Pep Band Premier!

This isn't the greatest picture, but I think its fun. And if we end up at LCS for years and years, it will be special to look back on. We had our first home football game on Friday, which means Pep Band! There were a few glitches that we'll work out, but the kids were GREAT!! They are talented musicians, really neat kids, and many are quick to pitch in and help moving and setting up equipment without even being asked which makes my job MUCH easier!

Update...

Just a quick update from our house....actually, from my office! The kids are in school all day long, but I only teach in the mornings. So, in the afternoons, I usually hang out in my office getting all of the work done that should have been done this summer. Once I get caught up, I hope to use the time a little more productively, but for now I'm still playing catch-up.

The kids are coming around slowly but surely. Andrew is great - and has been since day #1. He now insists that I drop him off at the front door so he can go in by himself like all of the other kids. Then, I go around the curve and park, then the rest of us get out and walk in together. Funny guy! Alex is doing alright, but would still rather be home. We're making sure we get plenty of snuggle time in the mornings and the evenings, and I go down to see them all at noon recess each day. Amanda is still not sold at all. She is realizing how good she had it with homeschooling and she wants to go back. One bright note, though, (no pun intended!) is that she is getting to play the cello which she has fallen in love with!

We're all really looking forward to a long weekend and a short week! The band has their first Pep Rally and Football game this Friday - that will be fun!

Thanks for your prayers - keep 'em comin' please! The transition is still very difficult, but we can see God working.

TGIF

The kids had never heard of "TGIF" before - and have certainly never appreciated it! When we were snuggling this morning before getting ready for school, we taught them what it stood for and it sure has lots of meaning to us today! We've survived the week and it actually has turned out well....the kids all had a great day today and are settling in nicely. We stopped at a big McDonalds playland after school to celebrate. It was fun for me to see the three of them playing together again!

We are going to do absolutely NOTHING all week-end and I am looking forward to that for sure!!

Better

I am happy to report that things were better today for all of us. We are all growing and learning a lot through these changes. The faculty and staff have been very faithful to pray for us - they are a great group of people who love the Lord and love teaching, too.

D-Day

Today was D-Day for us .... the first day of school. We survived, but it was a little rough at times. I told someone that it was very much like sending your kid off to Kindergarten...only I am doing all three of them at once - and I have had an extra 10 years to get attached to having them around!

First thing in the morning, we gathered together in the entryway of the elementary school with all of the kids, staff, and parents and prayed together and sang together - and I cried and cried. I found one kid crying at lunch time and the guidance counselor said that another one was crying and asking for me in the afternoon. At one point in the afternoon, I found myself locked in a bathroom stall crying myself!! :-) For those of you who are homeschooling now, let me encourage you to CHERISH the time you have with your kids....no matter HOW crazy they are driving you and how much you have to battle with them to get their work done!! Anyway, for the most part, everything was good, although a couple of the kids had some rough spots to work through. And, by the time picked them up, Andrew said "Mom - that was SO AWESOME!! Could we come back again tomorrow?". Leave it to Andrew to lighten the mood for all of us!

Please continue to pray for our adjustment. We still completely feel that God has placed us there for a purpose, and that helps us to get through the tough times.

Ta-da!

Here he is with the new glasses! He is doing VERY well with them so far...takes them off every night, puts them on every morning...and has only ALMOST lost them once so far. He has 2 pair -these rounder ones, then he has a more square pair that are just like Daddy's! Thanks, Dr. Williams!!

Irony

OK, I think it is pretty ironic that now when there is SO MUCH going on around here and I have lots to write about....I also have ZERO time to write about it. :-) I have been at school every day this week - 5th grade band camp, plus faculty meetings and trying to get things somewhat ready for the first day of school on Monday. The kids and Bruce have been great - Bruce took off Wednesday to stay with the kids, the boys have tagged along and been very patient, Amanda has made a few extra meals. Good team work! :-) I start on Monday with the Jr/Sr High kids, and then the Elementary kids will start on Tuesday. We're all stocked up on convenience foods to pack lunches (although no more Spaghetti O's....they weren't really a big hit after all) and thanks to Grandma, we're all set in some fun new clothes to wear, too!

Spaghetti O's and Coke Zero

I knew things were going to be changing around here, but already there are things happening that I didn't see coming. Yesterday, there were two of them. First, I ALWAYS have can of pop sometime in the morning....Coke Zero - either Vanilla or Cherry. But, we started band camp at LCS and yesterday and I was out of my routine. At about 2:00, I realized that I had NOT had any pop all day so far....and you know what, I was OK! Might just be the start of a new GOOD habit. Then, yesterday afternoon I was grocery shopping to get organized for packing lunches and guess what I found in my cart.....a can of Spaghetti O's! When I got them home, Andrew had to ask me what they were - I have NEVER bought Spaghetti O's. I'm not a total health food nut, but I do work hard to try to keep us eating fairly healthy, but I really don't think any of my kids have EVER had them. Wonder what other changes we'll find today. :-)

Did you love Facing the Giants?

I just found out about a new movie coming out in September. It's by the makers of Facing the Giants, so if you loved it like we did, then you'll be excited about this!! It is a message about divorce-proofing your marriage and looks to be another good one! It says they also made another movie called Flywheel....have any of you seen it?

Glasses!

All 3 kids had eye appointments yesterday and Mr. Andrew came home with a prescription for glasses!! We have known for a full year that this was coming, so it wasn't a surprise at all. Just in time for school!

Back to school.....BIG TIME!!

Back to school has BIG meaning at our house these days! After 12 years of being out of the classroom, and 11 years of homeschooling, the kids and I are ALL going to school! I accepted a teaching position at Lincoln Christian School and the kids will be joining me there starting in 2 short weeks. We are excited, nervous, thankful, scared, overwhelmed, and a myriad of other emotions...but are feeling a great sense of peace that this is just what God has planned for us. I wasn't looking for a job, and we weren't really looking to send our kids to school, but all of the pieces (and there were many!) have just perfectly fallen into place to make this work.

It will surely be a major adjustment for us in many ways, and we'd appreciate your prayers during this transition. We can't wear our jammies all morning long, we'll have to pack our lunches and won't be here to have lunch with Bruce each day, our dog Molly is going to have to get used to being home alone a lot more, and I'm going to have to write up lesson plans and turn in report cards. I'll have Pep Band at the football and basketball games and the kids will have homework to do. All that, and I have NO idea when I'm going to do the laundry or clean the house...I better get on the FlyLady website and get to work on my control journal!

We LOVE George

We love Curious George at our house - Most days, you can find all 5 of us snuggled up in front of the TV laughing at what George has gotten himself into this time! PBS runs it 3 times a day, first at 8am, so we can start our day with George, then again at noon so we can have lunch with George, and finally at 5:30, so we can end our day and begin our evening with George. (apparently we're not the only ones who love George if they're running it that often!) If you've had a stressful day and just need a laugh, I highly recommend a half hour of monkey fun! There is NOTHING like it! :-)

In the toughest times

I have a friend whose little boy has battled health problems all his life, is now in Minnesota at the hospital, and has just undergone his second brain surgery in a few days. Their faith in a powerful and loving God has gotten them through this in a way that is just amazing to me. They remind me of my friends in Loup City whose son lost a long battle with leukemia Watching their faith through the toughest of circumstances had a huge impact on my decision to give my life to Jesus 7 years ago. Life is way too hard and makes no sense otherwise. In Patty's update below, she asks us to tell of God's goodness...and right now I think she does it WAY better than just about anybody could.


Dear All,
Adam is out of surgery. The surgeon said everything went as planned. After he wakes up enough to breath on his own he will go to the intensive care unit overnite. The next few days will be rough recovering from the 6.5 hour procedure in addition to the surgery earlier in the week. He will probably be in the hospital for about a week depending on how he recovers.
Praise God that he has made it through the surgery safely. Pray for freedom from complications, minimal pain and quick recovery of motor function which is sometimes lost temporarily.
He is a tough little guy who continually amazes us. I read about angels today. The Bible tells us that they are strong, tough creatures capable of amazing feats. Adam speaks of his angels sometimes. I know those powerful creatures, which God created to do his will, were there with him today protecting him when his daddy and I couldn't. It is an awesome priveledge to witness the power of God as we have this week. Our lives are forever changed.
Tell someone about how God has worked in your life. There are so many people hoping someone cares about them. Tell them about a God who if faithful and whose love is endless, boundless, limitless, has no depth nor height.

Workin' Girl

Amanda has turned into a bit of a workin' girl lately and is pretty excited about it....and making some $$ doesn't hurt either! She spent most all of Saturday working for the Dad of a friend, and then yesterday she had her first real babysitting job. She had a great time doing both and is excited to have the money to buy the new Eragon book that comes out in September. :-)

Family, Friends, and FUN!

The kids and I took off for a few days and had a great time! We went to Pawnee to stay with my folks. The first picture is Amanda and Alex at the barn...playing with the kitties! Farm life seems pretty cool to my "big city kids" and they just love it out there. Uncle Jerry gave both of the boys a ride on his dirt bike and then let them even try it out themselves. And, they all got to ride on Pa's lawnmower. Amanda mowed the area where they always play croquet, Andrew got to cruise around on it, and Alex got to help Pa move this big branch that had fallen in the front yard. One day, we went into town to have lunch with Grandma, say hello to the people at her office, and to tour Pawnee.

On our way home, we stopped in Beatrice. We visited lots of friends and drove by the houses that we used to live in. That second picture is the big playground at the Y in Beatrice. Alex showed us the exact spot where he fell and broke his arm so many years ago....and he remembered a little more of the story. All this time, we'd always heard that he was just walkinig along and fell and broke it. He admits now that he was actually climbing over that fence and fell. Interesting! :-)

Good times never seemed so good!

Our "Summer with the Saltdogs" continues and we LOVE it! Sweet Caroline is the theme song this year and we are singing it around our house all the time..."Good times never seemed so good - So Good! So Good! So Good!" (I suppose you do have to hear it to appreciate it!)

This is the last game we were at - we came home with 4 balls, some autographs, and some fun stories!

Amanda Bond, DVM???

If you ask Amanda what she wants to be when she grows up, she will tell you that she thinks she'd like to be a veterinarians assistant. She wants to do all the "good stuff" with the animals, but doesn't ever want to have to put one to sleep, so she thinks that if she's just the "assistant", she won't have to do that part. I don't know if she's right or not, but I do know that she spent a good, long time playing vet at the Children's Museum. She took care of lots of sick and wounded critters and helped lots of them get adopted into good homes....and was just beaming the whole time!

Children's Museum Fun

Alex has been watching too many X Games and playing video games where guys do "cool" stunts!
My sabre-tooth tiger boy....doesn't really look TOO scary, does he?
Andrew spent most of his day at the ATM making withdrawls of large amounts of cash. Think that's something I should be worried about?
My "big girl" had a blast making creations out of tinker toys.

We spent 6 hours at the Children's Museum yesterday - and has SO much fun! We hadn't been there in quite awhile, and honestly, I thought the kids had maybe almost outgrown it. But, apparently I was WRONG! We played and played, then took a break for lunch at Noodles, then played some more....until they kicked us out and locked the doors!

Like Father, Like Son

I have NOTHING to say about these pictures.....will just let them speak for themselves!!

Self Portrait

Guess who got ahold of the camera and decided to do a self portrait?