It was our second night of our vacation. We were watching the local Fox station's newscast because they said they might have an interview with newly crowned American Idol David Cook. When the breaking news announcement came on I thought it would be something political or maybe a local happening. What came next wasn't just breaking news, it was heart-breaking news. We learned that Maria Sue Chapman, 5 year old daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman had been killed in a tragic accident. While I was still teary-eyed Jack gathered us all together to pray for a family that I've never met but feel like I know.
To know more about Maria or to leave a message for the Chapman family, go here.
And please keep remembering the Chapmans in your prayers. Because even though Maria is whole and happy in Heaven with Jesus, her family is still grieving the loss of their beloved daughter.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Time Flies
April flew by, just like I knew it would. We actually had a great month. The ladies' conference at our church was uplifting and challenging. God is continuing to heal me from past hurts, but it's a long and on-going process. We were challenged to spend time with God first thing in the morning for two weeks, and I did it! My time with God has been rather hit and miss lately, so seeing how I could get up and have time with Him was a good thing. I wish I could say those two weeks set the pace for the rest of my month, but I have found myself waking up late far too often, so I need to get to bed earlier, so my mornings can start earlier!
My friends and I had a fun-filled whirlwind shopping day in the nearest big city. We hit an outlet mall, a regular mall, a great stand-alone department store, and a Tex-Mex restaurant. All in one day! I bought a few things and got some really good deals. But the best part was the fun we all had!
We capped off the month with the girls' dance recital. All four of them looked beautiful and were so graceful! This will probably be the last recital that all four girls dance in. Hope wants to take piano instead of dance next year. She really has not been fond of dance lessons the last couple of years, but she does like dancing at home. She is very graceful and would do pretty well if she continued, but her heart is not in it. Faith is a beautiful dancer! She has a natural grace and poise that shows in her performance. And she is a natural-born performer. Joy and Grace also enjoy being on stage, and they seemed to be having a lot of fun performing. My mom was able to visit for the weekend and the girls especially enjoyed having Nana watch them dance.
I can't believe May is already over one-third of the way through! Time is certainly flying!
My friends and I had a fun-filled whirlwind shopping day in the nearest big city. We hit an outlet mall, a regular mall, a great stand-alone department store, and a Tex-Mex restaurant. All in one day! I bought a few things and got some really good deals. But the best part was the fun we all had!
We capped off the month with the girls' dance recital. All four of them looked beautiful and were so graceful! This will probably be the last recital that all four girls dance in. Hope wants to take piano instead of dance next year. She really has not been fond of dance lessons the last couple of years, but she does like dancing at home. She is very graceful and would do pretty well if she continued, but her heart is not in it. Faith is a beautiful dancer! She has a natural grace and poise that shows in her performance. And she is a natural-born performer. Joy and Grace also enjoy being on stage, and they seemed to be having a lot of fun performing. My mom was able to visit for the weekend and the girls especially enjoyed having Nana watch them dance.
I can't believe May is already over one-third of the way through! Time is certainly flying!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Two Blogs Are Better Than One!
I have created another blog! I know that I have been a sporadic poster on this blog, but I wanted to have an on-line record of the things my girls and I are learning. And I thought it would be nice to have all the educational posts in one place.
So ... Introducing ...What We Have Learned...Thus Far!
So ... Introducing ...What We Have Learned...Thus Far!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Last week we discovered that the nest in our playhouse had some baby birds in it! The girls and I would check in on them and watch them. This weekend noticed that they had died. We don't know why, but I suspect last week's strong winds must have injured the mother bird. We were all sad for them, but we knew that there was really nothing we could have done to help them.
Yesterday, I checked the jar with the cocoon that we've been watching for months! Everyone told me to just throw the jar away. Surely the caterpillar had just died. But I waited. And yesterday we had a moth in the jar! It was so still that at first I thought it had died, but as I tried to dump it out of the jar it moved. Its wings resembled tree bark when they were closed, but they opened to reveal beautiful eye spots!
Today the girls discovered that the roly-polies (aka pill bugs) that we were keeping in a jar had had babies. The girls brought home the roly-polies from a family friend's house on Easter. We researched them and discovered that their official name is wood louse. Fortunately, they are NOT related to lice. They are actually crustaceans!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Time Marches On
Wow, I can't believe it's already April. March flew by!
March was a BUSY month for us. Paul's dad was released from the hospital and went home. Because of his dementia, we have to have someone stay with him 24/7. Paul's brother has graciously taken the night shifts, so Paul justs spends some time with him during the day. Paul's mom is still in the hospital, but she is improving. We are now faced with the decision of where she should go after she is released.
We celebrated a Special Occasion this month. Some of our friends had all four of our girls over for a sleepover, and Jack and I ate at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It was a FANTASTIC meal!! Paul gave me a fabulous gift - a convection oven! I've been wanting one for a while, but I was TOTALLY SURPRISED! Because our old oven was a drop-in oven, we had to wait a couple of weeks for Paul to get the right tools to install the new oven. It is now in, and we are definitely enjoying it.
I got a really bad sinus infection in March. It not only made my face hurt, but it made me really tired and weak. It took several days of antibiotics to begin to feel like myself again.
Paul got to speak at a breakout session for a conference our church was having. He did a great job, and he actually got paid. Real money, not just a gift card!
We had company twice. Some of our best friends came for a visit during part of their spring break. Because they have four kids and we have four kids, they decided to stay in a hotel. We didn't get quite as much visiting time this way, but it was definitely easier! The kids had a great time playing. Their second daughter is still Faith's best friend, even though they moved away over six years ago. I was still feeling bad from my sinus infection, so I don't know that I was very good company.
My mom came for part of her spring break. The girls love seeing their Nana, and we had a good visit. She was here for Easter, so she got to do some fun Easter activities with us - going to the Easter Festival at our church, dying eggs, and making Easter cupcakes.
We had our spring break in March. We actually had a couple of field trips to a local museum that was offering some educational classes. We had a party with friends, and the girls had some of their friend sleep over. I had planned on getting a lot done, but we mainly rested and had fun. But after seeing how busy this month has been, I think rest and fun are just what we needed!
April will be busy, too. We have a dance recital, a ladies' conference at our church, 4-H awards night, a deacons' retreat for Jack, and a shopping-with-the-girls day for me. But once April is finished, we have a break from most of our activities. Summer is on the horizon!
March was a BUSY month for us. Paul's dad was released from the hospital and went home. Because of his dementia, we have to have someone stay with him 24/7. Paul's brother has graciously taken the night shifts, so Paul justs spends some time with him during the day. Paul's mom is still in the hospital, but she is improving. We are now faced with the decision of where she should go after she is released.
We celebrated a Special Occasion this month. Some of our friends had all four of our girls over for a sleepover, and Jack and I ate at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It was a FANTASTIC meal!! Paul gave me a fabulous gift - a convection oven! I've been wanting one for a while, but I was TOTALLY SURPRISED! Because our old oven was a drop-in oven, we had to wait a couple of weeks for Paul to get the right tools to install the new oven. It is now in, and we are definitely enjoying it.
I got a really bad sinus infection in March. It not only made my face hurt, but it made me really tired and weak. It took several days of antibiotics to begin to feel like myself again.
Paul got to speak at a breakout session for a conference our church was having. He did a great job, and he actually got paid. Real money, not just a gift card!
We had company twice. Some of our best friends came for a visit during part of their spring break. Because they have four kids and we have four kids, they decided to stay in a hotel. We didn't get quite as much visiting time this way, but it was definitely easier! The kids had a great time playing. Their second daughter is still Faith's best friend, even though they moved away over six years ago. I was still feeling bad from my sinus infection, so I don't know that I was very good company.
My mom came for part of her spring break. The girls love seeing their Nana, and we had a good visit. She was here for Easter, so she got to do some fun Easter activities with us - going to the Easter Festival at our church, dying eggs, and making Easter cupcakes.
We had our spring break in March. We actually had a couple of field trips to a local museum that was offering some educational classes. We had a party with friends, and the girls had some of their friend sleep over. I had planned on getting a lot done, but we mainly rested and had fun. But after seeing how busy this month has been, I think rest and fun are just what we needed!
April will be busy, too. We have a dance recital, a ladies' conference at our church, 4-H awards night, a deacons' retreat for Jack, and a shopping-with-the-girls day for me. But once April is finished, we have a break from most of our activities. Summer is on the horizon!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Jack's father did not go home last week. Instead he was transferred to the geriatric psych area so he could regain his strength and the doctors could better stabilize his medications. This was really tough on Jack, but he realized that this really is the best thing for his dad. The visitation rules for this area of the hospital are much stricter with visitors only being allowed for a couple of hours a day. So Jack has been home every night for almost a whole week!
His mom has been moved to the long-term recovery part of the hospital and seems to be gradually improving.
We have been blessed by friends who have brought us meals (Even my children reached their fast food saturation point!), prayed for us, and hosted our small group at their home. One set of friends even let all 4 of our girls sleep over!
So I should be feeling great. But I don't. I feel a bit down. I don't really know why. I think living with uncertainty, both of the future and of each day, takes a toll on me. Jack has been down and I know that affects my emotions. And I'm just plain weary!
His mom has been moved to the long-term recovery part of the hospital and seems to be gradually improving.
We have been blessed by friends who have brought us meals (Even my children reached their fast food saturation point!), prayed for us, and hosted our small group at their home. One set of friends even let all 4 of our girls sleep over!
So I should be feeling great. But I don't. I feel a bit down. I don't really know why. I think living with uncertainty, both of the future and of each day, takes a toll on me. Jack has been down and I know that affects my emotions. And I'm just plain weary!
