Kyle's visit

It was fun to see Kyle this weekend. He arrived in time to meet us at the new school to see Taylor play her volleyball game. Things ran late, and we went out to eat. He was in the mood for an "Outback salad with ranch dressing". We enjoyed stories he had to share about college. For the most part he is enjoying his experience. He has made friends and is on an intramural flag football team. They are serious about intramural sports at that school, so there is a website that will track the records. They are also provided with the equipment and hold practices several times a week. There are some things that are getting old for him. He says the weekends are getting boring because no one wants to drive their fair turn-so he always has to (which is expensive) or not go at all. No one wants to spend money to go to the movies. (he loves to do that). Mostly he has a bunch of guys in his room watching sports and playing video games. At home this weekend He loved being in his big bed and watching tv with a stocked kitchen. He also got to see Justin play football in his league. We stocked his truck with water, pop, ramen noodles, snacks and other grocery items. Hope to see him sooner than 6 weeks this time...

Hard Week

I realized that I had not posted for a long time, and that is because there has been no time to sit. We had two half days of school, and one special afternoon for "Johnny Appleseed" day. Dave was gone all week for his new store openings, and when I wasn't driving, I was trying to unpack a few more boxes. I don't know why, but some of God's answers have hit me hard this week as I have thought about this past year. I have been burdened by some realities, and to be truthful have struggled with His sovereign plan and the "why's " of things. In church today I was reminded of David's response to God's answer 2Samuel 12:20...it was simply "he worshiped". So the Pastor had us reflect on our response to God while singing the song posted on my playlist called "revelation song". It was a blessing to me, and so maybe you can try it too...

"Johnny Appleseed Day"

Here is Justin at school as "Johnny Appleseed", yes that is a pot on his head! Later he is at home with his two new neighborhood "buddies" Nelson and Luke.

Prayer request

I forgot to mention to ask for prayer for Grandpa Lora in Michigan. He is very sick with cancer, and is in hospice care. Grandma (Dave's Mom) could use some prayer right now as she goes through it all with him. She has been such a wonderful caregiver throughout his illnesses. We love you both, and are thinking about you!

It's hard to believe it is Tuesday. The past few days have been a blur. We are up to our waist in boxes, especially upstairs. I let Justin "unpack" his room, and it is like a bomb went off in there. I have not had time to try and fix it. I went to dress for Bible study today, and I had to pick my least wrinkled thing because I have no idea which box the iron is in! Tonight we drove to Sanibel Island for Taylor's volleyball game. It is a $6 toll to go over the bridge, but what a pretty view and an awesome place. I see lots of little shopping areas that would be fun to go to. The public school there was very nice. Our school had a big pep rally for the fall sports today, and the girls' competitive cheerleading team did the opening cheer. They have lots of polishing to do, but it was fun to watch. I did a horrible job videotaping it, but I will ask Lindsay to get it on the blog. She has a very bad cold right now and is pathetic. Kyle did not come home this past weekend because his college had a carnival for the town, and he had to volunteer. He is coming this weekend, and that is better because it would not have been "home" to him to be in chaos. He said that he bought pancakes for a family that asked him for money(I guess it is a depressed area). I hope he wasn't scammed-he doesn't have money to do much, but he said he felt that was what he was supposed to do. I look forward to seeing him!

Moving Day

We knew this morning that we were going to have to hit the ground running. After yesterday's fiasco Dave told them that he wanted the truck there at 8am. I took the kids to school and he went on to the house. When I arrived there was so much going on that I had to laugh. The moving company had sent 8 guys. Our Brinks salesman was there also with 2 tech guys because we told them that ADT said that Brinks will do a sloppy installation job. (The salesman was so upset by that he also had two of his bosses come review our houses' needs -and he brought coffee cake and fruit-NICE GUY!) The company that wired our house had to come out because of issues-so 1 Embarq guy was there. Then the Dish Network guy arrived, because the guy who came the day before did not know what he was doing. The Crystal Springs guy made his delivery. So 16 people with different agendas were all over the place! At one point the 3 company's had reps in our master bedroom closet looking at the same smart box. All were gone by 2:15 pm. Dave and I were so tired and hungry that we went for a quick lunch up the road. Taylor had a volleyball game, and on the way to that I got a speeding ticket. 51 in a 35-a definate speed trap area. He took some pity on me since I had a Florida license, Ohio plates, and an expired insurance card! It was still over a hundred bucks, but it could have been double that for all I had going on:( I should have just jumped on 75 like everyone else and done 90 mph! I would not have wasted time and money. Taylor is spending the night at a new friend's house tonight(JoJo) and Lindsay is at a party. Justin went on an all day field trip to the Mote Aquarium in Sarasota. He had a ball there. He took Dave's camera, and about 150 pictures-mostly of kids ears on the bus! There are a few good ones, if I get time I will post them this weekend. Thanks for the prayers-we survived the day. Thank you Jesus!

Just a quick post to say that the movers did not show yesterday as scheduled. They said they thought they could pick Thursday or Friday. Needless to say, it was upsetting to lose and entire day. Now they are sending a crew to just dump on us in one day. Please pray for things to go smoothly and for patience!

Ike

I forgot to comment on the fact that my WCS friends are now experiencing "hurricane days". Isn't that just crazy?! Power still has not been restored from Ike's winds that hit Ohio on Sunday. I guess our old house lost some trees-I am sad about that. Just goes to show that you can live anywhere and anything can happen...My kids are jealous that you don't have to go to school!

Big Day

We get to finally close on our house today! There is a lot to do before the movers arrive at 8am tomorrow morning. Dave loaded up the truck with the "least ugly" ceiling fans we bought. He wants to get them up before beds are in the rooms. My job is to begin sealing the endless grout that is in the house. Our entire first floor is tile except for the office and the guest bedroom. Then I need to move on to the bathrooms. I may need to borrow Taylor's volleyball knee pads! Kyle left me this text message: "I am coming home this weekend madre". It will be fun to see him-but he said that he was bringing plenty of laundry. We exchanged some funny "you'll have fun with that..." comments.

Cute Justin moment...

Just before we left for church I went in Justin's room and found a coffee cup with a disgusting array of liquids and solids. It was milk, goldfish crackers, chips ahoy cookies, water and I think that's it. I was irritated so I asked him what the cup was all about. His face immediately changed to that "busted" look, and he quietly replied "it was a science project." All witnessing the exchange had to chuckle and look away-while I asked him not to make a mess like that without my permission. I am sure that he and the neighbor girls had a great time mixing the concoction on Saturday!

After church Lindsay went to a surprise birthday lunch for a boy in her class named Jamal. For some odd reason, someone in the group gave him three mice that were three different colors. Three blind mice or something like that....I don't get it? Anybody?

I heard from Kyle...he is coming for a home for a visit in two weeks. I told him I would pick him up some pop on sale. He asked if I would pick up Ramen noodles because they are cheap and tasty. The classic college staple! What about the meal plan we paid for.....?

Saturday

Today Justin got to go to his first birthday party in Florida. It was for a girl in his class named Mary. Most of the boys in his class did not choose to go-but Justin is always up for a fun party! Another boy named Willy arrived and that was enough for him...It was a swimming party, today was a beautiful day and his face got some color today. (As usual he is really dark brown everywhere else).
We are trying to get some things for the house that we did not have the builder put in for us because of their ridiculous prices. For instance, ceiling fans. Have you ever noticed how extremely unattractive ceiling fans are? It is not something you look at and say: "That's pretty!". It is more trying to pick the one that is the least offensive. I try to remind myself that once it is up and spinning I won't pay it any mind anymore. Our rental house has some real "doozies"(sp)-I can hardly believe someone fell in love with them and had to buy them...Oh well, when you come to visit, make sure you notice our hours of looking up at a couple hundred choices and saying"this is not as ugly as that one..."! So far we have bought 7, we still need 3 more...
Taylor went to a volleyball clinic today from 11-3. When Lindsay and I went to pick her up, she was playing a practice game. She smiled at us when she went to serve-she made 3 points on her new overhand serve! That is so terrific. I never got my overhand serve, but my sister Linda was born with one....Taylor has really come along!

Volleyball in Florida

We arrived at Taylor's away game and were surprised that they were playing outside! I guess the Sanibel game is outside as well. Kooky. Taylor does not get a lot of playing time, but tonight she was in for a whole rotation and she hit two balls over the net (backwards) and got three points on serve. Pretty great for a girl who didn't know a thing about the game a few weeks ago!

9-11

I have been talking to various people about 9-11, and what they were doing when they found out that something terrible had happened to the World Trade Center. I was driving home from Dublin after dropping Lindsay and Taylor off at school. The Christian radio station I was listening to asked for prayer for what was happening there. The details at that point were few. I remember thinking it was a small plane. I called a neighbor's house, and he said that he had it on TiVo, and that it was no small plane. The rest of the morning I sat in front of the TV in disbelief. I had called Dave-he was in Milwaukee. All flights were canceled,and I remember looking up at the sky, and how odd it was to not see a single trace of a jet at all. (I remember that it was a beautiful fall day). When the first tower fell, I remember hoping that there would be survivors. The second tower fell, and other events were happening with other planes. I remember going and getting the kids from school-maybe my nesting instinct. Silly-I suppose-but I wanted them to be home as the rest of the day unfolded. It's hard to believe it's been 7 years.

Busy 24 hours

I was dreading Monday/Tuesday this week because they were so packed with activities. Dave and I had the final walk-thru on the house at 10:00. Some of you have heard already that our pool heater was stolen some time over the weekend. It was a unit larger than an air conditioner, it actually was next to them on the side of the house at the top of the driveway. Needless to say, I am calling the alarm company out the first day we are there to have some security. Dave had to fly out at 2:oo. Does the rest of my day/night sound like other busy families that I know??

Justin: out of school 3:00
Taylor: Volleyball practice 3:15-6:00
Justin: Upward football 5:30-6:30
Cathy: Mandatory jr/sr high meeting 6:00-7:30
Lindsay: Walk to softball fields to get Justin at 6:30 because of Mom's meeting, and then wait with all kids(including two girls spending the night with us) til meeting over...
Cathy: Take all kids to get pizza for a late dinner
Cathy: 5:00 am wake up to get four girls to cheerleading practice by 6:45 a.m., then take poor Justin to breakfast because he had to go with us!

The top picture is a picture of the trees I'm asking them to replace with a palm trees. The rest looked fine on the final walk through day...

The new groomer went a little over board!

Catching the Moment

The girls have to learn a portion of a u-tube cheerleading dance this weekend for their competitive squad. Lindsay took the time to study it, and then began to teach Taylor. I found them practicing in the reflection of the family room picture windows....It's great to have two girls that enjoy each other-I love my sisters, and they will be best buds all their lives!

Oral surgery bites!

Lindsay's oral surgery took a little less than an hour. She was very drowsy from being under, and was a handful when I got her home. It was a little hectic there for a while-but after a long nap she woke up feeling a lot better. In fact, she was frustrated that I wouldn't let her make plans last night. This morning she is sore and tired. I guess she had a hard time sleeping. Thanks for your prayers for her! I guess that "Ike" is potentially an issue for us next week...you get to know about storm cones and spaghetti graphs when you live here. Dave is "in the know" because of the preparations his stores have to make-and he is giving me the look like"sorry...", so I know it must be a threat-so stay tuned as we watch the weather reports....

Taylor had her first Volleyball game tonight. She actually got to start-which was a surprise. She played enough to get to serve and make the whole rotation before having to sit. Turns out that two regular players went to see the Jonas brothers, so she was able to get some playing time. Unfortunately they lost two games, but the great thing was we were out of there at 5:45! Pretty painless for a school sport! Kyle called last night. It is funny because he has no sense of time. He asked if he woke me up(it was 10:45) and then said "my bad" when I said yes. He then proceeded to tell me his stories for the week. It's good to hear how much he likes it, and that he has a group of guys he hangs out with. They have been visiting churches on Sunday mornings. They really welcomed them this past Sunday-Kyle said they were all grandparents and were thrilled when young boys came in! Lindsay has oral surgery at 9:00 in the morning-so please pray for her!

Taylor's Desk

Taylor's room has a niche for a desk...and she wanted it pink and green, so we had to order it unfinished...

Justin is helping Dad paint

The finished project!!!!

Back to School again

The weather has been great since the bands of the storm moved on. None of Dave's stores in Alabama were damaged, although one is still without power. Now Hanna is the next threat for his stores on along the east coast. Taylor's first volleyball game was canceled tonight. They had practice instead, and they fabric painted their knee hi socks for some reason, and she came home with blue sparkly (sp) legs! Lindsay spent the night at a friend's house last night so she could go to a free concert at a church in Naples. How can I say"no "to her going to see a band named "Christaholic"?! ;) I'm getting old...We visited a great church on Sunday. We were encouraged to find one that was more contemporary than what we have had for the past 9 years. One is not better than the other, we just need something new...The girls will visit the youth group tomorrow night. I have met such nice ladies at my Bible study on Tuesday mornings at our school's home church. Most of them have moved to Florida within the past 1-3 years, so they are able to understand me. Two have lost husbands since arriving(retirees), so when I think I have it rough I think of their stories and realize I am blessed. There is always someone with something harder going on... when I take the focus off myself I see that. I came upon a horrible car accident one block from our rental house. Two cars had been crushed by a semi. Here it was, a beautiful afternoon and this terrible thing had happened. I wonder as I am writing this how all of the people involved are doing. Yes, I am blessed beyond measure...Thank you Lord.

It's Almost Finished!!

Sod and Landscaping mostly done. This was the first time we couldn't get in...