Lahloos and Other Tales

Forts, fights, and frogs....

Summer is in full swing around here!  It's hot, sticky, and did I mention hot???  It was 101 today, and I only looked once...

After our morning walk, our ploy to sap energy from the kids as early as possible. Where we also saw a dead frog that had been flatted by a car...complete with flies and other bugs eating it...we headed off to the outlets...the kids needed some new shoes and I am tired of spending $$ at Wal-Mart to only have to go spend the same amount in a few weeks...so I was hoping Stride Rite would have something of quality that would last longer.  We also saw some sandals/sneakers that Keighley liked and the place to get them is Striderite....

After a misunderstanding and learning that Noah is in fact in a size 1 shoe we left the store with Keighley and Isaac in their new shoes....and we headed home....lunch was well recieved and the heat kept us inside hovering by the a/c...toys were exchanged and the castle set up... tantrums were thrown and nap time abounded (isaac and toby).  Ran to get yarn for Noah....

Rick finishes up his class tonight..his presentation is over and the latest text message said that all is well...other than suffering the next class to watch others present he is DONE with his course work...still praying for a teaching job for the fall!!!!

Dinner was breakfast complete with toast...Toby then proceeded to empty most boxes on my pantry shelf...wheat thins, croutons and cereal...off to bed he goes.  The coffee table has become a fort...Duck Tales is the entertainment and the splinter has been removed from Noah's 5 mintues outstide today! 

All this and not a drop of caffine today...no wonder I have a headache!!!!!!  Bedtime is NOW and then I will clean up the kitchen/livingroom and put in a movie while I work on my journals for the mission trip!

The Summer Plan

This week is a fun week and a crazy week and a slow week all rolled into one.  We have been invited to a few graduation parties, graduations are this week and last days of school...but also we go into a more relaxed summer ministry schedule and will spend time planning out next year! 

We have a plan...not a grand one...but a plan none the less...b/c we are homschooling Keighley for Kinder this coming here (while keeping her in preschool at the same time) we are going to get a head start and do three units of her Social Studies this summer...we are going to do Egypt, Greece and Rome.  Noah is really excited that he gets to be part of it too!!!  Little do they know what we have planned!!!  Making a papermache pyrimd is just ONE of many surprised for them. 

Basically, we are planning on running an early childhood center out of our home for our kiddos this summer..water table, gardens, painting, Social Studies, languages...chinese for one!  As well as working on handwriting and reviewing for school next year...if there is one thing our kids are its hungry to learn new things!  We've reveled a little of our plan and they can't wait! 

We are most excited for my mom to come this summer...the kids have plans for G-ma and Pap!!  Zoo, pool, picnics, building track and much more.  Isaac asks everyday if we can go to the hotel where they will be living and see them! 

Well..we are off to the parties!!! 

A Pox on our house!

I knew way back in 2006 when we got kicked out of the Garden City Pedatircs for simply ASKING questions about the chicken pox vaccine that we'd be in trouble down the road...

When Isaac was two days out of the hosptial we had our first visit to the doctor...loved the practice b/c they were open 24/7 and had a call in that would call your prescritptions into the CVS for you etc... loved them... but our doctor was a little crazy... Isaac was our #3...so we knew a little more about babies by the time we got to our first appointment...

I was in 5th grade when I got the pox...it was the night Brian Boitono took the gold in the 88' winter olympics...and a bat flew around our house... the doctor made a house call....killed the bat and told me I had chicken pox!  He said it was a good thing b/c I would never get them again!!!  YAY for me...

Now...flash forward to 06'...I am wondering why not let this childhood illness just run it's course...it's natural immutity (GOD DESGINED at that) better than a synthetic one?  How long does the vaccnie work? Will they need booters later in life?  Isn't getting Pox as an adult far worse and called shingles?  and on the questions went..until the Doc finally said

"Well, if you aren't going to do it then you can't be part of our practice!"  Two days later we got a certified letter telling us the same thing!!!!  We felt like we had just been dumped by our jr. high date to the dance!!! 

We found another doc...a much better family practice and were all very happy...she gladly answered all my questions...calmed our fears and she simply said "It' like measles...they found a way to prevent it so why not!"  That made sense to me...and so they were vaccinated for chicken pox!!!

"Mommy, i have spots!" came the cry from Keighley yesterday...and sure enough up both legs, belly and back she has "spots"...Noah too...legs and arms...Isaac is just behind them... we called the doc. and her only opening today is at 3pm!!!!!!  But we kept them out of school...

I am glad they got them...I am happy that they will have a natural immunity to them...but in the mean time..I have three itchy kids...and Rick and I are both down with bad allergies...Toby seems to be the only one not affected!!!!! 

More to come!!!

Affirmed

They tell you that when you go into ministry of any kind that you shouldn't do it for the money or the fame...it's true..you shouldn't...ministry...youth ministry in particular is hard stuff.  A good friend once told us that if you can see youself doing ANYTHING else to do that...b/c ministry is just that taxing...you really need to be called....

Over the years we have found that to be true...Youth Ministry (YMIN) is not a money maker and hasn't made me famous...and it's been hard...we've been run out of town, I've been told my calling doesn't count and isn't really from God, I've been ditched by my sending organization and ever told, we've been led in circles, we've been misunderstood, we've had to defend ourselves to parents and pastors alike that having a standard is really a good thing...we've had to be blunt and bold...we've had to be humble and quiet...we've had to do it all...

YMIN isn't a job that you EVER expect to be reconized...it's the kind of job that everyone takes for granted and ignores unless something is going wrong...or something got destroyed!  So when you do get a nice complement you cherish it...I can live on a good complement from a parent for a good 6 months!!!  Like I said...YMIN won't make me famous..that's not why I signed on! 

This past weekend a wonderful thing happend to us...a card appeared in our mail box...it was a wonderful "THANK YOU" card...it said how great a job we are doing and that others in the church are noticing that the youth ministry is really impacting the lives of the youth and the church...and how they just wanted to let us know that we were loved and appreciated!!!!!  WOW!!!  Included was a gift certificate to a really really really nice resturant in town (enough to cover both our meals and dessert!!!)  

 The card was from the Sr. Pastor and his wife!!!!

We know with out a shadow of a doubt that we are CALLED into YMIN...we've tried to get out of it many times...and God always slams the door and says NO!    We also know that for this time in our lives, however long it may be, that we have been CALLED to this town, this church and these familes!!!  So, it was so wonderful of God to prompt our pastor to choose this time to affirm us... to let us know that God was right (he always is...but sometimes we question that!!)  and that he did bring us here to bloom and grow and we get to watch HIM work in these kids lives!!!!  

I'm good for awhile...Thank you Steve and Vickie!!!  Dinner was wonderful!!!

26,000

• Each day, over 26,000 children under the age of 5 die from preventable diseases such as malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and acute respiratory infections. Malnutrition is associated with over half of those deaths.
• More than 840 million people in the world don't get enough to eat.  That's one of every seven people on the planet.
• 143 million children under age 5 in the developing world are underweight because of poor nutrition.  That's about one in three children in developing countries.
• In the last 50 years, 400 million people worldwide have died from hunger and poor sanitation. That's three times the number of people killed in all wars fought in the entire 20th century.
• Moderately underweight children are more than four times more likely to die from infectious disease than are well-nourished children.  And under-nutrition contributes to 53 percent of deaths among children under 5 globally.
• Countries in which a large portion of the population battles hunger daily are usually poor and often lack the social safety nets we enjoy, such as soup kitchens, food stamps, and job training programs.  When a family that lives in a poor country cannot grow enough food or earn enough money to buy food, there is nowhere to turn for help.
• Of the 6.6 billion people in today's world, 2.1 billion live on less than $2 per day.

.  This weekend we did something about that!!  21 of us fasted (went with out eating any food) for 30 hours to raise awareness and money for World vision to help children and families get food, schooling, clean water, proper sanitation and medicine!  Our total $$ count isn't it yet..but so far we have raised a little less than $1000! 

The cost of a download for your iPod = food, shelter and care for 1 child for 1 day

The cost of going out to eat = food, shelter and care for 1 child for 1 month.

The cost of a gaming system (wii, XBox etc.) = food, shelter and care for 1 child for ONE YEAR!!! 

We were all hungry,and tired..but very excited b/c our efforts will make a difference in at least 3 kids lives.  We all learned something new about hunger, poverty, AIDS, malaria, and what world Vision is doing all over the world.  We learned that hunger and poverty isn't just something that happens "over there"...but happens right here in the States.  

To learn more check this out: www.30hourfamine.org  there is a great video clip on the home page!! 

I am EXHAUSTED!!  I am so very proud of these kids.  They are amazing and they MADE A DIFFERENCE!!!!

 

 

Spring

when I was a kid my mom always planted....flowers, veggies, herbs, tea....Im not entirely sure why she loves to garden, but she does..still does in fact!  One of our many jobs on Saturdays and in the summer was to help plant, weed and of course water.  All three of these I loathed!  Gardening just wasn't an activity that I enjoyed. 

It was always hot, messy, wet....the weeds were annoying and always seemed to overtake the garden.  One year, I asked if I could plant some wildflowers...we got this great tube of mixed seeds and I planted them....it was great..they all bloomed and I rarely had to weed that patch...simply b/c we didn't know which were weeds and which would be flowers!  That's my kind of garden!!!

Here's the thing though and I can't seem to put my finger on it other than "Im becoming my mom"... I wouldn't mind becoming my mom...she's a great woman....

but I just can't figure out WHY ON EARTH I PLANTED A GARDEN!!!!  Not just one....but FOUR!!!!

I planted squash, tomatos, peppers, cucumbers, sunflowers, wildflowers, zenias and daisies.  We did a small pot of mixed herbs and the kids pumpkin seeds are EXPLODING with potential pumpkins!!!!   Not only did I plant THREE Gardens (kids can be so cute!)  But I did it with excitement...and it was really hard work... the ground around our house is super hard to dig up....it took me two Saturdays to get it all done. 

The kids are super excited...they LOVE watching the progress in thier gardens.  Everything (but the peppers) is sprouting and growing.  The Sunflowers are supposed to get to be over 5 feet tall!!!  Noah's garden has tomatos growing as well as cucumbers.  When I asked Isaac what he wanted to plant he said "Blue flowers...but I don't want the bees to come!"  Well, sorry kiddo...flowers=bees...but we did plant blue flowers....(he has the wildflower patch!!!) 

Nature?  Nurture?  Family culture?  I am leaning toward the third one...it's just what you do in the spring...you plant things..you grow things..you make your kids help with the hard work!!!

The really great thing is that Rick rigged up a sprinkler system b/c we also planted grass...and it waters most of the gardens and flowers!!!  Keighley and Noah both help pull weeds and we are all enjoying watching things grow. 

Spring has sprung in Texas...gardens and all!

The Gift that almost wasn't...

Living here in TX has its benefits!  Car insurance is almost 50% less expensive than PA, our mortgage is 200% less than MA, and we have Noah at one of the best schools in the whole of the district!  We are doing well here in smalltownville!  But...money is always tight and costs continue to rise for food, pre-school and gas.  Just last week we found out that pre-school for the three youngest will go up by $40 per child next year!!!!!! 

When we first got here last year the Sr. Pastor at the time somehow got us into our churches pre-school using $$ from a Pastor's only fund.  It was a generous gift and allowed us to work and get settled and have the kids totally taken care of M-F til noon!!!! 

When the new Sr. Pastor got here mid-June, he had other uses for that $$ and we were told that we'd have to start paying...well, that took a few months to figure out and he also tried to negotiate a discount for church staff and told us that we were OK until the new budget was passed...the discount was vetoed in the preschool board (not the church board!!) and at the end of Jan. the new budget was passed...we did get a nice raise but not enough to cover the cost of Keighley and Isaac's preschool. 

RIck started subbing and God is good we are able to cover their costs!  WHEW!!!!  Well, there was a miscommunication about January's payment...we thought we were covered for Jan and come to find out that we weren't...we were brainstorming with ways to pay for it when we recived a gift from a few members in the church ($320) in CASH!!!! WOW, AMAZING....what a generous and well timed gift!!!!

The Sunday night the envelope was handed to me was a crazy one...we had our kids to get in the van, youth group kids to see off, stuff to load up, papers to be handled, Adult leaders with questions and so on...the envelope made it into the van and then disappeared!!

It was gone...vanished...not in the van, not in the office, youth room, bedroom, other van, garbage, under the couch, in Noah's piggy bank, in Keighley's basket, in the bathroom, kids room, kitchen, front porch, recycling....it wasn't ANYWHERE!!!

A stoney silence came over the house as Rick and I really wanted to cast blame on the other and we couldn't...we couldn't remember who had handled it last....I had opened it, but Rick had cleaned out the van...I had unloaded stuff but Rick had cleaned off our kitchen shelf that keeps all our paperwork... ARRGGGRRGGG....it was very stressful....

A few days ago I decided to make spring rolls for dinner...needed to check the recipe and make sure I got the right stuff...as I opened the cookbook out slide an envelope....THE envelope...full of cash!!!!!

That dreaded night of long ago, we had made cookies in youth group to illustrate a point and I had my cookbook there...one of us must have put it inside for safe keeping...it found its way back on the shelf...but not remembered when the search was on....

So, with much relief and much gratefulness we have our wonderful gift.  RIck and I made up...and life continues on here in smalltownville TX!

A long time ago I used to blog all the time....

And then I got on Facebook....

We are doing well.  Here is the major run down...

Rick: He is almost done with is 3rd class for his certification.  He only has one more to go and one more test to take and he is "highly qualified" and will start applying to schools.  The first test he took he had studied for and even had taken a practice test.  He scored well on the practice test but was nervous going into the real thing.  The test cost a nice chuck of money and he didn't want to have to re-take it.  Well, he got a 96% on the test!!!!!  

Two weeks ago this Monday Rick, being the best daddy inthe world, rolled his ankle pretty badly.  In fact, I have never seen such a bad sprain....it swelled up to be HUGE and bruised for a good four days.  He was on crutches for a week and now is still limping, but the swelling is gone!  The biggest praise was that we got crutches for free!  Here in town, the Senior center has a medical equipment borrowing program.  We just signed them out and have to return them when we are done!  PRIASE GOD...b/c we don't have insurance....

Noah: Is loving being six.  He talks about "When I was five...." He is so creative and imaginitive...he is always working on a project, writing a book, drawing in his sketch book, reading, exploring, or playing make believe with his brother and sister.  He loves school and also was accepted into the Gifted and Talented program for next year.  He is reading like a champ....he's one of the best readers in the whole kindergarden.  Currently, his favorite thing to do is watch Mythbusters with daddy!

Keighley: Is momements away from reading on her own.  She loves pre-school and her teacher..Ms. Della is the best and really encourages Keighley to think outside the box.  For valentines day Keighley didn't want to just write her classmates names on a store bought little card...nope.... so she spent an hour cutting out hearts (by herself!!!) Writing TO and FROM on each one!  SHe was the only kid to make her own....it was super sweet!  Keighley can't wait to start Kindergarden...she is super excited that I am going to be her teacher...she will still attend pre-school...but we will start Kinder for her in the fall...between my mom and my good friend Carrie I am confident that we will have a good homeschool experience with her. 

Isaac: Continues to be All Thomas all the time...he simply loves this toy (THANK YOU UNCLE DALE!)  He is now at the age of building his own track and teaching Toby to do the same...they had a decent track built the other day.  He is still doing great on the potty...we have to remember to get him up before we go to bed...but other than that is awesome.  He loves to huggle and adores his big sister.  He too loves pre-school and is starting to write his own name! 

Toby: He is officall walking 95% of the time.  He does not like the grass...but he will walk on it!  He is talking more and more every day...He hates to be left out of anything...and still loves a good huggle with mommy... in the coming weeks we will switch out the crib for his 1st bed...the others have all made the switch...Keighley is now on a top bunk..Noah on the loft and Isaac on the bottom bunk...soon Toby will get a matress on the floor under the loft.  

Me: I am doing well..enjoying our job and loving getting to know all the girls!  Easter is upon us and I have much to do...Between the kids, work, and facebook (smile) I am busy..but its a fun busy.  We are doing great! 

What's new with all of you?

All about us....

In honor of our 10 years together I'd thought I'd share a few little things about us...(we've been together 10 years as of Feb. 7th....)

What are your middle names?
Ann and James Obed

How long have you been together?
Together for 10 married for almost 9

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
We met Spring of 98 and started dating Spring of 99'. 

Who asked whom out?
He asked me. 

How old are each of you?
Im 32 and He's 31

Whose siblings do you see the most?
We live a few thousands miles away from our families...all but Rick's brother Chris who we see about twice a month!

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Nothing is really all that hard....but it gets stressful juggling four kids and two jobs....

Did you go to the same school?
Highschool no...college YES!

Are you from the same home town?
No. He grew up in Allentown PA and I grew up in Mechanicsburg Pa

Who is smarter?
He knows anything....but Im always right!

Who is the most sensitive?
We both are pretty sensitive...he's more sentimental...

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Chinese or Chili's....there not many options in Seguin.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Chaing Mai Thailand

Who has the craziest exes?
That is a toss up

Who has the worst temper?
Certainly me.  But its a new thing post kids!

Who does the cooking?
Me most all of the time, but RIck usually does breakfast!

Who is the neat-freak?
Rick all the way...but he's loosing up!

Who is more stubborn?
Me.  No question.

Who hogs the bed?
#1 reason why we have a King Sized bed

Who wakes up earlier?
Toby!

Where was your first date?
Beauty and the Beast on Broadway!!!

Who is more jealous?
Neither.

How long did it take to get serious?
We were engaged 6 weeks after we started dating

Who eats more?
I eat more at meal time...but he snacks all day long!

Who does the laundry?
Even split...whoever is home when the basket is full...

Who's better with the computer?
RICK!!!!

Who drives when you are together?
Rick drives...he's a great driver!!!

That's a little insight into us...we are pretty normal!!!  Still madly in love and still loving our family!!

Can I just be done?

Today was a crazy day in a not really crazy way...I mean it started off just fine...normal even.  Rick was subbing...we slept in and rushed out the door...Got Noah to school...came home put a load of dishes in the dishwasher and off to work/pre-school we went. 

Did my normal Wednesday routine at work....planned Sunday Night Youth Group, emailed the program out to the adult leaders, got the bullitn stuff submitted, got a mailer out about Spring Break, kept Tornado Toby from destorying the office...witnessed him take his 1st MAJOR walk...the entire length of the office!!!!  Chatted with a few co-workers...answered emails, phone calls and messages...prepped for Bible Study tonight...and came home at noon

I fed kiddos lunch, did another load of dishes, unsucessfully put kids down for naps, took a nap myself, cleaned up the living room...twice...got Noah from school had dinner on the table by 4:30 so Rick can leave for class by 5:15...chatted with Rick for 20 minutes and cleaned up from dinner. 

Got Noah to do his homework...I HATE COUNTING HOMEWORK...HE HATES COUNTING HOMEWORK...Seriously how many times can I get him to sit and write 1-100...he's bored with it and he takes 45 minutes b/c he's bored...so tonight he counted backwards from 100-80 and then filled in the chart vertically....he had fun!!!  Finished prepping for Bible Study...got kids ready to go to nursury...

Got to church NO CHILD CARE FOR THE SECOND WEEK IN A ROW!!!!!!!!!!!!  Can't tell you how frustrating it is to show up with promised child care and then the child care workers (who are paid staff!!!) do not show up!!!  Got kids settled in game room with video...ran bible study....listened to Toby the Tornado and Isaac trash said game room...had three awesome youth help me clean it up!!! Came home...cleaned up playroom and stuffed animal mess...put four very tired kiddos to bed...

I am blogging...will check FB and will grab a drink (lemonaid not something stronger...) and a snack and wait for Rick to come home from class!!! 

GOOD NIGHT!!!