Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Reflections of a Year - 2008

Wow! I can't believe that 2008 is drawing to a close. It's funny to me that as a child it seemed to take forever for Christmas to get here but the older I get the faster Christmas rolls around each year.


2008 has been a good year filled with blessings from God on high.


January - Jarrod and I prepared for our mission trip to Mexico. The excitement was building as we completed our fundraising efforts and travel plans.


February - A group of us from New Life, including myself and Jarrod, traveled to Mexico with Faith and Works on a mission trip. This was my second trip and Jarrod's first. What an awesome opportunity! God touched my life in so many ways during this trip. We also began Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at church. This program has been such a blessing to us and I am so thankful for the lessons we've learned and applied to our lives through Dave's program.


March - I spent March in the whirlwind of tax season. I'm thankful that God has given me a skill that I can use to help provide for my family and I'm thankful for my job. Especially in these tough economic times.


April - We were saddened by the sudden loss of Darren's cousin, Stephanie. It's so important for us to remember that God doesn't promise us another day, or even another hour. Life is so fleeting. Spend it doing the things that really matter....spend it in the service of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Also, Jacob turned 9 years old. He is growing up so fast!


May - Darren and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. We have officially spent half of our lives together. I'm so thankful for the man God blessed me with and look forward to growing old with him! We were also especially thankful that my brother-in-law made it home safely from his one year tour of duty in Iraq and we are grateful to God for protecting him from harm.


June - Gospel Man & Bible Boy consumed much of our June. We were busy filming videos starring our two heroes for Vacation Bible School. We also spent a weekend at Sugarloaf Family Camp where a bunch of us from New Life took care of the children's program.


July - What a busy month! Camp and Vacation Bible School. I pray that we we're able to touch the lives of lots of kids and plant seeds of salvation through our efforts.


August - Darren and I made a solo trip to Delmarva, Deleware to preach at Delmarva Family Camp. We really enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to returning in a couple of years. This was the first trip we had taken without the kids since Jarrod was about 1 year old! Also of note this month was the beginning of school. My firstborn began his freshman year at Fleming County High School. Wow, where does the time go?


September - Amy and I began our weekly Bible study. We talked about doing this while we were in Mexico together but it took us until now to get around to it. This study and our fellowship has become one of the things I look forward to most each week. I'm so thankful for Amy and our friendship.


October - We began another season of Bible Bowl and both of our teams had good results at our first round robin. It was great to see the kids so excited about what they had accomplished. My baby turned 4 this month. I can't believe 4 years have come and gone since Noah came into my life. Thoughts of him can always bring a smile to my face.


November - We kicked off our new women's group at church. Ladies 2for2 is a ministry striving to fulfill the mission and promises of Acts 2:42-47. I am so excited to see what God has planned for New Life through this wonderful group of ladies. Also, Jarrod turned 15! 365 days and counting until the dreaded driver's permit!


December - We presented two performances of "Hallelujah! Jesus is Born!" at church. This was our first attempt at a musical during our time at New Life. I thoroughly enjoyed it and we didn't sound half bad if I do say so myself. I hope our program brought glory to God. We enjoyed Christmas with both sides of our family and at home. It was so nice to be with everyone and to see loved ones that live away.

As I look back over the year I see so many things to praise God for. Health, home, family, friends, jobs, and opportunities to serve. God is so good! I look forward to seeing what God has in store for us in the coming year and I pray that He uses us in a big way!

Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year! May God bless and keep you all!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Our Example

Lately at New Life we've been heavily involved in a big push toward evangelism. We started several months ago going through a Bible study called First Principles and we currently have 3 groups meeting and 1 more beginning in January. Darren and I are involved in one of the groups on Tuesday nights. Jarrod always stays home and keeps Jacob and Noah while we go to the study. I didn't know it but apparently Noah is very aware of where we are and what we are doing on Tuesday evenings.

Yesterday was my day off and Noah and I went to church to pick Darren up and go to lunch at his mother's house. Before we left the house, Noah told me to wait and ran back into his room to get his "My First Bible." He told me he needed to take his Bible because he was going to have a Bible study. I asked him who he was going to have a Bible study with and he said, "Daddy." I said, "Oh, so Daddy is going to teach you about the Bible?" He said, "No. I'm going to teach Daddy." I started laughing and said, "So you think you know more than Daddy?" He said, "Yes." So I said, "Tell me everything you know about the Bible." He looked at me and said, "Jesus is Lord!"

I guess that pretty much sums it up, huh? It's amazing what little ones pick up on. What a wonderful reminder to be mindful of the example we are setting for the little eyes and ears that watch and listen so closely to our lives.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Ladies 2for2

I think I had mentioned in a prior post that I had been working on getting a new women's ministry group started at New Life. Well.....we are underway! We kicked off "Ladies 2for2" Monday evening at the church with 30 ladies present!

"Ladies 2for2" is a ministry based on the principles found in Acts 2:42 (hence Ladies 2for2). We are women, individually and as a group (2), devoted to caring for the needs of one another and our community (2). Our vision for this ministry is to become an outreach group for our congregation and community. Our hope is to fulfill the mission and promise of Acts 2:42-47 by focusing on things of Christ and the needs of others. Specifically, it is our desire to minister to members of our local congregation and community by showing them the love of Christ through our words and actions.

Everyone who attended was receptive and seemed to be excited by the prospect of working together toward a common goal for service to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Personally, I'm just so darn excited I could explode! I think this was a huge area of need for New Life and I can't wait to see how God will use us in the year to come!

Lord, please bless our efforts as we strive to do your will. Help us to remove the focus from ourselves and fix our eyes on You through service to others.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

We go together like......

Last Tuesday was my birthday. My boss was gone so I took off work and stayed home with Noah. I spent most of the day in bed sick so it wasn't much fun. At one point I was lying in bed and Noah came and climbed in with me. He stretched out on top of me and said, "Mommy, you're a hotdog and I'm the bun." Too cute!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Bible Bowl Opening Day

Yesterday was our first Bible Bowl competition of the 2008-09 year. We have one senior division team and one beginner team this year. Our senior team is made up of Dylan Bjorklund, Jarrod Fizer, Dustin Flora, Hannah Pollitt and Maggie Pollitt and the beginner team is Jacob Fizer and Nate Watkins.

The senior team did well. They finished the day with a 4 - 2 record. And as always we are proud of them. But they've tasted victory before while the poor beginner team has always played with a lot of heart but never known success. Yesterday, our beginner team tied for 2nd based on their 5 - 2 record and finished 3rd based on their point total for the day. It's the first time they've ever placed. Nate and Jacob weren't really paying attention to what was going on, not expecting anything, and when they announced it Nate gasped and grabbed Jacob and yelled, "Jacob that's us! That's you and me!" They were so excited.

Also, prior to each meet every kid takes a written test over the material they've studied for the month. Jacob historically has never done well on the tests. He hates them and never applies himself. He actually usually ends up turning them in mostly blank. I think the highest he has ever scored is like 13. But yesterday he got 56 out of 67 correct! I was so proud I almost cried! It was a real confidence booster for him. Way to go, Jacob!

Cassanova & the Cat Fight

Noah is a boy of many faces. We call him many things around our home. Some in love, some in jest, and others, well others in pure frustration. One of his popular nicknames as of late around our house has been "Destructo." That child can come into a room and within 10 minutes it looks like a war zone. Another frequently heard one is "Clepto." He likes stuff. Any kind of stuff. Stuff to play with. Stuff to eat. Stuff to work with. All kinds of stuff. If he sees stuff he likes, he takes it. Doesn't matter if it's his stuff or not. He takes it and hides it in his room. The latest nickname though is "Cassanova." Noah is in love. Call it puppy love or preschool love, or maybe even forbidden love since we're talking abount a preacher's son and an elder's daughter. Call it whatever you want, but he's in LOVE. We're talking huggin', kissin', hidin' out in dark rooms alone LOVE. He's got a real thing for Kaela and it would appear that the feeling is pretty mutual from what I can tell.

But alas, in finding this new love, he has cast aside his summer love, Karlee. If what happened in Sunday School class yesterday is any indication, Karlee is not liking her new role as the jilted woman very well. It went something like this:

KARLEE (to Kaela who was hiding under the table with Noah): I hate you!

ME: Wait a minute. We don't hate anybody. You guys need to play together.

KARLEE: But she's stealin' my boyfriend.

KAELA: He's not your boyfriend. He's my boyfriend!

KARLEE: He was with me last night! (He wasn't. I'm not sure where that came from)

KAELA: We're gonna' get married and live here forever and ever!

At this point Karlee goes over and kisses Noah (who is standing quietly beside Kaela) on the cheek.

KARLEE (looking at Kaela): I kissed him!

KAELA: He's my boyfriend!

By this time I was laughing so hard I was nearly crying. I would have given anything to have had a video camera. And from what I understand from the nursery staff, the same kind of exchange went on all through church as well. Of course, for those of you who don't know, you have to understand that Kaela is 4, Noah is almost 4 (next week), and Karlee is 3. I don't remember my other two ever behaving like this at this age. I guess it's true that they start younger all the time.

But every player has to pay the piper at some point. Kaela was home sick from church last night with a fever. With all the kissin' that's been going on I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Noah catches the bug....and I'm not talking about the LOVE BUG!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

So that's where it comes from!

Noah has just been full of it lately. He has said and done some of the funniest things. I have to share his latest but first I must post a warning (fine print) for the squeamish:

WARNING: This post contains references to bodily functions. If the thought of this brings on waves of nausea and/or fainting spells, please click away from this blog. The writer is not responsible for injuries/illness sustained by those who choose to read on.

Okay, here we go. Night before last after putting Noah to bed he got up wanting a drink of water. He came into the kitchen and got a big glass and filled it completely full. Seeing this, and thinking about the ramifications, I quickly took the glass from him and said, "Oh no. You're not drinking all that. You'll pee the bed for sure if you do." He looked at me for a minute with a puzzled look on his face and then he said, "You mean that water makes pee in me?" I said, "Yes. When you drink something it turns into pee later." He studied for a little while longer and then he said, "Well then, what does poop do?" Trying to keep a straight face, I said, "The food you eat turns into poop." He nodded his head, grabbed the glass and took a drink, handed it back to me and headed back to bed. Halfway across the room, he turned back around and just as serious as could be, he said, "I did not know that." and then trotted off to bed. He sounded so serious and grown up that I couldn't help from laughing. You could almost see the wheels turning in his little head and see him putting it all together.

He certainly is a cracker jack.

Monday, September 22, 2008

The Wheeeoooo

When Noah and I pulled up at church last Wednesday afternoon for Bible Bowl practice, he looked around the parking lot and wanted to know who was there already. I told him James, Christy and Jackie were there. This was the conversation that followed:

Noah: "What car is Jackie driving?"

Me: "The white truck over there."

Noah: "Oh. The one with the wheeeoooo on it."

Me: "Huh?"

Noah: "The one with the wheeeoooo on it."

Me: "What."

Noah: "The one with the wheeeoooo on it. You know, Mommy. Wheeeoooo, wheeeoooo, wheeeoooo."

You see, Jackie drives a company truck with a yellow light on top and I guess he thought it was a siren. I just about rolled. I was laughing so hard I nearly cried.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Mixed Emotions

Today has been a trying day. Have you ever wanted something so bad but you just weren't sure whether it was the right thing or not?

A few weeks ago I found out about a beautiful old victorian house that was going to be sold at public auction. It is exactly the house of my dreams. Big rooms with high ceilings, fireplaces in nearly every room, beautiful woodwork, lead glass doors, and a charming wrap around porch. It even had a little land and an inground pool. I mentioned to Darren that it was going to sell and that I really liked it. Turns out he really liked it, too, and someone in his family used to own it. We studied our options, talked to the bank and went to look at it. I absolutely fell in love with it. I could envision raising my children there, decorating it for Christmas, and hosting gatherings, doing all the things that families do.

The auction was this morning. We already knew how high we could go but something else was brought to our attention that would have allowed us to go a bit higher than we had planned. Another party was interested in part of the land that we didn't want and we could most likely make a deal with them. We were the first bid in and for a time we were the high bidder but then another party started bidding and I was afraid to go any further. You see, I'm not a risk taker. I am very resisitant to change and I am a planner. I want to know how everything is going to work and in what time frame. Darren was upset with me and accused me of letting my fear hold me back. And he may be right, but on the other hand, sometimes I'm not sure he has enough fear. That's probably why God put us together. Anyway, it sold for $1,000 over our last bid.

I've spent all day questioning myself. My heart says I made a big mistake but my head tells me I did the right thing by backing away. I had thought about it a lot and prayed about it a lot and I just couldn't be sure that it was the right thing to do. As badly as I wanted it, I wasn't willing to risk everything to have it. My heart is sick but my head tells me that God has provided a roof over my head (and it's a nice roof, even) and that we just really weren't in the right place in our lives to do this right now.

Oh well, what's done is done. It's just kind of sad and I hate second guessing myself.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Uplifted

Amy and I had our first Bible study tonight. We met at 7:30 p.m. at her house and I got home a little after 10:00. Our study only lasted about an hour but then we spent the rest of the time just talking. Wow! It was so uplifting! I enjoyed it more than I even expected to....and believe me I was really looking forward to it. I can't wait 'til next week already.

God is so amazing. I really needed a connection right now. I didn't realize just how much until tonight. Isn't it awesome that He knows what we need even before we do?

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Catching Up

Well, here I am again....behind. I always have the best intentions but I never actually get around to updating my blog. I realized when I looked at my blog and saw that subject of my last post that some of you may have been thinking that VBS was so bad that I never recovered....so, I thought I better get everyone caught up.

We did survive VBS. We averaged 96 kids and 50 adults each night which was less than we hoped for, but not at all bad considering that there were 5 other VBS programs going on the same week. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we're working on putting together a Sunday night program similar to VBS so that we can hopefully draw some of the kids we had back with us.

Darren's mom had knee surgery on the 4th of August. She spent about 20 days in the hospital but is recovering at home right now. She's done remarkably well but we've spent a lot of time back and forth between home and the hospital, and now her house, trying to do things for her. Oh, and we dog sat her little house dog Angel until this past weekend. Noah really loved having Angel with us and she really is the best little dog. I'm not sure Angel loved spending time with Noah as much as he enjoyed playing with her but at least she tolerated him. He didn't want to send her home and even tried to convince us that "Angel" ran away and that the dog at our house was actually his new dog "Jennifer" so he could keep her.

The kids went back to school on the 19th. Jarrod started his freshman year at Fleming County High School and Jacob started 4th grade and Flemingsburg Elementary. Jacob likes his teachers and loves changing classes (which is new for him this year). He seems to be adjusting well and so far is doing really well. He's becoming a different kid right before me eyes and I like what I'm seeing. Jarrod came home the first day and said "Don't even ask. I hate it." Since then he's adjusted a little more and is settling into a routine. I think he's just not used to the whole block scheduling, rush between classes thing. He only gets to go to his locker once a day and complained that he barely had time to go to the bathroom. And of course it doesn't help that he only has one class with his girlfriend. But it's getting better day by day.

We broke ground at New Life for our classroom addition about three weeks ago, but we've hit a small snag with a changeup in our plumbing plans so they have to be resubmitted to state before the rough plumbing can be done. Sooo we're in a holding pattern for now.

Darren preached at Whitewater Family Camp in Rising Sun, Indiana a couple of weeks ago. We went up on Friday and came home on Saturday. One of the men there had heard him speak at Delmarva and asked him to come. We really enjoyed ourselves. The people were so nice and they have a beautiful facility complete with a swimming pond. We also enjoyed some great messages and teaching on unity. One of the elder's wives did a class for the women on Unity in the Home and it was very uplifting.

That brings you pretty much up to speed with what has been going on around here. Now for a couple of things coming up that I'm really excited about!

Starting this Thursday night one of my friends, Amy, and I are going to start getting together for a weekly one on one Bible study. I so need this and I am really looking forward to spending time with Amy. She is so sweet and so much fun. We're going to be doing a study about giving everything to God. We've talked about doing this since we went to Mexico together in February but we've just now been able to put it all together. I can't wait to get started!

I am taking on a new project at church which I am totally fired up about. We really don't have a ladies group at church per say and I think that is such a shame. God is calling me to put together a bi-weekly ladies Bible study group. This has been bearing on my heart for some time now. We are blessed with such a diverse group of women at New Life. I believe that there is so much that we can learn from one another. I really want to put together a group of women with a zeal for God and hearts for service toward others. Please keep this project in your prayers as we work to get it up and running.

I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that we are starting Bible Bowl again. We've done a few fundraisers and ordered our materials. The older ones have started practicing and I guess I'll start with the beginners this week. Now, mind you this isn't something I'm looking forward to, but it is a big part of my life for about 8 months of the year. And I have to admit that it really is a great learning tool, even for me.

Well, now you know all the recent and upcoming events. I'll try not to get so behind in the future...but I can't promise anything!

Monday, July 21, 2008

VBS 2008 Opening Night

We kicked off our VBS program last night with a carnival like last year. The day was hot and miserable and we had a thunderstorm just as we were getting started but it was short lived and didn't affect us much. We are competing with 5 other VBS programs (3 of which are right here in town) this year which really stinks but it didn't hurt us great deal. We still had 88 kids and about 65 adults so that's not too shabby. Plus, it was amazing how smoothly everything went. Hopefully, we'll have another good crowd tonight. Pray that the rain doesn't affect us much this week since, like last year, we have to utilize our grounds for classroom space. With any luck this won't be a problem next year since we will soon begin construction on an addition with approximately 7 or 8 much needed classrooms and two bathrooms!

Our program this year is based on the adventures of our two not-so-super hereoes, Gospel Man and Bible Boy, as they search for the lost treasure. The kids are all really excited about it and we can't wait to share God's word with them. Pray that seeds will be sown and hearts touched this week!

Delmarva Family Camp

We returned from our week in Laurel, Delaware on Friday. We had a really good time and it was a nice break for both of us. We heard A LOT of uplifting messages and enjoyed awesome fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ. Darren gave his message on Tuesday afternoon and he did a great job. I was so proud of him. Out of all the messages we heard his was in the top 2 in my honest opinion. Ray asked him to come back in two years and an elder from a church in Indiana asked him to come preach a revival, so I guess there were others who thought he did as well as I did. All in all it was a great experience. The drive was a little long but other than that we had fun. Next time we plan on taking the kids (Noah will be 5-1/2 and hopefully a little easier to handle) and making a family vacation out of it. We're hoping to plan a little more time off and just hang out at the beach at Ocean City which was only about 30 miles away.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Confession

They say that confession is good for the soul, so here goes.....

Darren and I are leaving for Laurel, Delaware bright and early Monday morning and we'll be back sometime on Friday. He was asked by Ray Bennett to come up and preach at Delmarva Family Camp a couple of years ago so the trip has been planned for a while. He initially planned on going alone because there was no way we could afford to take the whole family with gas prices the way they are. But he really didn't want to go all that way by himself so we finally decided that I would go with him. Mom is going to watch Jacob and Noah and Jarrod is working a week at camp so we are going to get to go for five days ALL ALONE!

Now comes the confession part.....I am so excited to be going somewhere alone with my husband and specifically going somewhere without my children, that I can hardly stand it. Does that make me a bad mother? I think this is the first time we will have been anywhere without the kids since before Noah was born. We went to Mexico in 2007 without the kids but we weren't alone. There were like 16 other people with us. I just can't even begin to express how happy I am about it. Of course, you would have to understand how trying the last few days/weeks have been with Noah. He's been up to his old tricks again...keeping me up at night (he wet the bed not once, but twice, in the same night last week)....messing in stuff he shouldn't (he got into my makeup, wasted a bunch and put mascara all over his face)....destroying things (he wrote all over the leather recliner with a black ink pen AGAIN)....and just being bad in general (talking back, being mean, etc.). I have just about had it with him. He's driving me absolutely crazy. So this trip comes at just the right time....The right time to keep me from being reported to child protective services. Just joking, but seriously no way am I going to tell my mom how rotten he's been lately. I wouldn't want her to change her mind or anything!

Monday, June 16, 2008

Near Disaster

Saturday started out as a normal enough day but soon things went very, very wrong. I went to my laptop to check my email and noted that it was acting a little strange so I decided to restart it. No big deal, right? Well, that's what I thought, too, but boy was I wrong. It restarted and then proceeded to log off. So I tried again. Same thing. And again, and again, and again.....Nothing worked. I was just about to cry and became literally sick to my stomach. You see, I had 5 years of tax returns for about 250 clients stored on my laptop and payroll records for two companies. Now, I know it's not smart, but I had no backup of these things. The tax stuff was bad but I at least had paper copies and could have rebuilt them if necessary (although I certainly wouldn't want to if I didn't have to), but the payroll was nowhere else and I had no way to even rebuild it. All I could think was what was I going to do when it came time to file quarterly payroll reports in July.

Fortunately my somewhat tech savvy husband remembered that he had some type of apparatus that I could use to hook my laptop hard drive to another computer so I could copy things off of it. So the plan was that I would take my hard drive out of my laptop, hook it to Jarrod's computer and transfer the things I needed off of mine onto his and then reformat my laptop hard drive and start fresh. Sounds fairly simple but it was far from it. We fiddled and fooled and finally (after a couple of hours) got Jarrod's computer to recognize my hard drive and then I began the transfer process. About an hour later Jarrod came in and asked if I shut his computer off. Of course, I hadn't. As unbelievable as it may sound, his computer had died. It wouldn't do anything. Fortunately it was only the power supply and we had an extra so Darren was able to get it back up and running yesterday. I reformatted today and am now back up and running.

I'm starting the tedious process of getting things reinstalled but so far I've got my payroll files back so I can deal with the rest if I have to. I'd like to say that I've learned my lesson and will do regular backups in the future, and I am going to try, but I know from past experience that it'll probably be short lived. Oh well, at least all is well for now.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Gospel Man & Bible Boy Ride Again!




Our five minute nightly spots with Gospel Man and Bible Boy were so popular last year that we've expanded this year. This year our entire VBS program will revolve around our two heroes. Our theme for the week will be "Gospel Man & Bible Boy and the Lost Treasure." There will be a 10-15 minute video each night this year. We're really excited about it and looking forward to breaking the records we set last year.


We began filming our video productions today. Wow! What a job. Everything has to be filmed in small segments from several different angles and it is very time consuming....and that's before the editing process even starts. We expect it will take all week to film five episodes and from now until VBS in July to edit the final cuts.


I laughed so hard tonight that I almost wet my pants. These guys are just hilarious together. Davy Hamilton is an absolute natural and James, well I can't imagine anyone else as Bible Boy. I can't wait to see the finished project!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

The Pox

Poor Jarrod has been laid low. A couple of weeks ago he complained about a bump behind his ear hurting. I felt it and dismissed it as a zit, after all he is fourteen. Then,this past Thursday night he had me feel and there were four bumps behind one ear and one behind the other ear. I then realized that they must be swollen lymph glands which is something we get really excited about around here because Darren's dad and grandfather both died of Hodgkins disease. I told Darren I would get him an appointment with the doctor on Friday. Friday morning, which was the last day of school, he woke up with what looked like a fine rash on his arms. He had mowed the day before so I just assumed he had gotten into something. I took him to the doctor and they did some blood work and said they thought he had a virus but wanted to see him back in a week to recheck his counts. The doc said the rash was "contact dermatitis" and told us to use cortisone cream on it. So all was well, or so we thought. He went out to his grandmother's house and mowed after school and then came home. I noticed that he had broken out a little more but didn't think anything more of it. I went to church for a jewelry show and when I came home he was burning with fever and the rash was getting much worse and blistering. Then it hit me....I've seen this before. This is chicken pox.

I feel like such a bad mother. The other two boys were vaccinated for chicken pox but that was not one of the vaccinations they were giving when Jarrod was little. I could have taken him to the doctor to get it later but never did. Now he is paying the price for my procrastination. He looks absolutely awful and doesn't feel much better. He stayed home from church today and laid around all day. He got up and came to the recliner and sometime along about 7:30 p.m. he moved to the couch and that was pretty much all he did all day. Hopefully he'll feel better in a few days. What a way to start summer vacation!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

A Formal Affair





Last Friday night was 8th Grade Party at Simons Middle School. I had never heard of this event until coming to Fleming County but it is a very big deal around here. It's basically a middle school prom type thing. They don't crown a king and queen but the whole 8th grade votes on about 8 boys and 8 girls to be on the "court." Sunday dress is acceptable but most of the kids wear formal attire. Jarrod, being an eighth grader this year, went to the party. Hannah Pollitt from church was his date for the evening.

In the interest of saving money, or at least getting something for my money, I tried to talk Jarrod into letting me buy him a nice Sunday dress outfit to wear so he would have something he could wear again but nothin' doin'! He HAD to have a tux. Darren agreed that he should have one if he wanted one so we told him we would pay $70 toward renting the tux and the rest would be his responsibility.

He had been mowing and babysitting so he had managed to save up some money and decided that he was responsible enough to open his own checking account so I took him to the bank and he became a depositor. Our next stop after the bank was the bridal shop. By the time we left there he was looking for a bankruptcy attorney! Are you aware of what it costs to rent a tux these days? About the cheapest thing he could get was $149.00! In the end he managed to drum up some work and had enought to pay the balance of his tux rental with some left over.

When Friday night arrived he got all dressed up and ready to go. He was so handsome! I couldn't believe how grown up he looked. We met Hannah and her family to take photos. Hannah looked gorgeous and they made a very cute couple. They rode to the party with a couple of their friends (with a parent driver, of course) after going to Pizza Hut to eat out. Many of the parents and family members hang around the school to watch the kids walk in and watch the announcement of the court. Darren and I needed to go to Maysville so we skipped the spectator opportunity. But now I wish I'd stayed. Jarrod was chosen to be on the court. He was so excited when I picked him up at 11:00 p.m. that night and he had a great time. It was a perfect ending to his eighth grade year and of course we are very proud of him.

Wow! I can't believe my baby will be a freshman in high school next year. Parents, hug your babies because before you know it they'll be all grown up!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Twenty Years and Counting

Darren and I celebrated our twenty year anniversary this week. Well, I'm not exactly sure that "celebrated" is the right word. We had Financial Peace University at church and went to Dairy Queen for ice cream afterwards. After we ate the ice cream (and ditched the evidence so the kids wouldn't find out) we went home and watched tv for a while and then I went to bed while Darren played with his cell phone. Very exciting stuff!

We're hoping to be able to go out this weekend but it's not looking real promising. Jarrod has 8th Grade Party on Friday night and then my nephew's 1st birthday party is Saturday. Oh well, what's twenty years anyway.

I can't believe that we've been married 20 years. We are now older than my parents were when we started dating. Yikes! They just seemed so much older at the time. It has been a good 20 years. Of course we've had our share of ups and downs just like everybody else but I love him more today than the day we were married and I wouldn't change a thing about our lives together. There's no one else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with. Happy 20th Anniversary, Darren. I love you!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Prayer Request

We got a call after revival last night saying that Darren's cousin, Stephanie Grimes, had passed away unexpectedly. She was only 40 and leaves behind a 13 year old son, her husband, and her father. They think she had a heart attack caused by an allergic reaction to some medicine. Please keep this family in your prayers, especially her son, Tyler. In the space of the last couple of years he has lost an uncle, two great-grandmothers (one of whom lived with them), his grandfather and now his mom.

Also keep my brother-in-law, Rob Hughes, and the rest of the Carlisle Guard Unit in your prayers. They should be on their way out of Iraq soon. They are supposed to be home on May 1st.

Out Of The Mouth Of Babes

We've been in revival here at New Life all week. It has been a great week with some great messages but a long week nonetheless. It has been especially hard on Noah. He is not used to having to sit still through a church service and it has been a real struggle. Tuesday night I had to take him out and spank him about five minutes into the service. He was pretty good for a while after we came back in but then he started getting loud and rowdy again so I looked at him and told him if he didn't behave I was going to take him back to the bathroom. He looked at me just as serious, cocked his head to one side and said, "Mommy, if you're gonna' spank me again you need to spank me slowly and carefully." I couldn't help be get tickled. Of course, I couldn't spank him after that.

Monday, April 21, 2008

I Survived

Well, April 15th has come and gone and I survived. I only ended up filing three extensions and, hold on to your seat, one of them was not my own. For only like the second or third time since we've been married I filed my return before the April 15th deadline. I decided I didn't want any surprises in the form of unexpected checks to write come October this year. We still owed but we had the money saved to pay it and it's done! I must admit that it felt pretty good to be that "on top of it" this year.

I got a few days to catch my breath and then we started revival yesterday so this week will be very busy. I'm planning on cutting back to three days a week at work once school is out so I'm looking forward to that. At least I think I am anyway. I may change my mind after being home with the kids a couple of weeks.

Hope everyone is having a great Spring! I just love this time of year. Everything is so green and starting to bud and bloom. It's times like these I look around and wonder how anyone could ever question God's existence. It is so easy to see His hand in everything around us. Personally, I'm so grateful that He is part of the tapestry of my life! Love to all!

Monday, March 31, 2008

Proud As A Peacock

Yesterday, being a fifth Sunday, was Youth Sunday at New Life. The kids did a really great job. They used a lot of the music and videos we've been using in our new Wednesday night program and it was about the best youth service we've ever had in my opinion. Of course, you have to take into consideration that Jarrod, my firstborn, preached the morning message.

He and his dad had worked on putting his sermon together all week. His text was Acts 16:16-34. Darren showed him how to research the background of the text and put together a sermon outline. Jarrod found a Mythbusters video clip he wanted to use as an illustration and threw in a couple of personal stories. He was so nervous when he first started but then he really loosened up and started stepping away from the pulpit (and his notes) and getting into it. A chip off the old block. He did such a wonderful job and I was so proud of him I almost cried. His sermon lasted 20 minutes which I think is very respectable considering he was a first-timer. Hopefully we'll be able to get his message up on the church website soon.

I know pride is not often talked about in a favorable light but I can't help it. I just feel so blessed to have such a wonderful kid. He just never ceases to amaze me. He is the most unselfish, gracious and helpful young man. He never complains and so far I haven't seen any of that "teen attitude." I am so proud of him and the Christian example he sets for others....even me. Of course, with what I've got to look forward to with Jacob and Noah, I better enjoy it while it lasts!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Blown Away

We are having a unique problem here at the Fizer household. This problem involves Noah and is completely different from anything I ever experienced with Jarrod or Jacob.

The root of the problem: We've had A LOT of wind over the past couple of months and those of you who have visited/attended at New Life know that the particular spot on the hill where the church is located is one of the windiest spots in the world. One Wednesday evening when we came out of church we were walking along the side of the building toward the van and the wind was really gusting but as it turns out we didn't feel the full force of the wind until we cleared the end of the building. The wind was so strong that it picked Noah up off the ground. He was holding my hand (thank goodness) and it blew his feet out from under him. He was literally flying, suspended in mid-air for a second. It scared him to death! Now every time we get ready to go outside to walk to the van or to get out of the van to walk inside he screams if you don't carry him or at least hold his hand. "Hold me! It's winny! I'll blow away!"

I guess the upside to this problem is that I don't have to worry about him going outside without me.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Re-Entry




Wow! Has it really almost been a week since we got back from Mexico? This week has simply flown by. Of course I returned to a PILE of work thanks to it being the middle of tax season so there's been no shortage of things to do. Thankfully, Darren kept the house under control so I didn't have to come home to that mess. Heck, he even did all of my and Jarrod's dirty laundry within the first couple of days after we got home. I think he was trying to show me how much he appreciated me. LOL!

Mexico was great! Amy, Linda and I had a blast. I haven't laughed that hard or that much in a long time (probably since last year's trip to Mexico with Kim and Sarah). Our kitchen ran like a well-oiled machine. Gordon Ramsey would have been proud! One of the ladies in the village (who spoke no English) came and showed us how to make homemade flour tortillas one day. We had so much fun learning and trying to make them. We all shared coffee together and even the language barrier couldn't stop us from learning about one another. It was such an uplifting experience.

In the area where we were working there are very few white faces. For the most part, the Mexican people we came into contact with were friendly and grateful for our help. There were some who looked at us as if we were oddities (or Llamas as Amy so aptly put it) and that is a really weird feeling. It's very strange to catch people peeking over store shelves at you as if you have three heads and horns. Now I know how animals in the zoo must feel.

Jarrod had a great experience right up to the last day. He accidently left his backpack lying in a chair outside one of our motel rooms on Friday night and of course someone picked it up. It had his ipod and the gift he had bought for Hannah in it. He was so upset. I'm not sure if he was upset about losing it or upset because he was afraid Darren was going to kill him for losing a $300 ipod (and his Bible Bowl text). There was even talk among the group on the way home of taking up a love offering to help pay for his funeral. I'm happy to report that, even though Darren did his fair share of yelling, ranting and raving, Jarrod is alive and well (and saving up to buy himself a new ipod).

I've been experiencing PMS (post-mission syndrome, as Amy calls it) this week. I've missed being with Amy and Linda and the rest of the group every day. We had so much fun. Also, part of our schedule every day in Mexico were times set aside for morning devotion, personal devotion, and daily Bible study. I really miss all those things. I'm not very good at making myself set aside time for these things on my own. I really have to work at it because of all the distractions in my life. I'm really missing the super closeness I felt to God last week and I'm trying hard to figure out how to work these things into my daily schedule. Also, it's kind of depressing knowing that the thing we worked so hard for and looked forward to for so long is over. I don't mean to whine. I just needed to express my feelings.

Thanks to all of you who prayed for us while we were gone. I wish that everyone could go work on the mission field. It is such an uplifting experience and you get so much more from it than you could ever give. If you get the opportunity to go on a mission trip, either out of the country or right here in the USA, you should definitely make the effort to make it happen. I promise you'll be glad you did!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

God is soooo good! I am totally excited as I type this. As of yesterday our mission trip is 100% funded. I'm ashamed to say that I doubted we could pull it off this year. $9350.00 is a LOT of money to raise. Oh, "me" of little faith. God showed me in a big way yesterday what He could do if I would just get out of the way and let go and let God.

We started out the day a little over $900 short. Julia and Sylvia were kind enough to help us put together a soup and sandwich lunch after church yesterday which raised $156. I was prepared to go to the mission team last night and tell them that we were going to have to come up with the rest ourselves, but before I could event get copies made of the financial report we were $190.62 OVER! The money just rolled in. Wow! God is AWESOME!

Thank you to everyone who has supported us financially and prayerfully. Please continue to pray for our trip!

Friday, January 25, 2008

Eggs In My Belly

Poor little Noah has been struck with eczema. It seems every winter that he has a little bout of of it. Last year there was a small patch at the corner of his mouth. The year before it was a little patch on one leg. This year it covers most of his stomach. He started complaining that his stomach was hurting last week and when I looked at it I told Darren that I though it was eczema. Then Sunday evening I asked Christy to look at it and see if she thought it was eczema and she confirmed my diagnosis. When we got home later Noah came to me and said, "Mommy, I got eggs in my belly and we need to get 'em out." I just looked at him for a minute and then it hit me....eggs in my belly....eczema.....and I couldn't help but laugh. I guess we'll be making a trip to the doctor next week since he screams bloody murder everytime I touch it or put moisturizer on it. Poor guy.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

One Month & Counting

One month from today Jarrod and I, and 9 others from New Life, will be on our way to Monclova, Mexico with Faith and Works. I'm excited about getting to take Jarrod this year. I think it will be a really good experience for him and help him to realize just how blessed he really is.

Darren is staying home to babysit Jacob and Noah this year. I think the girls at church have started a pool and are taking bets on how long it will take for him to call in the assistance of one of the grandmothers. I don't know about calling in assistance but I'm betting that come 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning when he's trying to get the two of them ready for church that he'll be wishing he was the one on his way to Mexico!

Please be in prayer for our trip. We still have some money to raise and lots of preparations to make. Mexico here we come!

Monday, January 7, 2008

Getting Back to Normal

Well, today should be the start of the return to normalcy around here. The kids are back to school after an extended Christmas break and their normal after-school activities resume; I'm back to my four day work week and Noah is back to his normal routine at the babysitter's. It will be nice to have only the regular things to deal with for a while.

I've heard a lot of parents express how ready they were for their kids to return to school. I can't say the same. I was working so I didn't have to listen to all the fussing and arguing and I kept them busy doing laundry and cleaning house so that was good. It's nice coming home to a relatively clean (or at least tidy) house with no piles of laundry to face every evening. I'm hoping I can keep all of my little helpers on track.

Of course, tax season is getting ready to start and we're getting closer to our departure date for our mission trip to Mexico so things won't get too boring or mundane. There's always plenty to do even when things are "normal."