12 Memories of December

I cannot believe it's been so long since my last post. This month has absolutely flown by! My heart is so full and I have so much to say... let's see. I'll start by doing what Louie says I do best- I'll make a list. Instead of the 12 days of Christmas, these are 12 memories of our December.

1. Just two days after I put up my last blog post about our Christmas tree tradition, you need to know that we had a near disaster! Hannah woke us up at 5:30 am ands said, "Um, the tree is on the floor". Well, remember the picture of the tree Becca chose that was growing on a hill... the crooked trunk made the tree a bit front-heavy and it crashed to the ground in the middle of the night. (If a Christmas tree falls in the living room and nobody hears it...). Anyway, a few ornaments broke, but no heirlooms. After doing a little geometry in our head and cutting the tree's trunk at a slightly different angle, it sat in the stand better. (But for good measure, we looped fishing line around the trunk and tied it to a very heavy piece of furniture!) Ah, the holidays.

2. I have a new favorite Christmas CD.It's Chris Tomlin's Glory In The Highest. It has a few new songs, but amazingly, it has a lot of traditional Christmas hymns on it that I really like. But it's all sung in a simple, worshipful style that I love.

3. On December 10th, our school Christmas program had to be canceled. We had high winds and power was knocked out to the building. I was bummed. Garrett and Hannah both had solos and Becca was supposed to play hand bells. It's been rescheduled for January. I think that'll be kinda cool, actually. How many years do you get to celebrate Christmas twice?

4.Becca had the opportunity to skate in "The Nutcracker on Ice" at the So. Charleston Ice Arena. She was a Party Guest in the opening scene. We were very proud.

5. Our dog Ebony, a seven year old mutt, had a brush with death. Several weeks ago, I though I'd seem a mouse, so I put out a block of mouse poison, hidden in a very inconspicuous place. I didn't mention it to the kids. When they were off school because of the power being out, they let Ebony in the house. She immediately sniffed out the poison and ate it all when I was at the store. I immediately called the vet who said I needed to induce vomiting- I'll spare you the details. Anyway, after two days of treatments, she's going to be fine but it was scary for a while.

6. I went along with Garrett and some of his biology classmates on a field trip to the Osteopathic Medical School in Lewisburg. It was fascinating. We toured the anatomy lab and saw cadavers. I have such respect for the people who donate their bodies to science. I got to hold a human heart in my hands... and brain and lung and several other organs. Garrett got to do the same and ask questions. I couldn't take pictures (for obvious reasons) but I loved this sign on the lab door.

7. I got an early Christmas gift- a laptop computer. It's a very extravagant gift. We usually don't spend that much on each other. But Louie found a great deal and gave it to me early because I'm using it to write a paper for the seminary class I'm taking next week. I've been trying to get used to being wireless- technology is awesome. And our friend from church, Jake, has spent hours helping us make sure everything is working correctly. Becca messed with me because it took me a week to remove the proctective plastic from the cover of the laptop. What can I say? I don't want it to get scratched!

8.Our church, Pea Ridge Baptist, turned our building into Bethlehem for an evening and welcomed kids to come and experience what it would be like to register for a census, see metal workers, bump into Roman soldiers and see baby Jesus for themselves. We all dresses up to make it a more real experience. It was fun acting it out.

9.SNOW! The Saturday before Christmas, we got a five inch snowfall. Nothing record-breaking, but enough to play in! Becca couldn't wait to get outside. It was a heavy, wet snow, perfect for making "snow furniture"... and snowballs.

10. Christmas Eve we went to visit Louie's family in Charleston. It's like an open house where family and friends come and go all day. There was a LOT of food, neighbors caroled down the street with us and family watched football and told stories. I think Becca's favorite gift was her Snuggie! Then we headed back to church for our Christmas Eve candlelight service. It's one of my favorite services of the year.

11. Christmas Day we opened gifts at home early. Becca is always done first and Hannah is so slow opening her gifts because she stops to watch everyone else. Garrett is pleased to get a new cell phone, Hannah has a desk for her bedroom and Becca... has a pink electric guitar! Yep, Garrett is teaching her how to play. Later, my parents came over to eat and exchange gifts.

12.Yesterday, the kids and I went to Beckley to visit Louie's sister overnight. She, her husband and their kids live at Glade Springs, which is in the mountains, near Winterplace Ski Resort. They had a foot of snow. So this morning after breakfast, they all bundled up and headed out. To them, a foot of snow is nothing. They had 2 feet last week. But to our kids, it was a treat. It was good to spend time with them.

Those are just a FEW of the highlights of our December. One more thing- allow me to ramble for just a minute.

The last week as we experienced Christmas, one word kept coming to mind over and over again- HOPE. I have this cool Bible software and when I looked up the Biblical word for Hope (Greek) is means "to desire with an expectation of obtainment" or "to expect with confidence". Before Christ came, we were far from God and had no hope to reconcile ourselves to Him. But Jesus came to be hope for us- yes, hope of eternal life, a hope we can expect with confidence. But also, a hope for an abundant, satisfying life on this earth as well. Now, I'm already turning my attention to my new calendar. Are you? What are you hoping for this year? Put your hope in the Lord. He will be the same in 2010 as he has always been (Rev 1:8). I don't know about you, but I like knowing there is one thing I can count on to never change- that I can "expect with confidence". God bless you all.

O Christmas Tree

We have a family tradition that every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we drive out to a Christmas Tree farm and cut down our tree. It started out simple enough. When Garrett and Hannah were preschoolers, I told Louie that I'd love to have a real tree. I saw that there was a tree farm about 40 minutes from where we lived- $20 for any tree you want. The kids had a ball running all over that farm. We cut down a lovely tree and a tradition was born. Every year I ask the kids if they still want to go and every year they say yes. This year, we broke with tradition a bit and decided to try out a new tree farm closer to our house.

I thought you might get a kick out of getting a play by play of our Tree Farm Adventure. We gathered up our supplies: a saw, rope, gloves and an old blanket to lay across the top of the car. Then we piled in the car with our Christmas music. Now, at some point when the kids were small we played a certain CD on the way and now it's become a must according to Becca- Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas. (Let this be a lesson to you. Be careful what you start with your kids because you could be stuck with it for life!) As Alvin sang off key, we headed down the road and easily found the tree farm.

Much to Louie's dismay, it was located up a holler. To those of you who aren't from WV, that means that the farm was in the valley between hills. So guess where all the trees were? Yep. Straight up three different hillsides. But we were eager so we scoured the first hillside. Then we saw it- I swear, the sun was beaming down from heaven on a beautifully shaped Scotch Pine.

(Are you having images of the movie Christmas Vacation?) We were in awe. Except Becca. "Too Fat" she said. Garrett was sure we'd come back to this tree so he left his glove on it to 'mark it' so no one else would take it. We hiked down the hillside and up the second hillside. Nothing impressive. We hiked down that hillside and approached the third. Louie decided that he'd just hang out at the base of the third hill... and apparently Garrett and Hannah decided that he needed some company. So Becca, insistent that there could be a better tree, headed up the third hillside and I trekked after her. When we got to the very top, she said simply "Found it".

Well, ok then. I hollered for the rest of the crew and they hiked up the hill to see the more perfect tree. It was smaller than the first, not as "fat", but nicely shaped. Garrett and Becca took turns sawing it down, then my men carried it back to the car. The tree farm owner's son put it on a tree shaker to knock all the dead needles off and tied it on the car. That's when we remembered that somebody had to go back up that first hillside to retrieve Garrett's glove!

Becca reminded me, because this year she seems to be the protector of all holiday traditions, that we usually stop for a treat on the way home. We found a Dairy Queen nearby and had to stop. We toasted our ice cream cups to our nicely shaped, not too fat Christmas tree before getting it home and into some water.

This is our tree, all decked out, on our living room. A beautiful finish to our Christmas tradition.

Movin' On Up

Last week, Garrett and Hannah were thrilled to be able to do something they're been waiting for since the first day of school. They moved into their new school building.

Back in September, Covenant School moved from their Barboursville location into Christ Temple Church in Huntington. This was a welcome move for our school. It's alleviated some of the financial burden the school has been under as well as give our students an amazing new facility to use. They simply didn't have room to house they 7th through 12th grade, so they built a new building that houses classrooms, a kitchen and a gym. Rebecca started school day one in the new location, but the new building for the older kids wasn't ready. After several delays, the building was finally ready to be occupied last Thursday. Saying goodbye to the old building was actually a bit sad for me. I have so many vivid memories: visiting the school for the first time, Rebecca's 1st day of kindergarten, planning class trips, school plays and Christmas programs. The kids have learned how to diagram sentences and write essays in that building but they've also memorized scripture and learned a great deal about the Bible there. Having said all that, I know that Covenant School is far more than a building. One big benefit to our move into Christ Temple Church is that their church school, The Academy, was absorbed into our school. So our family is even bigger.

Last Thursday, Garrett and Hannah put on old clothes and headed to "Old Covenant" for moving day. They emptied their lockers, packed trucks with desks and boxes and headed downtown to their new location. By the time I picked them up, everyone looked exhausted but happy. Kids were running around from room to room, giggling. The choir teacher gathered students into a room where they sat on the floor and sang. The biology teacher grinned as he hung a huge poster of the chart of elements while the assistant basketball coach "encouraged" everyone to take off their shoes when going new the beautiful new gym floor. Garrett even posed with the newest addition to the biology classroom- Morty, the skeleton. I can't wait for all the new 'firsts' in this building.

Another rite of passage happened this week in the Gaunch household. Hannah Grace got her learner's permit. That's right... we have two student drivers now. She was so proud because she only missed on question on the test. She even 'doesn't hate' her learner's permit photo. And when she stood against the wall to measure her height and it was 5' 2 1/2" (2 1/2" taller than me) she couldn't help but gloat- just a little. Her goal is to be 5 feet 5 inches. All I can say is, good luck. Our family is vertically challenged! So... this weekend, we'll probably venture out for the first time. (Sigh)

Thoughts on Veterean's Day

Today, I attended a Veteran's Day assembly at Covenant School, where all three of my children attend school. Garrett had called and invited my dad, an Air Force veteran, to come. I knew Hannah and Garrett would be singing and that there would be a speaker. As she left for school this morning, Hannah mentioned that she actually would be singing a solo.

I had no idea what I was in for. It was moving. All of it. The choir sang several beautiful songs, but Hannah's was by far the best. The song was based on the poem "In Flanders Fields" which a man wrote during World War I after presiding over the funeral of his 22 year old friend. She boldly sang these words...

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row, on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

The younger children had already had time alone with the speaker, so after the singing, they went back to their classes. Then the speaker, Jared Shumate, an Army veteran who was in Iraq and Afghanistan, talked to us about what it means to be a veteran. He spoke about the liberty we enjoy as Americans and how a heavy price was paid in blood. He went on to explain to these 7-12th graders that the liberty we enjoy as Christians - an eternal liberty- also cost a heavy price and was paid for in blood.

He was a good speaker and joked a lot with the kids, too. I went to the assembly this morning mainly out of obligation and not expecting to recieve anything. But as usual, the Holy Spirit met me there, softening my heart and speaking truth to my soul. And reminding me once again of a scripture that I discovered years ago and still dearly love...

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!" 2 Corinthians 3:17

Farewell to October

They say that the holidays are the busiest time of the year, but it always seems that for us, October is even busier! Maybe it's because of the ages of the kids and activities they're involved in, but this month has flown by and I want to take a minute to catch you up and show you a few fun pictures.

October 24th, Louie celebrated his 40th birthday. That just seems hilarious for me to even put in writing. Are we really that old? (Well, not me... yet) We went to dinner with his family and had a great time. His sister baked a cheesecake and we all sang to him- since we were at a Japanese steakhouse, his mom decided to try to sing Happy Birthday in Japanese... I thought Louie was going to crawl under the table. But a good time was had by all.

One thing the kids have always, always loved to do is carve pumpkins. And they're funny about it. Garrett's always has to be kind of humorous. Hannah always picks a really intricate pattern. And Becca was old enough to carve her own this year without (hardly any) help. Becca also really dislikes scraping out the pumpkin. Hannah, however, has no trouble with the nasty 'pumpkin guts'. This year, Becca decided she could handle it-but she didn't have a very good look on her face!

We live in a neighborhood where everyone likes to come to trick-or-treat. And it's understandable... if you live out in the country, it's impossible (and dangerous) to go door to door. So about 30 minutes prior, we start to see cars lining up along the road. Louie and I walked around with Becca while Garrett and Hannah passed out candy. I knew they would run out of candy before trick-or-treaters, but I thought I did pretty well- I bought over 100 pieces. Well, they were out of candy in 30 minutes! Becca always trick or treats with the same buddies from her Sunday school class that she's known since kindergarten (some earlier than that). They were a strange crew this year... they dressed up as Michael Jackson, a WVU football player and my personal favorite- a blind referee. Becca, my sweet little angel, was a cute little ladybug last year. Not this year. Her exact words were "I don't want to look cute". (Sigh) So instead, she was some kind of scary zombie girl.

Garrett and Hannah are in the youth praise band at church and twice this month they were asked to sing at church events. Last weekend, they sang at a conference for teenage girls. There were over 300 in attendance. They did so well! There are some really talented musicians in their group. In a few weeks, they're going to sing at an FCA rally for a large crowd again.

Let's see what else... Hannah's volleyball season wrapped up with a loss (unfortunately). She didn't seem too broken up about the fact the the season is over- actually I think she's tired!

Hannah and Garrett had a costume party last Saturday evening for their friends. It was pretty funny. They ate, listened to music, and played games in the youth room of our church. Hannah was some type of woodland fairy and Garrett dressed up as Edward from the Twilight book series- with a steak through his heart. It wasn't until 2 days before the part that we realized one of the the real reasons for the party was to invite a boy named John who is 'smitten' with Hannah.(John's mother's word)

Then tonight, our school was having a fundraiser. It was Mc Teacher night at Mc Donalds and Becca HAD to go see her teacher bagging french fries. Hannah's journalism teacher took their dinner order and the headmaster delivered our to go order with a smile. Each teacher was being assisted by a Mc Donalds employee. The funniest part was when we got in the car, Becca pulled out a fry and said, 'This takes just like a regular Mc Donalds french fry'. I have no idea what she was expecting!

We are a little more than halfway through the New Testament Challenge and I'm really enjoying it. As we read through the NT, I've only gotten behind once- so far! It's funny- as I'm reading, I'm noticing so much more emotion in the writer's words than I have before. These were real people living out their faith in real life. And I have a lot to learn from their words for my real life.

Homecoming, Babysitting,and Sick Days

There's rarely a Saturday- especially in the fall- that is uneventful. Today was full of highs and lows.

Becca had a friend spend the night last night, so they slept in until about 10 am. When she woke up, she was burning up with a fever. After taking Becca's friend home and talking to our nurse practitioner friend, we gave Becca medicine and put her to bed. She'd been coughing some last night but I wasn't worried... until this morning. So she's spent the day fighting off a fever. She's feeling a little bit better this evening, but laying on the couch with Louie, watching Marshall University and West Virginia University play football. I'm generally not one to panic, but when I saw her so lethargic this morning, not wanting to drink anything and flushed with a fever, I got nervous. Like everyone else, I had to wonder if it could be serious. Thank goodness, it doesn't appear to be.

Hannah is spending the evening babysitting for a couple in our church. She is watching two boys- five year old and three year old brothers. They are quite a pair when they get going but Hannah can keep them under control pretty well. Also, Hannah and Garrett took the PSAT test this week. It's a precursor to the SAT. I can't believe we're already there!

Two weeks ago, our church, Pea Ridge Baptist Church, began reading through the New Testament together. The children, the youth and the adults are all reading it through together in 63 days. It's called The New Testament Challenge. I don't think I've ever read through the New Testament like this before. I can honestly say that every day, something new stands out to me. In addition to the reading, we're challenged to memorize a scripture each week. The kids are better at it than I am! If you'd like to see what we're doing or read along with us, check it out at http://www.pearidgebaptist.com/. We're all meeting in small groups once per week to discuss the reading. I'm leading a discussion group on Tuesday mornings. Louie and I go to a small group together, too.

Tonight was Huntington High School homecoming. So in the midst of watching Becca's fever, we were getting Garrett's suit ready and picking up his corsage. His girlfriend, Alyssa, goes to Huntington High. Last night, she was crowned Junior Homecoming Attendant. She actually tied with another girl, so they had two attendants. I was really happy for her- she's a sweet girl. So, we met her and her mom at Ritter Park to take some pictures. Last year at homecoming, it was warm and sunny. Tonight, it was the exact opposite. It was 45 degrees and breezy. Alyssa wore a knee length, sleeveless dress. She is so fair complected that at one point when we were taking pictures, her mom said that she thought Alyssa was starting to turn purple. So we threw the jacket over her and decided we were done. They were having dinner with some of Alyssa's good friends that Garrett knows and likes. I'm sure they'll have a great time. I had to shake my head at one point and remind myself that this is my baby boy going on a date to homecoming. Time flies.

Here are some pictures of our frigid evening at the park as they prepared to go to homecoming.

Locks of Love

Last night, Becca did a very generous thing. She cut off all her beautiful hair and is donating it to an organization called Locks of Love that makes wigs for children with cancer. She had heard of the organization and announced last fall that she was going to grow her hair long and donate it. As a nine year old, it surprised me that she was so determined. Not once in the last year has she ever considered changing her mind. Ever so often, we would get out the ruler and measure her ponytail to see how long it was getting... five inches, then seven, then nine. When it got to the required ten inches, we scheduled our appointment and then Louie ended up in the hospital so we had to postpone the Big Day.

So last night, we went to the salon with our Locks of Love instructions, a camera and a plastic bag in hand. Our friend Crystal is a hairdresser and she measured not once, but three times to make sure we had the right length. Everyone in the shop grinned as Becca squealed when Crystal began to cut off her ponytail. Becca couldn't get over the fact that she had worked for over a year to grow out her hair and it was all gone in about 30 seconds.

Crystal quickly trimmed up her hair into a cute little style that I think suits her bubbly personality. When I asked Becca if she missed her hair, she said she wasn't going to miss the tangles. When she left for school this morning, I almost had to look at her twice to recognize her. She looks far too grown up now. But aside from how she looks, I'm more proud that on her own, she took it on herself to think about someone else, commit to help them and then stick to her commitment over a long period of time (even while I was brushing tangles out of her hair). I will never cease to be amazed at how much I have to learn from my kids.

Here are some pictures of the before, during and after, along with a picture of Becca with our frined, Crystal.

Here, there and everywhere

Well, this week was far less crazy than the last few weeks... it was only slightly crazy. It's fall, which brings to mind beautiful trees, the smell of apples, and in our house, the countdown to the World Series. But it's also back to school which for every mom in America means back to busyness. Right now, we're juggling a lot of things. Let me summarize...

Becca's fundraiser is over and I'm happy to report that she met her goal of selling 15 books! What was the secret of her success? Bringing her order form to a Labor Day family reunion and then standing alongside her grandpa who explained the fundraiser while she smiled sweetly... need I say more? Last week, she went to the Barboursville Fall Fest parade and carnival with her good friend Molly. She also just completed a project for school that required her to collect samples of different leaves, dry them, then put them in a booklet and correctly label them. (And she only need a little help- she wanted Garrett to help her, not me)

Hannah has kept me in the car more than anyone. She's already half way through the volleyball season. I can hardly believe it. She has a new coach this year that she thinks is lots of fun (I'm sure it doesn't hurt that he's a young MU grad student) but unfortunately, they haven't won many games. One exception was last Monday. We drove waaaay out in the country to play and they won 4 out of 5 games. Each games was very, very close. I screamed so loud that I embarrassed Hannah. She's managed to develop a wicked little serve that often just skims the net and drops in. Next week, we have to drive waaay out in the country again, this time hours away, south of Logan, for a game. A win would certainly make that drive worthwhile.

Garrett is at the Huntington High football game tonight with his little girlfriend, Alyssa. They met last summer at church camp and have been seeing each other ever since. She's in the band, on the dance team and twirls a flag. It's been pouring the rain, but he's standing out there at the game to see her... ah, how sweet.

Garrett's a junior this year and his work at school has really intensified. He has more homework and none of it is busywork. His favorite class, I think, is biology. He loved his old teacher who retired, but finds his new, young teacher loads of fun because he 's always experimenting with things. Garrett and Hannah are in the same biology class this year. Their teacher has arranged for them to visit a medical school in December where they'll get to see a fully dissected human body... it's optional, so Hannah is not going. Garrett can't wait.

Well, in addition to school and volleyball, Hannah and Garrett sing sometimes with the youth praise team at church and they have even started traveling to other churches to sing. Garrett sings with four other boys in a band called Torn in Two. The band sang a few weeks ago at a youth event for about 50 kids. Garrett sings lead and plays guitar. Also, they are both participating in a community show choir called ARTS All-Star Show choir. They practice 5 and a half hours per week. Then in January, they will compete against other show choirs in competitions. The show they perform lasts about 20 minutes and has several songs and at least three costume changes. It's a lot of work... Hannah has struggled with the choreography a bit, but they like performing. I think Garrett will actually have a small solo in this year's show. They definately get the singing and performing gene from Louie!

Louie and I were talking to his doctor not long ago. He has three kids that are spaced about like ours. The difference is, his oldest two are in college and he only has one at home now. We said something about being busy and he grinned and said that before long, we'll be looking at each other and saying...remember when we used to be so busy?

Getting back to normal

It's been a while since I've been able to post on our family blog because we've had a bit of excitement at our house this week. Last Tuesday evening, Louie came home from work sick- violent vomiting that went on for almost 2 hours. He seemed to be calming down so I went to a brief meeting at church. Louie called me and asked me to come right home. He was having pressure in his chest and was terribly anxious, pacing the floor. He asked me to call an ambulance... almost exactly 6 years ago, Louie suffered a heart attack that was followed three days later by quadruple by-pass surgery. Six years ago, his heart attack started out just like this. So needless to say, we wanted to be extra cautious. It scared Becca a lot- Garrett took her aside and played games with her to distract her. Hannah asked to stay with us and watch the paramedics. The ambulance came and they determined that he needed to go to the ER.

To make a long story very short, they determined that it wasn't his heart but a gall bladder attack. He spent 4 days in the hospital and had his gall bladder removed. The surgeon said it was "particularly nasty"- he ended up having two days of IV antibiotics to fend off infection. He's been home 3 days and he's feeling SO much better. His surgeon said that when people loose a lot of weight, they very often develop gall stones. (In the last 18 months, he's lost 80 pounds)

All I can say about this week was, it made me re prioritize everything. Errands and to do lists were set aside. Simple things like making sure Louie had the items from home he wanted and the curtains closed so he could sleep were more important. All the help with getting kids to school, the kind words and hugs we received from friends and family were invaluable. And while we were in the hospital, we got to visit with a member of our church whose husband was there, too. He also needs his gall bladder out but had already been there two weeks and is far too sick to be operated on. It really helped me to keep the whole week in perspective.

May next week be far less crazy.

P.S. My aunt Beverly pointed out to me on the phone last week that I haven't posted one single picture of myself yet... OK, OK I will! Here's a picture of me and my grandma, Sadie. Last month, amid the basement flooding, my grandmother came to visit us from Mississippi. If she knew exactly what the Internet was and that her picture could be seen all over the world, I think she'd be so embarrassed!

39 and counting

Today is my 39th birthday and it's been a pretty quiet day. I went for a run this morning through the neighborhood (for the first time since I sprained my ankle a few weeks ago), ran a few errands, washed the dust from my car that's accumulated because of our construction and curled up with a book. This evening I had a quick meeting at church and Becca really, really wanted to take me out to eat since Louie was working. So we grabbed some fast food fare- she even gave me the cherry off her milk shake. Louie knows I don't actually love birthday cake, so last night, he made me these giant rocky road cupcake things without icing (because I don't particularly like icing). I've waited until my actually birthday to try them out. Just in case you didn't know, real men bake.



I remembered something today that I haven't thought of in a long time. When my mom was pregnant with me- late 1st trimester or early 2nd trimester, I can't remember- she had to have an emergency appendectomy. There was some serious concern as to whether or not I would survive the operation. It wasn't until I was pregnant with Garrett and reading about how babies develop that I fully appreciated how serious a situation it was. Psalm 139 says (to God), "you knit me together in my mother's womb...you saw my unformed body... " Now, there are probably countless times when God protects us from unseen dangers and we never know. But in this instance, I am well aware. I have no doubt that His unseen hand covered my teeny little self, protecting me from harm and preserving my life. That day, my life could have ended before it began, but He had a very specific plan and purpose for me- three of those little purposes call me mom!



So I think I'm going to finish up this birthday with the same quiet theme of the day... a cup of hot tea (green tea- it's actually pretty good... and full of antioxidants...I am getting older, after all), maybe another chapter in my book (reading glasses required... another sign of my decay) and most definitely, one of Louie's homemade rocky road icingless cupcake things.

"Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?"

1 Chronicles 17:16

...a correction

Apparently, my language was too strong yesterday when I described Louie's feelings about his trip to the Wellness Center, so let me restate it: It wasn't that "He liked it", it was that "He didn't hate it". Apparently, there's a difference. I'm glad that's all cleared up. You can go about your day.

It's a brand new day

It's a brand new day for our yard! Our house has been waterproofed, drains have been installed and connected and our gutter downspouts have been routed to appropriately divert water. The large piles of dirt have been pushed back where they go and the yard smoothed out. Later today, we'll be marking out where our new driveway and patio will go and, weather permitting, we'll pour concrete tomorrow!

I was glad to get to head out of town Friday and Saturday with Garrett for a little break from the construction mess. He's participating in a program this year through our state youth called Youth Leader Core. They'll get together for 5 weekends throughout the year. I'm one of the adult leaders on the team. For this weekend, we met at our baptist camp at Cowen, WV- one of my favorite places (it's where Louie and I met). Normally when I'm there, it's with over a hundred campers but this weekend, there were only about 20 of us. It was so quiet. Garret and I both had a good time.

It's a new day for Becca and Hannah, too. Becca is all fired up about a fundraiser at school. They're selling Entertainment Books. Essentially, they're coupon books for a particular town and they make them for cities across the country. Last year, we started selling them in late October after every other school, team and club had already started selling them. She only sold two. So this year, we got order forms really early. She'd like to sell fifteen...we'll see. They're $20 for Huntington and $25 for most other cities. If you use coupons, it's a great deal. Anyway, if you're interested, drop me an email @ johnnarene@verizon.net. Hannah is beside herself because the high school volleyball team is getting new uniforms. Playing well and being a good sport is important, yeah, yeah, but looking good while doing it- now, that is important!

And well, I about fell out of my chair yesterday- twice - over my husband. We met at the doctor's office for a checkup, to go over some blood work. It usually makes me nervous because of his health history. But in the last 3 months, he's lost another 30 pounds and yesterday, his doctor cut his blood pressure medication in half! Then he said that he expects that when Louie looses another 30 pounds, he'll be off that blood pressure pill and his diabetes medication! (near fall #1). Then after his appointment, Louie went to St. Marys to sign himself up for the Wellness Center Fitness Program. He had his gym bag packed and in the car. He used the treadmill, rowing machine, elliptical machine and free weights. (near fall #2) And he liked it- I'm so, so glad. (And my husband loves me so much, he even graciously let me take his picture and post it on the Internet!)

OK, one last thing. I was running around crazy grocery shopping, getting dry cleaning and various errands yesterday when I had a cool thought I want to tell you about. I pulled into a parking space , put it in park and as I started to turn off the engine, I got a bit uneasy. I thought I had pulled in straight... but as I looked at the cars to my right and left, I seemed off. So, I backed up, then pulled back into the space in line with the two other cars. Satisfied, I got out only to realize that the cars on both sides of me had parked crooked! I had pulled in straight, but I had allowed what I saw around me cause me to doubt that I was where I should be. So... I was thinking that there are probably a lot of times that this happens in my spiritual life. What I mean is, I'm going along doing what I believe God wants me to do and I'm right between the lines of His perfect will for me. But then, I look to the person on my right and the person on my left. Where they are is not where I am, and that makes me feel uneasy. So, I readjust until I'm more aligned with the majority. The only problem is, that's not God's will for me. I don't want that! More than anything, I don't want to 'cross the line' of his perfect will.. not ever.

...just thinkin' deeply in the pharmacy parking lot.