The Next Chapter

Tomorrow begins a new chapter in the life of our family. Jonathon begins middle school and Clarissa will begin 2nd grade. Jonathon is relatively excited but those nasty nerves did creep up some tonight. I know he's going to be fine. He has several friends going to the same middle school and has walked his schedule several times. I am excited about this phase in his life. As I've said before, it's been quite interesting watching it develop. Girlfriends (or should I say girlfriend), friends, activities - it's all a part of this phase. I remember praying for all of these people in his life right now the night he as born....I just had no idea it would come so soon. As much as I feel a bit nervous and teary eyed for him, I can't because I'm so excited to see how he's going to soar in Middle School. Below is his sling bag that he will be carrying from class to class. It looks so collegiate............

Clarissa will probably never forget the start of her 2nd grade school year. She is wearing a bright pink cast. We learned last week that she has bones fusing together in her foot and the orthopedic surgeon is trying to prevent surgery by using a cast for at least 6 weeks. She has gotten pretty good with her crutches and will be in a wheelchair while at school. Even though she gets tired and her armpits are sore....she is super extra excited about starting school! She has mentioned a few times about being scared because her brother won't be there but I kind of think she's just trying to make him feel good.

So, the clothes are ironed (thanks to Sal), the school supplies all packed and ready to go, lunches are being made and prayers have been said - the morning is on its way. With every new chapter in life comes many changes. I know my kiddos are going to do a lot of changing this year but one thing that will never ever change, is how very much I love them and how very proud I am to be MOM to both of them! Happy Back to School to everyone!

Unusual things about me

I received this email and thought it might turn into an interesting blog activity. I've been so busy that it has taken me a little while to complete as you can tell by the publish date (today is really 8/23)

So here goes....
1. Do you like blue cheese? On a good salad, absolutely!

2. Favorite T.V Series? Is American Idol a series??? Law and Order SVU

3. Do you own a gun? No, only nerf guns here!

4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? lemons

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointment? yes

6. What do you think of hot dogs? They're ok every now and then - love 'em on the grill!

7. Favorite Christmas movie? The Polar Express

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Juice or Water

9. Can you do pushups? only if my life depended on it and even then......it's a good thing I have eternal life!

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? my wedding ring

11. First boyfriends name? Dakota

12. Favorite hobby? my computer

13. Any Birthmarks? no

14. Do you have A.D.D.? no

15. What's one trait you hate about yourself? My stubborness

16. Middle name? Diann

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. I should be in bed - I'm thirsty- I'm tired.

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday: shaved ice, PTA memberships, yearbook

19. Do you like your job? yes, 9 days out of 10!

20. What happened to #20????......beats me!

21. Current Dislikes? chapped lips

22. Favorite place to be? home w/ my family

23. How did you bring in the New Year? I think w/ friends but I really don't remember!

24. Where would you like to go? Alaska

25. Name three people who will complete this? who knows?

26. Do you own slippers? yes

27. What shirt are you wearing? a yellow one

28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? yes

29. Biggest Pet Peeve? chewing gum and sounding like a smacking cow

30. Favorite color? Red or Hot Pink

31. Would you be a pirate? No

32. What songs do you sing in the shower? I usually don't sing in the shower

33. Kids? 2

34. Favorite boy's name? Jonathon

35. What's in your pocket right now? I don't have pockets right now

36. Last thing that made you laugh? Jonathon tickled me

37. WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS QUESTION??? It's looking for #20.

38. Worst Injury you have ever had? tore my Achilles tendon

39. Do you love where you live? for the most part

40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 3

41. Who is your loudest friend? Pam

42. How many dogs do you have? 2

43. Does anyone have a crush on you? he better, he's been married to me for almost 17 years

!44. Favorite Candy? Whatchamacallit

45. What is your favorite book(s)? Besides the Bible? I guess it would be The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

46. What is your favorite store? hmmmm....I really don't know

47. Favorite Sports Team? Texas Tech football!

48. What song(s) do you want played at your funeral? It is Well

49. What were you doing 12 AM last night? sleeping

50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? I should stay in bed longer!

Feel free to copy and paste on your blog or an email! Now yo0u know a few unusual things about me!

Lifes little Conveniences!

On Saturday afternoon, we noticed that our air conditioner was making a "funny noise". Sal didn't seem extremely concerned at first. He was scheduled to fly to Dallas on Sunday afternoon and I made the comment to him that I was going to be highly irritated if he left and the air conditioner went out while he was gone. So, not wanting me to be irritated, I guess, he called his maintenance man from the office and he advised Sal to spray WD-40 on the blades of the blower fan,. Well of course, we were out of WD-40 and so Sal went to buy some. He came home and sprayed away, turned the AC back on and the noise was WORSE! Yeah, that one didn't work! By early afternoon, the noise was gone because the blower fan had completely STOPPED! That's right! No AC for us! We went to bed Saturday night at midnight and at 1:15 were up because we so hot that finding a breath was difficult! We had all ceiling fans running full blast only to blow around the hot air! OH, I failed to mention that Clarissa had had the stomach bug all day and so I'm sure at this point that we're all going to be sick because the germs are cooking and multiplying!

Sunday morning found us breaking a sweat while getting ready for church! We broke out the telephone book to find a repairman. Sal called several people who offered 24 hour service! Yeah right! We went to the early service and kindly sat on the back row so no one would be offended if we smelled. During service I bluntly told the Lord that I was so glad I was assured a spot in heaven because I had gotten a very small glimpse of the heat in Hell and I in no way wanted a part of that! We had lunch and came home to finish getting Sal ready to leave. A few people called but wanted Sal's arm, leg and our first born to come look at the AC PLUS they told us that the part would be over $400! He called some more people and through some family members, he ended up finding a man that was such a blessing! This gentleman came out Sunday afternoon to assess the problem and tried to at least get the AC working so that we wouldn't cook overnight. He couldn't but at least he tried!

I took Sal to the airport and tried not to be too upset that we was about to stay in an air conditioned hotel room! The repairman wasn't going to return until Monday afternoon to fix the AC so the kids and I loaded up and was accommodated by some good friends who let us spend the night at their house. The AC was back on by 3:00 and we were so thankful! However, I was MORE than thankful when our total cost was under $200! Wow! Sal didn't have to sacrifice his limbs and Jonathon got to stay with us! Hallelujah! How thankful I am today to be blessed with the convenience of air conditioning. I know there are many people in the world without such convenience and how I feel for them!

Lessons on Life

This week has been so busy. I've been at school trying to get my room ready for the year, the kids have been attending VBS at our "old" church, Clarissa has had doctor's appointments, and then there was just "life" to contend with. However, through it all, God found (as He always does) those moments to teach me something. Here are a few of the lessons I learned this week.

1. While working in my classroom I had a knock at the door, it was one of my former students. Wow! He now towers over me, his voice is MUCH deeper and he told me that he'd be going into the 8th grade this year. As we talked, I reminded him of how he got angry with me one day and told me he hated my class. He refused that he had ever said that and then proceeded to tell me that he would have never said that because my class was his favorite so far in his school career. Wow! That meant alot to me to hear. Lesson - Just when I was dreading the school year, God brought a kid that I haven't seen in at least a year and a half, to say some very powerful words. It made me realize that I do make a difference and that God does have a plan for me there!
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2. The kids and I went to lunch one day this week at one of our favorite places, a local Japanese steakhouse. They wre getting close to closing for the afternoon and a young man was going around cleaning all of the grills. He came to ours to clean (while we were still eating) and it bothered me a bit but I didn't say anything. I was putting my food and Jonathon's in a "to go" box and Clarissa was still eating. THEN, I looked up to see him SPRAYING a cleaner onto the grill! That was too much for me so I said "Sir, could you please not do that while my daughter is eating" - There was silence........by him and by my kids............everyone just sat and waited for an answer........finally he said (with a roll of his eyes), OK. And went back to scrubbing the grill. GRRRRrrrrrr, I really wanted him to stop cleaning while we were there! Clarissa quickly said she was done and we were on our way. We got into the car and Jonathon said, "MOM, I can't believe you said that to him!" So, I spent the next five minutes trying to explain to Jonathon that when a Mother feels something is wrong and could harm one of her children, it is her JOB to speak up. I told him it was my job to protect my kids. He didn't care as much about me protecting him as he did that I had embarrassed him! Lesson - These preteen and teenage years are going to be fun.......I'll be protecting and he'll be humiliated! However, he did tell me he was glad that I was always looking out for them!

3. Last night Clarissa was praying before she went to bed and I heard her say, ".....and please help my Mom to stay around because I love her so much." She continued praying and I heard her say, "......that would be cool God". Lesson - It's nice to know that someone wants you around and that they actually PRAY for it and that God is the God of yesterday, tomorrow, and TODAY because I know that he understands what she means by "cool". There are too many people that try to use "proper prayer language" and it was so sweet to hear her just talking to God!

So, those were my lessons for the week, or at least the ones that stuck out the most! Look around, there's always someone or something to learn from!