Happy Thanksgiving to my 3 readers!

I finally finished cooking our delicious lunch at 11:30 this afternoon and now we are all laying around.  We are about to start getting prepared for round 2 which will occur with the Taylor Family.  Getting together with the Taylors will be different this year.  We are missing cousin Alex (who recently got married-CONGRATS!) and is with her new husband in North Carolina.  Chase is not home this holiday, but lucky for him, he is in Marine school about 20 minutes away from Alex, so they should be spending today together.  Cousin Gabri is still in California, unable to be with us.  Micah and Gage won't be joining us as they have other plans today.  And of course, the most pronounced absence is our Matriarch, Mary. 

But we have much to be thankful for in this year of loss.  Let me name a few:

*God removed Steve from his most unhappy situation at his old job.
*He has continued to amaze us in providing for us since Steve has been out of a job.
*Katie joining our family, putting my mind at ease and saving Steve's life over and over again.
*The fact that my dad is no longer suffering, but has joined my Mom in heaven this Thanksgiving.
*My job that I love and work for 2 women who also believe and understand the importance of family.
*Jenna, Steve and myself are for the most part healthy and happy.
*The financial ability to send my child to a school where worshipping God is a daily thing.
*Friends who love me and will approach the Throne on my behalf.
*A God that loved me so much, He would sacrifice His Son so that I can spend eternity with Him.

So many other things to be thankful for.  There's not enough time to list them all.  I'm off to get ready for another food fest.  I hope wherever you are, you are eating turkey and remembering all you have to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving Menu

Just thought I'd share what's on my Thanksgiving menu for tomorrow.  I am cooking a mini-lunch for the three of us and then we'll have the Taylor Thanksgiving at Steve's sister's house tomorrow night.

But for us, we are having ham, cornbread dressing, macaroni and cheese, corn, green beans, sweet potato casserole, fruit salad and rolls.  For dessert, we have cranberry-apple crisp and chocolate cake balls. 

So far, I already made the fruit salad, the cornbread for the dressing, the dressing, and the cranberry-apple crisp.  The corn and green beans will only take a few minutes to warm.  I think I'll do the cake balls and a second batch of macaroni and cheese for the Taylors.

Now, I'm tired and have been on my feet all night (I cooked dinner too) and so I'm going to lay down.  I'll have to get up early tomorrow to put the rolls out to rise.

A late one...

I know this is a very late update.  I blogged almost daily for a while there.  I guess life just has a way of intruding sometimes!

Not really a lot has been going on.  I'm working fast and furiously at work.  So many things to get done before year end.  I have a huge deadline looming over me. A year-long project that must be finished and doesn't seem to be going anywhere. 

Jenna got her progress report from school last week.  She's doing well.  Es in Bible, Social Studies, Science and something else...S+ or S in everything else (handwriting, math, reading, etc.)  We are very proud. She's been struggling with her behavior lately and so we've had a "coming to Jesus" talk with her which has resulted in her being without TV privileges for the past 3 days.  I can already see an improvement in her behavior at home, so I hope it's working.

Steve's still working at the church about 3 days a week.  He finally signed back up for unemployment (he was ineligible for a while when he was working 2 PT/temp jobs) and that will help fill the financial gap.  We are beginning to really feel the pinch of him being out of a job.  God has provided more than I can tell you through the last few months.  Perhaps a post on that soon.  Anyway, thankfully, for the last 10+ years, I have had a Christmas Club account where money is automatically deducted from my check and sent to a special account at the credit union.  They transfer it into my savings in October and then we have that money for Christmas.  It is the BEST thing I have ever done financially speaking (or close to it).  Each Christmas, we have more than enough money to make our family's Christmas a good one.  This year, it will come in extremely handy.  I can't imagine the stress this year if we hadn't saved all year.  We do give back also...we are helping with the church's Christmas baskets this year and I have to say, I'm pretty excited about it.  I hear it's a fabulous time!

What's on tap this weekend?  Not much.  I am leaving shortly to go to the VERY EARLY matinee of New Moon with my friend Marcia!  It's the 10 AM showing.  We figured it would be best to beat the crowds.  I'm pretty excited about it.  After that, I have absolutely no plans whatsoever.  Laundry of course, but other than that, just relaxing at home. 

Does anyone out there shop on Black Friday? I've always wanted to do it, but never have.  I couldn't do it alone or with Steve because I would be too easily irritated.  But I think if I could ride with an experienced friend, that would be fine.  I have shopped occasionally on BF if I was looking for a high dollar item like a PC.  But it's been years since I've needed something like that.  A few years ago, I laid down and took a nap on the Friday after Thanksgiving and when I woke up about 5pm, I decided I wasn't going to stay in the house all day and so I got up and went Black Friday NIGHT shopping.  Y'all, let me tell you...best thing EVER.  The crowds are nearly gone, parking is better and for the most part, the deals are still going, not to mention the stores are usually open late.  I do the majority of my shopping then.  It's fun and I look forward to it.  The first year Steve was bowling in a league, so I took JG with me.  The last few years, I've left them both at home...that way I can do her shopping at the same time.  If you are interested in tagging along, HOLLA.  My bestie, Rachel is going to be in OK for the holidays and that totally means I'll be alone and depressed.  :)

OK, that's it.  It's about time for me to head out.  I have to meet Marcia in about an hour and I need to check email before I go.

Happy before-Thanksgiving weekend!

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day.  Up until this year, for me it was just another day for the banks to be closed and the mail not to run. 

This year, it means so much more. 

Take a few moments today to pray for the troops who are deployed, those in training, those that were affected by the events in Ft. Hood, TX...and if you know someone in the military...past or present...thank them.  Their sacrifice provided the freedoms we all enjoy today.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Do you Twitter?

I'm pretty sure that no one cares about what I'm doing every minute of the day except me...but I am now Tweeting periodically.  If you are one of few people who "do" Twitter, then you can follow me @sandysignr or leave me your Twitter handle in the comments...

Need a little miracle today?

If you keep up with MckMama's blog and Stellan, you'll know that they had to do the ablation today.  Stellan was in bad shape and actually coded before the surgery even began.

If you haven't already read her post from this evening and need a little pick-me-up, read the results of his surgery here.

This is a test post

This is a test post I am sending from my cell phone. Could it be true? I can blog from my cell?!
*Sandra*

Cleopatra and a Cowboy

For those of you that played my guessing game as to what Jenna was going to be for Halloween...here you go...and pictures of our surprise guest...

Preparing for the costume!

Cleopatra! The Queen of the Nile. Did anyone catch my hint in an earlier comment??

Cleopatra and the Cowboy. What a combination!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! We have a full day today which includes carving our pumpkin which I hope hasn't rotted sitting outside. I have the regular weekend stuff...laundry, cleaning, scrapbooking. And we are hoping to have a special guest tonight. More on that, as well as Jenna's costume, later.

I can't tell you how excited I am that this work week is over. If you will remember, it started with me being over tired and feeling awful. I have worked late every night this week. Last night, Jenna spent the evening at school doing special Halloween activities while Steve and I went out for a date night, which makes 2 in one week! It was pouring down rain and honestly, I would have loved to come home and snuggle up in front of the TV with some movies and our own microwave popcorn. But we had a good time nevertheless.

Speaking of that, Tuesday night we went to TPAC to see "Little House on the Prairie". Melissa Gilbert played "Ma" and while it was cute and it was neat to see her on stage in the show that she grew up in, but no offense, she is not that great of a singer. The show starts off slow in that it was hard for me to get interested in and I think it's because the plot jumps around so much that you don't really have time to get interested in it before it's moved on. Ultimately, the end is cute and happy and you know how I like a happy ending!

Last night, because it was raining, we only had time to go through the Chik-fil-a drive thru. I got off work just a wee bit early and since we couldn't drop JG off until 6, I went over to Kohls. I LOVE that place! I had a $20 gift certificate and a 15% off your entire purchase which turned into 20% if you spent $100 or more. I got 3 blouses for work, 2 pair of pants and jewelry to match all the blouses. With my gift certificate and my 20% off, I spent just a few dollars over $100 and saved...get this...$126!!! Did I already mention how much I LOVE that place?!!? After we dropped JG off and ran through the drive thru, we went to see the movie Paranormal. If you know Steve, you know how much he loves all things scary. He would much rather decorate for Halloween than Christmas (part of that has to do with the fact that it's so much colder outside in December than October!). But he just loves Halloween and scary movies. So we went to see it while we had the chance. Like all movies, I'm sure there will be differing opinions, but I thought it was SUPER SCARY. That is, if you are into scary. Not to give anything away, but it kind of reminded me of The Blair Witch Project, which I also thought was pretty scary. And when I say scary, I mean mostly in that mind way. You know, when you obviously know it's just a movie etc., but when you get home, you start listening for sounds and think you see stuff you don't. So, Steve enjoyed it and I did too. At any rate, it is good to get out with my sweetheart every once in a while.

OK, better get this weekend started...Lots to do.................

Pray for Stellan

If you keep up with MckMama and her blog, you know that Stellan is again doing poorly. If you don't know Stellan's story, I encourage you to go to MckMama's blog and get updated. It is a miraculous story which makes Stellan's struggle now all the more painful. Let's join together and pray for him...

What do you know about me?

So, I saw this on another blog and thought it would be fun to do...you can learn a little more about me!

1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while your blogging?
I don't usually snack while blogging...but if I am, probably something chocolate!

2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without?
Obviously my family comes to mind, but since the question is about a "thing", I'd say, my cell phone. I know it's totally non-spiritual but it's true...

3. Beach, Mountains, or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice?
I'd like to say Beach, but only if I was retired there and didn't have to work. Although I love the beach, I'm not sure that I'd love it if I had it in my back yard all the time.

4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty?
I really hate vacuuming. Not sure why, but I do.

5. Who do people say you remind them of?
This is tough. I don't know that anyone says I remind them of someone in particular. More often, I've gotten the "You remind me of my best friend", so I guess that would have to be it.

6. Prefer parties and socializing or staying home with the fam?
Depends. As you know, I love my "MY" time, but I love being with my family and just hanging out.

7. What's your all time favorite movie?
Gosh, I don't know...I really like Love Actually. I watch it over and over every Christmas. Last year, I started wrapping gifts at a card table in my bedroom and would watch it while I wrapped. Makes wrapping go a lot faster.

8. Do you sleep in your make-up or remove it like a good little girl every night?
I really should remove it every night. Some evenings I do, but more often than not, I sleep in it. Of course, in my defense, I don't wear a lot of makeup to take off!

9. Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you've never had a chance to learn? What is it?
No hidden talent that's for sure. I really wish I could play a instrument really well. I'd love to play in the church orchestra. And I wish I'd been blessed with a beautiful singing voice. I would love to sing on stage especially worship songs...I could totally get into that if I could keep from crying while singing!

10. What's one strange thing you're really good at?
Organizing? I do a good job at meal planning and grocery shopping etc. If you've ever been to my house, you know there is always a 2 week meal plan on my fridge...helps save money when shopping for groceries.

11. What first attracted you to your spouse?
Micah, Steve's daughter (my step-daughter). I fell in love with her long before I knew Steve. It was a total God-thing.

12. What is something you love to smell?
Fresh cut grass in the spring. Or the smell of coffee especially when it's cold out (though I'm not much of a coffee drinker).

13. Tell something about you that you know irritates people.
I totally overanalyze things and probably take things way too personally that aren't meant to be personal.

14. When you have extra money, what's the first thing you think to do with it?
Well, first I have to determine whether I have bills that need to be paid or a need that has to be met. Then I pretty much spend it on whatever.

15. Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest?
Loud laugher and I get in trouble at work all the time for it. Genuinely funny people that crack themselves up make me laugh hardest. Watching Whose Line Is It Anyway? where the comedians get themselves tickled makes me laugh until I cry.

16. Where is your favorite place to shop?
Depends on what I'm shopping for. I hate clothes shopping because I'm obviously way bigger than I wish to be. Otherwise, I like Target or Hobby Lobby (for all my scrapbooking needs)...when I do have to shop for clothes, I love Kohls.

17. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time?
Hmmm...this is a toss up between scrapbooking and reading. Although if I could get caught up on my scrapbooking, I'd have more time to read.

18. Are you a big spender or frugal?
Frugal. I am stuck in the 90s and can't stand to pay more than $20 for any piece of clothing, pair of shoes or purse. I know...it just doesn't work these days. People who spend hundreds of dollars on shoes or purses...I just don't get that. Sorry if you are one of those people...I just can't see spending that kind of money on stuff...but I could see spending it at the scrapbook store. :) :) :)

19. Who is your favorite character of all time?
Character? I'm not sure I get this question. I don't think I have one.

20. Would you want to be famous?
No. No desire whatsoever. I'd like to be related to someone famous. Then I could say, "Oh, Brad Pitt is my brother in law" or "I roomed with Drew Barrymore in college"

Another giveaway (not mine)

If you blog, you want to enter this giveaway...

What are you gonna be for Halloween?

Jenna has chosen quite an unusual costume for this Halloween. We found it at Target. It's not a fairy, animal or kid superstar (Hannah Montana etc).

It is a person though...someone pretty well known...back in her day. Any guesses? I'll post pictures after Halloween. And I'll have a little something for anyone who guesses correctly. And for those of you that already know, you don't get to play. :)

Two Wheels!

While I was gone on my getaway weekend, Jenna had a red-letter weekend! First her fabulous report card, and then with this...

Some of you know that we've tried and tried for several summers to teach Jenna to ride her bike without training wheels. She has worn us out trying. We have taken the wheels off, raised them, and removed one training wheel. Nothing seemed to work. I was beginning to wonder if they made adult bikes with training wheels. Someone had recently recommended that I remove the pedals from the bike and let her coast until she learned. We just hadn't gotten around to that yet.

So on Saturday, Steve encouraged her to go outside to play with our neighbor's kids, Grey and Gage. Jenna is, age-wise, right in between both of them. Anyway, Grey apparently told Jenna just to "pedal".

And she did.

And now she can ride her bike without training wheels. Go figure. But I was super excited...I was sorry I missed the big event, but so glad she learned. Rachel put it best, it's like potty-training...when they are ready, it just happens despite all of our attempts to force it earlier. Wow...there's some deep thoughts in that comment, yes? Maybe for another day. :)

Report Card Time!

I'm sure no one else cares as much as me about Jenna's grades, but I wanted to take an opportunity to brag on my girl just a bit.

She got her report card on Friday while I was scrapbooking and I went right online to see what the grades were. Being in 2nd grade, she's still on the E, S, N, U scale. Check it out:

Bible: E (a girl after my own heart...me being a former multi-year Bible award recipient)
Reading: S+
English: E
Writing: E
Spelling: E
Math: S+ (not the least bit surprising given my challenges in Math)
Science: E
Social Studies: E


I mean, seriously, this would be Honor Roll material if we were on that grading scale. But that's not even the best part. Get this...


You know how I'm a crazy reader. OK, maybe you don't know, but I am. If given a choice between anything and reading, reading would win almost every time (except in a showdown with scrapbooking and then who knows what would happen?!) Anyway, I sincerely believe that the love of reading, or at least the liking of reading is the bedrock to doing well in school. I honestly believe that. I think if a child learns to read well and likes it (not to mention loves it), they will overall do better in school. Obviously I haven't tested this theory, but you know...it's what I have observed in many cases.

Anyway, all that to say, at DLES, they have reading progress levels which have benchmarks to be reached at the end of each grade. For example, at the end of Kindergarten, children need to be at reading level "C". It's just kind of a guideline. Jenna's reading level skyrocketed at the end of last year and we worked really hard at reading over the summer. Many times over the summer, kids don't read as much and it's not uncommon for a child to drop a level or two during the first 9 weeks of school. I was anxious to see what level Jenna would come in at.


At the end of second grade, she needs to be at a reading level of "P". Well, I should have known not to worry because her guided reading level came back this time at "Q"!!! That means, she is already reading beyond where she needs to be when she FINISHES second grade! That just makes my heart sing!


So I just felt the need to brag on my little one. :) As for me, I had a rough night. I absolutely could not breathe which not only kept me awake, but Steve too. I had already taken 1/2 day today but I didn't get out of bed until 10:30. I lounged around the house trying to decide whether to go to work and ended up going. I was tired all day, but the meds seem to be working on my congestion. Hopefully I can get caught up on my much needed rest tonight and feel back to myself tomorrow.


Poor Rachel didn't fare as well. She has bronchitis. YUCK!

Scrapbook weekend

I said I'd try to be better about posting so here's my attempt...

This is one of my favorite weekends of the year. SCRAPBOOKING WEEKEND! Rachel and I left on Thursday afternoon for a state park just down the road a piece to hang out with about 18 other women who are as crazy about scrapbooking as we are.

There are two retreat weekends a year...one in October and one in March and I look forward to each of them for weeks before they get here. Thinking back to the first one I went to a couple years ago (has it been that long)...I thought I was a serious scrapper with my rolling tote and all my stickers etc. Well, you have never seen the likes of what some of these other women come with. When we first started, we stayed up until 11:00pm and thought we were pushing the limits. But these other women are hard core. Staying up until 3am almost EVERY night. And you know what? I'm one of them now.

Every spring and fall, Steve removes all the seats in my van (except the passenger seat (and driver, of course!) and by the time Rachel and I have finished loading up all our stuff, it's filled to the brim. I mean, I take two scrapbooking chairs also...and everything in my scrapbook room goes. And when we get there, it's like being "home" again. Back in the day, the retreats would start on Friday and I'd head out after work on Friday afternoon. Subsequent retreats, we'd move it up to only working 1/2 day on Friday. The day came when my consultant and retreat hostess opened it up an extra day so that we could arrive on Thursday afternoon and by that point, we jumped at the chance!

Now, Rachel and I have a standing lunch with some scrapbooking friends around 12:30 on Thursday (we now take the whole day off). Then we head out and get there right at the time it starts and we can check in our room. And we stay up until 1am or later just about every night. And we don't really sleep in. Most days we are in the room by 9am. Oh yes...it is one of the highlights of my year.

This year was just as wonderful and much anticipated. I managed to get a couple of Christmas gifts done (books I was making) and finally got caught up on Jenna's school album as actually into 2009 with her regular book. There's still lots to do, but these retreats give me the opportunity to really get going. Unfortnately, Rachel started getting congested last night and I woke up clogged up this morning. It is definitely allergies. Complicated with the wishy-washy weather and the fact we both got a flu shot on Wednesday of last week. Oh well...we rung out every last drop of the weekend we could. And now, we begin the countdown to March.

And for all you scrappers out there...this is NOT a closed group. You are totally invited to come. It's very economical...you have lots of space, a pretty decent room (for the few hours you are in it sleeping) and catered lunch and dinner for Friday and Saturday. Plus you get time away from the family to concentrate on getting your stuff done not to mention the really good company of people who like doing this as much as you do! If you are interested, the next retreat is in March...first weekend I think...let me know if you want more information and I will get it to you ASAP. If you live out of town, that's NO PROBLEM. We had 2 from Kentucky and one from south Alabama...they come from everywhere...Murfreesboro, Nashville and even my friend from MI, Becca, came one year...so start planning now and join the fun in March!

Thankfully, I take off 1/2 day on the Monday after scrapbook retreat weekend too. Usually I'm getting groceries, finishing laundry, unpacking etc. However, not sure how I will feel tomorrow...guess we'll see...I'm all drugged up on Actifed Allergy medicine and ready for a LONG night of sleep.

Later! (and sorry to all of you non-scrapbookers...I know this post was a huge bore to you all!!!)

A new blog design

I have been thinking for a while about a new blog design. But that is definitely NOT my forte. The Design Girl is giving away a free photo makeover for blogs. I would love to win this! If you are interested in getting in on the giveaway, click the button to the right of this post or just click here.

Good luck!

The Potter and the Clay

OK, so I have been super-bad about blogging lately and I swore to myself I'd do a better job. I owe you (who are "you" BTW?!) a recap post of my weekend in Memphis with Rachel and Beth Moore and it's sitting in my blogger dashboard waiting to be finished. I want to add pictures and so that is the hold up. Yes, I've uploaded them, but then I never went back to finish the post.

And this post would not be here now except I have finally given up on finding what I was looking for to go with this. So, I'm posting without it because it's something that has been on my mind and I need to share.

The last several weeks at church the sermon series has been on...stewardship. I know, I know...so many of you (non-BBCers) are rolling your eyes now because who does that guilt-'em-till-they-give sermon better than us Baptists!? But this has been different. The series is titled "His." and it has been great! It has really put into perspective what all we have that belongs to Him. Not just our money, but our stuff.

So, in our small group time, our leader was talking about when he was a young person, seeing a potter come demonstrate the making of a clay pot. He told how the potter would spin the wheel so fast and throw water on the lump of clay and how he would beat this clay to mold it the way it needed to go. And at times, the potter would even tear off a big chunk of clay and throw it off to the side. Obviously, there was too much clay for what it was going to be made in to.

When I was in art class in high school, we had the opportunity to work with clay and let me tell you, it is NOT as easy as these folks make it look. The clay is really hard and it does take strength to mold it. And one wrong move with your hands can cause the clay to collapse on itself. I remember I was going to make a vase becase it couldn't be that hard. But it WAS hard. The clay was unruly and hard to mold...every time I tried to form it into the shape I wanted, one side would fall in. When I added too much water and it slung all over the place and made a huge mess of the piece because if you don't know, this job is MESSY!

It's no wonder why there are so many references in the Bible to God being the Potter and us being the clay. How often do we try to take the position of the potter with our own lives. We try to mold ourselves into what WE think we should be. We add too much "water" and generally make a huge mess of our lives. Why do we do that? Well, because it sometimes hurts when the Potter gets hold of us. It feels like we are being beaten down...ripped apart. But the Potter sees the whole picture...what the finished product is going to be. He knows when there's too much of us and some needs to be broken off. He knows exactly how much water to add and where to place His hands on our lives. And in the end, what started as nothing more than a lump of hard, unruly, ugly clay...

...turns into something more beautiful than we ever could have imagined.

"And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand."

Isaiah 64:8(NLT)

Home...

My brother is home now. They have determined that he definitely had a stroke but it was a TIA, but it was one of the mildest that a person can have. There is nothing that could have really prevented it. The neurologist said that the numbness and tingling (which he likens to feeling like you arm is asleep) might take up to 24 months to cease and he might never regain the feeling. It's just one of those things.

At any rate, he's on some medications, off work for a bit and should have pretty minimal lasting damage.

Thanks for all your comments and prayers...

And just to clarify, this was David G., NOT David T (who is Steve's brother).

Update on David

There's not much to report, but I did just call the hospital and David actually answered the phone.

He sounds just like always. He says he doesn't believe it's a stroke and no one has said for sure what it is or whether it was for sure. They've bascially been told nothing except they "think" it's a stroke or it looks like it is. He's had an MRI, ultrasound on his heart and neck and cat scan of the brain (they found one, go figure...we've always wondered! :) ) and no one told them how those tests came out. He is still feeling the same tingling and numbness as he did when he arrived. No better, no worse. He wonders if it's some kind of pinched nerve.

Someone entered the room after about 10 minutes of conversation, so he had to let me go. I told him to keep me posted and he said he would.

Continue to pray that whatever it is, it is minor and that it can be fixed easily. I've always been close to my brother and I am very concerned and worried for him.

Thanks for your prayers!

Prayer Request

I know I owe like a huge update post and I have one started (I really do!), but can I ask for all of you to pray for my brother David today? Last night, he was taken to the hospital where they believe he had a stroke. He's only 51 years old but they do think they caught it very early on and they hope there is no to only minimal last damage. They have taken him for lots of testing and will know more as the day goes on. If you will just keep him and my sister in law, Judy, in your prayers, I'd appreciate it.

A very late update

So many things to say and most of them are updates that are long overdue. We are still trying to get in the swing of being back in school.

Let's see...last week I went for my 1 month post-Lasik appointment. I am seeing almost 20/15. I'm definitely 20/20. If you have been considering Lasik then check into it NOW. I can highly recommend Loden Vision Centers, but I'm just a huge proponent of Lasik in general. It's been a virtual miracle for me.

Steve's not had one single bite on the resumes he's sent out. But thanks to my good friend from church, Leigh Ann, he has been working a temporary assignment for about 3 weeks now. And starting Monday, he will work a temporary job at the church 20 hours a week and then with Leigh Ann on the other days (for a while at least). So, we do have some money coming in and that is extremely useful! A HUGE shout-out to Leigh Ann for her help in employing my husband!!!!

Chase has graduated from military combat school and is now started his specialty training which diesel mechanics. He will hopefully be visiting in a couple weeks for a few days. MOS is like college, so he can use his phone when he's not in class or on duty, so if you have his number and want to, you can give him a call.

Jenna is doing well in school. 2nd grade is different than 1st and comes with a lot more personal responsibilty which is new for her. But after our fall parent-teacher conference, we find she is doing well. Of course, the one thing that she struggles with is T-A-L-K-I-N-G! Geez...I have no idea where she gets that.

Micah had a birthday yesterday so a huge birthday SHOUT OUT to her. 25 years old. Her comment was that she was 1/2 way to 50. All I know, it that makes me feel REALLY old! I met her when she was only 10, so this is certainly a milestone I'm happy to celebrate with her. My brown-eyed girl is all grown up!

As for me, I'm doing OK. Work is keeping me super busy and I'm always behind. A couple weekends ago, we were coming home from some friends' house and it was wet (big surprise). I had on some flip flops with pretty slick soles (I'd slipped several times before). Anyway, I got out of the truck and when my feet hit the garage floor, I slip and fell. My left knee took the full force of the fall. Of course, it was painful and swelled a little, but some ice and Ibuprofen, I was good. But as the weekend and week wore on, I knew something was wrong. X-rays showed nothing, but there is some popping and the doctor thinks I might have a torn meniscus. He has me doing home exercises, taking more Ibuprofen and icing it at night. Next week I go back and if it hasn't improved, it's off to an MRI I go. I can tell already that it's not getting better. By the end of the day, it is swollen very noticeably. OUCH!

That's really about it. Rach and I are going to Memphis to see Beth Moore next weekend and we are pretty excited about that. I say "we", but I guess I only speak for myself. :) In a few more weeks it will be our scrapbook retreat and I'm practically giddy about it already.

So, until I have more exciting things to share, over and out.

Please Vote!

If you have just a minute, could you please go out and vote for my friend Leigh Ann's sister? Her name is Jennie and she has Cystic Fibrosis and would greatly benefit from this scholarship...

If you are willing, please click on this link and vote for Jennie so that she can get a scholarship to help with Belmont University bills. This is a scholarship that was created to honor young adults with Cystic Fibrosis as they pursue goals of post-high school . It's so easy to vote and you can do it all 3 ways. It will take maybe 30 seconds to do all three. I know Leigh Ann and Jennie would love your support.

Click HERE to support Jennie!


Thanks!

Another Book Review: Stray Affections

It's been a while since I've done a book review, so I figured it was time...

In Stray Affections, the last thing that Cassandra expects out of her Sunday is to be mesmerized at a collectors’ convention by a snowglobe. She’s enjoying some shopping time, with husband Ken at home tending their brood of four young boys, when she’s utterly charmed by the one-of-a kind globe containing figures of three dogs and a little girl with hair the color of her own. She can’t resist taking the unique globe home—even if means wrestling another shopper for it!

The beautiful snowglobe sparks long-dormant memories for Cassie, of her beloved Grandpa Wonky, the stray she rescued as a child, and the painful roots of her combative relationship with her mother, “Bad Betty” Kamrowski. Life in Wanonishaw, Minnesota is never dull, though, and Cassie keeps the recollections at bay, busy balancing her boys, her home daycare operation, and being a good friend to best pal Margret. But after a strange—flurrious, as Cassie deems it—moment happens with the remarkable snowglobe, Cassie and the people she loves are swirled into a tumultuous, yet grace-filled, and life-changing journey.

The author, Charlene Ann Baumbich is a popular author and speaker and an award-winning journalist. In addition to her Dearest Dorothy series of novels, she has written seven nonfiction books of humor and inspiration. A bungee-jumping, once motorcycle-owning grandma and unabashed dog lover, Charlene lives with her husband and rescued dog Kornflake in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She loves telling stories, laughing whenever possible, and considers herself a Wild Child of God.

This is a must read! I have a copy to give away. If you are interested, please leave me a comment or send an email to Sandras_junk@charter.net by Friday, 9/18 at 5pm. I'll draw sometime during the weekend.

Also, for your enjoyment, here is a video link of Charlene introducing the book. The video is available on facebook and/or YouTube.

And as always, if you would like to purchase your very own copy of Stray Affections, you can do so here.

The Prodigal Returns Home and other happenings...

Just wanted to give you a few quick updates on us...

Steve is working a temporary job right now with our good friend from church (thanks LA!). He's worked all week and he is loving it even though it's just stuffing envelopes. He is definitely not a stay at home dad, though I love that he's been home. I'm sure it won't be long until I will love the money he's making more! He has sent out a bunch of resumes, but I'll tell you, there's not even been the slightest nibble...but that's to be expected I guess. He isn't discouraged because we knew this would be hard going into it. We have definitely made some budget adjustments and are living quite differently from before.

On a separate note for those of you not on Facebook...MITTENS CAME HOME! Yes, friends, you read that right! Let's see...it was Wednesday night and uncharacteristically, Jenna had some math homework and I needed to pay bills. So Jenna and I were both sitting at the kitchen table. Steve decided that even though it was 8:15 and dark, he would take Katie for a walk while we finished up. They were only gone about a minute when I heard the door open again. I was just about to say, "Well, that was quick" when around the corner Steve came smiling from ear to ear and holding Mittens!!! I really don't remember what Steve said other than "Look!" because Jenna and I had jumped up and run to him hollering and screaming etc. Steve was absolutely speechless I think! Mittens was "talking" quite a bit, but he seemed no worse for the wear. Because he is long haired, he had one big hair mat and a couple smaller ones, but other than that, seemed fine. He was starving and I can tell he's thinner when I pick him up but the hair covers up the weight loss. Anyway, he is back to his old self though he's quite a bit more loving these days and does not like to be out of our sight. We are so happy to have him back and feel our family is complete again.

That same night, as if the return of our missing kitty wasn't exciting enough, Jenna started hollering from the bathroom. Apparently, she saw something that worried her...sparing you all the details, turns out she has a "severe" bladder infection. She's on a very strong antibiotic, but the sad thing is that her infection is so severe that most times she cannot hold her bladder. So there have been several accidents over the past few days. I finally went out tonight and bought her some "GoodNites" so we don't have to worry about it for a while. By Monday, the antibiotics should have gotten into her system and she should be feeling better. She ran a low grade fever last weekend which we were afraid was the flu, but since it stayed so low grade and she'd been having some allergy issues, we figured it was because of those allergies. We now know it was most likely caused by her body fighting this infection. Anyway, she's been pretty devastated and you have no idea how it breaks my heart to hear her say she asked a teacher if she could use the bathroom and they say no causing her to have an accident. This happened at church and several times at school. I've tried to talk to the teachers at school (her teacher is very aware), but sometimes word just doesn't get all the way around.

Speaking of school, we had our parent teacher conference this morning. Jenna is doing very well in school. Her reading level is "very strong" and she's doing pretty well. Her "problem" is that she is a little "mother" so she's more worried about whether everyone else is doing what they should be which in turn means SHE'S not doing what she should be! And of course, the inevitable, "talks too much" which I have NO IDEA where that comes from!!! But her teacher was very careful to put positive spins on each of these things. She said these issues were common, not as bad as say learning disabilities and that this strong willed tendency will make her a very good leader/teacher as long as that stubborness is redirected appropriately.

So that's our story of the last week. Pretty exciting stuff going on. Chase is doing well in combat training (as far as we know). Tomorrow is a hopefully low key Saturday with just a few things to get done.

Right now, I'm off to bed..

This is what happens when you send Daddy to the salon with daughter for a "trim".
Yep, it's ALL gone. In the span of 8 short months, we went from hair down the back to chin length. Those who know me, know I am a long hair person, so this was a big shock to me. I think she's cute though. Of course, I would think that no matter what haircut she has. And she LOVES it. And loves the attention she's getting from it.

No more updates on Mittens...3 sightings (supposedly) in one day, but none of them OURS!

Chase is doing well at combat training. For those that are interested, you can drop him a line at:

PFC Taylor, Steven C.
SOI East MCT BN India Co.
PSC Box 20161
Camp Lejeune, NC 28542

No luck for Steve in the job search...

Oh and one last thing, if you think of it, will you pray for my friend Kelly and his family? He is about to lose his mom (if she hasn't already passed) and I know his heart is breaking. He is a Believer and he knows intimately the One who can heal all hurts, but sometimes that sentiment doesn't ease the pain at the moment. So if you think about it, send up a prayer for what they are going through about about to go through.

What Do I Know of Holy?

I heard this song a few days ago and it really spoke to me. I thought I'd share the lyrics here.

What Do I Know of Holy
Addison Road

I made You promises a thousand times
I tried to hear from Heaven
But I talked the whole time
I think I made You too small
I never feared You at all No
If You touched my face would I know You?
Looked into my eyes could I behold You?

What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured You out
I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about
How You were mighty to save
Those were only empty words on a page
Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be
The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?
And a God who gave life "its" name?
What do I know of Holy?
Of the One who the angels praise?
All creation knows Your name
On earth and heaven above
What do I know of this love?

What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy?
Nothing. Nothing at all.

I have been spending more time in the Word and in prayer the last few weeks. I hate to admit that I've beefed up my time with Him simply when my life got rough, but it's true. But in the midst of that, I have heard Him through so many different avenues.

The bottom line is this: Our family needs prayer. We have been beat up this year and over the past 18 months. On the outside, we put on a happy face, but inside we are hurting. Please pray for one thing...that through this time, we would not allow Satan to get a foothold in our lives. That comes in different forms for each of us (even Jenna). Just remember us in your prayers. And remember...

What do we know of Holy?

Update

Just wanted to give a quick update on Mittens...we have NOT had any luck this week. We did locate a grey and white cat that some neighbors spotted but it was most definitely not Mittens. We have seen this cat several times now in the same area our neighbor thought he saw Mittens so we believe he probably never really saw Mittens, but this cat.

At this point, we are thinking he is not in the area and probably never was. I honestly don't know what might have happened to him unless someone picked him up with the intention of keeping him and went out of the area. Someone has removed all our missing signs so I'm thinking maybe it's a sign that it's time to move on. I'll always wonder what happened to him, but I guess it's time to stop expecting him to show up. Maybe he will. I've heard many stories about cats that show up weeks after going missing. I guess we'll see.

Well, I am skipping my scrapbook day today to get this house cleaned. Call it "Fall Cleaning" but that's what is on the agenda for today. Wish me luck!

Sight, Seeing and Eyes

You may be wondering what in the world the title of my post means. Well, I have 3 things to tell you and they are all related as you will see (no pun intended).

First of all, there has been a Mittens sighting!!! It's just a sighting and it wasn't us, but someone saw our fliers over in the adjoining neighborhood and called this morning. He said there is a grey and white cat that has been hanging around his neighbor's fish pond the last few days. Steve immediately went over there and of course, couldn't find anything but talked to the guy and he said that the cat is usually out there about 9am in the morning and sometimes in the evenings. From his description, it appears to be Mittens! We are trying not to get our hopes up, but it's very hard. To think he is alive and as close as the next neighborhood makes me very happy. Steve is on his way home now with Jenna and we are going out there to look. Wish us luck!

In other news, I went for my follow-up exam from my LASIK surgery today. It can take up to a month for your vision to reach it's final resting point so to speak and it can fluctuate in between. I've been trying to test my eyesight with everything and I was quite disappointed that my left eye (the worst one) didn't seem to be at 20/20. Today I was prepared for the official disappointment. Much to my surprise, my right eye is not 20/20...it's 20/15! Better than normal!!!! My left eye (that troublemaker eye!) is "slightly better than 20/20, but not quite 20/15". HOLY COW. People. I went from legally blind (not blonde) without my glasses or contacts to 20/15! I'm here to tell you...if you are like me, LASIK is for you! And I'd highly recommend Dr. James Loden! I have some pictures I want to share, but that can come later...

Now, for the last thing...as you know, my Chase graduated Marine Boot Camp a few weeks ago. He's now gone back to NC to do his MCT (military combat training) and his job training. He'll be gone another 3-4 months, hopefully home by Christmas. At any rate, we did get his "formal" pictures and we were very pleased. This is my little 6 year old stepson, all grown up.
Talk about a sight for sore eyes....Mmmhmmm...I know. All you single women understand, you have to go through me to get to him right? A co-worker said to me last week, "There is just something about a man in uniform that makes me weak in the knees." Yes, I know. And I couldn't be more proud!

Missing Family Member

Last night after returning from church, we realized we were missing our "baby" cat, Mittens. After canvassing the house, we figured he slipped out without us knowing when the door was open at some point on Saturday afternoon.

Steve is going to spend the day looking and putting up signs, but if you live in the area, will you please be on the lookout for Mittens? He has no front claws and no collar (because he has always stayed inside) and we are all heartbroken that he is missing.

If you happen to see him, THINK you see him or actually catch him, contact me or Steve immediately. You will truly be our hero.

Thanks!

I can see clearly now the rain is gone....

Today was a big day for me...I took the leap. The LASIK leap.

I have been thinking about this for a while now and at my last annual eye visit, I figured it was now or never. I wanted to have it while I was still young enough to enjoy life without any glasses (including reading).

I researched a couple of doctors, did a couple free consultations and settled on James Loden of Loden Vision Centers. He came highly recommended by my friend Leigh Ann. And I was not disappointed.

I arrived today at noon and they took me right back. After a few minutes for the sedative to take effect, I was on my way to the laser room. The whole procedure took about 8 minutes. The minute I sat up I could already see better even though it was a little blurry. We came home and I rested. When I woke up, I could see even better! For someone as blind as I was, this is a miracle. About 20 minutes after I woke up, the phone rang and guess who it was? Dr. James Loden! Calling to check on me after surgery. NICE TOUCH.

Anyway, I go back tomorrow morning for a follow up appointment and I should be able to see close to 20/20 by even then. I'll let you know.

I have some beautiful goggles...reminds me of someone...

My Military Man...

OK, I'm really here to blog about our trip to Parris Island to see Chase this past weekend, but first, let's get this nasty lay-off stuff out of the way.

Steve's company has been laying off people for months. This month, they laid off 7. Yesterday, they let 2 go and one of those was Steve. The question I am getting is, "Does this have anything to do with the dog?" And my answer is, "I don't really know" and I might never know. Honestly, we figured this was coming sooner or later. There's not many employees left at the company and there was some drama last week which ended with the company losing their biggest client.

Steve and I both have an indescribable peace about this. We have prayed for years (no exaggeration) for God to give Steve a new job and the answer has always been "No". So now He has answered...just not in the way we'd hoped. I am reading the Chronological Bible again this year and I'm about a month behind (darn summer!). I'm desperately trying to catch up and am in Isaiah. This morning there were three verses that really stood out to me. I want to share them with you:
But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
² When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Isaiah 43:1-3a

¹⁸ “But forget all that—
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
¹⁹ For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18-19

and finally...
¹¹ This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:
“Do you question what I do for my children?
Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?
¹² I am the one who made the earth
and created people to live on it.
With my hands I stretched out the heavens.
All the stars are at my command.
Isaiah 45:11-12

So, basically He said to me, "I got your back", "I'm about to do something AWESOME and hey, I'm already working this out to My glory" and most importantly, "Who are you to question what I'm doing?" I'm so thrilled when God shows up so obviously.

I've received many comments, calls, emails and offers of help. To those of you who want to know what Steve can/wants to do the answer is he has spent his entire career in the printing business, however, with the Green movement and so many folks going paperless, I'm not sure the smartest move is staying in the printing business. We are working on updating his resume (which was pretty updated already) so if you want it to pass along, just shoot me an email and I'll forward it to you complete with references etc. I'm happy to tell you a little about what he has done in the past, but right now, I want to share some pictures with you of our little trip to Parris Island...

We were due to fly out of Nashville at 5:11 on Wednesday, but our flight was delayed by almost 90 minutes. What that meant was that we would miss our connecting flight in Atlanta. We went ahead and changed our flight out of Atlanta. The earliest flight we could get out of Atlanta was 10:30pm. We got to the Atlanta airport right on time but then our flight out was delayed and so we didn't fly out of there until nearly midnight. We had almost an hour drive from Savannah to Beaufort in the rain. Finally we got to the hotel and in bed at 2am.

That wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that we had to be up at 4:00am in order to get to the base in time for the motivational run and catch our first glimpse of Chase in 3 months. We did pick him out of the platoon of like 70+ and watched as they ran. At about 9:30, they marched into the All Weather Facility and in about 30 minutes we had a joyous reunion! We were so excited to see him...especially Jenna...and he looked SO GOOD! We enjoyed a picnic lunch and a tour of the facility and then a second lunch (for Chase) before he had to go back at 2:30.

Friday morning we had to get there by 7am in order to get a spot for graduation. They usually make a big production of raising the flags, but it was canceled on Friday because of the MONSOON! I mean, it was raining so hard. And of course, all I had on were flip flops. And there, the area is so flat, water pools in PONDS that you could swim in. We had to sit in the very stuffy, crowded gym for 2 hours before they started. NOT FUN. But the wait was worth it. The men (no more boys) all looked so sharp in their dress uniforms. I mean...if you are single, I'd recommend going to a Marine graduation...plenty of fine looking men to choose from there!

Anyway, we did a quick stop at the MPX (the Marine Wal-Mart) and then took Chase to Applebees for lunch. That is where we had to part ways because we had a flight to catch and they (Chase with is mom and step-dad) were driving to the beach for a day or two.

What's next? He's home for now. Monday he leaves again for Camp Geiger (NC) for Marine Combat Training for about 4 weeks. From there, he will go straight to is job training (also in NC) for 3 months. He might be done in time for Christmas. Boy do I hope so. You don't realize how much you miss someone until you can't talk to or see them for 3 months! Chase came to eat lunch with me at work today and he was a hit. Everyone was talking about how good he looked in his uniform after. I should get his dress blues pictures tomorrow. When I do, I'll scan one and post it.

He did say that he kept EVERY letter and card he received and he got many that he didn't know who it was that was sending them. But he appreciated every one. And Steve and I appreciated each of you that sent something. I'm sure he'll be a little homesick while he's gone in the next few months but I think he'll have email access, so when I find out for sure I'll post his email address (with his permission) so you can send him encouraging notes there too.

Without further ado...

(and most of these were on Facebook, so if you are my friend there, they will be duplicates)...

Laid Off...

Steve.

Today.

Unemployed.

More to come, I promise...we are OK. We are not strangers to the tough times. I am looking forward to see how God is going to work through this.

But if you feel God is leading YOU to help him find another job, please feel free!!! :)

Vacay Recap

I have been promising some friends (KB!) that I would post a vacation recap this week while I was off. I have so many pictures from the week that I decided a slideshow would be best.

Monday, we arrived by plane and because we were staying in a family member's condo, we were able to get our rental CONVERTIBLE and go straight there. It rained most of the time. We did go down the street to dinner at a great little place called The Oasis and when we got back it was dried up enough to walk the beach. Although JG thought "walk the beach" meant "get in and get your clothes soaked"...

Tuesday we spent most all day at the beach and the pool. When JG was little, she preferred the pool to the beach. Now, it's just the opposite. Wednesday was more of the same, but when we came in for lunch we cleaned up and visited the Old Jail and bought Trolley tickets. Thursday we rode the trolley and went to the Alligator Farm. We also walked around St. George's Street a while. We were supposed to go horseback riding on the beach, but the storm blew up and that was postponed until Friday. I believe it was Thursday night that we did the Haunted Trolley Tour. That was fun...

Friday, my family from Jacksonville took off and chauffered us around all day. We did more trolley riding, more St. George shopping but first we did the parasailing. 1400 feet was as high as we could go and we did it. Amazing...and so quiet and peaceful. It is as close as I will ever get to flying like a bird. I would highly recommend it. That is, if you aren't afraid of heights. They will dip you in the water, but I was more concerned about taking pictures so I didn't want that. Plus, we didn't have our bathing suits on because we were spending the rest of the day (this was at 10 in the morning) in downtown St. Augustine and we didn't want to be wet. We ended the day with the horseback riding on the beach. We enjoyed some delicious seafood almost every night of the week!

We had quite the full week...we did so much...almost everything we wanted to do, we did. I would have never believed how much there was to do in St. Augustine.

Now we are back and ready for the coming festivities. Tonight, JG is having her BFF from school over to spend the night. They are not going to be in the same class this year for the first time since Pre-K, so this is a special end-of-summer sleepover! Tomorrow we are going to meet her teacher and pre-register for school since we'll miss her registration day on Thursday.

After we do that, it's off to the airport to fly to Parris Island to see Chase graduate. I promise many, MANY pictures when I return. We are coming back Friday evening, so I hope to upload my pictures and post on Saturday. It will be so good to have him home (though it won't be for long). Thanks for all your prayers, cards and letters for Chase. He received and felt every one.

OK, off to pack...

Where We've Been

I'm sure some of you have wondered where I"ve been lately. Well, life has a way of getting away from you if you aren't careful and that's what happened to me!

This past week, I worked really hard at work trying to tie up some loose ends before I take off for a couple weeks. Tomorrow, JG and I leave for the beach. We are truly looking forward to it because as you known, we’ve all had an interesting year. We have very little in the way of official plans for when we arrive. I’ve rented a convertible and we are staying on the beach, so most of our days will be spent at the beach or pool or both. I have several things that I want to do while we are there, but nothing concrete.

I experienced a first this past Friday. I went to a gold party. You know those ads you see on TV and hear on the radio about selling your unused gold? Well, this is not like a Pampered Chef or Premier Jewelry party…there’s no selling going on…just buying. I took a gallon bag about ½ full of old rings and things that I knew I’d never wear anymore. For those of you that knew me before I got engaged to Steve, I used to wear a ring on every finger (and I do mean EVERY finger) and some I had more than one on. Of course when I got that diamond engagement ring, I retired all the others. Now, I wear my wedding set and one other ring. So I took all those rings and bracelets that I would never wear and walked away with $373 in CASH! So, if you are interested in a party like this let me know. I think Rachel may be having one in the next few months and I will give her your name for her invite list.

As far as Steve and Katie are concerned, they are still doing well. Steve has had one seizure since she’s been with him. And she had already alerted him but he just wasn’t moving fast enough to catch it. He has a tendency to not realize that he’s delaying getting sugar in him when he’s getting low. He’ll fix a Coke and then instead of sitting down to drink it, he’ll look for a cookie or cake or glucose tablet and if he’s not careful, he forgets to drink and then he has a seizure. Anyway, yesterday, Katie followed him all the way up the stairs nudging his hand all the way and then literally jumped up on her back two feet (as if hugging him) and he just thought she wanted to play. Turns out, his blood glucose level was about 39 (with 120 being normal). Needless to say, he took care of himself before he had a seizure. We are constantly amazed at how Katie’s alerting is progressing. We were warned that it might take several months for her to “get it” on a regular basis, but she really is getting it already. She’s not at 100% by any means, but she’s getting closer. Steve continues to go places with her. Steve and I finally had a heart to heart talk about the changes this is going to create. After that talk, I think we finally feel united again. For a while, we were so caught up in the excitement of being together again, we kind of acted like nothing had changed. It didn’t take long for that to come to a head and so now we seem to be on the right track. Not just the right track but the SAME track!

Our letters from Chase are dwindling as he gets closer to graduation. Starting on Thursday, Chase will be doing the Crucible…this is the culmination of all the training and testing he’s gone through. In a nutshell, it’s 54 hours of food and sleep deprivation and about 45 miles of marching. It’s going to be the hardest thing these guys have been through. I have signed up on a message board, to pray for not just Chase, but his entire Company as they embark on this journey this week. Can I ask you to pray too? It’s from about 2am on Thursday until 8am on Saturday. Anytime you can pray, I would encourage you to do so. They won’t be sleeping in the barracks, but outside (when they get to sleep), so you don’t have to mail letters or cards, but I told Chase in my last letter to him that I would be asking my blog readers to pray. Thank you in advance for doing this. I know without a doubt he will feel those prayers. If you want to know more about the Crucible (and even watch a real life video, click on the link above...

I guess that’s about all going on with me. We found out this week who Jenna’s teacher for 2^nd grade is and she’s excited. I got a call today asking me to be a room mom. I’m pretty excited about that since it’s been a couple years since I helped out the last time. JG is excited about school although she’s super-sad she’s not in class with her best friend, Annabelle. I am sad too, but I think this will be a good opportunity for the girls to branch out on their own and make some new friends since she and Annabelle have been in class together since Pre-K. Plus, it will encourage them to learn to maintain friendships of those they aren’t in class with every day. I am going to help make sure the girls stay in touch.

My blog will be dark for a while because I’m not taking my PC with me to the beach. I will have plenty to blog about, and plenty of pictures to share when I return.

See y’all in a week!

Help me win...

...a free blog makeover. If you are interested too, click here.

Our article...

Doesn't actually hit mailboxes until tomorrow, but here it is online...

Week 1 with Katie

Sorry it's taken me all week to post, but having Katie is a little like having a new baby in the house. You just gotta get a routine and that's something we are still working on!

For those of you who know about Steve's work troubles, I'm sure you are interested to hear how the first day back to work went...and I'm happy to report it was pretty uneventful. Of course, everywhere we go people want to talk about Katie and ask questions. I guess that will ease up with the more people we see, but strangers stop and ask questions too. Most of the folks at his work are supportive and amazed that a dog can do such things, but I think some are still adjusting as well.

Steve did come up to my work earlier this week and of course, it was the same way...everyone gathered round asking questions and feeling all sad that they can't pet her! :) It was neat because so many of my co-workers were WAY more supportive than Steve's and so seeing Katie was wonderful for them because they had waited with us and literally walked this road every step we took. I'm telling you, I work at the best company in the world and my department by far outshine ANYWHERE I've worked before. 11 years...that oughta tell you something!

What Steve and I did find out relatively quickly was that our bed is just TOO small for 3. And having Katie in the bed is like having another adult there with us. And yes, she does HAVE to sleep with us. It's part of the bonding process between she and Steve and also, it is harder for her to alert if she's on the floor. So on Tuesday night, we went out and bought a king sized bed and mattress. I had to put my practically new (4 years old) queen bed and mattress set on Craigslist. I used to love Craigslist because you could sell just about anything there, but lately, I've had ZERO luck. I had one hit on my couch (which AmVets is picking up on Monday) and one hit on Fred (who never returned my call or email) and ZERO hits (except for unsolicited JUNK mail) on the bed. I don't know if it's the recession or what, but it's very frustrating. Here's the bed...if you know anyone that is interested...

If you think you are interested or know someone who might be, just click here and it should take you straight to the posting.

We still haven't found a home for Fred. We have a temporary situation for him but we are about to start looking at Happy Tales to see if they can help. I did NOT want to go that route, but I really don't feel that I have another option. The temporary situation is not ideal for us or Fred.

On an exciting note, one of the reporters for the local paper called and asked if she could interview us to do a follow up on the story she wrote from last year right before our fundraiser breakfast. Wednesday night, she came over and we talked for a while. Her name is Ashley Bone and she is SUPER sweet. If I hadn't been such a chicken to ask, I would have taken a picture with her. Anyway, for you locals (and I mean, locals to the Hill), check out the Advertiser News next Wednesday. The article should be published then. And for those of you who are not local, I will post the link here.

I guess that's about it. We plan to stay relatively close to home this weekend. I'd like to do some closet purging before school starts. I have one more week of work and then Jenna and I are beach-bound! We can't wait! We do have a birthday party for a special little girl on Saturday so I'm sure there will be pictures from that...eventually!

TGIF!!!

We're baaackkkk....

Our new family of 4 returned home just a few hours ago. We left yesterday afternoon after a late dinner/early lunch and drove the 2 hours to St. Louis to drop off the rental car (which was a PT Cruiser!) and then drove a ways out of the city in order to find a hotel. A special shout out to my good bud Rachel who assisted us in finding accomodations. Who would have known there was a "NASCAR event" this weekend in Illinois that made it virtually impossible to find a room?! We ended up staying in one of just a few smoking rooms left at a Hampton Inn in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Let me just say, if you ever need a place to stay, I highly recommend the Hampton Inns. The room did not in the least smell like smoke and it was N-I-C-E! The regular price was about $100 but the lady who took our reservation (after Rachel looked up hotels and their phone numbers on her internet!) said she would apply a "coupon" code to make the price $82. I paid less than $100 for the room and it was a very good experience. One I plan to let the owners of Hampton know about.

Anyway, I digress. Traveling with a service animal (or any pet I suspect) is like traveling with a child...you have to stop periodically to let them potty and get out to stretch their legs. Although I will confess to you, it was ME who really had to stop! :)

I had a good response to my top 5 questions, so I thought I'd add too them. Feel free to ask any questions you have (that I haven't already answered) by way of the comment section and I'll answer them the next time I blog. Most of these questions are from friends/family that have asked in the past....

Q6. We have a pet dog/cat in our home. Can you still come to visit us and will you bring Katie?
A6. YES! We would love to continue to visit your home. And if you want Steve to come, Katie must come too. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: If you have another dog in your home, we will ask that you pen him/her before we arrive. While Katie is trained, it is hard for any dog to stay still and behave if there is another dog running around her, barking and/or sniffing her...well you know. Cats can stay out in the house. Katie has been trained to behave around cats and it's quite different than having a dog around. If you don't want to kennel, cage or pen your dog, then we absolutely understand and will NOT be offended. Just let us know that you don't feel comfortable with that and we can invite you to our home instead.

Q7. Is there anything special you do before going into a place of business (Target, work, restaurant)?
A7. Yes, before entering anywhere, Steve must find a grassy place for Katie to have the chance to potty before going in. This avoids accidents inside a business. And just in case you were wondering, Steve is required to remove anything left behind by Katie, so he ALWAYS cleans up her messes outside!

Q8. Katie looks so sad. Is she happy?
A8. Yes, Katie is happy. But like a police officer or guard, when they are "on duty", they don't generally smile, laugh and cut up. Katie has a job to do and she understands that. She does have times when she is not "on duty" and Steve will play with her. She may look sad while we are out, but that is her "out in public" face!

Q9. What happens if I call Katie? Will she come to me?
A9. If Katie remembers her training, nothing will happen if you call her. Katie is trained to only obey the commands of her master, which is Steve. Neither Jenna nor I can give her commands. But again, we ask that you don't call her. She is here to keep Steve safe and someone trying to call her (other than Steve) is a distraction.

Q10. What happens if you are trying to go into a business and they won't let you in with Katie?
A10. A place of business MUST, by law, let us in. If they refuse, we are to speak with the manager, who usually knows better than the workers, what the laws are. Ultimately, if push comes to shove, we have the option of calling the Police, although we hope it NEVER comes to that.

Q11. How will Katie know if Steve's blood sugar is getting low?
A11. Katie has been (and continues to be) scent trained. Dogs have a very keen sense of smell which is much better than humans. Dogs can be scent trained to do a variety of things. Sensing low blog sugar is one of them.

Q12. I saw Steve speaking harshly to Katie and yanking on her collar/leash. Why is he so mean to her?
A12. Steve is NOT being mean to Katie. He is correcting a behavior that is unacceptable such as disobedience. It looks like he's being mean. I KNOW. I think the same thing, but Steve has to establish dominance and so he has to use a firm voice when correcting her. Just think if you had a toddler who continued to disobey your commands. You would, most likely, not talk to him in a quiet, sweet voice and expect him to understand the importance of his obedience. Neither can Steve. Katie will continue to train and before long, correction will be minimal.

Q13. Does Katie stay outside or inside and where does she sleep?
A13. Katie stays inside unless Steve takes her outside for a walk. And she sleeps with us. Yes, you heard that right...she sleeps with us. Steve will sleep next to me and for bonding reasons, separate Katie from me. She has to understand that she works for Steve and so her sleeping close to him helps that bonding. In addition, she will be able to more easily detect blood sugar lows during the night.

Q14. Will Steve have any more formal training with Katie or is this it?
A14. We anticipate a week's worth of training in Missouri each year for several years. We have additional training to do while we are home and will report back to them weekly and monthly for quite a while.

Q15. Are you and Jenna allowed to pet/play with Katie when she's "off duty"?
A15. No. For the first 90 days we are home, no one, and especially not Jenna and I can have contact with Katie. It would be very easy for her to bond with one of us. We already love her like crazy because of how safe she is going to keep Steve. And yes, it is EXTREMELY hard for us to not want to just love all over her. But we can't. At least not right now. It's hard and very sad for us, but we know for Katie to help Steve that it's what is best.

I have lots of other things to say, but I would like to rest for a while. It's back to work and camp tomorrow. But only 2 more weeks until our vacation! YAY!

Bring on the questions...if I didn't answer them yet, I'll be happy to...

Just a quick update...

Many of you have emailed or called asking about Steve and Katie. They are still training and doing well. I thought I'd take just a moment to answer a couple of the most frequently asked questions:

Q1. Has she alerted yet?
A1. Yes, she has several times. However, they have to alert several times so that Steve will recognize her alert as what it is and not mistake it for disobedience. This will take more time than 3 weeks so the training will continue long after he gets home.

Q2. Can we pet Katie?
A2. Unfortunately, no. Even Jenna and I will have limited interaction with Katie for a while. We will never love on her and pet her like you would a pet. She WILL always know she is loved though. She is a working dog and if we want her to do her job she must know the difference between working and pet.

Q3. Will she go EVERYWHERE Steve goes?
A3. Yes. EVERYWHERE. On airplanes, cruise boats, mission trips (although that's more complicated than the others), work, church, restaurants, doctors' offices... you name it. If Steve can go there, so will she.

Q4. Is she ALLOWED to go everywhere Steve goes?
A4. Yes, by law and under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) she must be legally allowed to go everywhere he goes. Out of the country trips are a little sticky, but in the States, she's allowed everywhere...even the hospital (though not an OR).

Q5. Have you found a home for Fred?
A5. No. Not yet. I had one inquiry from the listing on Craigslist, but that guy never called me back. I had one word-of-mouth inquiry, but they are kind of concerned that he hasn't been housebroken for so long. So we are still looking for him a home...keep passing the word. I know God's gonna work this out. He hasn't failed us yet.

Jenna and I will get on a plane Saturday to fly to Missouri. We'll finally meet Steve and Katie and then Saturday afternoon/evening, there will be a graduation ceremony that we will attend. I'm sure I will take TONS of pictures!

After that, depending on the time, we might leave for home Saturday evening but more likely we will wait until Sunday morning and head back in. Not sure what time we'll arrive home, but Monday will be back to normal...well...except there will be a big black dog with us everywhere we go!

One quick prayer request, pray for Steve's dad Bill. He has congestive heart failure and he has some fluid built up around his heart. And then today, he had to have his beloved dog, Gigi, put down (she was 12 and not in good health). Bill is a quiet man, but I know he has got to be lonely without Mary and now his furbaby gone. Just whisper a prayer for him when you think of it.

And now...a couple pictures of Katie...

Meet Fred

This is Fred. Fred is our 6 year old Beagle. We got Fred from the Wilson County Humane shelter when Micah worked there.

When we agreed to enter into the Diabetic Service Dog program at HSP, we agreed to have no other dogs in the home. "In the home" actually means inside or outside. Ever since we knew Steve was accepted, we had plans for Fred to move in with Micah. Well, those plans have fallen through. And now I'm a week away from Steve coming home with Katie and I have no place for Fred to go.

If you are interested in giving Fred a home, please call me, email me or for my friends reading on Facebook, write on my wall or email me there. I have to find a place for Fred by Friday night as we leave Saturday to meet Steve and Katie.

Fred is a great dog! He rarely barks...only when he's excited or playing and he's used to staying outside, although he has been inside as well. He LOVES other dogs and I believe he's really lonely after Mack and Missy died, so he will do best with another dog or inside where he can be with the family all the time. Fred's in great health, no problems at all, although he hasn't yet had his rabies shot. If that's a problem, I'll make it a point to get his shot before you pick him up.

I just want him to go to a good home. It's not like there's anything wrong with him. Just the nature of a service dog, we aren't allowed to have any other dogs. If you think anyone you know might be interested, please let me know ASAP.

Just wanted to hop on and let you all know that Steve and Katie are doing fine. They continue to train in Missouri and are starting new training exercises. They've gone to the movies and are going putt-putt golfing today so Steve can learn to handle her in real life situations. There's so much more to learn. He's missing us and we are missing him but we all understand that this is where he needs to be for now. We are really looking forward to seeing him soon. We have passed the 1/2 way mark!

Chase is doing well from his letters. I received 3 last week and none this week so far, but I'm sure to get something soon.

I guess that's about it. JG and I are just hanging in there...Steve and Katie say "Hello" and thanks everyone who has been asking about them. This has been such a long time coming!

Training Week 1-COMPLETE!

Today completes Steve's first training week and my and Jenna's first week without him. Jenna and I are kind of getting into our groove for sure and we certainly kept busy over the long weekend. I'll have pictures one of these days from our 4th of July festivities, but not tonight. I'm going to read a bit and get in bed.

I talk to Steve regularly and they are doing a lot of repetitive training with the dogs. He has video homework every night that takes quite a bit of time. They had a lot of today off. He went to church, but then it was just him and Katie. He had to tire her down so she will sleep tonight, so he did several long walks and play time.

He sent me a quick little video from his cell phone that I'll try to post here...you'll notice another dog briefly...that's just another dog in training. You might be able to see that Katie does not have her service dog vest on which is how she knows she's "off-duty" and it's OK to play...

Anyway, this week is more of the same for Jenna and I. We went to the Sounds game last night (with family) for the awesome fireworks after, but it got rained out (that is actually an understatement), so we are going to try it again this Friday. Saturday we have the bug spray people coming and then our new couch is being delivered. I seriously need to get the current sofa on Craigslist to see if I can get rid of it before then...yeah, add that to my list.

Otherwise, we have no real plans for the weekend. Depending on our Saturday visitors we might hit the rec center pool again if the weather is nice.

As for now, it's off to read some of my book...