His promise.........Jeremiah 29:11

New blog...

2009-12-30T18:01:00.004-05:00

In case anyone still checks this blog I wanted to let you know that I have started a new one. Go to http://joeandolivia.blogspot.com/ for all the exciting happenings in my life. :-)

Election Day, November 4th, 2008

2008-10-28T18:50:00.003-05:00

Just about everyone I know is really sick of seeing political ads...especially ones where one candidate disparages their opponent. There are some real horrible ones here in Kentucky, as I'm sure there are in every state. In this regard, November 4th cannot come fast enough for me. :-)

This past Sunday our pastor, Rick Long, did a great job talking about the upcoming election. This is hard to do for just about anyone, but to give ideas and opinions gracefully in a political city like Frankfort, KY takes guts. When I say he did a great job that is actually an understatement. I was moved by what he said. The majority of the sermon did not focus on the election or politics at all, but his statements about the presidential election really stuck with me. To paraphrase, Rick told us that no president, Republican or Democrat, ever changed anyones life...this is only done by Jesus Christ. It helped me to put the whole thing into perspective. I guess you must understand that Rick was a political science major and keeps up with most political issues facing the nation, our state, and the city of Frankfort, so I always respect his opinion. He also told us that he is a one issue voter. This makes a lot of sense to me since there is so much on each candidates platform it becomes difficult to keep up with it all. The issue he is concerned with is pro-life and that is the same for me.

I don't want to tell any of you (or rather the one person who will read this blog) how to vote. I just want to tell you that you should vote. Research your candidates and make an informed decision. Have a great week! :-)

My life this last week...

2008-10-05T20:51:00.004-05:00

This cartoon illustrates perfectly my life this past week. I recently upgraded my phone from a Treo 650 to a Treo 755p. I love the new design (thinner and no antenna), the new weight (much lighter), and improved screen and camera. I also got it at a great price. However, I have not had normal reception since this past Sunday. At the moment my signal shows a triangle which means I am roaming. Funny...I have not gone anywhere this past week that I don't normally go. Most of my time has been spent at home! How did I suddenly go from having 5 bars to 1 bar and roaming? Sprint PCS tech support is working on this problem but who knows when it will be fixed. I have been super frustrated while watching my "shows" because I keep seeing Dan Hesse on his stupid commercials talking about all that cell phones can do nowadays AND how great Sprint PCS is as a provider. ARGH!!! While they have been okay, I would not say they have been great. I just happen to have some serious problems right now. Soooo...if anyone has been trying to call me during this past week I haven't been ignoring you...I've simply been unable to answer or call. VERY FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!!

On a different note, we had a great discussion this morning during table groups at The Point (essentially our version of Sunday School). We have been going through the book "The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism" by Tim Keller which has stimulated conversations that sometimes blow my mind. :-) Today we tackled the issue of "how can a loving God send people to hell?" and our teaching text was Luke 16:19-31. It was probably my favorite discussion to date. The staff of The Point give us great notes from the book to help us in our discussion. I'm so incredibly blessed to be part of a church which glorifies God by not being afraid to talk about the Truth and who's leadership works to serve and be relevant to the people of Central Kentucky and beyond. Keep up the good work folks! :-)

Homeschool Project

2008-08-21T19:03:00.008-05:00

This past spring Joseph wanted to plant some sunflowers. We went to the store, bought a packet of seeds, and headed home. Joseph was so happy to have the seeds...he headed straight outside to plant them. I didn't know he was planting them in the area at the front of house in our landscaping in between the bushes. He didn't make a huge mess so I encouraged him to water when he thought it was needed. As you can imagine, being 8 years old, it didn't take him long to lose interest in caring for his plant. After two months we saw one seedling. I knew that we were going to be moving so I didn't push the issue of him taking care of the plant further. On our last day at the old house Joseph became upset when he thought we were going to leave his sunflower plant. I told him he could dig it up (figuring he would completely destroy the roots) and we would take it to the new house. The plant not only survived being dug up and planted in a pot, but dug up again and planted in the landscaping at the new house! Joseph watched the plant, made sure his daddy didn't cut it down, and now we have a sunflower that is over 6 feet tall. We have taken pictures of it and Joseph is now researching sunflowers and their life cycle so that he can better understand what part he played in helping this plant to grow. I love homeschooling. :-)

WOW! 15 years

2008-08-14T21:58:00.002-05:00

Tim and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary today. You got it! 15. Sadly, it's a long time by todays standards, but we always knew it would last. If you had asked me 15 years ago today where I would be in 15 years I never would have said, "Oh, you know. Married for 15 years, living in Shelbyville, KY, being a stay-at-home-mom for our adopted son, Joseph, and home schooling." No...15 years ago I would have said, "Um...do you mind...I don't have time for this. It's my wedding day!" LOL

Just a bit of information about our wedding day. It started off with me getting my hair done and it looking like something my grandmother would have done. I argued with my sister (when do we not do that, though), had a brunch with my brides maids, learned that the best man, Bob, was offering to drive Tim far away from the ceremony (you can imagine my feelings on that one). Had my make-up and nails done, got to the church only to learn that the air conditioning in the fellowship hall was not working (it was later fixed), started getting dressed, heard that Tim was in the building (yay!!). Finished getting ready, saw the flowers and was upset that they were not what I wanted but were since they were still pretty I just dealt with it. Heard the music start, realized I had butterflies (big time), began walking down the aisle only to have my dad stop so the stupid photographer could get some goofy picture (not daddy's fault at all...dumb photographer), saw Tim and started to cry...cried through the whole thing! Walked down the aisle as Mrs. Timothy Chase, wanted to go to the reception but only made it for 10 minutes, took WAY TOO MANY pictures, finally changed to go leave for the honeymoon, threw the bouquet (and it honestly EXPLODED in mid-air...no joke!), did the embarrassing "taking off of the garter" thing, got into a car that was decorated by our sick-in-the-head friends, and drove straight to the car wash before driving to our honeymoon suite at the Courtyard Marriott Chattanooga East. I shall spare the rest of it except to say that on our wedding night we watched "Dave" and ate Pizza Hut pizza. :-)

Seriously, though, Tim has been the best thing to happen to me. Since I have known him I have discovered talents I never knew I had, challenged myself to do things I never thought I would do, and achieved dreams I never thought possible. I have told him things that no one else will ever hear. We have laughed together, cried together, lifted one another up in dark times, and rejoiced for one another in bright times. I truly love this man and I praise God for creating him for me and me for him.

Lately I have been learning what it means to be Tim's "help meet". I had never even heard of this term until this past year. I'm currently going through a bible study with Kari titled "The Excellent Wife", by Kay Arthur, based on Proverbs 31. I was a little scared of this book, but I have found so much peace, strength, reassurance, freedom, and truth in this study. I highly recommend this study for every woman...married or not. You may not like what you hear at first, but God's Word does NOT fail. I cannot possibly say enough about how this study has changed me and helped me to be the wife that God designed me to be.

Nana-nana-boo-boo...you can't catch me! Oh, wait, yes you can!

2008-08-10T22:49:00.003-05:00

I just watched USA Men's Swim Team member, Jason Lezak, come from behind to place first in the 4 X 100 m freestyle relay. It was AWESOME!!!! The race itself was great, but the circumstances surrounding it made it even better. On early Sunday morning in Beijing, a member of the French Men's Swim Team made some comments that we just uncalled for. In reference to the 4X100 freestyle relay, Alain Bernard said, "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for." Boy was he wrong! :-) I have seen some great races in my lifetime, but this was about the best. The French were favored for this event and so confident they would win. Even NBC Sports announcer and former Olympic gold medalist, Rowdy Gaines, could not see how the US team could possibly pull out a win. Lezak did a superb job of bringing home the gold for the US. What a special moment in Olympic history. I love the Olympic Games!!!!!!

What are you reading?

2008-08-07T18:48:00.004-05:00

Everyone seems to have their favorite type of book...fiction, science fiction, biography, romance, self-help...whatever. For me, it's fiction. I don't really get into science fiction and I find the majority of biographies boring. Even self-help books leave me sleepy...which is sad because the good Lord knows I need any help I can get ;-). I have to say that my favorite type is Christian fiction. Some people don't really see the point in this type of book, but I have gone to scripture because of these books time and time again. Some I have read are retellings of stories in the Bible while others use scripture throughout. I finished two "retelling" books in the last month and I rank them at the top of my favorites list.

Kenny Kemp is an excellent writer who wrote "City on a Hill" and "The Welcoming Door". I have previously written about "The Welcoming Door" and how much I loved the book. "City on a Hill" is no different. Kemp has a great way of taking the parables of Jesus and retelling them from the perspective of Jeshua in the story. While a work of fiction, it bring these short parables to life for me and pushes me to turn to the scriptures and read them. This recent book was full of insights into what Jesus' family may have been like. His relationship with his mother and father are something that people throughout the ages have contemplated. Kemp's interpretation of the parables, in addition to his thoughts on Jesus' family life, are interesting. No, I do not see any of it as fact, but rather entertaining and thought provoking. If you are looking for a great book that will keep you coming back for more then this book for is you.

I was introduced to Francine Rivers' book "Redeeming Love" by Kari when I told her I was looking for a good read. She really came through for me. I cannot say enough good things about this book. I will say, however, that this book is more for the ladies. :-) Some men might be able to read this book and enjoy it, but I can't think of any in my life. ;-) Rivers wrote this book as a retelling of the story of Hosea and Gomer. When I first heard that I was intrigued, but worried at the same time. The minor prophets have not been my favorite books in the bible, so the idea of a 464 page book retelling one of them scared me a little. Boy was I wrong!!! This book changed me. It was a difficult read from an emotional perspective, but I still had a hard time putting it down. I finished it on Tuesday night and have since reread Hosea. I have a new respect for this book in the bible and a new love for the minor prophets. I plan to take the next few months and read these books with fresh eyes. Girls...go get this book!!! You will NOT regret it!

Our lives in the past month...

2008-07-17T22:15:00.002-05:00

The family is settling in nicely to our new home. We've been in here completely for a month and things are good so far. It's smaller, but works well for us. Its closer to the Family Activity Center (where we spend a lot of our time) and only adds about 5 minutes onto our commute to The Point. It looks like we will be able to get a car into our garage within the next 3 months...this is a big deal since neither of our current vehicles have ever been garaged. We're becoming grown-ups!!! :-)

Our days lately have been rather predictable. We get up, go to swim practice, stay a little while to swim for pleasure, come home and crash, then it's time for daddy to come home. Mondays have been the toughest because of swim meets, but they have been fun! Joseph's technique and, consequently, timing got better every week. He ended the season a few seconds short of being eligible for the Qualifying meet, but we are super proud of him. He loved being on the team and we are in the process of considering letting him be a part of the Shelby Sharks. They are a more competitive, hardcore team (which would be good for Joe), but you need to be more serious than he has been with it all. Either way, on Monday we are starting a routine of swimming for exercise everyday. I'm looking forward to it. We have gone twice this week and it reminded me how much I've missed swimming seriously. The pictures here were taken by Aunt Melinda at the Olham Co. meet. You may notice in the picture above that Joe is smiling while he swims...no doubt, the boy was born to swim.

Tim started his new job with Humana at the beginning of the month. He likes it a lot and appears to be relaxed and happy. He has always been such a great provider for our family!

That's it for now. Have a great weekend and hopefully I'll post again soon. :-)

A good book

2008-06-17T20:27:00.002-05:00

I have been taking notice of people who are reading books out in public. This usually happens at a coffee shop, parks during lunch hours, and a few restaurants where people are sitting alone. The behavior of reading a book has caught my eye because it's not common anymore. Most often people are talking with the people they are with or on the phone. Kids are typically playing hand-held video games or complaining to a parent that they aren't playing them. So I was very pleased to happen upon a girl in a park who was reading a book that looked like it had been passed down through generations. It was a spine-cracked, dog-eared copy of "The Little Prince". This book looked well read and well loved. My interest was peaked because this young girl looked as though she was really enjoying this book. I have never had the pleasure of reading it, so I set out to find a copy. I was blessed to find one (and rather cheap at that) at our local Peddler's Mall. I began reading it that very night and now completely understand why this was a loved book. If you haven't read it then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy today.

First Swim Meet

2008-06-09T22:16:00.002-05:00

Tonight we had our first swim meet as part of the Shelby Sunfish. We competed against Copperfield in Louisville (a good strong team). It was a long afternoon and evening (5 1/2 hours long to be exact), but it was a lot of fun. Joseph competed in freestyle and backstroke. He did well in his events and really made us proud. We are thrilled that he gets to participate in this sport. It appears that he really likes it and wants to keep doing it. His goal is to be good enough to join the Shelby Sharks this fall. He has done well so far and I think he can do it. Pray for him as he takes on this activity...that he will remember good sportsmanship, that he will work hard to achieve his goals, and that God gets the glory through all of it.

Being missed

2008-06-06T22:33:00.002-05:00

Tim and I have heard from a few people that they really miss my posts. This is shocking since I do not see why anyone else would find my life even remotely interesting, but I guess stranger things have happened (if you think of any let me know). Sorry it's been so long since I've written. There have been tons of ideas in this head of mine, but none that I was sure enough to write about.

The main thing for me to share with everyone is Joseph's salvation. I went with him when he went to talk to Rick on Easter Sunday (he said he was a little apprehensive). He was baptized on April 27th. You would think I would have tons of pictures to share, but I do not. Photos were taken...I just haven't gotten around to putting them on my computer yet. Maybe in the next 3 months I will get my act together and post them. Until then, just know that Joseph continues to grow in his relationship with Christ and asks some great questions. He has also shared his faith with many people since it happened. It's exciting to see his spiritual life being molded.

Our lives are currently very busy. Joseph has swim team practice every day with meets every Monday night. Oh yeah...and we are moving again. We have found a house here in Shelbyville that lets us save $300 a month which will go directly into savings for our adoption of a child from Ethiopia. Tim and I started the process last month. It will be about a year before we travel an we have no idea if we will have a boy or a girl. Either way we are thrilled that God is leading us to be parents again.

Okay, I will try to write more later (in a day or so...not in 3 months) I promise. Until then, have a great weekend!

Airplane Day 2008

2008-03-04T23:35:00.002-05:00

Every year since March 3rd, 2001 we have celebrated Airplane Day. It's our way of remembering one of the greatest days of our lives...the day that Joseph came home with us to Kentucky. For dinner each year we go out to eat at Tony Roma's with Betty and Jerry (who traveled with us to Thailand) and then go shopping at Joseph Beth. It's always lots of fun. We have been so blessed with Joseph and I can never express how much he means to me.

I still remember the very long, exhausting flights we took from Bangkok to Louisville. In the course of 27 hours in horribly cramped quarters I was peed on, spit up on, and had to change the worst explosive diaper in history. Needless to say, I was not an attractive woman when I stepped off that plane, but I was happy. I finally had a child. One to call my own. A son. A beautiful baby boy who would be raised in a loving home and be surrounded by people who will always love him. And now...7 years later...I get to stay at home with Joseph and watch him grow and learn. It's an amazing gift.

The best part of Airplane Day 2008 was a series of conversations I had with Joe about God, and the gift of salvation. It was precious and I will never forget the moment when our sharing our faith with our son began to sink in and Joe realized what it means to believe in Christ. Praise God for His love for us and for blessing us far more than we deserve.

A great day!

2008-02-28T20:58:00.003-05:00

The sun is out! Birds are singing! The sky is beautiful! There is ZERO snow! The thermometer broke 40 degrees! And, most importantly, my Mr. is home!!!!!!! Praise the Lord!!!!!!!! :-)

It's bleak out there

2008-02-23T19:48:00.002-05:00

I woke up this morning in a rather sad mood. My Mr. left for Seattle very early today...6am to be exact. He'll be gone until Thursday attending the Resurgence Conference at Mars Hill Church with 5 other men from our church. It is truly a God thing that he is able to go and take this time to be with Godly men. I'm so excited to hear from him about what he has learned and how God is building the Acts 29 network churches.

Later this morning as I prepared for my day I opened the blinds in our bedroom to see what it was like outside. What I saw did not surprise me, but it did deepen my depression. I immediately starting to think of the first lines of "In The Bleak Midwinter"...you know, the poem by Christine Rossetti. As I started to have these lines run through my head I quickly thought, "I wonder if Rossetti had ever visited Kentucky in the Midwinter?" I tell ya....if not, she sure hit the nail on the head about our weather here. It's so depressing!! The funny thing is I did some research on the poem tonight and realized that God was talking to me the whole time!!! Duh...you would think I would know that by now. :-) You all probably know the poem and how it was set to music in the early 1900's. It's a poem about the night Jesus, my Lord and Savior, was born. I realized that on a night that probably was bleak bust still normal for most people God had sent his son into our world to save us. A glorious, beautiful, but heart-wrenching thing took place and all the while it was cold, dark, and, yes, BLEAK outside that stable. Who am I to complain about a few months of depressing weather in a part of the country that for most of the year is absolutely gorgeous!

I guess my point is I was wallowing in my self-pity and thinking about how depressed I was. I couldn't see past the gloomy weather, the work I needed to do around the house, the fact that I was going to be a single parent for 5 days, and the very real hurt in my heart because my husband wasn't home with me. Don't worry...God set me straight. :-) Joseph and I spent time with my best friend and her kids, did some shopping at a fabulously cheap store, and had a great lunch at McDonald's. We talked about the fact that our husbands are gone for 5 days. We bought chocolate to make ourselves feel better. We made one another feel better. It was a great afternoon.

For those of you who don't know the above referenced poem here it is (taken from www.wikipedia.org):

"In the Bleak Midwinter" is a Christmas carol.

Although written by Christina Rossetti before 1872, it was published posthumously in Rossetti's Poetic Works in 1904 and appeared in The English Hymnal in 1906.

According to the website CyberHymnal, Rossetti wrote these words in response to a request from the magazine Scribner's Monthly for a Christmas poem^[1].

In verse one, Rossetti describes the physical characteristics of the Incarnation.

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen,

Snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter,

Long ago.

In verse two, Rossetti contrasts Christ's first and second coming.

Our God, heaven cannot hold him,

Nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away

When he comes to reign;

In the bleak midwinter

A stable place sufficed

The Lord God incarnate,

Jesus Christ.

The third verse dwells on Christ's birth and describes the simple surroundings, in a humble stable and watched by beasts of burden.

Enough for him, whom Cherubim

Worship night and day

A breast full of milk

And a manger full of hay.

Enough for him, whom angels

Fall down before,

The ox and ass and camel

which adore.

Rossetti achieves another contrast in the fourth verse, this time between the incorporeal angels attendant at Christ's birth with Mary's ability to render Jesus physical affection. This verse is omitted in the Harold Darke setting.

Angels and archangels

May have gathered there,

Cherubim and seraphim

Thronged the air;

But his mother only,

In her maiden bliss,

Worshipped the Beloved

With a kiss.

The final verse may be the most well known and loved.

What can I give him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring a lamb,

If I were a wise man

I would do my part,

Yet what I can I give Him —

Give my heart.

New favorite t-shirt

2008-02-21T16:18:00.002-05:00

Hello?

2008-02-21T15:42:00.002-05:00

Believe it or not, I'm still alive and kickin' here on planet earth (yeah, yeah...those who know me best assumed I was from Mars). I took a break. I rather long one, I know. But I'm going to try much harder to write something at least a couple times a week. Let the rejoicing begin!!!!

There really is no excuse for not posting...I just didn't want to. I didn't feel like pouring my heart out and couldn't think of anything useful to say. That, all combined with severe S.A.D. kept me unmotivated and rather quiet (at least in the blogging world).

I have continued on my quest for healthier living and loosing weight. I am down 18 pounds so far. I was hoping to be further along, but there are still changes to be made. My greatest achievement thus far is the end of purchasing soda to keep at home. Now, I know what you are thinking. "What? This can't be!! Has hell actually frozen over? Was that a pig that just flew by my window?" No, I honestly did stop buying it for use at home. This does not mean that I don't have it when we go out to eat somewhere, but I have been able to cut back on soda consumption by about 90%. This is a major deal! I'm not without my caffeine, though...I am now hopelessly re-addicted to my old southern friend--iced tea. :-) What can I say? I'm a G.R.I.T.S. at heart.

My latest must have item is the Praise Moves DVD. This is an exercise video which gives Christians an alternative to yoga. For more on yoga and what it is actually doing to you spiritually and how Praise Moves can help please visit the Praise Moves page and read more about it. I did Namaste Yoga one time and was rather pleased with it. I told the Mr. I was going to blog about it and he suggested that I research it some before I post on it. I thought this was a good suggestion (as are most of his ideas) so I set about learning what I could about yoga...specifically, Namaste Yoga. I was mortified and immediately made the decision to not write about it yet, but to look for an alternative. I love it, and the instructor, Laurette Willis, knows what she is talking about and is a strong Christian instructor. I'm glad I found her page. I have slept better since.

That's it for now. I know it's not riveting, but it will have to do for now.

I'm hungry, but not starving.

2008-01-06T18:04:00.000-05:00

Some people have asked me exactly what it is that I'm doing to loose weight. I'm going to the old faithful...eat less and workout more (or, in my case, period). I am watching the calories that I eat, but I'm not going to obsess over them. My main goal is to eat less calories in one day than my body burns. I have done smaller portions, lighter foods, and abstained from certain foods altogether. I also workout every day. Not in a crazy "if I don't workout today I'll just die" kind of way, but simple (yet surprisingly hard) calisthenics that we all learned in school along with making sure that I'm not lazy. There were times that I would put off doing laundry, or put off taking a dish into the kitchen because I was really comfortable and didn't want to move. Now I just get my butt off the couch, do the things I need to do and I have been happier for it. As of today I have lost 7 pounds. It sounds like a lot, but I have a LOT to lose so it's kind of a tiny drop of water in a HUGE ocean. ;-) I'm happy with it, don't get me wrong...but I also know that I have a long way to go and it's going to take me continuing on this path for me to achieve it. In addition to that I am aware that this is a new lifestyle for me. I spent some time last night just looking at fast food restaurants and their nutritional pages so I can go in to any of them and make a wise decision. So far, Taco Bell has the best page. It's easy to use and you can pick foods the way that you would order them and then hit the calculate button to learn everything you need to know about your meal. I was very pleased to see that I have actually not done too bad in this particular restaurant in the past. I just have to make sure that it's not an every day occurrence.

One last thing...I did do a search for the different types of diet plans that are on the market now and it was rather comical. I found the normal ones that most everyone has heard of and then there were some others that are just wrong. One of my favorites..."Think Yourself Thin"......

(hysterical laughter)!! Girl, please!! If you could think yourself thin I would have been well under 125 pounds a LONG time ago. ;-) The one that made me mad was, "10 Simple Steps to a Thinner You". Simple steps? Give me a break!! How many of you out there are just breezin' through your diet without a care in the world? Not me, that's for sure. And I would dare say that my other girl friends aren't either. We have a little network in which we support and encourage one another and hold each other accountable. THAT is the best way to get through your weight struggle...share the burden! :-)

By the way...the above picture of women laughing was taken by photographer Jim Lord. He has some great stuff...visit his website at www.jimlordphotographer.com.

New take on life

2008-01-02T17:58:00.000-05:00

It's official. I'm started a new way of living. (If I say it's a diet I won't do it and then I'll be in the same place I started...what's the point of that?)

It started yesterday...simple enough. No visits to weight-loss chains to pay big (or even little) money, no fad diets that seems to "work for celebrities", no starving myself, and no being upset because I'm hungry immediately after eating a meal. This time it's different. I've thought for years that I should do this, but just haven't had the discipline or the real desire. For some reason I am motivated this time. I plan to work out a LOT and eat less. No, I'm not switching to all foods that are "lite" or "low-cal"...just making portions smaller (measuring most things out), and paying more attention in general. I'm using an online fitness helper called FitDay. They are helping me to simply write down what I eat (in easy electronic form) and what exercise I do. There is a journal for to me write out struggles, victories, etc. Joe and I are going to do exercises at home, and at the Family Activity Center here in Shelbyville. Tim is going to do the same but at different times of the day. I'm excited to see how we look this summer! Watch out world!!!! I'm gonna be a HOTTIE!!!!!!!!!

Spiritual Warfare

2007-12-15T23:11:00.000-05:00

Well...I must have really pissed off Satan this week. I'm not sure what I did, but he is so mad at me! I've been attacked before, but my goodness!...he's serious this time.

There have been times in the past when the enemy has come after me and landed a few punches, but I have bounced back rather easily. Unfortunately for me he caught me with my guard down and was able to hit me in such a way that it took me a while to recover. It's actually been a humbling experience because. I have learned a lot about my walk with Christ and taken note of some areas of weakness (and there are plenty!). I have gone to scripture more this week than I ever did in the past. I found so much comfort in the book of Mark. I really think this latest attack came about because my faith has grown and Satan is such a chicken that he just couldn't take it. :-)

This trial has also strengthened a few of my human relationships. I've become closer to a dear friend, and, more importantly, I've grown closer to my husband. God placed these people in my life for a reason and I don't think they would have taken the job had they known what they were getting into.

Just yesterday my husband brought a devotion to me by Charles Spurgeon. You should go to "The Daily Spurgeon" and read the post from December 8th which spoke so loudly to my heart. This blog has been such a blessing to me and I recommend it to everyone.

Christmas gift woes

2007-12-07T19:07:00.000-05:00

How many of you out there have ever thought, "you know...this year I'm going to do something so special for my friends and family. I'm going to make them a homemade Christmas gift!" Well, those are the exact words that were heard flowing from my mouth just a little over a month ago. It was a gorgeous day out and I was in a great mood so I started thinking about Christmas and all the joy that comes with it. In my simple-minded state I came across a book of holiday crafts...small enough, nothing to fancy, most basically cute, and some that looked rather simple. And that was my downfall. I purchased said book with the grand idea that I was going to awe the loved ones in my life with my creativity and talent.

I poured over this book for a few days and finally decided on one item that I thought would really make people happy...something so cute that no one could resist its charm. I began to plot my strategy for completing this project: supplies that would be needed, time that would be spent, cost, the list of those who would be blessed to receive said item, etc. I went to the store and purchased all the materials and was so pleased that it was not going to cost much, but would bring so much joy.

Fast forward to the present, December 7th. I started work on this project yesterday (by my calculations plenty of time). After an hour of slaving over a mere 1/10 of ONE gift I felt completely lousy! What happened? Where did I go wrong? Why had I failed at what I thought was a simple task?

After thinking about this problem most of the last night and all of today I came to realize that my problem was I am not a sewer. Never have been. I have made a few pillows by hand (not recommended, by the way) and mended many a shirt, pair of pants, and stuffed animal. I'm a crafty person and I think that other people think of me in that way. This realization made my failure cut even deeper.

So, while I was planning on giving out some FABULOUS homemade presents this year that just isn't going to happen. Not unless I can come up with something simple, fast, fun and cute...and by that I mean NO SEWING!!! ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!!!

2007-11-22T22:59:00.000-05:00

Ummm......yeah.....it's been a while.

2007-11-15T20:29:00.000-05:00

I know....you are all so happy to see that I am still somewhat alive and rather well. No, seriously. I've been really busy lately and just had no time to get around to blogging. So, a short catch up for now and more will follow as I can.

First, Nele was here for a good long visit. It was AWESOME! We spent a lot of time together which was good. While she was here we went to the Creation Museum in NKy with Joseph. It was fun and interesting. Not really Joe's idea of a great time, but Nele and I enjoyed it very much.

Home school is going VERY well. I just love teaching Joe and having this opportunity to spend so much time with him. He is a fun little fella and has progressed so much in the few months we have been doing this. He is also going to Frankfort Rehab for Speech and OT services...we LOVE it there. I have already seen a big difference.

I'm currently a little distracted due to the hard rock song that is playing in the background on the Wii Guitar Hero (Tim's new pet). I won't say I love it, but I don't hate it either. :-)

One final thing...Kelly Briscoe (the SPECTACULAR keyboard player from the JMB) and his wife Erricia had their baby girl, Haylee, last night. She was born November 14th at 8:50pm. You can see pics of her and read about her and their journey to parenthood on Kelly's blog. Let's all say a special prayer tonight for a great couple and their new joy. Congrats guys!!!

Random thoughts....

2007-10-11T09:10:00.000-05:00

The weather has finally turned colder and I LOVE IT!!!!!! We had the windows open yesterday and when we got home it was FREEZING!!!!!!!! We closed all the windows and Tim put on his manly-man hat and made us a fire. It's awesome. I always thought before that I don't care if I have a fireplace in my home, but I was wrong....they are great!!!

Please keep my friend Kari and her family in your prayers because she is just going through some stuff right now that is really challenging her.

I'm planning on posting some stuff about Charles Spurgeon on here later this month. I'm studying up on his and he is fascinating! If you don't know much about him you are in for a treat...if you do know about him then please send me some info. I'm hoping to get a set of his sermons from CBD for Christmas...I've heard nothing but good things about them.

Nele comes tonight!!!! I'm super excited about getting to the Cincinnati Airport to pick her up. We leave here this afternoon and should see her at about 6:45pm. It will be great to have her home again. I don't have a lot planned except spending some quality time with her.

The Point Community Church is doing well. God is moving mightily through the His church and it is very exciting. Shane McGrath has been brought on as our Associate Pastor and this is a GREAT addition to The Point. Rick continues to do an excellent job at heeding God's calling for the church and showing us how to follow, too. Our small groups started about a month ago and they are going well. We are hosting one here at our house and we have 5 couples participate each week. We are growing closer to the Lord and one another together...it's fun.

I think that's all I have. Is my mind that small or am I just boring? I can't decided. Oh well...if you want lots of stimulation then you will have to go somewhere else. :-)

"Parenting in the Pew" book review

2007-10-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

Yep...this is one of the hundreds of things on my mind lately. I have been getting so much out of worship in the last year and a half that I now have a very strong desire to give Joseph the same thing. For a while now I have been baffled by exactly how I can accomplish this. I found a book (which I'm sure that some of you know already)..."Parenting in the Pews".

I have read the first 3 chapters and I am very impressed with the biblical advice and Godly heart of the author. The first thing that I learned was as Christians we are not automatically programmed for worship. We have to learn how to worship just like we learn how to throw a ball. The second thing I have learned is we are not to go to worship looking to get something out of it. No, instead we are to go and offer ourselves wholly to God. Interesting...I always thought that I would go to my church, sing, pray, and listen, and then get this amazing feeling that I somehow saw God. HA! Nothing could be further from the truth. I should go into worship ready to meet God by praising Him...not singing about Him, but TO Him. Think about it people....it's not about me! It is eye opening to understand this.

So, what does this mean for Joseph? It simply means that I have to teach him how to praise God. I'm actually still in the process of learning how to worship, therefore, we will be learning as a family. I know we can do this. Joseph is a smart boy. We are going to praise God and "make a joyful noise" together.

Current feeling...

2007-09-29T16:28:00.000-05:00

I have been feeling scattered and distant for the past few days. I'm not sure what's going on. I've been rather busy. There have been some things that have happened, but nothing I can do anything about and certainly nothing to give me reason for these feelings. So...I'm praying it out and looking forward to October 11th when Nele comes home for a long visit.

Spiritual Gifts...

2007-09-14T20:05:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about spiritual gifts. I have taken several "tests" over the years that are supposed to reveal to me my gifts. Well...I still have no idea.

However, it does seem easy though to figure out what spiritual gifts other people have. This was discussed briefly at TPCC during Wednesday night bible study. So this has caused me to think about it even more. Because of all this "thinkin'" (as we say in the South) I had the opportunity to talk about spiritual gifts with Joseph (praise the Lord for homeschool!!!). We discovered that his spiritual gift is compassion. He was so excited to discover his gift. It really is fitting for him, too. Joseph has such a love for people and cares about how they are feeling. Often he seeks out opportunities to help someone or to comfort someone that he thinks is hurting. He becomes concerned for other children when he hears them crying or if they seem upset. And he loves others so deeply. It's such an amazing thing to be on this journey with him as he learns about God and how He is moving in his life. Joseph is also starting to understand the greatest gift of all--salvation. I can see that this year is going to be fun (even if I am still working on discovering my gifts)!!!

Sickness, Part 2

2007-09-13T11:41:00.001-05:00

Well...I guess what they say is true. What goes around comes around!

Sickness

2007-09-10T14:21:00.000-05:00

There isn't much that can keep homeschooling from happening. By that, I mean that if things come up during the day then usually the work can be made up at another time during the day, or that night, etc. Sometimes life takes over and a mother is just too overwhelmed and needs a break. This still doesn't stop homeschooling. Children learn while playing with other children or doing things that most people would consider not educational. However, the one thing that stops homeschooling in it's tracks is sickness. We are victims of this today. Joseph went to bed last night complaining that his stomach hurt and this complaint came back when he woke up this morning and most of today. He has a low grade fever and is just generally grumpy. So, we have taken the day off and are praying that things will be back to "normal" tomorrow.

Weather related laundry troubles

2007-08-21T08:58:00.000-05:00

Due to the weather and my incessant need to wear dry pants, I am forced to use the dryer for the first time in over a month. I have truly loved using the line-dry method. It makes me feel good to save money, energy, help a little with the environment, and do a good thing for my family. But, alas, today is not a day for that. I would just hang my clothes on the lines in the house, but there is no time for that. You see...I didn't plan very well for this load of laundry and, therefore, I am forced to revert to old habits. Let's just hope the sky is brighter tomorrow and I have a little time to dry clothes the old fashioned way.

Joseph is going to be Homeschooled

2007-08-09T14:28:00.000-05:00

You read it right. I am going to homeschool my son. I'm excited about it, actually. I think that he is going to grow stronger in knowledge of all subjects this year than he has at any other time in his education. I really want him to succeed and I am going to do everything in my power to help him get the best education possible.

I have had several people ask me, "what are you going to do to make sure he gets socialized?" Honestly, I'm not really too concerned about that. Joseph is not your typical child. Even when he is in a room full of kids his age he tends to not socialize with them. The reason for this is he is different. It's not bad to be different, unless you are put in a school where everyone wants to you to be just like the other kids...then you've got a problem. We saw this time and time again in the past with Joseph. Even in 1st grade kids would make fun of him for being different or they would get him to do things that would get him in trouble simply for their entertainment. The developmental delays that Joseph has will most of the time keep him from saying no to his peers. Therefore, he gets in trouble and his "friends" get a good laugh. It's not fun to sit and watch it happen to your son, believe me.

So, I honestly think that Joseph's socialization is going to be better than if he were in a normal school setting. Many of you probably don't know that in todays school systems it seems to be considered "the norm" for a child in the 2nd grade to have up to 2 hours of homework per night. I don't know about you, but that seems a little extreme to me. Why do that to kids? What ever happened to the notion of letting a kid be a kid? I want my son to have time to play, to explore, and to learn at his own pace. I want him to enjoy learning!

There are tons of books and articles out there on the subject of homeschooling and socialization. I'm glad. It's time that we stand up and take our children's lives back and give them freedom to be who God has made them to be. I will also direct you to the blog of my friend Kari McGrath. She has written a great entry titled, "Socialization-Schmocialization". Read it over...you won't be sorry.

German Conveniences or What I Wish We Stupid Americans Would Do!

2007-08-04T15:09:00.001-05:00

Now that I have been home from Germany for almost a week there are a few things about the country that I really miss. I've always thought that America (most specifically Kentucky) was the best place in the world, but lately I'm not so sure. We do a lot of things here in America that I'm honestly not too proud of.

First of all...our energy attainment and consumption. One of the things that most impressed me in Germany was the great use of Wind Energy. This is not a new phenomenon, nor is it an outdated one...it's just something that we in America do not use for some reason. I can't for the life of me figure out why. It's cleaner, more efficient, and the windmills are far more attractive than the big old transformer stations here in the states. In America we also have extremely HIGH energy bills and most people don't do anything to combat it. One of the conservation ideas that Tim and I have decided to use is drying our laundry outside. What ever happened to this notion? Why did we stop doing this? When did Americans decide that it's far better to use up tons of energy AND ruin their clothes in the process? I just consider this to be completely stupid on our part. I can remember when a common site in every neighborhood was backyard clothes lines with sheets flapping in the breeze. So, upon returning to the states (and getting my bearings) I went out and purchased some clothes drying racks for $10 a piece, some decent detergent, and a good fabric softener. Our clothes actually feel better, look better, fit better, and smell better. Duh!

This one is going to sound a little strange to most of you, but I don't care. Pay toilets. You got it. Why not? You're using water! You are dirtying up someones bathroom. Why not pay for it? We used these several times while in Germany and it wasn't at all bad. The toilet paper was nice, the facility was always clean, and it didn't stink. As Americans we have become so used to the idea that we DESERVE so much that we take things for granted...and in return our public facilities are NASTY!

Another observation is about fresh food products. Here in America we have all but lost the idea of fresh foods. By this I mean breads, cheeses, meats, and even produce. While in Germany we had some of the best of the above mentioned products and it took effort to get each of these things. I loved it! There are fewer fat people in Germany and I think is part of the reason. Not to mention that the people in Germany are generally more active (a HUGE part of it). So many people rode their bikes to get to work, the market, to visit friends, to enjoy the day, etc. This does go back to the energy consumption issue, but it is about food as well. You can't take a bunch of groceries home on a bike...can't be done. But you purchase what you need and that's it. What a great idea!

My final thoughts are about the use of trains. This was also very big in Germany. I know that a lot of people in the Northeast portion of the states have decent access to train service but those of us in the South do not. Why? What's wrong with them? They seem far more efficient to me. Even seeing lots of buses around here would be nice. Do you know I have not see a single public bus since moving to Shelbyville. Now that's just sad. Again, the American idea of car ownership is so twisted that we are ruining the land we live in (and most of us can't really afford to put gas in our cars anyhow).

I guess I'm telling you all this because I think that something should change. But how? What? When? Where? Does anyone know where to start? Or how to go about it? Any ideas can be posted here. In the mean time, I have laundry to hang outside.

Lübeck...the prettiest German city I know

2007-07-26T11:48:00.000-05:00

The last few days have been just as much fun as our previous ones. I already told you about going to the concert with Nele on Monday so I will start with what we did on Tuesday. On that day at about noon Nele's dad (also named Uwe) came to pick us up and take us to Timmensdorfer Strand to go to the Sea Life Aquarium. Joseph was so excited about it and getting to see some sharks. It was a long wait to get in, but we stood in line and learned about Uwe's profession and more about his family. It started to rain on us at one point so Nele, Joe and I went inside to try and keep a little dry. Finally the time came that we could go inside and Joseph could hardly stand himself. Once we got the go ahead to enter he took off running to see the fish. He had been studying his map of the aquarium for almost a week so he knew exactly where everything was located. After going through the exhibits we went to the gift shop to pick out some new friends for Joseph's favorite stuffed animal, Dolphy.

After that we took a short drive to Travemünde where we went for a long walk and had possibly the most awesome pizza ever! There was a sailing festival with many shops and great food stuffs. We walked around for a while and looked at the boats, did a little shopping and Joseph swam in the Baltic Sea. How cool is that?

Yesterday we left the house at about 1pm and went to Lübeck. We did a boat sight-seeing tour which was a lot of fun. I got some great shots on that tour. After that we had a little lunch and then walked around the city. There are seven churches there and we went inside one that was very cool. Lübeck is a very beautiful city and I hope to visit it again someday. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of the beauty there.

The Best Birthday Present Ever :-)

2007-07-25T14:29:00.000-05:00

These are pictures that Nele gave me as a birthday present this year. I was so happy to receive them. I think they are great pictures.

My other present was tickets to see Damien Rice in Hamburg. AWESOME! He is a great singer and wonderful entertainer. Nele and I had a really good time. We left her house at about 3:30 in the afternoon and took the train to Hamburg. We ate dinner at Subway (yeah...I know...very German) and then took the train to the open air concert. It was cold and a little wet, but still totally fun. I will treasure that time with Nele for the rest of my life.

Half way through the vacation...

2007-07-23T08:19:00.000-05:00

We have made it to the half way point in our vacation and I'm not too happy about it. I really do like it here. There is so much to see and do that I can't even begin to tell you all about it but I will try.

Our first day in Germany was basically spent travelling to Bad Segeberg. We flew into Köln and had to wait there for 3 hours before we could catch our train to Hamburg. The train trip lasted 4 hours and that was where we met Nele and her parents. They all greeted us at the station which was awesome. Nele was so happy to see us and I think her parents were also. That night we went back to Nele's house and had a great dinner with her mom and step-dad. We stayed up a little later than we should have, but still got a great sleep that night.

On our second day I went into Bad Segeberg with Nele and her mom to go the market and pick up things for dinner. It is a bit like our farmer's market, but much cooler and with way more stuff. We bought meet there which was really neat. While I was doing this Tim and Joe were at one of the lakes swimming. Later that day we all went with Nele out to meet her friends in Bad Segeberg. There we walked around the town and shopped a bit, but not before getting some really good ice cream. Her friends are very nice and were so funny. That night we had a great dinner of lamb (never had it before....it was AEWSOME!!) and other things grilled, and some of Kerstin and Uwe's friends came by to visit. It was good to mee them too. We got to see them very relaxed and cutting up with friends. They are all such wonderful people!

On Thursday Tim and Joe went back to the lake while Nele and I went shopping in Bad Segeberg again (it's nice how she indulges me and my habits). That night we went to see Winnetou at the open air theatre. It was interesting to see a show in German. While I didn't understand the words they were saying I still understood the story (it was kind of like going to the opera in that respect). Joseph had a great time with all the fighting and blasts. I think he understood it better than Tim and I did.

On Friday we went to Berlin and I will write more about that later. We came back from Berlin yesterday afternoon.

Today I haven't done much but sit around the house and rest and get ready for a concert by Damien Rice that Nele is taking me to for my birthday. I'm excited about it. It should be a lot of fun. Joe and Tim are out at the lake...again...and should be home soon. I hope to be able to update everyone later. You will have to wait for pictures until I get back unless we can figure out a way to download them onto Nele's computer. We may not have time though.

I'm off to the concert now. I hope everyone has a good week.

Watch out, Germany! Here I come!!!!!!

2007-07-15T18:27:00.001-05:00

I am VERY EXCITED!!!!!! We are leaving in 16 hours for Germany! We won't be there until 8:30am on the morning of the 17th (this is German time), but we are still really happy. I have printed out our boarding passes, printed out extra copies of our train tickets, and triple checked having our passports. We should be good to go. YAY!!!!

The above picture is of the marketplace in Bad Segeberg which is the closest big town to Nele's hometown of Gross Ronnau. It's such a pretty area and I can hardly wait to see it. There are so many things that we are going to do on this trip that I can't even begin to tell you all about it.

I doubt that there will be any updates while we are there, but I could be wrong. We are staying with Nele's family so that is a HUGE help expense-wise (honestly...we wouldn't be able to do this trip if it wasn't for that). So, we will have internet access, but I don't know that I will be concerned about using it. ;-) Therefore, if I don't update you all while we are gone you will hear from me after the 29th. Have a good two weeks and I hope to see you all when we get back (I'm sure we will have lots of pictures).

YAY VACATION!!!

Pictures...as promised.

2007-07-06T19:17:00.000-05:00

I still haven't been able to get around to taking pictures of the house. You would think that with the move over I would have loads of time on my hands. HA! Nothing could be further from the truth. I have been out almost every day with Joseph seeing all that Shelbyville has to offer. I think we may be done with that. Just kidding. There is lots more to see, but not enough time. Shelbyville is a small town that has a lot to offer. There are lots of parks and tons of outdoor activities. Our neighborhood is full of young families who are out every evening that it is nice so there is always lots going on. Pretty soon I hope to get out and take pictures of the barn that is only about 2000 yards from out house and also the neighborhood lake. It's a great place to live.

So....here at the pictures I promised. Thanks to my mom for taking the time to get these shots before they left on Sunday heading back to TN. There is an addition bedroom that we don't have pictures of just yet, and also the monsterous garage (Tim's personal favorite).

Our new house.
The living room from the top of the stairs.

The view of the living room from the kitchen.

The view of the kitchen from the living room.

The view out to the deck from the kitchen table.

The master bedroom.

A portion of the master bath (that's right...I said PORTION!!).

Joseph's bedroom. He loves the bed.

Another angle of Joseph's room.

Joseph's bathroom...fish, of course!

Joseph's playroom in the basement. It's great to have a basement!!!

The guest room/office/multi-purpose room in the basement (this room has a full bath which is really nice).

We're in!!!!

2007-07-02T13:10:00.000-05:00

This past Thursday evening we moved into our new home in Shelbyville. On Friday afternoon we finished up and closed on our old house. The move was hard work on all of us, but we got it done in record time. We had about 20 people from our church show up to help. It was such a blessing to see so many of our friends there. We also had the honor and privilege of having my parents here to help out. They are both VERY hard workers and really made a huge difference in getting stuff done. Believe it or not, we actually have pictures up on the walls, blinds and curtains hung, and furniture in its place. All utilities are up and running and mail is now being delivered. It's exciting to be in a new home.

What about pictures? HA! Please people!! We have been just a little bit busy here. I think I will try and get that done tomorrow so that all of you can see, but I won't make any promises.

Thanks again to all who helped out. Especially to my mom and dad who made it easier on us. We really could not have done it without you.

Be Back Soon......

2007-06-26T10:24:00.000-05:00

Tired.........

2007-06-20T20:56:00.001-05:00

I am really tired right now. I have packed a lot of stuff and I could have easily fallen asleep on my bookcase this afternoon. I can totally relate to where this child is coming from. Poor kid....

Happy Father's Day!

2007-06-17T19:31:00.000-05:00

This goes out to the best Daddy in all the world, Ed Watson (my dad, duh!). He has always been there for me, encouraged me, and loved me in good times and bad.

I grew up in Chattanooga, TN which is a beautiful place. There are lots of dogwood trees there and it's one of the things that I miss about TN. When I was little my dad used to take me outside and talk to me about the legend of the dogwood tree and the part it had to play in the life and death of Christ. I have never forgotten this. It was so gentle the way he told me, and I got the precious treasure of my dad sharing his faith with me. One day, after I had moved away from home, I was in a Christian bookstore and came upon a card that had the dogwood flower and the very legend that my daddy had told me about printed on it. I was so excited about it and bought one for him and one for me. Every time I see a dogwood I think about that special moment and then reflect on what Christ did for me.

Thanks, Daddy, for loving me the way you do, and thank you for taking the time to share your faith with me. I can't wait to see you in a week!

For those of you that do not know the legend of the dogwood you can read about it at http://www.midamericawoodcarvers.org/patterns/dogwood.htm

I think I'm getting old

2007-06-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

I turned 36 years old today. Wow. I'm getting old. Actually, it doesn't surprise me. I have been feeling older the last year or so and this is the natural thing that happens. I know I'm old because I can't listen to music very loud anymore (bummer), my joints are starting to hurt when I stand up, getting up off the floor is a major deal (which usually keeps me from getting there in the first place), getting off the couch is a major deal (which usually causes me to ponder the need for a second glass of sweet tea), I tend to think twice about what I'm going to eat at certain times of the day (ie, no cheese after 8pm), I have a hard time sleeping in (8am seems late to me), and I can't seem to go one night without having to get up at least once to pee (too much information? too bad...grow-up....I'm old).

Just a few weeks ago we played wiffle ball as a family in the front yard and it was all I could do the next morning to get out of bed. I was sore! That seems to happen more and more these days. Guess I should hit the gym every once in a while, huh? Oh well....that day will come, but right now I'm too busy.

Today was good, though. Joe and I got up early, went to get some breakfast, got my hair cut (cute if I do say so myself), came home to get Krissi, went to Louisville to pick up Tim, drove through Taco Bell for lunch (sorry, Nele...I know you are jealous), went to Shelbyville to pick out a house, drove back to Louisville to take Tim back to work, did a little shopping in Louisville for Father's Day, came home to Frankfort for about 2 hours, met the family at Johnny Carino's for my b-day dinner, came home and watered the lawn, and now I'm in for the night. Whew. I'm exhausted. Maybe I will sleep until 8:15 tomorrow to make-up for it.

red tape...........

2007-06-13T21:35:00.000-05:00

Holy moly! The things you have to go through to get a passport these days!!!! It's crazy. Tim and I already have our passports, but we have needed to get one for Joe for a long time now. So we took some time this morning and went to the post office to complete the paperwork. Oy! It's actually a lot like what we had to go through with the adoption. We had to get signatures and notaries for all sorts of stuff since Joseph is adopted. No problem. We did that. But then we had to work very hard to convince the clerk that in fact the documents that we were showing as proof of citizenship and guardianship were actually our documents and the ones that the State Department wants to see. Well....2 trips, a tank of gas, and $180 later the application was finally mailed off to Washington. I'm just glad it's over and we are hoping that we get it without anymore problems. We'll see........

Going, Going, GONE!

2007-06-12T10:10:00.001-05:00

We have an offer on our house and we have decided to accept it. It's a good price, and I think the person buying it is going to be very happy here. The interesting part is we have to close on or before the 29th of this month. That's not a huge deal for us since we would rather get it over with as soon as possible, but it kind of throws everything on my schedule into a tizzy. Joseph is pretty happy about it because now he will be able to go to the "cool pool" in Shelbyville. I'm looking forward to this move and how it's going to change things for us. God is blessing us in a major way through this and I just love it when I get to see His promises come to be. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. :-)

Today's agenda

2007-06-08T08:59:00.002-05:00

Today we are going to Expo with Melinda and the kids. This is one of Joseph's favorite things to do in the summer. It is fun. He loves getting to ride the train and eating foods that are delicious, but horrible for your health. I like that part, too. I usually find something I want to purchase in the lower portion where they have all the cool booths set up. I'm excited and curious to know what it will be this year.

Big Blur

2007-06-06T18:28:00.000-05:00

The last couple of days are a bit of a blur. I have had a lot on my plate and somehow I have managed to get a lot of stuff done. I haven't kept up with phone calls, exactly, but I have to start somewhere.

Yesterday I spent most of time working on things related to adoption. I met with Faith and Rick about the Adoption Ministry that we are starting at TPCC. In addition to this we had our second homestudy for our latest adoption adventure. It's an adventure because you just never know what's going to happen and how things are going to go. So far in our journey with Joseph we have been so blessed! Each day is something new and exciting. It's fun!!!

Since I have had adoption on the brain lately I decided to get on Google today and see what popped up when I used adoption in the search line. Wow!! Lots of good stuff out there compared to what was there just 6 years ago. But there was one negative thing. It's some sort of petition that is going around asking for an end to adoption. It talks about how awful adoption is and how people who adopt are kidding themselves, etc. I was stunned. What has happened to these people that these are their feelings? And these people were talking about ALL adoptions, not just those adoptions that are illegal. How could someone look at my beautiful son and our incredible relationship with him and say that it's bad? I just don't understand people.

On a much happier note, I spent the majority of my day working with my good friend Vicki B on how we can come together and improve her businesses. She is a Pampered Chef Consultant and a realtor. She does a great job with both, but by working together we are hoping to make it more efficient. I think it will work, but only time will tell.

Ramblings from my tired brain.

2007-06-04T13:44:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty tired. I haven't slept all that well in the past several days. I keep having pains in my legs and feet. They are like dull aches that come on pretty fast and slowly go away. Just when I think that all is good again and I'm getting back to sleep another one comes on. It's not good getting old.

Speaking of getting old...this is fair warning to all you readers out there--my birthday is only 11 days away. I'm not telling you this because I'm planning on exploding or anything. It's just a notice so that you know how many days you have left to go out and purchase something FABULOUS to give me for my birthday.

I'm horrible about waiting for presents so it should be no surprise that I already have a couple of my gifts. The first one I received was a framed picture of Joe that Melinda took in her studio. I was blown away! It is so good and she was able to really capture the true Joseph. I'm not going to post this picture so if you want to see it you will have to come visit me. My second gift is a pair of Mary Jane Crocs (in chocolate, of course). No they are not coated in chocolate (although, how glorious would that be!) they are chocolate in color. Tim picked this up today. They are very hard to find so I'm glad he was able to find them.

I've been trying to think of what else I could possibly want for my birthday. I know that I would like to have another pair of Kari McGrath earrings. I love all the ones that I have now, but a girl can't have too many gorgeous earrings. A new praise and worship CD would be good, too. There really isn't much else that I want.

A really good birthday present would be a contract on the house. It was shown both yesterday and today so hopefully something good will come out of that. We are scheduled, I think, to have an open house this weekend so if the others don't pan out then we have that to fall back on. I think it can happen.

I have to say that my house looks MARVELOUS! We have worked hard to keep it in great shape for showing at a moments notice. This came in handy for the last minute showing that happened today. I got the call at 11:52 that it was needing to be shown at 12:30. Yikes....no, not really. Everything looked great and I was out of the house in 10 minutes (and that's after cleaning up from breakfast and keeping up with the boy!).

It rained good and hard yesterday for about 15 minutes. It was great to see the earth get the water it needed. It also rained again today, but only for about 5 seconds. I have tried watering the yard just a little every few days for the past several weeks, but I don't want to be a burden on the water supply. I'm hoping that we will get some good summer showers through here to keep the ground and plants looking healthy. Kentucky is so pretty when everything is green and blooming.

We had a really good service at The Point Community Church yesterday. Rick did an EXCELLENT job with the sermon that God had given him, and the music was wonderful! There was a person that accepted Christ as their Savior so that was truly a blessing! People just seemed to be on fire for the Lord yesterday. It was a great thing to be a part of. From what I counted there were about 175 in worship...that did not include the nursery workers or the kids being cared for. I think we could easily estimate that there were 200 people there. That's really good for a church that is only 18 months old AND it being summer. God is doing such a mighty work there. I just praise him every day for leading my family and me to be a part of it all. In case you are in the Frankfort area and don't have a church home please stop by for worship on Sundays at 10am. You WON'T be sorry you did!

In Loving Memory...

2007-05-26T18:04:00.000-05:00

This past Thursday evening Betty "Bea" Redding went to be with the Lord. For those of you who don't know, Bea is the mother of Betty Chase, grandmother of Tim, and great-grandmother of Joseph. We have been pretty busy with family things the past few days. The visitation is tomorrow in Frankfort at LeCompte Funeral Home from 1pm - 8pm and the funeral is on Monday at North Benson Baptist Church at 11am.
Bea had been pretty sick and in a nursing home for the last several years so her death was not a shock, but it is sad just the same. Please pray for Betty and the rest of the family.

The iris on this page is for Bea. It was her favorite flower.

FCHS Prom 2007 Pictures

2007-05-21T15:59:00.000-05:00

The group. Krissi, Jimmy, Jessica, and Aaron.

Both girls looked so pretty.

Great looking couples. They had a lot of fun.

Krissi being silly. :-)

Krissi and Jimmy had to wait a while for Jessica and Aaron to arrrive. 56 minutes to be exact.

I like this picture. I know I should have turned him a little, but I didn't think of it at the time.

I think this is my favorite picture. I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

Krissi and date, Jimmy Simpson. Don't they look good together?

This one is rather bright because of the sun, but it's cute just the same.

Krissi didn't like having to wear a flower, but she did think it looked good.

This is one of the few full length shots I caught with my camera. I captured a lot more with Krissi's camera since her battery was fully charged and mine wasn't. Oops!

My current life in a nutshell (or a long post)

2007-05-21T12:20:00.000-05:00

I thought I would go ahead and update everyone on what's been going on in my life. I haven't done this in a while so hopefully this will help everyone catch up.

The Mr. and I have been attending trainging classes the last 5 Saturdays in order that we might adopt from the state of Kentucky. Initially we hated the idea of going to these classes. They were 6 hours long and seemed to us like they might be boring. Thankfully, this was not the case. It wasn't my favorite way to spend my Saturdays, but it was good stuff. I would suggest this class to any parent or anyone thinking about being a parent. It helped us to make our final decision that we are definitely going to adopt a female teenager. Sound crazy? You have no idea...

Joseph only has 3 days of school left this year and I'm excited about it being summer. I miss my little boy when he's gone. It will be good to have him home again. His class is going to the Louisville Zoo this Thursday. I'm not looking forward to that. I hate going to the zoo. Kids seem to like it, though. Why I have no clue.

Krissi went to prom this past Saturday and she looked great! She got her hair done in an up-do and the lady did a nice job on it. Her dress looked great and she looked great on the arm of her date. It was fun to see her so excited about something and having fun. We got to meet Jimmy's parents (Jimmy was her date, by the way) and they were SUPER nice and lot of fun to talk to.
I will put some pictures on here as soon as I get them loaded.

Joseph went swimming yesterday for the first time this season and he was so happy about it. Ms. Vicki (a good friend of ours from church) invited us to come over. They have a great pool and a great house in the country. There were lots of people there so we all had a great time. Joseph stayed in the water for over 2 hours and I sat on the side with a few of my friends just talking and have a relaxing time. I've need this so bad! I've been stressed out about the house and other stuff so it was good to get away. I did get a pretty bad burn on my legs (very typical for me), but the pain is starting to subside and I should be good as new by tomorrow afternoon.

Church at The Point was AWESOME yesterday. It was hectic, but good. The sermon was really good and there were a lot of people who were touched by the whole thing. The song set went very well with the message so that helped everyone to worship fully. It was so moving for a lot of people. I was crying at the end of the service and pretty much so was everyone else. After the service we had a potluck lunch and it was great food. Then the kids went out and jumped on a few bouncers and at about 1:30 we went home. It was a great day! If you want to learn more about The Point just go to our website. There is a lot of information and you can even listen to some sermons and songs. It's definitely worth your time!

After trying to sell our house by ourselves for the last two months we decided it was time to bring in a professional. Last night we hooked up with Mike and Vicki Barnes from Century 21. We are excited about this for several reasons. First, Mike and Vicki are two very good friends of ours. Second, we know how hard they work and we know they will work hard for us. Third, with the market like it is these days it definitely helps to use an agent (or two if you can get a team) to help you sell. I think that they are as excited about this venture as we are (at least I hope so). We have a great house, in an awesome neighborhood, and now we are listed with excellent agents with a fabulous company. What more could we ask for?

These are a few of my favorite things...

2007-05-18T20:15:00.000-05:00

We visited the University of Cincinnati with Nele and Krissi over spring break. Joseph and I were in charge of taking pictures during the day. I got several of Joseph...just like a good mother should. The one above we took for Jerry since Oscar Robertson was one of his favorite basketball players. Enjoy!

This is Joseph standing up on a hill near the honors center.

Joseph and Nele fell asleep on the way home from Cincinnati. It was a long day, but a good one.

I love this picture of Joseph. I took it while we were waiting for the orientation to finish (it was too boring for the two of us).

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-13T11:51:00.000-05:00

I want to tell my mom how much I love her and miss her. We don't get to see each other very often and that makes me sad, but it's always good when we do get to be together. I'm hoping that we can get together soon. I miss my mommy. She truly is one of the greats!!

Now I have things to say....

2007-05-10T15:16:00.000-05:00

I'm just too tired to communicate with anybody right now. Ya'll have a good day.

I have nothing to say...

2007-05-08T12:37:00.000-05:00

Summer is quickly approaching! Yay!!!

2007-05-06T16:21:00.000-05:00

I'm excited about summer, actually. Joseph is done with school in 14 and a half days so that will be less driving for me. I'm not exactly sure how much more school Krissi has left. Franklin County missed several days due to snow so I'm guessing they have a few days to make-up. It probably won't be too bad, though, and I wouldn't imagine that they will go much longer than a week after TFCA. At least I hope not. I'm ready to start sleeping in a little!

Joseph has done rather well this year academically. One of his strongest subjects is spelling. He loves to spell (hence the high grade in spelling). However, he does not like math. He's just like his momma in that respect. He reads well, and can spout off dozens of verses from the Bible (which is good since they have had a memory verse every week). The subjects outside his regular classroom are also going well. PE, French, and Music seem to bring him enjoyment and therefore he does well in those areas. One of the funniest things this year has been to watch him play school with all of his stuffed animals. He brings them all out into the living room and lines them up in rows and then starts asking each of them what they are going to order for lunch, if they brought their folders back, and if they had their permission slips signed. It's pretty funny. I love it when he starts teaching them spelling. He's very patient with them which speaks well for his teachers. I have also been called Mrs. Cull numberous times this year. It's cute, actually.

As far as Joseph is concerned the month of June can't get here fast enough. We have had a little trouble lately getting him to understand that just because it is 80 degrees outside that does not mean that he gets to go over to Mrs. Vicki's pool and play. I believe this is his favorite part of summer. He is swimming well and I think he will have even more fun this year because he will be all over the pool, whereas in the past he has been required to stay in the shallow end. His class is going to The Pavilion in Georgetown on the 24th of this month for their final day of school. They will swim for most of the day and then have awards that night. I know that he is going to absolutely LOVE that field trip. It's going to be an exciting day.

Kids these days ...

2007-05-01T15:53:00.000-05:00

I don't exactly know where to begin, but let's start off by stating that I am COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED!!!! I have spent the day subbing at a local school in a Kindergarten class. I'm not going to mention names so that I may protect the innocent.

One would think that getting to hang out with 15 or so 5-6 year olds would not be a horrible way to spend the day...especially if you don't do it that often. Well, you would be wrong. I have never in my life been talked back to, lied to, and simply disrespected so much in my life! These are little kids, folks!! I don't know what's wrong with our society now that we just allow kids to get away with this. What's worse, as I was going through some discipline with a few of the kids I overheard another sub saying that I was way too harsh on the kids and I needed to not be asked to come back. Hey! Fine by me. Goodness!!

I'm not a horrible person and I do enjoy spending time with kids and having fun, which is what I normally have on days that I sub, but this was just too much! Talking I can handle, just being little kids I can deal with, but when you start disrespecting me and going against everything that I know to be true, then you are asking for trouble!! All I did was make the kids pull cards which in turn led to over half of the class loosing ALL of their recess.

I do have to say that I had 5 kids who were pretty good and behaved well enough to get all or most of their recess. While this should give me hope, I still have the noise of the others ringing in my ears, "what's so special about them? how come they get to go out and we don't? HEY! What's up with that?" Yep, that's exactly what one little kid said to me. Don't even get me started! I'm beginning to think that I should be in a whole different line of part-time work. Any ideas?

To sell, perchance to move.

2007-04-30T07:48:00.000-05:00

Our home has now been on the market for two months. This is really nothing of note, except the fact that we have never had this much trouble selling a house! We have shown the house many, many times and each time the people have nothing but positive things to say. For example, "I just love the layout. It flows so well." or "There are so many features that you can't find in a lot of homes in this neighborhood. You all have done a nice job with this house." and even "I can totally see myself living here. I just love it!" Okay then....BUY IT! Inevitably there has been something that keeps them from making an offer. We just don't know what it is. Several buyers have talked about bringing family back with them, or viewing it a second time, but then they never do. This is the hardest part about being For Sale By Owner.

We have friends who have offered to list the house. We have actually considered it, but we are going to give it a few more weeks. Yesterday we held an open house and one couple (okay, okay, the only couple) who came to see it really liked it and the man even went under the house to look around. I'm hoping to hear back from them today or tomorrow to schedule another showing. I'm really ready to move on.

On another note...I have discovered some cleaning tips for those of you out there who are thinking about selling, but don't think you have the money to fix up your house to be ready to show. We initially had our ad stating that we were giving a carpet and paint allowance. I just kept looking around and seeing marks on the walls and spots on the flooring and couldn't bare to thought of someone thinking I wanted them to buy the house without some sort of compensation for how bad it looked. We don't have the money to paint the whole house, plus with vaulted ceilings I have no idea how I would do it. So I went online and did some research on cheap ways to make your walls and floors look better. I learned that the Mr. Clean Magic Sponge is one of the most awesome inventions of our time (next to wrinkle releaser)! I bought several and went to work on the walls. Lo and behold!...they work like magic! Years of wear, dirt, and markings from heaven only knows what came off easily and without messing up my walls. I'm now addicted to the sponges and I won't ever go without them in my cleaning arsenal again.

The second tool is Goo Gone. I always knew this stuff was good, but had no idea what all it could be used for. I learned that it can take scuff marks off of vinyl flooring. Joseph and Krissi both have shoes that are, or were, wreaking havoc on my kitchen floor and I was desperate to make them look better. Again, we have no money for putting down new flooring so I needed a cheaper solution. I spent about 2 hours on Saturday night getting all the scuff marks up off the floor (trust me....there were a lot of them). The kitchen floor now looks like new. So, I have spent a total of $14.68 and my walls and floor look great! It's the best money ever spent on cleaning supplies. My house looks awesome now and I have removed the offer of an allowance from our ad. I think it will make a huge difference. I pray that we sell real soon.

Calling all readers!

2007-04-29T17:11:00.000-05:00

I have recently been told by several people that they love reading my blog. Thanks guys...it's great to hear from ya! But there are times that a girl needs to have people showin' a lil' love in the form of COMMENTS!! I know you're out there. I miss knowing that there are faithful readers. I'm not motivated to write if I'm not sure that there are people to read, you know?

So...I have a proposal for ya. The first person to leave a comment to this post will get a free drink of their choice from McDonalds. Why the McD's? Well, honestly, it's easy for me since I'm there several times a week with the kids. :-) I would like for all others to leave a comment as well. What do you get? A nice hug from me...what more could you want (come on people....I'm not made of money!)? Have a great day and I look forward to hearing from ya! And if you are the first to comment then leave your drink order.

Things that make you say, "Geez, I'm old!"

2007-04-25T08:51:00.000-05:00

As I was driving home this morning from dropping off the kiddos I couldn't help but notice how old my hands look. I was stopped at a red light and happened to glance down at them on my steering wheel. It almost felt like they weren't mine. They are becoming very wrinkled. I don't know what happened to me that suddenly my body is rejecting my youth. Is this what happens to a 35 year old woman?

I also have also experienced some other instances these past few weeks where my age was very apparent to me. For example, just last week I went into my bedroom, laid flat on my back on the bed for what seemed like only a few minutes, and when I went to get up my back was very stiff and hurting! Has this ever happened to you? I hadn't been working in the yard, or doing things that were strenuous. I was literally just laying on my back thinking and praying.

My knees have been going out on me for quite some time now, but lately it has been much worse. They pop and crack almost with each step. That can't be good! And this morning, after the wrinkled hand incident, I took a look at my legs and my knees are getting all wrinkled, too (don't worry...I did wait until I was home and out of the car before I looked)! What is going on?

The final straw, or should I say the last nail in the coffin, happened just last past Monday. While helping out the gang at CLS Screen Printing and Embroidery with a huge job they had to finish I was placed in the back room with the screen printing guys so that I could get the shirts as they were coming out of the oven and needing to be folded. It's good honest work and I like it. Anyway, they listen to a radio station from Lexington that plays only classic rock. This is a good thing since I like classic rock. I knew most of the songs (ones I grew up on because my mom and dad both like this type of music) that played, but I was saddened to hear a particular song. It appears that much of the music that was new when I was a teenager is now considered classic rock. I grew up in the 80's! this isn't supposed to happen for another 10-20 years at least!! Then...Dwayne pointed out to me that it was 20 years ago at the particular song they were playing was released and by radio standards it is now classic. Bummer. Talk about putting you in a funk.

I will leave you with the wise words of Truvy (played by Dolly Parton in Steel Magnolias), "Honey, time marches on. And sooner or later you realize it's marchin' across your face!"

Lonely...again.

2007-04-17T13:32:00.000-05:00

I had a really good run. The last several weeks I have been surrounded by loved ones and awesome friends. I stated in a previous post that Nele was home for a while and it was truly wonderful. She has returned to Germany and I miss her so much.

I'm not doing too awful, though. I mean...sure I am a little lonely, and yes, I do wish she was here again, but honestly, I have been a LOT worse in the past. Maybe it's the fact that we are leaving in less than 3 months to go to Germany; maybe it has to with how busy I am this week; or maybe I'm just getting really good at dealing with my feelings. I don't know, Babs...I just can't help but realize that I am hurting right now. I would say that this feeling will be really intense on Sunday when there is an empty seat next to me.

I just realized I don't even really want to be writing this post. Oh well...live and learn.

Totally worth it!

2007-04-12T20:41:00.000-05:00

Today I took Joseph and Nele to the movies where we met up with Kari and the kids. We saw "Meet the Robinson's" and it was great. It was expensive to get in ($18 for the 3 of us--yikes!--can you believe that it costs $6 to get into a MATINEE?), but it was so worth it!! For those of you who are not familiar with this movie, it is a great work by Disney that is funny, entertaining, cute, and touching.

I was really moved by the movie because it is ultimately about adoption. I didn't know that going in and I have watched the trailer for the movie several times. The main character, Louis, is a 12 year old boy who was dropped off at an orphanage when he was a baby and, at 12 years old, knows that his chances of being adopted are not good because he is an older child. Kari and I both cried over this fact. It's like this movie was made for our family.

I hope that all of you take the time to have a date, family night, or a night out with friends and go see this movie. The kids will LOVE it and so will you.

What a difference a day makes

2007-04-09T08:15:00.000-05:00

I hope that all of you had a truly blessed Easter Sunday. And Easter weekend for that matter. Ours was quite good and I was amazed at all the blessings that God gave us during that time. Saturday was a good day of relaxing with the family, celebrating Tim's birthday with Betty and Jerry, and then relaxing some more. I really enjoyed getting my pedicure that day even though I didn't wear my fabulous shoes on Sunday. Speaking of, it was a wonderful day. Yes it was really cold, but we had a great worship service in the morning and very good relaxing fellowship with our dear friends, the McGrath's, that afternoon. It was a very non-traditional Easter lunch that we enjoyed together. We had decided that it would be good to grill out (even though it was freezing cold) and just have simple foods. So, Tim fired up the grill and cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for us while Kari and I put together all the fixin's. The younger kids got to hunt for a few eggs while the older ones watched a DVD. Kari and I had lots of fun talking and Tim and Shane played Madden 07 on the xbox 360. Poor Nehemiah was a little fussy (unusual for him) but he was still a very good baby. I loved every minute of it. Well....except the end. It was a rushed and awkward departure for them because we had a lady come and see our house and her coming in and their going out overlapped. Because of this I didn't get to give them a proper goodbye and I'm truly sorry for that. I don't even remember seeing Shane and the girls go outside and I felt awful having basically abandoned them the way we did. I will make it up to them...I just don't know how yet.

Showing the house went rather well. We talked with them for a long time and they seemed to really like the layout and size. I'm praying that I hear back from her today. I think that would help to pull me out of this funk I've been in lately.

And, yesterday was my mom's birthday!! I got to talk to her for a little while last night and sent her an e-card. I know...how sad is that? But, it's the same every year. We usually don't give my parents their gifts until we see them either here or in Chattanooga and that has worked out well this year. My mom's gift is in and already wrapped, but my dad's gift hasn't even shipped yet. However, I think that the waiting will be worth it. I do truly believe they will both really enjoy the gift.

I think my favorite part of Easter is living in the truth and realizing God's love for me. I like seeing all the kids in their new clothes, and others all dressed up (even if that is more relaxed at The Point which is nice, honestly), but I love hearing the story of how Christ died for me. It's heart breaking and many times REALLY difficult to get through, but amazing to me at the same time. This year is the first time that Joseph has been able to fully relay the story to me and that was super special. I love hearing him talk about Jesus riding in on a donkey and the people waving palm branches, the last supper with the bread and wine, Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane, how Pilate was a man who said, "I don't want this on my hands" (Joe's paraphase) and finally the very indepth description of Christ on the cross and then Him "gettin' on up to heaven with God" (another paraphase). It's awesome to see how he is starting to really get it. I love it that he is attending a Christian school and is constantly exposed to the Word and the truth.

So, while this Easter was a little crazy, it was also very good to be with friends and family for great fellowship. I have another post I'm going to write later today about something I saw on CNN last night, but I'm still getting my thoughts together on it. All I can say is the show was titled "What would Jesus REALLY do" and I was appalled at what was said by some on the show. So, stayed tuned and have a great day.

A complete waste of time...but I did it anyway.

2007-04-07T21:59:00.000-05:00

I spent about 30 minutes tonight playing around on www.becomeanmm.com designing myself as an M&M candy. I wouldn't say it's a perfect likeness or anything, but it's pretty good and it was rather fun. This past week has been so busy that I just thought I would take some time for myself and this is what I did with it. How sad is that?

Busy week, but so worth it!

2007-04-04T21:37:00.000-05:00

This past week has been incredibly busy for me and my family. A week ago today the Mr. came home and gave me the best surprise ever-my Nele!! I was so shocked, but so happy. Apparently he, Nele and Krissi had been planning this for 3 weeks. They did a great job hiding it from me. They all said the look on my face was priceless. I'm sure it was. Once I finally calmed down and let it sink in that my girl was home, we had dinner together, unpacked her stuff, and talked for a long time. I have really missed her. It's good to have her home again. She is here for 2 weeks and, for me, that's just not long enough, but I will take what I can get.

Today my Mr. turned 40!! I can hardly believe that I'm married to a 40 year old man. I'm still so young! HA! Yeah, right. I must say, that for being 40 years old he looks GOOD! I am still so in love with him after all these years. He's so good to me and I just don't deserve him, but he loves me just as I am--always has, always will.

Next week is spring break for kids here in Franklin County. Krissi is going to NYC for several days with Betty and Jerry. She is going to have so much fun. We are staying here and hopefully working on the yard and spending LOTS of time with Nele before she goes back home. I know that one day Joseph and I are going to see "Meet the Robinsons" with the Kari and the kids. We are looking forward to having some rest and relaxation. I just pray that the weather gets more like it was last week and the temperatures return to the 70s.

I have shown the house several times in the past month, but no contract just yet. While this makes me sad I also know that God is in control of this and He will provide the right buyer for us. And, as usual, I just wish I knew His timeline. Anybody else ever had that feeling? Yeah, I thought so.

Welcome to our world!

2007-03-28T15:32:00.000-05:00

This is my nephew, Tyler Cole Arnold. Born today and weighing in at a whopping 9lbs. 13oz.!!!!! Ouch! But mommy, Shelby (my sister) is doing fine. She had a c-section at 1:00pm this afternoon. Hopefully mommy, baby, and daddy will all remain healthy and be going home this Saturday. God bless you guys. Can't wait to hold this little (or should I say BIG) guy.

They're still out there...

2007-03-28T12:06:00.000-05:00

I just had the absolute pleasure of dealing with Kenny Perkins from P&R Towing and Recovery. We finally decided that we were going to junk our Volvo because it has been sitting in the driveway for nearly 6 months with no one driving it. It was costing us money and space. Neither the Mr. nor myself knew the thing that we needed to do to fix the car. It's a good car. Just a little quirky, that's all. Anyway, we also don't have the money to fix the car up to exactly where it needs to be. And so...I called the guy this morning and he came at 12:30 to pick it up.

Mr. Perkins is a dear man! He was so prompt in coming out to the house--for FREE!!!!--and then was so sweet and sincere in the way he handled the entire transaction. He told me that the Volvo was way too nice a car to junk and asked if I would mind if he checked with some guys at the garage to see if it could be fixed. I was THRILLED!! It is a good car, like I said, and I would love for someone to have it who can take care of it and really put it to good use. Kenny also told me that he will have the car transferred out of my name by tomorrow and would send me a receipt for my records. He is definitely going above and beyond what most people would do to help someone. To top it all off, he also gave me his card and said that the next time I need a tow, a tire change, or my doors unlocked to give him a call and he would come out for free. God bless this man and his giving heart. I feel so honored to have met him! If you ever need to call a tow truck or need help with your vehicle then please call him at 502-223-7327 (day) or 502-223-0671 (night) and tell him Cari sent you!

Oh Uvula!!!

2007-03-24T09:06:00.000-05:00

Yes, the uvula. Why blog about a uvula? Because mine has a blister on it the size of Jupiter and it is causing the darn thing to touch the back of my tongue which, quite frankly, is getting on my nerves! While I am sure that most of you have never encountered such a problem I was pleased to learn that it is not all that uncommon. There are actually web forums devoted to the above mentioned problem. And even a song by Green Day titled, "Bab's Uvula". You would be surprised at all the trouble your uvula can get into!

Thursday night I came in from Bunco and told my Mr. that I could feel my uvula and it was bothering me. He of course told me that he could get online and look up some information on enlarged uvulas and the common causes. After a good laugh on his part he realized that I actually wanted him to do this. Being the busy man that he is he unfortunately did not have the time to spend on my uvula problem, but instead directed me to research it for myself and see what I find. There are sites out there for discussing your uvula and problems associated with it, but there are also sites available to the general health and well-being of ones uvula. I had no idea. So much has been written about such a little thing!

Now, it must be said here that I have gone back to Dr. Don and seen him concerning this problem. It really is more than JUST the uvula. The back portion of the roof of my mouth is also very irritated and burns when I eat or drink. It got so bad yesterday morning that I didn't have anything to eat until last night. Not good. While a gal like me could stand to use a break from food every now and again, I have been consuming very little this last week and, hence, I have lost 5 pounds since Monday! (worst diet ever, by the way!) So, Dr. Don told me that I have a blister on the end of my uvula which is what I am feeling and that it would soon go away. He also saw that the roof of my mouth is pretty irritated and so he prescribed me some "Magic Mouthwash". Let me tell you! This stuff is awesome! I love it!!!! I was able to eat pizza last night (first time in like 3 weeks) and drink a Sprite with very little pain (nothings perfect, right?) and I was able to enjoy them both! Ahhhh....the miracle of modern medicine!

The end of this post is devoted to a Chase family favorite SNL skit with Chevy Chase and Gilda Radner. Transcript below.

75v: Elliot Gould / Leon Redbone

Babs' Uvula

Sister.....Laraine Newman
Babs.....Gilda Radner
Doctor.....Chvy Chase

[ open on National Uvula association flash card ]

Announcer: And now, a public service dramatization from the

National Uvula Association.

[ dissolve to Babs and her sister sitting in their living room ]

Sister: Gee, Babs, you look like something the cat just dragged in.

Babs: I know. I feel crummy. But I just can't seem to put my finger

on what's wrong.

Sister: That's too bad, Babs. Has it ever dawned on you that it just may

be your uvula?

Babs: Gee, no, Sis.. I must have stupidly glossed right over my uvula.

Sister: I had a hunch you might've. That's why I made an appointment

for you with a top

uvula specialist. [ doorbell rings ] Who makes house calls! Right now!

[ Doctor enters the living room ]

Doctor: Hello, I'm the doctor.

Sister: Hi.

Babs: That must be him! [ coughs ]

[ Doctor sits next to Babs on the couch ]

Doctor: I won't beat around the bush, Babs.

Babs: Is it bad?

Doctor: In a nutshell, your uvula is on the fritz. Which reminds me of a

little joke. Knock

knock!

Babs: Who's there?

Doctor: Babs' uvula.

Babs: Babs' uvula who?

Doctor: I don't know, Babs. But I do know this - you've really let your

uvula go to the dogs.

Babs: Yes.. I have..

Sister: I'd like to share this with you, Sis. [ opens a greeting card ]

"To Babs: It'll behoove ya', to care for your uvula! Love, Sis."

Babs: Boy, do I hear ya', Sis! From now on, it's strictly good, clean fun.

For me and my uvula!

Doctor: That reminds me of a little joke. Knock knock!

Announcer: Who's there?

[ Doctor, Babs and her sister laugh at the surprise interruption ]

Announcer: The preceding dramatization was brought to you by the

National Uvula Association.

SNL Transcripts

80% Better....still a little down

2007-03-22T09:55:00.000-05:00

Sorry about my lack of writing in the past few days. I have been under the weather...to say the least. It started last week with the common "gunk" that plagues so many of us here in the fair state of Kentucky. The pollen count at the end of last week was the highest it had been all year. No wonder! Flowers are blooming, grass is growing, and trees are budding once again. While I love this time of year and the beauty that it brings...I really don't like what happens to my head. :-( ALLERGIES!!!! So many of my friends go through times much worse than I in dealing with the pain and mess of allergies. I do think that I get off rather lightly compared to Joseph and my friend Becky. Both of them suffer almost year 'round. I can't imagine. I would be a bear!

The worst part of me this past week has been that I ended up with strep. Oh yeah! Horrible. I don't recall it being this bad when I was a child. Maybe it's worse for adults. I'm not sure, but my poor throat is still not back to normal. I lost my voice for a few days, had MAJOR throat pain, and didn't eat much for about 3 days. According to Don (my doctor and friend) I was pretty bad off. Upon checking me out in the office on Monday, he said, "Woah! You're tonsils are huge! Even your uvula is infected. If it's not strep I will give you antibiotics anyway because that looks terrible!" I was immediately put on drugs and sent home. The worst part of my illness happened Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. As far as I was concerned the antibiotics should have kicked in the first night and made it so that I was my old self again the next day. Nope. Didn't happen. I was in such pain on Tuesday night that I couldn't swollow a thing with crying. I wasn't able to eat or drink. My mouth of dry and I was miserable. I kept popping the drugs and finally on Wednesday morning, about 10am, the pain subsided and I was back to feeling like a normal person.

Throughout the whole thing my main squeeze, Tim, has been AWESOME! He has done a great job taking care of me and keeping up with what meds I needed to take, etc. Thanks, babe, for being there through it all! I love you!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2007-03-17T08:08:00.000-05:00

Today is my daddy's birthday. Yep, he's a St. Pat's baby. We never really did any major celebrating of St. Patrick's Day when I was growing up because we were more focused on my dad, which is exactly what we should have done. Every year since I have been away from home I wear green not for St. Patrick's Day, but to honor my father, the greatest daddy on earth. I hope you are all wearing your green today.

The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

2007-03-16T19:03:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year. March Madness. I have to admit that I am more prone to watch to basketball than any other sport. Now that is on any level...high school, college, pro, whatever. Football? Only college football interests me. Actually, only southern football and SEC football interests me. I am after all, a GRITS (see previous post if you don't know what that is). It is our duty to watch football and have empathy for our team (you may think I'm kidding, but it's in the GRITS rule book....seriously! I have a copy).

Basketball. While I have loved this sport all my life (mainly watching it, not playing it) I have never seen quite the level of psycho fans any where else in the world except in Kentucky. My Mr. explained to me prior to our engagement that it was very important that I support UK basketball. While he himself is not psycho, he does have a few of the tendencies. For example, determining the time we would leave for Spring Break vacation by the NCAA Men's Basketball timings. This has happened more than once. We as a family have been silenced in the car while he was listening to the game on the way home from church on a Sunday afternoon. However, he doesn't paint his face or his stomach, he has been known to wear colors other than UK blue on game days, and, while it may only happen once a season, he has been known to forget about a game during very busy times at home or work. The best part....when they loose he might be upset for an hour at the most, but for the most part he just cheers them on from beginning to end and takes every loss like a man should.

What does all this have to do with the tournament? I have no idea. I am currently on allergy medication and I'm not exactly sure what all I have written so please excuse any tangents. Now, I started this post with the intention of just telling you folks about my current status in the pools I am taking part in. None of them required any money so I don't consider it gambling. Actually, I think there is only one in which I can walk away with a prize (the big facebook pool). As of now, I am #125 out of 169 in the Governor's pool; #197 out of 301 in the SEC on to the top pool; and #9 out of 10 in The Point Community pool. I go for my favorites. I have the final game as Tennessee vs. Florida with a final score of Tennessee 76 and Florida 75. Now that would be a SWEET game. Kentucky won't win it all. Just not gonna happen. The Mr. knew that going in so he's not really hoping for much. Smart man!

Kari McGrath is _ _ today!!!!! ;-)

2007-03-15T22:25:00.000-05:00

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y ! One of my best friends, Kari McGrath (yes, the nice young lady who partners with me on Dr. Pepper knock-off taste tests) turns one year older today. I'm not going to say how old she is because I'm a lady and she's a lady and, frankly, it's none of your business (but let's just say she's getting closer and closer to being called a babushka--and no...that's not a scarf that old ladies in Russian wear). Alright now, let's keep this civil! ;-) Just kidding, Kari. I know you are reading this and I just want you to know that I love you and I'm so glad you are in my life. I hope you had a very blessed day with your family.

Laundry up to my ears

2007-03-12T18:46:00.000-05:00

I have done little else today but laundry. It was a good day to do it. I got to put the big quilts up outside to dry, and finished cleaning my house between loads. I must admit, if I were to ever meet the person who invented the washing machine I would certainly give them a hug and a peck on the cheek. Doing the wash the old fashioned way would not be fun. I just realized this is about one of the most boring posts I have put up in a while. Wow. I need to get a life. :)

The last several days.........

2007-03-11T13:27:00.000-05:00

Sorry about that, folks. I was doing pretty good posting on most days, and then...BAM! I got off track. And, just so everyone knows, Joseph is doing much better. Thanks for the prayers.

Let's see...what has happened? Ah! I am once again doing the make-up for the musical at FCHS. They are performing "Guys and Dolls" starting this Thursday and going through Saturday. So far it looks pretty good. The kids are working very hard. Yesterday was the big rehearsal which had us at school from 8:30 am until 4:00 pm. It was the first rehearsal with make-up. This year is a bit of a challenge with the color palate because there are so many different types of characters. I'm having to get the style down for the mission band members, one of which is supposed to be an old man; the gamblers, all of whom are to be middle aged; and townspeople ranging from cops, to hookers, and celebreties and showgirls to star-crazed bobby-socksers. It's definitely different from last year where I was making up everyone in the same bland colors and only aging one guy. But, while it is harder, I am excited about the opportunity.

Krissi is in the Mission Band. She is the drummer. It's really cute. Their costumes are awesome! The boys look great in their suits. Some have complained about how baggy they are, but for the most part I think they are having fun with it. The main costume problem right now is the dress for Adelaide in the "Take Back Your Mink" number failed to arrive. The dresses for all the other girls came in just fine, but the focus of that scene is currently without a dress. I really hope they get it sent up from Atlanta in the next couple of days.

For those of you in the greater Frankfort area, come on out and see the show. You won't be sorry. Mrs. Sally Jump is our director and she is fabulous!! Mrs. Hurley, the choir teacher at FCHS is also incredibly good so you know the show is going to be great. Hope to see all of you there!

Some people just don't get it!

2007-03-06T11:52:00.000-05:00

Many of you know that I am a member of The Point Community Church here in Frankfort, KY. I love what God is doing with this church. I have felt his hand on everything we have done since we started this church a little over one year ago. The people who make up The Point are just awesome! We are a very diverse group of individuals who are working hard to further God's kingdom. Our pastor, Rick Long, is absolutely wonderful. He is a man who is honest and real, which is hard to find these days.

Rick is also a very busy man. Not only does he have his work with The Point (which, honestly is enough!), but he is a partial owner in a local business, and on numberous teams made up of pastors just like him. Of course, first and foremost, he is a husband to a gorgeous and fabulous lady, Paula, and father to a beautiful and precious little girl, Linley. I would imagine he is tired all the time, but he often doesn't show it. He amazes me with his energy, and with his love for people, but most importantly, his love for God.

One of the many teams/committees that Rick is a part of is a group of local pastors who pray in front of and for the KY legislature on a rotating basis. Being an excellent public speaker, and a pastor in Frankfort, it makes sense that he would be on this team of pastors. He has prayed before these bodies before and has always done a good job. The most recent times are no exception. I have included this prayer at the bottom of this post.

With all this said there has been a bit of a storm brewing around Rick in the last few days. The storm has come about because a reporter, David Hawpe, from The Courier-Journal was present the day that Rick prayed before the House of Rep. and was "offended" by Rick's very straightforward and Truth filled prayer. In fact, he went so far as to write an article about it for Sundays paper. Now I am not about to say that Mr. Hawpe shouldn't have written this piece. I'm just sorry that it has come at the expense of my friends freedom of religion and piece of mind.

I believe strongly that God is going to use this to bring others closer to Him. I also know that God is going to be with Rick and his wonderful family through this storm that is raging for them right now. I urge each of you to go to Rick's blog and read for yourself his responses.

Prayer given to God before the KY Legislature by Rick Long, Pastor, The Point Community Church:
Father God, we come before you to seek your grace, forgiveness, direction and guidance. Not only do we ask that you bless the great Commonwealth of Kentucky, but we pray that we, as leaders, would be a blessing to you and to those whom we serve. We confess that we must rely upon you, your sovereignty, your providence and your wisdom. Lord help us to once again look to you and your Word in every circumstance. Forgive us as we have turned from you and rebelled against your ways. I pray that every decision that is considered and made by this body be submitted to you as the sovereign Creator. Lord, protect and keep our Ky. soldiers safe both here and abroad. Help us to be compassionate to the poor and hurting, Help us to be lovers of all life, protectors for the helpless and peacemakers in the midst of conflict. Help us to be men and women of integrity, honor and purpose. Help us to exercise stewardship and proper management of the resources that you have entrusted us to.Father, I pray for the children of the Commonwealth today. Lead us to make wise decisions that will protect and provide for every child, the born and the unborn. Lead us to rely not on our own understanding, but to acknowledge you in every way. I pray that every man and woman in this assembly understand that through grace, you have given us a way to know you through your Son, Jesus Christ. It is in His name we pray. Amen.

Diagnosis - Common Cold

2007-03-05T10:37:00.000-05:00

Joseph is not feeling well. It started on Friday night and we thought he was feeling better on Saturday, but by yesterday morning he was running a fever, had the runny nose, cough, watery eyes, sore throat, and ear ache. Poor boy. We have used a steady stream of Triaminic cold and cough strips in addition to his Xopenex and other inhalers. He is wheezing some, but the doctor said it's not too bad. He thinks that keeping up with nebulizer treatments every 4 hours, and keeping him calm (yeah, right....Joseph?) will help him to get over this sooner. The poor boy was so afraid he was going to get a shot, but he didn't and so he was quite happy with the outcome of the visit. In his words, "Momma, that doctor was not so bad." Cutie! I'm hoping that he will be on the road back to normal by tomorrow and he can return to school.

Airplane Day 2007

2007-03-03T22:45:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that Joe has been with us for 6 years now. On February 22, 2001 we flew out of Louisville on a journey that changed our lives forever! On March 3, 2001 we returned home with Pattana Yardsangkad (now named Joseph Pattana Chase) as our 13 month old son.

It was an awesome day. Don't get me wrong...we were completely exhausted, horribly jet-lagged, and in desperate need of our normal American food. Probably the worst part for me was the fact that I smelled like pee. Yep, my new, precious son had at first pooped everywhere (and this took place at the 4 hour mark of our 27 hour journey home), and then his diaper leaked, badly, and we were both soaked (this happened at the 17 hour mark). We had plenty of clothes to change Joe, but, alas, I only had the clothes on my back....the rest were stowed neatly in the luggage compartments of the airplanes we rode on. Still...it was an awesome day!

Once we arrived in Minneapolis we went through all the customs and immigration stuff and then it was time to find good ole' greasy fast food. Who else but McDonald's could supply the much needed high fat food products we craved. It was Joseph's first taste of Ronald's fries and he has been hooked ever since. Once we arrived in Louisville my mom was there to pick us up and take us home to Frankfort. She was so happy for us and it was great to have her, and eventually my dad, too, help us out while we adjusted to being parents.

Our Airplane Day tradition is to go out to eat with Betty and Jerry and the rest of the family at Tony Roma's in Lexington. Why? Well...there was a Tony Roma's in Bangkok that was only a half a block from our hotel and so we ate there every night. It was a comfort thing while being in a strange country, a strange city, and doing things that were completely foreign to us. And on the final night in Thailand, we had a party at Tony Roma's with all the American families that had gone on this adoption journey with us.

Needless to say, at this very moment I am very full. My belly is full from awesome Tony Roma's, and my heart is full because I have been blessed with a precious child and a great family to help us raise him. We really could not do any of it without the help of grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins. Thank you all and know that I love you very much.

I'm much better today....thank you.

2007-03-02T12:14:00.000-05:00

Seriously, I am feeling much better. I talked with several friends yesterday on the phone, email and chat and that helped out a lot. Kari prayed with me and really lifted me up to the Lord which was the greatest help of all. Thanks Kari.

As the Mood Changes...........

2007-03-01T17:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday...

Today....

Blah...

2007-02-28T21:51:00.000-05:00

This is exactly how I have felt all day. What's worse...I think I have honestly looked like this in real life all day. Now that is sad......as is this poor cat. God love his little heart. Hopefully I can post a better picture tomorrow.

2007-02-23T13:47:00.000-05:00

No...I have not turned into a rabbit. Although, due to all the lettuce I have eaten lately I fear this is not far from happening to me. This rabbit, Ewok, and I have a lot in common. We are both fluffy and funny looking. Not only that but both of us have been blessed with double chins, and hair that is in desperate need of a color job and a hot oil treatment. What we don't have in common, besides the obvious, is Ewok loves lettuce, and me...well...not so much (but I'm eating it anyway--yay diet!).

Time to move

2007-02-19T13:50:00.000-05:00

It's official...we are selling our house. I have talked about this in the past, but today it is really going to happen. I put the sign in the yard on Saturday afternoon, and now the street signs are out and the ad is running the paper. We are excited about the possibilities for a new home, bigger rooms, more rooms, etc. I do like this house. The design is awesome! There is little to no wasted space. The yard is a good size without being too big and it's fairly level without being flood-plane flat. Perhaps the best thing is the street it sits on. The neighborhood is quiet, the neighbors are awesome, and it's a good cul-de-sac street. The coolest feature? The deck...without question. We had leaved here for almost a year when we learned that you have an unobstructed view of the country club fireworks on the 4th of July. It's priceless.

Joseph has been a little upset over the fact that someone put a sign in our yard, and when we told him why he started crying. I have talked to him about how his new room will be better, probably larger, and, if he wants, we can paint it the same color as his room now. He finally got excited when he realized that our whole family was moving to the new house and it wasn't just him. He was worried we were going to leave Krissi. And I promised him that everyone will know how to find our new home so they can come and visit. He seems to have accepted it and now wants to know when he will get his new room.

We have some wonderful leads on some great houses in Shelby county. We also have some leads on a few homes in Franklin county, but on the far western edge. Anyway you look at it we will be closer to Tim's work which is the main reason for the move. The best part about living in Shelby county is we would have cable, internet and phone free with Tim's work. I think when we priced out everything we get for free from them it is like $200 a month! Now that's what I call a bonus!

Uh oh...

2007-02-12T15:41:00.000-05:00

Ha! I was all ready to blog about something and it has completely left me. Oh well. I guess I can just bore you all with some mindless ranting.

Today was a good day here at the house. I was able to accomplish quite a lot. All the rooms are clean and no one is coming to visit. ;) I have done laundry, cooked, designed an ad for the sale of our house, talked with Nele on chat, taken the kids to and from school, and it's only 3:45pm! Yeah, I'm tired, but that's nothing new. I'm always tired.

Plus I have eaten well. This has been somewhat of an issue (as if you couldn't tell) for me the last several years. I have recently signed on to fitday.com and this is helping me to keep up with my eating habits and activities. So far I have actually lost 3 pounds. I know this doesn't sound like much, but if I can maintain this amount of weight loss for the next 6 months I will be on my way back to my old self. It's pretty exciting.

As for the rest of the family, Joseph is doing well. He had a great day at school. I don't know about Krissi yet. She is at school until about 7pm tonight because of musical rehearsal (FCHS is doing "Guys and Dolls" in March...it should be fun). Yesterday was a good day for her because she met with some people from SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) in Louisville and got some great feedback on her portfolio and her admission packet. She was very happy about the way things turned out. Tim is still working hard in Louisville. He is really starting to dislike the drive so this is a major factor for our selling the house. We are hoping to be on the other side of town in either Bentwoods or Cedar Creek, or out Hwy 151 or 395. There is a great possibility we can even be out as far as Osprey Cove in Shelbyville! I'm still not completely sold on that idea, but it would mean a 20 minute commute for Tim as opposed to an hour! It would mean 20 minutes to The Point rather than the 15 it takes now. The biggest problem is it will be 30 minutes to TFCA as opposed to 10. But, I can handle it. If we are in Shelbyville we would get free cable, phone and internet through Tim's work. Now that I can handle! :) So, here's praying we get the house listed by this Wednesday and have it sold quickly.

2007-02-11T17:13:00.000-05:00

A great, big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of my favorite people...REW!!! Andrew is, what?, like really old now. HA! Just kidding...I liked being 27, but I wouldn't go back for anything.

Rew...did you eat your doughnut? I worked really hard on that this morning. I was in the preschool area while working on it, and Linely asked how old you are and when I told her I thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head! Heehee. Then Lizzy said, "Ms Cawi, why is Andwew so old?" I didn't know what to tell them. It was a horrifying moment.

Anyway, I hope you have a good one! You deserve it.

The Cutest Boy in the World!!!

2007-02-06T20:52:00.000-05:00

Being a part of TFCA requires that kids step it up academically. This is something that Tim and I both agree with and think is wonderful. Joseph has been challenged during his short time there and he continues to grow. The best part about TFCA is the simple fact that Jesus Christ is central to everything they do.

Now, as for academically, TFCA students are really above par. Joseph is doing great in this area (in all areas actually) and we couldn't be more proud. Today was a special day for Joseph since it was his first ACSI Speech Meet. He had to go into a room with 3 judges and recite a poem that was chosen by this teacher. The poem is short, but the fact that Joseph was willing and able to do this very important task speaks volumes about Mrs. Cull (his teacher), Mrs. Wilcox (his speech teacher), and Mrs. Jones (his OT teacher). We are thankful to all of them for their hard work and dedication. I hope that all of you enjoy this video. If for some reason you cannot view it please let me know so I can try and fix it. ENJOY!!

Ahhhh...college, how I miss thee.

2007-02-03T17:11:00.000-05:00

Today Krissi and I went took the afternoon away from the boys to attend the National College Fair in Louisville. It was fun and seeing all the kids rushing around and trying to get the attention of recruiters made me miss the college life. While my college days were not trouble free I did have a fabulous time (as reflected in my grades the first go-round at Jacksonville State University--sorry Mom and Dad). My first four years were spent socializing and basically learning the ropes of the university while trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I will say this...it is a VERY expensive way to find yourself. :) I was a music major (clainet, then piano, then finally voice) for the majority of time at Jax State. I was a very proud member of the Southerners. If you don't know who or what that is then you simply must check it out. We were and they still are awesome. However, while all of that was fun, the best thing to happen to me at Jax State was to earn my MRS degree (love ya, babe). I met my Mr. during my fourth year there. Our first date was on December 2nd, 1992 when he took a very thin and voiceless me out to a basketball game. Some of you are probably thinking that my not having a voice kept me quiet and that's how I won him over, but that is entirely untrue. I cheered our Jacksonville Gamecocks on to victory as I always did, then we went to Taco Bell for a late dinner. It was a perfect night and I knew that we would get married. And, yes, nine months later, on August 14, 1993 we were wed in the small town of Ringgold, GA.

I just realized I went way off subject. Anyway, back to college. After getting married Tim went to UK to study library science and I worked. After that we moved to Cincinnati for Tim's job with the public library there, and I finally ended up at NKU where I received my bachelor's degree in Anthropology. What can you do with a degree of this sort. Good question. With a bachelor's...not much. However, if you get your graduate degree or move on to get your doctorate, then you can be a great number of things. When I first started out I had every intention of going all the way through to finish my doctorate and work as a professor. But, God had a much greater plan in mind for me...MOTHERHOOD! Joseph came into our lives only a year and 3 months after my graduation. I am currently a stay-at-home mom and loving every minute of it.

So...I guess I don't really miss college. I was just missing being less responsible. ;) At any rate, my boys are home now and I missed them so I am going to spend some quality time with the family. Have a great rest of the weekend everyone, and hopefully I will post again soon.

PS - Krissi got some great information at the college fair, and I picked up some stuff to send to Nele. It was a good day.

I hate playing tag....except when I know I'll win.

2007-01-26T11:13:00.000-05:00

I have been tagged. Thanks a lot Rew! Gosh...I first heard about this the other day as I was reading someone else's blog. I remember secretly praying that I would not have this happen to me. Now I know that God is laughing at me and waiting to see what I tell others about myself.

So I am apparently now obligated to tell all those out there who are faithful to my blog what things about me are weird that no one else knows. Of course, most of these people already know everything about me, and know that I'm not really one to shy away from telling people my weird ways, but I'm going to give it a shot. Hopefully this won't be too boring for anyone.

1. I hate talking on the phone. I know...I'm a girl and I'm supposed to be naturally drawn to this behavior, but honestly I just don't like it. Why? I really think that people on the other end are not listening to me. Of course, that's mostly because my mind wanders when I'm supposed to be listening so I assume that other people have the same problem. I also take great pride in my writing and feel like I can express myself better with this form of communication. Yep...I'm one of those horrible people who would rather communicate by email and text messages or face to face. Sorry folks. It's the truth.

2. I want to write a book. The subject?...good question. I have no idea...I just really want to do this.

3. Without question I absolutely MUST sleep on the side of the bed that is furthest from the door. If someone comes in I want my strong, burly husband to protect me and keep me from harm. Oddly enough, if I'm on a trip without him, but sleep in the same bed with someone else, I have the same demand (passive aggressively, of course) so that if someone comes in during the night they will be killed first. Again...sorry folks. I'm selfish this way.

4. I have an occasional country music fetish. There are just times when I must listen to country music and watch CMT for the videos. And to accompany this I have a MAJOR crush on Josh Turner and Dierks Bentley. It's ok...my Mr. knows all about it. ;)

5. One thing that is weird even to me is my accent. I know that most of you in KY would say that I don't have an accent because I sound just like you, but if you could hear me when I talk to my parents or visit my family in TN/GA then you would know exactly what I mean by this because my true G.R.I.T.S.ness (that's Girl Raised In The South for those of you out of the loop) comes out and I am exposed as an accent fraud! And, while we are on the subject of the South I feel I must express something very important...there is a secret to making good tea. Tea should always, that's ALWAYS people!, be made with sugar. That's right...I'm talkin' about sweet iced tea for you Yankee's. No matter what anyone says tea is no good if it comes "unsweetened". You cannot, I repeat...CANNOT, "add" sugar to tea after the fact. No...it doesn't work! Sugar must dissolve, during the heating process, and then (and only then) you have proper tea. Whew! I'm glad I got that off my chest.

6. This last one is majorly embarrassing, but I don't care...I'm confident in who I am. :) When I was younger I loved listening to the Barbara Streisand Christmas album. (Quick side note...does anyone else out there think it's weird that this Jewish woman put out an album with Ave Maria and the Lord's Prayer on it? Maybe it's just me...but I love it just the same.) I still like listening to it, but I was really into it when I was in my teenage years. The worst part...I made up a dance routine to Jingle Bells (an extremely jazzy version for those who haven't heard it)! HAHAHA! Sadly...I think I still remember the dance. Oh gosh...that's just funny right there.

I think that's all I'm obligated to do. If I think of others then I will post them when it's appropriate. And, to answer Rew's question...I don't know why I haven't blogged in a long time. Just haven't. I should start doing this again...I mean...I must be loyal to my adoring fans. HA! Hope this satisfies some until the next post.

By the way...Kari, my dear, tag...you're it!

I bow to the master (of Dr. Pepper beverages that is)

2006-12-10T18:59:00.000-05:00

I have found a site of someone who has truly tasted more types of Dr. Pepper knock-offs than I can ever hope to. I am truly in awe!

http://www.marion.ohio-state.edu/fac/schul/drp/images.html

I'm sure you all will be just as amazed as I am. Kari...can you believe this? We have got to get our hands some of this stuff! ;)

For those who are worried...my true Master...my Lord and Savior is, and will forever be, Jesus Christ. I love saying that. God rocks!!!

The Taste Tests Continue

2006-12-10T18:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday during a shopping spree with Krissi and Joseph I purchased a new beverage (well...new to me) in order to continue the not-so-blind taste tests for the firm of McGrath and Chase. The beverage...Dr. M. The result...well...not pretty...

I was drawn to this drink simply because of the name and it's possible real-thing offerings. I was disappointed...to say the least. My first tip should have been the name. The off brands that claim to taste like Dr. Pepper, but which have an initial for a last name have proven themselves to be less than a good quality. Dr. K and Dr. M hold nothing for me. Here's what I learned about Dr. M:

Carbonation: I was surprised at the simplicity of the carbonation this beverage held. It opened with a decent "tschk", but the sound was just not strong enough. I immediately thought this can might contain flat contents, but it didn't. To my surprise it was the heavy syrup that kept the carbonation to a minimum. Grade = 2

Smell: The scent of Dr M was pleasing (for those who like the smell of the one true Dr Pepper) so I had high hopes for the taste. Grade = 8

Taste: This is where the carbonation and syrup ratio ruined it for me. As previously mentioned the syrup was WAY too high and therefore the overall taste was not desireable. Grade = 3

Aftertaste: Surprisingly not that bad. Thus, I was able to take a few more sips before throwing out the rest of the cans contents. This portion of the test is very important. Does the beverage leave a subtle, yet good aftertaste which leaves you wanting more? Possibly it causes your taste buds to scream in horror which then makes your eyes water and your brain to tell you to immediately throw out the said beverage. Or does it lack much of an aftertaste at all, causing your tastebuds to say, "um...what just happened here? I can't remember"? The later was the case with Dr. M which lead to the next fateful sips. Grade = 5

All in all...Dr. M did not do that well...final grade (drum roll please...) 4.5. Not horrible, but not something I would recommend.

Have a great holiday and always give gift of ultimate taste...Dr. Pepper.

As with all our findings if you have any questions or concerns please email us at chase@whatever.com or mcgrath@like_i_care.net.

2006-11-18T09:38:00.001-05:00

Well, the holidays are upon us, but as far as I'm concerned they have not officially arrived until I see the playing of the Hersey's Kisses "Carol of the Bells" commercial. This has become my favorite. It is simple, cute, and fun all at the same time.

I have already seen several Christmas related commercials and I must say I feel nothing when I watch them but sadness. The main one I am thinking of is the Visa card commercial. As a person who has struggled with credit card debit in the past I really hate everything this commercial represents. The idea that we must buy holiday happiness, the idea that it's okay to charge up our holiday because we won't see the bill until January. Been there, done that, and didn't get a tshirt because I couldn't afford it after all the fees and finance charges!

I prefer my holidays to be about family and friends, giving to those who are need no matter what our situation might be, and, the most important thing of all, totally about the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This little baby brought so much joy, peace and hope to the world! I am so amazed by the story of Jesus' birth. I have read a small book titled "Mary" that I got two years ago when I was home for Thanksgiving. This book is the Christmas story and then the life of Jesus through his mother's eyes. It is a short book, but one that is great for a mom to read. If anyone would like to borrow this book (for a VERY short while, of course) then please let me know. I will be more than happy to share this great book.

oops! it's been a while...sorry.

2006-11-05T21:52:00.001-05:00

Well, it looks like I have really slacked off in my writing blog posts. Sorry about that. It has been rather busy around here. In the last three weeks I have done a lot of running around getting kids to this activity and that activity. Plus...the big highlight...Nele was home for two weeks! It was an awesome visit!!! It was great to see her again, but it was sad to see her go. The time together was just too short. I can't wait to have her here again. I miss her. :(

On a much lighter note I have a very humorous story that is sure to leave you in stitches. First, a little background to set up the story. On friday I was out of work due to being sick with the stomach flu. Yuck. As most of you know that is my most dreaded sickness. I hate it. Anyway...it did set me back a little but I am bouncing back quite nicely. In the past it has taken me 3 days to be able to eat again, but this time it was only one...that's a huge difference. Okay, so on saturday I went to a little craft show in Harrodsburg (well, more like the backwoods of Burgin...don't know where that is...yeah! nobody does!!! hence the small turnout at the show) to help my dear, and dare I say best!, friend Kari with manning her jewelry booth and taking care of Nehemiah. Quick side note...her stuff is AWESOME--she is truly talented! Anyway, we had been sitting at the booth for about 5 hours and Nehemiah was being a very good baby (as usual because he is the best baby in the world!) so everyone that came by wanted to talk about him. One lady in particular had stopped by for a second time and was talking to Kari about him, and asking lots of questions about her other kids (beautiful Myra and Lizzie), etc. At this point the woman, who was like 45-50 years old, looked at me and said, "are you the grandmother?" :-O I will have a hard time expressing to you exactly what I was feeling about this horrible question, but use your imagination! Come on people!!! I'm 35! Not 55-60!! I don't even look close to that. I know that I was bouncing back from being sick, but give me a break! Now I will say that my mom (hi mom!) looks VERY good! She looks about 10 years younger than she actually is. However, and no offense to women in their 40's, but I don't look like I'm in my 40's, let alone like one in her 50's!!! I was completely stunned and set aback. I didn't know what to say. I finally gave her a somewhat whispered "no" and she soon departed our booth (never to return...thank goodness). We all had a good laugh about it, and I'm still laughing, I just wonder if there was something totally great I could have said to this woman but I was just too dumb-struck to find the words.

Now the question is...what would you have done if someone had said this to you? Keep in mind the following things: I'm in my 30's!, I have young children of my own, and Krissi was NOT holding Nehemiah at the time this horrid comment was unleashed upon me. Leave me a comment!

My new favorite verse!

2006-10-17T15:56:00.000-05:00

"Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, [Cari], have bcome a servant." Colossians 1:21-23

I think that says it all, doesn't it? Have a great week!

Filled to the rim...

2006-10-13T22:31:00.000-05:00

Our house is now bursting at the seems. Nele has come home for a few weeks and I couldn't be happier. I know her real home is in Germany, but this is her home, too. I like having her here. Joseph was so excited to have both of his sisters in one house. He really loves both of them and enjoys playing games, talking, and telling them jokes. His current favorite is "how do you make a handkerchief dance? put a little boogie in it!" How cute is that?

Nele and Krissi are getting along great. They are already comparing notes on Franklin County, TPCC and the like. It's very interesting to hear that each of the girls gets something different from each experience. I think they will be good friends and be able to help each other through the changes that lie ahead.

If you are in the Frankfort area and want to come by and visit then please do. We would love to have you in our home...just don't plan to spend the night--we don't have the room. :)

Trick or Treat?

2006-10-08T15:26:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling a little sick to my stomach. It's not from catching a bug or anything. It's from eating...too much. Too much what, you say? Honestly...candy corn. This wonderful candy is one of my favorite things about the fall. However, I haven't yet decided if this incredibly sweet confection is a treat or a trick.

To start with I guess I should put this current problem into context. As I sat on my couch this afternoon I decided to watch "The Shining"...the original, and in my opinion, the only one worth watching. It is one of the few scary movies that I actually enjoy and can watch over and over again (but we're getting off the subject). While being completely glued to the television I had a small carton of candy corn in my lap. One can only imagine that I was so into the movie that I was not exactly aware of what was going on around me. I'm sure that all of you have had this happen at one point or another with a great movie. I was so engrossed in the film that I was surprised to find that I had eaten half the container.

It is probably important that I make you aware that the carton which held this delicious treat was the size of a small salad to go box so you can just imagine how shocked I was to have consumed so much. I am not a girl to shy away from a tasty dish (as is quite evident by my current dress size). But it should be noted that I do not normally take in that a large amount of sweets. I love a good chocolate item, and have been known from time to time to eat as much as two pieces of pie, but I am more of a meat and potatoes kind of girl. Thus, it was totally amazing to me to see how much candy corn I was able to put away.

Well, I think I may be ruined on the candy corn, which is sad for me seeing as how I look forward to it every year. I can understand mindlessly putting away the chips, popcorn, or even pretzels, but not something as wickedly sweet as candy corn. So, the end of the story is I have about a half container of wonderful candy corn that I will give free to a good home if anyone is willing to take the risk of candy corn overload. The moral of the story? Always make sure that you are completely aware of the edible tidbits that are placed before you while you are watching a good scary movie.

Oops!

2006-10-04T13:09:00.000-05:00

Sorry. Kind of forgot to give you all the web addresses for the myspace places I talked about yesterday. Mine is www.myspace.com/hostmomma and the page for the Marching Southerners is www.myspace.com/marchingsoutherners. Go check them out. It's fun to be on MySpace! :)

Confession Time

2006-10-03T10:40:00.000-05:00

Well...I feel I must confess. I'm back on MySpace. I KNOW...I KNOW!!!! I really wrote horrible awful things about it just a little while ago. If you haven't read that post please don't. I'm taking some of it back. Not all!...just some.

First, I will start by saying that the old layout that I had was done at one of the layout generators and I thought it was pretty cute. Little did I know that it contained code that allowed anyone and everyone to post comments and be my friend. That's not what I wanted! There was some really awful stuff that people were putting on there. I couldn't figure out how to fix it. I was upset and disturbed by that.

Second, I found a really good layout generator that I like even more and is generating proper code that allows me to filter as I see fit. See...normally you have to request to be someone's friend. That's the polite way to do it, right? Well...the old code didn't do that. How it got around it I'll never know, but it did. The new code is awesome and I thoroughly enjoy the look of the layout. So...all you perverts out there can just go away! I don't want your smut on my page!!

I have been more impressed this time around with the overall content that I have been able to achieve on myspace. I will say that there are still some out there that are just not right! You are not supposed to post pictures that are crude or whatever the term is that they use, but let me tell you...people do it every day! So please...if your child is on myspace just watch out for them. Be careful what you let your kids do. Keep the computer in an area of the house that is out in the open. Pay attention folks. Let me tell you...there are some real sickos out there. There are people who are abusing the site and it makes things bad for the rest of us who just want to keep up with friends. Thanks to all my pals out there who keep it clean! :)

Now, for the rest of the story. I have been able to reunite, as it were, with several old friends from college through my space. I'm very excited about this. I got started with myspace again when I saw that the JSU Marching Southerners have a page. You can go to that page and listen to songs performed by the Southerners. I marched at JSU for 4 years and I would do it all over again. I loved it!! It was one of the best times of my life. We were a large, loud, but incredibly talented and kickin' group! We ran actual drill and played real songs...and played them well. I'm super excited about the 50th anniversary of the Southerners that is coming up November 11th. I'm just hoping that I get enough of a break to go see it. If you happen to be in the greater Jacksonville, AL area stop by and say hello to this fine group of talented band members. BLOW SOUTHERNERS!!!!!

Good friends...good times

2006-09-24T00:08:00.000-05:00

I had a friend drop in on me today and it meant more to me than she can ever know. People don't do this anymore...just come to your house. I miss that. I love having a good friend come to my house and us just sitting and talking. It's a sweet release from the stresses of the day, or another thing that makes your day better. I wish more people would visit me at any time. I remember the days when people would just come to your house and you would sit and talk for hours on the porch or in the living room. When did it become rude? Why did it become rude? I have no idea. But I am here now telling all who read this blog that you are welcome in my home at any time for any reason. If you are having a bad day...come by and we will share a laugh or a tear. If you are having a great day...come by and we will share the joy. If you don't know what you are feeling, but you know you need someone to be there for you...come by and we can work it out together.

Kari, thanks again for your friendship. You mean the world to me. I'm so glad God brought us together. That God of ours...He really knows what He is doing. :)

I love kids...

2006-09-22T19:04:00.000-05:00

Have I told you lately how great my kids are? I mean...honestly, they are the best on earth as far as I'm concerned. There are other good kids out there, but mine are great!! I love spending time with them and they are just so sweet and funny and smart and nice, and...wait a minute...I'm starting to sound like one of those mothers who have children that can do no wrong. HA! Please. With all due respect I cannot say that my children are perfect. Far from it. The thought of someone thinking that I have perfect children makes me laugh really hard. In fact...there's a tear. :)

Seriously though, my children are making me a very proud momma. A perfect example is Joseph. He is the type of kid that really surprises you with things that he has learned and picked up. Sometimes it is not the best things that he remembers, but then there are things that are just straight from God. This past week, when I was feeling especially down in the dumps Joe came in to see me in my bedroom. He climbed up on the bed, laid down beside me, started rubbing my back, and sang "Shout to the Lord" softly to me. He sang it over and over again. It was the sweetest thing I have ever heard in my life! We sing that song at church sometimes, and I know they sing it in chapel at school, but the cool thing is God is using that song to write His love on Joe's heart. Now, that's just cool.

Nele is doing very well in school back in Germany. Her classes are much harder than her classes were here and she is definitely rising to the challenge. She misses her family and friends that are here in the states, but she is drawing closer to God through it. I am so proud of the young woman that God is molding her into. It's awesome to see His handiwork in her life.

Krissi is also doing well in school at Franklin County. I have been amazed by her willingness to try new and sometimes scary things. This past week was homecoming for FCHS so, of course, the school has different types of dress-up days. I always did this kind of thing when I was in high school because everyone did it. Now things have changed and it seems like the kids who are more confident in who they are end up being the only ones who will step out of the box. I learned this week that Krissi is one of those kids. It's great. I'm glad she is having fun here in Kentucky.

Thank you, God, for my great kids. I pray that I can be the kind of mother they need me to be by being the kind of mother You want me to be.

Excellent Day, September 19th!

2006-09-19T19:38:00.000-05:00

Just in case some of you don't know, today is "Talk Like a Pirate" day. How awesome is that? So, to all you buccaneers out there, "YARR!" P-}

No excuse...

2006-09-19T19:21:00.000-05:00

I have no excuse for why I haven't posted in more than a week. I have been busy, but I'm really getting tired of everyone using that excuse for everything. "I'm too busy to write, I'm too busy to contact you, I'm too busy to pay attention, I'm too busy study my bible, I'm too busy to care, I'm too busy to be a good friend, I'm too busy...I'm too busy...I'm too busy." Yeah, yeah...we get it! Guess what! We are all busy in one way or another. So, you have two options...you can either get with the program and do what you are called to do and what is right by friends and family, or you can be the biggest loser in the world by losing the people that are supposed to matter most to you. Your choice.

So, my life, while busy has also been really boring. I realize that most of you out there do not find it possible, but it's really true. We are currently in a huge rut! It didn't take long. All of our weeknights are taken up with stuff. There are some things that shouldn't be considered stuff, but they are. Honestly, nothing is important except my relationship with Christ, and...you guessed it!...I am not doing well in that department. Why? Please see paragraph one of this post. It's not something I am proud of...in fact...I'm really ashamed. However, now that I have recognized this problem with the most important relationship in my life I can start over again. That's the coolest thing about knowing Jesus...and I mean REALLY knowing Jesus...my past is just that--my past. Nothing more. I don't have to get down in the muck and wallow around in it, and I don't have to worry about His response to my sins. "You are forgiven!" The three sweetest and most amazing words I can ever hear. Thank you, Lord, for loving me more than anyone ever could. You are truly incredible!!

Perspective...

2006-09-10T22:01:00.000-05:00

Well, I have learned something tonight about perspective. I could use one word to describe it, but the most polite way to define perspective is this...it's a swift kick in the emotional pants.

This has been a very difficult weekend for a very important person in my life and I have taken this very hard. But tonight I watched a documentary on CBS called 9/11. I can't say that I am feeling better about the situation, but it has shown me where I need to focus my prayer. I was feeling sorry for this loved one, sorry for myself, and just generally down in the dumps. The documentary brought back a lot of feelings that I had buried deep down in 2001 and I was hoping they would not rear their ugly head ever again. However, tonight I am faced with a range of emotions that I cannot possibly express in words.

Tonight I watched the TV just as I did 5 years ago and I saw people dying...people who lost loved ones...people who were lost in more ways than one. The guilt I felt back then came crawling back and is now sitting heavy on my chest. I have problems, but right now they seem insignificant. I don't want to belittle the problems, but at this point in time I am just in need of peace. The only one who can bring peace to my life is God and I am so grateful to Him and his unfailing love. It is the only thing I can count on from day to day. Now how's that for perspective?

Obligations

2006-09-10T17:29:00.000-05:00

I don't feel like posting today, but I feel like I am obligated to. So...there you go. Have a nice day.