the building we pray. I know that God knows our heart but, he also likes to hear from us. I Jerry went all day and never told me what he was thinking or what he wanted I would be a little upset. I want to KNOW him. And after 32 years I do know him pretty well but I still want to talk to him and spend time with him. God wants to hear from me and spend time with me.

What has been your biggest struggles? What steps have you taken to overcome them?
Have a great day and God bless you.

2010-03-15T22:25:00.002-05:00

Today I helped Jessica spring clean her kitchen. We took everything out of the cupboards and wipped them out. We reorganized them and threw away stuff that she didn't need or want anymore. Then we put Liquid Gold on the doors. It looks so nice. I am also doing some reorganizing in the motorhome. I am digging spring clothes out of the garage and putting winter clothes back out there.

Josh and Jerry are at Pastors School. Jerry has never got to go before and I am so excited for him. We had to buy him some new clothes to wear to the conference. He has lost over 20 lbs since we moved here. Funny how doing physical work instead of sitting behind a desk can shape you up.

Jessica and I have been going to a Zumba class. It's really fun although I'm not very good at it.

After spring break I will be teaching a Literature class to the high schoolers. I am very excited about it. I love reading and hope that I can encourage my students to love it too.

Jerry is going to go to Oregon in the begining of April. I can't go because of work. He's going to help Chuck get the mustang running and go to the swap meet. I'm sure he will visit Les and Bev and my Mom. I just bought his tickets today.

There are a lot of pictures of our house progress on face book. It is easier to post them there than here. Jerry has been working hard and we now have some walls going back in.

Ok that's it for now.

WOW!!!

2010-03-03T16:13:00.002-06:00

Wow. That's all I can say. Bro. Schaap was here Monday night and Tuesday night. I love to listen to him preach. It's like he is telling you a story. It was an awesome conference and I loved every minute of it.

The week before Bro. Schaap came Preacher and Mrs. Ogle went to Mississippi to be with their daughter Rachel while she had her first child. The doctors said she would have the baby last week no matter what. Well Preacher ended up coming home on Friday and there was still no baby. Late last night close to midnight Rachel had a healthy little baby girl via c-section. Mrs. Ogle will be coming home in a few days after Rachel recovers from the baby. While Preacher was gone we had a church work day. It started at 2pm on Thursday and ended sometime on Monday before Bro. Schaap arrived. The lunch room and the fellowship room were painted. The whole church was scrubbed and cleaned. The floors were scrubbed and polished. Wood work was completed, snow removed, porches cleaned and so much more. The church looks fantastic.

I am really excited about one thing. Mrs. Ogle taught Math 76 and Algebra 1/2 and English. She has been having some health problems and preacher didn't want her to teach anymore this year. I am now teaching again. Well not English. We are going to do literature instead. I am really happy. Not that Mrs. Ogle has health problems but that I get to teach. I have also been subbing whenever they need me. So much fun.

Jessica's basement is offically done. Tomorrow an inspector will be checking everything out. It looks so amazingly good.

My new grandbaby is so beautiful. Kyndra is adapting very well and Josh and Jessica are just a little sleep deprived.

I sure do love the life God has given me.

Time to fill you all in!

2010-02-22T17:39:00.008-06:00

I have been really sick for the last couple of weeks so Jerry didn't want me working at the new house. We also received a blessing from God in the form of a new granddaughter as you already know. Jerry has been working so hard on our house and he finally took the camera with him the other day so I could post an update.

We found some termite damage when we were ripping the walls out. It is amazing what
a few hungry bugs can do. This damage was expected since parts of the house were built in the early 1900's. Jerry has been busy removing the damage and repairing it.

The following pictures are of the finished repair work.

This is our new closet door that Jerry installed.

This is one of our beautiful new windows that the Brannan's installed for us.

Gary and his dad also installed our new front door for us.

These boxes contain all of our new kitchen cabinets and counter tops.

Thats all for now. I will update again soon.

2010-02-19T00:31:00.003-06:00

I have had a cold for about a week now. Due to that I haven't spent as much time with Kyndra and Kayla as I wanted. Last week Josh's family was all hear visiting so I stayed in the motor home so I wouldn't share my cold. Sunday I went in for a little while to see the girls and we took these pics.

I feel pretty good during the day but at night I start coughing and can't stop so I haven't been getting much sleep. Wednesday we loaded Jessica and the girls up and went to Peoria to go thrift store shopping. We had a lot of fun.

2010-02-12T11:30:00.003-06:00

I realize I start a lot of my blogs with, "Boy it's been along time since I've written in my blog but....". This time I have the best reason in the world. Our new granddaughter Kayla Joy was born on Feb. 8th at 1:50 in the afternoon. It isn't that we were so busy with the birth of the baby it is that we were so busy taking care of Kyndra. Josh and Jessica stayed at the hospital until Wed. and then they came home. Josh's brother, sister-in-law and mom came on Wed. night. Jonny and Michelle left Thursday evening and Friday (this am) his sister Amanda came to see Kayla and to take his mom home. On top of everything else I have a terrible cold. I thought it was just allergies but it is now in my chest so yucky.

Wed. we went with Gary and Cassie to Springfield so Gary could buy a really cool car. It is a blue Mazda Protege. It is beautiful. We had a wonderful time and got to go to a new Restore and did some other shopping.

Showers of Blessings

2010-01-31T13:18:00.004-06:00

Today I stayed home from church to take care of Kyndra because she and Jessica are sick. Kyndra came out to Mema's house and we watched Little Einsteins and colored. She helped me pick up and then we went back in the house and she went down for a nap. I am so thankful that we can help in times like this. We never had anyone to help and if I was sick Jerry either stayed home from work or the kids ran wild.

I need to tell you how good God has been to us lately. Jerry wanted to put glass brick under our jacuzzi tub when he installed it. We saw a floor that was elevated a few inches and had lighted brick along the edge and ever since then he has been talking about putting them under the tub. They are very expensive and I kind of figured we just wouldn't be able to do it when it came right down to it. How dumb I am. Even after everything God has done for us I still doubt. Well not really doubt. I just figure it's not that big of a deal either way. We went to Restore (it's a kind of Goodwill for building supplies run by Habitat for Humanity). I found $100 worth of glass brick for $15. I was so excited Josh thought something was wrong. Then we went to Goodwill looking for Western wear for our Valentine's banquet and Jerry found $160.00 worth of drain pieces for the tub for only $20. Now these items were all brand new. Also years ago we bought a TV Guardian for Josh and Jess at GVCA's school auction. It was ruined when they were in China during a lightning storm. We found a brand new one at Goodwill for only $10. I told Jerry that even if I don't feel like reading my Bible everyday or praying several times a day or go soulwinning or go to church I'm going to do it anyway just because I'm so thankful for all he has done for us.

2010-01-27T22:19:00.000-06:00

We have been so crazy busy. We have ripped all of the walls out of our house and Jerry and the Brannan men put the front door in today. It looks so cool. They delivered our kitchen cabinets and counter tops today. Now we have boxes of stuff all over the place. We still need to rip up the underlayment on the floors but we took part of the week off to work on Josh and Jessica's basement. It is really starting to look great down there.

Monday and Tuesday nights we had the Sons of Thunder conference at Calvary Baptist Church. Bro.'s Scott and Bob Gray Jr. were here and we had the best conference. They also preached Tuesday morning followed by a lunch. What a wonderful time we had and what a blessing they were to all of us.

My favorite story this week is: Kyndra was in the motor home and I had gone into the bathroom to change my clothes. When I came out she was totally engrossed in Little Einsteins and I snuck up behind her and said "Boo". She jumped and turned around, Mema,go potty. You scared me." Precious memories.

Kyndra's First Cookie Dough

2010-01-15T22:53:00.001-06:00

The teens are doing an activity tomorrow. They are visiting Senior Saints and helping them around their homes doing activities they need help with. Several girls came over to Josh and Jessica's house Thursday night to bake cookies to take to the Saints when they go. Jessica gave Kyndra her first cookie dough beaters. As you can see she really liked them.

Kyndra has come up with several new sayings. One of the funniest is very very yucky. Everything is very very yucky. Her milk was very very yucky because is was very very cold. When I was watching her the other day she tooted in her diaper. She looked at me and said, "Oh, oh. I pootey booty". She counts 1, 3, 4, 7, 9. It is such a joy to be here and hear her say all of these cute things.

Her favorite TV show (and the only one she watches ) is Little Einsteins. She really loves it. When we were watching the other day she made me get up and dance with June. The picture above is of her and Bepa watching Little Einsteins in the motor home. She loves to come to Mema and Bepa's house to visit.

She will not be an only child much longer. Kayla Joy is due in just a few weeks. A lot of changes are in store for our family in the next few months. We almost have our house completely stripped. Then we can start building. Hopefully we will be in our house in the next 6 months. Can't wait but I have to admit a little part of me will miss living in Josh and Jessica's driveway and seeing them all everyday.

2010-01-14T22:22:00.000-06:00

Josh and Jessica have a silly little dog named Gilligan. He is a Skipperkee. He was already grown up when they got him and he has a few odd habits. He will not eat any kind of dog treat. He thinks hes to good for them. He barks at me every time I go in the house even though he knows me and sleeps on the bed with me when ever he can. He loves Jerry and Gary and any one who will pet him. He will not stay in his yard. This morning I heard Jessica calling him back to the house. I then heard her apologize to some kids who were waiting on the corner for the school bus. Gilligan had stolen a piece of pizza from one of the kids. It might have been their breakfast or their lunch. Just think some poor kid went to school with out breakfast or lunch because the big vicious dog, Gilligan, stole it. I can just hear them telling their teacher that a dog ate their lunch.

Day 2

2010-01-12T16:43:00.000-06:00

Today we started stripping down the walls in the dining room. Above are pictures of the before. The picture on the right shows the kitchen beyond the door. The picture on the left shows the kitchen also. The middle picture is the door to the master bed room. The left side of the stripped down pictures shows the mater bedroom beyond the wall.

All we have left to strip down is the living room, kitchen and half the small bedroom. When we are done there will only be 1 bedroom in the house. We are making the bathroom bigger and a huge walk-in closet.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

2010-01-11T22:29:00.000-06:00

Today we started knocking out sheet rock and plaster lath. This is the before and after of the master bed room. Jerry worked there from 9 am until 5 pm and then went back at 6:30 and stayed until 9 pm. One of Gary's renters was in need of work so Jerry hired him to help. I helped for about 1 hour. Today we got 8 walls stripped down with 13 to go. .Once the walls are all stripped down we can probably safely stop wearing masks. I hate the masks because they make my glasses steam up. I am so thankful that I have a wonderful husband who can do all of this stuff. The furnace is working but since several windows are broken out it is still really cold in the house (ice inside the windows cold).

We have decided that after living in 200 sq ft for several months, being unemployed, moving across the county and then remodeling a house if we don't kill each other we should teach a class on marriage. So far so good.

I will keep you all informed of our progress as we go.

2010-01-09T20:46:00.000-06:00

We have been calling our motorhome Our Little Igloo. It has been really cold here. I mean really cold. -4 at night. Our motorhome is covered with icicles some that hang almost all the way to the ground. There is also about 6" of snow on top of the motorhome.

We have been working on the furnace at our house. Jerry finally got it going today. Even with the furnace working there was still ice on the inside of the windows. We knocked out walls today in the master bedroom. I helped for a couple of hours and then Jerry brought me home and went back and worked a couple more. It was just to cold for me. It is just so nice to know that we are finally starting to get something done. I will take pictures and post them soon. I forgot the camera today.

Josh and Jessica went to Hammond for Bro. Kalapps funeral. They got to see the Conners and spend the whole day with them. They were so glad to get to see them. Jessica said that Bro. Schaap came over to talk to them at the graveside service and Kyndra handed him her sippy cup and said, "here ya go." Leave it to Kyndra.

I have decided to do a Bible study. I have never done one before and I'm not sure how to go about it.
Mrs. Fink has some on her blog page so I copied one and will start on it tomorrow. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me. Thanks Mrs. Fink.

2010-01-01T11:38:00.000-06:00

I love New Years! I like starting over. It's a chance to fix things you have done wrong last year. I always make all sorts of plans for the new year and every year I get a little closer to meeting my goals. I want to read my Bible everyday. Most days last year I did. I worked really hard at it. I want to have meaningful prayer everyday. Not just, "Thanks for the food" but, the kind that makes you closer to God and closer to what you should be. I want to work out everyday. I signed up for a class 2 days a week and I have a work out plan for the other days. I can do it. I know I can. Okay lets go for 4 days a week. That sounds reasonable but if I aim for everyday I will probably make 4.
I want to say something nice to somebody every day. I want to be kinder to my husband and more patient. I want to be less OCD and more lets have fun. I want to spend time with my girls and their families. I want to find a job that I like and be a good employee. I want to rejoice in the Lord alway and continue to rejoice when things aren't great.
WOW! What a list. The thing is I probably can't do all of these things but, writing them down and sharing them with you will help hold me accountable. Even if I don't accomplish everything 100% I will have improved myself and had a great year.

2009-12-28T21:32:00.000-06:00

On Christmas Eve we celebrated Christmas as a family. Jerry cooked omlets for everyone and while he slaved in the kitchen Kyndra impatiently started opening her presents. Uncle Gary quickly became her favorite when he gave her play dough and then spent time playing with her. They were having so much fun and it kept her busy until dinner was ready.

This is the first Christmas Eve we all spent together since Jessica's last year in college. It was so great to be together. The next morning Josh and Jessica left early in the morning to go visit his Mom and the rest of his family. Gary and Cassie went to his parents and Jerry and I just chilled out. That evening Gary and Cassie invited us over to watch a couple of movies and have pizza. We had such a great time and were so thankful to get to spend time with our kids and their families.

We hope you all had a great Christmas and will have a wonderful New Year.

2009-12-25T00:25:00.000-06:00

Tonight I can't help but think about how very thankful I am for all that God has given us.. I am most thankful for my salvation. To think that Jesus died on the cross for me is such an awesome thing. No one will ever love me as much as God. The next thing I am thankful for is my wonderful husband. We have been married for 31 years and we have had some rough times but since we got saved God has helped us work out a lot of problems we had. We always loved each other. That was never an issue but, we didn't always show it and we didn't always do right by each other. The 3rd thing I am thankful for is our daughters. We are fortunate enough to have 2 beautiful and sweet young ladies. God helped us so much to raise them and we are so very thankful and proud to have them for our daughters. All the rest of our family is a blessing to.

I can't help to continue to be amazed by the blessings God has given us this past year. It took us along time to get out of Oregon but since we left Gods blessings have just been flowing over us. We got a house for next to nothing. We have all new kitchen appliances, most of our bathroom fixtures, all of our flooring, most of our light fixtures, and a variety of other things for the house all for under $5,000.00. Every time we think that God just can't give us anymore another blessing occurs. I have never been so thankful and so awe filled in my life. God has proved himself over and over to us and we are so excited about every step of this journey.

To all of you: We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year. If you haven't asked the Lord into your heart please please don't put it off. It is such an important decision and you just never know how much time you have left. If you need help to know what to do please feel free to contact Jerry or me and we can help you.

We love you all and can't wait for the next step in our lives.

2009-12-21T22:32:00.000-06:00

It's final. We are now homeowners. While we have been homeowners before this is the first time that our home is paid for. We are so excited and can't wait to get started on our house. We bought the tile for the kitchen, dining room and bath, and laminate flooring for the living room the other night. We have the carpet for the bed rooms and we have the toilet,sink ,vanity, and Jacuzzi tub for the bathroom. We still have a lot to get but it has been really fun picking out what we want. So far we have gotten really good deals on everything. We have a chandelier for the dinning room and all of the interior doors also. It feels weird to know that we have the key and can go over there anytime we want.

LIFESAVERS

2009-12-19T11:39:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we went for a drive. We like to do that. Just get in the car and go. It's more fun here because there are so many places we've never been. We find the most interesting things on our trips. Sometimes they are just a few miles. Sometimes they are a few hours. This time we were only gone about a couple of hours and we saw some cute little towns in our area.

While we were driving I was eating some Lifesaver mints. You know the kind that are in individual cellophane wrappers? My favorite ones are the ones that are kind of soft so when you bite them they just fall apart in your mouth. I got thinking about that and wondered what made them soft and all the others hard? They all have the same ingredients. They all came down the same assembly line. They were all handled and packaged and shipped the same way. Why were some soft and most hard. Then I thought people are like that too. Some are hard and some are soft. We are all made of the same ingredients. We all come from the same place. Yet some people are hard and some are soft. I think I'm hard on the outside and soft on the inside. I have had some adversities in my life and I had to be tough to get through them. I grew up in a rough area of town, went to a rough school, had an odd family life. I had to be tough. Yet I learned along time ago that you can't shut everyone out. You still have to let people in so you can love them. The most valuable lesson I have learned from God is forgiveness. It is so hard to forgive people who hurt you. Some don't even want it or care if you give it to them. But for your own sake and sanity you have to forgive them or you become bitter and mean. I have worked the past few years not to be bitter or mean. As people age they think they know everything. They look at young people and only see the mistakes they make. I noticed that if I don't smile some of the lines on my face make me look like I'm scowling. I don't want to walk around scowling all day so I make a special effort to smile.

Now I know I said my favorite Lifesavers are the soft ones but, I have determined that my favorite people are the hard ones. They are more interesting and they have better stories to tell. God has blessed them with challenges so they can boast on his grace and mercy. I am a hard one but I am soft in the middle. How about you?

Baby it's cold outside!

2009-12-11T21:07:00.000-06:00

We have been experiencing Illinois cold weather. The other night it got down to 5 degrees. It wouldn't have been so bad but there was 50 mph winds. The propane heater in the motor home was running non stop. Our little space heater was trying to keep up. It wasn't really to bad until in the middle of the night I woke up shivering. The propane furnace had shut its self down. Jerry got up and restarted it. It was only 45 degrees in the motor home. Jerry has found some places in the motor home that didn't have any insulation so he added quite a bit today. The forcast is actually for warmer weather 32 degrees so I'm sure we will be fine.

We have both passed our drivers tests for Illinois. I am such a bad test taker and I was really nervous about the test. What a relief to have that over with.

We are closing on our house on Dec. 21st. Merry Christmas to us. Can't wait to get started. We went to Lowes last night and picked out the tub and sink/vanity/faucet set we want. It will be so much fun to pick everything out and put it all together.

Our new house that God is going to give us.

2009-12-01T21:23:00.001-06:00

In Illinois houses are much much cheaper than in Oregon. With that being said we still got a good deal on this house. It was listed at $24,000 several months ago. It is a HUD repo. Our realtor suggested we offer $5,000 so we did. The offer was turned down but they countered at $8,900. We accepted the offer. We are now waiting for the title search to go through so we can set a closing date.

The kitchen is 12 1/2 ft x 11 ft. The window on the end is overlooking the wrap around porch. I have been figuring out different ways to lay it out to add more cabinets. So excited to pick everything out.

The dining room is 13ft 8in x 10ft. The door way leads to the kitchen.

The living room is 12ft x 15 ft. The front door and the window on the right open onto the front porch.

The room we will use for an office is 12 ft x 8 ft 6 in.

The master bedroom is 12ft 4 in x 12ft 2 in.

The bathroom really small. it is only 7 ft x 5 ft 10 in.

We are planning on putting another room upstairs in the attic for guests and a play room for the grand kids. There is plenty of room to expand since the lot is 50 ft x 150ft.

As you can see we will be very busy working on this house once we close. For those of you who weren't there when we bought our house in Oregon it wasn't that much better when we bought it. The main difference is that Jerry isn't working 12 hour days so he can put the time into the house. We are so excited about this project. I will post more pictures when we start working on the house. God has been so good to us and we are so very thankful.

Please pray that all goes well with the title search and we close soon.

Thanksgiving Day!

2009-11-27T00:23:00.001-06:00

On a day like today how can you not be thankful for all of the wonderful things God has given us.We are forgiven and free and going to heaven when we die. We are healthy and happy. We have everything we need and many, many things we don't. I love Thanksgiving Day because it gives us a time to reflect on how thankful we should be. God has been so very good to us and we are so undeserving.

Today we ate to much, played video games, visited with Josh's Mom and Sister, ate more, visited with Gary and Cassie, ate more, watched TV, and ate more. We simply enjoyed being together and celebrating the bounty God has given us. It is so nice to have this time to remember what the holidays are all about. As we proceed into the Christmas season we need to keep the spirit of thanksgiving in our hearts and remember that there are people this year especially that don't have anything to give. If possible we should help as much as possible.

Here is hoping that you all have a wonderful and meaningful Christmas and a prosperous and healthy New Year.

Sick Time

2009-11-18T18:26:00.000-06:00

Being sick is no fun. I have been down now since Saturday night and I am getting bored. I can't get rid of my fever so I don't want to visit with anyone in case I'm contagious.

I have gotten caught up on a lot of paperwork and organizing. When you are living in a motor home being organized is more important than ever. Space is very limit. There has to be a place for everything and everything has to be in its place. Its good training for moving into a house that is much smaller than the one we lived in.

We need to go get our drivers license changed. We have to take a written test and possibly a driving test. I haven't had to take a driving test since I was 16. Hope I pass.

Last night Cassie had a wonderful baby shower for Jessica. I couldn't go because I'm sick. Cassie made the cutest monkey cakes and a great diaper cake. Jessica got a beautiful double stroller and tons of diapers and everyday items for Kayla. Everyone was so loving and thoughtful.

I am so excited about Thanksgiving. We haven't got to have one together in forever.

I've been thinking a lot about being thankful. I have never been so thankful for stuff in my life. God has blessed us over and over again. It is so fun to serve God and be part of his ministry. We feel so at home here and welcome.

FALL DAYS!

2009-11-16T12:52:00.000-06:00

A beautiful fall day. A friend of mine gave me a little sign that say I LOVE FALL BEST OF ALL and it's true. I love the cooler weather and the crisp clean feel of the air. I love the color of the leaves and the way they fall to the ground. I love the cold nights when you can sit by a fire and eat soup and drink coffee. I love the way the sun looks in the sky. I especially love that this fall I get to be with my family. This will be the first Thanksgiving in 9 years that we all got to be together. I will miss Mom and Jerry's parents but honestly I would rather be with my girls and their husbands.

We just signed an offer on a house for $8900. It has been accepted and we close in about 30 days. I'll be honest with you it needs a lot of work but we are so excited. I can't wait to pick out cabinets and flooring, fixtures and colors. It is a 2 bedroom house with a attic that we will put another room in. It is about 800 sq ft on the main floor. It has a laundry room in the basement. It also has a front porch which I have always wanted. We can't wait to start working on it. I will post pictures as soon as we take some.

Tomorrow night Cassie is having a baby shower for Jessica. We are all so excited about baby Kayla Joy. Kyndra will be a very good big sister.

We went to a place called Restore. It is run by Habitat for Humanity. It is like a Goodwill for contractors. Jessica got 3 light fixtures, a bathroom sink and vanity, a utility sink, bi-fold closet doors,and misc. other items for their home. All for only $183. This will be a great place for us to go when we start working on our house.

Hope you are all enjoying your fall. Stay warm and dry!

2009-11-07T09:14:00.001-06:00

You know how when you put something off for a while and get behind and you don't want to start because it will be more work than usual? That's exactly how I feel about my blog right now. I didn't have internet for a while after we arrived and then when we got it I just couldn't bring myself to work on my blog. Well here we go!

We finally got to Canton on Monday Oct 12th. On our way into town we stopped at the gas station close to The Brannan's business and Cassie rushed up to give us hugs. It was so wonderful to put my arms around her and give her a giant hug. Then we went to Josh and Jessica's. Wow! We sure do love all of our kids. Kyndra is the spitting image of Jessica at her age. Not so much in looks but the way she acts.

The next day Jessica had a hair party. Her friend that is a stylist came over and 5 of us got hair cuts and colors. It was so fun and my hair looked great.

The next big event was the Ladies Spectacular at First Baptist. We drove to Karen's house and stayed there. We loved every minute of the Spectacular. It was the best one I ever went to.

Since then our house has sold (yahoo!!!) Jerry was sick for a couple of weeks but is now back to normal. We have been on 2 teen activities and joined the church and the choir. We bought the Wii we promised ourselves and have already spent many evenings playing Wii with our kids.

They have a really nice YMCA here with a pool, hot tub, sauna, climbing wall, cardio room, weight room, 2 gyms, tumbling room and best of all day care. Jessica and I have joined and we have gone together about 4 times so far. Josh and Jess have gone a couple of evenings together. It feels really good to work out and do something positive.

We are currently looking for houses. We want to buy something small and fix it up. I know that God will give us just the right house at just the right time. I can't wait to see what he has in store for us.

I am going to put some pics in from the Apple Orchard activity we went on with the teens. All of the pics are of Kyndra. It was a beautiful chilly day when we went.

Today it is gorgeous. It's supposed to get to 69 degrees and we are going to try to go on a picnic this afternoon.

Life is good and we are loving every minute of it.

So close yet so far!

2009-10-11T23:09:00.000-05:00

We are in Springfield, IL tonight. 2 hours from our girls. We can hardly wait to see them tomorrow. We wanted so badly to attend church tonight at Calvary but just couldn't make it. We drove 14 hours yesterday and 12 today. It has been a really long 2 days. It was overcast and off and on rainy all through Oklahoma so I don't really know what it looked like. Missouri is beautiful. Full of trees. We ate brunch at a Cracker Barrel today. I ate way to much but it was so good. We saw the cutest thing just as we entered Oklahoma. A man and his little boy (maybe 5 or 6) were out riding their horses to the cattle. The little boy was in a big old cowboy hat and chaps and was riding along just as if he knew what he was doing. It was great.

Tomorrow is the day we have waited for for over a year. We get to drive up to our daughters house and get out and stay there. I am so excited I don't know if I'll be able to sleep. Tonight we are so close but so far away.

Mesa Verde, Colorado to Santa Fe, New Mexico

2009-10-08T23:23:00.000-05:00

It's really funny. Today we thought we would have a nice leisurely drive with Jerry's parents between Mesa Verde and Santa Fe. We would take our time and park early. Then we would get together and play games or something. About 30 miles out of Santa Fe I had just gotten up to take a picture out of the side window when... Kabloom. It sounded like a gun shot. We blew the out side tire on the drivers side. As you can see in the pictures it blew the skirting off the side of the motor home when it went. Very fortunately for us no serious damage was done. We were at a spot where we could pull along way off the road and Jerry and his Dad put on the spare and patched things up. It took about an hour and a half to do all the repairs. When we got to Santa Fe we found out that there is a world famous hot air balloon festival going on in Albuquerque. We finally found 2 RV spots for the night and ate dinner. Then we visited for awhile. Tomorrow we are going to go to Old Santa Fe and then get a new tire for the motor home. All in all an eventful day but so worth it. New Mexico is a beautiful place.

2009-10-07T22:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we spent the day at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. It was so fun to climb down into the Cliff Palace and imagine that we were Indians living there in the years 1200-`1300 AD. The Indians had no written language so much of what we know about them was handed down thru stories and folk lore. A lot is just guess work. What marvels of engineering these people did with just tools made from rocks and determination. It was quite and climb down and up to get to the Palace. Jerry's parents had a little trouble but we all made it and really enjoyed the sights. I will post more pics when I have more time.

Today we went on a train from Darango to Silverton (Colorado) and back. It was a long day since we had to leave our campground at 6:30 am to catch the train and didn't get back until 7:30 pm. I will post pics and write more about this next time we have wifi.

We are so glad that we are able to spend this time with Jerry's parents. We are truly having a great time.

Tomorrow we will all go to Santa Fe, NM. After that we head to Illinois and they head home to Yuma.

Will post more when I am able.

Moving is no fun!

2009-10-04T23:50:00.001-05:00

Well if you know me at all you know that we have been really busy packing up to move. They delivered the truck on Thursday and on Friday I worked all day packing up the house. On Saturday a group of really great guys came over and started packing the truck. By Saturday night all of the house stuff was packed in the truck using 18 feet of our 28 foot truck. Jerry started packing his garage stuff and his barn stuff in the truck. Tuesday night around midnight we closed the doors and Jerry reluctantly agreed that we needed another truck. He called the next morning and they delivered another truck when they picked up the first one. We packed Wednesday and Thursday and they picked up the truck Friday morning. We only actually 7 feet of the second truck. We finally got on the road Friday around 4 pm. We got as far as The Dalles and decided to call it a night. We also got an offer on our house and had to find someplace with wi-fi so we could sign some papers and send them back. Saturday we drove to Boise where we spent the night. Today is Sunday and we drove from Boise to Price, Utah. It snowed so hard in the Boise area they had the snow plows out on some of the side streets. Utah is so beautiful. I couldn't really tell if what Idaho looked like, it was snowing to hard. So far we have been blessed from God with a safe and pleasant trip.

TRIP TO THE CIRCUS

2009-09-21T13:23:00.000-05:00

Last week I won 4 free tickets to the circus. I called Mom and asked her if she could go with us.

Since there were 4 tickets I asked her if she wanted to bring her friend Florence with us. After church Sunday Mom took us out to lunch and then we picked up Florence and went to the Rose Arena. Outside the entrance there were people protesting the circus. They were using megaphones and talking about how cruel Ringling Bros. is to the elephants and other animal. I wonder if they are pro abortion? Any way we got great seats and the show was amazing. The best part was watching Mom and Florence. Neither had been to the circus since their kids were little and they were enjoying every minute of it. I could hear Florence squeal with excitement during some of the high wire acts and Mom never stopped looking at the rings. I am so very glad we were able to take them with us to the circus. Another memory made.

The picture Jerry took makes me look like I'm about 400 lbs. While I'm not 400 lbs there were some people in front of us who must have been at least 400 lbs. I felt so sorry for them because I'm pretty sure they didn't fit in the seats very well and it was hard for them to move around in the aisles. The worst part is that they were pretty young 25-30 years old.

In a world where how you look is very important it's hard to be overweight. I have been pretty lucky that most people have known me skinny and fat. Most of the time when we see a really fat person we don't think "Oh that poor person" We almost always think "What a lazy slob". People are fat for lots of reasons. Of course the main reason is that we eat to much and don't exercise enough. But having been 105 lbs and then weighing 2x's as much I don't really eat any more now than I did when I was 105.

I need to work on having more compassion for people. Jerry and I saw a lady dressed in business type clothes holding a sign saying she needed money for gas. Across the street we saw a man dressed more like a bum playing a guitar. Jerry said," Should we give her some money?" I said, "No." We have all been burned by beggars and scam artists. We have given money to guy for gas and the next week across town ran into the same guy with the same line. I know that Jesus wanted us to help those who need help but how do we know who really needs help and who's just pretending. Do we help everyone so that we don't ignore those who need help. Wouldn't that encourage the cheaters? I would appreciate hearing your opinion on this. We have both been struggling with this issue for years and now with the economy more people are in need.

Hope you all have a great day and remember YOUR NEVER TO OLD TO ENJOY THE CIRCUS!

Ribs again?

2009-09-20T01:21:00.001-05:00

Wyatt is a really messy eater!

We still had 20lbs of ribs left so we decided to have one last bar-b-que before we move. We invited our quading friends and families. It was so fun to have everyone together again.

Juliane and Jade had fun swinging one the lawn swing. Frank and Alice ate lots of ribs and still had time to smile. Steve,Taylor, Wyatt, Isaac, Liz, and Emily all sat in the house and played with the candle on the table. Ginger, Matt and Johnny all sat outside with us and enjoy the sun breaks that we had.

As it cooled down we built a fire in the fire pit and truly enjoyed the sunset and the fellowship.

We will miss these good friends so much. They have stood by us when others chose not to and remained our friends. I am so thankful that God gave them all to us.

I can't take many more of these good-byes. Good thing we are leaving soon.

HOW REDNECK IS THAT!

2009-09-12T16:00:00.000-05:00

Funny thing happens when you are going to move away from someplace you have always lived. You start thinking "This is the last time we'll see this", "This is the last time we'll eat here", "This is the last time we'll go here". We were both raised in Portland, Oregon and never really went anywhere else. We moved into the country when the girls were really little and have lived in our house for 24 years. My husband always says, "There's Oregon, Washington, Idaho and the east coast." We have never lived more than 2 hours from the mountains, the ocean, or the desert. Jerry's spent every week-end camping on the river and water skiing. I spent many week-ends fishing with my Dad on the Willamette and camping at many lakes in Oregon. We raised our girls doing the same types of things. We have always loved camping and exploring with our family. We can't wait to start exploring the mid-west.

Last night we went to the tractor pulls in Sublimity, Oregon.

Now I know they have truck pulls Illinois but I doubt we will be sitting with the parents of one of the monster truck drivers as he made his first home town appearance. How exciting to watch their faces and reactions as he drove his truck over many cars and did wheelies across the arena.

There are many people and places in Oregon that we will miss. There is some sadness in leaving. But there is much excitement as we look forward to exploring new places and camping in new areas and just spending time with our children and grandchildren.

LABOR DAY WEEK END

2009-09-08T22:15:00.000-05:00

Saturday Les, Bev, Christi, and Oma came over for ribs and prawns. We had a great meal and lots of fun visiting.

Monday evening The Holemans came over for Bar-B-Que ribs. We had a great time visiting with them and getting to know Julia. She is eating her first corn on the cob in the picture. She is sure a good little thing.

The closer it gets to the time we leave the sweeter these visits are getting. Knowing you will not see these people for a long time gives you a different perspective on your visits. While we can't wait to move we will miss some people very much. Sunday was our last Children's church. It was fun but sad. We will miss all of the kids.

Our prayers are still with one of our former teens. Sheridan was in a bad car accident. His neck and back were broken. He was life flighted to OHSU. His lung has collapsed and he has been on a ventilator since the accident. They want to wean him off the ventilator asap. Many prayers are being sent his way for his full recovery. It is unknown at this time if he will ever walk but, if I know Sheridan he will. He is shown in the picture with his little brother Craig Daniel.

2009-08-27T19:12:00.000-05:00

I just realized that I haven't updated my blog for awhile. So much has been happening in our lives. God has been so good to us but he has also challenged us in ways we never expected.
For the first time in our married life we are both unemployed. Since we are we decided that there is no reason for us to stay here. We are leaving the 1st of October for Illinois. No we haven't sold our house yet. We just figured that we will have to pay the same bills there as here. I don't want to try to find a job here and get trained and then have to move. We have already scheduled 3 nights at Mesa Verde National Park. We are meeting Jerry's parents there on our way to Illinois. We will arrive at Josh and Jessica's in time for me to attend the Ladies Spectacular. I am so excited. Jerry is still working on the Mustang for Chuck and when he doesn't have parts he is doing repairs around the house and on the motor home. Today we started to put the flooring in the motor home. We ripped out the carpet in the kitchen area and bathroom. Boy did it smell like dog. Then we have to prep the area and put the new flooring in. It will be so much nicer and easier to keep clean. We will still have the carpet in the couch area.
I can't wait to move. I have to admit that part of me is a little scared because it is all so unsettled. I would feel better if our house was sold but, we are sure that this is God's will for our lives We have prayed and fasted about this. I think God still has time to sell our house for us and if he doesn't there is a reason he doesn't and we will just have to deal with it.

I can't wait to have family meals with our kids and do all the stuff we haven't been able to do with them. I can't wait to see our new grand baby born and get to hold it. I can't wait to see Kyndra and play with her. God is so good that he has arranged all of this for us.

2009-08-10T13:16:00.000-05:00

Josh and Jessica went to a couple retreat with their church. Kyndra got to go visit her grandma GiGi. Don't they look alike.

Jerry and I have decided that even if we don't sell the house we are moving at the end of September. We will have to pay the same bills no matter where we are and actually a few less if we are in Illinois. We haven't given up on God selling our house for us. We think he will but, God helps those who help themselves. We are still waiting to see what He's going to do for us.

Mom finally got the all clear to do her garage sale from George's apartment. She said she did well so I am very happy for her.

Pastor White had his first Sunday morning service at Columbia Ridge. We taught Children's church so missed the service. I guess there were about 70 in attendance. It was such a blessing to see so many people there. Steve Aichele and his boys went to the service too. What a great day.

Friday night we went to the Ross Coleman Invitational. There were over 40 bull riders there. It was so very awesome to see all the riders and very exciting.

Saturday we went over to help Aunt Bev get her computer back up and running. They ended up taking us all out to dinner at Adobe Rose. It was so good and so fun to spend time with them.

2009-08-05T23:03:00.000-05:00

Today at work my boss had everyone come into the kitchen (including the kids), she started talking about God and asking who God was and what he could do. I thought she was going to give the plan of salvation to all of the kids. She then asked everyone if they thought God could do anything, even things that we couldn't do. All of the kids said yes. Then she asked everyone to bow their heads and had her husband lead a prayer for us to sell our house. It brought tears to my eyes. What a blessing to work in a place so full of Gods love and to have such loving and compassionate people to work for.

2009-07-27T18:43:00.000-05:00

Wow! I guess it has been awhile since I've updated my blog. Lots of stuff has happened. We were all ready to move and then the people pulled out of the deal. They claimed it was because of the inspection report but wouldn't talk to us or their realtor about any negotiating. We think they just got scared of spending so much money. The next day my boss called to say I was going to be layed off. She felt really bad but our enrollment was down and someone had to go. I don't blame her. Today she called and said that her family has rescheuled their vacation so I could work there a couple of weeks longer. How very sweet she of her.

We are really excited about what is happening with our church. In 2 weeks we will start having services in the other buildings. We have started having Sunday night services and will start Wednesday night also. It is so fun being part of all the changes and being able to help Pastor White with the new church.

Jerry sang a solo Sunday in church. It was a song Jessica wrote. She made him promise that he would never play the CD for anyone and that he would never sing it. Pastor White called her to ask if her Dad could sing it in church. She said ok. There were a few teared up eyes while he sang and they weren't all mine.

It is so hot outside. It is close to 100 degrees. It is supposed to stay this hot for several days. Yuck! Praise God for AC.

Gary and Cassie are supposed to be moving to their new house this week. I'm not sure that they will have all the work done yet or not.

We bought Mom a laptop a couple of weeks ago and now we have her hooked up on the internet. I will be giving her lessons on how to use it. I am so excited.

Ok that's it for now. I know its not as good usual but I just wanted to get caught upl

2009-07-05T20:52:00.000-05:00

Boy I have been so lazy about updating my blog. I can't believe it has been 3 weeks.

When we got home from Alaska we went to Bend and we got to go out to ice cream with the Santaguidas. We came home and back to work.

My husband decided he missed Kyndra so he paid for Jessica and Kyndra to fly out to visit. We had such a great time. We first went to Cannon Beach and spent the night at the RV park there. The weather was perfect and Kyndra got to walk on the beach for the first time. We went to the aquarium in Seaside which she really loved. We went to the Tillamook Cheese factory which she didn't really care about. We also went shopping at the outlet mall in Lincoln City. We came back home and then Grandpa or Bepa ( which she calls him) took Jessica and Kyndra to downtown Portland on Tuesday. On Wednesday we all went to the zoo and Chuck E. Cheese. We also got word on Wednesday that my Mom's friend George died and went to heaven. On Thursday Jerry took the girls to the outlet mall in Woodburn while I worked. Thursday night we all went to dinner with Les and Bev for Bev's birthday. Bev didn't know that Jessica and Kyndra were here. You should have seen the look on her face. What a surprize. Friday morning Jess and Kyndra flew back home. It has surely been quiet at our house since then.

Jessica says that Kyndra has been going around the house calling Bepa. When she wants something she calls for me, Mema.

Today someone made an offer on our house. We hope we can make it work out.

After 3 hours at urgent care it was decided that Jerry has gout in his hand. He is in so much pain. The poor guy.

2009-06-18T23:30:00.000-05:00

Well after having 2 weeks off from work I returned to a brand new class. I am now the school age teacher. It is really more fun. The older kids can do more complicated crafts ( ones that involve cutting). We are having a great time. We will learn about a different national park each week . The kids will be able to earn recognitions for knot tying, cooking, trail marking, compass reading, book reading, etc. They are a great group. I only have 6 students and it is just perfect.

Jerry went to the dunes with Matt and the usual summer group. I was sad not to be able to see Frank and Alice to say good-bye but Ididn't really mind staying home. Jerry had a blast.

Mom said that they had a big meeting with all of Georges doctors and he probably won't get to go home. They suggested contacting hospice. Mom is pretty upset.

Well thats it for now.

2009-06-11T12:40:00.000-05:00

When I was a little kid, about 5 or 6, we went to this magical place called Peterson's Rock Gardens. It was beautiful. Wonderful buildings built from small agates and other rocks. There were lakes with bridges and peacocks. I remember looking at family pictures from that trip. Peterson's Rock Gardens is located just outside of Redmond. We were just recently in Redmond and as we were driving down the road I saw the sign for the rock gardens. Jerry being the most patient man in the world said we could go. When we pulled in I was a little disappointed. They had a donation box for $4.50 ea. and I made Jerry pay the fee. We started walking around and it was obvious that they hadn't done a lot of maintenance since I was 6. There were still peacocks though. I called my Mom and told her where I was. I mentioned the maintenance issue. She laughed and said it wasn't much better when I was 6 except it was free then. I guess somethings are better left alone. Oh well we still had a wonderful trip and I did get to buy a thunder egg for Josh.

2009-06-07T20:09:00.000-05:00

Home from Alaska. What a wonderful trip we had. We have decided that cruises are the best way to go on vacation. Alaska was beautiful. We had the best weather 75 to 80 every day. Our ship had 2 24hour buffets, a hamburger/hotdog bar, a pizza bar, a ice cream bar and 2 sit down restaurants. In addition it had 2 fancy restaurants that you paid extra for. It had a full spa, 4 swimming pools with 8 hot tubs, 2 saunas, 2 steam rooms, a fitness room, 2 children's pools, and one pool undercover. They had Broadway style shows every night plus movies under the stars and movies in the theater. They had classes on almost anything you might what to take. Jerry and I took ball room dancing. At every port there were excursions you could go on. We went on a bus ride to the Canada up to a frozen lake. We also went to a Rainforest Garden in Juneau.

In Skagway we went to Liarsville and then went on a tram ride. The next day we went up the Endicott Fjord. We saw eagles, whales, seals, bears and dolphins. We also saw the Endicott Glacier. It was beautiful. In Ketchikan we went to the Lumberjack show and then we took a duck and toured the town and went out into the harbor. Then next day our ship docked in Victoria. Since we had dinner reservations at one of the really nice restaurants for Jerry's birthday we elected not to get off in Victoria. We had been there many times and really enjoyed staying on board. We got home on Saturday and then had to mow everything and and clean everything for an open house on Sunday. It was one of the best trips we have ever taken. To see all of our pictures check out facebook.

2009-05-25T20:51:00.001-05:00

2009-05-19T23:56:00.000-05:00

OUR PASSPORTS ARE HERE!!!!!!!!

We are booked on our cruise and the planning commences. What to pack for 7 days in Alaska? Snow shoes? Parkas? Well we will just have to settle for warm coats and long skirts. Can't wait. Thursday is my last day at the plan center and boy am I glad.

We spent a wonderful week end at the Oregon Dunes last week. It was sunny and warm and just plain beautiful. Jerry got to take our Pastor and his daughters out in the buggy and they had a blast. We had a blast too. Matt and Ginger Fouts were there and it was just a nice week end.

2009-05-12T21:25:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. It would have been better if my kids where here but it was still great. Cassie and Gary sent me the flowers pictured above. Jessica sent me a new picture of Kyndra every month for a year and a magnetic holder for them.

I have been working 2 jobs for the last few weeks. I work at the day care and then also at the contractors plan center. I will be glad when Bonnie gets back and I only work at the day care.

We are planning on taking a cruise to Alaska. Our passports are in process and we hope they will be here in time for the cruise we want.

Tomorrow night someone is coming to look at our house. Hope they want it.

Thats all for now. <3

BEING SICK IS NO FUN!

2009-05-06T21:59:00.000-05:00

I have spent the last 2 1/2 days in bed. I feel better now but I felt pretty crumby Monday. Monday I left work after only 1 1/2 hours. I didn't feel good and I didn't have any patence. Tuesday morning I woke up and decided I was to sick to go to work. I looked in the mirror and looked like someone had hit me with a 2x4. My eyes and cheeks were all swollen up and hurt. We had to go get the paper work strated on our passports so I got dressed and on the way I called my doctor and made an appointment. I have a rip roaring sinus infection with an ear infection. By Wednesday night I was feeling better. I hope all goes well at work tomorrow since I had only been there one day before I called in sick.

2009-05-03T23:48:00.000-05:00

Well Jerry is offically unemployed. He is happy and kinda sad to be leaving this part of his life behind. Yesterday we went to the mall and he bought me a new outfit. Today we taught Children's church and then we went out to lunch at Skamania Lodge. We stopped at Bonniville Dam on our way home and went through the power plant and went to the fish hatchery. We then stopped at Multnomah Falls on the way home and had dessert. It was a great week end. We had so much fun. I really enjoy spending time with my husband.

2009-04-25T21:34:00.000-05:00

I love this picture of Kyndra.

Well our back yard is all planted and looks really good. Can't wait for the grass to sprout. Today we packed up our winter clothes. I wanted God to know that I have faith in him. Several people stop and get fliers about the house every week end. All it will take is for one person to decide that they need our house. i keep praying and hoping that that will be soon. We need to start keeping our eyes out for more boxes. I love my life and I will love it in Illinois also. I just can't wait to see our kids and our grand baby. Dear God please hear our prayers and help us to get to Illinois soon.

2009-04-18T14:44:00.000-05:00

You can always tell when spring is here because the lawn mowers start up. We have been mowing our field and it looks so cool. I like it because you can see the animals that live there. We have a pheasant that makes the weirdest noise and rabbits and sometimes deer. I will miss that when we move. I won't miss mowing the lawn or field. We are going to plant the back yard today. Tim and crew spread the dirt mountain out all over the yard and now we have to roll it and plant the seed.

I am really excited about our trip to the Oregon Garden. Well not really the garden part but the dinner and room part. They built a brand new resort there and they are have a special deal where you get dinner, a room, and free addmission to the garden for $69.00. I signed up for it along time ago and they canceled our first reservation because they weren't open yet. I had to reschedule when I started my job and now we finally get to go. I will let you know how it goes.

Intel is having party after party for Jerry. Different friends are taking him out to lunch. He went to a LAN party last night which had nothing to do with his leaving but it will be his last one. His upper level manager wants to take us out to dinner if he comes to town before we move. I'm sure that Jerry is feeling alittle bad about leaving his friends. I am sorry for him about that.

2009-04-15T23:04:00.001-05:00

Got this picture today from Jessica. Made me miss them all so much. Isn't she just the cutest little thing? Her Nana sure misses her.

2009-04-14T21:43:00.000-05:00

Just read an email from our realtor. She thinks she has someone who might be interested in our house. That would truly be a blessing wouldn't it?

Sunday we went to the Easter program at Grand View. It was really nice to see some good friends. The program was really good. We both noticed that Craig White's accent is hardly noticeable anymore. Karissa and Wesley sang the opening song and it was really cute and they did a great job. Ryan played the little boy brought back to life and I have to admit I had tears in my eyes.

Our kids in Children's church did a really great job singing their songs in the main service Sunday. We are so proud of them. Now we owe them a ice cream party.

A funny thing happened to me at the day care on Friday. I was bending over and one of the little girls patted me on the bottom and told me I had a big butt. I calmly told her ,"Yes I do!" What else can you say to a 2 year old when they are only telling the truth? The little blonde girl on the right is the one who made the comment. These are 4 of my kids. I have one more little boy who wasn't there the day I took the pictures.

OK Lets go

2009-04-11T12:08:00.000-05:00

OK God. Our house is for sale. Jerry is layed off as of May 1st. Now it's up to God to sell our house and work out the rest. Can't wait to move to Illinois to see my babies.

WHEN GOD COME THRU HE SURE DOES COME THRU!

2009-04-07T11:20:00.001-05:00

Jerry was offered a severance package yesterday. There is no way we can turn it down. Intel has been so good to him. We are in awe of the way God is directing everything. His last day of work will officially be May 1st. We all need to pray our house sells fast so we can get out of here.

Finally a sunny weekend.

2009-04-05T21:50:00.000-05:00

WOW! We have been so busy. We have been working on the yard and the house. We listed it with a realtor Friday night so we wanted to get as much work done as possible. It's so weird to think that people can come in our house anytime and check it out. Makes it more important to keep it picked up. No dirty coffee cups on the counter or laundry baskets sitting in the living room. Jerry has been working especially hard cleaning the awnings and patio cover and deslimed the deck. It is looking so good it makes you think twice about selling. Just kidding.

We met Mom and George at Red Robin by Ikea today for lunch. I think it is starting to set in that we are moving. I will miss her.

Next Sunday our children's church kids are singing in the main service. They are so cute and doing such a great job. I can't wait.

Well the laundry is beeping at me so I guess I better go.

2009-03-28T17:15:00.000-05:00

This is a video of Kyndra walking a crawling around in the entertainment center. She was so fun to watch and so very proud of herself.

KYNDRA'S BIRTHDAY DANCE

2009-03-28T16:59:00.000-05:00

This video is from Kyndra's birthday party. We went to Gary's parents house for dinner and then had cake and ice cream.

WHATS NEW!!

2009-03-28T16:29:00.000-05:00

I am so excited for Josh and Jessica. Yesterday they moved into their new house. They have been waiting along time for a place of their own. I am so glad that they are loved and appreciated in their new church.

Cassie and Gary just bought a Jeep Cherokee to turn into a offroader. Jerry is so excited about going on Jeep runs with them when we get there. They are going to the Badlands in June. They hope we will be there by then. I pretty sure that's not going to happen.

My mom had shingles. I feel so bad for her. She said it was a very light case but I think it was still painful. I wish I would have know sooner then I could have gone over to help her.

Last night we had dinner with the Holemans. The Bells were there also. It was a gun evening and the food was great.

Last but not least... I love my new job. It is the best place to work. Everyone there is so kind and loving. My boss has written me a note to tell me how good I'm doing and how much they appreciate me. She has also told me the same at least 2 times in the last 2 weeks. The kids are amazing and so well behaved. It is really fun and I get to be creative. No one gossips about other people or even says anything bad about them. It is a very CHRISTIAN place to work and I am so blessed by God that he gave it to me.

Have you ever wondered what you would do in different situations. We watched a show called "What Would You Do?" They set up different situations and see how people react. One we say showed a guy drugging a girls drink while she was in the bathroom. They were on their first date and they made sure all the people around them knew what was going on. Only 3 people said anything to the girl and 2 of them only said something after she said she felt funny and got up to leave with the guy. I was amazed. I think people are afraid to get involved. I wonder what I would do! I like to think I would say something to her and stop what was happening.

Money saving Mom

2009-03-21T17:13:00.001-05:00

I found a website that is really helpful. It's called Money saving Mom and here is the link
http://www.moneysavingmom.com/
Have fun.