Ink

Ok, family. I have a problem I need help with. On Wednesday, I had a cap come off a pen in my back pocket. I was wearing a light weight long-sleeve buttondown shirt over a tshirt and when I took it off there were a couple of big ink spots on it. I washed it out in the sink right away as much as I could. I have now washed it in a color-safe bleach and with a stain remover and neither have hardly touched it. It is now going through the washer after a treatment of hairspray and a toothbrush. What's my next option? Those are about all I know about and I'll be up to about anything. It's an AVON shirt that I really like and I don't want to lose it.

By the way, tonight we are going to a band concert that Rachel is in. Tomorrow starts spring break after a half day of school.

Buck's gone

I know I usually write about what our family is up to but just had to take a minute to make sure that everyone had seen the news: Buck Owens died on Saturday. I'm bummed. Just saying the names brings back so many memories. I can't believe it but I have actually seen that they are putting seasons of Hee Haw out on DVD. I think that would be a rather fun collection to have.

Well, I am rather overwhelmed this week and have been for a while. Mark's mom and dad were here over the weekend. Rachel participated in the Awana games on Saturday and our team took third place. (Stephen was an alternate because we had too many boys.) I'm busy with Avon, taxes, sending out info to his family about their family reunion this year, and packing. The kids and I will be leaving next Monday to spend spring break in Alpena so that the contractors can come in and put in the new windows and do the inside painting. I have to have everything in the house 5 feet from any work area, which means every window. Fortunately, they have given us some exceptions to the 5 foot rule such as our waterbed but we have lots of windows so this is a lot of work. This also means any other valuables in the house need packed and out of sight. What a major case of "spring cleaning" we are attempting to do!

Gotta run. I hope to be able to blog again before we leave but am not promising. Maybe I can use mom's computer to do an update while I'm up there. I'll have to be on her computer to place an Avon order anyway.

Survived...with help

We have all survived an extremely hectic week but only with the help of Mom. I was running so much last week that I didn't even check the email on somedays till the kids were in bed for the night.
There is a Women's Expo in town every year and my upline has a booth which she needs help manning. That also involves lots of prep work on our part. It is a great opportunity to really give a boost to our Avon businesses. That was Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But I had 600 packets of catalogs and flyers to prep before Thursday so they could be at the booth at setup. I worked the booth on Friday during the day and Sunday between church services.
The same weekend is a church ministries conference. It is on Friday evening and most of the day on Saturday. It is really a wonderful experience with lots of practical ideas to help with our church ministries. Our church covers the cost for any that want to go and I really needed the encouragement so that is where I was on Friday evening and Saturday.
Mom came down on Thursday to watch the kids so Mark and I could go to the conference. She also watched Joshua while I was at the Women's Expo on Friday. She helped with laundry and started the packing of items for us to get ready for the lead work.
It was a beautiful weekend weatherwise. Saturday was nice enough that Mom and the kids walked to a nearby park and stayed for about 2 hours. Even yesterday it was around 65 around lunch time. Then the wind kicked up and now we woke up to a light groundcover of snow. Windchills are in the teens and windter has returned. Hopefully, my hyacinths that started to come up over the weekend will survive ok.
Now, of course, there is followup to do of contacts that we have from the Women's Expo plus keeping up with the everyday work needing done around here. I believe though that I was able to earn an overnight trip to Avon's branch in Morton Grove, IL. They call it a "Queen for a Day" tour of the Avon headquarters. Even if I didn't, I have almost doubled the size of the unit I have in just the last month or so. If my leadership checks stay consistant or go up then I'll be giving up 1 Advance route soon. If I keep 1 route it will be Rachel's and we will transfer it to her name as soon as she is old enough.
No word yet as to when the lead work is going to be done. I had 1 contracter come through to get info for the bid another was scheduled but didn't show yet. I have a lot of running to do but am not looking forward to it in this weather. I'd rather stay right here.
This weekend is going to be a little quieter but not much. Rachel is part of a solo & ensemble competition with kids from other charter schools in the area on Saturday and then there is also practice for the Awana games on Saturday and this is Mark's week to work on Saturday.
Well, that's about all the news from here.

Busy weekend!

This is going to be a busy weekend, not that most of them aren't. It's just that this one actually has a lot scheduled. Most of the time it is just busy with household stuff that can happen whenever we get to it over the weekend.
Rachel and Stephen are going to be in rough shape by Sunday. I'm pretty sure of it. They are going to a "Camp Out" at church tonight with the Awana leaders. They are supposed to be picked up by 9 a.m. but they are also part of the Awana games that will be happening at the end of the month so they have practice from 10-noon. We asked if we really had to pick them up for the hour or if we could just leave them there and were told that they could just be left there. So after the camp out they will be spending at least 2 hours practicing all these running games. Then Stephen has a birthday party to go to from 2-3:45 at a gymnastics studio. They have all sorts of tramps and bungies, etc. so I don't think this will be a "sedate" party by any means.
The kids' school carnival is tomorrow too from 1-4 but I don't think we will be making it. I haven't volunteered and feel a little bad because I haven't even baked any cakes for the cake walk but just don't know when I would have found the time or money.
I'm actually going to spend the day at the Muskegon mall with some other Avon reps. We are going to be trying to sign people up to sell Avon. I have a unit underneath me that is doing rather well. Right now though there is an extra incentive to earn a trip to Chicago. My leadership checks that I get from having a unit are starting to really look rather nice but need to get a bit bigger to really help out around here. The way to do that is to increase the number of reps under me. That's the long-term incentive. A night away in Chicago being treated nicely by Avon (and all the little freebies they want to throw my way) would sure be nice though. So Saturday is a big Avon push! With Mark's work schedule, I sort of have to do it whenever these opportunities fit into his work schedule.
I think I'll be opening my own "barber shop" on Sunday. It's time to get my clippers out when both Mark & Rachel are complaining of needing a haircut and Stephen needs it whether he says so or not. I sort of like the feeling I get when I'm done. So far, no major errors in their cuttings and I always know that I have saved at least $50 when I do the whole family.
Well, I think that is about it for now. Joshua and I were supposed to go grocery shopping this morning but he started acting like his stomach was upset so I would rather not chance it. I'm going to focus my day on laundry and cleaning up around here. I may do the shopping after the kids go to the campout or just make Mark a list for their meals for Saturday and then go shopping Sunday afternoon or Monday if we can last that long.

Busy, busy!

What a schedule we have today! My first activity was cancelled which was a makeover with a friend from church. That just means that I can breath for a while. Later today, I don't think there will be time for even that.
The kids have Parent/Teacher Conferences today. Ours are in classes trying something new called Student Led Conferences. This will be a new experience for us all. Ours are scheduled for 4:30 & 5:00.
The kids then have practice for the Awana games at church from 6-7:30. I told them we are going to pack sandwiches for them to eat between the school and the church.
I am part of a small group Bible study that meets at 7:30-9 on Tuesdays. Our entire church is going through a "Season of Renewal". And most everyone is working through the "Experiencing God" Bible Study. The church was able to get the books at a discount and even had youth editions available. It has really been interesting! We even had an evening worship service "in the round". Because we have chairs in the auditorium, the pastor had the chairs rearranged between services so when we came in at night they were in circles facing the center of the auditorium. He used that night as a sharing time for what God was doing since the Bible study had started. He wanted people to be more comfortable sharing and everyone to be able to see who was talking without them having to come to the front. It was a casual atmosphere and really unique.
Well, I have Avon customers awaiting their orders. Joshua and I will be off delivering them here soon.
At least with P/T Conferences this week, it means I'll have help delivering the Advance papers tomorrow because the kids only have a 1/2 of school.

Get the Lead Out

We have been learning and working through a program here in GR called "Get the Lead Out" since last fall. Mom knows about it but I figured it was time to fill everyone else in as well. The object of this is to get lead out of older houses that could be dangerous to young children.
I had to sit through a class on the dangers of lead and safe ways of cleaning. We also had to fill out an application and give them all sorts of income paperwork, etc. I turned that in early in Dec. and waited a month. No word from anyone so I called. A week later there was still no word. Finally, the guy I was calling gave me the number of the lady he was awaiting info from and I called her. That seemed to get the ball rolling.
By late January, Mark & I had to sit down and go over paperwork with a city inspector. We received a lot more information at that time. Turns out that it is actually a loan program. We were this far into it before anyone used the term "repayment" or anything that gave indication that we would have to pay to have the work completed. This startled us some because of the fact that we hadn't heard anything and we were so far into the program already. It really isn't that bad of a program though. The city is going to write off 30%. We are approved for up to $12,000 and it would be at 0% interest for 10 years. There is no lean put on the house or anything like that. The inspector also had to look over the house to make sure that it was worth fixing if there was lead in it.
Less than a week later, we had a full-blown lead inspection done. It took 2 people 3 hours to go through the house and test lots of different areas with a special machine (XRF) which reads the lead content of all layers of paint. They had to do inside and out and even the garage. They also did dust swipes and soil testing.
This morning before Mark went to work, the city inspector came back with the official results. To no ones surprise, we have a lead problem. The good news is that most of the interior of the house is safe (just some in the basement stairway). The problems are in the window sills and the exterior of the house. So the city is proposing all new windows and repainting the outside including the garage. (Part of the outside is not contaminated, but he is going to try to have them do the whole thing.) The other place that it is, that was new for the inspector, is a bare patch of soil in our driveway. So they are talking of replacing all that grassy area in the drive with concrete. (This makes my husband happy because it was awful trying to shovel or snowblow that grass strip.)
The next step is for the city inspector to write up a report and send the work out for bids. He is hoping that it won't be a problem keeping it at or under the $12,000. I also have to take Joshua to the health dept for a blood test. (If his levels were high enough, they would actually change the amount written off or would write off the whole thing.)
Frankly, we think that the lead has possibly affected his speech development. His speech improves dramatically during falls and winters. During times when windows are open, his speech doesn't get worse but it also doesn't continue to grow and improve as it should. From what I have learned about lead, it is also a possibility that the lead has caused, or enhanced, Stephen's Asperger's Syndrome. From the class I went to, lead can affect any part of a developing child's body except the lungs.
I keep talking to the inspector about timing of having the work done at each visit. He is going to see if we can push it through to have the work done during the kid's spring break (the first week of April). We will have to move everything 5 feet away from the windows and vacate the house on Monday morning. We won't be able to get back into the house till after 5 on Friday. This will be while they are doing the windows and interior painting. The outside work won't be done till early May and we can be in the house while that work is done as long as all windows are closed and the kids don't play in the yard. We sort of figured that Spring Break week would be easiest when I can just take the kids and go stay with family out of GR. It wouldn't be too hard to find a church family to take Mark for the week so he could work but to take the whole family of 5 and deal with our crazy schedule could be rough. With this type of notice, it shouldn't be too hard for Blacks to work something out for Sarah for that week.
Well, that's about the biggest news from here. The only other thing going on is that Stephen has tested positive for strep again. This is twice in 2 weeks. They have switched antibiotics but want him tested again in 3 weeks to make sure that he isn't a carrier.

Mid-winter break?

What is this? I know we never had such a thing. Our kids are having a 5 day weekend. They have today, tomorrow, and Monday completely off school. It sure seems strange but then again. The schools scheduled to be open tomorrow may not be anyway.
Have any of you seen the pretty colors on a West MI radar today? From white to several shades of blue, pink, green, and yellow too! We have had a whole rainbow of colors all over the radar screen. It has really been strange to have thunder and lightening during February. We started this morning with snow...then hail and rain. It has really come down hard for a while too. Some people are even without power. Of course, it is supposed to go back over to snow over night which will make for fun travel to work tomorrow but that is why I said that schools that are scheduled open still may be closed tomorrow. All this precipation to usher in the coldest weather of the year! And just 2 days ago we were up around 40 and some people weren't bothering with coats. I think I have your weather rollercoaster beat, Dad!

Finally

I finally seem to have a minute to sit down and blog since I know it has been a week and I owe you an update on the AWANA Grand Prix. Rachel's car weighed in just fine which was really nice to not have to worry about. However, she didn't fair too well in the racing. They go through the racers 4 at a time with the top 2 moving on to the next round. The do this till they have the top racer and they take that one and put it in the "Trophy Round". They then go back through the racers again leaving out the fastest from the first round. They keep doing it 4 times till they fill the "Trophy Round" positions and have a final race. Unfortunately, Rachel's never came in higher than 3rd in any of her heats. We take some consolation though in the fact that there was to be a new rule this year that didn't get enforced and all the cars faster than Rachel's were not following that rule. Seems that some people took to making their tires thinner which tends to make them faster. The officials at the area race were not aware of this rule change till just prior to the start of the race so they just let them race that way this year. We all had a good time though and learned from it. Rachel can also now say that she made it to the area race and she has a pin to prove it.

Now a family update: Stephen has strep. One of my daycare girls had it after she left here on Monday. I really thought that Joshua would end up with it since he was in the closest proximity to her while she was here. Joshua started with a runny nose on Wednesday but hasn't had anything else. Stephen had a runny nose last weekend without any other symptoms so we thought it was probably allergies and he seemed to be improving since it got to be winter again. Yesterday, Stephen started complaining that his throat hurt and he had a low-grade fever before bedtime. Took him to the dr. this am and he came out positive. Now the question is when any of the others will come down with it? I'm thinking, better safe than sorry so I will have to make some phone calls and get someone to teach my SS class on Sunday. If I don't someone will definitely be sick Sunday morning.

We have actually been doing fairly well this winter and avoided anything too major. These sniffles are about it till the strep. I figured we'd get something pretty soon. I guess you could say "We were due." I was enjoying the healthiness but sort of holding my breath knowing it wouldn't last. I am starting to believe in using echenacia though. Mark was starting to come down with something a couple of weeks ago and this type of something usually moves down into his chest to become bronchitis. I started giving him echenacia right away and after about 5 days it was gone. It never became anything else and never got bad enough that he missed work.

Times up for now. I need to put the boys down for a "rest time" and then get some work done around here. Hope my big brothers are having a nice visit in UT. (Is Nate's blog goofing up anyone else's computer, especially the comments?)

Good thought

I just had to pass along the following that I received via email. I know I owe you all an update on the Grand Prix and hopefully I can post that tomorrow. Here's a thought shared by an AVON upline of mine:

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Mr.Common Sense. Mr. Sense had been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn't always fair. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).
His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition. Mr. Sense declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student, but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the TenCommandments became contraband, churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, then she spilled a bit in her lap and was awarded a huge financial settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers: My Rights and Ima Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Super Bowl Fun

Of course, the hype of the week around here is the Super Bowl this Sunday. This blog usually only talks about 1 sport, NASCAR, but we had to share the following to show just how much we think of our Detroit Lions in this house. (For Nate, this might require one of your liquid/keyboard spill warnings.)

What do you call 47 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl?
The Detroit Lions

How do you keep a Detroit Lion out of your yard?
Put up goal posts

Where do you go in Detroit in case of a tornado?
To Ford Field-they never get a touchdown there!

What do you call a Detroit Lion with a Super Bowl ring?
A thief

Why doesn't Grand Rapids have a professional football team?
Because then Detroit would want one.

What's the difference between the Detroit Lions and a dollar bill?
You can still get 4 quarters out of a dollar bill

How many Detroit Lions does it take to win a Super Bowl?
Nobody knows and we may never find out.

What do the Detroit Lions and possums have in common?
Both play dead at home and get killed on the road!

Grand Prix Update

We received a phone call last evening from the AWANA Commander from our church. Turns out that each church is actually eligible to take the top 3 boys and top 3 girls from each of 2 different age groups. (Not just the top 3 finishers club wide.) This means that Rachel is eligible to take her car to the area grand prix on Saturday. She was really thrilled when she found out and is really looking forward to it. We'll let you know how it goes!

AWANA Grand Prix

Last night was this year's AWANA Grand Prix at church. I haven't gotten pictures of the cars yet but hope to and will post them later. We had 2 cars racing this year as Stephen is now in the group that participates. Rachel came in 5 and Stephen came in 8th we think or at least 9th. That's 2 top ten finishes! Rachel was still a little disappointed because she was hoping to make it to 3rd or better to go to the area grand prix on Saturday. Well, she has 1 more year to keep trying.

We put a lot more time and effort into the cars this year than other years. Stephen's, of course, had to be a Nextel Cup car. What really surprised us was that it wasn't orange with the famous 20 on it. He decided to make an 88 UPS car. But not just any one, this was the ones from the commercial where UPS is finding a new use for Dale's cars since he is going to "drive the truck". It had several packages on it's trunk. Thankfully, UPS lets people cut and paste their logo off the website. I was able to give him printups just the right size to glue onto the car and help the design some.

Rachel took some advice from her Uncle Nate. We made hers high in the front with a quick dive in. It actually looked about like a sail boat minus the sail. She painted it pastel colors and covered it with stickers that came in the mail that were from around the world. The thought with the design is that because the gates drop down and the other cars are usually very low cut, she gets a little bit of a jump on them as the gate drops. It must have helped but I think we need to work a little more on the design for next year. The car that ended up winning was higher in front like hers too but a little more sleek in its design.

We also made sure to buff the axles well and we used a graphite lubricant that Hobby Lobby has. I'm sure we'll be into there a lot earlier and coming up with even different designs for next year.

Well, I have lots to do as usual maybe more so because of doing a cake for a little farewell party for a couple at church last night too. Laundry and dishes are really piling up. And as usual for a Thursday, Joshua and I have to go do lunch duty at the kids' school and then Joshua has speech therapy at 2 p.m.

Grease monkey

Mark and I were able to do something this weekend we feel rather good about. His car was in desperate need of new spark plugs and wires. For a tune up from the garge it was going to cost us over $200. After reading through the repair manual we decided we could probably do it ourselves. Mark has done some on other cars but not this one and not in a long time.

We bought all the needed items on Saturday evening after he got out of work and then did the work Sunday afternoon. As most car work does, it took both of us working together. I spent a good portion of the time under the car reaching up to work with the wires and coils while Mark took care of the plugs themselves. They were really bad! Fortunately, the weather was in the mid to upper 30's so it wasn't terribly cold. It was rather rainy though and the car was wet so I did get a little dripped on as well as having the floor wet.

The important thing though is that it worked! And we are rather pleased with the money we saved and that we didn't have to call our friend from church to have him do it.

I just kept thinking about what would my customers say if they saw their AVON rep under a car with grease up to her elbows? But I was back to clean and presentable in time for the evening service at church.

I still have a ton of things needing my attention so I better get at them. I just had to let you know about our accomplishment this weekend.

Wow!

I can't believe it has been a whole week since I sat down to blog. I'm not quite sure where the week went. It just seems to be one thing after another. Between school, church, and other activities, we just seem to be constantly going except several times this weekend I had to "crash". My allergies are getting much more sensitive and sometimes I can't do much but sleep them off.

Last week, I was "tagged" by big brother, Nate. I'm assuming this mweans that I'm supposed to answer the same questions that he did. I acutally wrote these down so that I wouldn't forget any of them. Let me answer them now though:
List 4 jobs I've had:
Cashier (several times), customer service/purchasing agent, Lifeguard/swim instructor, substitute teacher.
List 4 movies I could watch over and over:
The Sound of Music (I already have Rachel hooked on this one too), Dirty Dancing, The Outsiders, and The Santa Clause Movies
List 4 books I could read over and over:
I don't have particular books, it's more of authors. I really liked Janette Oke and I did make it through the Left Behind Series but other than that don't have overwhelming favorites.
List 4 places I've lived:
Dublin, IN; Alliance, OH; Alpena, MI; and now Grand Rapids, MI
List 4 TV shows I watch:
Commander in Chief, Biggest Loser, Numb3rs, and WifeSwap
List 4 places I've been on vacation:
Florida (often), England (including Pooh Corner), Louisiana, and Canada
List 4 websites I visit daily:
woodtv.com; NASCAR.com (that's about it for daily, I have others that are occasionally)
List 4 favorite foods:
Ice cream, popcorn, steak, CHOCOLATE!
List 4 places I'd like to be right now:
Can't seem to narrow this one down. Even an hour at the hot tub gardens would be a nice change. I think this one is too dangerous to consider the possiblilities.
List 4 bloggers I'm tagging:
I can't because I only read 2 regularly and one of them is who tagged me. So Dad I guess that leaves you to be tagged.
That's it for me for now. Joshua and I left the house at 10:30 this morning and except for 10 minutes to put away perishables, we didn't get home till we pick up kids from school and got home about 3:45. So now I have all the stuff here at the house needing my attention.

Posting

So much for the kids posting much. Hopefully, they will start sending more. They have both already learned some proper typing skills at school so I was hoping this would encourage using them more. I'm going to try to cut & paste a document of what we have been dealing with this weekend. We knew Buddy and his family from our church and have watched his deterioration. Being in charge of our church prayer chain, we stayed close by our computer after last Wednesday when it was obvious that he would be home soon. Let's see if I can get it to work:


“Buddy” Joseph Clemence Ellison, Jr.
October 13, 1965 - January 14, 2006

Buddy surfed the ultimate wave into the arms of the Lord he loves at 5:45PM on
January 14, 2006. He fought a long and courageous battle with brain cancer, surviving
13 ½ years by the grace and mercy of God.
Celia Jane Figueredo, Buddy’s mom, preceded him in death. Left to celebrate Buddy’s life is his wife, Ruth (Hopper), and two wonderful children, Zachary Joseph and Celia Naomi. Also surviving are Buddy’s loving family including his dad and step-mom, Joe and Deborah Ellison of Benson, North Carolina; his brother Jonny of Florida; his maternal grandmother, Lee Figueredo of Florida; many uncles, aunts, cousins, special in-laws and friends.
Buddy was born in Agana, Guam when his dad was serving in the U.S. Navy. When he was still a toddler the family returned to Florida where Buddy spent most of his childhood fishing and surfing. As a teen, Buddy’s family moved to Smithfield, North Carolina where his parents opened The Galley Sandwich Shop. Buddy’s claim to fame is the scrumptious Malibu Tuna Sandwich.
In April 1991, Buddy moved to Honolulu, Hawaii. On his second day in paradise, he met his future wife, Ruth (aka Ging). They were married on July 11, 1992 and just a month later, Buddy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. By God’s miraculous power, Buddy survived four brain surgeries and various treatments. A 7 ½ year remission included the blessings of two children, Zach in 1994 and CeCe in 1995.
Buddy’s faith in God was strong during his battle with cancer. His illness allowed many opportunities to share Christ’s love and God’s gift of salvation with those he met.
Buddy has chosen to be cremated. A celebration of Buddy’s life will take place at North Park Baptist Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on January 21, 2006, at 11am with visitation
1 hour prior to the service. A memorial service and scattering of his ashes will also be held in Honolulu, Hawaii at a later date. Hawaiian/casual attire requested.

Well, everything came over except his picture which was taken during their last visit to Hawaii last summer. Ruth is from Hawaii and when she came to GR for college the same year Mark did, she had never even seen snow. The family was at church yesterday and plans for the meal after the service was getting started through the ladies at the church.

More later if I can. I'll also see if the kids will update you more. on other parts of our lives.

ALL ABOUT ME

Hi, I am STEPHEN Waters. And I LOVE SPORTS. Espechily NASCAR. Speaking of NASCAR,
THE DAYTONA500 is comming soon. It's over and out, from MR. SPORTS.

It's Me Again

Stephen has not been able to write. So today I asked mom to let me on, and she said ok. Stephen said it was his turn to do it. I do not have a lot to say so I will let him write.

It's The Kid's Turn!!!

We are still trying to get mom to let us (me and Stephen) to have our own blog. She says we can at least write in the family blog. Oh well. Well I get to write first about me.

I hate school. I play the clarinet (which was mom's). I cannot spell. Friday is the class spelling bee. The 2 best kids go to the school wide spelling bee. I have 2 best friends who have moved away. Sarah is still here to be my friend. Katie and Taylor are my friends at school. I do not have any boyfriends(even though everyone thinks so). I like my teacher. Every year I get a teacher gets pregnant or gets married. This year she is pregnant.

Well that it for now. Stephen will write tomorrow. Bye!

Records

Have you heard about our weather records we have set recently? We went 15 days without registering even a single minute of sunshine! This tied the previous record. We have also gone 47 days with some form of measureable precipitation (rain or snow, some days both) each day! This record is way longer than the last one and is still going on! This has given us the distinction of being "The Cloudiest Place on Earth"! Oh yeah! I really could have lived without that label for my entire life! Fortunately, we actually saw some very strange yellow light (called sunshine) yesterday, at least briefly, not that it is back today though.

We had a rather busy weekend. Christmas is almost put away now. All that is left is a couple of shirts to get washed and I was waiting for the cups that were in the dishwasher. Now we can finish the last box. This also meant that the floors were able to be swept. We also got Rachel's picture's taken at Walmart. Everyone, except me, lined up for me to cut their hair. It was back to a normal schedule at church. (Teaching the 2-3 year olds, I can tell you they are struggling getting back into the routine.) And Stephen got to see a lot of the wild card games.

Stephen is starting to really get into football. It is somewhat of a crossover interest. He most likes the Washington Redskins. This is because Joe Gibbs is coaching there and owns his favorite NASCAR team at the same time, Tony Stewart. But I think it has been very good for him to learn more about football. That is what a lot of the boys at school play and he is better able to talk and participate more with them since he is learning the sport more.

Rachel spent her birthday money this weekend on the new American Girl movie "Felicity". We gave her the other one "Samantha" for her birthday. She really likes the stories and as long as they are the historical ones, we'll let her watch and read them. I joined the crowd that overwhelmed the American Girl company with emails when I found out about them being linked with Girls, Inc. with the "I Can" bracelet. I know my daughter is growing up but I don't need them educating her on homosexuality or abortion. I have inspected her last 2 catalogs that have come from them before letting her have it and the bracelet and all reference to "Girls, Inc." have been removed.

You might begin to see some different posts on here. Rachel & Stephen have asked if they could start their own blogs but Mark & I aren't too sure about that. Instead, we have suggested that they are more than welcome to start blogging here. This is the family site so it seemed a good place to start. We'll see how that goes.

So it's still Christmas...

it is around our house too! I started taking stuff down yesterday and have made progress today but still am not finished. Besides, I don't think I want to say too much about New Year's. Just know that we were home with Mark's mom and 2 of his nephews here.
Getting back into routine this week has been good but I am missing that day lost on Monday. I'm ready for the weekend but keep thinking it must only be Thursday. Kids returned to school Tuesday as well as Mark going back to work. He took vacation days to have some extra time over New Year's weekend.
Yesterday was really busy. Rachel's class went to the IMAX to see Lewis & Clark and I was a chaperone. I took all the kids to school then went to a friend's house to drop off Joshua. Then it was back to the school and off on a field trip. We got back to the school at 11 and I had to do lunch duty in Stephen's class at 11:40. I didn't feel like running to get Joshua during that time so I left him till after lunch duty. Even then he was having so much fun he didn't want to come home. We were here just a little over an hour before I had to go pick up the kids from school.
That's going to have to be it for now. I have to figure out what's for dinner and I have children lining up for a turn on the computer.