One of the funniest moments EVER

happened on the last day of Ande's brother and his family's visit for Christmas. We all met at a restaurant for breakfast. It was quite a crew: Ande's parents, me, Ande, and our 5 kids, and Ben and Tracy and their 3 kids.

So the youngest kids were running around (we were in the back of the restaurant, so they weren't bothering anyone) and the waitress came back and was talking to Puckey, Jib, and their cousins. She asked them if Santa had visited them, and my oldest niece looked directly at her and said, "NO." The waitress didn't even know what to say. Then my niece explained that Santa wasn't real...SO SO funny to hear a 4 year old tell a grown up that Santa doesn't exist.

Tuesday Tip O' The Day

This tip is actually relating to a pretty serious topic - helping the elderly, even when they don't think they need it.

My grandparents' house was always spotless when I was a kid. Like eat off the floor clean. As she got older, my grandma relaxed a bit in her cleaning habits. However, when I went to visit my grandparents' house on Mother's Day, I saw how "relaxed" things had gotten.

My grandma is very frail (like she weighs 70lbs and has had several mini-strokes). My grandpa means well, but he's no housekeeper. They have TONS of stuff, most of which could be thrown away or at least organized and put in one of their spare bedrooms. Grandma can't keep house like she used to, but both of my grandparents have refused help.

Last Thursday, my grandpa was getting something for my grandma and he tripped over something and fell. Luckily his youngest brother was there and able to help him up. Grandpa said he was fine, but by Friday my uncle decided Grandpa needed to go to the ER to get checked out. Turns out Grandpa has 5-6 broken ribs, plus a huge scrape/bruise on his arm. Apparently his congestive heart failure has flared up, and now he's being kept not so much for the broken ribs, but for the excessive amounts of fluid around his lungs.

Now, while my grandpa has been known to fall down, and has fallen down several times recently, I believe this could have been avoided. If their house was kept up better, Grandpa could have been using his walker or at least his cane to help him around. He wasn't using it because there was no room for him to do so.

Now my mom and my aunts have decided to work on cleaning my grandparent's house. They hadn't done so before because my grandparents didn't want them to. I think maybe now they know that was not the best idea. Sometimes people don't realize when they are in over their heads.

I'm sure my grandparents don't like that they aren't as independent as they used to be. I imagine that maybe they might be embarrassed by the condition their house has gotten in. However, as a family, we should have never let their house get to that point.

That being said, my "Tip O' The Day" is to say that when you have elderly friends or family members, check up on them often. If you visit them and you see that they need some help around the house, take the initiative to see if you can help them. They probably won't ask. If they refuse your help, you might just have to risk them being mad at you because you need to help them anyway. They'll get over it eventually.

Interesting...

I was reading Shelly's blog post that listed 32 things about her husband for his 32nd birthday. One of the things listed was the number of siblings he has...and he's an "only" child. Go read it!

So I started thinking about our blended family and our childrens' siblings....now, while our family isn't quite as large as Shelly's husband's, we do have an interesting mix.

Bubber, 14

• 1 sister (Bug)
• 1 step sister (Nans)
• 1 half brother (on his dad's side)
• 2 half sisters (Puckey & The Jib)

Bug, 11

• 1 brother (Bubber)
• 1 step sister (Nans)
• 1 half brother (on her dad's side)
• 2 half sisters (Puckey & The Jib)

Nans, 10

• 1 step brother (Bubber)
• 1 step sister (Bug)
• 3 half sisters (one on her mom's side, plus Puckey & The Jib)

Puckey, 3

• 1 sister (The Jib)
• 2 half sisters (Bug & Nans)
• 1 half brother (Bubber)

The Jib, 1 yr 10 mos

• 1 sister (Puckey)
• 2 half sisters (Bug & Nans)
• 1 half brother (Bubber)

Kinda interesting! I didn't even get into thinking about all the cousins and what-not. I myself have 2 step sisters, who have 5 children between them, plus my sister, who has two kids, plus Ande's brother, and his little ones....it gives me a headache just thinking about thinking about it!

We're Number One....

Puckey, with a giant foam finger...

We didn't actually end up as "Number One", but it sounds better than, "We got our pants beaten off by the other team at our own homecoming".

Ande's cousin, Leah-beth was in town and came to the game with us. Jib cozied right up to her.

Praise report & prayer request

PRAISE REPORT!!!!!

Ande went to see his grandma last night, and said that she had perked up a bit, and even was laughing with him and his cousin. Grandma even got moved to a "regular" room, which is good news. Ande didn't get to find out what the progress with the blood clots was, but I imagine it must be at least stable, as I can't imagine she would have been moved out of intensive care otherwise. Praise God! Thanks to any of you who have prayed on our behalf. The Lord does hear the prayers of his faithful.

*****I got a call from Ande's mom this morning telling me that Ande's grandma was placed back in ICU last night after experiencing labored breathing. Thanking you for your continued prayers.*****

Prayer for a friend...

I also have another prayer request, relating to a friend of ours. I can't get into much detail other than to say that someone who Ande and I care deeply about is in desperate need of prayer. Pray that he will seek help and remember that the Lord is bigger than any addiction. Also pray for his family, especially his 3 daughters, who are going to be affected in a number of ways by this.

Lord, you ARE so faithful, you CAN work miracles, you DO love us, you WILL NOT leave us or forsake us. I love you, Lord, and thank you for sending your son to die for our sins. There is nothing we could ever do to earn salvation, yet you freely offer it. I am amazed and in awe of you, Lord.

You CAN heal my friend, and I believe that with all my heart. Lord, if it is your will, I pray that you will show my friend in no uncertain terms that you have the POWER to help him, if only he will submit to you.

Lord, I don't know why this has happened to my friend. I can't even begin to imagine how this situation will be worked out. All I know is that you will hear and answer my prayer.

I pray for strength and wisdom for his family, and for you to place a hedge of protection around each of them. I pray that you would also place a hedge of thorns around my friend, so that this addiction will hold no pleasure for him. I cry out especially on behalf of those precious daughters, Lord, that you would keep old wounds closed and protect them from new ones.

Lord, I simply don't even have the words to speak, but you know my heart, and you know this situation. You knew it before my friend was even born, and if it is your will, I plead with you to intercede in his life and release him from this bondage that has held him for YEARS, Lord.

Whatever your will is, Lord, I pray that you show yourself in this situation, that my friend can have no doubt that you love him, and that he and his family will turn TO you, not from you. Help my friend turn his back on this sin, and to forge ahead with renewed strength.

Thanking you for working in my heart, Lord, and for giving me the ability to pray on the behalf of not only myself, but others as well. Thanking you as well for whatever work you do in my friend's life, Lord. In Jesus' precious name.

Amen

I should have posted this several days ago

For those of you who are (or know someone who is) prayer warriors...Could you please pray for Ande's grandma Ruth (and his family)?

After a couple of incidents with heart palpitations, and a failed attempt to get her to go to the hospital, Ande's uncle made his grandma go to the ER. Of course, they admitted her, and found several problems. The most serious one is the fact that she has a blood clot in her heart, which if it makes it's way out of her heart it will head for her lungs and cause her to stop breathing. She also has a deep vein clot in her leg, which is very, very large. The doctors can't give her high enough levels of medication to dissolve the clots because it could cause bleeding on her brain, which would be extremely bad. Ande's grandma has asked not to be resuscitated should her condition get to that point.

Please pray for her comfort in the hospital, for wisdom in treatment from her doctors, and for Ande's entire family to have peace beyond all understanding no matter what happens. Pray especially for Ande's mom, as there are some circumstances that are causing her added stress and grief right now. I am also praying that God's will be done in this situation, as I know that everything God does is good, even when it seems bad.

Thanks in advance for the prayers - I am confident that you will heed my request!

So many posts, so little time...

Since you've all missed me SOOOO much over the last few weeks, I've decided to just overload you with posts! ha ha ha

The girls seem like they are growing by leaps and bounds! I can't believe all of the new words The Jib says now. She's SO funny - especially since all of her words that end in an "s" sound she uses a "t" sound, and when she says "yes", she bobs her head up and down and just says "S-s-s-s-s-s-" (I guess it would be better if I had it on film, but my mother in law has the video camera. I should get that back from her)

Puckey is doing well with the potty training. Last night she actually pooped on the potty, and then told me, "I pooped big just like Daddy!" Ande got a laugh out of that one.

Bubber has his second football game on Thursday. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm going to go. I may have to ask my mother in law if she can babysit the girls, so I don't have to wrangle them on the bleachers (not to mention the fact that I'd probably get charged to bring them in...)

Bug is looking forward to starting band. She will be playing clarinet this year. I hope she enjoys it - music is such a fun thing to learn. I actually had a dream that she was in marching band, and I was helping teach the kids how to march. (I was in marching band in high school) It was a little weird.

Nans started at her new school yesterday, and she said she liked it pretty well. I think she'll do fine once she makes a couple of new friends. We still haven't worked out how we are going to make the pick-up on our weekends. I used to pick her up from school on our weekends, but that's not really going to work out anymore.

I'm finally getting baptized on Saturday. I don't know what's taken me so long (I gave my life to Christ over 6 years ago), but I'm excited about it, and am thrilled that Bubber and Bug will get to be there too. It's going to be fun, too, since it's at our Pastor's house, and we're having a picnic/pool party afterwards. Hopefully the weather will hold out for us.

My brother in law interviewed for a job here in MI yesterday, but he's not sure if he's going to take it. It would be a pretty big pay cut for him, so I think he's thinking it over. As much as I'd love for them to move here, I'd hate for him to take the job and then have a hard time financially. (It's not that the pay is really that bad, but they're used to living on a lot more)

Well, I guess that's it for now. I'll probably post at least once or twice more today (aren't you lucky?).

For now, it's back to the grind...LOL

Just a bunch of stuff

In order to get my mind off of needlessly worrying about finances, I have been trying to pay more attention to the good stuff going on in our house....

Who's been sleeping in my bed?

Yes, that's a sock monkey (made by my mom) that Puckey tucked into our bed the other day.

Daddy is The Jib's new cupholder

This means that The Jib is finally "bottle free"! No more baba's. Whoo-HOO!!

Videos we've been watching:

Yeah, the big kids are LOVING this one (read with MUCH sarcasm). So far, Puckey has watched it 5 times, but doesn't have any interest in going potty. Apparently she's just watching it for the entertainment value?

School House Rock is pretty much the best I know of...and this set includes ALL of them, including your favorites like "Conjunction Junction" and "I'm Just a Bill." (You can thank me later for getting those songs stuck in your head) We told Ande's mom we'd like her to buy this one for Puckey for her birthday.

Ande and I have spent more time talking to each other lately. I mean, we have always talked, but it's usually about the kids or whatever. Recently, our conversations have held more depth (and sometimes laughter) than usual. It's pretty awesome.

The Jib is learning more and more new words every day. We've added:

• "Becko" (You're welcome) It's so cute, because she knows how to use it properly.
• Book
• Down
• Home
• Potty
• Puckey
• Ride
• Bike
• Outside
• Cold
• Pool
• "Muck" (Milk) - she can also do the sign language sign for it

Just yesterday, The Jib walked into our room, and she looked out our french doors into the backyard. You can see our pool from there, and she pointed and said, "Cold pool!" I love it!

Puckey and The Jib got a "new" ride a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of a local yard sale.

We went for a family bike ride yesterday. I got to try out my "new" bike. My mother in law gave me her bike, which is sorta like riding a lazy boy chair! (Pretty comfy).

However, even with all the comfort of the bike, I was left wondering just when I got so old and out of shape. My backside and thighs were feeling pretty rough by the time we got back home! I guess I'm going to have to start riding a little more often.

Bubber is now participating in "two-a-days" for football, which is just wearing him right out. He seems to like it, though, so I'm happy!! (Although he's eating us out of house and home!!)

Bug is excited about starting Middle School in a few weeks...although I think I'm going to have to start making her get up early pretty soon to get used to it. Right now it's after 10:00am and she's still asleep. (Meanwhile I've been up since about 6:45am)

Nans should be coming for a week at the end of this week or the beginning of next - it seems like FOREVER since we've seen her! We'll get to go school shopping with Grammy (my mother in law) while Nans is home, too. Always have fun doing that!

The bible study I've been doing is going well - it's still just the two of us, but I feel like I've learned some new stuff (and some stuff about myself) that I wouldn't have learned otherwise.

Thanks for all of the prayers you guys have sent my way - it's been effective! I feel more at ease than I did before, and things are looking better all the time. (Maybe part of my problem was hormones - you all know how that goes!)

Puckey Loves Her Lips!

Well, I'm not quite sure what kind of look she was going for....maybe

Lisa Simpson?

Amos Lee?

Angelina Jolie??

Ande said she looked like a Muppet.

Janice

Whoever she was trying to look like, it just wasn't working for her.

Okay, no more papparazzi!!

At Bubber's baseball game last Wednesday, poor little Puckey got stung by a bee. On her LIP. She was playing with some of the other little brothers & sisters who were at the game, and all of the sudden she started SCREAMING her head off. I ran over to see what happened, and one of the kids said she thought maybe Puckey fell down. When I asked Puckey if she fell, she wailed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooo!" I asked her what happened, and she said, "A bee stung me!" Now, other than me warning her about staying away from bees, Puckey has had no real education about bees, so I wasn't sure if that's what happened. Until I saw her lip. It had already started swelling.

She cried for a few minutes, and refused to let me put ice on her lip. I started packing up, and Puckey "recovered" enough for her to want to stay to watch her Bubber play. We stayed a few more minutes, but the longer we sat, the worse her lip looked. I called Ande and asked him to meet me at his parents' house with some benadryl & ibuprofen. Once she got the medicine in her system, her lip slowly started to shrink down. But it was still pretty fat.

Not really a big deal, since she was otherwise fine, right? Well, not exactly. You see, I had scheduled an appointment for Puckey, The Jib, and their out of town cousins to get some pictures taken together for Thursday. (The next day)

I wondered whether or not her lip would be better for the pictures...

On Thursday her lip was only a little bit swollen (much to my relief), so we decided to go ahead with the pictures. Later that afternoon, I met my mother in law, sister in law, and two nieces at the studio for the pictures.

I should have known when our appointment was schedule for 3:00pm and the photographer didn't get there until 5 minutes later that it wasn't going to go well. The photographer was not particularly professional, but our girls are all generally pretty happy, so I thought it would be okay.

NOT SO MUCH.

We struggled for over an hour to get some decent shots. We got some "okay" ones of each of the girls, and some with each set of sisters together, and were working on a shot with all four of them. Things were not going well at this point. All of the girls were very squirmy and not wanting to cooperate.

That's when I noticed the computer screen displaying an error message. I pointed it out to the photographer, and she said, "That's weird." She changed out the memory card in the camera, and the same message still showed. Then she took the original memory card and left the room. About a minute later, she came back and told us that all of the pictures were gone.

WHAT?!?!?!?

Needless to say, we weren't particularly thrilled about that news, but what can you do? The photographer asked if we could come back in the morning. Fortunately, my brother & sister in law weren't leaving until Saturday, so we said we could. She set up the appointment, and told me she'd call later to confirm.

When we got home late Thursday night, there was a message on our machine that the camera at that studio was broken, so the photographer scheduled an appointment for us at a different studio for Friday.

Let me tell you - in the future, if I use the same company for pictures, I will go to this other studio! The photographer was much more friendly, and she worked hard at getting all the girls' names right so she could call them by name! She also was a little more creative with the backgrounds and a lot more fun to work with. This time, the girls were all CHAMPS at getting their pictures taken!!

Here's some of the results....

Puckey

The Jib

Monkey

Nomers!

How often do you get 2 two year olds AND 2 one year olds to pose so sweetly?

I love this picture! Look at Monkey's face (top left) - PRICELESS!!

So thanks, Ben & Tracy, for the memories! We LITERALLY couldn't have done it without you! I hope we get to create many more like this in the (VERY NEAR) future!!! (And on OUR dime next time!!)

New Updates...

So this weekend Ande and I went to my cousin's wedding. My baby cousin. Who really shouldn't be old enough to be getting married. But he IS, and he DID. You see, I forever think of him as this silly little boy who used to follow his older brother and sister (and me) around, begging to play with us. Of course, being kids, we pretty much ignored him, or would only let him play so we could torture him...LOL

Anyway, Stan and Lindsay were married this weekend, and it was a beautiful wedding. There was a little bit of awkwardness when we were seated at the same table as my mom (who's in denial) & my stepdad (who won't speak to me). I tried to make the best of it, but I was pretty relieved that Ande and I had to leave fairly early in the evening to pick up the kids.

One great update came from that night, though - my Aunt Kathy was there. I previously blogged about her here, here, and here. She is still pretty thin (she lost about 30lbs while she was sick), but she was smiling and said she feels pretty good. She told me she spent 46 days in the hospital, 21 of which she was in a coma. Her pulmonologist told her that he had not thought she would survive. At that point, I told her that there had been many, many people praying for her, and she made the remark, "It must have worked!" It would be great if you would continue to pray for her salvation, and for me to have more opportunities to talk to her about it.

Everybody seems to have recovered from the "funk" that took out Puckey, The Jib, and Ande last week. I am SO thankful that I got away with only a mild sore throat...

Ande's job has another change, starting today. His route (the car dealerships he regularly visits) has been changed. It's a little sad, because he had made a few new friends on his route, but it's also very good in that he will now be within about 5 minutes of home ALL DAY EVERY DAY! Each dealership he has now is located within about a 5 mile radius of our house. Closer location equals less miles to drive equals less gas to buy! It also means he can come home for lunch, so that will save on "lunch money".

The kids are getting ready for camp...Bubber leaves on Saturday, and Bug and Nans leave 2 weeks after that. I'm praying that they have a great time, and wonderful fellowship with Godly men and women who will help them build a better relationship with Christ.

Speaking of building a better relationship with Christ...a friend of mine from church, Susan, has asked me to do a Bible study with her. We decided on Tuesday evenings, as that's one of the few nights I don't have other obligations. If any of you local readers are interested in checking it out, we're going to meet at church (don't have a time ironed out yet, but I'm sure it will be reasonable). It's a Beth Moore study on Daniel. The book is $15, and I believe we will have a DVD series that will go along with the study. Anyway, if you are interested, leave me a comment or send me an email to let me know!! We haven't officially started yet, so there's still time to get involved!

Another cool thing relating to building a relationship with Christ - a guy who works for one of the dealerships that was on Ande's old route was in a triathlon this weekend. Ande has been sharing his faith with Trevor, and Trevor has been pretty receptive. So, as a way of showing how much Ande (and the rest of our family) support him, we went on Sunday morning to encourage Trevor and some of his co-workers and family who participated in the race. Trevor was absolutely bowled over that we would come down to support him, so I'm really glad that we went.

I was amazed at some of the people I saw who were in the race. There were some people who were pretty old (I heard the oldest participant was 73), and one kid JUST met the age requirement (13). Some people were extremely fit, while others looked quite out of shape. I have to give everyone who was involved credit. I got winded carrying The Jib back to the car when we were leaving, I can't imagine doing the swimming, biking, and running...

Also, thanks to all of you for the compliments on my hair!!! I'm thrilled with it, and your comments have only made me feel that much more happy about it! For Cindy, I go to CC & Co. in Fenton, and have Bridget Shea cut my hair. I've known her since I was 11 (wow, that's 22 years!), and she is definitely my stylist of choice. She's also a Christian, which is an added bonus...

International and Local Phone Cards for CHEAP!

I'm pleased to share this information with all of my blogger buddies. We're all about saving money, right? Okay, well I am anyway. Whenever I find a good deal, I like to pass it on, and this is a GOOD DEAL!

Ande and I don't have cell phones, and we have many friends and family who live far enough away that to call them requires a long distance phone call. For me, there is NOTHING worse than visualizing the charges racking up while I talk to my sister in Kalamazoo, or Ande calls his brother in Oklahoma. I can only imagine how much it costs my brother-in-law to call his mother when she's on one of her international trips, or for my cousins-in-law to call home from Romania when they are there on missions trips.

I found a site that provides both local AND international phone cards at a savings of up to 95% of the rates you might pay through your long distance company. One thing I really like about the site is that it allows you to search for a card that will best suit your needs. If you're in Los Angeles and you need to call somewhere else in California, there is a card for you. Or maybe you live in a country other than the United States, but all of your family lives in the US. There is a card for you, too!

You know, I was even thinking that these cards would make a GREAT gift for someone who might be traveling out of state or out of the country! Perhaps a student going away to college, or on a missions trip?

This site, Phone Cards Avenue, is easy to navigate and the best part is that once you place your order, you received your calling card information INSTANTLY. No waiting to receive the card in the mail, or having to go to the store to buy a card. It's simple and easy! Each card listing gives detailed information about per minute charges, connection fees, and it will even tell you how many minutes you will get for your money. To learn more, please click here: online phone card



Don't forget, you can get PAID to review my post! Click the link below...

And we're back....

Wow, I can't believe how fast the last several days have gone! I've been trying to limit my computer time, and I usually choose to use my alloted time to check blogs instead of write in mine.

So, a few updates:

My aunt Kathy is still in the hospital, but slowly improving.

My sister-in-law's sister is still with her parents and seems to be doing better all the time.

My MIL is in OK visiting my BIL and his family.

I'm recovering from a UTI, but feeling better since Ande forced me to go to the clinic on Friday night (we don't have health insurance, so all I could see were $$$ floating out of our already limited account) Hooray for free antibiotics from Meijers! (With a prescription, of course)

The motorhome has had a little more demolition done to it, but between the weather and other obligations, we haven't done much work to it this week. I've got the fabric and the zippers for the cushions, I just need to make my patterns. I'm holding off because we might be changing the seating configurations, and I don't want to make covers for cushions we might not use. Well, that, and have YOU ever tried to make a pattern on your kitchen floor with a 2 year old and a 1 year old in the house? Yeah, not an easy task.

We're on "spring break" here, but it's about 37 degrees here (but feels like 24 with the wind) and it's been spitting snow on and off all day. The kids are less than thrilled.

The Jib ALMOST walked the other night. She was standing at the coffee table, and she let go. She started to take a step towards me, then realized she wasn't holding on to anything and grabbed the table again. Oh well - she makes up for her lack of walking with her complete mastery of climbing. Given the right set of circumstances, she can climb into her highchair all by herself. Who needs to walk when you're Spiderbaby?

Got the kids' registration for summer camp (UPBC) taken care of this weekend. They're pretty excited.

Found out Nans' mom is planning on moving as soon as school gets out. Still wondering what we are going to do on Ande's weekends - doesn't seem quite right that he should have to spend a total of at least 6 hours of his time driving to pick her up/drop her off each time she comes to visit.

Haven't really had any terribly funny or exciting stuff happen in the last several days, so sorry if this post was boring. I'll try to make it more exciting next time!! Hope all is going well for the rest of you in blogland!!

Random Stuff

Well, there are several things I wanted to blog about, but didn't really want to do a bunch of different posts, so this post is going to consist of a few different topics.

First of all, thanks to all of you for your prayers for my family and friends (Carol, who lost her husband Bob, my Aunt Kathy, who became critically ill while on vacation, and my sister's friend Kathrina (who lost her husband Kenny, and is now a widow and mother of a small baby), as well as Daniel (the boy who was born a micro-preemie and had surgery to help relieve seizures), and Nate, Tricia, and Gwyneth (the family with the CF wife and micro-preemie baby). And of course, thanks for all of your prayers regarding Ande and his job situation!!

Carol is doing as well as can be expected. My husband has stopped to visit her a few times, but she's not ready for our whole "gang" to come over yet. With time, I think that will pass. Continue to pray for healing for her broken heart.

Kathy is still in the hospital under sedation. The last I heard, she has not gotten any better, but she's not gotten worse, either. My Uncle Steve could use prayer, too. My Aunt Kathy is his whole world. Continue to pray for her healing, as well as a conversion of her faith (she is Wiccan).

Kathrina and her baby are staying with her parents. The church she currently attends, as well as the church she and Kenny used to attend (where my sister met her), has pledged to help Kathrina financially through this situation. My sister said her church had a great memorial service for Kenny, and that Kathrina was really blessed by it. Continue to pray for her in dealing with her loss.

Daniel is unfortunately still struggling with seizures, and his family could use prayers in seeking medical treatment that can help him.

Nate, Tricia, and baby Gwyneth are still doing remarkably well. Tricia was placed on the waiting list to receive a set of new lungs. Nate continues to deal with having his wife and child in the hospital with grace and humor. Please pray for Tricia, as well as her donor's family, for Gwyneth (for continued growth - she's really doing great!), and for Nate, that he is able to find time to rest and renew himself through all of this.

Ande is struggling with his new job a little (it's mostly outside work, and it's COLD here in Michigan!). He really likes the people he works for/with, and is looking forward to the warmer weather. Pray for his attitude to remain positive (and for warmer weather!).

Next, my mother in law forwarded an email to me, and I would like to share yet another prayer request. This is for my sister in law's sister, Julie (great name, BTW!). Julie is a very sweet girl, who unfortunately has made a few pretty bad choices in life. A few years ago, she married a guy against the advice of her entire family. This guy is very controlling, and abusive towards her (both physically and mentally). Right now, I believe Julie is with her parents after a very ugly incident with her husband. Please pray for Julie, as well as Chris and Wes (her mom & dad), for protection and healing. Her husband, from what I've heard, is a real piece of work. Please pray that he would get out of Julie's life without there having to be any police intervention.

Now, onto a totally unrelated topic...

My oldest daughter, Bug, took dance lessons from the ages of 5-10. Last year she decided to stop dancing because she was unable to participate in other activities that she wanted to do because of timing conflicts. There are a few other reasons, as well, but I just don't feel like going into all of that right now. These are two of my favorite pictures of her...

Anyway, last week, we were at a local restaurant and we saw her dance teacher. I asked Bug if she had gone over to say "HI" to her, and she said she hadn't. I encouraged her to go after we were finished eating. Now, Bug went to the same dance school, and was in the same class of girls, for 4 years. It's been about 8 months since she's gone there. Her teacher had no idea who she was. Not only that, but she TOLD Bug that she didn't recognize her. I had no idea that happened - Bug told me that she told her "hi", but that was it. Then a few days later, Bug was talking about how she was glad that she didn't go to dance anymore, and when I asked her why, she told me that story, as well as one from when she missed a week, and the teacher never even knew she was gone. Mind you, there were only 12 girls in that class.

You know, that really makes me mad. Thousands of dollars were spent (not by me, thank goodness) to send Bug to this dance school. She wasn't a star or anything, but she tried hard, and she did whatever they asked her to do. It absolutely breaks my heart that this girl's memories from dance include the fact that her teacher doesn't even remember her.

Maybe it's because I have spent much of my life being "invisible". Most of the people I went to school with have no idea who I am. I ran into someone a couple of years ago that I had been "friends" with, and she had no recollection of me. It makes me a little sad, to think that no one remembers my name. I mean, I can see not recognizing me because I do look different than when I was in school. But when my name comes up and they still don't know me? Oh well. Maybe I'm just too sensitive.

The whole point I am going to eventually get to is that when a child approaches you, and calls you by name, the least one could do as an adult is JUST FAKE LIKE YOU KNOW THEM! It wouldn't have taken but a moment for her teacher to say, "Hi Honey, how are you?" Then Bug would have felt good, and the teacher wouldn't have been stuck trying to match a name with a face.

Now that I'm thinking about dance....it brings me to another thing - the other dance parents. Never in my life have I seen such a "clique-y" group of people. Two summers ago, Bug's dance team was invited to Myrtle Beach for a National competition. Pretty big deal, right? So for months prior to the competition, I worked different fundraisers to ensure that Bug could go. We couldn't afford to stay in the same hotel with the other girls, but our hotel was only about a 3 minute walk from theirs. I gave the other moms my cell phone number so that Bug could be included if all the other girls were getting together for something. I even called a few of the other moms while we were there to try to arrange something. NOT ONE PARENT CALLED ME BACK. Not because the other girls didn't do stuff together, they just didn't call. Now, frankly, I was annoyed by it, but whatever. Bug, on the other hand, got a serious first taste of being left out. I think that was the beginning of the end of Bug's enjoyment of dance. (We did have a good time, anyway, spending some mommy-daughter time together) Here's a great picture of Bug next to a statue of the world's tallest man (Robert Wadlow).

Again, maybe I'm just too sensitive. But it really ticks me off when someone does something that hurts my kids.

Wow, I didn't expect to write all that!! Sorry for being so long-winded in this post!

One last thing - Ande just called and asked how I felt about him giving his "two-weeks notice" at the homeless shelter he works at on the weekend. I'm thrilled, because I miss having him here on the weekend (it's been almost a year), and we'll be able to go to church together again. I don't think we'll feel a huge difference financially, either, because even if he only works 8 hours of overtime in a week (just over an hour a day for 5 days), he'll make up for the lost income from the shelter. Doing this will also give him more time to work on his amps for the New York Amp Show in May. He wants to get 5 or so amps built to take with him. Pretty hard to do when you work 60+ hours a week!

He's still debating it a little, but I am pretty sure he'll give his notice today.

God's timing is never off...

Well, so I think most people who read my blog know that Ande was laid off from his full time job back in August. That was such a huge hit to us - not only to Ande's self-esteem, but of course to our budget and pretty much our way of life. Fortunately he has been able to receive unemployment for the last 6 months, and has been able to pick up extra hours occasionally at the homeless shelter where he works on Saturdays and Sundays. Of course, our budget was still very stretched, and it was only because of Ande's parents that we have been able to keep our house payments paid on time and be able to pay our other bills, too. (Thanks Mom & Dad!)

Over the last 6 months, we have not ceased to be amazed by the kindness and generosity of our friends, family, neighbors, as well as virtual strangers. Any time we've had a need arise, it has been provided for, sometimes without that need having ever been spoken aloud. I have written a few posts about such times, but almost feel like I'm bragging because the amount of times that we have been blessed by others is SO many, and the things we have been blessed with, be it money, time, physical work, or items we were in need of, has been so much. And yet here I sit, just bursting with excitement over yet another occasion where God is supplying our needs.

Part of Ande's old job (the one he was laid off from) was to go to places of business that used his company's service to do maintenance and repair work, plus training and in some cases sales. He had a customer that was local to where we live, and since Ande was the only technician who lived in this part of our state, he was the natural choice when it came to "who to send" to this particular customer. This customer, whom I'll call FAA for short, contacted Ande's former employer about something a few weeks ago, and asked for Ande. They were told he didn't work there anymore. Several of the employees from FAA know Ande's uncle though business dealings with him. So one of the employees contacted Ande's uncle to see what the story was. She then asked Ande's uncle to have Ande contact FAA for a possible job opening. Ande went and interviewed last Friday, and got the call today that they would like him to come in tomorrow to fill out some paperwork and then they want him to actually start work on Thursday!

Did I mention that Ande only has 2 weeks of unemployment left?

Yeah, so God's timing is still perfect, and HOW COOL IS IT THAT THIS JOB "FOUND" HIM - HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO LOOK! Sure, this job won't pay a lot, and it's not going to be a glamorous job - but it's work and it's close to home! Before, Ande was usually driving AT LEAST an hour or more ONE WAY to work EVERY DAY!

The other cool thing is that we received our income tax refund, and I was able to pay several of our bills (house, phone, sewer, electric/gas) ahead a little so that we can relax a little about our finances (and give my in-laws a bit of a break!). Plus, now that I know Ande will have income, I can hopefully continue to pay our bills ahead and have a little "cushion" in case of emergency.

More good news is that Ande has been invited to the New York Amp Show in May. This will be a great opportunity to get Kirby Custom Amplification amps into the public's hands. The NAMM show was pretty cool, but Ande said he really felt like a little fish in a big pond. And since the general public could not attend the show, he didn't really think his amp made the kind of impact it could make at a smaller scale show that IS open to the public. He's still glad he went, and I am, too. Otherwise he may not have received the personal invitation to the amp show. The host of the show actually CALLED OUR HOUSE to invite him!

So...if things are going well at home financially in May, we might get to take a weekend trip to this amp show as a family...but we'll wait and see about that. Right now I'm just looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us next....

Speaking of what God has in store....if you haven't been in a while, check out Nate and Tricia's story. I am still amazed at what God is doing in this family!

Prayer requests

I got a call today from my mom, and would like to pass along these prayer requests.

My aunt and uncle recently returned from a vacation to Hawaii. From what I know, my aunt Kathy was sick when they got home (or shortly thereafter). Last Friday she was taken into emergency, and ended up being put into a medically induced coma so that the doctors could put her on a ventilator. Apparently her oxygen levels were at 40% (which is NOT good). She has double-pnemonia, and possibly another infection, but my mom wasn't sure of all the details. Kathy was transferred (via helicoptor) to University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor today, because they have more high-tech ventilator equipment there than what they have here at our local hospitals. From what my mom told me, Kathy is pretty much on the verge of death right now.

Kathy is a really nice person. She is very caring, loves her family, and has a real soft spot for animals. She is a wife and mother. Kathy is not a Christian. As a matter of fact, she is Wiccan. It is my prayer that God would see fit to heal her, and that by His miraculous healing she would see that He is Lord, and that she would want to give her life to Him, or at least be more receptive to Christianity. In that light, I also pray that members of my family who aren't Christian would also see God working in this situation and pursue a relationship with Christ.

I have one other request. While Ande was growing up, his neighbors Bob and Carol were almost like second parents to him. He spent a lot of time at their house, and he's maintained a relationship with them since childhood. Bob was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. Doctors gave him 6 months to live, but Bob soldiered on had fairly successful treatment. Around Halloween, we got a call from Carol that she thought Bob might not make it much longer. He managed to make it through all of the recent holidays, much to the surprise of his family. We got a call last night that Bob died yesterday afternoon. Bob and Carol used to attend church years ago, but for a reason unknown to me, they stopped attending. I don't know if Bob reconciled with God before he died, and I don't know where Carol stands in her relationship with God. I'm praying that the Christian people who will be interacting with Carol over the next days, weeks, months, etc. will be a blessing to Carol and draw her close to the Lord.

Thanks!

Please see my other post from this morning, which can be found below.

Logan

I'm posting this for anyone who has ever experienced a loss in their life. Well, really it's good for anyone to hear. This little boy has some serious insight. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE check this out!! You won't regret it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCdZwitrNoY

I came across this video on another blog, The Merritt Family. I love how God just keeps bringing me to these different blogs so that I can see Him working in other families that I might not know anything about! It's the same thing with Nate, Tricia, and Gwyneth... There are SO many families out there who are living through things I could never even imagine! It's really enriched my prayer life and given me a lot more focus on things to be able to read about these families.

Please read a little about Julian Avery below as well. Thanks.

For Julian

On a few of the other blogs I read, there have been some posts about a little boy named Julian Avery. He battled cancer for about a year. He passed away the other day, and his funeral was this morning. I recently went back and read more about Julian. He was a strong and feisty little boy, who almost always had a smile on his face. His parents have praised God for giving them the time they had with young Julian, which was all too short.

In reading a letter written by Julian's mom the other day about her requests for the funeral, I thought it was really neat that she asked everyone who came to wear yellow, in honor of Julian (yellow was his favorite color). In support of Julian's family today, I decided to dress myself, Puckey, and The Jib in yellow shirts. I'm sure the Avery family could use all of the prayers they can get today and in the coming days, weeks, and months. I just read a new post that brought me to tears...

So, in memory of Julian, hug your kids a little closer today, and keep his family, the Averys, in your prayers. Thanks.

New Year, new outlook?

So, it's been a while since I posted last. Christmas and New Year's have come and gone. My brother & sister in law will be returning to California tomorrow. It's been a busy couple of weeks!

A little recap-

We opened gifts with the kids Christmas Eve morning, since Bubber & Bug had to go back to their dad's on Christmas Eve, and Nans was going back to her mom's Christmas morning before Bubber & Bug would be back.

You got your tickets?

You know, for the GUN SHOW?!?!


AHH...HBC products - a girl's best friend!!!


A monkey for our monkey!


The whole crew- from left to right...
Puckey, Bubber, Nans, Bug, and The Jib

Christmas Eve night we went to my mom's, because my aunt who usually hosts our family on Christmas Eve fell and broke her leg. (We've all told her that she didn't have to break her leg to keep from having to host us all...she could have just said she didn't want to...LOL) So while we were at my mom's, Bubber started acting up, so I made him go sit in the other room. A few minutes later, I went out where he was, and told him that if he was ready to apologize to me, he could get up. Bubber just sat there biting his fingernail and ignoring me. That's when I noticed my stepdad in the kitchen watching us. So he pipes up with, "What did he do, Julie?" in a very antagonistic tone. I said, "He was backtalking me". My stepdad then rolled his eyes and turned around in a huff. This is the same guy who encouraged my ex husband to call Child Protective Services on me a few years ago when I spanked Bubber for getting caught forging my signature TWICE at school, plus lying about the whereabouts of his report card. Yeah, he's a real piece of work! So anyway, Bubber spent the rest of our time there sitting in the chair because he refused to apologize (or even speak) to me. But, then when we got home, Bubber came up and wanted to hug me...yep, he's all about acting up in front of my mom and stepdad so that he gets in trouble, and I am OF COURSE the bad guy in the whole thing...but when we get home he's all sweet and agreeable. It drives me nuts!! Fortunately, God has really worked in my heart about the whole thing with my stepdad and Bubber's behavior, so I can stay really calm during situations like that. (Well, at least on the surface. I pretty much wanted to deck my stepdad, but what good would that have really done?) At least I had a nice visit with my grandparents, two uncles, an aunt, and my sister & her family!!


Puckey & Great-Grandma


My niece wearing her brother's football helmet

Christmas day was unusual. We went to my inlaws and cleaned out their upstairs bedroom and attic. I got quite a laugh when I ran across some love letters that Ande's ex had written him YEARS ago....my new word is now "Schmeeky" (That's how she signed the letters!) I was totally cracking up reading them. Ande, on the other hand, didn't seem to find as much humor in the situation. We also found this:


Yes, folks, that's right. An alligator purse, complete with tiny alligator. It's sorta creepy, if you ask me.

My brother and sister in law arrived from California on the 28th, and we got to meet our youngest niece for the first time (she's 8 months old). Puckey and our other niece, who is 4 months younger than her, had a blast in the snow.... It was cute, because it was the first time our nieces had seen snow!


Tracy, Ben, and baby


Girls getting pulled by Ben & chased by Bubber


OOPS! They took a spill off of the sled!


Good times, good times!!

So, New Year's Eve was spent with Ande's family. It was chaotic, but fun. There were 11 children there under the age of 4 (9 of them were 2 and under). I think my favorite part of the day was right when we arrived - one of Ande's cousins shouted to me "You're HOT! I'd date ya!" I guess spending the extra time on my hair was worth it?!? She's a silly girl.

Saturday Ande and I started on the bowling league we signed up for with our church. We had a great time! It's a mixed doubles league, and we ended up partnered with some people from another church. Our team lost, but I bowled pretty decent (well, for ME anyway) with a 138, 132, and 117. Okay, so I'm not a very good bowler, but I had a good time!!! (Added bonus, I beat Ande!!)

Today I stayed home from church and took care of the Jib, who caught a cold from her CA cousins. Poor baby.


Poor Jib!!

So, Ande's heading to CA on the 16th for the NAMM show. It's a pretty big deal in the music industry. Ande built an amp that will be displayed by one of his suppliers. Here's the amp (plus a SWEET guitar that a good friend of ours built).

You can also check out our website (it's not much, but it's there), and the website of our luthier friend. He makes some beautiful guitars!!!

We're pretty excited about this opportunity - not just anyone can get into this show!! So, he's going out there and staying with his brother & his family (the ones who are here now). It's so awesome that the show is not terribly far from where they live! This could be a major turning point for us, if there is a lot of interest shown in this amp.

So, back to the title of this post...it's a new year, and I "resolve" to have a new outlook! God has really blessed our family this year, and even with the "bad" stuff, we've still got it so much better than some. And the best part of it all is that we have a great family and body of friends who are right here with us, cheering us on!! I want to be more, do more, love more, laugh more, praise more, LIVE MORE!!