Gramma Julie's Coming to Town

She may not be Santa, but I'm sure she'll brighten our Christmas. My hubby's 90-year-old mom will be joining us for Christmas this year. We're going to drive up to Oklahoma to pick her up on Wednesday.

My Dad lives across town, but his wife had back surgery last Tuesday. They aren't quite up for company or car travel, so we won't be seeing them until after New Year's Day. My brother & his family are coming up on January 3rd. We'll get together at that time.

This will be the first time in a few years that we have had "the big meal" at our house! It will be a nice change!

This also may be the last Christmas that we're all in the same country for a while. My daughter & fiancé are planning to go to Germany shortly after they are married this summer. He will be teaching English in German schools for the school year. After she marries, my older son is planning to enlist in the Air Force, so he could be anywhere!

I enjoyed a quiet day today: sleeping late, reading and getting chores done at a leisurely pace. It was nice. Tomorrow I'm going to redeem a 2-year-old gift certificate for a massage. I'm hoping it will help with my back issues.

My back has been much better. I went to yoga on Saturday, and I suffered no ill effects it! We might go again tomorrow night.

We're getting ourselves a Christmas present, with a little help from our kids. It's a nice digital camera. I broke ours the day our youngest was baptized. We'd been having trouble with it, so we weren't too disappointed. The camera probably won't arrive until after Christmas, but that's O.K.

Ready for Christmas Break!

Or, Winter Break, to be politically correct.

It's been a busy time lately, as you can see from my lack of posts. The students have been challenging lately. We had a school rep come & demonstrate how things were to go -- which was much more regimented than I usually do things. Consequently, they have been challenging my authority since then.

I've also had an ongoing battle of wills with my younger son. We're going to try to crack down on him to get him to meet his responsibilities.

I noticed my back hurting after a yoga session two weeks ago. I went to another session two days later, and now my back is worse. My doc gave me some exercises and OK'd yoga, if I go cautiously and skip the parts that hurt.

Just before Thanksgiving, I got my hair cut! I donated the ponytail to Locks of Love. They make wigs for children cancer patients who cannot afford them. The new profile pic is the straightened look. I'll get a pic on later of the curly look. I broke my camera, and Julie has misplaced hers.

The profile pic was taken from a picture of last Sunday's worship team (which explains the shiny things by my head!) With our new worship pastor coming soon, this may have been our last time to lead worship together. We've really enjoyed bonding as a team. When you have a great group of musicians to work with, you just naturally fall into your parts. Thanks to the whole team for allowing me to be a part of such talented servant leadership!

Weighty song

Here's a video for you to enjoy. It really moved me when I heard it on the radio in the car, so I had to look it up at home. Let me know what you think.

I think Julie started something!

Wow! It's been a long time since I posted!

I did go back to yoga, along with my older son. We joined with a family plan that includes my daughter. I really debated because of the cost, but my hubby said that it would be good for my health. He's even coming with us now! We're getting our money's worth, at least, and all benefiting! Since it is done in the heat (90 to 98 degrees, depending on the class), it is helping us acclimate to what will eventually be our home country -- Haiti. Of course, that's quite a ways off, and I'm not sure how long we'll keep the yoga up. And I just ignore the references to "Mother Earth" and praise Father God instead!

The younger son is still struggling with his school work, but they have moved him to a 6th-grade class (still doing 5th-grade work), and he seems to be improving -- slowly! Keep praying for him!

We are still in the process of making some lifestyle changes. Hopefully, before too long we'll get rid of some big bills. We've been counseled to consider replacing our cars with notes with cheap ones, even if we have to get a loan to pay off the difference. I need to go in and talk with the credit union where we have one note to see what could be done. I'm grateful to have friends in my Financial Peace class that are encouraging us in our debt reduction. (Thanks, Norm!)

Everything else is about the same. Hubby's overtime is just about over for the year, which will mean smaller paychecks. The school's afternoon bus driver position is opening again, but I don't know if they would want another full-time driver/teacher aide. That's the only way Mark could take a job there. It would mean a lot less stress and much shorter commute, being about a break-even in pay (without overtime). I just don't know if the school can afford to hire him. If it's God's will, it will work out. If not, I'm sure we're better off where we are.

It's encouraging to run into folks at church or at the school who ask how our journey to be missionaries is progressing. It gets us all fired up again! It is so easy to lapse into complacency in daily life and forget the big goal ahead. Please keep praying for us -- for God's provision and our self-discipline as we work on paying off our debts.

Yoga, anyone?

I attended my first yoga class this morning. (We go to church at night, in case you're wondering!) I'm not sure if yoga is for me. In the first place, my body doesn't bend in the ways they want you to bend. And even if I had the flexibility, there's too much body in the way! I also struggle with the philosophy behind yoga.

The class we attended was what they call a "Fire" class. They had the room at 98.6 degrees and 60% humidity to help warm and open your joints and muscles. I did not leave the room during the 90-minute class, but I did have to take some unscheduled breaks to rest.

I bought their trial "10 days for $10". I'm not sure if I'm going to give it another try or not. I guess it wouldn't hurt. Let's see how I feel tomorrow!

Back to the Daily Grind

I enjoyed one day off for Columbus Day, then it was back to work! I like working with the students, but it can be frustrating at times. Our system requires the students to sit still and be quiet most of the day, which is hard for anyone. It's even harder for some -- like students with ADHD. I have a couple of those. I've been moving them around and trying different strategies to keep things under control in the classroom. I'll let you know if I find something that works!

We're trying to make some lifestyle changes to help retire the debts faster. There is only so much you can change, so we'll have to wait and see how quickly the debt diminishes. We thought we could sell our cars to get out from under the loan payments, but we're a bit upside down in both car loans. Our friends at Financial Peace said we should call Dave Ramsey's radio show and ask him what would be the best way to handle the cars. I don't know if we're THAT bold!

My hubby was off all week. It was nice to have him home. He worked very hard, though -- no sitting around (or not much). He cleaned the living room, cooked dinner daily, and painted the exterior of the house, except for the trim. My older son helped with the house painting. I'll be sad to see him go back to work. I'm sure he will be sad, too! But we have to keep the income flowing -- preferably with a bit of overtime added to the check!

We are missionary candidates!

I'm checking in from Florida. Agape Flights has asked us to join their team, and we have accepted! The first stage will be getting rid of our debt, repairing & selling our house, and getting rid of a bunch of junk! They want us to come to Florida for 3-6 months to learn how their operation works. After that, they are planning to send us to the Dominican Republic to work under their missionary in Santo Domingo to learn that end of the work. Then we will go to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to learn the work from the volunteer (a local missionary) who has been in charge of what will be our job. As we learn how to do the work and learn the language, we will begin to take over the work ourselves. It will take a while to get there, but we are really excited! The hard part will be getting rid of debt and stuff to get ready to go. Thank you for your prayers! I'll check in again when we get home!