Thankful for blessings

Last Sunday evening, we had a Thanksgiving barbecue dinner at our church. (Yes, barbecue!) The praise time was awesome! There was also a time for us to share what we were thankful for this year. Although I didn't share at that time, it got me thinking. It has been an eventful year, and I have a lot to be thankful for.

• A Heavenly Father who gave His only Son that we might have life!
• The ability to offer Him praise and honor!
• A family who all trust in Christ as their Savior!
• A son who led his girlfriend to Christ this spring!
• A wonderful trip to Haiti with 11 wonderful people!
• A wedding with 14 beautiful Haitian brides!
• A fun visit with my son's girlfriend!
• A beautiful wedding for my beautiful daughter!
• A handsome & intelligent son-in-law added to our family!
• A loving mother-in-law who finished well and is with the Father now!
• A lovely daughter-in-law to be!
• A wealth of loving extended family!
• A faithful, loving and very patient husband of 27 years!
• God's provision of jobs and material needs!

So often I fail to remember just how much for which I am thankful. And I'm sure my list is way too short!

I pray God will give you, my friend, a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends and many blessings in the year to come!

Just going through life

It's been three weeks, so it's past time for an update. I'm not sure I have much to say.

Will had a great time on his first trip to Pine Cove, a Christian camp, for a weekend retreat with the midschoolers. A friend & I were counting up the years we have had kids going to Pine Cove. For her, it was 7. I realized that over the last 11 years, when my daughter first went, my kids have gone every year except last year. They continued to go as high schoolers on the servant team (serving meals for the midschoolers). My older son even went once as an "adult counselor" after graduating high school. He skipped last year, though.

Today was Missions Meal. This is a monthly (most months) meal we cook and serve to raise funds for our Haiti Sister Church or other missions cause. It's always fun to get together with friends and work for a good cause. We're raising funds with a new roof in mind for our brothers and sisters in Chambellan, Haiti. We had a small crew, but we got it done eventually, starting at 8:00 a.m. and finishing up at 2:30 p.m. We hung out for an hour to wait for the midschoolers to return from Pine Cove.

I've been convicted about a couple of things -- time in the Word and in prayer, and financial giving. I'm posting it here so I'll be accountable to you, my reader friends. So far, I haven't made any changes. I find time to read fiction all the time, but I'm having trouble getting motivated to read my Bible. Right now, I'm not in a Bible study other than my mini-church (home group), so I don't have a class to structure my reading. I'm terrible at deciding WHAT to read, and that stalls me out. I have a devotional that would at least keep me going, but I'm not picking that up either. So, when you see me, asking me how I'm doing on spending time with the Lord.

Although I enjoy the relative simplicity of having fewer people around, I do miss my big kids. With my daughter in Germany for 9 more months and my son in Toronto for a few more weeks, it's been quiet. But I do enjoy the smaller grocery bill! Only I have to adjust my shopping habits to buying for three, not five. We can get by on a gallon of milk each week! Wow!

OK, I guess I had something to say! I'd better wake my younger son and see if I can get him to do a little more school work!

A friend told me today that I update my blog every two months, whether it needs it or not! OK, friend! Here's an update, much sooner than predicted!

As of Wednesday, we're a one-kid household. My older son is in Canada visiting his girlfriend. My daughter is married and in Germany with her husband. It feels strange to only be the three of us! But it's kind of nice, too. Less to worry about, fewer people making messes, etc. Don't get me wrong. I miss the big kids. But I'm ready for this next stage. And the older son will be back for a couple of weeks before he leaves for Basic Training.

My younger son was in a parade today. Lewisville had their Western Days festival. My son's karate group marched in Old Town Lewisville. It was a small group and short parade, but it was fun! My husband and I drove the instructors van, equipped with an amp and speakers which were playing country music loudly for the crowd! It was good to help out!

Tonight we went to a thank you dinner for serving on the Brew Crew, our church's coffee service team. We serve coffee for the church services on Sunday. The coordinator hosted us to a nice dinner of fajitas and all the fixings in his lovely backyard. We had a wonderful time getting to know each other better!

It was nice to have a relaxing weekend with fun events. Not that we don't have a few fix-it projects looming in the future! But that'll be another weekend!

Back in the Saddle

Or, rather, bus driver's seat. The school hired two new drivers. One of them is terrific! The other one quit after a week and a half. They tried to get teachers to drive personal vehicles. They even rented some 15-passenger vans. It still wasn't working well. So they asked me to drive until a new driver, whom they had hired, could start in a few days. I agreed to drive for a few days.

The driver didn't work out. I'm still driving. It's only been a week so far, but the driving is much easier than last year. Instead of having 50-60 students, I have 20-30 students. Also, my route is over 10 miles shorter. I'm thinking about continuing the job. They asked me if I wanted the job when the new driver didn't materialize, but at that time I didn't think it would be a good idea. Please pray for wisdom for me. The money is nice, but I need my sleep and my sanity!

My daughter and son-in-law are in Germany. I hear they were supposed to move into an apartment, but I haven't heard from them since. A youth hostel, which has rooms full of bunk beds, is not a newlywed's dream accommodation! Also, due to Oktoberfest, the hostel was booked solid. The apartment came through the day their reservation ran out at the hostel! I hope it is working well for them.

My older son is leaving for a 5-week stay in Ontario with his girlfriend. He'll be back for about two weeks before he leaves again for Basic Training. It just hit the younger son that his brother wouldn't be around much longer. It's going to be a hard transition for him, but I think it will be a good one for us. It might be emotional, though.

We're still battling schoolwork issues with the younger boy. He's already sliding into bad habits. Driving hasn't helped any because I haven't had the energy to ride his case constantly. We saw the neurologist again on Friday. She's going to put him back on Adderall, but on the extended-release version. My son tells me, after we've left the office, driven across town, and are eating lunch, that he doesn't want to go back on it because it makes him moody. I wish he'd said that at the doctor's office! We'll give it a try and see how he does. The Focalin made a noticeable difference, but he still wasn't getting his work done. And, yes, we have seen him do his work willingly, if not cheerfully, when medication was working well.

My class is going well. I'm sticking closer to procedures than I did last year, and things are running more smoothly. I also feel like I'm getting more opportunities to provide academic assistance -- that is, actually teach!

As for the missions front, things are still moving slowly. We hope to be more aggressive in paying off bills. We've had a lot of home repairs that needed to be done, and we still have more to do! That will get the house more ready to sell, so it's not wasted money or moving backwards in our "getting ready" process. It's hard to wait on God's timing, even when you know His timing is perfect!

Sorry I left you hanging!

My daughter said I need to update my blog! She's right. I shouldn't have left you in a slump for a month!

My biggest bit of news -- NO MORE SCHOOL BUS DRIVING! After a near miss involving a tight turn and a ditch, I decided the stress of driving was too much for me after my roller coaster summer. My nerves are just not up to it. I think I'll be a better teacher for doing less. And I'll be available to tutor or meet with parents after school.

School has started, and we're setting into a routine now.

My younger son has started a new AD/HD medicine, and it seems to be working well. We are determined to keep him on track this year!

My teaching is going well so far. I still have a few challenges now and then, but that's just part of it! Teens will be teens. Overall, it seems much smoother than last year. Maybe I learned from the experience of my first year.

My daughter and son-in-law have left for Germany. He will be teaching English in a German high school on a Fulbright scholarship. Hopefully they are finding a place to live and settling in. I haven't heard more than a "Good morning!" on Skype. Of course, I was

asleep at the time! We'll get this time difference thing worked out eventually. I need to get a webcam so we can actually see and hear each other.

My older son is officially in the Air Force now. He departs for Basic Training in San Antonio on November 17. Life is changing in a hurry for our family. Frankly, although I'll miss my older kids, I'm ready for this next phase. I'm hoping it will be better for all of us.

Keep Mark in your prayers as he will be the representative in handling her estate. He'd be the executor, but the will she prepared wasn't valid. The lawyer said declaring her intestate would be easier and would give the same results with less hassle and expense. He'll have to make several trips up to Oklahoma on business days for court

appearances and such. They will also have to sell the property. The house still isn't empty, but it's getting there.

We've been able to use some of the money from my mother-in-law's estate to pay some bills and make a couple of purchases. We have some nice patio furniture that we're using in our living room that we got at the end-of-season discount of 50%. If we ever make it to Haiti, the termites can't eat this! It's cast aluminum. Also, Mark is buying a digital SLR camera, which has been a long-time dream. I think taking a photography class at church this summer stirred up the shutterbug in him!

Slump

I'm in a slump. Here's a few definitions:

a landslide or rockslide

the vertical subsidence of freshly mixed concrete that is a measure of consistency and stiffness

glass melted over or into a mold using heat from a kiln




a period during which a person performs slowly, inefficiently, or ineffectively

Which one do you think applies?

The Haiti Bunch

The 2009 Haiti Team, or "The Haiti Bunch", had a wonderful time visiting our sister church in Chambellan. We had twelve members: Pastor Bill Lee, Midschool Director Charlie Ridenour, Bryan Knowles, Roger and Linda Little, Mission Board Member Cindy Guidroz, Carol Etheredge, Mark & Carol Hawkins, Keila Lorenc, Connor Egbert, and Jessica Williams. We had one member who was not able to go when we rescheduled: Kristen Moore. We also had one alternate who was unable to go due to team size: Lauren King.

At 12:15 on June 11, the team members were at their homes, finishing their final packing details, and almost ready to leave for the airport. The night before there had been some storms in the area, including a few tornadoes, but the weather was much better that morning. Except for at the airport. It seemed storm after storm built and reformed right over DFW. At that point, we learned that American Airlines had canceled our flight to Miami. Try as we might, we could not get on a flight to Miami that night! We contacted Billy Moses, the RMI missionary, to determine what to do. Since we couldn't get to Miami, there was no way we could make our flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti the next day. We had to cancel. Fortunately, the team scheduled for two weeks later had canceled, leaving an open spot for us! So we put our bags aside and waited.

Two weeks later, on June 25, our flight took off right on time without problems. We spent the night in Miami and took a morning flight to Port-au-Prince the next day. We breezed through customs -- a rare event! A private bus driver/pastor, Nader, drove us from the large airport to the smaller one. After getting our flights arranged, we at lunch at a nearby gas station. Actually, it was quite nice. That afternoon, after a 45-minute flight, we arrived at the tip of the peninsula in the town of Jeremie. From there, we traveled 2 hours by truck into our sister Church village, Chambellan.

We arrived in Chambellan Friday around dusk to a parade of church members waiting for us about a mile from the church. The Brigade, a youth organization in the church, met us in uniform with songs and flags. There were hugs, kisses and hand-holding by young and old Haitians as they welcomed us. The team was overwhelmed!

On Saturday, Charlie Ridenour led a seminar on being a godly single. College students Connor Egbert, Keila Lorenc, and Jessica Williams added their input and experiences. Carol Etheredge gave her viewpoints on being an older single. We broke into men's and women's groups, where they asked lots of questions. The team did an excellent job of pointing them back to God's word as our standard.

Sunday began with a long worship service. Their music groups, ranging from children to adults, gifted us with wonderful singing. Jessica and Carol sang a song in Haitian Kreyol for them. Our team members had an opportunity to share a personal greeting with the church. Pastor Bill Lee introduced the topic of marriage in his sermon. After lunch, some of the team members took a walk into town, where we got a closer look at local living. Later that evening, the church and the team held an open air service at the town soccer field. Several of our team members presented their stories of how they came to know Christ as Savior.

The adults on the team led a marriage seminar on Monday -- three sessions with lunch after the second session. Pastor Bill, Bryan Knowles, and Roger Little taught in the sessions. Everyone participated in fielding questions about marriage in our breakout sessions with the men or women. Although they have different cultural situations, we stayed close to God's word as our guide for the roles as husband and wife.

The highlight of our trip was the group wedding ceremony. We were planning to marry 9 couples. We found out when we arrived that there were 14 couples! Fortunately, we found dresses for all of the brides. It was wonderful to sit back and observe as they performed the wedding ceremony. The team is usually in the spotlight, so being on the sidelines was a real treat! Carol Etheredge took pictures before, during and afterward. She took two "formal" photos of each couple -- one of the couple posing and one of the couple kissing! They weren't used to kissing in public, so this was really funny for all involved! Carol brought her printer and left photos for the couples!

Very early Wednesday morning, we began our travel to the mission compound and then to the retreat center for a little R&R. This isn't just a fun time, although playing at the beach and relaxing in the gazebo is wonderful! It is also a chance for the team to share their experiences and think about how being on the trip might change their everyday lives at home. It's always enlightening to hear everyone's highs and lows.

Thursday we did a little shopping from vendors who set up their wares. We also toured the domestic center, where women are taught to sew, crochet, cook and embroider. This gives the women an opportunity to earn money for their families and learn a valuable skill. The best of the graduates move on to open their own schools! They have lovely items available for sale in their gift shop.

Friday was a day of travel, rising early and arriving in Port-au-Prince in the midmorning. One last treat was representing a family who had adopted a Haitian child. We met with his birth parents and siblings, giving them photos and a video to watch. We took pictures and video of the birth family to give the adoptive family. We flew back to Miami and on to DFW by late evening. It was wonderful to be greeted by family and friends there to greet us and to share our stories.

Thank you for supporting our mission trips this summer through Impact 2009. It was an honor to represent you to the Haitian church in Chambellan. May God richly bless you for being a part of our trip!

Wild Ride

"Trust God and do the next thing." -- Oswald Chambers


Life has been a bit on the crazy side lately. The ups and downs have jumbled together into a wild ride.

Friday we spent all day at the church decorating for the wedding. The rehearsal that evening went well. Dinner was fabulous! (Thanks, parents of the groom!)

My husband ran home to change between work and rehearsal and accidentally left his phone at home. We decided later it was no accident, but rather God was sparing us that evening.

When we got home, my husband discovered he had a message from his brother. His mother had passed away that day. A friend had called Mom and didn't get an answer, so she checked Mom's house. She found Mom sitting in her favorite chair in front of the TV. She may have drifted to sleep and not woken up. We'll never know exactly, this side of heaven.

My husband's brother and sister had headed to Oklahoma that evening to take care of details. But we had a wedding to put on. After I was given the news, I knew I had to tell the kids. I called them all together and broke the news. I hated to upset everyone before the wedding, but they had to know. My older son's girlfriend, who was staying with us, was a great comfort to my younger son.

The next morning, although a bit numb, we began the wedding preparations. The girls got together in the morning to do makeup and hair. After having an emotional morning, I joined them around noon. Once we got in the swing of preparations, we focused on rejoicing with the bride and groom.

The afternoon ceremony was absolutely beautiful! Thanks to lots of creative friends, the church was lovely! My older son's girlfriend was escorted in place of Mom, and she placed a white rose in Mom's chair. Everything went smoothly and pretty much as planned. The only faux pas was almost forgetting the unity candle. But after a laugh, that was forgotten. The reception was fun and memorable. We finally had to shut it down about 7 PM!

After LOTS of cleaning and undecorating (with lots of help from friends and relatives), we left the church around 9 PM. We decided to wait until Monday to go up to Oklahoma. That gave us a day to regroup, do laundry, and get ready for the next thing.

Sunday morning we attended the worship service. Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed dinner with both brothers and families, as well as the bride and groom! In the evening, we attended a wonderful concert featuring two guitarists with a very different style: Rhett Butler and Billy McLaughlin. We marveled together at the talent of these two men! My younger son became a favorite fan in no time, getting a tour of the bus and making friends with the crew.

Monday morning we packed and prepared to drive to Oklahoma. We left around noon and arrived to find my husband's sister, with her friend, and his brother, with his wife and daughter. Over the next few days, the siblings made final plans and started the long task of sorting through belongings. We only made a small dent, but it was a start.

After the memorial service on Wednesday, we took Mom's ashes to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. We went to several of the family's favorite camping and picnicing areas to spread her ashes in her favorite places. On Thursday afternoon, still having a lot of ashes left, we went out again to spread some more. We were blessed with several rare occurances. We saw male and female elk down by the road (usually up in the mountains) and were able to get some photos. We had a racoon family approach us at a picnic table and eat from our hands -- also a great photo op! We saw wild turkeys, buffalo, longhorns, and prairie dogs. It is rare to see so much wildlife in one day. My husband and his brother said they had only seen elk and turkeys once or twice over the many times that they had come over the years.

My younger son stayed with his aunt over the weekend while we came home. I am going to do some laundry, take care of a few things around here, and head back up on Monday. My sister-in-law will be tackling the house and the accounts and other details that couldn't be done this past week. Since I'm off for the summer, I wanted to help her with whatever I could.

My daughter and son-in-law (wow, that sounds strange!) come back tomorrow afternoon. I'll get to rejoice with them as they share honeymoon excitement. Then it will be back to the aftermath of losing someone you love.

I wonder what new dips and turns lie ahead?

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

We're home from a wonderful trip to Haiti! The team did an excellent job! We had 14 couples marry instead of 9, but we found dresses for them all! I'll share more when I can add some pics.

We dumped our suitcases and repacked for an overnight trip to Oklahoma. My lovely mother-in-law turned 91 on July 5. We were able to visit with all the siblings for a short while.

My older son's girlfriend is here visiting from Canada. She's a delightful young lady! I'm enjoying getting to know her, but she's a quiet person. She arrived in the morning the same Friday we returned from Haiti in the evening. She'll be with us through the wedding.

Life marches on, and now we rush toward the wedding day. So much to do, so little time. I'm excited and nervous all at once. I'm sure the bride is even more so!

We're off! Again!

Tomorrow we attempt departure to Haiti once again. Boy, am I ready! I hate waiting. I was hoping I'd get something done in the intervening two weeks. But no! Inertia took over, and a motionless object remained motionless.

Come tomorrow, remaining motionless won't be an option! I can't wait to see my Haitian brothers & sisters! We have a wonderful team, and I know we'll have a blast!

I don't know if we'll ever know why we waited, but we know God knows best. His timing is perfect. It will be a different trip than if we'd gone two weeks ago, but it is the trip we're meant to take.

Please pray for our Haitian brothers and sisters as they prepare for our coming (again). Pray that their hearts and minds would be open to the message God is bringing through us. Pray we can have an impact that will carry on in their village to bring many to know Christ and escape voodoo. Pray for the team -- that we will be flexible tools in God's hands and, to quote a certain pastor, that we'll be "shiny, happy people solving problems."

I can't wait to see what God will do in and through us. I know we'll be the ones most blessed. And I can't wait to share with you after we get back home. But I guess I'll have to.

Cookie crumbs make good pie crust!

Have you ever thought about what a graham cracker thinks about before becoming a graham cracker crust? Maybe it had dreams of becoming S'mores. But what happens? Pretend you are the graham cracker.

Someone comes along, plucks you out of your comfy package, and smashes you to bits!

Then you are mixed and mashed and poked and prodded and squished into places that aren't so comfortable.
But when it's all over, you are part of something beautiful and delicious!


As hard as our Haiti trip postponement was, it led to something beautiful and delicious for me today! If we had been in Haiti today, I would have missed having visits with two lovely missionary families!

I walked into church this morning, and standing in the back row were missionary friends from Haiti. We squeezed into the row with them and worshiped together. After the service was over, in spite of the fact that my house was a mess, I invited them to lunch at our house. After all, that's what true hospitality is, and that's part of what we want to do as missionaries. Even though it was hard for me, I decided sharing time with them was more important that worrying about having a tidy house.

We stayed for the second service, expecting to have a Sunday School class, but our room was dark and empty. Our son was in his class, so we went back to our church's "cafe" area to mingle and wait for classes to be over. We joined some good friends who were visiting with missionaries to Hungary. We were able to chat with the missionary family for the entire hour, even after our friends left. What a blessing it was!

After picking up our son, we headed for home. My husband immediately began working on dinner. (He's the master chef in our home!) All three of my children worked on cleaning up the living room while I cleaned the dining room. We're talking clutter, toys, dirty socks, dog hair, trash --it was a mess! By the time our guests arrived, a little before 2:00, we had tidied and swept, and it didn't look too bad. I got them a cool drink and ran to the store for a few items. When I returned, the missionary wife, who is German by birth, was chatting with my daughter about living in Germany. After a while, we sat down to a delicious, relaxing dinner! After dinner, I prepared the desert and put it on the table for a "build-your-own shortcake" time. We continued talking about weddings and missions and kids and city vs. country living in Haiti. Before we realized, it was 6:15! We had such a wonderful time of sharing each others' lives!

If our flight to Miami had not been canceled and our trip postponed, we would not have been able to even see either of these missionary families! And if our Sunday School class had met, we wouldn't have had time to visit with the family from Hungary.

I guess the moral of the story (for me) is:
When Cookie gets crumbled, let God turn it into something sweet!

Change of plans

Wednesday night we had thunderstorms with tornadoes. My family spent about a half hour in our neighborhood storm shelter. Fortunately, the only damage was a few limbs down here and there. Some of my friends had lightning strikes to trees and houses, as well as lots of downed trees.

Thursday morning comes. The weather forecasters said no storms. However, one storm after another formed right over the airport. Consequently, they canceled our flight to Miami, which was to begin our mission trip to Haiti. After a lot of phone time and internet searching, we could not find a way to get to Miami in order to catch our connecting flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

After contacting the missionary in Haiti, we decided to reschedule for June 25-July 3. We are thankful to be able to continue so quickly with most of our existing team intact. If we had waited until fall, when most of the available openings were, many of our team would not have been able to go.

Yesterday was an emotional roller coaster as we went from packing to canceled to trying to get flights to rescheduling. Now we have a plan in place, but today hasn't been much better. We've had to confirm the availability of all the team members and get information to the missionary.

I'm sure God had a good reason for keeping us home yesterday. We may never know what it is, but we know He is in control! I was reminded again how tightly I hold on to my expectations rather than trusting God to lead and provide.

Well, now I've got two weeks to work on cleaning the house for company coming right after the trip to Haiti. Also, we need to finalize last minute details for the wedding. I won't be bored for the next two weeks!

Random Thoughts

Random funny sign:
My baby turned 12 yesterday!

Today was the last day of school. Tomorrow, report cards and cleaning out my room.

Fifth grade will be continued next year, but in the 6th grade room. (He was in the 6th grade room this year, as well, due to a conflict with another student.)

No more bus driving for the summer! (Except for taking the bus to another campus for the summer.)

One week until the Haiti trip! We're packing Saturday for the team. I'm not sure how we'll fit in 10 wedding dresses! I still have to pack and prepare for myself. And maybe shop a little.

Three days off have never looked so good! I know they'll be busy, but at least I'll be able to do some of the things I've had to put off -- like prepare for Haiti.

Birthday parties don't have to be fancy. Invitations can be hand-written and photocopied (at the last minute).

Lessons do not prepare themselves. (Something to do in those three days off?)

Time keeps marching!

God will provide.

Please pray for my Haitian friend, Jules, who is battling bone cancer in Boston. He will be missed greatly on this trip!

Busy, Busy! (Still)

That's me on the right!

Life has been a tyranny of the urgent for me. I struggle to get over the next hurdle, not even considering the hurdle beyond that!

School is winding down, with 3-1/2 more days left. The last day is a sale for the students to buy things with play money they have earned by completing their work. Friday is a workday for the teachers, and then we are done for the summer. I am looking forward to not having to drive the bus for a while!

My daughter's car is fixed and running. Or it would be running if she were home to drive it. She went to her fiance's graduation at UT Austin, and then they spent some fun time with relatives.

My younger son is still not doing well in school. The valiant effort did not happen, and I don't think he can finish in summer school. He does not seem to care. I think he is in denial.

The Haiti team leaves in 13 days! Please pray for us! We finished our shopping today. Next Saturday we'll pack it all up. This is just the stuff for our ministry and gifts for missionaries. Our personal packing will come later! I haven't even bought any "Haiti clothes." I'm sure I can make do with what's in my closet, if need be.

The wedding will be a month after we return. We still have to order the cake, and I need to find a dress for myself. We'll also have a visitor for two weeks prior to that -- my older son's girlfriend from Toronto. I'm looking forward to meeting her!

I don't think this will be a very relaxing summer, but it will be memorable! Even with all the other things to plan and do, it will be a relief to not have teaching and bus driving on top of that! And maybe I can catch up on my sleep!

Cars, TAKS, school work, fungus, and flu

Here's a hodgepodge of my life this week:

My daughter's car is still in the driveway awaiting repairs, so we've been sharing cars to get everyone where the need to be. What fun! It has led to a little more togetherness than usual. Which is a good thing, most times.

We finished a week of TAKS tests -- our standardized state testing, for those not from Texas. It is supposed to demonstrate that our students have learned what they were supposed to for their grade level. Since I tutored the high school students in math, it will be interesting to see how they did. Frankly, I'm not optimistic.

The younger son is still not getting his school work done. We shall see if he makes a valiant effort and passes 5th grade.

Allergies have kicked in big time for me, causing sneezing, coughing and asthma issues. The pollen counts indicated fungus was very high. Fortunately, an all-day field trip to Waco, for which I was driving the bus, was cancelled due to the swine flu scare. Although I'd been looking forward to going, I was glad I was able to stay home, sleep in, and nap away most of the afternoon. I also got some kitchen cleaning done, which was desperately needed. They have rescheduled the trip for May 16, which is the day of my daughter's bridal shower. I'm disappointed that I won't be able to go! I'll see if they still end up going.

So far, our schools have not been closed due to swine flu. Lewisville and Denton have both closed all their schools for a week to disinfect them and let the sick students get beyond the contagious stage. The Education Center has charter schools in both towns. I don't know how many (if any) reported cases either distric has. Lots of my friends think this is a gross overreaction. It certainly seems extreme. I really don't know if it is merited.

Well, time to take some more cough medicine!

Hot and Bothered

Julie's car has an overheating problem! I just helped her limp it home. We would drive for about 5 minutes and then stop to let it cool for 20 to 30 minutes. After 3 stops, we finally completed what should have been a 20 minute drive. It took us about 2 hours. But now it's home, where it can be fixed at some point. Until then, we'll have to play musical cars and see who winds up walking!

We also have a broken AC at home. Open windows and fans help some. Just about the time we can't stand it anymore, it turns cooler for a day or two. I think it's time to call the AC guy, though. We have a slow leak that requires a refill of refrigerant every year or two. Mind you, if I can't handle this, I have no business in Haiti. I'm just not acclimated.

It's after midnight, and I'm waiting on the washer and dryer to finish so I can pack for a retreat this weekend. I also have to prep for a Haiti Team meeting, which will be Sunday afternoon. Maybe I'll take my laptop and work on it at the retreat. I hope I get some rest this weekend!

Happy Resurrection Day!

Tomorrow is Resurrection Day or, as most know it, Easter. This is the day we celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus in order to redeem us from our sin. I pray you will have a blessed day as you remember Christ's sacrifice for us.

In the morning, Mark will be assisting with sound for the Sunrise Outdoor service. I'll be singing with a small ensemble for our three indoor services. With 10 voices plus a soloist, four horns, and the usual guitar, bass, piano & drums, we'll be putting out a wall of sound! It's nice to get the opportunity to lead in worship again! May God be glorified!

Please pray for Agape Flights. Their new plane, a Beechcraft King Air which has been named "Grace," had engine failure in one of the engines on April 1. With a full cargo load, they made a safe emergency landing in the Bahamas, using the one remaining engine. Using a borrowed plane, the pilots were able to deliver the load to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The pilots then went home and the mechanics went down to begin the process of replacing the engine. Since the mechanics are both pilots, they will bring home the plane when finished. They will have to bring their own tools and work on the tarmac as a hangar isn't available. Please pray for financial provision for this added expense.

Sliding into Spring Break

I'm glad Spring Break has arrived! It's nice to have some time off the merry-go-round life has become. Not that I regret any of it. It's just nice to have a break!

Unfortunately, my Spring Break started off with a bang. Or, rather, a crash. On my Friday afternoon bus run, I topped a wet, slick hill to discover a small SUV waiting to turn left. Slick road, full bus, not enough stopping distance. You get the picture. Fortunately, no one was injured. The bus sustained a slightly bent bumper that you have to look closely to detect. Unfortunately, the SUV did not fare so well. The back window shattered and the back of the vehicle was pushed in. They were able to drive it away, but I know it will probably be a hardship for them. It was a young couple with a baby and a toddler. After all the paperwork was done, I finished my route without incident. One of my kind fellow teachers even waited around to greet me with a hug! He figured I'd need it, and I did!

This weekend, we finally finished our "New Year's" letter to mail off. We were too far into it to change it from winter to spring! It was a big project that we undertook in preparation for announcement letters about going into missions. Now, to get it to the post office!

Yesterday we met with the wedding photographer for our daughter. They are taking engagement photos as we speak. We are praising the Lord we had the funds to pay his down payment. Now we only need figure out how to pay for the flowers, the church, the cake, and the second half of the photography! Aren't weddings grand! Don't get me wrong. We're very excited about it and know it will be worth every penny!

Yesterday we also got a new foster pet. A family from my school is moving and could not take their dog at this point. We now have a 2-year-old black lab named Fezzik (from the Princess Bride) living with us. He and Emma are still getting used to one another. We have a few habits we need to break, but he should do fine.

My focus for Spring Break is to do some house cleaning/decluttering. I'm focusing on Will's stuff and the living room. I'm finding myself enjoying some relaxing time, too! It's so easy for time to get away, though.

I hope you are enjoying your Spring Break, if you get one. If not, just enjoy spring!

Vicious Cycle

This picture seemed so fitting! How appropriate that the "bike" is yellow! Sometimes my bus is so sluggish (no turbocharger) that I wish I had a bumper sticker that says, "I'm pedaling as fast as I can!"

Life seems like a vicious cycle lately. Drive the bus, teach, drive the bus, finish any test grading or paperwork, go home, eat something, fall in bed, start over the next day! Also, I've had the challenge of fighting off viruses and allergies! But God keeps sustaining me! Praise to Him!

I try to carve out time to do a few mundane tasks like laundry or dishes when I can. It seems something always eats up the spare time! This weekend, I'm hoping to squeeze in time for cutting the guys' hair and maybe making soap. We'll see!

I don't know if I mentioned that we had to drop Perspectives, the missions course we were taking. We thought that our paying for the online course would qualify us for a free class, but they are different organizations within the ministry. God knew best. Mark had started overtime at work & I'm busy enough without a class to attend.

I will be adding Haiti Team meetings to my schedule soon! We're trying to put together our first meeting. Right now, we have more interested parties than we have spots on the team. It's exciting to see so many people wanting to go! Mark may have to forfeit his spot so others can have an opportunity to go. The Mission Board and RMI decided it would be best for Will not to go this time. After some reflection, we agreed. Besides, we wouldn't want to keep an adult from going in order to take him. It will be better to take him to Port au Prince to visit the area we might be living in.

I've had some turnover in my class. Students leaving and new ones coming. It certainly keeps me on my toes! It is surprising how many parents will move their students all throughout the school year!

I guess I'd better see about some food and then fall in bed!

The latest

For those who wondered, now that I have my license, I have been driving the bus daily, morning and afternoon. The fun part is trying to keep the kids in their seats and the noise level to a dull roar. I have a whistle I use when necessary. I've rearranged their seating twice in an attempt to keep problems to a minimum. The second change goes into effect Monday, so we'll see how many complaints I get!

My hubby is working like crazy! He is working overtime into the evenings almost every day. The paychecks have been great, but we hardly see each other. Hopefully, this is just for a season.

We are quitting yoga. My daughter, who was paying about half of our monthly membership fee, decided to try a gym instead. We really can't afford it without her. Also, we haven't been as much since we've been so busy, so we probably weren't getting our money's worth. And we really need to apply our money elsewhere. We ARE trying to get out of debt and onto the mission field.

The wedding plans are coming together. We've met with a decorator friend who has items to rent out to brides. Soon she'll be meeting with a friend who does beautiful and delicious cakes. She is still planning to have her maid of honor do her flowers -- either on her own or through the store where she works.

My older son is working at Kroger now in the meat department. This is his first "real job." He worked for the church doing set-up, which was very few hours. He also worked for a landscape lighting company, but that was very infrequent. Now he is getting regular hours (and pay) and wearing the uniform. He looks pretty good in the uniform! Now, if he can just keep his car running!

My younger son has had ups and downs in school. We upped his ADHD medicine dose, and that has helped some. He's still lacking in the motivation department most days. I sure would like to see him get on a long streak of getting it done! Summer school is looming large, ready to smack us in the face before long! I'm still smarting from last summer! For our school, summer school is the opportunity to finish the curriculum so that you can promote to the next grade. And I just remembered that summer school will happen while we are gone to Haiti with our church team. Bummer! I'm not sure how we'll deal with that! Never a dull moment around here!

I passed!

Don't you love the picture! BTW, I'm not that old!

Due to bad weather, my bus driving test was postponed until Thursday. Despite the fog and lingering ice, I took my test and passed! My parallel parking wasn't the best, but I didn't hit the curb. That would have been an instant failure. I had practiced parallel parking one car width from the curb. They had me park from one parking place (car length) from the curb in an empty parking lot. I finally got it close enough to keep the examiner happy. I guess I didn't mess up too much on other stuff.

Our bus driver/content mastery teacher/reading lab teacher has his last day tomorrow. I'm not sure what we will do for content mastery and reading lab. I'm sure they will hire someone as soon as possible.

We had two days off from school -- Tuesday and Wednesday -- due to weather. Tuesday they were predicting ice as early as noon. It didn't hit until evening, but it hit with a vengeance! We had to pick up my son at work at 10:00 because his heater wasn't working and he couldn't keep the windshield deiced. Wednesday the roads didn't start clearing until around noon. There are still a few icy spots today, believe it or not. The areas in the shade take a long time to melt.

I'm off to enjoy my mac 'n cheese n' hot dogs with my younger son before minichurch!

Road Test

Our school bus driver gave his 2-week notice. He's moving to Missouri to run a horse farm. In the mean time, I'm hustling to get my CDL to be able to drive the bus. I've taken the written test and have been practicing driving the bus run. I'm scehduled for my road test on Tuesday morning. Prayer would be appreciated. I have to parallel park the thing! Yes! Parallel park a school bus! I've practiced, so hopefully I'll do O.K.

Pray for my hubby, too. He's contemplating a job change. It would mean less pay but also less stress. We're not sure less pay is the way to go if you're trying to get out of debt. I'm praying God will make it very clear which would be the better choice for him.

Advances

Well, we finally gave ADD medication a try for our son. It seems to make a big improvement in his school day! I know it's not a magic pill, but it's good to see some progress!

I also got tough with my students, which seems to have helped with getting their school work done, too! It also improved the classroom atmosphere a bit. They still have their moments, but overall it is calmer.

Between the two of these things, my stress level has gone down a bit. (Not chasing as many chickens?) Still, I'm looking forward to a day off tomorrow for Martin Luther King Day. Maybe I can get some stuff done around the house -- the cleaning & decluttering chickens!

We're still playing with the pressure cooker. We're checking out buying one online, when we get the funds.
Meal #4: Pinto beans cooked with a ham bone.
Meal #5: Barbecued ribs. (Yes, ribs in a pressure cooker!) They cook in their own homemade sauce!

Today we helped cook mission meal at the church. We served Spicy Minestrone Soup (a version of Southwest Stew, for those who are familiar with it). It didn't sell as well as we hoped. I think "spicy" in the title scared a few folks away. We also had a "meet & greet" for our new Worship Pastor and his wife at the same time -- not sure how that impacted our meal. The meal raised $420 to help out our sister church in Chambellan, Haiti. And, it was nice to meet our new Worship Pastor face to face!

I am going to be leading a team going to visit our sister church Haiti in June 2009. We will be doing a marriage conference and a "True Love Waits"-type conference for the youth. I think my hubby wants to go, and we are hoping we can take our younger son as well. Since he'll be moving there before long, it would be good to see what the country and the people are like. Although he is below their minimum age for a team member, please pray that the missions organization would be willing for him to come.

Winter wonderland!

We had ice today. Nothing that was dangerous for driving (yet), but definitely wintry! I had to get out the camera and snap a few pics!

The underside of our pierced metal patio table.
Yesterday we did pressure cooker meal #3 -- a wonderful chili! Yum! Sorry, no pics. We ate it too fast!

Under pressure, meal two

Tonight we tried porcupine meatballs in the pressure cooker. They were so easy and came out great! They were done so fast that we had to wait on the black-eyed peas to finish cooking. I was also impressed with how clean the pot was both times. No sticking on the bottom or sides! Clean-up was really easy. Here's the finished product, thanks to our lovely new camera!

Chasing too many chickens

I'm a city girl. I can't say that this word picture would have readily sprung to mind, but it fits!

I visited with some friends who are leaving for the mission field for a second time. I was sharing about my worries concerning all the details to be dealt with to prepare for the mission field -- debts, clutter, selling the house, what to take, where to store it, etc.

After listening to my worries and woes, he told me I was chasing too many chickens. He pointed out that the only chickens I needed to chase right now were the debts and the clutter. He assured me I had plenty of time to figure those other things out and probably couldn't do so now if I wanted to.

Sometimes it feels like I'm not making any progress in the goal of becoming a missionary. I feel like I should drop everything to get ready, but I can't. Or, sometimes, I choose not to. It makes me feel like I'm spinning my wheels and not doing my part. But I have to remember I can only do what is in front of me at the moment and I have to trust God for the timing. Patience is not one of my virtues!

So, the plan is going to be to take it a day at a time. Pay off the debts as much as we can today. Cut our spending as much as we can today. Pick a spot and declutter a little today. And remind myself that my baby steps put me a little closer to that elusive chicken I'm chasing!

I'm not looking forward to returning to the school grind -- both for my class and for the boy. We've gotten him to do a little while on break, but he's no where near to being caught up. Once again, one day at a time. One assignment at a time.

But instead living in the pressure cooker, I'm trying out using it! I've borrowed one from a friend and have used it once. We may have to invest in one! The split pea soup I made was the best I've ever tasted! I should have taken a picture with our new camera!

And speaking of pictures, here's the Agape Flights plane with its new paint job. It's hard to believe they lost their plane just a year ago, and look how God has provided!