Mikey
Chase *flying*
9 month old JoJo and his daddy
Gregory and Chase squeezing in a little PS2
Chase making JoJo giggle. I can still hear it!
Mikey and JoJo
Toddler chat around the swing...
"Real wisdom is not the knowledge of everything, but the knowledge of which things in life are necessary, which are less necessary, and which are completely unnecessary to know." Leo Tolstoy
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Chase & Mikey's birthday
Two of my nephew's 3 boys had birthdays last week, Chase turning 9 and Mikey turning 2. The party was fun. Somewhat low key for them - no major entertainment, just an at home party. It was so nice to see them all, and how they are growing so fast. Just another reason we want to move home. We're missing out on so much with the kids in our family.
Mikey
Chase *flying*
9 month old JoJo and his daddy
Gregory and Chase squeezing in a little PS2
Chase making JoJo giggle. I can still hear it!
Mikey and JoJo
Toddler chat around the swing...
Mikey
Chase *flying*
9 month old JoJo and his daddy
Gregory and Chase squeezing in a little PS2
Chase making JoJo giggle. I can still hear it!
Mikey and JoJo
Toddler chat around the swing...
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Which Sports Car Are You?
I'm a Mazda RX-8!
You're sporty, yet practical, and you have a style of your own. You like to have fun, and you like to bring friends along for the ride, but when it comes time for everyday chores, you're willing to do your part.
Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.
Recent bebe pics...
My own bebe, soon to turn 10!
My niece Stella, 7 months old...
My great-nephew JoJo, 8 months old...
My great-nephew Mikey, 22 months old...
My great-nephews JoJo and Chase
My great-niece Kayla's dance revue...
My niece Stella, 7 months old...
My great-nephew JoJo, 8 months old...
My great-nephew Mikey, 22 months old...
My great-nephews JoJo and Chase
My great-niece Kayla's dance revue...
What kind of nut are you?
You Are a Pistachio |
 You are funky, freaky, and a total character. You're very different than anyone you know. There's no way you're changing the way you are... Which is good, because no one wants you to change. |
What does your taste in chocolate say about you?
What Your Taste in Chocolate Says About You |
 You are sophisticated, modern, and high class. Your taste is refined, but you are not picky. You are often the first to try something new. You are emotionally expressive and sensitive. You're effected by everything around you. Your friends appreciate your open heart, but they are afraid of hurting your feelings. You love the feeling of accomplishment. You enjoy doing what's important. You feel lost when you have to do frivolous tasks or hang out with shallow people. |
Monday, June 23, 2008
Thanks Dad!
My dad is a very quiet man. He has a hard shell with a gooey center; a teddy bear in grizzly skin if you will. We (my parents & I) don't talk much about education. They see results, he can read, he can *do* math, their ok. But I'm not stupid, I now my mother is a worrier and that causes her to be judgemental - "if you'd just do this, that wouldn't happen".
She was here for a visit Saturday. We were catching up, she was telling me about a few friends of hers. Then she began, "You know how you say Gregory hates to write, and that worries me, but we got a thank you card the other day and when your dad brought it to me he said, "Read this, and don't worry about Gregory's writing anymore!" ". She told me it was a thank you card for a high school graduation gift for the granddaughter of their friend. She said the handwriting was horrible, the card wasn't signed, and there was no return address. If the gift hadn't been mentioned and had she gotten several cards, she'd have never known who it was from. She was pleased that she'd at least gotten a thank you card. She's the one person we always send thank you cards too, no matter if we've thanked her in person or not. She expects it, and it's an easy enough way to make her happy.
Anyhow, WOOHOO DAD! An under-the-radar unschooling advocate!
She was here for a visit Saturday. We were catching up, she was telling me about a few friends of hers. Then she began, "You know how you say Gregory hates to write, and that worries me, but we got a thank you card the other day and when your dad brought it to me he said, "Read this, and don't worry about Gregory's writing anymore!" ". She told me it was a thank you card for a high school graduation gift for the granddaughter of their friend. She said the handwriting was horrible, the card wasn't signed, and there was no return address. If the gift hadn't been mentioned and had she gotten several cards, she'd have never known who it was from. She was pleased that she'd at least gotten a thank you card. She's the one person we always send thank you cards too, no matter if we've thanked her in person or not. She expects it, and it's an easy enough way to make her happy.
Anyhow, WOOHOO DAD! An under-the-radar unschooling advocate!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Not much of a rambler...
It's not that I don't have anything to say. It's that I have too much to say, my brain can't stop and my thoughts are random and bizarre. I've felt a bit like one of those bop'em blow up toys - you know with the sand in the bottom so they always right themselves. Anyway, I've been pushed and pulled in a lot of directions lately.
My uveitis is almost constant now, so my immune system is out of whack. My feet and ankles are becoming arthritic, also courtesy of Crohn's disease. Oh, it could be so much worse, but it still sucks when your body just seems to betray you again and again.
Which brings me to the infertility sucks part of the post. I know with ever bit of my being that God did not put such a huge desire on my heart to not bring it to fruition in His perfect timing. And I KNOW that His timing is perfect, for I have seen it. There's a fast-approaching-ten-year-old miracle sleeping in the other room to remind me of it everyday. But, why, oh why must the waiting hurt so much? There are so many beautiful children in my life and they are each a blessing to me, but arms feel so empty.
I miss my husband. Oh, he's here, but work has really been overwhelming him lately. A few people have been fired recently for really no reason. It's not likely he'd be one to be let go as he's one of only two engineers at the firm, and they are very busy. But that's just a sucky atmosphere to be in. And I know he's had his mom on his heart lately. She passed away almost 9 years ago, and it's like yesterday sometimes. I can still feel her hugs, see her smile, hear her laugh. I see his pain, and I know what it'll take to heal that pain, or at least begin the process. His God shaped hole isn't full. I don't think it's quite empty, he has no problem with me being a live out loud Christian, but he's still at that "I need to take care of my own problems" place. He still sees need as a weakness in himself. Every now and then I ask him if he'd like to come to church with me, I pray for the day he says yes. I ask mostly because I don't want him to think I'm a snob about it, that he's not welcome. He's been a few times and he liked it. With anything I want to *teach* I model it. I do my best to walk the walk. As someone else has said, I may be the only example he sees, and I do my best to represent my faith and my Lord well. Of course, I fall short constantly, but I always try to set my eyes where they need to be.
I know many of my unschooling friends are also unchurchers. I was too for a long time, and see no problem with it. But God put me in an incredible church about 5 years ago as a guest and then again about 3 years ago on a regular basis. Healing Place Church, a healing place for a hurting world. And it really is. The pastor is great, he never takes the credit for anything, he never calls it *his* church, it always all goes right back to Jesus. I pray for him that he'll stay in tune with how God wants this church to move forward. I don't follow Dino Rizzo, I follow Jesus. Dino just helps expand my understanding. This church has been a true blessing to me and to us as a family.
So then we go to New Orleans for a dinner at a condo downtown and Greg and I both fall in love with the city all over again. This isn't the suburbs where we grew up, this is the heart of the city, an old warehouse converted into apartments. The smell, oh my goodness, the wonderful culinary aromas would just envelope us. And there's a potential job opportunity, a big income increase. So much to think about. We've lived in our house in a small town with our 1/3-acre lot for 16 years. I love all of my trees, my plants, and my pets. This is the only home Gregory has ever known. So much to pray about. I can tell you that I'd stay with Healing Place even if we do move. God really is doing amazing things there. I've decided that I will not worry about it, not even really think about it. If it's God's will that we return, it will all fall into place. If it's not, it won't. Of that I am sure and take comfort.
I am concerned about our nation now, our freedoms that are disappearing one by one in the name of public safety. We aren't fighting a war on terror. The terrorists won on Sept. 11, 2001. Our nation changed severely and quickly. We are now making policies and decisions out of fear, and that never leads to good decisions. I respect the men and women who sign their lives over to protect us, but I don't think that is what our government is using them for now. They are protecting our oil interests, not our lives. Were conditions in Iraq horrible before we got there? Yes. But people are treated horribly by governments in other non-oil producing nations, and we do nothing about it. We need the people of this nation to educate themselves and seriously consider doing what it takes for them to write in Ron Paul as their presidential candidate of choice. It's not about "can he win"; it's about not settling for the lesser of two evils anymore.
And through it all, unschooling frees us up to "be still" and just see what His plans are for us. Every moment of every day is an opportunity to learn, to grow, to move forward. I pray I never miss any of them.
Ha! I guess I can ramble after all.
My uveitis is almost constant now, so my immune system is out of whack. My feet and ankles are becoming arthritic, also courtesy of Crohn's disease. Oh, it could be so much worse, but it still sucks when your body just seems to betray you again and again.
Which brings me to the infertility sucks part of the post. I know with ever bit of my being that God did not put such a huge desire on my heart to not bring it to fruition in His perfect timing. And I KNOW that His timing is perfect, for I have seen it. There's a fast-approaching-ten-year-old miracle sleeping in the other room to remind me of it everyday. But, why, oh why must the waiting hurt so much? There are so many beautiful children in my life and they are each a blessing to me, but arms feel so empty.
I miss my husband. Oh, he's here, but work has really been overwhelming him lately. A few people have been fired recently for really no reason. It's not likely he'd be one to be let go as he's one of only two engineers at the firm, and they are very busy. But that's just a sucky atmosphere to be in. And I know he's had his mom on his heart lately. She passed away almost 9 years ago, and it's like yesterday sometimes. I can still feel her hugs, see her smile, hear her laugh. I see his pain, and I know what it'll take to heal that pain, or at least begin the process. His God shaped hole isn't full. I don't think it's quite empty, he has no problem with me being a live out loud Christian, but he's still at that "I need to take care of my own problems" place. He still sees need as a weakness in himself. Every now and then I ask him if he'd like to come to church with me, I pray for the day he says yes. I ask mostly because I don't want him to think I'm a snob about it, that he's not welcome. He's been a few times and he liked it. With anything I want to *teach* I model it. I do my best to walk the walk. As someone else has said, I may be the only example he sees, and I do my best to represent my faith and my Lord well. Of course, I fall short constantly, but I always try to set my eyes where they need to be.
I know many of my unschooling friends are also unchurchers. I was too for a long time, and see no problem with it. But God put me in an incredible church about 5 years ago as a guest and then again about 3 years ago on a regular basis. Healing Place Church, a healing place for a hurting world. And it really is. The pastor is great, he never takes the credit for anything, he never calls it *his* church, it always all goes right back to Jesus. I pray for him that he'll stay in tune with how God wants this church to move forward. I don't follow Dino Rizzo, I follow Jesus. Dino just helps expand my understanding. This church has been a true blessing to me and to us as a family.
So then we go to New Orleans for a dinner at a condo downtown and Greg and I both fall in love with the city all over again. This isn't the suburbs where we grew up, this is the heart of the city, an old warehouse converted into apartments. The smell, oh my goodness, the wonderful culinary aromas would just envelope us. And there's a potential job opportunity, a big income increase. So much to think about. We've lived in our house in a small town with our 1/3-acre lot for 16 years. I love all of my trees, my plants, and my pets. This is the only home Gregory has ever known. So much to pray about. I can tell you that I'd stay with Healing Place even if we do move. God really is doing amazing things there. I've decided that I will not worry about it, not even really think about it. If it's God's will that we return, it will all fall into place. If it's not, it won't. Of that I am sure and take comfort.
I am concerned about our nation now, our freedoms that are disappearing one by one in the name of public safety. We aren't fighting a war on terror. The terrorists won on Sept. 11, 2001. Our nation changed severely and quickly. We are now making policies and decisions out of fear, and that never leads to good decisions. I respect the men and women who sign their lives over to protect us, but I don't think that is what our government is using them for now. They are protecting our oil interests, not our lives. Were conditions in Iraq horrible before we got there? Yes. But people are treated horribly by governments in other non-oil producing nations, and we do nothing about it. We need the people of this nation to educate themselves and seriously consider doing what it takes for them to write in Ron Paul as their presidential candidate of choice. It's not about "can he win"; it's about not settling for the lesser of two evils anymore.
And through it all, unschooling frees us up to "be still" and just see what His plans are for us. Every moment of every day is an opportunity to learn, to grow, to move forward. I pray I never miss any of them.
Ha! I guess I can ramble after all.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)