HA!

Yesterday, after staring out of his office window and seeing nothing but a bare, ugly trunk, my husband sheepishly confessed, " You were right about the tree."
(See post titled, "October".)

I want to go outside with a Sharpie and draw a smiley face on one of the branch stumps for him. :-)

We have a cold front today! Thank you, Lord! I can wear long sleeves and MAYBE a sweater!

Surprise Party Photos

Here are some pictures from my surprise party on September 22nd. I had so much fun! I especially enjoyed the comments from my "older" friends who assured me 40 was extremely young.

Me, laughing and crying at the same time.

Hug from John, biggest sap.











Tyler's confession of why he didn't go to work that night!

Beth Anne and Stacie, my dearest friends and conspirators. :-)

October

It's so hot. We've even reached 92 degrees! There's supposed to be a cold front moving in this week. I PRAY it's true. I feel nothing but hot all the time.

October heat is the worst, because it's SUPPOSED to be fall!

The neighbor cut down a beautiful tree between their property and ours. Kelly enjoyed looking at it from her window. I enjoyed the tiny yellow flowers it would produce, then these pink blooms would follow. (I know you who are horticulturally minded would be able to tell me the name of the tree. They're quite common in Florida. I only know it's not a crepe myrtle.) Anyway, what Kelly and I saw as beautiful, the menfolk saw as a "messmaker" and decided it should come down. Now there's nothing but a bare trunk outside the window, which I'm sure they'll gleefully dispose of once a chainsaw is found.

Time to prepare for English students.

School Room

John received a quarterly bonus, so at last we can begin finishing the garage! We have already installed new windows, a new roll-up door, and new French doors. Now we need to buy furring strips, insulation, and sheet rock (in Cali we call it drywall). Oh, and all the electrical stuff.

There are currently six classes taking place in our home; three English composition, one Spanish 2, and one US History. Oh, and I have co-op with two other families on Monday afternoons.

Is it selfish to want school stuff out so I can have a HOME again? I don't know how Kathy Robertson has done it all these years, teaching classes out of her living room. I know she's taught my own kids for 6 or 7 years, and she's still teaching Kelly this year!

Our hope is to convert the garage into a classroom, and when we're finished with this school stuff it can be a guest house or an office for John. He's using our guest room as an office currently.

I can't wait for work to begin!

October

Well, we're back to being warm. As I recall, I've sweated during Thanksgiving before, so we're not into the coolness yet. Phyllis Hunsucker says they have snow! I don't think I want to be THAT cold, but a cool breeze would be lovely.

John got the promotion and they'll be paying for him to go to school. They want him to have a bachelors in business. I think he's starting to come around to school being a good thing. I also hope we can find a private college who can help us turn some of his life experience into college credits. After all, he has owned and operated his own business for many years. That should be worth something!

I have hit the crazy time of year where I feel I'm not doing the things I'm supposed to do. This means I have taken on too many projects, probably. It's hard to say no when it's all good, though! Or maybe I just need to learn to delegate. I wonder to whom I could delegate the laundry?

Tyler, Kelly and I are studying the Old Testament for their "Bible" credit. We've decided to do Jewish History, so we're starting with Abraham! I'm in no hurry. . . they'll get a year of Bible, we'll have a blessed time in the Word, and they'll get a high school credit to boot. I'm making them take notes so they have something to put in their portfolio.

Time for AWANA!

At last!

There's coolness in the air in the mornings! Real coolness, without the humidity to go with it. Could this be the swing toward fall that I've been waiting for? I think I'll refill the coffee cup and work on my Bible study outside. I love this time of year!

Job Watch part 3

It looks like John doesn't have to go to Cleveland after all. The guy he was to interview with came here instead. I'm glad of that, though Cleveland could have been an adventure for him.

John will be getting an offer either today or tomorrow on the promotion. He will become the Property Services Representative for the STATE of Florida. He had trouble sleeping last night, with so many things going through his head! We all know he has been training for this job since he was 19 or so. . . it's amazing how God has gone before him in this.

The other thing they told him is to go back to school at their expense. He's not as happy about this as I am, but I think he's just intimidated. They want to invest in him, so they want him to have a Bachelors in Business. I told him he'd be a FOOL not to do this! Especially when there are so many on line courses he could take, there's no reason/excuse not to go back to school.

I'm so proud of him! He's worked so hard all his life (so far). I'm talking hard, physical labor! Now that his back is no longer able to do that, God has given him work suited to him. I'm so thankful.

Is it Fall Yet?

I felt a hint of fall when I went outside yesterday, but today is back to being warm. I'm so looking forward to tea or coffee on the front porch, or in the back yard! I'm looking forward to NOT hearing the hum of the air conditioner. Of course, opening the house means closing the sinuses to allergies. :-)

I had an epiphany yesterday when the girls and I were out looking at a black racer snake in the back yard. It was zipping along through these tiny, white flowers (called weeds!), and around the tiny, yellow flowers falling off the neighbor's tree.

In the back of my mind were all the thoughts of what I "needed" to be doing. Laundry, preparing an AWANA lesson, journaling, writing thank you notes from my birthday, correcting English papers, preparing for a history class, getting dinner going, clearing off my cluttered desk, teaching Glenna about beavers, etc. It's my heart's desire to do all those things, and yet I hardly do any of them well.

And yet, here's perfectly shaped, miniscule flowers crafted by God. A black snake races along without any legs, also designed by God. Two beautiful girls (designed by God) laugh and swing on the tree - designed by God. Not one of these things are less than His exact design and purpose.

I can't do everything well.

God does ALL things well.

I am not God.

Thank God.

Life

I was talking to my kids yesterday and said, "Isn't life so incredible right now?"

The older two shook their heads, indicating that it wasn't. They could see how life would be really good for ME at this stage, but for them it's all about SCHOOL and therefore less than stellar.

I refrained from giving them the, "I wish I were back in school, doing it all over again!" I think they were relieved.

I don't wish I were back in school, though. Especially with crazed gunmen now targeting schools, girls in particular, for their murderous schemes. I am more thankful than ever to have my children home for school! Kelly wants to visit a school today with her youth group as a service project, to tutor and mentor elementary kids. It's all I can do not to grab on to her and not let her go!

So, can I trust God in ALL things, or just SOME things? We all know the answer to that.

Life is so wonderful right now. . . it's the rest of the world that's scary.

Migraine Blues

I had to stay home from church yesterday with migraine. I can usually stop them if I catch them within 15 minutes, but I woke with this one and it was too late.

I really wish I knew what caused them! I feel like I'm always on the verge of one and constantly on Excedrine. I really need to get to a doctor and make sure there's not something simple I could do or avoid.

Speaking of doctors. .. I don't know why I haven't gone. I finally have medical insurance, have had it for almost two years, and I still haven't gone! Why is it so hard to pick up the phone and make an appointment? This is ridiculous!

Maybe it's because I haven't had insurance so I don't know what to do with it? Plus, everyone's schedule is getting so crazy, I have to make sure someone is home with Glenna. Yeah. That's it.

That's my excuse, anyway.