Happy and Sad

Yesterday was a big day for my son, Joseph. He completed preschool at The Frankfort Christian Academy. They had a short program and awards ceremony and he did such a great job. Joe received the phonics award (he really is good at that if I do say so myself). He had such a good time and looked so cute all dressed up for the program. I was so happy for him for having done so well this year. I was also sad that my little boy is growing up. He will be going off to kindergarten next year and he won't need me as much as he did. He is already trying to do more things on his own. I miss the days when I was the one he depended on for everything! I know he has to grow up, and I know that God has great plans for him, I just miss holding my baby boy. He is getting to big to cuddle. Hopefully we will have the opportunity in the next year or so to get him a sibling so he doesn't turn out too rotten.

The hunt is over

I finally found a bible to meet my needs. Last night I came across the TNIV/The Message Parallel Bible. This is the best of both worlds and I am very excited about it. The version of this bible that I would like to get is not available until October 2005, but I can wait for it. My next mission will be to find a cover for my bible. This will also be a daunting task, but I am up to the challenge.

On the hunt

I have been searching for the past several days for a new bible and I just don't know what to get. I have a study bible that I don't really use because it just has so much stuff that it gets difficult to read. I used to have an Oxford English bible that I really loved. It had easy to read text and just the right amount of additional information to make the experience really enjoyable. However, I can't find that bible now, and to replace it will be really expensive. Lately, I have used a pocket, paperback version of The Message, but it only has the New Testament. I really like it, but I would like to have the whole bible. I spent a good part of this morning looking through the bible section at Corinth Christian Bookstore and didn't really come up with anything. Any suggestions let me know. I know there are different schools of thought out there on the right version to use, but I just can't get through the KJV. Not even the New KJV. NIV is good, and, of course, I love The Message. I don't really know any of the other versions that well, so please keep that in mind when making your suggestions.

New Landscaping Technique

I learned a new landscaping technique today from Melinda. I'm very excited about this because it not only makes the landscaping look better, but it makes it easier to maintain. It is the simple method of digging a ditch around flower beds, trees, etc. This helps to keep the mulch in the beds you have planted, as well as keep you from having to weed eat around these areas. This has been a problem in our house because the Mr. and I both hate to weed-eat, and when we do we kill all the plants that are in our path, intended or not. I realize this technique may not be new to some of you, but it is new to me, and I am impressed with the results. A huge thanks to Mel for all her hard work and for being willing to help out a landscaping idiot. Now let's just pray that Joseph and Oscar can stay out of the mulch and allow things to look pretty again.

Fixed...well, almost

My car has some new life in her. I got a new battery today and we put it in a few hours ago. The good news is my car started. The bad news is it stopped about 45 seconds after it started. We have since learned that one of the wires was, and still is, disconnected. This wire was up under the clamp on the positive side of the battery. Well, when we disconnected the cables this wire popped off. It was not really connected to anything so when we reconnected the the cables we just stuck it up under again thinking it couldn't hurt anything. We were right, except we secure it and therefore, the car stopped again. On Monday I plan to take the old girl in to Select Auto to the fabulous Dave and have his guys fix it for me. It should all be better by that afternoon.

A huge thanks to my Mr. for all his hard work on my car, and to Auto Zone for an excellent, and relatively cheap, battery.

When it rains...

On May 19, here in central Kentucky we had a series of bad thunderstorms that caused flash flooding and some property damage. This morning when I woke up I thought that we had escaped the flooding and property damage and were in the clear (actually partly cloudy). However, when trying to start my car ('95 Volvo) this morning I learned that my car was flooded. I knew it rained hard yesterday and last night, but give me a break. The sad thing is, this is not the first car we have owned that has had this problem. Tim seems to think that if today is rain-free then my car will be fine. I don't know. She's not exactly in tip top shape anyway, so I just don't know if she will recover. I've only had her since October, but I've grown accustomed to her quirky ways, and honestly, I just don't have the money to replace her right now.

I will say that my son, Joseph, was very cute this morning in the car. He knew something was wrong and kept asking questions like, "Is your care sick, Mommy?", and "can you just get another car?" He was so CUTE! After finally giving up on trying to revive the old girl, Joe asked if I had money in the house for a new car. I told him no and then he told me that he had money inside that I could have. Is he sweet or what? Granted he only has $2.27 and a button, but the gesture was great. When I told him that it would take about 5,000 bowls of change for a new car (okay, newer), he said, "Awh, but I only have one bowl, Mommy." It took a minute to calm him down and explain that it was okay that he only had one bowl, but when we dropped him off at school he was still a little sad about not having enough money. One of these days I will have enough money in the house to buy a new car, but for now we will just have to save up enough to get the old one fixed.

Completed - finally!!!

I have just completed Financial Peace University!!! I am very happy about this. Not that the class is over, but that I stuck it out and actually learned enough to change my spending behavior. Some of you out there know, that is a very, very, very big deal for me. For anyone really. I know that several people in our class walked away feeling better about their finances and financial future. Don't get me wrong--I do not yet have our finances whipped into shape. However, I know the direction we need to go in and I have a good idea how to get there. If anyone out there has a single question about their finances...has even one sleepless night in a year because you're worried about money...or is simply curious to know what this nut Dave Ramsey is talking about, then please, please look for a class in your area. I promise you, you will not be disappointed.

www.daveramsey.com

Fun T-shirts

For some reason, for the past few days, my best friend (and sister-in-law), Melinda, and I have been consumed with looking at, and eventually buying, funny t-shirts on-line. Why? I don't really know. It all started when Julia found some shirts on-line and showed Mel, who then shared them with me. I have actually had a lot of fun finding these shirts and I have been impressed with the graphic design work (don't get jealous, Rew, you're still the best) and the amount of good clean fun shirts that are out there in the world. I am sad to say that there are also just as many rude and crude shirts out there. Anyway, my favorite site so far has to be the Busy Bodies t-shirt site. Go visit--I know you will enjoy and probably find a shirt for yourself!

http://www.cafepress.com/busybodies

Better late than never

For those of you who regularly check my blog for new posting (Hi, mom!) I want to apologize for taking so long to update. I was verbally repremanded by my "blogging mentor" this morning before our first service at CBC for not keeping up. Sorry, Rew. I'll try to do better.

As for my life in the past week, there really isn't much to tell. I've basically been doing stuff for church and trying to take care of my family. Now, I have to say, the "taking care of my family" part has been the most challenging. Why? I have a 5 year old. Need I say more? Okay, well some of you don't have children, some of you do and they're perfect angels, and some of you have children who have gone through phases that made you want to cry (and sometimes you did). Well, my little boy, Joseph, has been a real booger this last week or so. He is in a phase of testing his power over his parents. And boy does he test it!!! He has pitched some major fits with kicking and hitting and throwing and sometimes more. Man, I haven't had this many bruises since I feel off a horse when I was 21 years old (another story for another time). Some of you have seen one of these fits. For that, I sincerely apologize. For those who haven't had the priviledge, I hope you never do. Believe me, you do not want to see it.

I am asking for prayer for me, Tim and Joseph, as well as, his teachers and friends and other family members who keep him on occasion. I'm hoping he comes out of this real soon so we can move on with our lives. We are going to the Weisskopf Child Evaluation Center in June for several different evaluations and tests and I hope that they can help us to know if this is something we will have to deal with the rest of our lives or if it's just a phase. Either is possible at this point. We are taking him because a pediatrician has suggested that he may be mildly autistic and has noted speech delays and a few other things we are having checked out. Some of you may not know that we adopted Joseph from Thailand when he was 13 months old. This has been the excuse by everyone (us and docs included) as to the speech delay. However, there are some other signs that point to other reasons and that's why we're going. I know that whatever they tell us it will help us to know what steps we should take next. We'll see.

Okay, so much for not having much to tell. I guess maybe I was just hoping I wouldn't have to think about it all again for a while. Now, aside from these fits it was a rather boring week with only a few unexpected surprises. Oh, I will say that Mother's Day was wonderful (it was fit free!!!!).

God is Good!!

Well, I have to say that God gave me a much better day than I deserved. I spent time yesterday kind of feeling sorry for myself, and this morning God opened my eyes to see the great and wonderful things that he has placed in my life.

First, my sweet little boy woke up in a fairly good mood (he's not a morning person) which made getting him off to school much easier than usual. Next, I went to work at CLS and I absolutely loved it!!! I am truly blessed to be able to work for Dwayne Cook who is very encouraging and positive. Also, I work with a great group of people who know how to have a good time. (If this were a Disney film they would whistle while they worked.) And then God gave me time to spend with friends at church and, last, but definately not least, a night to spend with my family.

It was a beautiful day here in Frankfort, KY, and I have seen so much of God's majestic works. I am thankful for my God, my family, my friends, and for good, hard work. It was a great day.

What's the point?

Have you ever wondered why you are here? No, I'm not one to normally get bogged down in stuff like this, but today has just been one of those days. It started off with me getting up much later than I had planned, then trying to get myself ready to leave the house (that does include getting Joseph ready), finally getting out of the house only to be reminded that I had a prior committment to help a friend (sorry Vicki!), going back to my house to keep the committment, then leaving again about 2 hours later to go to Lexington, then to CLS for a minute, then finally home again. I'm exhausted. So, this leaves me to ponder, what's the point? Why, God, why?

After thinking for a few hours, I have decided that there are a few choices about what God was thinking when he made me. Number one, the guy was in a really good mood that day and said, "I need a really good laugh!! Let's have some fun with this one." Number two, still in a good mood, he just decided that he would mess with me a little every now and then. And, number three, he was in a good mood, but decided that he wanted to mess with the people who would be in my life. I'm not sure which it is, but I know that he must be having a great time up there.

So, after all this, what is the conclusion? I have no idea. Ah! Again, God is messing with me. What a kidder!! All I do know for sure is that God loves me like no one else and I am his forever.

My latest toy

Okay folks, I really feel like I am coming into the 21st century. Today I purchased an MP3 player with my hard earned money from CLS!!! I'm very excited. I knew things were bad when on Monday at work I had to stop what I was doing to eject a tape from my tape player and turn it over so I could hear the other side. Yes, that player was from the early nineties. I know it's sad--what with being married to a techno geek and all, but I'm finally catching up with the rest of the world. Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't buy the latest and greatest player, but I got one to suit my needs and I think I'll be very happy with it. For those who are wondering, I got the ilo 256MB digital audio MP3 player. It's a fairly cheap little number (due to to the MB size), but it has expandable memory and will play for 16 hours on 1 AAA battery.

I want to give props to Wallie world for the excellent price on the previously mentioned device - $69.98 (that's with USB cable, earbuds, belt clip case, and armband). They wanted a little too much for the 1GB model (sorry, Rew), but I feel like I made a good purchase. Would Dave Ramsey be proud? Possibly, I did some research, I planned and saved (sort of), I shared my plan with my other half (very important), and I paid cash for the thing! All in all, I am extremely happy with my purchase and I hope that those of you who are still listening to ratty cassette tapes will soon join those of us who have stepped into the 21st century (no matter how small that step may be).

My precious, yet psycho puppy, Oscar.