Snow and Sunshine

We woke up to a beautiful sunny morning with several inches of snow on the ground. Again we went from nothing but what the snow the plows had left in piles to everything being covered. Currently the outside temperature is 14' so going out to shovel will be COLD. However it is good exercise so I am looking forward to that. And school is canceled again - yeah! I know it means we will have to go in June but still not as late as some of the other school districts in the area.

B dropped Dipstick off this morning - it's way out of his way to work but Dipstick's school was closed already and it makes a change for Dipstick. Also he is a great help when it comes to shoveling or other outside work. Right now the boys are all in the family room while I'm finishing up my coffee.

The bird feeders are busy this morning - I hope to get some good pictures today. And maybe find my tripods so I can figure out which works best with my camera and start using it.

Coffee is done so I'd better get moving. Soon I will, I hope, have a roaring fire going in the front room and be heading outside to shovel. Later there is cookies to bake, bills to pay and laundry to do.
This picture was taken from about a third of the way down our hill - after we had already shoveled quite a bit. It gives one an idea of what my driveway is like and why I have to shovel so much.

Edited to add: 7:15 pm There was between 7 - 71/2 inches this morning. We - Stretch, Dipstick and I took turns shoveling and got close to half done by lunchtime. I went out again to work on the bottom of the hill - instead one of the men from our church who is also the father of one of my kids on the bus - pulled in and pretty much finished it up for me. I put salt down on the hill and the remainder melted off by supper time.

We also found that one of the tires on the car was completely flat. B helped us get it off then Stretch and Dipstick put the spare on while B and I took the tire to get repaired. I will have to pick it up tomorrow evening. I found two of my 3 tripods but haven't got them working with the camera yet. Guess that will come with time - at least I know where they are at the moment. I'm going to go stitch for awhile this evening.

This last picture is Sally-dog. She is a mutt - purebred German Shepherd mother and unknown father. She has the shepherd coloring and great big feet combined with short little legs. She is standing in the path I shoveled to the back door - as you can see the snow comes up to her belly basically.

Well it's been snowing now since about 2:45 pm - not sure if it's just snow or if sleet is still mixed in. It started out sleeting heavily - interesting to listen to when one is on the bus. The ground is pretty much covered again with an inch or so. I went ahead and fed the chickens early and closed their coop up for the night. That way I don't have to go out again tonight. Radio is talking about how slippery the roads are tonight and many many places are canceling evening activities. Squirrel's Math Bowl was canceled for tonight - to my great relief. I really didn't want to have to be out late in this. It is currently rescheduled for tomorrow night but that assumes that we will have school. Personally I am rather hoping for another cancellation - I have several students that have been challenging my authority lately. A couple of days break will be a good thing. This afternoon did go much much better than yesterday and was even quiet at the RR tracks. Of course some of my students did not ride this afternoon which helped.

Other than that, not too much is happening. I got 5 eggs today. I spent some time watching the chickens before closing the coop for the night. It was really rather fun. (O.K...I admit it...I really am a country girl at heart!) I had given them some regular bird feed and some black oil sunflower seeds - they were very happy birds - busy scratching and pecking at the floor!

Picture Perfect Morning

An overflowing pond. Vivid emerald evergreens. Deep blue storm clouds. A weathered red barn against the barren trees. Scattered patches of melting snow. Occasional deer. All gilded by the golden rays of the morning sun.

This was the picture this morning as I was driving my morning bus route. By the time route ended the storm clouds had snuffed out the sunshine and it was raining lightly. We saw about 15 deer throughout route time - my students are starting to call out when they see them. That makes deer spotting much more enjoyable to me. The temperature is supposed to drop fairly dramatically during the day today - we are to have scattered thunderstorms today followed by sleet and freezing rain overnight continuing into tomorrow along with 2-3 inches of snow possible.

The weekend was a good weekend overall. Squirrel missed school again Friday - doctor confirmed that he is fighting the flu and says it could continue for another couple of weeks. He is at school today as he's not been running fever for the last 24 hours. I drove my morning route Friday and then took the rest of the day off - including my trip I was signed up for immediately after my kindergarten shuttle. I had planned to take just the midday stuff off and drive my afternoon route. However due to the fact that I fell on some ice on our driveway in the morning I figured I would go ahead and take the extra time. As it turned out...I would have had to take the afternoon off anyway due to the fact that the only time I was able to get an appointment at the doctor's was during afternoon route time.

Saturday afternoon B called and asked if I could please bring Stretch to help with cutting wood as he knew they were running out of daylight. I took Stretch up after he ran 1.5 miles and helped myself. We were probably outside 2 1/2 hours and loaded 2 pick-up trucks with split wood. Some of the time I was pitching logs and some of the time I got to run the log splitter. I also was able to take a few pictures - I figured that since I knew we were going to be outside I would take the camera along - got a beautiful sunset.

Sunday was a quiet day relatively. I missed class due to just not feeling well - actually I would have missed class anyway as I was scheduled to be in nursery. However I felt that whatever was going on I didn't need to be exposing babies to it. B and Dipstick came down for supper - that's becoming a normal Sunday event. It makes certain that except for cooking - which isn't particularly restful for me - I do rest otherwise.

Now I'd better get moving on my chores for today - have a LOT of laundry to fold and dishes to do. Also need to make a grocery list as we are almost out of milk and I want to get that before the weather turns really bad.

Just Rambling

It's very clear and cold this morning but thankfully it's also sunny. Last night we must have had close to 50 deer in the field across the road from the house - it was too dark when I saw them to get pictures and I knew I needed to take care of the chickens. Speaking of which...we got
the most interesting looking egg from them yesterday. It is only about a third of the size of a "normal" egg and is slightly rounder. I talked to Suz about it - she is rejoicing that I got the chicken that lays these tiny eggs - she says I will likely get one every couple of weeks or so. Hers were perfectly round and anywhere from the size of a dime to a half dollar - she said they only had the white in them. So I am looking forward to cracking this one to see what is inside it. I promised Squirrel that he could use it next time he baked anything.

Stretch is not feeling well again - it seems that it's probably because he is out of some of his allergy meds. I really need to figure out how to help with those naturally. Squirrel has been back at school all week - but he is definitely not feeling 100% yet. He fell asleep doing his reading last night - and this was a book he had chosen to read rather than something assigned. He's has requested not to go to TaeKwonDo tonight - we do have Grief Group to go to but I am thankful for the opportunity to have a wee bit of time at home. He will also miss TaeKwonDo again on this coming Tuesday because he has Math Bowl competition. He is excited about that and I think has really impressed his principal who is one of the coaches.

I spent yesterday all day with the bus - I took two groups of preschoolers to the local library in addition to my regular routes and kindergarten shuttle. It was fun and very easy. However during the day we had just enough snow to cover my driveway with a half inch or so. This made it impossible for me to get up the driveway - I ended up stuck across the road and had to be pulled up. This morning I drove up forwards instead of attempting to back up - I made it but not without really flooring it and some sliding.

Guess that is enough rambling...I have some other stuff to do yet on the computer and really want to at least get the kitchen counters cleaned - doing 15 minutes at a time.


This is one of my amaryllis plants in the family room - it's actually a result of a bulb off my original plant. They have been producing and blooming every year for the past 2 or 3 years. I even have ones to give away...it's really fun.

I don't Understand

Check out this story

I "know" this family as last school year I had the little boy on my bus. I remember getting a phone call from the mom of another student on my bus saying that her child was concerned that this little boy was being abused and wanting his address. I legally could not give it to her according to my transportation secretary. I also did not see any signs of abuse - his mom was always at the door of the trailer to see him off. She was very concerned about how he was doing on the bus - being as little as he was he had trouble staying seated complicated by the fact that he had some common health issues. I always found her very supportive whenever I contacted her. And I knew that she stayed in contact with the school as I often saw her at the school. I knew there were some cleanliness issues - clothes not clean, face not clean, etc. but I put it down to just the fact that I had gathered that the family was very poor. So to hear on the news that he had been living in such atrocious conditions and that his parents had been arrested for child neglect just breaks my heart. I feel a bit guilty for not following up more on him when the other student's parent approached me. And I ache for the turmoil the boy has got to be going through - being removed from his home and parents and thrown into a completely new situation. I also hurt for the parents as I am sure they are grieving. I don't understand how or why a parent can neglect a child's living conditions that severely - one would think they would ask for help somewhere.

Winter Wonderland

We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning - puffs of snow on the trees under which you can just about see bumps of buds that are getting ready to open. Just Sunday evening while out on a walk with B I found daffodil shoots coming up in one area. It is still snowing lightly and blowing. Soon Stretch and I will be heading outside to start shoveling the drive. I am sort of expecting my boss to come plow eventually but in the meantime I'm going to take advantage of the exercise and start shoveling. Besides I need to get to the chicken coop with fresh water for them and to collect eggs.


I have just about finished my project that I was working on for B. I am now to the point that I need to have him sit with me and go through stuff before I can completely finish it. That will be good to have done. I hope this week - and possibly even today - to get back to scanning slides for Mom and Dad. I haven't worked on that in some time and really need to get it done. Besides, going through those slides brings of memories of my childhood days and that's rather fun.

Squirrel is finally better though he still tires very easily. He went to school yesterday and stayed for Math Bowl practice. He put himself to bed early last night though and actually dozed a bit this morning after we got the call that we were closed for today. (I am really glad that we didn't start with a delay but just went straight to closing). Stretch is thoroughly enjoying play practice and so far is still fitting in time for a run afterwards. Dipstick was home sick from school yesterday. However this morning he seemed better - I think it was probably a 24 hour stomach bug. If they hadn't canceled he would have missed school but this way he gets the day to recover without having to miss one.

Well fiddle...now all my pictures are lined up on the right side! I hope that someday I will figure out how to line them up on alternating sides. In the meantime...this one was taken from the deck looking down towards the road. The middle one was out the back door looking towards the woods - notice the snow on the fence. The top one was out the front door - looking towards the fruit trees. We had NO snow on the lawn yesterday except for the bits that were in piles from being plowed earlier. Needless to say we got a fair bit.

Edited to add: According to my most "unofficial" measurements we got 6 inches. We measured in a couple of places on the driveway while Stretch and I were out shoveling. Between the two of us, we have about half the hill shoveled...the shoveled areas clear off fast but it's definitely hard work. And it was still snowing lightly though I'm not really expecting any more accumulation.

Wednesday Stuff

Well Squirrel is home from school today - running fever, headache and puking overnight. He's comfortably ensconced in bed with legos, movies, crackers, tissues and water. I on the other hand am desperately in need of a nap as I didn't get enough sleep last night. I am rather hoping that there will be a sub able to drive my afternoon route today...I've already got my kindergarten shuttle covered for the day. Of course I do have paperwork to do to get my Twinkie tossing student dealt with! Thankfully I now know for sure who it was as it was caught on video. And I caught the same student yesterday throwing a piece of pencil.

Other than that not too much is going on. It is much warmer today than yesterday...there is a dusting of snow on the driveway and the sun is shining again. Stretch had the first read-through of his script yesterday afternoon - brought the script and the soundtrack home so he can start learning it. Tonight we will hopefully install the new water softener and maybe install a hook on the top part of the chicken coop door so that I can make it stay open during the day. Sally dog is outside going nuts barking at something.

Time to go get ready to pick up my two Amish boys - since I'm not doing the shuttle I normally wouldn't take them. However Suz is not available today so I am going to take the car and go get them. At least that way I won't be gone an hour and a half - it should just be 30 min. or so.

Chickens & Musicals

9' this morning! Down from low 50's on Sunday! We have just a light dusting of snow on the ground and it's very windy though definitely less so than overnight.

On the agenda for today: blog, laundry - wash, dry and fold, dishes, work on a project for B - it has a deadline, edit pictures on the computer so I can get reprints made, figure out how to get some exercise...I am sure there is more but that's all I can think of at the moment. Last night I was out fairly late at B's working on a different project than the one I'm doing here at home. Sunday night I was out doing an evening run and got home late. Two late nights in a row adds up and I'm tired this morning.


We have chickens now - brought them home Saturday evening. We've had 4-5 eggs a day since. It's exciting for me. I just have to figure out how to get them to use their roosts rather than the nest boxes. I also still need to get cracked corn to supplement their feed and to encourage them to scratch more. Squirrel is excited to gather the eggs as well - I have hopes that this will encourage him to try eating them. Come this spring I will be getting 20 more as chicks - some will be Amerecanas that lay colored eggs.

On a different note - Stretch got the part of Mr. Bahr in the musical Little Women that the high school is putting on this spring. It's the part that he kind of wanted during try-outs. I'm thrilled for him though I know it will be an incredible amount of work. He is planning on continuing his running as much as possible in between practices.

This morning is a beautiful sunny morning - the sun is glistening on the snowflakes on the ground while more flakes fall lightly. The driveway is plowed though I shoveled some this morning yet before it got plowed yet there is already a very light dusting on the ground again. When the sun came up it was glorious - an arrow of light pointing towards the heavens from a reddish orange ball. Made me think of the Doxology:


Praise God from Whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Let it Snow!

Let it snow! Yesterday we were supposed to get snow overnight - possibly a couple of inches. However we only got a dusting - just enough to have to shovel the driveway before we left for school and bus route this morning. Stretch did a tremendous job after he got off the bus this afternoon - as it had been snowing all afternoon and we had another inch at least. I still got stuck across the road - which had not been sanded yet and had to call for help. My boss came out and was able to drive the bus up the hill - while waiting on him I spread ashes under the wheels and was able to get it mostly out of the road. I shoveled over an hour today - for now it's stopped snowing. We will see what the morning brings.

Other than that not too much is going on. Last week we had floods, lots of fog and very little snow. Then the temps dropped to below freezing over the weekend and now we have snow. The weather has been very very strange this winter.

Stretch is now running at home as track practice has started. He is not going to do track this year as he wants to try out for the musical that will be performed in the spring. This will be his first experience acting in a "real" play so it should be interesting. Squirrel, on the other hand, is now busier than ever - in addition to TaeKwonDo he is participating in the Math Bowl that the elementary school is involved in. They will have one competition in a month or so. In the meantime though he has practice 2 or 3 afternoons a week - on the days he doesn't have TaeKwonDo classes. Math is his favorite subject in school so he is enjoying that.


I was hoping to be able to capture the snow flakes as they were coming down. Unfortunately that didn't happen. However all the snow in the picture has fallen in the last 24 hours or so.

Strange Weather

Just got in from attempting to shovel the driveway again. It's not that the snow is exceedingly deep this morning - it's that the temperatures must have dropped so dramatically last night that everything - including the slushy snow we'd had in the space of an hour or so yesterday "flash froze". It was very strange - it went from rain to sleet to big heavy wet snow flakes in the space of an hour yesterday afternoon - just in time for afternoon bus route. Made the route very interesting at best - there were several very slick areas.

O.K. I started writing this this morning before I went on my bus route. The roads were all ice under the slight layer of snow - I was the last bus in to the elementary school this morning as I deliberately ran slow which made me run late. The weather this winter has been extremely strange. I am very glad that we had a scheduled 2 1/2 hour delay this morning - I would not have wanted to drive my route in the dark. (This makes 4 days this week we've gone to school late!) By Sunday we are supposed to be back in the teens temperature-wise - tomorrow they are predicting rain again.

Other than that not too much is going on. With the delays I really don't feel like I've accomplished much of anything this week - there's not been enough time at home and the house shows it. Even in the evenings we've been out running. I guess I had better scoot and load the dishwasher and swap laundry loads at least.

No Cancellation

It's 8:20 am and all the school districts around us have closed. We were on a 2 hour fog/flood delay but apparently are not going to close. The fog was so bad yesterday that I actually missed stops and got turned around on my afternoon route. Suz says that it's worse today. I am not looking forward to this. Around here the fog isn't too bad - Dipstick (who is closed again today) says it's pretty thick up by him. B is at work.

This weekend was wild - we were closed on Friday. Saturday the roads weren't too bad and we were able to get the driveway cleared. Sunday night we had another 3 inches or so of wet heavy snow - Stretch and I used our 2 hour delay yesterday to shovel it off. We had just finished the hill and were calling it quits when my boss showed up with his plow. He finished off the top - I generally leave that if I'm hand shoveling due to it being flat.

I now have a chicken coop at my house - it was brought down on Sunday afternoon. One door hinge broke but otherwise it traveled safely. Now it's a matter of replacing the hinge, getting feed, straw and nest boxes in. Then I will be able to bring the chickens home. I guess I will probably put a fence around it as well so they don't roam all over the place...not sure if I will fence the coop area or the garden to protect it.

I'd better scoot - just about time to run my bus route.

Edited to add: The bus route was definitely challenging this morning. North of the main E/W highway visibility was about 1/4 mile - better than yesterday afternoon but still not good at all. Also...after I picked up my first student I ended up having to back out about 1/2 mile of washed out dirt road to a place I could turn around at. There were no signs up warning one of a washout or deep water over the road so I didn't realize it until I was right there already. That had me running a solid 10 minutes late on the entire route. Fun times indeed! And sleet is predicted for tomorrow.

Snowed In Again

This is what I woke up to this morning - Stretch had made coffee and started a fire in the fireplace. We are off school today due to snow - I think we were one of the last districts to cancel. However when I heard that the police were requesting people to stay off the roads I knew we would. Snow now seems to have tapered off quite a bit - fizzled almost to nothing. I didn't think that was supposed to happen for another hour or so. We certainly didn't get the 11-15 inches that were predicted. I would guess that we probably have 4-6 inches but have not yet been outside to measure it.

La phoned this morning - she is also snowed in at home. We had a good chat. While we did so, the boys took Christmas ornaments off the tree and set them on the coffee table in the family room. The hope is that we can all work on putting them away while watching a movie rather than me doing it all on my own. (I know...I know...it should have been done a month ago but life has been busy. At least it's not March.) For me it's always enjoyable to remember who made the different handmade ornaments and when they were given to us. Both boys have a good collection of ornaments to take with them when they move out of the house - both handmade and purchased.

This afternoon Stretch and I will go bring in storage containers for the Christmas stuff. We will likely also work on shoveling the drive as I don't expect to get plowed out until tomorrow at the earliest. Squirrel will have to stay inside as he's been running a fever. I had him to the doctor last night - he's now on a z-pack. The nice thing about that is that he will only have 2 days to remember to take it once Monday comes - rather than having to take it 3 times daily for 10 days. While we were out we did our grocery shopping for the next couple of weeks. The stores were crowded and later in the evening when I went back with B to do his there were large empty areas on the shelves where the store was sold out of milk, bread and other staples.



Here's a view from the side door out onto the deck looking towards the road - you can barely see that the road is even there. It would probably be really nice sledding for the boys.

Lunch is over so I'd better head off to get bundled up to go outside. Stretch has been looking for excuses to put this off but it must be done.

I feel better...

I feel somewhat better this morning about getting stuck yesterday afternoon - the roads were at least as bad as they were yesterday - lots of ice and black ice. There was a trash truck stuck cross- wise across one road and apparently a county truck blocking another road during morning route time. There were also plenty of warnings from one driver to another about icy roads. I had a couple of spots where I felt the bus start to slide but it wasn't too severe. Tomorrow could be a very very different story - we are under a winter storm advisory from 10:00 pm tonight through tomorrow. There is to be some combination of rain, thunderstorms and snow that we get. Personally I'm hoping for more snow than anything else even though it means shoveling for me. At least once it stops snowing and the sun comes out - even if it's cold it is pretty. And with the temps being back in the 20's for tomorrow snow is better than rain.

Something that was really funny about yesterday afternoon was what my preschool student said when he found out that he had a seatbelt all his own..."For me?? I get my own seatbelt?! Thank you E..." He was so excited about it - talking about telling his mom and telling his cousin. I am thankful for that as it means I won't have to struggle with getting him to wear it.

Other than that, not too much is going on. I've got daily chores planned, bills to pay and cleaning to do. Stretch is really looking forward to being able to run again tonight. Squirrel has TaeKwonDo and I have a haircut scheduled.

Monday

A solitary deer standing in the snowy field. Streaks of pink, lavender and orange across the sky. Tracks across the frozen pond. Snow covered roads. Areas of wispy white fog and hoar frost on the bushes. A few minutes later the sun rises - a glowing red orange ball behind the dark silhouettes of the trees.

That was the scene this morning driving the bus. It makes me long to paint as I don't feel that words do the picture justice - it was just beautiful. And the nice thing about driving the bus is that you are going slow enough to enjoy the beauty. The downside is that it's not possible to take the camera along to capture the beauty. I honestly didn't see too many deer this morning - think only 4 by the time I got home. However seeing them solitary was almost better than seeing a whole herd of them.

On a different note...things are going fairly well here. Stretch is finishing up his driver training tonight - he gets to go drive in the closest big "city" to here tonight. Then he will simply have to practice until he is able to get his license. Squirrel appears to have the same sinus junk that Stretch and I have been fighting for weeks - Stretch is much better after one round of antibiotics. Unfortunately B and Dipstick are also fighting stuff - Dipstick is much better after a round of antibiotics but I think B is home from work today.

Squirrel participated in another TaeKwonDo tournament on Saturday. This one was an "in-school" tournament held at our local school. However it was very well attended with students from 3 or 4 different schools competing. Squirrel placed 2nd in forms and did much much better in sparring. He sparred two times - won the first time and tied the second. He sparred the same opponent both times as they had the girls spar the girls and the boys each other.

Last week I struggled emotionally - in spite of sunshine and plenty of light. I'm certain it was due to being too busy, not enough time to be creative, not enough quiet time - I spent an hour Thursday evening crocheting and felt much better. I am going to go back to carrying a craft project of some sort with me at all times. This week should be a slightly easier week - hopefully I will get some cleaning done in addition to keeping up with regular laundry and stuff. Speaking of which, it is probably time to finish this up and move on to making my grocery list and doing laundry.


This picture was taken last Thursday evening before we went to town for Grief Group - the sunset was beautiful then and there were lots of deer out.

No Snow Delay

The roads were awful this morning! I slid past most of my stops - maybe only by inches but I could tell there was ice under the wheels. There was a couple of inches of snow over most of my driveway and I couldn't get the bus back up the hill this morning. The good news is that it's half way up the hill at least so I could get out and leave it. It's snowing heavily again right now so the 25 minutes of shoveling I did this morning before I left is going to essentially be for nothing - except it is good exercise. We also had one bus get side-swiped - no damage to the bus from what the driver said and no injuries to students.

I came closer this morning to hitting a deer than I ever had - I saw 5 and had 3 cross the road right in front of the bus. If I had been going any faster than I was I would have hit at least one of them.

Both boys went to school this morning...Stretch had stayed home yesterday as he wasn't feeling well. Last night he appeared to be running low-grade fever but was better this morning and felt like he could make it through the day. Squirrel also went today though he is planning on coming home before TaeKwonDo - he took a header out of B's loft last evening and was pretty shook up. Thankfully he landed on some junk piled underneath it so didn't hit the concrete floor. I suspect he bruised his tail bone and heel but otherwise is o.k. I told him he could stop scaring me with his escapades any day - he's been the one who takes the "major" tumbles and needs stitches more throughout his life!

Time to head out to shovel and salt before doing my shuttle - I'll write about the chicken coop building later.

Clear and Cold

Very clear and cold this morning - only saw 8 deer during route time. Most seemed to be in hiding - in trees or whatever. Yesterday we saw 21 - the kids on the bus were all excited about it. Both yesterday and this morning the sunrise was red - always makes me think of that old sailor's ditty "red sky at night, sailors delight; red sky in the morning, sailors take warning". I don't know how true it is but it certainly is ingrained in my mind. I rather expected a delay this morning - B said the roads had ice on them last night. I could see it as I was driving this morning - it wasn't thick or all over but it was definitely there.

My mind is spinning at the moment so I'm going to go ahead and post this. Hopefully this weekend I'm getting a chicken coop built - not 100% certain yet that that will happen but that is the plan.

Deer Again

28 deer this morning throughout my route time - including coming home. It was really nice to see more than I have recently - that's something I really enjoy. Wish I could find more time to work on my photography... there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. Of course, the fact that I seem to need to nap almost every day does not help - and I've had company and been running with the boys a lot also.

This morning I started a load of jeans and had a meeting with the lady that is helping me get my finances back under control. I did not do well last month at all. However it isn't quite as bad as I was afraid it was going to be and we have made a couple of changes that should help me. I got a brief nap in this afternoon - that was nice. Other than that, not too much is going on so guess this is a bit of a boring entry.

Can you say "overwhelmed"?

I admit it...I am struggling today. Some of it is fatigue combined with not feeling well. Some is deep concern over a girl who is special to me who is possibly suicidal and definitely needs professional help as she is cutting. Yet she refuses to go to her mom because she does not want to be honest about what is going on. Some of it is probably that I don't feel that I have accomplished anything today.

Yesterday I did not accomplish everything on my list by any stretch of the imagination. I got the grocery list made and did the shopping. I also was able to make progress on the laundry - it never is completely finished - and begin to get the checkbook balanced. The kitchen floor is swept - once. It will probably need another sweep before it gets mopped and the counters still are not clear. Tonight is Parent/Teacher conferences again at the high school - it's a new trimester so Stretch has some new teachers and classes. That means that we are not home tonight. Tomorrow night is TKD and Grief Group while Friday night is the start of the Festival of Faith at the church. Saturday we are supposed to have house guests in...can you say "overwhelmed"?

Priorities for today

Priorities for today:

Make grocery list - with price match ads. We don't need a lot but do need some specific stuff.
Laundry - towels from kitchen mess, jeans
Grocery shop - tonight after TKD
Continue cleaning kitchen - get to point where floor can be mopped.
Balance checkbook
Schedule and get to clean B's place.

Beyond that there's journaling, quiet time and exercise of some sort hopefully.

Starting off with a Bang

Well we appear to be starting 2008 off with a bang! Last night as B and I were coming back from doing a run to Graybil I called the Stretch and Squirrel to ask them to put a pot of water on the stove top to heat - warning them to make sure the slow cooker was out of the way. A few minutes later I received a frantic phone call - "help there's a fire on the stove-top! What do we do?" I could hear the smoke alarm going off in the background. I advised Squirrel to go ahead and try to get it out and if not to evacuate the house. We were at this point about 5 minutes from home anyway so I wasn't in a huge hurry to panic. Stretch threw water on it and that got it out before we got home. End result was a mess, a shattered crock pot (not the one I had supper in), a destroyed high quality spatula, a smelly house and one rather upset son. (Dipstick was at Jay's where he had spent the afternoon). That area of the kitchen is now cleaned up with no evidence of that excitement. As far as I know the burner on the cook top (which is one of those flat ceramic ones) will still work.

As I was doing that clean-up B was showing the boys the new live animal trap we had purchased while we were out - we know we've had a possum around. The three of them were able to adjust the trap and test it out on our outside cats to verify it worked. They rebaited it and set it out on the sidewalk beside the house. Around 9:30 last night Sally dog went nuts barking so I suspected it had worked. Sure enough this morning there is a live possum frantically attempting to get out of the trap and the boys are eagerly anticipating being allowed to dispose of it tonight! Ugh!

In the meantime...for about the last month not only have we not been able to get water out of our fridge we've not been able to get ice either. (It's one of those fancy ones with the dispenser in the door). So at 4:00 am this morning Squirrel wakes me up..."Mom there's a scary noise coming from the hall". I had to get up and go investigate it - to find that it was the freezer in the fridge making the noise. This morning we've determined that it's leaking water - it looks like I will have to have some drywall replaced, possibly sub-flooring and will have to repaint. In the meantime the fridge is pulled way out, the microwave cart is pulled way out and the currently unused house humidifier is moved into a different room. Stretch figures that we are undergoing a "cascade failure" of appliances and pipes due to the water softener being down. Should be interesting figuring out priorities for repair.

On that note...it's time to go check the laundry, look for a different phone call to have someone come look at the fridge and try to figure out how to function in the kitchen with the fridge in the middle of the floor. (and I will attempt to add pictures to this later)

Quick update - there's been a lot going on. Squirrel is waiting for me to come watch a movie with him so this won't be long at all. Have to love after Christmas sales - I was able to get 2 pairs of pj pants for under $5.00 total! Also picked up a few other things on clearance so am very pleased about that.

Dipstick's brother Jay (B's stepson) is in the hospital out of state with a leg broken in 3 places. He was to have surgery tonight to put a plate in his leg. (He was loading or unloading his semi that he drives when a chain snapped and broke his leg). So prayers are appreciated for him.

Just talked to another friend of mine who is just about finished with her 90 days trial period at her job. Unfortunately due to the weather we've had lately - even though she knows the company likes her work - she is concerned that she will lose her job for attendance issues due to road conditions.

When I look at other people's situations my life is very calm and peaceful at the moment. I am thankful for my blessings - I have a home in a country that is peaceful, I have a good job, healthy children, a car that runs, plenty of food and water...the list of blessings goes on. Reminders to be thankful are good at times - it's very easy to forget and focus on the negatives.

Again??

So yesterday afternoon - 2nd last day of school before Christmas break - I'm at the elementary school attempting to load my students when one of my little boys came to me and told me another one had punched him in the nose and it was bleeding. The next time I looked we had blood what seemed like everywhere. So I'm on the radio attempting to get someone from the school out to get help because I knew the student with the nose needed looked at. Finally after using my cell phone to call my boss to get a response I was able to leave the two students involved at the school and take off to take the rest home. Thankfully there were no major issues with the remaining students and I was able to get them delivered safely. So...I'm empty and proceeding home myself when I meet a bus from the neighboring school district on a gravel road with soft shoulders that we both use - she still had students on board. I made the decision that since I was empty I would move over as far as possible - unfortunately I hit a patch of ice then the soft shoulder and slid into the ditch up to my axles. Thankfully my boss was able to pull me out without having to call a wrecker and there was no damage done to the bus. I was there probably about 30 minutes. The other driver watched the entire thing happen - I found out later that she radioed in to her boss that she had just watched a bus go into the ditch and something needed to be done about the road. My boss appeared amused - and said that I'd had my share of "pulls" this year - this was the second time this week!

I'm very very glad that today is the last day of school before break - I need the break as do my students. Things have got to turn around soon - I don't want to find another job - I normally love driving bus and my kids.

Shoes, Snow and Driveways

Well we have a normal school day today...Monday we were off for a snow day and yesterday we had a delay. Monday I didn't get plowed out until late in the day - then I took off for town. The main E/W highway was clear running water but the back roads were still snow and ice-covered. And getting up my driveway was extremely difficult when I did get back home - we dumped cat litter, wood ashes and any sand we could find on the driveway - then I prayed a lot. I finally got up after several attempts. Roads during the bus route were bad yesterday though thankfully I didn't get stuck or run extremely far behind - and I was able to successfully make my turn-arounds both morning and afternoon. However the driveway was still an issue - I was home for a few minutes between my kindergarten shuttle and afternoon route - ended up stuck across the road unable to go forwards or back. Eventually with the assistance of a pull and 4 people pushing I was able to get out and off the road. I just had enough time to get a quick drink before having to head back out again to do the afternoon run. Getting home after the route I still had trouble with the driveway...it took several attempts to get up and I didn't succeed until I'd made arrangements over the radio for the boys to get rides home. Needless to say I canceled any plans I had last night to go run errands or attend the middle school choir concert and I was more than a little discouraged.

B and Dipstick ended up coming down for supper - I fixed spagetti - it was rather spur of the moment but I was very thankful. They worked on the driveway - cleared some of the ice and melted muck off the bottom so I could get traction this morning. After supper B and I went to town - he drove. I had a coupon to a store I needed some stuff at and he needed some groceries from Stuff-Mart. After I bought my stuff we ended up at the local shoe store where I was to get new shoes. I learned something - my favorite brand of tennis shoes are made in 3 different countries overseas. So I'm in this shoe store - don't try on the shoes - just pick out the size I need and wait for the employees to go find the mate to that shoe. They are not able to do so - they ended up with 6 different pairs of shoes (I think) that were completely mis-mated - each pair was from 2 different countries. The only pair of that brand that was a matched pair didn't fit me comfortably. So...long story short...I ended up switching brands. So...now I have to consider...do I in the future want to go back to that particular brand or do I simply switch to another brand?

Better scoot - got to go switch laundry loads and clean some more. Mom and Dad should hopefully be here sometime this evening.

Snowed In

(Picture taken from back door)

Well we are officially snowed in - at least for today. It started snowing yesterday morning about 11:00 am and continued all night. It was a mix of little tiny flakes, sleet, freezing rain and lovely big soft flakes. We are under a snow emergency which means that unless we are a emergency worker or on our way to work we are not allowed to go anywhere. Even when it's decreased I don't have 4-wheel drive so won't be able to go anywhere - not to mention the fact that it's impossible to hand shovel 10 inches from our drive. (O.k. maybe not impossible but extremely difficult and not something I will be attempting).

(Picture of the deck)

However we have 3 gallons of milk, plenty of flour, sugar and other baking supplies...plus the kids will spend some time sledding so we will be just fine.





(Picture taken from front door - towards the barn)

A "normal" day?

A "normal" day? This will be the first one all week where school actually started on time with no delays and no cancellations. The ice is pretty much all gone off the trees and bushes and most of the snow is gone from the ground. And the sun is attempting to shine. But I am so far behind on stuff that one day won't be nearly enough time to catch up. And maybe we might possibly get a snow day before Christmas break yet! At least one can always hope. Oh well...the bus is in the shop getting the broken window replaced, a grease job and hopefully a wash. I get to drive a mini for my shuttle - that's always fun. The kindergartners love riding in the mini bus and to me it's better than driving a different full size one. So during the day today I will attempt to catch up on housework - tonight we have Squirrel's TaeKwonDo testing and a Gospel Choir concert for Stretch so will be out running most of the evening. B is going to attempt to make the concert - Squirrel was disappointed that Dipstick and he won't make it to his testing. Dipstick may opt to go to youth group tonight instead of the concert - I don't know yet.

Delay

We are just finishing up another 2 hour delay for this morning. It's much more gray out than it was yesterday morning - it's been raining since before I got up. To me it looks as if the ice is getting thicker on the trees and shrubs. However the roads are "just" wet at the moment. If the temperature - which currently is hovering just above freezing - drops any at all things will get very challenging. It feels very very cold out this morning though.



These pictures were taken yesterday after I got finished with my kindergarten shuttle. I did notice yesterday that places where tree branches did not normally touch the top of my bus routinely clipped them.

On a different note...my bus route went much more smoothly yesterday afternoon. I was full but not exceedingly crowded and it seemed the kids were slightly less wound up. We will see how things go today. Other than that it doesn't seem like there is too much exciting going on.

11:20 am Well our 2 hour delay this morning honestly wasn't a whole lot of help as far as the roads were concerned. I got stuck - partly in a field off the edge of a road - it wasn't the worst one I'd driven on this morning but there was no way I could get myself out. We sat for probably 30 min waiting on assistance. The county salt truck driver was a friend from church. Also one of the mechanics and the head of maintenance for the school district came out. They hooked the back of the bus to one of the pick-ups and pulled me out - after shoveling a fair bit of salt/sand mix under the back of the bus. Then I followed the country truck to the end of that road before going out to the highway. Thankfully one of the other drivers was able to pick up my town kids relieving some stress for me. Also thankfully I was not the only driver that got stuck - just the only one that had to be pulled out. Now I'm having a very quick cup of coffee before I have to head back out to do my kindergarten shuttle - then it will be home for a few minutes before afternoon route.

Test

This is really just a test to see if I can upload pictures. This is one I took when I was playing with the camera. Let me know if it's too big or anything like that.

Quick Update

Very quick update this morning as I've got plenty to do today - I didn't get nearly as much done as I wanted to yesterday. Before I get too far wanted to note a nickname change for the boys. Son1 will now be referred to as Stretch, Son2 is Squirrel and B2 is Dipstick. None of these nicknames were chosen by me - all were chosen by Dipstick's step-brother, Jay.

Tonight is the visitation for Matt's dad Mike - Stretch, B and I will be going. Squirrel will be at a friend's after his TaeKwonDo class and Dipstick will be at Cub Scouts. I'm certain it will be a late night if only because we have to go to Ft. Wayne for this. The funeral is tomorrow and none of us will be attending.

Yesterday we managed to get the bird feeders refilled and rehung. I need to make suet soon as I'm certain that will help keep the feeders filled. It's a great pleasure to watch the birds flitting around back and forth - especially on the gray gloomy days. I also did grocery shopping after picking up Dipstick from his house. Stretch and Squirrel shoveled the top part of the driveway and just beginning down the hill - this was after they'd been out sledding for nearly an hour. We spent time with Suz at her house - the boys played outside with her girls while she and I were able to enjoy a good visit.

Once we were home, Matt stopped in to see the boys. It was wonderful to see him and to have them all have a chance to visit. He and Stretch went to church last night - that gave them some one on one time to visit as well. He is struggling - holding his grief over his dad in and I'm certain would appreciate prayers. (Dipstick and I finished shoveling the driveway, including the hill before Matt arrived.)

B came over for supper last night - topped off an enjoyable day with a very pleasant evening. We had some very good conversation while the younger boys watched a movie.

Now I need to be off to get some housework done and hopefully find time to work on some Christmas stuff.

School and Snow Days

There is now the sound of much cheering and hollering in my house! We are off school today due to a snow day. We've had several inches of snow overnight and it's still coming down lightly. The amazing thing to me is that as of right now - 7:45 am - the district right next to us who used to be one of the first to cancel is still going - just going late. I am thankful for the unexpected day off as it will hopefully give us a chance to catch up on things around the house. I accomplished absolutely nothing yesterday as I had a major nausea causing headache and slept most of the day. Getting the boys to stop jumping around is a major challenge but they are happy.

On a different note...I don't have my chickens yet. Suz accidentally had my rooster butchered so the chickens will stay at her place for now. Eventually I will have a coop with a heat lamp at my house and that's where I will keep the chickens and keep them warm.

8:27 am - B2's school district is now also canceled as are most of the school districts around us. Later I will go pick him up to bring here for a bit - that way he's not home alone all day and the 3 boys can go sledding. In the meantime, hopefully at some point someone will be able to come plow my driveway...it surely would be nice to have a lawnmower with a snowplow attachment. We will likely all go to Suz's to sled there with her girls.

Talk about majorly mixed emotions at the moment. Last night a member of our church was killed in a roll-over accident coming back from Michigan. His name is Mike. There were others in the vehicle and apparently everyone was ejected - not sure on the conditions of the others involved. Roads were very bad due to a mix of wintery weather - ice and snow. Anyway...when I heard the news I thought it was his son, Matt who's currently serving in the military - he just finished basic training a few weeks ago. I was in shock - worried about my boys who had just talked to Matt on the phone last night - their reactions to the news, etc. Now that I know it was his dad there is still grief - for Matt and his mom and the loss they are dealing with. However there is also relief of a sort that my boys have not lost a close friend. Son1 got very very quiet when I told him but he's willing and able to talk. Son2 is, on the surface fine - he tends to stuff emotions in. I can only imagine how much worse the pain is when it's also mixed with shock. The thing to be thankful for is that the family all knows the Lord.

Bus Route Stuff & Other Ventures

I have to confess to frustration this morning...Driving my route I completely spaced and drove right past one of my stops. The students were not out at the stop but they were on the way down their long driveway - in their mom's vehicle. I kept waiting for them to show up someplace along the rest of the route and it didn't happen. Instead while I was trying to nap at home I received a very irate phone call from the mom. Truthfully I don't blame her for being upset as it meant she had to drive her boys to school - and I should have stopped. On the other hand, she needs to have the boys out at the stop early especially since she lives on a very busy main road. I did check the time and I was not early - in previous school districts I would not have stopped if the students were not out. By the end of the call the mom was calmer - accepted my apology and now knows what to do if that should ever happen again. I told her where to meet me where it would be safe for me to get the boys that's not too far out of her way or mine.

Also I'm still too full - I got 2 new students yesterday. That pretty much negates taking the 5 off. Additionally two students that haven't been riding in the afternoon will be back on starting next Monday. That still leaves me 3 to a seat in most of my seats with many of these kids having issues that make it challenging for them to handle being 3 to a seat. I talked to my boss after I finished the other phone call and he basically said that if I do not have at least 72 riders I'm out of luck and will just have to deal with it. I'm going to do a count this afternoon both of actual bodies on the bus as well as those on my list that are not on the bus but are potential riders. I don't see any way that I can put 3 in the seat that I have my "seat belt student" riding. He's got enough issues without being squashed added to it - yesterday was a very rough afternoon with him anyway. When I went into the school this morning I found out that his teacher was away yesterday and he'd had a very difficult day overall. So the challenges are very much still there.

On a different note I'm going to get some chickens of my own - laying hens that are already layers. In other words I won't have to raise them from chicks before I start getting eggs. I'm both excited and nervous about this. Suz will keep them for me until B and I get something built for me to keep them in here. He says he's got feeders, nest boxes, etc at his parents so my start-up costs are likely to be very minimal.

This morning was beautiful - very cold but gorgeous red and pink sunrise. It's clouded over pretty much all ready - we are supposed to get rain and snow later tonight and tomorrow. I wished I could take my camera along on the bus! No deer this morning - yesterday we saw 6 in a group. That was fun. I'm making progress on Christmas stuff but it's slow. I am still trying to figure out how to simplify while still decorating the big tree and doing gifts.

I Did It!

I did it! I successfully began to conquer my fear of heights. (I say began because I'm sure that it's not completely conquered yet) Yesterday B & B2 were down to help me with stuff that's difficult for me to do alone such as cutting wood, cleaning gutters, taking out A/C units that are too big to lift alone. We got wood cut and stacked, as well as taken to the burn pile out behind the barn. We also got the big A/C unit out of my bedroom window and hauled to the barn. That left finishing up cleaning out the gutters to do - it had been started a couple of weeks ago with the front of the house being done. The back sides required a bigger ladder that I don't own - we were able to borrow one. Anyway...we sent Son2 and B2 up the ladder to the roof to start that process. They stayed up there working until both were complaining that their hands were cold at which point they came down and went to warm up. I was the only one willing to attempt to go up the ladder to take over - Son1 is more afraid of heights than I am and B needed to stay down to hold the ladder and run the hose. So I climbed up and finished the one side, then crawled/scooched over the top of the roof to the remaining side to work on that one. I was unwilling to stand up and walk on the roof but wasn't too terrified otherwise. And I was able to get down without the fire department having to be called! So growth is happening in this area.

Yeah!!

Well...I'm losing 5 of my regular 14 middle school students on my afternoon bus route to another driver. Of the remaining 3 that have no siblings on my bus I am still hoping to have one more transferred off - the other driver goes right past her house while I have to do a turn-around when she rides. I was told the other driver did not want to take her as a rider because she "is a hottie and that makes the high school boys act up." Considering this other driver only hauls 30 students and I have 60+ I honestly don't have much sympathy for that reason. Of course now I am on the other driver's black list - she's really upset about having more passengers. While I'm not losing as many as I'd hoped to it should still make a difference - it will open up at least one more row in the back so that I hopefully don't have as many students sitting 3 to a seat.

On a different note the weekend went very well. Friday night I had G over - we went to the "city" - we stopped at Hobby Lobby and a scrapbook store. She didn't enjoy those as much as I had hoped she would - and we ran out of time to go to a department store. She did seem to enjoy walking the mall though. It was good to spend some time with her - we had some time to talk about stuff we don't usually get to chat about. I still want to spend some time scrapbooking with her.

Saturday the boys and I in addition to B & B2 had supper at Suz's. Her in-laws (who I've known for many many years) were there visiting. It was neat to get to see them and have them get to meet B. What was extra special to me is that they approve of him - that's important since I've known them so many years - they've been an adopted "mom and dad" to me - especially when I was away at boarding school. That was a late evening but a lot of fun.

Sunday there was only one service at church as they were finishing up their building fund drive. It is obvious we need a bigger building and the plans are beautiful. I do struggle with certain aspects of how they handle some of the pledging but overall it was a good morning. There was a catered hog roast at the local 4H center which they used as their annual Thanksgiving meal. I would have enjoyed having a bit more variety of side dishes and desserts but it was o.k. In the afternoon, we celebrated B2's birthday - he turned 11 on Monday.

This week will likely be a busy week but thankfully there's only 3 days of school. I've got to come up with some dessert ideas to take with on Thursday - brownies of some sort are a given but I'm not sure what else to bring. Enough rambling for now - time to get some stuff done around the house.

Thursday

No training this morning - our session was canceled due to the school nurse being sick. I'm thankful to have time at home - haven't got much done that wasn't school bus related but at least I'm home and able to start laundry and stuff. And honestly I wasn't looking forward to learning how to handle seizures - have been there, done that at home with my husband. I've sent an email to my boss about the over-crowding on the bus - I have middle school students that could possibly be transferred to another bus. That would free up some space for my younger students. Legally I know I'm not over-crowded but so many of my kids are "high need" that having them 3 to a seat makes things more challenging. I have 20 minutes or so of "he/she's hitting/touching/pinching me" or "I'm crowded" or even "my mom doesn't want me to sit by him/her because they....(you fill in the blank)".

We had snow flurries this morning - quite a drastic change from the upper 50's from yesterday and the day before. The ground is still too warm for it to stick but it's still a cold blustery day where I'm thankful to have a heated home and a heated bus. I did get my irises replanted a couple of weeks ago - and some grape hyacinth transferred. I wanted to put in more daffodils, crocus and tulips but so far that hasn't happened. There is plenty of cleaning up outside that needs done but it will likely wait until I have some help.

Other than that, not too much is going on. Son1 ended up not missing any school this week - by yesterday morning he was feeling much better. I am very thankful for that. Just wish I could also have stayed healthier.

And I am an aunt again - as of about 4:30 this morning. My youngest brother and his wife just had their first child. This is exciting - though they live so far away it's unknown when I'll actually get to meet baby.

Better go for now - time to get ready for kindergarten shuttle

Weekly Recap

This morning is a damp gray day - it rained yesterday and last night. The nice thing is that it's a bit warmer today - in the high 50's right now. I saw several deer this morning on the bus route - that was cool. I am weary this morning but that's to be expected since I didn't get adequate sleep over the weekend.

Yesterday of course was church. Son1 had two concerts so he wasn't home much. Son2 was still recovering from his cold/fever/virus that he's had - he missed school on Friday though he did go today. B and his son B2 came down for supper - I was dropping off Son1 when they arrived. I came home to find B2 on my roof cleaning out my front gutters. B was on the stepladder in the back of the truck helping. That was wonderful as yesterday morning I had to wade through several inches of water on the front sidewalk. Son2 wanted to get up and help - he did very well. The rest of the gutters should still be cleaned out but hopefully for now the water will drain better. Yesterday morning we also realized that our 6th (and final) kitty from Oddball's last litter was missing. Sally dog had woken me up early Sunday morning barking and I heard something that sounded like barking outside the front door - I didn't turn on any lights to check but assume that something happened then to cause it to die.

Saturday night B and I had a date - we had tickets to go to the OakRidge Boys concert - what a blast! It's been years since I've heard them live - and it's hard to believe that they've been a group for 30 years - that's getting close to being as old as I am. They did several of their old hits, some Christmas and some gospel. I didn't realize that they had a gospel album out - that's something to look for. I would love to see their Christmas concert but that's not going to happen any time soon. The funny thing was that B and I were among the youngest people at the concert! Prior to the concert we went to a wedding reception for the son of some friends of his - that didn't go too well as the couple didn't get there until an hour after we did and we had to leave early to make it to the concert.

Friday night I went to the closest good sized town west of here - needed to drop some pictures off to get prints of and to find some new jeans. I also was able to do grocery shopping shopping as well. B called and tagged along - we had a good time. I figured he would be bored while I clothes-shopped but he didn't seem to mind. All 3 of the boys stayed at the house - got along quite well.

Friday on the bus route was very very challenging. My "seat belt child" did fine once he was seat belted but getting him there was interesting. He figured it would be more fun to try to block the aisle with his arm. Then as we were about to pull out of the school I had 3 5th grade boys get into a heated verbal argument - heated enough that I felt that they were likely to come to blows. I turned the bus around and requested someone else to come out to the bus - they were to be dealt with this morning by the principal. I still don't know what started it but when I heard them there was a lot of finger pointing and name calling going on. Hopefully this afternoon will go better. In the meantime I suppose I had better get my emails sent.

Oh yes...adjusting to the reading glasses is getting easier. I'm still amazed at how much difference they make.

Reading Glasses

Well...I finally broke down and bought (actually B bought them for me) a pair of reading glasses. I am amazed at how much difference they make. It will take some getting used to figuring out the correct distance to hold my book or whatever - I've gotten so used to stretching my arms out to be able to read that being able to hold things closer is a bit challenging. And I have no problem seeing my computer screen - Son2 on the other hand likes things so small than I have to have him make it bigger for me to see it. I didn't realize just how bad things were apparently getting with my vision - distance is still excellent but the near stuff is not. I cried when I realized that I could no longer cuddle a baby and see it comfortably without having to stretch my head way back. I still probably should get a "proper" eye exam but hopefully now it can wait until after Christmas.

Favorite Scriptures

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
John 14:27 (NIV)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29: 11-13 (NIV)


These scriptures have been on my mind a lot in the last couple of days. They have both been of great comfort to me in the past as I faced the death of my husband and many other major changes in my life. Now as I consider other possible changes I find myself meditating on these again especially during the times when I struggle with fearing those changes. I am so thankful for the promises of God and for His wisdom and guidance. I know without a shadow of a doubt that God does have a plan for me - I don't see the entire plan but I know that it's a good plan and I can trust Him to lead and guide me.

Fall Break

I promised my sister I would try to update this morning. It's been a week since I wrote last - wow. We really enjoyed fall break overall. Both boys did fight a fair bit but that's pretty normal for a long weekend. They don't do overly well when their schedules are disrupted and we stay home. The potential trip to Chicago fell through due to illness and finances. I was glad to not have the pressure of leaving and it did allow me to get some outside work done. However it would have been good to see family. I was able to get my irises replanted - still have some to do but got most done. I also did some weeding around my strawberry plants and perennial flowers. The exciting thing about that is that I haven't broken out in poison ivy bumps!!

Friday I got a much needed massage - yeah! From there I went and cleaned B's place then brought his son home with me. He only had a half day of school both Thursday and Friday. My boys enjoyed having a playmate. B came over for supper Friday evening - we just grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. It started raining later in the evening.

Saturday was a TaeKwonDo tournament that I'd promised Son2 he could compete in. It meant for an early morning as we had to drive to South Bend and be there by 9:00 am. Opening ceremonies seemed to last a long time - and it almost seemed even longer until Son2 got to compete. However there were over 20 different "rings" with competitions going on in most of them so there was plenty to watch. Watching the Extreme TaeKwonDo demonstrations was a lot of fun as was watching the black belts. Son2 was in a group of other color belts that were 11-13 years old. After the belt rank and age grouping was done the kids were grouped by size. That way there wasn't really small ones competing against much bigger ones. Son2 was up first to do his form - he ended up doing really well and placing second. Guess that's a really unusual combination. He was able to get his trophy signed and meet some of the higher ranks, etc that were there. We got home around 5:00 pm and spent a quiet evening at home.

Sunday was church in the morning. After lunch and a short nap we headed up to B's for the afternoon. The younger boys spent time on a paddle boat on a lake while B and I took a canoe around. Son1 opted not to do the paddle boat thing - he got tasked with going the half mile back to the house to find transmission fluid for the truck. He was able to drive a 4-wheeler back to the lake - he enjoyed that. After the first lake we dropped the boys off back at the house and went to another lake to spend more time canoing. That was most uneventful until we didn't tie the canoe down onto the truck for the ride home. It ended up falling off in the road - doing 360's before coming to a stop. It brought the nearest home-owners running out. The funny/amusing thing about that is that one of them turned out to be one of my former students from my career center bus route. He was a pretty good kid but chose to hang with some not so good influences. Anyway...I recognized him immediately so stayed in the truck (yes I was being a coward!). B mentioned my name and I could tell that the kid remembered me. His reaction was funny to watch as he spun around away from me and said something to his girlfriend and mother. I very much doubt he remembered me with fondness.

Monday we were still off school - I actually got to sleep in. The boys and I stayed home all day - that was very nice. We had a bonfire, burned leaves and trash. I also did my irises mentioned above - am still wanting to move some crocus bulbs and put in some tulips. Inside I did laundry and worked on some cleaning and organizing. Son1 cleaned his room thoroughly - it looks really nice at the moment. Son2 cleaned off his dresser top so he has a nice place to display his trophy from Saturday and previous ones he's won.

Enough rambling for now. I am very thankful that overall we had a good weekend and decent weather. Sunday and Monday both were beautiful - sunny and clear.

Bus Route Changes

The past two days have been much better on the bus. Monday afternoon I was so discouraged I was about ready to resign. Yesterday afternoon I refused to leave the school until the students were quiet - completely. Then I told them I expected the quiet to continue for 10 minutes - the consequence for talking or noise before that time was an additional 5 minutes added on. We ended up having a silent bus until I had only 2 stops remaining - and even then I'd told the students we were starting off this afternoon the same way. Today the silence was not quite as absolute - I did add on a total of 10 minutes before we were done. However once I was half empty the time was up and I allowed the students to talk quietly. I don't kid myself that my challenges are completely resolved but I am encouraged that I'm making progress. I did still end up escorting one student into the office this morning - I had just turned in a conduct report on him yesterday and he was breaking rules again this morning. (Probably my most absolutely strict unbreakable rule is silence at the RR tracks - until we are completely across. Just because my door is closed and I'm moving does not mean it's ok to talk or make noise yet - the silence has to continue until the radio comes back on.) If all my students ride in the afternoon I'm pushing 70 students - that's including the 4 newest riders. I would be over-full if I hadn't had 3 students transferred off.

On a different note - this weekend is fall break. We are out of school Friday and Monday. I am rather looking forward to the long weekend though our plans have changed. I had thought about going to the City for the weekend as we'd be almost half-way there as a result of Son2's tournament on Saturday. However due primarily to some unexpected expenses this week we are not going to go. Instead I am anticipating being able to get some yard work done. I would like to get my irises replanted, do some other transplanting and trim some trees. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough to allow me to work outside - I would like sunny and somewhat warm.

Last night the sunset was absolutely glorious - all reds, golds, pinks...the colors were amazing. I wished I had my camera handy to take pictures. Son1 had a Gospel Choir concert at the high school so I didn't have time to run home and grab the camera either. The concert went well I think though I could tell he was much more nervous than he is when he does special at church. I am rather hoping for something similar tonight but it's pretty overcast at the moment. Anyway...those colors make me so thankful for the beauty of God's creation. The leaves are turning - they seem to have more color this year than they did last year - that's fun.

Another Weekend Recap

It's a beautiful sunny morning this morning - cool but not too cold. The sunrise was gorgeous - reds and pinks. Of course that made me think of the old saying "Red sky at night, Sailors delight; Red sky in the morning, Sailors take warning" Forecasters are predicting rain for this afternoon so we will see. Before the sun came up, while I was waiting with the boys to see the bus come I saw at least two shooting stars - that was cool. Son2 saw one that I know of. The boys get on the bus while it's still very dark out - just 15 minutes or so later when I actually leave the sun is starting to come up.

The weekend was overall a good weekend. I missed church yesterday morning - dropped both boys off where they needed to be then went home and back to sleep. I slept until 1:00 pm so must have really needed the rest. I felt like I could sleep some more when I did get up but knew that if I did I wouldn't sleep last night. I was still in bed and sleeping by 10:30. I'm awake now - weary still but that's normal. Yesterday afternoon we went to B's - he started teaching Son1 how to change oil, filters, spark plugs on the car. The spark plugs had never been changed - that was wild - they needed it really bad. The oil change was also overdue. We had dinner there and watched a movie - the kids finished it, I only saw part of it as I spent time visiting with B. We also took care of getting the corn he burns for heat - that was fascinating to me. I'm realizing again how much I love living in the country - I am definitely NOT a city girl.

Saturday Son2 and I had lunch with a friend from Grief Group - we hadn't seen each other all summer so it was good to get caught up. From there we went to watch the Semi-State Cross country meet - that was a lot of fun. We were late getting there - missed the start of the girls race. However due to the fact that I was willing to "run" we saw them run past the first mile marker - I enjoyed the run though I probably paid for it later. None of our girls progressed on to the State Finals but as we have a young team overall and this was their first time there they did excellently. We picked up Son1 from there and headed on home. I had a date with B that night - we went to a bonfire and a late movie - had a good time - spent some excellent time talking and just enjoyed being together.

I'd better scoot for now - have a lot of cleaning and catching up to do since we were gone most of the weekend.

Another One?!

Last night we had our second major fire in this area in the space of a week. This one was a livestock barn just a mile or so down the road from where we live - I could see the glow in the sky from behind our barn. It started sometime after dark and crews were on the scene until around 2:00 am. There were 3 fire departments, the local sheriff department and EMS that responded. Sometime this morning it re-ignited and it smoldered pretty much all day. During the day the owners were chasing down their cattle that had wandered off after being released from the barn. At one point they chased 5 cows across our place - I wish I could have seen it. Instead I saw someone on a 4-wheeler go behind the house and someone else go in front of the house. Something to be thankful for is that the owner's home did not burn and there were no injuries.

I certainly didn't get much sleep last night - between the fire engines, the traffic on our normally relatively quiet road and then a power outage. I would be very interested to know what the cause of these fires was.

This morning is a gray, gloomy, rainy day - it would be perfect for staying home inside in pajamas all day. But it's a school day so I don't get that privilege. It's the kind of day I really enjoy on the weekends - at least when I don't have plans to work outside in the yard. However I'm having a hard time getting motivated to accomplish much of anything inside today.

Yesterday turned into a busy day - felt like I accomplished a fair bit. I got a start on dinner for tonight (due to a change in "menu plans"), got to dig in the dirt for a bit - went out and started weeding one flower bed and worked on clearing space for another one. I have plans to put some of my irises just outside the dog run along the fence. The grass grows really long in that area - it's relatively easy to pull out and I think it would be better to have perennials along it. Last night Son1 and I went to the middle school to hear the 7th & 8th grade choir concert. I was able to catch up with his girlfriend's mother to find out how things were going since the fire. They have been blessed with an abundance of clothes to replace what they've lost. The outpouring of love and support has been amazing - and she is rejoicing that they are able to have a witness through this of the goodness of God. There are still needs there but I know they will also be taken care of.

Other than that not too much is going on - it's time for me to go make a phone call so I'll write more later.

Peace

So far this morning has been an emotional morning for me. Last night Son1's girlfriend's home burned to the ground - it's totally destroyed. She called me and thankfully I was able to go see if I could do anything to help. She ended up spending the night at our house - Son1 gave up his bedroom for her. I was able to be strong last night but this morning has been rough - probably partly due to fatigue and the fact that I know I'm still sick - can't shake the cough that I've had for about 3 weeks now. I've got a doctor's appointment for that this afternoon. I'm taking the afternoon off my bus route as well as my kindergarten shuttle off. Anyway...

I took a few minutes this morning to have a cup of coffee (3 or 4th) and read my Bible.

The reading was from Matt. 6:31-34. So do not worry saying "What shall we eat?" "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" . For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own."

When hardships come, a person's heart is prone to feel anxious and unsettled. But believers do not have to feel this way; we can be at peace even in the worst of times. The Bible says that God loves us and will be our rock in a constantly changing world. (Ps. 18:2) This means we are not left alone to face our painful situations. When we trust the Lord's assurances, we can be calm, no matter what the situation may be.

To lay claim to God's assurance, we must put our faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, because we cannot know peace if our eternal security is in question. Once we have become believers, it is vitally important that we make a regular practice of confronting, confessing, and turning away from our wrongs. Otherwise sin will disrupt our fellowship with the Lord. (Ps.66:18) Sin and peace cannot inhabit the same heart.

Similarly a heart cannot hold both anxiety and peace, which is why Jesus encouraged His followers to be concerned only with the needs of today. (Matthew 6:31-34). Worrying about a troubling situation and seeking a solution apart from God leaves us in a state of unease. But when we focus on the Lord and trust in His provision, anxiety and doubt fell. "The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because He trusts in You." (Isaiah 26:3).

Early light: A pure restful heart is a valuable asset in this crazy world. Situations will arise that shake us up and cause grief. But Jesus is close by to soothe the soul, quiet the mind and bring peace to the heart.

This was taken from "In Touch" the October issue on today's date. It really struck me - both on this issue and others that I'm dealing with currently. I'm so thankful we serve an awesome God - there is no peace without Him.

Where I'm From

I first saw this on my sister's blog several months ago and have been mulling it over ever since. It was fun to do - to think through but also much harder than I thought it would be. If any of you readers decide to do the same leave me a comment so I can come read it.

Enjoy.

Where I'm From

I am from flip flops, from Ovaltine and elephants.

I am from the house of windows overlooking the ocean waves and the cargo ships coming in out of the harbour.

I am from the hibiscus, the bougainvillea, mangoes, red mud, sandy beaches, ocean waves, heat and desert.

I am from wringer washing machines, line-dried clothes and running outside when a storm threatened to bring the laundry in.

I am from 5 times daily calls to prayer, rugby, boiled water and windmill produced electricity.

I am from the Equator where the length of the days and nights stays the same year round - where within the same country you can visit the ocean and be 7000 feet above sea level.

I am from lamp post Christmas trees and blond hair, from Bakers, Millers and Benefiels.

I am from perfectionism and poetry.

I am from a belief in Jesus Christ as my Savior and no other way to heaven.

I am from Somalia, Ireland, England and Germany, from mangoes, custard apples, chai and goat meat.

I am from the Dad from Canada who went to Africa as a single missionary to meet the Mom from America as one of the line of single women he had to meet - both following God's call to ministry.

I am from love, loss and love again.


Here's the link to the original template - I found it helpful to know what types of things I was filling in the blanks with. Where I'm From