Reflections of Christmas

Well, Christmas is finally over. As I sit and reflect upon the past week I find myself experiencing mixed emotions. A part of me (a very large part, I might add) is relieved that it is finished and the pace of my life should start to even out a little. This Christmas season was the most hectic I can ever remember. We have been at a full run since before Thanksgiving. So, I will certainly not be sad to finally get to slow down and relax a little.

Another part of me is sad because my kids will never be this age again. By next year there may be one less believer in our house. Of course, that's not what Christmas is all about and the true meaning of the season is certainly stressed in our home, but all the same it saddens me that I may not see the joy and magic reflected in the eyes of another of my babies next year. Jacob is on the bubble and I feel sure that by next year his wide-eyed acceptance will have disappeared and with it will go some of the fun of Christmas morning. Of course, there's still Noah and hopefully, if the others don't spoil it for him, we still have several more years of Christmas excitement with him. He was absolutely precious this year. Everything about the season excited him...from dressing as a shepherd at the Nativity, to Santa, to the lights, to the Christmas specials on TV. We watched them all....Rudolph, "Crosty" the Snowman, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Shrek the Halls and his favorite, "Snoopy" Christmas. He was especially excited on Christmas morning to find that Santa had eaten all the cookies and that the reindeer had gobbled down the "magic" reindeer food he and I scattered on the yard late Christmas Eve. He even got tears in his eyes and the little quivering chin when he opened the gift that he had most asked for, a "Nack" (Mack off the movie Cars). So sweet.

As I grow older I find myself cherishing these small moments more and more. Things I never took the time to notice before suddenly seem very important, especially as I realize that their childhoods are passing literally before my eyes and these days can never be recaptured.

I hope everyone had a joyous Christmas and enjoyed time spent with friends and loved ones. I apologize for not getting any Christmas cards or emails out. I just simply didn't have the time or energy this year. But know that just because you didn't get a card doesn't mean I wasn't thinking of you all because I certainly was. We are so blessed with a such a wonderful group of family and friends.

From our house to yours.....May you each have a wonderful, blessed New Year!

I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas??

What is up with this weather? Has the old addage changed to "December showers bring January flowers" or what? Our yard is literally a swamp. And it looks as though there's more of the way for this weekend. Frankly, I would rather have the snow!

We have lots of festivities planned this weekend. We're kicking off tonight with a Silent Auction at the Simons Middle School cafeteria to raise money for our Mexico mission trip. We have lots of cool items for bid so be sure to come check it out. Then tomorrow morning it's off to Morehead for a Bible Bowl bake sale at Wal-Mart. And boy it sounds like the weather is just going to be nasty! But we're not finished yet. Our Live Nativity is tomorrow night and Sunday night from 6:00-9:00 p.m. We're also having soup and sandwiches in the fellowship hall and our Christmas skit, "One True Gift" will go on in the auditorium with showtimes at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30. We've worked really hard getting ready so I hope the weather doesn't spoil it. Please say a little prayer!

Hopefully after this weekend things will calm down and I'll have time to breathe and enjoy Christmas a little. We've been at a dead run since before Thanksgiving and it's beginning to wear on me. After all, I'm not a young woman anymore. With everything going on I just haven't been able to get in the Christmas spirit. I did get my tree up but I didn't decorate one thing outside or anywhere else in the house. I haven't even got the stockings hung yet! And let's not even talk about the shopping. I have no idea when I'll get that finished. I'm beginning to undertand how old Ebenezer Scrooge felt!

House Cleaning Update

I'm up to three rooms complete. As long as the health inspector doesn't ask to use the bathroom or see the sleeping quarters we're in business. Oh, and the laundry room. I think I see the washer peeking out now but we're still searching for the dryer!

(Hey, Jen. Two posts in one day. Aren't you impressed?)

I'm still here...

I guess when someone wants to know if you're still alive that's a good sign you haven't been keeping up your blog like you should, huh?

Yes, I'm still alive and well here in Flemingsburg. Just incredibly busy. I'm trying to work 4 days a week, do Bible Bowl practice two days a week, take care of 3 kids and a husband, and slip in other church activities whenever I can. You will notice that nowhere on the list of things I'm doing have I mentioned taking care of my house and doing laundry. Sadly, both of those things have been sorely neglected. My house would be condemned if the health department happened to stop by and the laundry is piled so high that we can't even find the washer and dryer in the laundry room. On top of all this I've had two sick kids this week. Noah has had the runs since Saturday to the tune of like 12-14 soiled diapers a day. His little behind is so raw that he walks as if he's been on a cross-country horseback ride. Jarrod has been sick to his stomach and running a fever for three days now. Jacob has been lucky enough to avoid it so far but I fully expect he'll be sick tomorrow when we're supposed to go to Darren's mothers for Thanksgiving.

I've been home from work for three days this week with anywhere from two to three kids so I'm starting to get a little stir crazy. Darren has artfully managed to avoid the house altogether except to sleep. He insists that it's pure coincidence but I'm not buying it.

Today all three kids are home since school is out and I have convinced Jarrod that even sick people can fold laundry. So we've been making a concerted effort to clean up our little pig sty. It would now be okay for the health department to visit two rooms of my house.....as long as they didn't go any further than the kitchen!

When It Rains It Pours

Have you ever had days when you felt like you should've just stayed in bed? Well, I feel like I should've just hibernated for the last three weeks! We have just had the most unbelievable string of bad luck lately. It's just been the strangest thing. We've been trying to do the Dave Ramsey "Total Money Makeover" which means we're living on a budget, following the "baby steps", and committed to not using our credit cards. We quickly came up with our $1000 emergency fund which is "Baby Step 1" and then just as quickly it went out the door.

I finally got our taxes done. Yes, I waited until the VERY LAST MINUTE. I know that doesn't constitute an "emergency" but I really wasn't expecting to owe anything. Just a slight miscalculation on my part. While the amount we owed really wasn't that bad, it was just that the timing really stunk. You see, just a couple of days before the tax fiaso the transmission went out of the van we bought to replace our wrecked car. So, we had to come up with money for the taxes and money to rebuild the transmission. Guess who is now working 4 days a week instead of 2?

And it just keeps going and going. We got the van back last Friday and the transmission started leaking and acting weird the next day so we took it back to the guy who worked on it. Of course, now both of us are working so we're really struggling with the one vehicle situation. Darren was riding the scooter as much as the weather would allow but 38 degrees is really cold for scooter travel. Think "Dumb and Dumber" traveling to Colorado.

In the meantime, the other van starts making horrible squeaking and grinding noises from the front end which I know means it needs brakes but with only one vehicle what's a girl to do? On top of all that, I had to make a trip to the dentist this Monday because I cracked a tooth. He tried to fix it but ended up having to pull it which was not fun. Then when I returned to work from the dentist Darren called to tell me that he had an unrepairable flat tire on his scooter! Will it never end?

We got one van back from the shop late Monday, took the other van to the shop for brakes on Tuesday and drove the scooter home from church on a flat tire. So now both vans are running (knock on wood) but the scooter still needs a new tire. The good news though is that God provided and we were able to pay for everything (barely) without turning to our credit cards. Now begins the process of trying to rebuild our $1000 emergency fund.

Hopefully our luck is starting to turn because to be honest, much more of this and I'm just going to pull the covers up over my head and stay in bed. Somebody can wake me when it's over.

For My Husband...

October is "Minister Appreciation Month." We had a special service last night at church to recognize all the different ministries at church and the people who make them tick. We are so blessed to have such a good group of workers at New Life. Thank you all for everything you do!

Christy thought that she and I should recognize James and Darren so I just wanted to share with the world the words I shared with the congregation last night about Darren. I love him so much and I'm so proud of him!

Read on.....

"When Christy said she thought she and I should recognize James and Darren I told her that I hoped this week was better than last or I might not have very nice things to say

Ours is a story of God’s careful grooming and growing.

But in all seriousness, if someone had told me in high school that I would be married to a preacher I would have laughed myself silly.

Darren and I met in 1986. Up until that time I had no church background. I knew the basics, attended VBS during the summer and occasionally went to church with my grandmother. Darren, of course, had been raised in church and his mother, though she wouldn’t admit it today, thought I was a very corrupt influence on her sweet, innocent baby. Because of Darren I started attending church at Mt. Carmel and he baptized me into Christ late one night in 1987.

If not for Darren I’m not sure where I would be today. He led me to Christ. Darren will tell you that he would not have married me had I not become a Christian and I will tell you that I would not have married him if I knew he was going to be a preacher.

After we married in 1988 we sort of “played” church for a while. We looked and sounded good but our hearts weren’t right. We worked with the kids at Mt. Carmel but only managed to show up for Sunday School one year when we forgot to change our clocks. Quite simply, we were not sold out to Christ. Not even close.

Then in 1993 Jarrod was born and we began to get our act together. In 1995 my mom called me and asked me to type up an advertisement their church could send to KCC since they were looking for a preacher. I mentioned it to Darren and after a lot of thought and prayer he said “You know, I think this is what God wants me to do.”

Now this is where I began to see God’s growth in our lives. It was funny to me that something that scared me to death and seemed crazy to me when we married 7 years earlier, suddenly made perfect sense.

So he applied for the job at Blue Licks and got it and thus began our lives in the ministry. He was preaching and working full time laying carpet and I was also working full time. During these years Darren really wanted me to quit my job and come home but I resisted and vehemently defended my job saying that there was no way we could make it without my income. And then 7 years after he started preaching, in 2002 he came to me and said he had decided to quit his job and go to Bible College because he wanted to preach full-time.

Now again, I saw God’s continued growth of my faith. Where I had previously insisted we couldn’t live without my income I now believed that we would be able to make it without our primary source of income. When he told me I don’t think I ever hesitated or questioned his decision. It was like “Okay, whatever you want to do. No big deal. God will take care of us.”

Darren left his job in August of 2002 and started bible college at Sonshine School of Evangelism. On paper, this should never have worked. We were prepared to sell our house and do whatever we had to do to allow him to go to school, but as it turned out we didn’t have to do anything. God was so good. We had the help of friends and family and several sister congregations, including you guys here at New Life, and we were able to make it through two years of schooling without having to sacrifice anything.

I have watched my husband grow in so many areas of his life over the course of this journey. He has grown in knowledge, character, and compassion and I am so proud of him. I am proud of the stand he takes for Christ and the fact that he puts God before everything else in his life. Darren has so many qualities that I envy. He has a wonderful gift for teaching and I never get tired of listening to him. I love the fact that he is always ready to teach or speak at a moment’s notice. He is a man of great vision with big plans for the Lord’s church here at New Life. As some of you who have butted heads with him know, he has big ideas and he won’t take no for an answer. He believes that anything is possible with hard work and commitment and he has the ability to see only the positive things. He is always putting others before himself and stands ready to listen, give advice or just be a sounding board if you need an ear to bend. He has the most wonderful giving spirit and would gladly give a brother the shirt off his back if he needed it. In all these things and many more I wish I could be more like him. I am so proud of the husband he is; that he takes his role as the head of our household seriously and of how he provides and cares for our family. I am proud of the father he is to our children; that he encourages them and believes that they can be and do more than they themselves think possible. Most of all, I am proud of the man that he is; that he is a man of God who continually seeks the Father’s will and lives for Him even through life’s hurts and disappointments; that he seeks God first in everything and is the spiritual head of our family. I love him so much and I thank God for bringing him into my life and I only hope I can be the helpmate to him that God intended me to be. I don’t know what God has in store for us but I pray that He will continue to grow our faith, that He will use us in service to His kingdom, and that He will guide us in everything we do. I love you. I’m so proud of you and thank you for all you do."

So embarassing

I shared this story with the girls at work and they got a kick out of it so I thought the rest of you might enjoy it as well.....

Last Saturday Darren, Jarrod, Noah and I went to Morehead to eat at La Finca for my big birthday celebration. As everyone knows, it is a crime in the state of Kentucky to drive past a Wal-Mart without stopping so we ran in to pick up a few odds and ends. We made our selections..nothing fancy...just diapers and wipes, ink for my fax machine and a few other toiletries and proceeded to the checkout. Darren decided to go on out to the van while the boys and I checked out. I paid for our purchases and we started out the door and set off the alarm. The nice little greeter lady came over and determined that the box of ink had not been deactivated by the cashier so she gave us a free 2 liter bottle of pop and sent us on our way.

We were walking through the parking lot and came to the van. I could see Darren sitting in the front seat so I assumed he had the tailgate unlocked and ready for me but when I lifted the handle it was locked so I pecked on the back window and tried again....still locked. I knocked a little harder and still he didn't unlock it so I knocked again and still nothing. By this time I was getting a little aggravated. I looked at Jarrod and said, "Why isn't he unlocking the door?" and then I BANGED on the back window with my open hand. Darren popped upright in the seat just as Jarrod started toward the driver's side door. He stopped short and said, "Mom, that's not Dad." and took off. I looked around and sure enough OUR van was parked on down the way just a little. I went around to the drivers side door and this guy opened the door and stepped out. I was already opening my mouth to apologize when I recognized the fellow. It just so happens he is a long-time tax client. I laughed and told him that I was sorry and that I had mistaken his van for ours. He accused me of catching him asleep and waking him on purpose and we had a good laugh.

At first I was glad it was someone I knew but now I'm not so sure. I'm sure I'll get a ribbing from him everytime I see him now. It might have been better had it been someone I'll never see again.

I know some of you will be quick to chalk my mistake up to old age but in my defense his van was the same year, make model and color as ours so maybe I shouldn't feel so bad....but it was just SO embarassing.

The BIG 4-0

Well, it's official. As of Sunday, October 21st I have joined the ranks of 40-somethings all over the world. It's funny, though. I know it's a major milestone but I just don't feel 40 and maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part, but I don't think I look or act 40 either. I guess it could be the fact that nearly all of my girlfriends are much younger. I'm counting on all you girls to keep me young and fresh!

Thankfully it was an uneventful day. The worst that happened was Danny having the whole church sing "Happy Birthday" to me. At least he didn't announce my age. Of course, Jennie Paige couldn't let the opportunity pass and let out at nice, loud "Lordy, lordy look who's forty." Thanks, JP.

While I may be 40 according to my birth certificate I'm sticking to this premise: "Age is a state of mind. 40 is only a number."

My Baby Is Three!

I can hardly believe it, but it's true. Noah turned three on Tuesday. It seems like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. sigh...

We partied with family on Saturday afternoon and he got lots of Thomas the Tank toys which have kept him very busy. I wish you all could hear him say "Thomas the Tank Engine." It's so cute!

It's hard to believe how much he has changed in the last year. He's gotten taller, talks ALL the time and says some of the cutest things but some things haven't changed. He's still a BIG mommy's boy and he is still showing absolutely NO INTEREST in potty training. I think this kid will be in diapers when he is 30. I've told him that it will look better on his resume if he can say that he is potty trained but he just doesn't seem to be heeding my advice. My nephew, Eli, who is 7 weeks older than Noah and has been potty trained for a LONG time even took him to the bathroom with him and said, "I'll show you how." but that didn't work either. He just doesn't care. Oh well, I guess he'll do it when he's ready. I just hope it's sometime before I have to start buying diapers for myself. Call me selfish, but I would just like to enjoy a "diaper-free lifestyle" for a little while!

HiHo HiHo It's Off to Work I Go

Well, today was my first day back to work in nearly 3 years (if you don't count taxes, being a preacher's wife, and a full-time wife and mother). As I've mentioned, we are doing the Dave Ramsey "Total Money Makeover" thing and wanted to drum up some more cash so I decided to return to work at the same attorney's office where I worked prior to Noah's birth. I'm working Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 to 4:30.

So, I arrived at 8:30 this morning and I have to say it was as though I hadn't been gone a day, much less three years. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that I had worked that job for 18 years prior to leaving. I rather enjoyed myself and the day went by fairly quickly.

Noah is going to daycare at the home of one of the girls who goes to church with us. He was excited about going and didn't cry when I left. Kandi said he cried himself to sleep at naptime but other than that he had a good day. We were ready for some separation. I think it will be good for him to be with other kids and be away from me for a while.

Bible Bowl Competition

We travelled to Lexington today for our first Bible Bowl competition of the season. We have two upper division teams and one beginner team this year. Our text is the book of John; 1, 2, 3 John; and 1, 2 Peter for the upper division and the book of John for the beginners.

We are very proud of our teams. They represented New Life well today and all their hard work and study really paid off. In the upper division New Life A had a record of 5 wins and 1 loss and placed third (they were only 10 points behind the 2nd place team) and New Life B had a record of 4 wins and 2 losses (their losses were to the 1st and 2nd place team) and they were only a few points behind the third place team.

Our beginners really did awesome (of course, as their coach I'm somewhat partial)! The beginner division in Lexington is VERY competitive and our kids really came to play today. They had a record of 5 wins and 2 losses and both of their losses were by a very small margin. In both cases they were neck and neck until the 13th question (there are only 15 questions in a game). I'm so proud of Austin, Dustin, Nate and Jacob that I could bust!

Congrats to all the New Life Bible Bowlers. If you see these guys be sure to give them a pat on the back.

R.I.P. "Slinky" - Gone But Not Forgotten

I'm happy to report that Slinky has been captured and....how do I say this delicately.....disposed of. Darren went downstairs this morning and I heard him yell for me to come and bring the shovel. Slinky had slithered from under the pool table and he had him pinned with the hoe but couldn't chop him in two. I smashed down on him with the shovel but he was still wriggling to get free so Darren crushed his head and thus Slinky's young life was snuffed out.

I apologize to all the tree-hugging, snake-loving, animal rights activists out there for the demise of Slinky but hey, whenever Slinky decided to come into the house as far as I'm concerned all bets were off. At that point it became "survival of the fittest" and not "live and let live."

Jacob is concerned that Slinky had babies in the basement but I told him I thought Slinky looked like a boy. At least I hope he was a boy and that he didn't invite any buddies over. I'm also hoping he came in through the basement door since I've had it open quite a bit lately and not through some other hidden hole that I know nothing about.

In any event, for now I'm sure a lot more comfortable in the basement!

Kids Say the Cutest Things

This afternoon I was lying on my bed and reading a book when Noah came in the room and climbed up in bed with me. He laid his head on my chest and I said, "Are you my baby?" He looked me in the eye and replied, "Yeah. You're my best friend." Sometimes I want to kill him but it's times like these when I just say "Ahhhh, how cute! This is what being a mom is all about."

Just had to share.

P.S. Slinky is still on the loose.

No Sign of Slinky

Well, it's been a couple of days now and there's still no sign of Slinky the snake. I've been downstairs doing laundry and working on stuff for eBay but so far the coast is clear. I keep looking over my shoulder when I'm down there though. I guess I think he's going to sneak up on me or something. I think I know what his plan is. He is waiting until I get complacent, maybe even convince myself that Jarrod was hallucinating, letting me get comfortable, and then when I least expect it he's going to jump out and get me. I can just see it now. Does anybody have any snake repellant?

Six Little Words You Never Want to Hear

Today I realized there are six little words you never want to hear uttered in your home. Now, individually these words (with the exception of maybe one) are harmless. Several of them could even be used in the same sentence without cause for alarm. But, trust me, you never want to hear them in the same sentence.

This morning at 6:45 a.m. we began our regular morning routine which begins with me getting up and making sure that Jarrod and Jacob are both up. They were so I laid down on the couch. Jarrod had gone downstairs to "iron" his clothes (aka run them in the dryer). He came back up and that's when I heard those six words come tumbling from his mouth......."There's a snake in the house." Chills of fear and disbelief ran down my spine.

Apparently, there was a snake lying in the hallway when Jarrod went downstairs. He said he nearly stepped on it but then ran around it and got his clothes. Of course, my brilliant 13 year old son did not attempt to capture the snake and even worse he let it get away. He didn't even see which way it went.

I went to the barn and got my hoe and went downstairs to investigate but soon realized the futility of the search. Those of you who have seen my basement understand this. There is stuff everywhere and a lot of ground to cover. This snake could be anywhere. I tried to get Darren to help me look but he wasn't much force. I'm pretty sure he is scared. He suggested that I let the dog in to trail the snake to which I replied, "What am I supposed to do? Give Socks the snake's shirt to sniff and say 'now go find him, boy.'" I did however try to get Socks to come in. Usually he is trying to get in the door every time you open it but today I had to force him in the basement and he promptly ran up the basement steps and went to the back door. So much for that idea.

I've set some sticky glue traps all over the basement but I guess for now we will just cohabitate with Slinky the snake as we've named him. Does anyone know if snakes can climb steps?

Count Your Blessings

Wow! Yesterday was quite a day. We had planned a dinner for the senior adults for last night so we woke up knowing that the day was going to be busy but little did we know how complicated it was going to get and how lucky we would be.

Darren left the house at about 8:30 to meet his mom at church. Just a few minutes later the phone rang and the caller id showed that it was Darren. Now, this in itself is not unusual. He often calls me from the driveway to tell me something he forgot to tell me before he left so I didn't think anything of it. But when I answered he sounded out of breath and he yelled, "Gina, call 911 there's been a car wreck!" I'm like, "Okay, where?......where? I need to know where so I can tell them." I'm getting no answer and then finally he comes back on the line and tells me that the accident is on our road near Dr. Bacon's house. So we hang up and I call 911 and report the accident. Then I call him back to ask if he was involved in the accident. He was. He assures me that he is okay but that the person in the other vehicle is hurt. In hindsight it's probably a good thing he didn't tell me that he was in an accident the first time he called because I probably would've flipped out and been unable to call 911.

Noah was still sleeping so I jerked him up out of bed and up the road we went. When I got there the ambulance had arrived and they were trying to get the other driver out of her car. She was screaming and crying about how much pain she was in. When I saw the cars I nearly cried. I could hardly believe that he walked away from it unhurt and my first thought was, "Thank you, God, that he was in the car and not on the scooter." He was very lucky. Apparently, the other driver was distracted and was completely on the wrong side of the road. He said he saw her coming but couldn't get away from her and they collided head on.

He has been a little sore from the seatbelt but he is otherwise physically fine. Mentally, he has just been really upset. He feels guilty that he wasn't hurt while she was injured badly and he just keeps replaying the accident over and over in his mind. I reminded him that he should be grateful that he wasn't hurt and that she wasn't hurt worse.

So, we here at the Fizer household are counting our many blessings. We are thanking God for His protection and asking him to watch over the other driver and give her a speedy recovery.

Laziness

Yes, I realize it's been awhile since I last updated. I wish I had a really good excuse for my absence but I don't. It comes down to just pure laziness. It's not that there hasn't been plenty going on to blog about because there certainly has. We have been busy as usual and there's no end in sight. We've had cross-country track meets, Bible Bowl practice, and a constant string of other engagements and responsibilities. We are doing the Dave Ramsey "Total Money Makeover" thing and attended one of his live events last week. Jacob made his first (and hopefully last) trip to the principals office.....and so on and so forth. So as you can see there has been plenty of blog material just not a lot of blog gumption. Sorry. I'll try to do better in the future.

A Busy Weekend

We travelled to Jacksonburg, Indiana yesterday for Dave Fagan's funeral. We almost got lost (Mapquest's directions were inaccurate) but we made it about 15 minutes before the funeral started. The church was packed as we expected it would be. It is just so hard to believe that Dave is gone. He was only 56 years old but he had accomplished more in those 56 years than most people do in a lifetime. It was just a really sad, emotional day.

On the lighter side, right in the middle of the funeral while Willie Martin was preaching, Noah, who was sitting on my lap, looked up at me and said, "I peed on you, Mommy." and he did sure enough. He was wet all the way down into his shoes and I had a huge wet spot on my thigh so we had to get up and leave the funeral to go to the bathroom for a change. I brought a change of clothes for him but never thought I would need one for myself so I just had to suffer through with the wet spot.

Today Darren, Jacob, Noah and I went to the Christian Olympics at Sugarloaf Christian Camp. There was a good crowd there and everyone had a good time. Jacob got several bronze and silver medals and won the sportsmanship award for his age group. Noah won a silver medal in the frizbee toss. He was in first place until the very last kid and got beat out by him. He was still excited and was so cute standing up on the podium grinning and collecting his spoils of victory.

Jarrod didn't go with us to the olympics because he had his first Cross Country meet today up around Ashland. His team finished second and individually he finished 18th out of 75 so that wasn't too shabby for his first time.

Of course, as a mom, I'm proud of all three of my boys!

In Memory

We received word yesterday that Dave Fagan, one of Darren's professors from Sonshine School of Evangelism and the co-director of TNT Ministries, had passed away. Dave was diagnosed with cancer in May of this year. Dave was an awesome teacher, a kind man, and a great Christian. He was such an inspiration to us. He walked, talked, slept, ate and breathed his Christianity. He will be sorely missed but we know he is in a much better place. Our sympathy goes out to his wife, Teresa, and the rest of Dave's family. We love you all.

Prayer Request

We got a call Thursday evening saying that the five year old daughter of our good friends, Arnold and Judy Howell, was being taken to UK Children's Hospital. Many of you know Arnold and his family. He is the evangelist at Petersville Church of Christ. Apparently, Melody had been sick and a blood test revealed a high white blood count. She underwent tests yesterday at UK and they have determined that she has leukemia. The type she has is ALL. We went up to see them today and they are doing as well as can be expected. Melody was really sore today from the bone marrow biopsy they did yesterday. They are starting chemotherapy treatments today and she will have to be in the hospital at least 28 days. My heart just breaks when I think about all they have to go through and face.

According to Arnold they will be doing another biopsy next week to see how she is responding to the chemo. Apparently, how well the disease responds to the chemo during this first week will determine her chances for a cure/remission. So please be praying hard this week that the drugs they give her will go to work on this disease in a big way! Also keep Arnold and Judy in your prayers, but especially Judy. As a mom I can't even begin to imagine how hard this is going to be for her.

It's Official

Darren went to the clerk's office this morning to register his scooter. The clerk told him there was another form that needed to be signed by the dealer. Yikes! But they allowed us to fax it to the dealer and then the dealer faxed it back to the clerk. Voila! License plate in hand he then proceeded to the circuit clerk's office to find out when he could take his test for his motorcycle license. As luck would have it the guy that gives the test was still there so he put the tag on the scooter and took his test....and yes, he passed. So, he is now the licensed driver of a licensed scooter. As we speak he is on his first scooter trip out to his moms to look at her mower. Look out world!

This Could Have Been Darren

I found this video on Youtube. I cracked up when I watched it. It may as well have said, "Starring Darren Fizer.

He has gone to the clerk's office to try to get it licensed right now. I'll keep you updated on how it goes.

Scooter Woes

For those of you who haven't been privileged enough to live through Darren's road to scooter ownership let me bring you up to speed in the events that have led up to this, the "most depressing day" of Darren's life.

About 2-1/2 to 3 months ago Darren became convinced that we could save a small fortune in gasoline if he only had a scooter. Suddenly every third word out of his mouth was "scooter." He started researching them on the internet, visiting local motorcycle dealers, and looking at scooters on eBay. All he wanted to talk about was scooters. He figured that for every 1000 miles he drove on a scooter we would save $100 in gas and yada, yada, yada... I got so tired of hearing about scooters I finally told him that I didn't want to hear the word ever again. I explained to him that there was no money in the budget to finance his scooter dreams. You see, my husband has caviar dreams on a pb and j budget. Foolishly, I thought I could hold him at bay. I told him that if (and when) we sold the Durango he could get a scooter. After nearly 20 years of marriage one would think that I would know better. He found the perfect "deal" on a brand new 250cc scooter on eBay. Now this scooter was chinese made and while they look identical to the Honda and Suzuki models they cost about 1/2 as much. So after all of his whining, crying and belly aching I finally broke down and allowed him to purchase a scooter. That was July 15th. We anxiously awaited the arrival of the scooter. Fifteen days later, the scooter arrived.....damaged......on the day we were to leave for Hillsboro Family Camp. It had broken loose in the crate and the paint was scratched so we began the process of dealing with that. Meanwhile, we are told by the dealer that the MSO (Manufacturer's Statement of Origin) is mailed under separate cover. So while we waited for the MSO (which we have to have to get the scooter licensed) Darren took short rides up and down our road and across Grassy Knoll just to get a feel for the scooter. To make a long story short, we've fussed and threatened, and finally today after a month and a half we received the MSO today. Darren was so excited. He was like a little kid at Christmas. I went to Maysville to get the insurance on it so he could go license it. You know when you hear the insurance agent say "uh oh" that it's not a good sign. She couldn't get the computer to take the VIN. It seems that all VIN numbers have 17 characters and the VIN on the MSO only has 16 characters. So, I had to call Darren and break the news that the MSO was wrong. Sure enough, a check of the plate on the scooter shows that there is indeed a letter missing from the VIN. Now, a deep depression has settled over Darren. I called the insurance agent back and gave her the missing letter and she was able to write the policy. Darren is going to the clerk's office in the morning to try to license it but I expect they'll tell him that he has to have a corrected MSO so we'll be back to square one. He is concerned that it is going to be winter before he gets the scooter licensed and can ride it. As far as I'm concerned, that should be the least of his worries. All I have to say is that I hope they make snow tires for the sucker!

Available At Last

We've finally gotten the Gospel Man & Bible Boy episodes from VBS up on the church's website. Just go to http://www.newlifecoc.org/ and click on the link that says "click here to watch." You have to have a divx player installed on your computer if you don't already but there's a link right on our webpage to install the player. There are 5 episodes in all and more in the works for next year. Enjoy!

Iraq Update

Rob and the rest of his unit are now in Camp Taji. They are all doing well and are going about the job that they were sent to do. Please continue to keep all of them in your prayers as the work they do is very dangerous.

If you would like to send him a card I'm sure he would love to hear from you. His address is:

Robert B Hughes
B BTRY 2/138th FA
Camp Taji
APO AE 09378

A Helping Hand

Sorry I haven't been updating much lately. I spent all week last week and today helping Mary Butcher clean out rooms in the country store they own where they will be living while they rebuild their house. Noah and Karlee have had a blast playing and fighting together. What one of them doesn't think of the other one does.

The work has been hard but rewarding. One of the nice things about being a stay-at-home mom is that I have the freedom to do what I want to do when I want to do it. I love it that I am available to do things for people without the restraints that go along with a job.

It has been heartwarming to see how our church family and community have supported this family. They've been given clothing, furniture, household goods and cash by people they know and total strangers. Last Friday while we were cleaning these two ladies we'd never seen before came in the store wanting sandwiches for lunch. Mary explained to them that the store was actually closed because they had lost their house in a fire and were converting the store to living quarters. Both ladies expressed their sympathy, wished Mary well and left the store. A few minutes later one of them came back in asking for Mary. When Mary came into the room she said, "We're from Lexington and we're out driving around today. I don't have much money with me but what I do have I want to give to you and your family. Try not to worry. God will provide what you need." Wow! I got goosebumps all over. It is awesome to watch God at work caring for his children!

Military School for Two Year Olds?

Does anyone out there know if there is such a thing as military school for two year olds? I'd even settle for obedience school. Noah is about to drive me insane. He has suddenly turned into a little devil. Now don't get me wrong. He's never had a halo but his horns have sprouted big time. He is just so busy and is constantly into something.

Just three examples (from the last three days, I might add):

CASE #1

Time: Sunday evening

Place: Church

Darren and I were in the auditorium talking to James and Christy and Amy after service Sunday night. All the kids were in the back. Jarrod runs in and says, "Mom, you have to come stop Noah." Now, I'm no rocket scientist but even I know that this greeting bodes an ill wind. When I went to the back Noah had found craft paint and poured two bottles (blue and green) into a bowl. He had then dug in and was covered in paint from his fingertips to his elbows. Amazingly he didn't have as much on him elsewhere as you would think but that's not the worst of it. He had proceeded out into the fellowship hall where he designed a little original by Noah on one wall....then into the nursery for another wall mural....back into the fellowship hall for a little padded pew painting.....and finally into the foyer for some floor work. What a mess. I nearly beat him to death, cleaned him up, and set him in a chair for some alone time. Fortunately we caught all of it while it was still wet and were able to get it cleaned up before any real harm was done.

CASE #2

Time: Monday afternoon

Place: Living Room

I spent Monday trying to do some much needed housecleaning. My house is an absolute wreck after a month of non-stop activity. I put some Backyardigans on for Noah in the living room and went to clean the kitchen. He was quiet and I thought all was well. That's what I get for thinking. I went to check on him. He had been in Jacob's room and found an ink pen and proceeded to write all over the seat and one arm of Darren's tan leather recliner. Another spanking and more time alone followed. I've scrubbed the chair with everything I can think of....409, Crown Spray, hairspray, Oops. I even tried the Magic Eraser. Nothing will take it off so basically Darren's chair is ruined. I keep telling myself that before I know it all the kids will be gone and I can finally have nice furniture (Jacob ruined our last leather recliner with a black permanent marker when he was Noah's age) but that's not much consolation right now.

CASE #3

Time: Tuesday morning (today)

Place: Living room

I left the room for a moment to enjoy a rare visit alone to the potty. As soon as I came out I knew something was up. Noah was hiding behind the door. All you moms know that this is never a good sign. When I stepped into the living room I looked over to find that he had been disassembling my laptop keyboard. He had pulled several keys off. Yep, you guessed it. Poor guy got another spanking and some more time to think. Fortunately, I was able to put all the keys back on but you have to understand that this used to be one of his favorite things to do and he has been punished over it many times. It had been forever since he had touched it so I though we were over this particular thing. Guess again.

I shudder to think what tomorrow holds. Who am I kidding? The day is still young. What more could he possibly get into today? I don't know how much more I can take before I snap. Pray for me, please, and in the meantime if you find one of those military schools or even an insane assylum for moms of two year olds, please let me know! Heck, don't even bother contacting me. Just go ahead and sign me up!

The First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for Fleming County. Jacob started the 3rd grade and Jarrod started 8th grade. Today was his last first day of middle school! Next year he'll be a greenie! I can't believe my kids are already this old. They both seemed to have a good day. Jacob says his teacher is really nice and Jarrod is excited about starting to run on the cross country team.

Noah and I enjoyed our day alone all except for the getting up early part. I've gotten really accustomed to sleeping in over the summer. We cleaned house....or rather I cleaned house and he destroyed the part I wasn't trying to clean. Sooo frustrating!

Happiness is....

....hearing your two year old whisper, "I wuv you, Mommy" out of the clear blue sky as you snuggle in bed together before starting the day. So sweet!

Nothing New

It's been nearly a week since I've posted. There just hasn't been much going on. It's been too hot to be out and about much and frankly I've just been exhausted from all of the activity of the past month. Yesterday was a pretty busy day. I went with a group of senior adults to Augusta, Kentucky to visit Rosemary Clooney's home and to eat lunch at the Parkview Inn. We had a really good time and the food was wonderful. And then last night a group of 50 of us from New Life went to the Legends ballgame at Applebees Park in Lexington. We all enjoyed ourselves and the fireworks were great. Oh, and if you see Kim Hester be sure and ask her what it's like to have a ball hurtling toward you at 80+ miles per hour. She got to find out first hand last night...and I do mean first hand. Her hand was the only thing that saved Reanna from getting hit! Thankfully no one was hurt and Kim is recovering from the emotional trauma nicely.

In the blink of an eye.

Have you ever stopped to consider how quickly your whole life can change? I mean, one minute you can be going along your merry way and then in literally the blink of an eye you find your whole world has been turned upside down. Today that really came home to me. I now realize how fast things can change and what it feels like to be totally helpless.

I was enjoying my Sunday afternoon nap when the telephone rang. On the other end of the line I heard Jennie Paige say "Have you heard what's happened?" I told her no and she proceeded to tell me that Steve and Mary Butcher's house was engulfed in flames. Mary and the kids go to church at New Life and we just spent the week with them at Hillsboro. They've really become active in the church recently and their oldest daughter, Angel, was baptized into Christ just this morning.

Darren and I immediately headed to Hester Ridge to see what we could do to help. When we got there it was pouring down rain and there was nearly nothing left of the house. All we could do was huddle together in the pouring rain and watch the fire rage. They literally lost everything. They didn't even get out with shoes on their feet. Mary said she had put laundry in and she and Karlee were taking a nap. Everyone was in the house and just enjoying an average Sunday afternoon and then suddenly everything they owned was gone.

As we stood there and watched the house that Steve had built and all their possessions go up in flames I felt completely powerless and so grateful that the entire family had escaped unharmed. I was reminded of Jesus' words in Matthew 6:19, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." As Jesus said in v. 20 we need to be storing up our treasures in heaven. That's what it's all about. And this became even more evident throughout the rest of the day as we saw the love pour out from our brothers and sisters in Christ as everyone pulled together and came out to wrap this family in their arms, share their sorrows, and try to ease their burdens. This is the stuff that eternity is made of. Never take for granted the material blessings you have been given but at the same time always remember that it's just stuff and not what's really important at all.

Home again.

We are finally home. We spent Monday through Friday at Restoration Acres in Hillsboro, Ohio. This was our first year of camping at Hillsboro Family Camp. We went during the day one day last year and Darren decided then that he wanted to try to get a group from church to go and camp this year. We reserved three camping spots a couple of months ago in preparation for the week. As it turned out there were three families from church that went and stayed for the whole week. It was the five of us, Mary Butcher and her four kids, and Leonard and Ann Lutz. James came up every day with a group of teenagers and a group of the older adults came up for the day a couple of days so we ended up having a pretty good size group.

We enjoyed the fellowship and had a good time. The kids absolutely loved it. They have excellent programs for kids of all ages. Noah and Karlee both refused to go to the Kiddie Corral but the older kids all enjoyed their classes and activities. Actually, Noah went the first day and stayed about 15 minutes before a message for "Judy Fizer to report to the Kiddie Corral" flashed up on the big screen. Although my name isn't Judy I figured that the odds of there being another kid there with the last name of Fizer were slim to none and sure enough, when I got there he was screaming his head off so that was his first and last Kiddie Corral visit.

Chad Allen was in charge of the program for the junior and senior high kids and from what I gathered from them they thought he did an awesome job. They were all pumped up and excited.

Tent camping was okay I guess but it was miserably hot. My plan for next year is to abandon the tent and borrow a camper with air conditioning for the week!

All in all we had a very uplifting week and we only managed to almost burn down the entire campground once, but I really don't want to talk about the unfortunate camp stove accident that left us with a lovely sunroof in our canopy ;)

VBS Closing Program

The week has finally come to a close. We ended tonight with our closing program. There were about 180 kids, parents and members present. Every class sang a song that they had worked on all week and we saw the live conclusion of Gospel Man and Bible Boy. In the end all of their enemies came and apologized and turned to Christ. These videos were just priceless. James and Davy are already planning new episodes for next year! I think they just like all the hype and recognition they get as super heroes! LOL!

We gave away two bicycles tonight - one to a boy with perfect attendance and one to a girl with perfect attendance. It was so neat to see how excited the winners were. I hope they enjoy their new bikes and always remember their week at New Life. Hopefully many seeds were planted this week. We're already starting to see some fruit from all that went into this week. We had several VBS visitors this morning and we picked up four kids on the bus so we're off to a start. Now comes the task of following up with the kids.

All in all, VBS was a lot of work but definitely worth it. It was awesome to see what can be accomplished when you set your mind to something and seek God's will. I'd like to give a big shout out to everyone who helped with VBS in any way. We counted that there were about 80 people who played a part in bringing this week to pass! You guys are awesome and we love you so much!

Now I'd like to be able to say that I'm going to rest, relax and recuperate but we head out tomorrow for a week of tent camping at Hillsboro Family Camp in Hillsboro, Ohio with a bunch from church. Oh well, it's probably for the best. If I ever stop I may not get started again! That's what happens when you get old.

VBS Night 6....

Well, we survived the week. Unfortunately the rain came down hard tonight which affected our numbers but we managed and we still had a good time. We were blessed to have 5 days of good weather. Even with the rain we still had 100 kids and 42 adults so that's nothing to complain about. Over the course of the week we registered 200 different kids for VBS and 68 of them still had perfect attendance as of tonight.

Tonight Gospel Man and Bible Boy took on Stealing Steve. After a chase that was slowed down due to a little run in with Officer Thurman, Stealing Steve managed to capture our two heroes with a huge net. When we left them they were hopelessly tangled. We'll have to wait for the live ending on Sunday night to see how it all turns out.

For our special activity tonight Thurman made a daring cycle stunt jump over 5 cars, a fire engine, and a bus. We had been really talking this up all week so the kids were really excited. The excitement was building all night and the kids were in a frenzy. Thurman prepared himself for the jump by donning his Superman shirt, protective gloves, a bulletproof vest, and a helmet. The cars were lined up and the ramps were in place.....and Thurman wheeled into the auditorium on his tricycle, surveyed the placement of the ramps and cars and began his approach. Unfortunately his legs were too long for him to be able to pedal the trike and he just didn't build up enough speed to be able to clear all the cars and the jump ended with Thurman and his trike overturned in a heap on top of the cars. He had to be carried from the stage but soon recovered and we're happy to say that he'll live to jump another day!

We've just had such an awesome week. God really showed us this week what we can do if we put Him first and seek His will with an open mind and a willing heart. Just as scripture says, we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. We just have to believe it! A special thanks to all the people who made this week such a success. We are so blessed with such a wonderful group of people here at New Life. We thank God for each of you daily!

VBS Night 5....

We've made it through night 5. We're almost there. The end is in sight. We've had fun but VBS is still undeniably hard work. I'm definitely ready for a rest.

Rain threatened to ruin our night but the weather cleared up just in time for VBS to start. We shuffled classes around before VBS started because it looked as though the rain was going to hang around but we ended up being able to move back outside before the night was over. Have you ever tried serving refreshments to a group of 35 kids at a time in a church foyer? It's not much fun. We are in such need of additional classroom space. Hopefully we'll be starting on our building addition soon so this won't be a problem next year.

Gospel Man and Bible Boy managed to escape the girl thugs thanks to Bible Boy's quick thinking and a can of pepper spray but their mission was foiled by Bible Boy's lying tongue. I wish everyone could see these videos. They are absolutely hilarious. I can't believe Darren convinced grown men (Davy Hamilton & James Watkins) to make absolute fools of themselves. In today's episode they wore their costumes to the Dairy Queen!

We had water games tonight which is always a kid favorite. We had two huge inflatable water slides, a slip-n-slide, and about 400 water balloons which sounds like a lot of balloons but when you've got 126 kids it's really not. They just don't go very far. Everyone had a great time.

The best news of all is that we've already had one parent call and ask if we could start picking her kids up every Sunday for Sunday school and church so we're already beginning to see results from VBS. God is so good!

VBS Night 4....

Night 4 of Vacation Bible School is behind us and with it we are over the hump. Tonight was our largest crowd of kids. We had 136 kids and 46 adults. Everything ran smoothly and we all had a lot of fun.

Over the course of the week we have registered 182 different kids and 76 have perfect attendance so far! Wow! We are just completely excited and blown away by what the Lord is doing here!

Our special activity for the evening was a visit from some local heroes. We had two City of Flemingsburg Police cruisers, a City of Flemingsburg fire engine, and an ambulance from the Fleming County Ambulance Service. Thanks, guys! The kids got to check out the vehicles and get stickers and all kinds of goodies. We gave all of them a police badge to take home. Noah especially liked the fire truck. As we were walking back to the church the fireman blew the horn on the fire truck. Noah jumped, looked at me, and said, "That scared my britches, Mom!" I couldn't help but crack up.

Gospel Man and Bible Boy were being beaten senseless by the Girl Thugs at the end of tonight's episode. I wonder if they'll be able to escape? We're waiting breathlessly for tomorrow's episode to find out!

Please continue to pray that the rain is held off for another couple of days!

VBS Night 3....

We're home from night 3 of VBS. Tonight ran really smooth. We got started on time and everything else just ran like clockwork. We had 128 kids and 49 adults so our numbers are holding pretty steady. It's just so exciting to look around and see so many kids who are rich soil ready to be planted and cultivated for Christ.

Tonight Bible Boy had to overcome some pride issues. He fell hard when it was discovered that the rare "diddlewhopper" he found was really only a pop tab. Poor Bible Boy! and poor Gospel Man. He was left to attend to a mission on his own which really wasn't working out for him too well when we left him tonight.

Our special event was a forty (yes, I said 40) foot long banana split. Now that's a lot of bananas and ice cream! Yummy!

Also, we got two calls today. One of the balloons we let go last night was found somewhere in New York state and one in Clarksburg, Pennsylvania. How cool is that!

Keep praying that God holds the rain off for us. We're excited to see what the rest of the week holds! Til' tomorrow.....

VBS Night 2....

The second night of VBS is now behind us. It was a little hairy but overall I think it went very well. We had 131 kids and 48 adults for a total of 179 people! We experienced the normal VBS glitches like getting started on time and trying to stay on schedule but it could have been much worse. Now that we know what we are doing things will go smoother (I hope) tomorrow night.

Gospel Man and Bible Boy took on the menacing Mirror Man tonight. It took some doing but they were able to turn him away from his vanity and put him back on the straight and narrow path. Our special activity for the night was a balloon send-off. Each person had a helium balloon with a tag which had their name and the church's address written on it and then we let them all go at the same time (at least that was the plan) just before VBS ended. It was a pretty cool sight. We're excited to see if any of the tags are returned and where they may come from.

Well, I've had a long, exhausting day so it's off to bed for me so I can get up and start over tomorrow!

VBS Opening Night

VBS is finally underway. We worked all week last week advertising. We were out every night passing out fliers and making runs through the city on our "VBS Ice Cream Bus" passing out free popsicles and fliers. Gospel Man and Bible Boy even came along for the ride along with our VBS clown and lots of adults and kids who were so willing to come help. We've spent a fortune on advertising what with the newspaper ads, radio spots, and signs but it looks like it's all going to pay off.

We kicked off last night with a free carnival. We had 10 carnival games complete with all kinds of neat carnival prizes, a huge inflatable slide, popcorn, cotton candy, sno cones, funnel cakes and deep fried candy bars, a professional clown who tied balloon animals and hats and stuff all night long (Thanks, Daisy!) and a photo booth where the kids couild have their pictures taken with Gospel Man and Bible Boy!

When it was all said and done we had 122 registered kids from ages 2 through the 8th grade and 70 adult helpers and parents for a grand total of 192 people! We are absolutely thrilled! Now we've just got to figure out how to get our groups split up and decide where were going to put everyone! Pray that the Lord holds the rain off this week so we can utilize our outside grounds for much needed space!

We're looking forward to a fun week of learning, crafts, music, refreshments and the adventures of Gospel Man and Bible Boy as they take on the menacing Mirror Man, Stealing Steve, and the Girl Thugs!

Little Legends

Last Friday, July 13th, Noah and I went to my Dad's company picnic at Applebee's Park in Lexington while the rest of our family went in different directions. Jacob was invited to a friends birthday party and Darren and Jarrod went to Kentucky Speedway with a group from church.

We got to hang out at the ballgame with both of my sisters and their children and my parents so we had a lot of fun.

They had fireworks after the game which really excited the 2 and 3 year olds in our family (Jay, my youngest nephew, who is 7 weeks old, amazingly slept through the whole show). If you've never attended a Legends game when they had fireworks then you don't know what you're missing. They are awesome! Really much better than anything I've ever seen on the the 4th of July.

Both of my sisters and I were pregnant at the same time in 2004. We almost drove my poor mom crazy! Braden was born on May 30th, Eli on August 27th, and Noah on October 16th. Everytime we're together (which is not often since Janella lives in Paducha) we try to get pictures of the three of them together. They all really enjoyed their trip to the ballpark. And thanks, Uncle Jon, for the cool Legends hats!

Moving Day

I spent the morning and early afternoon helping our friends, Chris and Jen Jones, pack up the rest of their house. Wow! We flew around getting things boxed and loaded and/or stored in the attic for later so that the new renters/owners could move in right behind them. We really accomplished quite a lot in a short period of time.

It was a bittersweet day. I was glad to be able to help but at the same time I will miss Jen a lot. She went out of her way to make me feel included when we first arrived at New Life. She made the transistion so much easier for me and I am so grateful to her for that. There are some things about life in the ministry that only another preacher's wife can understand and relate to. I know we'll keep in touch but it won't be the same as having her just a few miles up the road. I'll miss you, Jen, and I love ya'!

Praise to God

I just got home from tailgate service a few minutes ago. I really enjoy the laid back atmosphere of our summer services and tonight was especially awesome. We had two baptisms tonight. Darren and Jackie Pollitt went to see a couple this afternoon and tonight they gave their lives to Jesus Christ! What a wonderful ending to this Lord's Day. It is so neat to know that there are angels rejoicing in heaven over these two souls. God is so good!

I Love VBS?

Okay, I have to be completely honest and say that Darren is driving me insane (or at least more insane than usual)! This is Wednesday and I have not been home one day this week so far. Where have I been, you ask. Well, we are gearing up for one huge shindig of a VBS. I went to church Monday morning with the intention of making three VBS signs for the church yard. You know, nothing fancy. Just simple signs with all the required information. But no, my husband turned something very simple into something very complex. My three simple signs turned into one 8 ft. x 8 ft. sign, two 8 ft. x 4 ft. signs, and two 4 ft. x 4 ft. signs. So, I've been painting signs for the past three days. I finally finished them right before Bible study this evening. Then he hands me 12 more smaller posters and tells me they need to be transformed into Bus Stop signs (front and back) to be posted all over town. So I set to work on them after Bible study and finished them at about 9:30 p.m. tonight. Am I done yet you want to know? Of course not. Now I have to make signs for the side of the VBS Ice Cream Bus that will be running all over town next week to do some advance advertising. Will it never end?

A Long Day & Night

Am I the only one who likes to sleep in on Saturdays? Well, that was my plan yesterday but as usual my plans seldom come to fruition. I woke to the sound of Darren's cell phone ringing at 7:15 a.m. A person (who shall remain nameless) was calling to see if we were interested in buying a lawn mower they had found at a yard sale. Now first off, we most definitely don't need a lawn mower and secondly, who in their right mind is thinking of mowing the lawn at 7:15 in the morning? But regardless, the damage was done, and I was wide awake so there was nothing left to do but get up and get moving. The day never got a whole lot better......

At about 10:30 Darren called from Maysville (where he had gone to pick up some supplies for church) and asked if I wanted to meet him there and go to the Ceasar's Creek Flea Market in Wilmington, Ohio. The boys were all for it so I told him we would be there in about 45 minutes. Again, so much for plans. We got ready and went out to start the Durango and nothing happened. Not even a spit or a sputter. The battery was flat. Now this is usually not a problem since we have three vehicles so there is always a spare to get a jump from but not so this day. Our van is in the shop having its transmission rebuilt and Darren was driving the car so there we were. Lucky for us our neighbor just happened to pull in about that time and saw the hood up. He came over and gave me a jump and we were on our way...about 30 minutes behind schedule...but on our way nonetheless.

We went to the flea market and looked around. We didn't really buy anything except lunch and some ice cream but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. We came home about 7:30 p.m. and I headed for the pool a little while later to do some much needed vacuuming. I came in at 9:30 p.m. and decided to just let my hair dry and save the shower for this morning which is something I never do. I ALWAYS shower immediately after getting out of the pool but oh no, not this time. What was I thinking!?

I had just gotten in bed and laid down at about 11:00 p.m. when the phone rang. It was my mom calling from my sisters in Paducha. She was calling to tell me that my other sister, Alicia (whose husband is training to go to Iraq and has the 2 year old and new baby), had just called to tell them that she was at the ER in Carlisle with Eli (the 2 year old) and that they were transferring him to UK Med Center. My mom was upset that they were so far away and Alicia was all alone. Soooo I immediately jumped up out of bed (having had no shower and head still damp from the pool), threw on some clothes, woke Jarrod up so he could go with me, and headed for Lexington to meet Alicia at the ER at UK. They thought Eli might have appendicitis. Alicia said he just all of a sudden started screaming and holding his side. He wasn't able to walk or stand up straight and was running a fever. The ER in Carlisle felt that it was a probably appendicitis so there was supposed to be a pediatric surgeon waiting when they arrived at UK. Well, he (or she) might have been waiting but not at UK. We spent hours waiting for them to take him for a CT scan which finally occured at about 5:00 a.m. and they finally sent us home at about 6:45 a.m. The kicker is that we still don't know what's going on. They couldn't see the appendix on the CT scan but said that "it didn't appear that there was any inflamation around the appendix." The ER doc said that appendicitis is extremely difficult to diagnose in kids under 5 and that 90 percent of the time they don't catch them until they've ruptured. He said that while his blood count was elevated and he was complaining of abdominal pain that they couldn't be sure that it was appendix so they released him with instructions for Alicia to take him to her pediatrician's after-hours clinic to be checked again today. So we finally made it home (by the sheer grace of God I might add) at 8:00 a.m. this morning. I immediately went to bed and slept until 12:30 this afternoon. I had planned on trying to go to church this morning but it just didn't happen. Darren took Jacob and Noah with him and Jarrod and I were dead to the world. It felt really weird to miss church. The only other time I've missed church in the past 10 years is when I was in the hospital after Noah was born.

As of now Eli is still having bouts of intermittent severe pain where he screams and clutches his side and he still has a fever. Alicia called the after-hours clinic only to be told that they don't see ER follow-up patients and that she would need to take him back to the ER to be checked. So for now she is watching him closely and waiting. Please keep all of them in your prayers.

On a high note though Alicia and Eli got to see Rob for the first time in over a month yesterday. He was finally able to get his web cam working so they were able to have a good video chat. She said Eli was so excited that he was kissing the computer screen. I had to laugh at her because she said she looked awful. She told him that had she known he was going to get it working she would've showered and fixed her hair. I doubt he really cared or even noticed.

A day off

Darren decided to take a very rare day off from work today. He told the boys last night and they set about planning a family activity for us. They discussed Kings Island and the Beach waterpark (both of which I persuaded them against since this is the biggest vacation week of the summer) and finally decided that they would like to take a picnic lunch and go hang out for the day on the beach at Cave Run Lake. So we went to bed last night with visions of sandcastles dancing in our heads but when we woke up this morning the weather was uncooperative. So, we had to come up with a new plan. I got online and did a web search on the Lexington Children's Museum which is now known as the Explorium. I ran it past the kids and they liked the idea and thus "Plan B" was born.

We arrived in Lexington at lunch time so we grabbed a bite to eat at Arbys in the Civic Center food court and then went to the Explorium. It was AWESOME! The whole place is hands-on and self-guided so we were able to spend as much time in the exhibits as we wanted and even move on and come back to the kids' favorites later. There were exhibits about horses, water, dinosaurs, homes of the world, a bubble room where you could enclose yourself in a bubble, the human heart and brain, space and more. There is even a play area for kids under three with a water play area, reading area, and pretend toys. Noah and I had a "picnic" complete with the basket and the red and white checked blanket. He had the fried chicken and I had a hotdog. Yummy! We spent about three hours just playing and having a good time. We would've stayed longer but Noah's diaper had reached its load limit and I didn't have a spare. All three boys loved it. It was well worth the $5 per person admission and we will definately be making a return trip. We may even have to consider a youth trip in the near future. I highly recommend it to anyone with kids of any age.

Happy Fourth of July!

Just wanted to wish everyone Happy 4th of July! We are so fortunate to live in a country where we are free. Free to have our own opinions. Free to make our own life choices. Free to think and be whatever we want. And best of all, free to worship God without fear of persecution. We have no idea how fortunate we truly are.

So, to everyone out there, take a moment to ponder your freedoms and the blessings that God has given you and remember that without God, the United States of America is simply "One Nation Under." So enjoy your freedoms and Happy Independence Day!

P.S. A special thank you to the men and women who are serving our country to make sure that our freedoms are not taken away!

Ratatouille

Darren told Jacob last night that he would take he and Jarrod to the movies. This is pretty much standard at our house. We seldom all go together because you never know how Noah will behave in the theater. I was quick to protest their plan last night because well, heck, I can't tell you the last time I got to see a movie. I'm always the designated babysitter. So Darren offerred (half-heartedly) to stay home with Noah and let me take Jarrod and Jacob to Maysville Cinema 4. So at 9:15 p.m. the three of us set out for Maysville for the 10:00 p.m. showing of the new Disney movie, Ratatouille.

After 26 minutes of commercials (yes, that's right commercials. What's up with that?) and previews the movie finally started. It was suprisingly good. I would recommend it to anyone. We all laughed and enjoyed ourselves. And hey, the popcorn was excellent. My compliments to the chef!

Here we go again...

I thought everyone in the house was on the mend but it was not to be. This afternoon I was getting ready to go to the Hamilton's for Bri's birthday party when Noah came into the bathroom and just curled up into a little ball and laid at my feet. Thinking this strange I picked him up and found that he was burning with fever so here we go again. I checked his temperature and asked him where it hurt. He only pointed to his bottom which was directly related to the taking of the temperature if you get my drift, but didn't give me any other hint as to what may be the problem. I was thinking throat like his dad but he is still eating and drinking fine so I'm kind of stumped. I guess I'll try to call Dr. Coleman tomorrow to see if I can get him to call me in something to give the poor little guy. Oh well, at least it's never dull around here!

A fun day

Today was a really fun day. We had scheduled a youth trip today to Carter Caves. We were really concerned last night because it didn't look like the weather was going to cooperate but we got up this morning to a pretty, sunny day. So at 10:00 a.m. this morning eighteen kids and five adults from New Life packed onto the bus together with extra clothing and all the fixin's for a good picnic lunch and headed for Carter County. We arrived at about 11:30, ate lunch, and headed for the self-guided caves with flashlights in-hand and a sense of adventure in the air.

I was concerned about taking Noah through the caves but it went fine. You see, I was having flashbacks of a similar trip with a group from Blue Licks and a two year old Jacob. Jacob screamed and had to be carried on someone's back all the way through the caves. It was really not much fun. But Noah was so brave....a master explorer. He trudged right through the freezing murky water in the dark and never missed a beat. Of course, his courage was bolstered by the "lashlight" he carried in his hand for moral support. I say it was for moral support because he never really caught on that he should be shining it in front of his feet so he could see where he was going. Instead he spent the day illuminating the cave ceiling for us.

We explored two different caves and checked out a waterfall with no mishaps (except James cut the top of his poor bald head on the low ceiling about five steps into the first cave). We had a really fun day. The weather held until the exact time we boarded the bus to return home. No sooner than the last person was loaded the raindrops began to fall and the thunder began to roll.

We got home at 4:30 p.m., came home and cleaned up a little and then headed over to the Jeffersons for HBF at 6:00 p.m. for more fun and fellowship (oh, and food). Life is good. It just doesn't get any better than this!

Just another day

Today was a pretty normal day. I did some laundry, picked Jacob up from camp (goodbye peaceful, whine-free home), lounged around in the pool for a while, fixed supper, went to church and then to the grocery.

Nothing exciting or profound happened today except that God gave me another beautiful day full of His blessings which to me is the most profound thing of all. As I laid in the pool I pondered all the things that God has done for me and given me. As I compiled the long list in my head I couldn't help but think how unworthy I am. Thank God that He loves me in spite of myself. What an awesome God we serve!

Three kids and a lost iPod

Well, I made it through the day and it wasn't that bad really (yeah, right!). My alarm went off at 4:55 a.m. (which nearly scared me to death) and Davy and Tab dropped Bri and Kaela off at 5:15. Fortunately for me they weren't any more ready to get up for the day than I was and both went back down on the couch for some more shuteye. I tossed and turned in the recliner for a while but finally went back to sleep until about 8:30 a.m. when Noah woke up and joined the party.

We had breakfast, the three kids played (began the destruction of my house), we played outside, had a picnic, came back in for awhile (home demolition continued), went swimming in the pool, played in the water hose, came in and took baths, played inside some more (destruction completed) and then finally cleaned up a little before Davy and Tab arrived at 4:45.

I fixed supper after everyone left and then planned on crashing on the couch for a while but that was short lived. Jarrod came and asked where his iPod was. Now, I know this doesn't sound like a bad thing but you would have to understand that he gave me his iPod to keep while we were at Relay for Life on Friday night. I stuck it in my camera bag (which I left unzipped) and that's what I told him. He checked the camera bag but no iPod. Darren became involved and yelled at both of us and then a mad search of the house, Durango and all its contents ensued. After about an hour of searching and a trip up to the Industrial Park (as if it would still be there) I was ready to give up. I was literally sick to my stomach to think that we had lost a $350 iPod. And then Jarrod decided to go look in his room. Lo and behold what do you think he found? Yep, you guessed it. The long lost iPod. Part of me wanted to kill him but the rest of me was just so relieved that I burst into tears.

So now, I've nurtured the children, fed the family, restored some semblance of order to my house, located the iPod and I am wiped out. Early to bed for me tonight!

The Blahs & Yucks

Today has just been the most incredibly nasty day. I went to bed last night with the intention of having a mega house cleaning party today. But oh how things change. Darren has been sick since we came back from camp complaining of sore throat and fever. Now, like most men, he is the absolute biggest baby when it comes to being sick. He's done nothing but whine since Friday night. The other thing he does is...SNORE! Not just a little cute breathy kind of snore but a raise the roof, bring the house down, curl your toes kinds of snore! So, I got almost no sleep last night and was just dragging when I got up this morning. Still, after a late start, I was planning on enlisting Jarrod's help to do some major house cleaning. I started cleaning in the dining room (where the vehicle threw up all the camp supplies) and sent Jarrod outside to pick up the garbage that the neighbors dogs scattered all over the yard (aaarrrggghhh!). Everything was going well until Jarrod came back in and announced that he didn't feel well. He then proceeded to start yacking and has been doing so all day. I finished cleaning the dining room up and put everything from camp away, took out the trash and got the dishwasher loaded and then I just threw up my hands and gave in to the temptation to lay around on a nasty, rainy, dreary day. Now I am really upset with myself for not getting anything more done but it just didn't seem fair that Darren and Jarrod were both going to spend the day lying around while I worked. Oh well, there's always tomorrow....when I have to get up at 5 a.m. because I'm babysitting for the Hamilton girls....oh yeah, there will be a lot of cleaning going down tomorrow. NOT!

Something I never thought about

My brother-in-law, Seargent First Class Rob Hughes, was recently deployed for active duty in Iraq. He and my sister had known for a little over a year that it was possible that his National Guard Unit would be deployed to the Gulf. Rob began his 397 day deployment on June 5th. He is currently at Camp Shelby, Mississippi for training prior to being sent overseas sometime the first part of August. He and my sister are the proud parents of two boys, Eli who is 2-1/2 and Jay who was born on May 20th. All this time I've thought about how hard all of this was going to be for my sister with a new baby and all. I've worried, stressed and prayed over her situation and I never once considered Rob's feelings.

This morning my mom called to say that my nephew, Eli, had been admitted to the hospital because he had a very bad asthma attack early this morning. My mom is staying with Jay while my sister, Alicia, stays at the hospital with Eli. I went over to see him this afternoon and he is doing some better. Alicia said that everything just seemed to be going wrong....Eli is sick, their cows were out, someone destroyed her mailbox, etc. etc. and again I felt sorry for her because of everything she is having to deal with on her own. But then she began talking about Rob and it struck me that I had just totally not given any thought to how hard this is on him. He is having a really hard time. He is, of course, proud to be serving his country but he is really missing his family and feels bad that he isn't around to help Alicia. She said that he had emailed her and told her how much he missed her and the boys. He said that he couldn't look at Eli's picture without crying and that he felt so bad for Jay because he would miss the first year of his life. She went on to say that Rob had called to talk to Eli and that Eli had really carried on a big conversation with his daddy. He wanted to know if he was still in Mississippi and if he was far away and then he asked Rob if he could take him for a ride. Rob told him that he would take him for a ride when he could and Eli told him to wait and he would go get his shoes so they could go now. She said Rob broke down and started crying and was so emotional that he had to hang up. My heart simply broke as she told the story and even now as I type this I want to cry. How could I have been so unthinking? Why did I never even think about Rob's feelings in all this?

Please, God, watch over Rob and keep him safe. I pray that you will hold him in the palm of your hand and help him during this time. I pray that you will be his strength and encouragement during the dark days and that you will bring him home safely to his family. In Jesus' name, Amen.

I'm still here....

Okay, so I managed to make one post and then disappeared. I know what you're thinking..."What's up with that?" But, I've got a good excuse. I, along with the rest of my family, just spent an entire week at Sugarloaf Christian Camp with a group of 61 seventh and eighth graders! We had a good week all in all. The campers were very well behaved and the staff was (for the most part) responsible and hard working. James, our new youth minister (and old friend), was the camp dean for the week. He did a great job and the kids loved him. We had four baptisms over the course of the week. Praise God! It's amazing to me that God allowed me to witness the birth of four new creations this week. God is so good!

Anyway, we got back from camp at about 1:30 yesterday afternoon, unloaded the vehicles (which translated means we took everything out of the cars and threw it in the middle of the dining room floor), and crashed for a couple of hours before joining our church team at Relay for Life last night at 6 p.m. We didn't make it the whole night this year. After a week of church camp, our hearts just weren't in it so we packed it all up and came home at about 2 a.m.

Needless to say I'm not worth much today. I tried to sleep in but Noah, my 2 year old, kept coming to stand by the side of my bed and saying, "It's time to wake up, Mom." So now I'm trying to talk myself into starting on the daunting pile of laundry that was created by 5 people during 6 days of camp! My goal for today is to finish the laundry for Jacob, my 8 year old, since he is heading back to camp tomorrow and for some reason is insisting that he doesn't want to go naked all week. LOL! Hopefully life (and my wreck of a house) will get back to normal next week...if there really is such a thing!

First Timer

Well, after much hesitation I have decided to try my hand at blogging. I've been thinking about it for some time now but wasn't really sure what I would blog about. But, I figure life (with three kids) will provide enough blog material with very little help from me.

One of my best friends is a blogger and I really love reading her blog so I guess you could say that she was my inspiration. Her blog is one of the pages I check just about every time I am on the net. She is getting ready to move a couple hours away so I'm glad I'll still be able to keep up with her and her family via her blog.

So, here's to a (hopefully) long and fruitful blogging experience.