A Brief Update

So, I thought it was a long time between the last post and the one before, but whoa, now it's been a longer time. I do finally feel better though. It took almost two weeks, but I'm not coughing much anymore.

We had a good weekend taking the Karen girls to Kent to see Katie and Hannah. It was kind of an ordeal to get them and lunch and get there, but after that, it was very worth it. Sunday we had Kayla with us all day--she got to experience the boringness that is being a Yackley on Sunday afternoons. We just don't do very much!

IMPACT went pretty well acutally. We ate pizza and played the game with tape and cotton swabs and straws from LT a few years ago. Then we talked about plans for the fall and Andrew led a talk/discussion about where we get our identity. Good stuff.

Thought we were going to Kent after IMPACT, but turned out Kay still had to go to Kent so we sent the stuff for Katie and Hannah with her. Had to make a cereal run!!

Today everything went pretty well at BOW, except that I am a little concerned that my students aren't all handing in all of the assignments for every week. I don't know if it's because they don't know what to do, or they're just getting into the swing of school, or their parents aren't checking/helping them. Whatever, I think I need to send an email to tell their moms what the assignments are for next week and to encourage them to make sure their kids have everything. They are nice kids and so the teaching is fine when we're in class.

I was grading papers tonight just like a real teacher. While watching CHUCK!! Great first episode--so many funny moments. Such a good show.

Abby has driving tomorrow morning so that should be fun--and make for a busy day.

I need to go get some food tomorrow too. And work on science stuff. And go to Urban Vision. Guess I better go and plan what that food will be that I need to buy. So, off to work on that!

Maybe I'll have something exciting to blog about sometime soon. Good night, dear reader!

Long time, no blog

Long time, no blog...Ever since Tuesday, I haven't been feeling well, so I've been doing the basics and not much else. Wed. I did manage to teach my science class, but didn't feel great. Thursday, I worked on school stuff, but felt "officially" sick: coughing, achy, chills. Yuck. One day of somewhat rest, and then Friday we had planned to have our small group over, so I cleaned and made rigatoni for that. Coughing more and feeling crummy. And of course it was a later night.

Saturday, I did very little. Told the Karen girls we couldn't have them over since I was sick. But Jeff and I did work on the budget for a very long time. Not sure what took so long except that for every question, it took some time to find the information to answer it. But one exciting thing there...as of the end of September (Lord willing and no emergencies arise) we will be done with our 3-6 month emergency fund, Baby Step #3!! Yay!! On to finishing our retirement allotment and working on saving for college and a car. We will need another one some day since the Honda and Saturn are both 1999s. That seems really old...is that right? I think it is...well, good thing we've upped our savings for that!

Today I didn't go to church because I kept waking up during the night coughing, and so Jeff let me sleep in until they were leaving. Good to rest more, have a long quiet time, make a "neck-a-lace" and then Jeff and Abby were home.

We did go for a walk, and I made it without a coughing fit, so that was good. Now Jeff and Abby are doing their Sunday route to get a paper, take some rigatoni to the Eatons that I wanted to give them on Friday night but forgot, and get shaving cream for Abby's youth group kick-off at Green Valley tonight. Sounds like it will be a "let's get sticky!" kind of night there.

Jeff and I are going to try to have a semi-date while she's there, although I won't be able to talk much, but maybe at least get dinner somewhere even if we don't go out. I need to be able to talk for 3 hours tomorrow: from 9-11am and from 1:30-2:30pm. So I need to save my words for that.

So, that's my life lately. Fairly boring, but being sick has that effect. Glad to hear Katie and Hannah are doing well at Kent. Love reading Hannah's blog about her daily affairs--what she's eating, what classes are like, who she's hanging out with, etc. And since some of it is done with Katie, I can keep up with her that way too--and fb and calls of course.

So, maybe I'll go out and enjoy this lovely day by reading a book outside...until later, dear readers.

A Foodperks Grocery Trip Adventure

We had a fun weekend with Hannah home on Friday and Katie coming home on Sunday night after h2o. An unexpectedly free day on Saturday since we were planning to have the Karen girls over, but they couldn't come because their family went to Niagara Falls for the day. So we did some shopping, and we had dinner, and our friends, Kasey and Bethany came over for the evening and stayed in our basement overnight. They came to church with us and played in the band. Fun, fun!

Sunday evening we took Hannah back to go to church at Kent, and Abby and I went to babysit for the kiddos so that the moms could attend church. We're going to try to do that regularly. It was actually quite fun--the kids are so sweet and funny and adorable.

Sunday night we kind of ate some dinner after we got home--late--but we mostly missed dinner earlier. And we had cake and ice cream!

Monday we had the Karen girls over, so that involved cooking "soup and rice" (chili), and French fries too! We helped Eh Ler with homework, the younger girls played in the basement for a long time with the doll house. I'm so glad we kept that. They have played with it more than our girls ever did. We also made a trip to Wal-Mart for Eh Ler to get some school stuff and for Katie to get a few things too. I needed a large jug of vinegar for a science experiment on Wed. and walked out of the store without picking it up after paying for it. Guess I was a little distracted!! I went back though and the cashier had it for me.

Abby and Eh Dah Doe had baked a cake for EDD since her birthday was last Friday, and she said she didn't have a cake because her family was busy with something all week. She turned 13!! We've known them for over 2 years now. So when we got home from WM, we ate cake and shuffled them off in the van with Jeff and Abby so that I could make dinner, and we could eat and take a walk, and then take Katie and Hannah back, but not until quite late! Like 9 or 9:30pm! One of the great things about going to college close to home--we can take them back late and spend every minute together possible!

Today I woke up with a headache that I went to bed with last night. Too many late nights with my contacts in. I helped Abby with school stuff a little, balanced the checkbook, looked over my stuff for science class tomorrow, started to prepare for history next Monday. After lunch, we went to Giant Eagle for my first attempt at using my foodperks of 20% up to $300. Abby went with me since I knew it would take 2 carts to fit everything in.

I had planned carefully to keep my total close to $300--I was most concerned that they would be out of things that I needed in larger quantities to make my plan work. But that went well. Abby was a huge help, kept me laughing when she sang along to the musak, and kept me from buying the wrong things. We had two very full carts, and it ended up being three when they bagged them. I spent my $300, got $60 off, and my receipt was 57 inches long!! It also said I saved $201 with all of the sale items, coupons, and foodperks. Not bad! I got lots of chicken, pasta and sauce, chips, brownie mixes, some pop, yogurt, ice cream, frozen pizzas, sugar, and a few things I needed just for this week. Also got $1 off fuel just this trip, and since I put it on Discover, got the cash back too. Now I just have to take some money out of the grocery budget for the next couple of paychecks to balance it all out, but I think it was well worth the planning and collecting food at the store and carting it all home and putting it away. It made grocery shopping more of an adventure than a chore!

So then we watched a "What Not to Wear" to relax after our big event--Abby also knows how to relax after hard work--I like that girl!! :) I made tacos for dinner, was going to go for a walk, but it's been raining on and off, so we watched The Cosby Show until the DVD player started turning off on its own! Just then Glee started, so we've been watching that instead.

OK, so now it's almost time for bed, and I AM going to go to bed earlier tonight because I've been feeling like I might get sick today. Kinda stuffy, headache, tickly throat. But I'm hoping I can fight it off if I sleep.

Glad to hear that K and H's first English Conversation Group went well today. I'm excited for the people they will meet this semester through that. I'm sure the word will spread, and more people will come as the weeks go on. I'm sure that it will be a great learning experience for K, H, and everyone who comes. Go girls!!

BOW tomorrow--hope that goes well. I feel more prepared, so we'll see...
Good night, dear readers!

No funny title ideas today

The second day of school (Wed.) was much quieter and emptier at BOW. Less kids take classes on Wednesday I guess, and since I didn't have to go until around 11am, it felt kind of weird. Like being in school when everyone else got to leave and have fun! My class wasn't until 12:30pm, but I went early for Karen to show me how to use her projector for Power Point slides (that she made and let me use--she's a gem!). I had also invited a new family to come and observe classes on Wednesday, so I thought I should go and meet them too.

I ate lunch there and was talking to some of the moms, and one mom whose daughter was going to be in my physical science class that day said, "I just want you to know that my daughter isn't thrilled with taking this class. She saw how much work it was for her brother when he took it, and she's kind of dreading it." Great. But her point in telling me wasn't to make me feel stressed or anything. It was so that if I needed to give her a "let's have a cheerful attitude" talk, I would know I had her permission!

I didn't feel as prepared for this class, mostly because I couldn't really get a feel for how it would go--time, order, power point stuff. So I decided I just had to do it, and then next time I'll know better. It was tricky using someone else's slides because I didn't always know when there was a new slide for the next topic, so I did some backtracking, etc. But the experiment went well, and the kids talked and answered questions, so overall, I thought it was OK. The best part was at the end when the "dreading the class" girl was leaving and said, "Thanks for teaching us. I had fun today!" OK, so I guess it wasn't awful!!

We cleaned up and left quickly to go home and meet Jeff to go to Kent. Tom Short was going to be preaching on campus, and we wanted to go and hear him. It's always interesting to hear what people think. When we got there someone had just asked him what he thought about the mosque being built in NYC right near Ground Zero. I thought he gave an excellent answer. (He had just been there last weekend to see it.) He said that legally, they have every right to build it there, but if their reason is really to "build a bridge" between Muslims and America, it's a totally insensitive and wrong thing to do. That led to a barrage of comments and questions about Islam--one student there was Muslim and very out-spoken. And very angry that Tom would say that Christianity is right and Islam is wrong. It went on for a long time, and he had to keep repeating himself because new students would walk up and ask the same thing he had just covered over and over.

Even Christians told him they thought he was doing the wrong thing by being there talking to a crowd. I find that sad. Especially because everything he said was true, and he said it in a good way--didn't beat around the bush, but was never offensive or rude or unkind. Unlike so many of those who spoke to him. Someone even threw two eggs--missed everyone, but apparently trying to cause a distraction. Tom ignored it and kept talking. Even when he was telling this very personal story about his father-in-law who was an atheist for 70 years and finally at the end of his life admitted he needed God, this guy was writing with chalk on the ground in a big circle around where Tom was sitting: The only truth about God is found within. Listen to no one else. Or something like that. He ignored that too.

Wow. I know that is his gift and calling, and that's why we go to support him when we can because it's a hard job!!

We ate dinner with him and others, saw Katie for a little, got to see Hannah's room with a roommate's stuff in it--didn't get to meet the roommate yet. Heard a little about classes and roommate stuff from Hannah and Katie, and that was about it. Quick visit, but we'll get to catch up more this weekend.

Today was an "at home" day--laundry, school with Abby, planning for the next science class now that I know what I need to figure out, and soon, making dinner. Jeff is going to the Browns game with some friends, and Abby and I are going to Angie's to help with kids while Jeff takes Jason away to the game. Haven't gotten to see them much for a while, so that will be fun. Love those sweet kiddos!! And love to get to chat with Angie too of course!!

OK, eggs, bacon, and toast for dinner it is. We have to eat early since Jeff is leaving for the game, so I'm making something easy! More later, dear readers!

My day off (of sorts)

My day "off" which means I got to stay home and work on the financial side of teaching and running a household. I actually really like that stuff though. Even got Abby started on a budgeting system of sorts for her "Personal Finance" course this semester. Then I went to the bank and Giant Eagle. I got some good deals with sales and coupons. Oh yeah, I did watch the Geometry video with Abby, and we talked about her school assignments some too.

For dinner I made Garlic Shrimp Pasta--it was kind of our "first day of school" dinner which I try to make every year, kind of something special, but since last night Jeff was gone golfing, I saved it for tonight. I looked over my Physical Science books for tomorrow after dinner while Jeff took a nap and Abby blogged. We have an experiment to do almost at the beginning of class, so I wanted to make sure I knew what we were doing! I don't have to go until a little later, so I still have some time to make our lunch and put everything together.

I missed both Katie's and Hannah's calls today. Abby got to talk to both of them though, so she passed along the info. Glad to hear they're doing well and looking forward to hearing more of what their first few days have been like. I can imagine they are super-busy. Tonight is brownie night--excited to hear about that too!

Well, today has been much less eventful than yesterday, and I'm grateful for that actually. I admire all of those hard-working people who get up every single day and go to work at the same place, doing the same thing. I like the variety of getting up and going one day and then being able to sleep in a little and do things at home the next. So, I'm going to try to just enjoy whatever the day holds now that our schedule is different than ever before. That's been true to some degree every school year, but this year seems really different. I am thankful too that we have a couple of weeks to get used to school before dance and Urban Vision start. Those things will add a whole new dimension of busyness!

Tomorrow is the first day of school for the Karen kids--well, all of the Akron kids. I will be praying for them because I know they have a lot to deal with--wish I could have seen them before their first day to hear about how they are feeling about it all, but hopefully we'll get to hear all about it Saturday.

Now I could actually have an hour of down-time before bed, so I'm going to take it!! And maybe eat a treat too!

The bell rang. The first day of school was over.

So, now that my blog readers are scattered again, I guess I will continue my blogging to keep up on the daily details of life at the Yackleys. It was an amazing 20 days of time with all of us together!! Our trip to NYC was fun, exhausting (from all the walking), "wicked," and something we'll all remember forever. I'm really grateful for the opportunity to go and that everything went so smoothly (OK, so the parking on the first day was stressful, but after that...).

I still don't feel like school has started--I kind of expect Katie and Hannah to walk in after being out and about somewhere. But they are settled in their dorm rooms, starting classes, and making tons of new friends I'm sure. So Abby and I are holding down the fort while Jeff's at work.

Although today, we were all "at work" since classes started at Beginning of Wisdom--Abby's taking three classes, and I'm teaching four. I feel like the preparation was done in a haze of grace. We had been very busy with all the preparations of getting two girls ready for college, and then I was somehow supposed to try to focus and concentrate on plans for my classes. My brain felt like it needed a vacation from trying to remember stuff! :) But somehow, when I woke up this morning, everything was in the car ready to go, lunch was packed, and I felt pretty prepared for the day. As prepared as one can be going into a new situation.

I had to set up my room and make a gazillion copies before 9am plus meet new moms who were concerned about their kids being in a new situation--totally understand that! So I learned how to use the gigundo copy machine, met the moms, asked Abby for help which she so graciously gave. And I was ready by 9am! I have 6 students from 5th-9th grade in American History and Language Arts from 9-11am. I was thinking, "How am I going to deal with middle schoolers for two whole hours?!" At Urban Vision, some days I can hardly make it through a 20 minute period! Ahh, but these are not UV kids (whom I love dearly, but some of them are only 20 minute kids!). These kids (3 boys and 3 girls) came ready for school, with many pencils, three-hole punches, colored pencils, scissors, notebooks, binders, all the things they were asked to bring and more! Amazing! And they talked at the appropriate times about the topic we were discussing. They were sweet and kind and I liked them all. Wow! What more could I ask for? The two hours went by fast, and then I had a break.

I even got paid! People paid on time, some for the whole semester. They even double-checked to make sure they were paying enough! Who are these strange beings you may ask? The parents of BOW. Wow! Guess those parents raised those kids...hmmm...makes sense.

I did some paper work and preparing for the afternoon class from 11-12. I couldn't wait for lunch because I was so HUNGRY! School always makes us hungrier earlier. Early breakfast and all. All that thinking. After lunch I had another hour from 12:30-1:30, then my ACT prep class of 10 high school students. We had fun even though none of them voluntarily took the class--they were forced to by their parents. :) But they are great kids, and we had a few laughs about the funny things in the book and their funny comments.

So, done at 2:20 ish and home to unwind a little. Abby had to do her "after school care" job from 3:30-5pm, and I tried to figure out our Discover bill which is "somethin'" (as Jeff would say) after vacation, buying books and college stuff. Still not sure what all the items are even...Jeff has something to look forward to after golf even though he doesn't know it yet! Oh well, we can just take it out of the girls' bank accounts and say it was to reimburse us for books, etc. :)

We had a gourmet meal of sloppy joes and sweet potato fries for dinner. I walked, and Abby went to the Fullers to finish some t-shirts they were making. Talked to Mom in there too after dinner. Next on the list is making the menu and grocery list, so I can go to Giant Eagle tomorrow on my day "off."

I talked to Eh Dah Doe on my walk too. She had called earlier when we were at school because she missed me...awww...I miss them too. We're going to try to have them over this Saturday after several weeks of not seeing them. They start school on Wed., so we'll get to hear about their first few days. She's going to the middle school this year.

Well, that about sums up the first day of school for me. It was a good one, and I'm thinking it's going to be a good year. Of course, I am too savvy to think there won't be any problems along the way...but those we will deal with when they come and not lose sleep now worrying about what they may be. I actually slept well last night which is rare the night before a new, big thing. I think it was the grace haze again--I was just too tired to toss and turn, and I was as done as I could be in getting ready. Yay, grace! Yay, God!

So, until next time, dear readers...

One more sleep til Katie comes home!!

Just a quick post on the last day before Katie comes home!! We are getting ready by trying to get done all those things that we've been putting off! Actually, it's nice to finally have a free day to do some of them. Right now Jeff is down in the basement trying to chip off some of the ice that has built up around the edge of the freezer door. It was really bad and on my list all summer. But, thankfully, he is tackling it. I saw a hammer, screwdriver or two in his hands!

Last night was Chris and Rosie's wedding, and it was lovely!! Outdoors at Stan Hywet with perfect weather (except for those of us in the sun--the shade was perfect). Rosie was beautiful, and Chris looked dashing! There are pictures! The reception was fun, and the food was delicious. Everything seemed to go smoothly from what I could tell. We got to sit with the Eatons and Himelrights which was a lot of fun of course. I also got to catch up with Beth some which was great.

Today we got to sleep in until we woke up! One of the few times I've done that this summer. It meant we got a late start, but we went for a walk and have been checking things off the list. The school room is pretty organized, and I need to order school stuff, but need Jeff's help with that to make sure I do it right.

I CAN'T WAIT to see Katie tomorrow!! Now that it's so close, I just want it to be SUNDAY at 6pm!! I am praying hard for her safe trip and easy travel and no delays or problems.

Well, I said it would be quick, and I guess it will because Jeff wants me to come and take everything out of the freezer with him--that's more ambitious than I was feeling today, but I guess it's good to do it. I'm sure we'll be throwing a lot away that's buried at the bottom. So here goes!!

Another day in the life...

The last Wednesday before Katie comes home. It sounds like her travels this week have been great! A new city tomorrow. Wonder if being in Ohio will be boring after this? So plain vanilla after Europe. But knowing Katie, she will find the good in being home and being at Kent and just enjoy wherever she is. She's good that way....

Tuesday was but yesterday, but seems a distant memory. I went to Giant Eagle and the library and picked up Abby at driving. Then I did laundry and had a QT and worked on school stuff maybe a little, but not much. It felt like I didn't accomplish anything really. Dinner was just turkey sandwiches with mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas. We walked after dinner.

Today Hannah and I got to babysit for the twins, but they slept most of the time, so she worked on the CLEP stuff for her test tomorrow (pray for her to pass, dear reader--she's been working hard and did well on the practice test with the program we bought, but had a harder time with the College Board book test that she was working on today), and I worked on school stuff. I'm getting the decisions made, but not much actually prepared for because I still have to buy the stuff. This afternoon, Chris and Rosie came over and tonight Jeff and I are going to chat with Mike and Cindy about youth group plans. We're having a parent's meeting on Sunday and would like to know what we're talking about.

Tomorrow Abby is babysitting for a new family and no more driving school because she passed her test today! The written part. Now has to wait 6 weeks for the driving part. Paige just called and asked if she could come over tomorrow afternoon and talk to us. Hmmm...you can pray for that dear reader too!

Off to Panera now! More later!

Monday in My World

Last Monday until Katie is home again! Sounds like a lovely visit in Cologne, and Belgium is next! I'm going to the grocery store tomorrow and have been thinking about things that Katie likes--we already have the Oreos for an Oreo and coffee morning. :) But I'll probably just wait until she's actually here to see what she wants.

Today I took Hannah to the doctor to get her meningitis vaccination--which she already got last May. I asked the doctor to please write those down because I am a bad mother and don't keep good records of those things. :) But she got a form filled out to document her hearing loss so that she can sit where she needs to if there's ever a problem. And her MMR form too. And she got the first of two Hepatitis A vaccinations. She has to go back in 6 months or more for the second one. She said it was something they're recommending now, and if you ever plan to go on a missions trip or anything, you'd need it. Also, Hannah was 5 feet 5 inches. Hmm...that's MY height!

Then I took her home and went to Hillwood to meet with Mrs. Jones. She is like an Energizer Bunny--so much energy and works so fast! We went through her science supplies--well, she did, at lightning speed--and I tried to keep up by checking off what she had. It is SOOOO nice of her to just let me use everything and not have to order it, etc. She has been extremely generous with her time and advice and resources. She's helped me pick American History curriculum and even gave me suggestions on grammar too.

I thought I had grammar all figured out because I was just going to order whatever Sonlight suggested. But after looking at samples and reading reviews, I think it will be too easy and not enough to do for middle schoolers. So she gave me suggestions and I'm working on figuring that out. I do feel relieved though about the history stuff. What she found looks very teacher-friendly and won't require me to come up with lots of stuff to do. It's all in there. Whew!

So nice to have someone who knows what they are doing and can give me advice and save me from having to find out the hard way or spend a gazillion hours preparing for not much money!

I picked Abby up at driving school and we had lunch and I re-cleaned the family room carpet. Just the middle part. It still got the water pretty dirty! Then a quiet time and working on school stuff, dinner, cleaning up and a walk. We saw the Kiles after their vacation looking very tan and adorable. :) Then I looked at more school stuff and sent some facebook messages--I'm trying to get in touch with Lindsay and Eva to see if they're around on Friday when H. is planning to go to Kent, but I've left 2 messages for Lindsay and don't want to be a pest. So I though fb would be another option.

Now a quick blog post and bedtime. I've still been very tired. I think I need to take my vitamins again. I let them run out and didn't replace them, but even if it's just for the placebo, I need to take them again! :) Tomorrow is the grocery store, and Abby has driving again. And the library. I got rid of my $8 fine, and I don't want to run up another one! EEK!

Hannah just got home from work...only a few more days left...I think she'll be glad to be done. But it's been good to earn some money--she's done very well at saving! Hope I can do as well with my income from teaching. :)

Good night, dear reader!

First Post of August: How weird is that?

I had a hard time getting up for church today. My back hurt--I think it's because I forgot to stretch after our walk last night because I came in and started doing stuff right away. But church was good, and Rosie's shower went well. Her mom really seemed to enjoy it because she didn't have to do anything for it! Some of Chris and Rosie's family--like sisters, grandmas, moms came too which was nice. It sounds like the wedding on Friday will be lovely. They'll walk down the "Birchwood Alley" (pronounced "a-lay" like it's French or something). It's outdoors so hopefully the weather will be nice. And the reception sounds like it will be great--lots of good food and a swing band.

We got home around 3:15pm and unloaded and unpacked and now I'm resting. So tired!

This is going to be a crazy week. Not even sure I want to start to think about it yet, but maybe I should just to get things straight in my head.

OK, here goes: Monday: Dr. appt. for Hannah to get her shot and hopefully get her "disability" form filled out for her hearing loss. Then meeting Karen at Hillwood to go through her science stuff and see what she has that I can use. She's sweet that way. Then picking Abby up at driving. Then sometime going to the grocery store and trying to sort out what I'm doing for the history and LA classes so I can tell others and order stuff.

Tuesday seems not too busy so far except for driving school. Hannah works M, T, W.

Wednesday: babysit for the twins in the morning so that Angie can take the boys to get a hair cut before family pics next weekend. They need an updated church directory photo since they now have two new members! Meet with Rosie and Chris in the afternoon and maybe take Abby to meet Maddie from Cleveland in the afternoon too? Somehow we'd have to combine those things. And maybe meet with Marettes and Coopers in the evening though I haven't heard anything more about that today.

Thursday: nothing unless I move my tutoring appointment that is scheduled for Friday to Thursday because...

Friday: Hannah is planning a Kent field trip with Rachel and Caleb and if I can go and stay and visit with Lindsay and Eva, I will, but I need to call them. Otherwise, Hannah may just drive to Ferences and go over with them, or I'll take her to their house and have to be back by 10am to tutor. The wedding is at 4pm so we'd need to be back by 2pm to get ready and get there.

Saturday: Get ready for Katie coming home!!! Yay!!!

Sunday: Katie comes home!!! Yay!!!

And then the crazy "after Katie comes home" schedule begins. Actually, we haven't planned a whole lot yet, but have a few things we'd like to try to do before leaving again for NYC.

Oh, my, are you tired yet, dear reader? Sorry to put my tired brain on you, but it helps sometimes to spell it out (literally).

So, now Hannah is skyping with Katie, and I'd like to say HI, so I must go!

The last post of July...How weird is that?

Haven't posted since Wednesday? What in the world have I been doing? Oh, yeah, Thursday Hannah and Abby and I cleaned all the hardwood floors. We would have waited until Katie got home so we could all do it together, but we decided to let her off the hook this time! We also cleaned the whole house, I washed rugs too so all of the floor stuff would be cleaned, then I cleaned the carpet in the living room and family room. Oh my, so dirty! I would still like to do it again to get the main traffic area cleaner. Since I have the stuff out. We went to Rachel's grad party after picking up Eh Dah Doe, Ehne Thau, and Be Bin. Eh Dah Po didn't want to come--too tired and too busy playing computer. They had a great time at the party playing with A and H on the playground at Lion's Park. And eating good food of course too. Chad and Eva came to the party too--Kay and Rachel had babysat for them on Wed. night and invited them to the party. So good to see them. Makes me excited for Kent people again. And I don't even go there!

We would like to plan a night to get together with them when Katie gets back. Guess we better get on the ball and plan it because that long-awaited day is coming soon! I've been putting everything in terms of when Katie gets back and now I have a whole lot that I haven't done and there's one more week. But that's OK too. I'll just work on what I can.

So, that was Thursday. Friday, I walked, did ACT stuff with Sarah (who is thinking she might go to Kent next year--she visited it and loved it!), then talked to Mrs. Jones about school stuff and realized the books I was given to look at might not match the study guides I was given, and then went to take Andrew to an orthodontist appointment. H and A went too, and we went to Target while I waited to go back and pick him up. After taking him home, we went to McDonald's to use our free Happy Meal coupons, then went to Kohl's and Wal-Mart to shop for Hannah's college stuff. She got a very nice comforter at Kohl's plus towels and still had $5 left on a gift card and got $10 of Kohl's cash to use next week for something else. It was fun! We got Icees at Target on the way home and finished out the day of being like other American families by getting pizza for dinner. Watched a Psych episode before going to bed.

Today was non-stop: I worked on getting stuff together for Rosie's shower tomorrow, did our financial stuff since we got paid, we went to the bank, bread store, thrift store, Marc's. Ehne Thau called last night around 9 or so and gave me a long list of things she needed for camp--she leaves Sunday. It started out: "Mrs. Melissa, when will you bring my swimming suit for camp?" Saturday. "Can you bring me some shorts too?" Yes, I got two skirts with shorts under them at Wal-Mart today. "Can you bring me a notebook and a pencil...and a sharpener?" Yes. "And do you have a Bible I could take? I can give it back?" Sure. "OK. Bye!"

A few minutes later she called back: "Mrs. Melissa, can you bring me some sunscreen?" Yes. "And some of that stuff that makes your hair smell good?" Shampoo? "Yes!" OK. "And can you get me a sneaker? Mine are old." OK, Can you look at them and tell me what size they are? "My mom threw them out." OK--look at some shoes that fit you now. "OK, Can you wait?.....It says, 'USA 4, EUR 28, MEX....' OK, you want the USA one, so size 4. Is that all? "Yes!"

I had to have Abby start typing a list since it got longer and longer as she kept talking! So I went to the thrift store and God provided several pairs of shorts, three pairs of shoes in various sizes (for 75 cents each), a belt, and a NKJV Bible for 25 cents that she can keep. I'm taking back the skorts to Wal-Mart since all of those other shorts were only $10 total and that's what I spent on two things at WM.

I made sandwiches for the shower and Abby had made the brownies for the church picnic, and then it was time to drop the stuff off at Ehne Thau's and go to the picnic. It was a lovely day for it--so pleasant. Got to hold Hailey again! She's so sweet--Emily is too, but she was sleeping so peacefully, she never got out of her car seat.

Came home and walked; Abby checked the Kile's pond and fish and plants since they'll be home tomorrow and we wanted everything to be done for them. I was disgusted by our garden when I went out to cut flowers for the shower, so we looked at what needed to be done out there and Jeff said he'll work on it tomorrow maybe. Just WEEDS! Drat that curse!

I was very happy to read that Katie made it to Cologne--and that the stressful time getting to the airport had a happy ending. Whew! It all happened while I was sleeping and when I woke up and read it was over and they were there, I said, "I didn't even have time to worry!" But I did pray yesterday while I was awake. Glad they are having such a great time and getting some family life--that's so encouraging and refreshing after living in a dorm for so long. The Goerings sound like awesome people as we fully expected they were!

So, tomorrow is Rosie's shower after church. Hannah is giving them her two week notice at Panera tonight. Sad, but true... But happy too... I've been feeling stressed about the classes I'm teaching because I don't know what I'm doing for two of them--the ones I just agreed to teach. But I need to trust God to help me DO what He's called me to do and not just in my own strength either. I'm meeting Karen at the church on Monday to look through her science stuff to see if there are things I need to get and how much I need to buy will affect what kind of lab fee I charge.

One encouraging thing that she said though when she asked how much I was charging for the history and LA classes, and I said, "Do people charge less for middle school classes than high school?" She said, "I would never do that, because your time is just as valuable no matter if you're teaching kindergarten or high school." So that gave me the freedom to charge the same as my other classes which will mean several hundred dollars more for the year.

OK, I'm very tired, and Ron just stopped by to drop some stuff off for the shower since Linda can't come after all. I'll try to write more later...Looking forward to sleeping. I finally got to sleep until I woke up this morning...Ahh...

The Daily Grind

Let's see, posted last on Monday night. Tuesday, Abby had driving school again, and I drove Addie to tennis, went to Angie's until I had to pick her up again. Then, had another hour or so before I had to pick Abby up and I made some BBQ ham sandwiches in the crock pot, cleaned green beans, and made a salad. Picked up Abby and was starving for lunch!

I did some laundry in the afternoon and worked on some school stuff. We ate dinner while skyping with Katie which was fun. Can't wait until we can all sit around the table in person together and chat!

Abby went to Tarbucks with KTF, Jeff and I went to FedEx to pick up his phone that they didn't deliver because they needed a signature--and Hannah didn't answer the door "to sign for the packages" (we just watched Matilda--I love that movie!), then we went for a walk and did a conference call for LT. It was interesting to hear what others thought and all the great things that happened in kids' lives. Starting to plan for next year already.

Today, I took a walk early because it was a very warm day. Then did the church email, girls' laundry, and went to Deals and Target to get some things for Rosie's shower and to buy Orange Juice! I have been out for a few days, and I can't believe how much I miss it! I was starving my 11:30am I think because I didn't have that extra filler. Went to pick up Abby and since it was such a hot day, I didn't want to wait in the car, soooo I had to go into Gerri's Closet and happened to find a GAP light green short trench coat for $5, and a new top for $1. Good $6 spent!

We stopped at the library on the way home and got our Happy Meal coupons and I paid my $8 fine. Yes, I did say $8...forgetting videos and then forgetting to renew library books while at LT adds up fast. Oh well, friends of the library...

I worked more on school stuff and called April and said that I would teach those 2 more classes. I feel like God has given me an opportunity to try something in the most accepting possible atmosphere. Everyone seems so thankful that I would do it, and after adding up how much extra income it would give, it does seem like it would be worth it. So I am going to be a teacher...the very thing I said I would never do. Isn't that just like God too? To show me that I don't know myself all that well after all, and to ask me to do something that I can only do with God's help. I will definitely need Him! But I can also not put so much pressure on myself to do everything super organized ahead of time for the whole year. Little bit at a time.

We ate eggs for dinner since Dad had Kraus's for lunch, and then Dad took Abby to feed the Kile's pond fish. Then Dad and I went to meet with Coopers and Marettes which was really good. Got to talk through the LT stuff and get help and support. So nice to have fellow-laborers who understand and want to help.

Now I just ate ice cream and need to go to bed. Hopefully, I can sleep in some since Abby doesn't have to go to driving school. I've been getting up to say good bye to her every morning. We had a storm tonight and I hope it's done so that Greta can sleep too and not shiver and pant and walk around the bed all night! Poor little thing!

Tomorrow I plan to clean the carpet in the family room and living room. It's one of the things on my list and I hope that I can actually get it done and cross it off. We are going to Rachel's grad party tomorrow night and taking Eh Dah Doe and Po and hopefully Ehne Thau if I can get in touch with her. So that will be our Karen girl event for the week, which means I can clean carpet and it will stay cleaner for another week! Actually, they don't make things dirty--just having more people does it.

So, to bed. Can't believe that Katie is down to the last couple of days in Dresden. I am praying for a great last couple of days and safe traveling in the coming week. What an awesome opportunity!! But I must admit that I am looking forward to getting to have all my girls under one roof for a little while at least! Mother Hen is deeply ingrained I guess. :)

And sometimes it's hard even weeks later

I don't know...sadly, LT has this dark cloud around it this year since we've still had things to deal with even now. Mistakes we made, certainly, but some misunderstandings of our intentions and even strangely different perceptions of how the week went...really hard to understand and accept and deal with. But we believe it is still true that God chose us to be there at that time with those people with those kids for some reason He knows. He doesn't make mistakes. And somehow He will work it all out.

Saturday we went to get Greta, our dear, sweet doggie! We picked up Meme and Greta and went to Panera for breakfast and sat outside. It was a hot day, but we had shade and a breeze so we were quite comfortable and enjoyed ourselves. Wish we could have sat there all day, but I had told the Karen girls I would pick them up at 12, so we went back to Erik's and said good-bye to Pops and came home. Jeff and Abby saved me and went to pick them up so I could make "soup and rice" so that it could be ready when they got here. We ate and went swimming. I felt like I didn't have much to offer them, but just to let them have fun. Still tired! We took them home around 7pm.

Sunday was LT Sunday, and the kids did a great job of sharing what they learned. There were many good things, and I need to keep those in focus so the hard things don't take over in my mind. We went to Elysia's grad party after church which was very nice. Lots of good food! I got to feed and hold Hailey so that Angie could eat--so glad I asked before someone else got her! Lisa Jaster got Emily! I was so tired when I got home that I had to lie down for a little, then we got to talk to Katie some. We walked in the evening and watched a Psych. Early to bed because today was an early morning.

Abby had her first driving school class at 8am-12:15pm. Jeff took her early to do the paperwork. I walked and paid bills, went to GE, and two banks--one for Hannah and one for Katie--and picked up Abby. Must be on time because there's a $30 fee if you're late. Talked to Meme on the phone for a while. She called to see how Greta was doing being at home again. She must miss her. :)

I had a long QT followed by a nap because I could no longer keep my eyes open. April called to ask if I would be interested in teaching two more classes: middle school American history and language arts. Oh my...I don't know if I can even teach one class let alone FOUR! But it is an answer to prayer for more income. So I need to pray and think about that. I don't want to bite off more than I can chew, but I know sometimes God asks us to do things that we need His help for or we crash and burn. Just need to discern which this is!

I made chicken fried rice for dinner with banana chocolate chip muffins. Then Abby and I went to the Kiles to water and feed their pond fish. They have a nice back yard. We were waiting for the pond to fill up some and lounging on their deck and thinking how rough of a job we had...:) We even picked some of their cherry tomatoes that were ripe and falling off the plant. She didn't mention it, but I figured, why let them fall and rot on the ground?

So now, I am blogging--and Hannah reminded me that I said she takes the newspaper home free from Panera, but I failed to mention that it's so that she can recycle them and not just to read them. She is helping the environment!! Honest!!

I just got a call to take Addie to tennis practice tomorrow morning and maybe Andrew to the orthodontist on Friday. She's asked several times for Addie and I've always been busy, so I'm glad that I can do it tomorrow. Now I have to figure out how much to charge. That's always a puzzlement to me!

Well, now I need to talk to my hubby who just got home from golfing. And has a great story about how he got a Droid today, but I will let him tell that himself...Good night, dear reader.

A Quick Update on Friday

Just a quick update on today. First, we were sad last night to read in the newspaper (that Hannah brings home free now from Panera when she works) that one of Katie's teachers at Kent died in a car accident last weekend. I saw her name and knew I should know who that was, and then realized it was Katie's Freshman Colloquium prof whom she was with all that year. She was a good teacher, and it is a big loss to the students and faculty at Kent State. We're so sad about that.

Today I went for a walk at 8:30am, and it was already too hot. The thermometer said 100 degrees today, and the heat index is over 100. It's probably "only" in the 90s but still...too hot to even walk outside. I swept the walk and porch this afternoon since we're having our small group over tonight, cut a few flowers, and was sweating just from that. I think it's supposed to cool off some on Sunday and maybe have the humidity go down then too. That would be good since Elysia's grad party is at a park Sunday afternoon.

Sarah came over for our ACT study session. She is a really sweet girl. She took a practice test while we were gone last week, and her science score went up from the first time she took it. So far, that's all we've worked on. We're starting on math now which means I have to really study. I wish math were as obvious to me as English stuff, but it isn't so I'll just have re-learn the things I don't remember. I CAN learn it, but sometimes even if I know it, I have a hard time seeing how to apply it to the ACT questions. I told Jeff he may have to come in to BOW and teach the math weeks--you know, just 4 or 5 weeks out of the semester!

While we were working on that, Kasey and Bethany called to say they would be in the area and could have lunch with us. So we went to Chipotle and met them around 12:15-1:45. It was great to hear about their summer and church experiences and to catch them up on Yackley news. Some friends you just pick up with so quickly like they never left!

Hannah went to work, and I did some cleaning that I planned to do much earlier, but finished by 3:30pm instead of lunch time. I'm making pulled pork for small group dinner, and eveyone else is bringing something, so my part is pretty easy. We invited Kasey and Bethany to come if they're still here and are free. It would be fun to have them stop in and see the babies anyway! Of course, they don't even know Justin and Laura--weird!

I had a quiet time and feel like I could take a nap. I read Acts 7 (I think) where Stephen gives the whole history of Israel from Abraham to David--what a great one chapter overview of the Old Testament. He really knew his stuff to be able to do that. Of course, even though what he said was true and accurate, the religious leaders didn't like it and ended up stoning him. Still, he responded rightly no matter what they did. That's really pretty amazing. Full of the Holy Spirit to be sure!

So, we go to get Greta tomorrow, and it looks like the Karen girls CAN come over in the afternoon. I finally got Eh Ler on her cell phone today. Hope she remembers to tell her sisters! Sometimes she doesn't! I also hope Ehne Thau calls so I can tell her. She called one day, but hasn't called back this week. I guess I'll try her house--sometimes she's other places when she calls me, but I'll try and hope someone there speaks English!

Another busy weekend. Guess it's good we're never bored--I mis-typed "bored" as "gored" and I guess that's true too! :) Oh, it was funny today when we got home from lunch, there was a message from Kelly with the twins sister needing a babysitter--an answer to prayer--getting more families for Abby to babysit. And a mom from BOW asking if I still have room in my science class--another answer to prayer for more students in my classes. I'm thankful God is my Father and has promised to provide! Hannah is talking to Lenny today about job openings so we'll see what he says and if it's worth it for Abby to keep thinking about working or just wait until next March.

Guess I'll go and fold the last load of laundry and then read until I have to get things ready for small group--which is only a few minutes--how time flies!

A Rambling Bunch of Random Thoughts

Well, it's been a fast week. Why was it that last week at LT by Monday it felt like we had been there for weeks? Probably because we packed so much into each day. This week the days have gone by fast, but I haven't accomplished much. That feels like the theme of this summer, and I don't know why.

Today I did go to the Thrift Store to use my $5 off a $10 purchase coupon! Yay! I got two purses, a laptop bag of sorts, several swimsuits for the Karen girls, a pair of comfy shoes I hope I can use in NYC for walking and not looking like I'm wearing white tennis shoes like the ultimate Ohio tourist!

I also arranged with Meme to pick up Greta on Saturday in Wooster. I miss that little dog! I think Meme will miss her too when we get her back. She said she follows her around and sleeps in Meme's bedroom on the floor. She is a nice buddy to have around.

Let's see, Tuesday night our "debriefing" meeting for LT went well. We leaders all got to hear everyone's stories about several situations and got a better understanding where we were all coming from. So we're all OK with each other and everything. There are a few situations that still need to be addressed. Never had so much follow-up to do after an LT before. But there wasn't the reproof I expected! :) I think we've all learned a lot about giving grace.

Wednesday, we had Toby here from about 9am-12pm so Abby could babysit for him. Hannah and I went through her list of things we need to do before school starts. I made her an appointment to get her hair cut before NYC and an appointment for her immunizations. I signed Abby up for driving school. She's going to Myers because our other favorite place moved to Barberton and Myers was cheaper and closer. So that starts next week for four hours three mornings a week. It's a long time, but she'll be done in two weeks (6 days total). And then she has to do the driving, but that probably won't be until after school starts. I also worked on the syllabus for the science and ACT/SAT classes. So I guess I did accomplish something--all mental stuff I guess.

Did I say that Tuesday I went to Angie's for the morning? With Alycia. I got to feed Emily and hold her a bunch. She's so sweet--well, of course they both are! They are getting so big and filling out with little chubby cheeks and double chins!! You won't believe it when you see them! Maybe we can all go over some day when you get home and hang out with them. And Zakk and Derek too. Derek copies everything Zakk does--the good, the bad, and the ugly. :)

Today Abby and I charted out her possible week during the school year to see if she could even possibly work even a couple of nights a week. She's thinking about if she wants to continue with piano too. It was OK when she went with Hannah and she could do a lesson every other week, but to have to go every week and practice so much....And I'd feel bad asking Ted to keep a spot open for us and only use it every other week when he could be making more money during that time with an every week lesson. Something to think more about. Plus, she'll have two days of going to BOW instead of one. And UV takes a whole afternoon. So as it is, she'd only have Thursday and Friday to just do school. If she worked, that would cut those days short too. Hmm...School does come first and she'll have a full load this year for sure!

Maybe we'll just have to pray for a lot of babysitting jobs to fund her football games, movies, Starbucks trips! Mary Ann did call tonight for us to water their stuff and feed their pond fish while they're gone and they'll pay for that. I feel like I can't imagine how I could work even now during the summer, let alone during the school year! Well, I told God today that I'm glad we have Him as our Father and that He's promised to provide for us.

Well, I'm sure you're tired of reading my ramblings now, dear reader! This was a very disjointed post, but it's how my brain is working these days. Oh, funny example of my goofy brain: Tuesday night I made the black bean and rice stuff that we eat with tortillas. I was cleaning up as usual and took out two for Dad's lunch and put them in a separate ziploc bag. The next day we went to make lunch and couldn't find the tortillas. Not in the frig anywhere, not in the cupboard with the chips, nowhere to be found. We thought maybe Dad had accidentally taken both bags with his lunch. But that night he said no. So today, Thursday, I was at the Thrift Store when Hannah called and said she found the tortillas--in the drawer with the plastic wrap and ziploc bags! I had gotten things out of that drawer and didn't see them. Thankfully they aren't perishable!! Oh my....

So, tomorrow I tutor Sarah in the morning and we have small group in the evening--with our none-too-small-group!! Around 20 with kids now. Hoping to have the Karen girls over Saturday, but Eh Ler hasn't returned my calls today. Our youth group thing Saturday got canceled due to lack of initiative with our church initiative! Ironic...So that's all for now.

And sometimes it stays hard...

I was planning to write about how LT suddenly turned "not hard" and everything fell into place after a few days, but it just never did. It was different from the other years we went, and although I have an idea of why, I still don't totally understand it. It felt like there were good moments when I thought we were on track, but then there were many others when I felt like we were inconveniencing the kids to make them spend time talking about what they were learning, etc. They really were anxious to always be spending time with other churches, which was fine, but not at every spare minute. I know I wasn't appreciated for being the bad guy, but it was my job as I saw it. I don't remember having those issues before. Oh well, we're having a meeting tomorrow night to "debrief" and I'm sure I'll have plenty to apologize about. I'm ready to be done with it and move on. We're meeting with the LT leaders and Pastor Mike. I'm trying to remember that reproof is good and that it makes us wise and gives us understanding, and that I can always just apologize and move on. Hopefully!

I've been very tired as expected, but got a lot done today to feel back on top of things: laundry, Giant Eagle, bills paid, email, etc. I have so much to do to get ready for classes this fall, but today all I could deal with was what needed to be done. Stacey had asked us to help with a party at UV this afternoon, but when she called today, I had to tell her we just couldn't. Hannah had to work and Abby wanted to see Katie Fuller, and I knew I had to get stuff done today or it wouldn't happen. Felt bad, but I can only do what I can do.

Had a great time skyping with Katie this afternoon. We had a nice long chat and got to hear more about life in Dresden. The summer is going fast, and we're looking forward to having her home, but I can feel for her the desire to hang on to every minute of the time in Germany. It's funny, but as much as I miss her, I can feel a little taste of living in another country from her blogs and talking to her, and now that she's all settled and able to do what she needs to do, I can understand the sadness of having to leave in a few weeks. It's been an amazing experience in so many ways. I was thinking today of how I was hoping that she would find a church or Bible study that could just "tide her over" spiritually until she could come home, since Europe isn't known for having a real spiritual passion. But instead, God in His desire to give in ABUNDANCE, has helped her find an amazing group of people who love Jesus with all of their hearts. What a great gift! A "feast of fellowship" if you will!

And so too, God has been reminding me all day through the last song we sang at LT that is stuck in my head..."He loves us, Oh, How He loves us, Oh how He loves us, How He loves us all..." "if His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking..." God gives generously if we are willing to receive. Pastor Mike talked about that yesterday too. Will we always be insisting on working to get what we need, or will we be willing to let God give to us if He wants to? We can't work to earn our salvation, and there are times in our Christian life that we can't work to grow, get grace, etc. God wants to give. Of course, there are other times we need to work hard, but the trick is figuring out which is which. Grace and love are always gifts though, that much I do know.

It was so encouraging to be with mature Christian leaders all week. There were so many amazing examples of servanthood that we got to observe and be blessed by. It was humbling to think of all people were doing for us when they had their own churches and kids to take care of too. Gary Shook and Toni Michael were amazing because they did the adult leader stuff and took care of us. They made us feel like we weren't alone and if we needed anything they were there to help. And then when we did ask for help, they totally gave it. I heard Gary say when someone said his name (for the hundredth plus time): "Gary?" "How can I help you?" An automatic response of genuine desire to be of help in any way even after doing it all week. It doesn't sound amazing here, but it was in real life. And yet he would say, "We're not mature" when Jeff told him it was encouraging to be around all of those mature leaders all week.

Tomorrow I am going to Angie's with Alycia and maybe Laura to chat and have lunch. I made pasta salad and got hot dogs for the kids so we could all eat together. We usually don't get done until it's past the kids lunch time and that makes it harder for them. So, since I didn't have to cook all last week, I made stuff while making meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner.

Did I mention the food at LT was EPIC? Yes, it really was. Breakfast and lunch was done by Rosemary who did an amazing job of feeding everyone. Dinner was in the dining hall. They have a "Real Food on Campus" campaign and the food was excellent. It was all you could eat, but they had a "green plate club" and asked that you only take what you can eat. They didn't have trays, and they had several stations that served the same things so you didn't have to stand in line at one place. Pasta with spicy marinara sauce, amazing green beans, sweet potatoes, stuffed tomatoes, pork roast (that tasted like something, not just bland), salad bar, fruit, brownies with nuts (I learned the hard way to get my brownie with my meal because otherwise, the many campers took them all!), real pizza (not just greasy cheese), burritos, yum, yum, yum!! And I got a large glass of sweet tea every night with dinner as my treat for dealing with all the headaches of the day. Since I don't "drink" for real! :) Having such good food really did make me happy every day and made it easier to deal with the dorms and other issues.

Well, it is now time to go to bed. It's 10:30pm no matter what the time says on my blog. And I am tired. And I will probably be tired for some time, so better start trying to get rested.

Sometimes LT is Hard

Sometimes LT is hard. Yeah, it is, but we're managing to deal with the hard things. So, we left at 6:20am after getting up at 4:30am. The trip went pretty well actually except for before lunch, we were driving through the mountains in WV, I hadn't had much to eat, I got up too early with not enough sleep the night before (it was the wake up every couple of hours sleep to see how much more time I had to sleep--not very restful), and the sun was in my eyes, which all led to a very, very bad headache, the likes of which I have not had before. I knew I had to eat to feel better and to take Advil, but the food didn't taste good and I couldn't focus on anyone because my head hurt so much. So I ate what I could and took Advil and went out to the van to close my eyes and let the food help my blood sugar, etc. It did pretty quickly and by the time we had to leave again, I felt better--and thankfully we were out of mountains too.

We are in dorms--standard fare, bare bones: two beds, two desks, two dressers. No mirror. Communal bathroom. But AC at least which is necessary in NC in July. At least the sheets were clean even if the beds are hard!

However, last night there was not hot water for the girls who took showers. We thought maybe a bunch of people were showering before bed since we all just got here yesterday and there would be hot water this morning. Unfortunately, when I got up at 6:15 to get a hot shower, there was still no hot water. It wasn't "mountain spring" cold, but more "NC in July" cold. Still, it was a shock to the system, let me tell you! They are "fixing to fix it" today--or at least by tomorrow morning. That will make any other shower here more enjoyable than the one today!

We had a session last night and this morning and they've been good, but we still haven't had much time with our group. Feels different this year...the older kids are going to be gone with Tom Short for several things which will be good, but it doesn't feel as cohesive as other years. Partly, too, because we're split up into dorm rooms with two to a room. We're all in the same small area, and we have space right outside our rooms to sit and talk, but it doesn't have the homey feel of the condos where everyone is together all the time.

I was talking to Lisa Rohrig today and she said she likes this much better. Even though she drove a 12 passenger van all the way down herself, she prefers that to the bus. I like the bus better and the condos. She didn't like cooking, but I liked having real food and eating all together. So, it's good to hear different opinions and to see the good in this situation too.

For breakfast, we had cereal and yogurt and granola bars that we ate in our little area outside our rooms. For lunch, we had ham and cheese sandwiches and chips and apples. For dinners we eat in the cafeteria.

So, I think Jeff needs his laptop now to go and get ready for his breakout session on Conversational Evangelism. So I'll do more when I get a chance to get it back. It's very popular with Abby, Hannah, and Janice too. Good thing he got his new one before he left so he has two to share. So keep praying for us and especially for Jeff--he found out when he got here on Saturday, that they had him scheduled for his "Tilly" message on Wed. morning. He really wants to do it, but didn't have much time to prepare. He's excited to speak, but needs God's grace as always! (He said the water was still cold!)

A quick pre-LT post!

I'll post really fast even though I feel like I should be packing more or cleaning or something more productive for LT. I've been at it all day, though, and things are coming together well I think. Meme and Pops were here until 1pm. Pops and Hannah went shopping, and she got some great pants and jeans, a shirt and a hat (of course). They took our Greta with them--tear, tear. I just came to sit down to blog and looked to see where she was...gone...:( I'm actually really glad she's with them, though. I know they'll take good care of her.

About half an hour after they left, I noticed that Meme had left her purse...of course, Pops didn't have his cell phone on, so repeated calls made no difference. Her phone was in her purse, so we just hoped they would notice and come back, or call and tell us what to do with it. I tried their house too and no answering machine. So I waited until I thought they would be home and tried again. She had just noticed it was missing, so I went to the post office to mail it at 4:40pm. Just made it in time! Not exactly the extra thing I needed to do, but it did give me a chance to stop at Marc's to get more M&Ms for the trip.

On the way to the PO, I was praying and just telling God how tired I am and how much I'm going to need His grace for this next week. It feels like, just like Katie was talking about Gideon and all of his extras being taken away, I had big plans to get lots of rest this week and to have time to prepare for LT. However, curve balls have been flying my way quite regularly, and I've just had to do what needed to be done without time to sleep well, prepare, plan, etc.

So, I go into the post office at 4:55pm and this little old lady goes in in front of me. She had a VERY long and somewhat humorous conversation with the mailman about "forever stamps" and then when she purchased some, it took quite a while to get her money, etc. It just sort of made me laugh. Even on my out-of-the-way errand and while I was trying to hurry, I got another reminder to be patient and just let things be as they are and deal with it without stressing. I chuckled quite a while about it all--she was a very funny little lady!

So, Jeff went to get gas in the van, and then I hope we can take a walk. It'll be a long time in the car and I haven't walked yet today. Yesterday on my walk, I got dive-bombed by a bird several times! I guess we'll have to wear helmets or something when we get to that part of the street. It was actually kind of scary to have a bird just come after me time after time. It never got me, but I ducked and just ran down the other side of the street. Yikes! I can see why Meme doesn't like birds much if that's how they've treated her! :)

Well, Jeff is back and so on we must go. Hopefully, I'll have time to blog at some point at LT. I'm praying that God speaks to my very tired and parched heart. I could use some serious spiritual refreshment. However, I've learned not to try to figure out just how that could happen. It may come through more trials and curve balls. But in all things, God is good. That much I do know!

Quick update

What a busy day this has turned out to be! Running around all morning to the doctor, to take Abby to babysit, to get a prescription at GE, and fill up the Honda with gas, try to do some laundry, clean, and then go back and pick Abby up at the Eaton's. Thankfully, Hannah helped by cleaning out the van, dusting, etc.

We did have a great time at Tarbucks with Meme though. Hannah went in her Panera clothes so we could fit it in between Abby babysitting and Hannah having to work. Java chip frappacino! Yumm!

Then more laundry and chatting with Meme a little more, and now working on dinner. I only have a few minutes while things are baking to post a quick update. Abby made banana cc muffins, and I was telling her the recipe, but I forgot to tell her to add the oatmeal. I thought they looked less lumpy than usual, but then I thought maybe it was smoother because the bananas were so ripe. I must learn to speak up when things don't look right. But I think they'll taste good too. Hopefully...

We're having RedHot chicken, roasted potatoes, roasted broccoli, salad, applesauce, muffins. Our last big meal before LT!!

Meme is now skyping with Katie--how cool!! Glad to hear that her last class teaching went well--we prayed for her at Tarbucks while we were drinking our frappies. Abby said that it was about that time for Katie to be teaching so we just stopped and prayed! Yay!

Well, guess I need to go and make sure dinner doesn't burn...More later!

Today was a lot of errands--Abby drove us all over to the bank, library, post office and Giant Eagle.  She did a great job and got some good time in.  We finally mailed grad gifts to the cousins.  Added a lot to what we spent on gifts, but it's fun to get a package in the mail!

I started dinner before we left for piano--Tortilla Pie.  And did laundry. Kept moving all day and went to the library when the girls were at piano.  I got a few more books to read.  Came home and finished dinner, we ate, and Jeff Marshall brought the van back.  The brakes are fixed and the AC too.  Did the church email.  Now time to finish my quiet time that I started before we left and didn't get to finish.

I walked again this morning because it is super hot again here today.  In the 90s.  The thermometer has hit 100 degrees every day at some point.  Today it wasn't even in the full sun!

Tomorrow Abby is babysitting for the Eaton boys so Angie can go to a bridal shower at work.  Meme and Pops are coming, and sometime I have to clean too.  Along with laundry and packing and facing the fact that LT is fast approaching!  Lots to do.

But apparently much less to talk about when there's a lot less drama!  So I guess until I think of something else interesting, I'll post this and have my QT. 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Amazing how much drama can occur in less than 24 hours! It was short-lived, but intense while it lasted...am I keeping you in suspense long enough? OK, so last night I was in bed, lights out, TV off, almost asleep, when Jeff came upstairs and started to get ready for bed. He went back out of our room and then back in and got on the computer and started typing away. I had felt like in Madeline: "something is not right!" but was trying not to think and just go to sleep because we had Urban Vision this morning...but I couldn't not ask. He said, "Just go to sleep," like he knew whatever it was would wake me up. I figured it had something to do with one of the girls, and moms cannot just roll over and go to sleep when "something is not right!" So he told me. "Hannah got moved to Wright Hall with Judi. Second floor, but 21 year olds are allowed to drink in there." It's farther away than even Eastway from the center of campus. He was right; I was wide awake and freaking out! Hannah had been taking a shower and came in. She had checked her room assignment again for some reason before going to bed--glad she checked and saw it, but maybe not just then! We assured her Jeff would call in the morning and see why they took her out of the Honors Dorm (probably because they just then came to Judi's application and moved Hannah to be with her?) and if they can please put her back in. We prayed and that should have been the end of it; go to sleep and deal with it in the morning.

But for some reason, I just completely lost it thinking about Hannah being in that dorm after already being put in Johnson--what a disappointment for her, even if it would be with Judi. I think she's been imagining herself there and expecting to be there and then finding out she WAS there was very exciting, even if there was that question of being with two roommates instead of one. But to have rug pulled out from under her just seemed so unfair.

I was up for quite a while hashing things out with God and Jeff. Hannah has done such a good job and has worked very hard, and it's hard for me to see things fall through for her. I wanted to just be able to say, "God is in control, and everything will work out OK." But I don't know if it was because it was such a shock late at night, or because of the mood I was in, or what, but it was just very extremely hard. It took some time and some venting at God (the Biblical wording is "pouring my heart out to God" but it was not nearly that poetic) to get to the point of settling down and going to sleep. I know God knows everything that's in my heart, so I always feel like I might just as well say it. It might expose how much of a baby I really am sometimes, but again, God knows that too. No shock to Him, and He can handle it (as Dennis used to say).

I thought of those words to the Twila Paris song "Do I Trust You?" and that is really what it always boils down to: Sometimes my little heart can't understand What's in Your will, What's in Your plan. So many times I'm tempted to ask you Why? But I can never forget it for long, Lord, what You do could not be wrong, So I believe You, even when I must cry...

I didn't sleep well, and woke up around 6:30am--seemed like 8am would never come so Jeff could call. I decided to get up at 7:15am and go for a walk before UV--partly because it's so hot during the day, and partly just to burn off some adrenaline and stress I think. I prayed through everything again a little more rationally and got to the point of being able to really pray for God's will for Hannah even if it's different from what we/she think(s). Of course I KNOW in my head that God always does know best, that He loves Hannah more than we ever could, that He wants to give her good things, and that He has an awesome plan for her life. It just takes some time for emotions to catch up with head knowledge sometimes.

I realized today too, that even Jesus had to go through that process (on a much grander scale than my small issues). He knew God personally and intimately and knew exactly why He had come to earth, but when the time came, it was OK for Him to ask God to change the plans if possible so He wouldn't actually have to go through it. He was very distressed and distraught, and that was OK. I realize that my problems are miniscule in comparison to what Jesus was facing, but I was so thankful that God allowed us to see that struggle instead of just glossing over it and making it seem wrong somehow to ask and wrestle with God's will at times.

So when I got home from my walk, Jeff called and had to leave a message for the man who "deals with these kinds of situations" (which I imagined the person to be thinking "the helicopter parents who demand their kid be in the dorm they want"--but of course, that may be just me being paranoid). Before we had to leave for UV, the man called Jeff back and said he'd take care of it and make it happen. That sounded promising, so at least we could go to UV and do our jobs feeling like something good was happening. And all went smoothly there (our last day of the summer program), and when we were getting ready to leave, Abby checked her phone and Jeff had left a voice mail that Hannah's assignment now says, Johnson 129 with one roommate right next to where she was before with 2. So, we'll see if that sticks. Mr. Taylor said in the morning that she was probably one of the last to get in since she was in a 3 person room, and for some reason that may make it easier to put her back (maybe because he could have put her back in a 3 person room?)

Now we all feel bad about Judi--still don't know why they weren't put together in Sto-Jo--if she's not an honors student, if she didn't get her application in until later, don't know...but we are praying for her to have an awesome roommate in a good dorm situation. As much as Hannah would have liked to room with her, living in Sto-Jo has been a long-time desire, and will be a much better place for her to study effectively too. Hopefully they can still be friends and spend lots of time together.

Whew! So that's been the drama, and until we get the actual letter in the mail, I am still praying that things don't change again. H's new roommate seems to be a sophomore from fb stalking. :)

Other than that, things have been just the usual. H. is at work, Jeff and took the van to get the brakes fixed before the big LT trip, we had pancakes and bacon for dinner. Although I chose to have a BL sandwich instead (didn't even miss the tomato). Tomorrow we plan to do the library, Giant Eagle, bank trip. Seems funny to buy groceries before a trip, but we do need some things that are on sale. And bananas. Ours are over-ripe--maybe I'll get Abby to make banana bread.

Meme and Pops are coming on Thursday to take Greta to Grandma Camp. We saw this ad in a coupon flyer for a doggy camp. "Play all day. Snooze the night away." With certified camp counselors! They even had a free one day camp coupon, but it said the "camper must pass the Interview before being accepted." Or something like that! We decided Greta better stick with Grandma who loves her no matter what! :)

So, that's the news here--the good, the bad, and the ugly. And thankfully, God loves us in all of it--even when we're the ugly! :)

The Long Weekend (that doesn't seem long enough)

So, I've not been doing so well at blogging daily.  I guess maybe because I've talked to Katie more often and therefore don't have much to tell you that's new.  Let's see, since Thursday...

Friday we had the Karen girls over but not until 1pm so that gave me time to walk and make food (soup, rice, brownies) before I picked them up.  We went swimming in the Fuller's lovely pool.  I'm so thankful for generous neighbors who let us use their pool when they're away.  It made the day so much more fun for the girls.  They LOVE to swim and stay in for hours.  Except for poor Eh Ler who is allergic to cold and had to get out.  Her skin swells up from the cold pool water just like in winter when she gets snow between her coat and glove.  We ate dinner, they played outside for awhile.  Abby and Hannah went all over looking for a big bag of rubber bands for them to use to make a new rubber band rope for their game they play.  Finally found them at Staples.  That was before they got there, so while the younger girls were still swimming, Hannah, Hser Ler Moo, and Eh Ler made another rope--the old one was brittle and the rubber bands kept breaking.  So they played that and sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and I read a couple of chapters from Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic. 

We watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua which was actually a pretty funny movie.  Talking dogs...what's not to like about that?!  Especially ones dressed in little outfits!

The girls went to bed fairly early and with little fanfare which gave the Yackleys a little time to talk since Dad didn't get home until during the movie.  We talked about a blog that Abby had a conversation about with someone.  Good for thought-provoking discussion.  Along with the book she had me read:  The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne.  A lot of good stuff that has made me think and question and wonder.  I think that's his desire, so I guess he accomplished that.  All about living in such a way that really fleshes out what we say we believe about helping the poor and causing change in the world--not through government, but through the church and Christians doing small things to help real people.  We may have done that to a very small degree with Urban Vision and the Karen girls, but there is much more we could be doing.  It's a process I guess and that means being sensitive to what God asks US to do.  It's easy to compare and feel like we're not ever going to be able to do enough and feel perpetually guilty.  But that's not what God would want either.

Saturday we basically waited until everyone got up and ate breakfast and then we went for a walk with them all.  They weren't thrilled with that I don't think.  Walking for exercise doesn't really make sense to them, but they went, and since it was supposed to get hotter, I didn't want to wait and miss my chance to walk.  So that's the price they pay for coming to Mrs. Melissa's house. :)

Jeff and I took them home and then he helped Abby re-bunk her beds to make more room for her to have a bean bag in her room.  She and Hannah had moved all the stuff out to make it easier.  I re-cleaned everything I had just cleaned on Thursday which was hard to do with a good attitude.  I feel sometimes like I never make any progress.  I just re-do all the same things and never have time to do a bigger project that feels like I'm accomplishing something.  But I couldn't stand not to, so I just did it.  We went to Wal-Mart and got a lamp--very cool with 5 colored lamp shades and a storage unit for Abby's room--which Katie will get to share when she comes home.  I told Abby after everything was done, that I like it so much, I'll be hanging out in there with her all the time!  :)  She LOVED that idea!

Hannah's been working on going through stuff in her room--kind of like a pre-college clean out.  She'd like to re-arrange stuff in there too, but the pieces just don't fit very many different ways.  And she'll only be in there a lot for another few weeks...boo hoo...time is going too fast...and yet we're excited for Katie to come home, but that means only a few weeks until school starts...there's just too much to wrap my head around.  I guess I just need to focus on enjoying each and every day since that's all we really have anyway.

That was brought to mind again this weekend when Carol Reynolds called and said that Linda's niece, Amy, was taken to the hospital with a brain bleed and had to be taken to the Cleveland Clinic for a procedure to stop it.  They have 4 young children--we saw them at Kevin's grad party--and she's only late 20's, early 30's.  We've been praying a lot for her and their family.  For 100% recovery quickly.

Saturday night Abby and Jeff went to fireworks, and Hannah and I stayed home.  She watched Toy Story 1 & 2, and I had a quiet time.  I just felt too tired to go and then get up early on Sunday for music.  They took pictures, and I got to go to bed!  We saw a few out our window from some brave (or foolish)soul shooting them off nearby.

Sunday they all did music, and I made coffee.  Good service with Carol talking about her dad and then Rick tying in all the spiritual applications of what she shared about her dad's life.  And at the end of the first service, Kyle proposed to Lisa much to her surprise!!  Our first GSCC proposal during church!!  Very sweet and exciting!

We came home and ate leftover pizza, then Jeff and I went to the thrift store.  Party to look for a little night stand for Abby's room and partly because I was thinking they were having a 20% off sale--they usually do on holidays.  They were, but we really didn't find much except some golf shirts for Jeff.  I did get a pair of shoes ($2) and a sun-blocking hat for LT.

Hannah was still working on her room and Paige was over.  We watched UP with Paige and Abby and went for a walk late since it was so hot.  Oh yeah, can't forget that we got Taco Bell for dinner!  So patriotic of us on July 4th!  We had coupons for 4 free drinks--special slushy ones.  We fed four of us for less than $8.  But it didn't seem very July 4th-ish.  Maybe that's been my deal this weekend...it's a holiday weekend and we haven't done anything very holiday-ish.  It was good to get Abby's room done and to have the Karen girls over, but no cook out or having friends over...seems lonely or something.  The old "we don't have any friends" feeling.  We didn't invite anyone I guess because it was last minute and I thought everyone would have plans.

Today we walked first and then I showered and that always seems to take all morning.  But it was 80 by 9am so it was good we went when we did.  At one point, our thermometer said 100.  It was 90 in the garage, so that's a pretty accurate idea of the temperature.  We went to see "How to Train your Dragon" at the dollar theater, which on Mondays with 3 or more people was only 75 cents.  We thought about going to see Toy Story 3 in 3D but that would have cost 8.50 each...hmm...$3 total or $34 total?  We opted for cheap, and actually it was a good movie.  Kinda weird how it tied in with the Shane Claiborne book.  He talks about using creativity to come up with new solutions to war, poverty, violence, etc.  And the main character in the movie did that.  Vikings had always killed dragons, but he used creativity to find another solution.  Funny how those things often happen...books, movies tie in to each other just when you're reading/seeing them.

We came home, and I made sloppy joes for lunch with sweet potato fries (and a few waffle fries for Hannah), strawberries, and baked beans since Hannah had to go to work and Jeff was going golfing and neither would be here for dinner.  Jeff read a BOOK (Irr. Rev. since I talked so much about it), Abby read blogs, Hannah went to work, I had a quiet time, am blogging, and not sure what else I'll do this evening.  Whew! Now you're caught up!

We also had a meeting between services and after the second service about LT.  Can't believe it's almost here.  I wish I felt more excited about it.  I think because it's going to be different and I'm not sure what to expect exactly, I have some concerns.  Also, we have to take 3 vans and leave at 6am so I'm not looking forward to that either.  Even though I don't have to drive all the way, I still haven't been doing so well lately on little sleep and getting up early.  But God has always given grace in the past and I've always loved LT and been refreshed by it spiritually, so I know I need to trust God in that way again.  There area 15 of us going--11 kids and 4 adults:  Scott H. and Janice and us.  Staying in dorms will be different too, but I'm sure we'll survive for a week!

Well, I guess I should go and do something productive with yet another day that is slipping away from me!  Problem is, by this time (5pm) I don't feel like starting anything too big.  Maybe I'll prepare for my tutoring with Sarah on Friday.  We're going over "fighting scientists"!  And I should look at what I have to do for UV tomorrow morning too.  Our last week of that.  The van is getting the brakes fixed tomorrow too--glad to have that done before our trip.  So, I guess that will be all for now.

Loved skyping with Katie this weekend!  Looking forward to chatting face to face in August!!  Mwah!

The week in review

Oh my, sorry no post for so long. I've meant to sit down and write, but haven't gotten it done. Sunday was my last post...Monday...did tutoring with Sarah, went to Giant Eagle and the library with Hannah and Abby. Can't remember the rest of the day unfortunately, but I'm sure it involved a quiet time and a walk and making dinner...oh yeah, Uncle Tom came back here on Monday, THAT'S what we did. He got here just as I was eating lunch after the grocery store and talking to Mom on the phone. We chatted a little and Hannah went to work. Then he and Abby went to the Gorge and took pictures while taking a hike. I made dinner. Monday night we went for a walk and hung out with him.

Tuesday Jeff stayed home to hang out with his brother while we girls went to UV to volunteer. They stopped in at UV which was fun. Jeff hasn't been able to go for a long time. It was a pretty good day there except for some puzzling things with another volunteer. She seemed to be helping Kase (if you know him, he's smart and charming, but kind of ornery as so many of the boys are!) with being distracted with doing these worksheets for the younger kids that he had gotten out of the recylce box to use as a fan. I had told them at the beginning of the time that they needed to listen and would get one warning before losing their stickers. It was a group of 6 rowdy boys! They needed the reminder! So I told him once that those were for younger kids and he needed to pay attention to what we were doing, but he didn't so I told him he lost his sticker. I should have taken them away, but didn't. Ta Mwee Moo also lost his because he just couldn't stop talking that day.

After the class she said, "Would you have wanted me to (and here I expected her to say "take away the worksheets when you warned him about it?") but she said, "take him out in the hall and work on those worksheets with him?" Uhhh...that was the last thing I would have wanted because they ALL would have wanted to go do easy 2nd grade worksheets instead of grade appropriate stuff. So I said, "No, he needed to be listening to what we were doing. He's a smart boy and it wasn't too hard for him. He just wanted to talk." She said, "I think he liked the positive reinforcement of getting them all right." Again...uhh...yeah, but he could have been getting positive reinforcement for getting all of the antonyms right that we were doing in class. I just said, "If it were too difficult for him, that would be one thing, but it really wasn't, and then all of them would have wanted to do something easier too. We're trying to do age-appropriate things with them this summer." Puzzing especially because she is a middle school teacher in the school these kids go to and should know the drill I would think.

Oh well, maybe she thinks I'm mean, but our lessons build on each other each day and if I skip something on Tuesday, that makes it harder for Bev on Thursday. The next class I did have her go out in the hall and read with a girl who's older and doesn't read well and would have had a harder time doing what we were doing...so maybe she doesn't think I'm too awful after all. Guess it really doesn't matter if I'm trying to do what I'm supposed to!

Tom left Tuesday around 3pm for a 4pm flight. I'm always so tired after UV that I don't think I got much done, but I did make stuffed shells for dinner.

Wednesday I went to the bank and did laundry and worked on my syllabus for physical science in the morning with much help from Hannah and Abby! After lunch I did the one for the ACT class and got fall semester done. There's still much to prepare for, but it was a good start.

I had to run Abby up to Target to replace her graham cracker pie crust for her ice cream pies since the cover was broken/cracked and we weren't sure if it was stale/germy! She made two delicious pies for youth group and we got to have some leftovers when she got home.

Hannah went to work and Abby and I went to piano. I went to Marc's while she was there and got lots of fruit--planning to have the Karen girls over on Friday, so I always like to get lots of fruit for them. I accidentally got a free watermelon too. I had left it in my cart so I didn't have to lift it, and when I was putting groceries in the cart after they were bagged, I saw it and asked the cashier if she had gotten it. She said she thought she did and I had already stuffed the receipt in my purse and she seemed more in a hurry to go on to the next person even after I asked again, so I left. It was only $2.79 which is a great price for a whole watermelon. I would have gladly paid for it!

Dad and I were on our own again last night since H was at work and A was at youth group. We ate leftovers and walked--very exciting. Dad sprayed the yard for weeds too. Woo hoo! We know how to live it up!

Today, H and A went to Angie's to help out from about 9:30 until 1:30. I cleaned the house, did their laundry and worked on the school room. I still have more to do, but am trying to get it to be a useable "office" space for me this fall. For jewelry and school stuff.

Now I need to make dinner. Tonight is pierogies (jalapeno cheddar--a new kind) and smoked sausage and green beans with corn muffins. Very quick and easy, hence the time to blog at 5:15pm. But now I do need to run! Until later, dear reader!

Sunday, Sunday

Today was a good Sunday.  Jeff did an awesome job at "teaching his seminar" at church--he covered a lot of great info in a short amount of time and kept everyone on track with notes and pictures of cute baby otters.  He stole the baby otter pic idea from a guy at KSU who used funny pictures brilliantly to keep the college students interested at Hannah's orientation.

We ate at Chipotle with Rosie and Chris, and the kids ate with youth group kids.  The adults had to sit outside even though it was roasting hot because there were no seats for four people together inside.  There was a table who was finished eating and just munching chips at a very leisurely pace...was hoping they would take pity on us and get up, but they didn't, so we ate NYC-style in the heat outside. 

We came home and Jeff and Abby went to GE to get a newspaper then we hung out watching golf until they left again for Abby to babysit for Sophia, Riley, and Cora at the Reynolds.  Should be a fun night, unless the kids were scared of the thunderstorm we had soon after she got there.  (Ehne Thau called because it was really windy at her house and she just wanted to make sure we weren't going to have a tornado--and she didn't call it a "tomato") Abby got a little driving in today because she asks to go--by far the most motivated driving student we've had.  Guess she really doesn't want to be stuck here with me all the time alone.  She wants to be able to get AWAY!  :)

Hannah went down to the Fullers for youth group--too bad Abby had to miss it since it's right down the street, but she was happy to babysit!  It unfortunately rained and stormed on their "pool party" but I saw they were out doing water balloons.  Jeff and I ate grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and then took a walk. Then he helped me try to figure out my CD from Mrs. Jones and what's on it, so I could start working on preparing for that soon. 

The summer is going so fast!  There are so many things I wanted to do on my very long list, and I don't think I've done any of them so far.  Well, I guess I'll just keep trying to make the best use of every day and trust the Lord to make it all count somehow and to get done what's really important.  It feels like every day has a little (or big) chunk out of it, so I don't feel able to start any big projects.  But this week so far Thursday is all free, and I'm going to try to keep it that way so that I can tackle something that takes more than a couple of hours.

I was glad to see some of Karlien's pictures from the Prague trip--seems like they had a great time and I can't wait to hear Katie's stories from it!  I just told Jeff today that I haven't worried about Katie traveling, etc. in Europe at all.  I know there are things that could go wrong, but I really believe that she is where God wants her to be and is doing what God wants, and I can trust Him to take care of her in the midst of it.  Plus, she's a smart girl and makes good choices and uses her head--all important qualities when traveling!

No big "future career" revelations today, but reading further in John 15, I am realizing that whatever I end up doing, it will involve bearing fruit in God's kingdom.  Maybe it won't be a job where that is the focus, like a "Christian" job, but I believe I will be in a place where God wants to use me in the lives of others to bear fruit to glorify God.  He chose us to bear much fruit, fruit that remains.  I was also thinking how that is really the only "career" that could be fulfilling after the awesome one of raising my girls.  There is so much lasting, meaningful, eternally important stuff in being a mom, and I've often wondered what else I could ever do that will be worth my time after that!  Certainly not something that is just earning a paycheck.  It will have to be meaningful for the kingdom too, but maybe not obviously so at the beginning.  I will just obey whatever God shows me and trust Him to make it meaningful.

After reading more of "The Difference" I was kind of amused by how much of it naturally comes from being a Christian:  optimism, hard work, good relationships, hope, taking smart risks, having a network of people, delayed gratification.  Of course, not all Christians have all of those things, but it certainly is easier to have them.  And those are some of the qualities that wealthy people have.  So we kind of have a head start on being financially successful if only we would go for it and then use our money to change the world!  I kind of hope my next career affords me the ability to do just that!

Guess I'll go and read more and then hit the hay!