Today is MONDAY!!

Well, today went fine until I needed to figure out a way to get Jason to soccer practice and get to Bible Study at the same time. Thankfully, Christina offered to have the kids come to the house, so that fire was put out.
We got Jason to practice, and I didn't realize that he could have practiced with the team before him. How less stressful for all of us it would have been if he could have practiced from 5-6.
Anyway, we left practice at 6:30 and headed to Bible Study. We stayed there until 9:00 and the last video wasn't finished so we came home.
Jason is getting sick, but I immediately started giving him Mucinex, so I hope we can nip this before it lasts 2 weeks!

Fellowship

Today was our last Sunday to teach 2nd hour preschool Sunday school. We rotate every 3 months with Bill and Amy. We are looking forward to being in worship service next Sunday and hearing Pastor Chad preach for the first time. We hear that the Holy Spirit has really been moving in the services, so we are excited to see what's going on!!
After church, we went to the Tschirhart's house to eat lunch and fellowship with them and a new family at the church, the Zabels. Melissa homeschools her son, James, so she had questions to ask, and we shared different ideas. So fun to have adult interaction.
Chris had to leave around 2:00 to head to the airport to head to San Diego. I don't like when he has to leave on Sundays, but he doesn't have a choice. He will be back Thursday afternoon.

Brenna's Birthday party

All the cute girlies

Brenna with Rachel's Littlest Pet shop gift

Rachel airborne trying to hit pinata

Rachel painting her cat - she LOVES to paint

So after our usual Upward games on Saturday morning and indoor soccer (in which the team tied 2-2), Rachel was excited because her friend, Brenna, was having a birthday party. Rachel met Brenna on the soccer team she played on in the fall. Brenna's family have become very good friends of ours, and we will miss them when they leave in a year and a half. The girls had so much fun eating pizza, painting, hitting the pinata, which busted open with LOTS of candy, and then presents, and chocolate chip cookie cake.

While we were at the party, Jason and Chris worked on Jason's science fair project - pictures to be posted at a later date.

Trip through the HOUSE

Front of house - roof almost finished


Room to the side when you walk in the front door


Future kitchen and morning room

Woke up to sleet at 6:30 this morning, and snow falling, so Chris was delayed to go into base for up to 3 hours. The message didn't get updated until he had already shoveled the snow/ice mixture from the driveway, so he went on into work knowing he wanted to be off at lunchtime to meet us at the lot. He had bad roads on the way to work, but made it safely.

No EXCEL day today, but something exciting was getting ready to happen. We are finally able to get on the lot, and have a walk through the house in Kettering. The kids were so excited. We did all of our lessons and were finished by 11:00.

We headed out to meet Chris and John and Andy (our project managers) were waiting for us! We were so excited, and then Andy says, "I am sorry, but for safety reasons, the kids can't go into the house yet." BUMMER! I thought Jason was going to cry. Neither Chris or I thought about that or we wouldn't have brought them.

Anyway, Mr. Andy stayed in the garage with the kids telling them all different kinds of things about the build, which I think Jason enjoyed, while John took Chris and me through the house. Everything is so muddy because of the rain and rain and rain we have had.

After the walk through we went to Lee's Chicken to eat lunch. Tonight was our second week of our Crown class.

We are blessed to have such a diverse group of people who are willing to be open and honest. They are all focused on getting closer to Christ through learning about finances and financial freedom. We ended the class 30 minutes late because we had such a great testimony time. God bless this group for their willingness and faithfulness.

Back to the Doctor

So my appointment was this morning at 11:00. I didn't know if going at 7:30 or 11:00 would be better, but 7:30 is early. We went to the library on the way to the doctor's and for some reason, the door was locked? Shocking, but they didn't open until 12:00 - I forgot to check what time they opened. We were just around the corner from the BX, so we went to the BX and looked around for 20 minutes, and then headed to the hospital! The doctor (same doctor as last Thursday) came in and said, "well, my lady, you have a full blown sinus infection." YOU THINK!! I knew that a week ago :) Anyway, we then proceeded to the pharmacy to wait 40 minutes to get Mucinex and an antibiotic. Hopefully with 4 medicines, I can begin to feel better.
Knowing I can't taste or smell my food, I decided meatloaf (which was on the menu to cook) didn't sound appealing, so the kids and I went to Kroger and got some eggs and bacon, so we could make chocolate chip waffles and bacon! We enjoyed breakfast for dinner, and I was already beginning to feel better.

Still SICK

So I slept okay last night, but my stuffiness is back. I have spent most of the day blowing my nose and coughing. I called the clinic on base and they booked an appt for me for tomorrow at 11:00. I am really hoping he will give me an antibiotic, because I am beginning to think there is an infection that was either missed or came about since last Thursday. Almost a whole box of Sudafed hasn't worked, so I am hoping for a new diagnosis tonight.
We enjoyed going to Bible Study tonight. The parenting class is great - shows just how far we have to go as parents.
Met a family new to the area on Sunday, and then Ty and Michelle were in our parenting class tonight. She is also a homeschooling mom, and we are excited to hook up on things to do for the spring. They are excited to be at FBK, and it was exciting to hear that she felt at home at our church and that the people were very friendly!! Hoping for good things tomorrow from the doctor.

Zumba again

I was so excited that today was finally Tuesday. I have waited 2 weeks to be able to do Zumba again. We had a nice day at home - just school, and then hung out at home playing and finishing up the laundry.
We took off to Upward practice at 5:30 and I could feel my nose getting stuffy again, but I felt that exercising might work it out of me. I enjoyed the class, even though it was like starting over after being away for so long. I drank lots of water and made it through the class.
Chris and Rachel had gone home so Chris could eat dinner, so Jason and I headed home after his practice. On the way home, I started getting a headache, and it pretty much lasted until I took an Ibuprofen, and finally cried until I went to sleep. I guess I will call the doctor bad tomorrow.

President's Day

We were so thankful to finally have a day off with nothing planned and Chris gets to be home. Chris and Jason went to Lowe's to start shopping for things for Jason's science fair project. While they were gone, I finished lesson plans for the week. When they returned we ran to the mall to play with the dogs at Fetch. Everyone is so excited at the possibility of getting a dog after we move into the new house. I think we have narrowed it down to a mini goldendoodle. They don't get much bigger than a cocker spaniel, and they don't shed. We have talked with several people who have them and they said they are very good for families and don't shed at all.
As we were finished up at Sam's Club, the rain started coming down pretty hard. Thankfully we didn't need to get out again until Jason's drum lessons. Chris took Jason to lessons because he knows I needed a break.
Jason came home from drum lessons with a stomachache saying he didn't feel good and that he was going to throw up. He went to his room and went to sleep for a little bit. We called Coach Scott and told him that Jason would miss practice. Of course, after that, Jason felt much better, so I hope there is nothing going on that Jason won't tell us. I am not sure if he is getting nervous about the spring season starting, or what, but he seemed to make a miraculous recovery after we called Coach.
As time got closer for Bible Study, Shawn called and said she wasn't going because sleet was starting to fall outside. I had no idea, so I looked out and sure enough, the ice was coming down. Taryn decided to cancel Bible Study to keep everyone off the roads.
After that we enjoyed a quiet night at home because we had nothing planned, so we played Wii bowling and then watched The Game Plan on Disney Channel.

Another blessed Sunday

As always, we are blessed to go to the house of the Lord, and we continue to be blessed by the people of First Baptist Kettering. We are also so amazed at how God is moving as we heard that several others came to know Christ today! God is good: all the time, and all the time: God is Good!!
Jason had VBS choir practice after church, so Chris, Rachel, and I went through McDonald's drive thru, and returned to church to eat to wait on Jason.
We enjoyed a few hours at home before heading back to FBK for AWANA. Jason finished his book tonight, so we are proud of him for that. He now gets to start working towards the silver and golds. We are so thankful that he hides God Word in his heart and we pray that he would be able to live it out everyday and recall it when he needs it. Rachel only has 10 more pages of her book, so she is excited to be almost finished. She is trying to learn the books of the New Testament, and we know she can do it!
After AWANA, I enjoyed a bubble bath (a little relaxation), and we watched Extreme Home Makeover before the kids went to bed.
I am so thankful to have day off from everything tomorrow - Chris will have off, so the kids and I will enjoy having him home.
Now to get lesson plans started and finished!!

Valentine's Day banquet

Our Saturday started off as usual: Upward Cheerleading for Rachel and basketball for Jason. We had a good time watching their teams. I left at halftime of Jason's game to meet some friends for lunch. Carrie, Eileen, Diane, and I had lunch at Abuelo's to celebrate Eileen's birthday. We all met in Utah and when Jason was in kindergarten, we met in a playgroup together quite often. It's so amazing that we all ended up here at the same time. I really enjoyed catching up with them, and hearing all about their families. After lunch, we watched Jason play indoor soccer with his new Celtic team - they lost 3-2. The other team scored with 4 minutes left in the game, and we couldn't get another goal to tie. We are enjoying watching this team, and are excited for the spring soccer season.
After soccer, we came home to get ready for our banquet at church at 5:30. The kids were excited because Ms. Ashley was coming over to babysit. We are blessed to have found a Christian college student who we can trust.
The banquet was awesome. I forgot to take pictures, of course. The senior adults in our church provided the meal which was delicious. After the meal and fellowship, we watched Fireproof. We had seen it many years ago, and we both enjoyed it again. It was so nice to just spend some time with Chris and watch a film about strengthening a marriage. After the movie, they gave us a copy of The Love Dare which Chris and I actually need to read. I hope I can make it a priority and not just keep saying I will get to it.
We were excited to hear about Ashley's new adventure when we got home: she is going on a nursing mission trip in May to Thailand. We need to be covering her in prayer as she seeks funding and safety while there.

Excel Friendship Parties

Jason and Rachel were so excited to go to EXCEL today because they were going to have their friendship parties. I helped organize the 1st and 4th grade parties, but was only able to be in the room for the 1st grade party. Chris surprised the kids and was able to get from the airport to the church before the parties started. They had fun eating yummy treats provided by the parents and handing out their valentine's. Rachel came home with a bag full of goodies.

Will Tschirhart came home with us after EXCEL. We stopped at the lot and to see how much they had gotten done since Wednesday was incredible. The kids enjoyed watching them hoist part of the roof while we were there.

New views of the front and back of the house

We had a rather busy day on Friday. The kids had fun playing with Will, and that helped us get ready for our Crown Financial class that was starting Friday night. We had such a good turnout. 10 total including Chris and me. Jenny and Brian will join us next Friday, so we will have 12 total. Chris and I are so happy with be teaching Crown again. It's been 10 years since we last taught the class. We can't wait to see what God does in the next 10 weeks.

Playdate with Moshers

Today started VERY EARLY for us! We were all up by 6:30 and out the door by 7:00 to head to the clinic for my appt at 7:30. I promised the kids we would eat at McDonald's for breakfast since we had to be there so early.
The appt went well - I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear that I had anything severe, or if I just wanted to get some medicine and some relief. Of course, I have nothing more than a bad virus (which Rachel had last week), so the doc prescribed some Sudafed and Nasonex and said come back Monday if I don't feel any better.
We enjoyed our breakfast at McDonald's amidst all of the stares of people wondering why my children aren't in school. It's getting really old! I do educate my children, but we can't stay cooped up in the house all day and only come out after 2:30 when other children are getting out of school. Sorry, that was my soapbox.
We finished up lessons today fairly quickly and cleaned the upstairs. Both kids were a HUGE help.
We left at 12:00 to head to the Moshers because Ruth had asked if Jason could come to play with Joseph last week, and today was the day. After I got there, Joseph informed me we were 30 minutes late, and I felt so bad. I have been feeling so out of it the last few days that I didn't read her email right and thought it said 12:30.
Anyway, we were there until 3:00 when they needed to leave for karate, and we all enjoyed our time with them. The kids played nicely, and I heard lots of laughing, which is music to my ears. I so enjoyed talking to Ruth - she is such a classy lady. She made some wonderful chicken salad for us to eat and had some homemade chocolate chip cookie. She loves to cook and bake.
As I am writing this, I have taken 2 doses of Sudafed and feel so much better. Jason and Rachel went to bed earlier than normal tonight, b/c everyone is so tired. I am going to enjoy the quiet and catch up on my Bible Study.
Chris comes home tomorrow - YEAH!!

Update to House in Kettering

Today started off with me thinking I had something worse than a cold. When I coughed, my throat and chest burned so bad. It even hurt to talk. I called the clinic and they had nothing for today, but could get me in tomorrow morning at 7:30 - YIKES - we aren't normally up and starting our day before 8:00. I said yes, and then went through the whole day wondering if I should change the appt or not.
I called Nancy to ask her advice, and while I was on the phone with her, I turned around and noticed a dent on the driver's side of the van. It looked like someone had hit the van. I had no idea when it could have happened - the only place we had been in the van was to the Kittyhawk pharmacy to pick up my refill. I took pictures and sent them via email to Chris and he said that it did look like someone had hit the van. Oh well, nothing I could do now because I didn't know when it had happened.
We headed off to church, and on the way, we stopped by the lot because John had said that the lumber packaged arrived lately, and the framers were ready to start work this morning. Below are some pictures of what they accomplished today. Wow - things are really starting to happen fast now. Hard to believe that in 2 months we will be signing papers on our new house.

Sickness go away

The NyQuil worked wonders, and I think I slept the best I have ever slept when Chris is TDY. I woke up feeling better.
I had decided to buy groceries at 9:00 when the commissary opened instead of waiting until the afternoon because they might be busy with it being payday. While at the commissary, Melissa Bonifield emailed me and asked if Thomas and Matthew could still come over! Now I know why I had a feeling we should go in the morning, because the boys were coming to play that afternoon while Julia was at violin lessons. I am so glad we could still have them over.
I didn't take any more medicine until noon, b/c I was beginning to feel better. By the time the boys arrived at 1:30, I was feeling great.
The kids enjoyed having other kids to play with, and I could make calls to the people who had signed up to take our Crown class starting Friday. What a blessing to have some entertainment for Jason and Rachel. It also helped break up the day since the days never seem to end while Chris is gone.
Melissa came to get the boys around 4:30 and she and I were able to chat until 5:00 when they had to leave. I am praying so hard that things get easier for them instead of harder. With Mr. Bonifield in the hospital, she is having extra things thrown on her plate. I pray some relief comes soon for her and her family.
After dinner we headed to Upward practices for both kids. I was so bummed to have a sore throat again (it started right before Melissa came to get the boys), so I had to miss Zumba for the second week in a row. I am so ready to get back in the class.
Thankfully day 2 of Chris's TDY is over! I pray I can sleep again tonight!

Valentine's Day

Chris was up at 4:30 am getting ready to leave for Texas. I actually felt better after sleeping very soundly, so had happy thoughts on how the day was to play out!
The day went well, and Rachel was excited because she was going to a birthday party for her friend, Rella from her soccer team in the fall. I was going to have to miss Bible Study, because after we dropped Rachel at the party, I had to get Jason to indoor soccer training. It worked out perfectly, though, because when Jason was finished at 7:00, the party was over, and we could pick up Rachel.
After we left the party, Jason and I decided to have a little Valentine's dinner together before practice, so our dinner was at Burger King. We enjoyed talking and just spending time together.
Chris called to tell us good night - we were glad to hear he made it to Texas safely - it's going to be a LONG week!

Still under the weather

Today is Sunday, and I am normally happy to get up and go to church, but my throat ached and my chest was burning. I went to church anyhow, and by the time church was over, I was ready to take some medicine. We stopped at Walgreens and got some DayQuil and NyQuil, because Chris was leaving for Texas on Monday for the week, so I knew I would need something to get over this QUICK!

After we ate lunch, we exchanged Valentine's Day gifts, b/c as I said, Chris was leaving for Texas at 5:00 am Monday morning. The kids and I gave Chris a goodie bag of some bottled water, candy, a box of popcorn, and a stuffed bear with a balloon plus a Resses's heart. The kids had given me the chocolate and strawberries, so Chris surprised me with a beautiful silver necklace and earrings with the design from Jane Seymour. I wasn't expecting that at all!

I took a dose of medicine and slept for about 45 minutes! We then went to AWANA and I took a dose of NyQuil and slept like a rock!

Early Valentine's Day

My sweet son decided this morning that he would make heart shaped pancakes for Rachel and me because Chris will be gone on Monday morning. Made my day!

Chris and Jason brought home a 2 lb block of Ghiradelli double chocolate to melt and make chocolate covered strawberries. We melted about 1/3 of the bar, and we had to find other things to dip, because we had so much chocolate! They were so good!

I had to try one!

All of us had fun dipping our strawberries, marshmallows and pretzels!

Chris was the serious dipper!

Rachel's new hair cut

Rachel stayed home from Excel today because she still had a major cough. She and I went back for the last period so I could fill in for the PE teacher. After EXCEL, I took them to get hair cuts. Rachel was just going for a trim, but then she decided in the parking lot that she wanted it short. The above picture shows her new look. I am happy with it, if she is happy with it.
We decided to have a pizza/movie night, but we wanted to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2, and every movie rental place and Red Box were rented out. We decided to stop by Family Rental anyway to see if there was anything else we wanted to see. While we were there, someone returned the move!! We were so excited. We then went to Papa Murphy's to get a pizza and they had a new SMORES pizza - well that had to be dessert!!
After Chris got home, we enjoyed our movie, pizza, and dessert pizza. It was nice to be home on a Friday night with nothing to do but hang out.

Finally well

Today has been such a better day! Rachel has been fever free since we went to bed last night. She was in such a better mood today, and seemed to be back to her old self. After we finished school work, we cleaned upstairs. Rachel was dusting our bedroom, and she said it was hard work. I told her I know because I used to clean the whole upstairs by myself. She said, "Well, that's why you have kids, so they can help you." So sweet. I told her I appreciated her help. She is such a good helper, and always looking for ways to make my mundane tasks easier.
After dinner, I went to a PEACH (Parents Educating at Christian Homes) meeting with Melissa Bonifield. The first 30 minutes a former graduate of PEACH and of Cedarville University (a Christian college) spoke about the importance of music education. I really enjoyed that. Rachel is excited to be starting piano by the summer. Jason is already enjoying the drums.
After her talk, several of the moms had their curriculums set up where we could go around and look at different options and ask questions. Many questions were answered for me, and I really enjoyed looking at so many different things. I am not sure still what exactly we are going to use next year, but several subjects have been decided. Will probably finish making decisions after the homeschool convention in the first of April.

Sickness

Well, last night was dreadful. Chris and I went to bed around 11, and at 12:30, Chris was up with Rachel and he said she was on fire, so I took her temperature, and it was 104.7! YIKES - I spent the next hour and a half trying to get the temperature to go down, and by 2:00, she was back down to around 100. She finally went to sleep without coughing around 5:30 and didn't wake up until 8:45. All day I gave her dose after dose of Ibuprofen/Tylenol, and her temp stays around 100.
We ran to the post office to send off Kaylee Cross's present and then dropped the van off to get maintenance done. Mainly the brakes needed to be checked. After we got home, we did our school lessons and spent the rest of the day praying that Rachel's fever would break.
I watched the Beth Moore DVD for Monday night since I won't be able to be there, and the kids played the computer. After watching the DVD, I called the clinic's nurses' hotline, and spoike with a nurse about Rachel. She said there is a bad virus going around where the fever lasts for 3-4 days, so to bring her in tomorrow if the temp hasn't broken by then. After Chris got home, we picked up the van, and Jason and I went to church.
We are starting a parenting class by Chip Ingram: Parenting an Effective Child in a Defective World. Chris stayed home with Rachel since I stayed home last night and next week I will be chauffeur. I really enjoyed the class - our pastor is leading it and I think over the next 9 weeks, we can learn alot about being better parents.
The biggest thing I learned tonight is that I need to be who I want my kids to become: do I really want them living like I live everyday in every way?
Rachel's temp was only 98.6 when I left, but now at bedtime, it's back up to 100. If her temp isn't down tomorrow, we will be taking her back to the doctor.

Thankful

Today I am just thankful we made it through the day. Rachel started the day without a fever, so I thought she was on the mend, but by 10:00, temp was up again and by 10:30, she was back to sleep in her bed. We did our lessons hit or miss today, and after lunch enjoyed a game of Disney Scene It, and then finished the day playing cards and with Jason's Beyblades.
Chris was so gracious to take Jason to practice tonight again. I wanted to go to Zumba, but Rachel wanted me to stay home, and I know next week I will be the chauffeur because Chris will be gone Monday - Friday.
I am thankful for a husband who helps out as much as he can when he can. I am thankful for our children who help each other when the other is hurting or sick. I enjoy being their mom, and am blessed with the family God has given me!

A new Day

So Rachel was still sick today, so we took her to the doctor. She just has a bad cold, so she probably has what has been lingering with me for over a week. While we were there, I mentioned how she itches her eyes constantly, so the doctor suggested getting some drops for dry eyes. Also, we talked about how all this itching has come about since she started wearing glasses. Strange, I know! We stopped and got her some eye drops, and the doctor said to let her stop wearing her glasses for now. Of course, Rachel was relieved for that! If the drops work, she will start wearing her glasses again and we will see if the itching stops while wearing glasses and then we know she just has dry eyes! All day her fever lingered, but thankfully, Chris could make it home in time to take Jason to indoor soccer practice and I could get to Bible Study on time.
I am so thankful to be back in Bible Study. I have taken this Bible study before, Beth Moore's Esther: It's Tough being a Woman, but I am getting a new Word from it each week. Last week there was so much, I need to write it down here to remember years from now.
The main thing that hit home was about Esther facing her fear - the fear of dying if she went in front of the king without being summoned! Beth then spoke about how we need to learn to live in faith, and not fear. Not living with conditional faith or trust that God won't let anything happen to us, but just living the faith and trust that if something does (and statistically the thing we are most scared about rarely happens), that God WILL GET US THROUGH!! She asked us to list our If this happened _____________, then ___________. For instance, if Chris died while on a trip, then I probably couldn't go on. We learned last night that we HAVE to learn to fill in that last part of the blank with then GOD.
WOW - I thank God for showing this to me AGAIN. I pray that I can learn not to let the devil get a foothold on what I fear the most, and learn to trust God that WHATEVER happens, He will get me through. I thank God for loving me enough and for making me a child of His. I pray that I can live a life pleasing and holy to Him, and worry only about pleasing Him and not those around me!
I am not "one mistake away from Him leaving me this way" (Casting Crowns), but I am one mistake away from staying where I am at and not living out my destiny!
What would life be like if we could live without fear? I can only imagine!!

Super Bowl Sunday

I didn't sleep very well, so this morning I woke up thinking I needed to go back to sleep. We left for church knowing that we were going over to Bill and Amy's for lunch today. Jason had VBS choir practice after church, so we packed his lunch, and were going to be back for him at 2:00.
After church, we left Jason with Freda (the music teacher), and went to the Tschirhart's. We were there along with the Ballards, the Marcums, and the Kecks. We so enjoy being with all of them. While we were there, Amy arranged for the Wuebbens to pick up Jason and bring him back to her house. He didn't arrive until 3:00, and by then Amy had offered for Jason to stay until AWANA. That made Rachel and Julianne upset, so Danny and Jason ended up staying with Will and Rachel and Hadley went to the Marcum's house. WOW, what would Chris and I do until AWANA? We decided to stop at Target and pick up a few things for the kids for Valentine's Day. We NEVER get to go shopping together, so we really enjoyed the hour and a half we had alone.
On the way back to the church for AWANA, Becky texted and said she gave Rachel some cough medicine, and by the time she got the girls back to the church, Rachel had a really pink eye and was running a fever. She layed on the sofa in the fellowship hall while I led the TNT games, and then Brian took over to do Sparks games. We had to get Rachel home because her temp was rising pretty fast. We stopped to get some medicine, and by the time we got home, her temp was 101.2. Her eye is really pink, so we will probably be going to the doctor in the morning.
We are now watching the Super Bowl - Jason is for the Packers. I don't really care who wins because I like both teams. I just want to see a good game.

Busy Saturday

It was nice to get up on a Saturday and know I didn't need to run, run, run, right away! Our women's ministry was having a Birthday Brunch at 10:00, so Chris told me to go and spend some time with the ladies of the church, and he would get Jason and Rachel to their Upward games. Thankfully, they had games at the same time, so he didn't need to go but for an hour.
The brunch was so nice. Each table was decorated for a different month. Rhonda Lier hosted our table. She did such a nice job making the table look very festive. She made cupcakes with beautiful snowflakes on them that she homemade with some kind of clay type dough. They were yummy! I was so thankful to have some fellowship with the women of our church. Our pastor's wife, Candance, spoke, and it was great to hear her speak about her passion for women's ministry, and to learn a little more about her. She is really funny, and I am so thankful that God led her and Pastor Chad to our church!
After the brunch, we met back at home, and we got Jason ready for his indoor soccer game. We showed up at the game, but the time had gotten changed, so we watched a game, and then he played. They ended up winning, so Jason was very excited. The coach said after the game, that he would love to have Jason on the team, so we are working on the paperwork to get him on the team. I am hoping that this ends up being a good fit for our family.
On the way home, Chris decided he wanted to go out to celebrate finding out about the DP on his recommendation, so we went to Golden Corral to eat supper. Then we enjoyed the rest of the night playing games.

Another Excel Day

After a month wait, the kids could finally go to Excel again today! We were all so happy - they miss when they can't go to see their friends. The last Excel day 2 weeks ago was canceled due to snow, so they hadn't been to Excel since the first Friday in January.
During Excel, I was able to run a few errands and get the house ready for dinner guests. I was able to talk to Jennie and enjoyed our uninterrupted conversation.
Chris came home with some wonderful news from work today - he received a DEFINITE PROMOTE on his promotion recommendation today! Praise God! We know that this is a blessing from God! I am so proud of Chris and everything he has accomplished!
We had the Frys over for dinner tonight. Rick works with Chris and he is getting ready to deploy for a year the end of February. He is going for a year. Come to find out, they live behind us about 3 houses over. We enjoyed their company. They have a precious 18 month old named Connor. He is so well mannered and well behaved. We plan on doing lots with them over the next year to help her out while Rick is gone.

FINALLY OVER!!!

Yeah, the base is back in business - we can go to the grocery store! I was so excited to be able to go to the commissary; I felt like we were out of everything. I normally wait to go to the store until the afternoon so that we are finished with school, but today I decided we should go in the morning just in case they were busy since they were closed for 2 days. The kids and I headed out and were excited to be out of the house for little while. While at the commissary, 2 people asked why the kids weren't in school, and we politely told them they are homeschooled, and oh, by the way, my kids didn't have snow days this week! Jason likes to remind me that everyday is a snow day for them! I am glad he looks at it like that. The commissary was not busy, so we were in and out fairly fast! YIPPEE!
When we got home, the kids began to do their lessons while I put the groceries away! I love that they can work by themselves sometimes. After lunch, we finished up school, and then had dinner with Chris and enjoyed a night at home.

Ice Storm Part 2

Ice Storm Part 2

After the ice, we got pounded with snow for most of the day

Second layer of ice

Kids played vet that afternoon

So on Wednesday, we woke up to MORE ice! The second wave came through Wednesday night. The winds were really bad, and there ended up being around 80,000 people without power. Our lights flickered several times Tuesday night, but we never lost power. Rachel woke up at 5:30 scared by the wind. It sounded like we were about to have a tornado. Thankfully, we had no trees down or limbs down. The base was closed again, so Chris stayed home. He had phone conferences to do, so he did that while we finished school. Wednesday night activities were canceled at church, and I couldn't get to the commissary again. Around lunch time, we headed to the bank to get the check cashed, and then stopped for lunch at Wendy's and ran into Kroger to pick up some meat for dinner that night. It was nice to get out if only for a little while. We saw many tree limbs and small trees down throughout our neighborhood, but the roads weren't bad. Needless to say, we are ready for things to get back to normal. Wed afternoon, the kids played so well together. I love days like this where I can see them just genuinely having fun. They decided to play vet with Rachel's vet set. Jason put on his doctor coat with a tie. He told me he was a smart doctor because he was wearing a tie. For over an hour, they played vet with Molly and Izzy and then started trying to sell me and Chris things so they could buy the cats. Very fun afternoon!!

Ice Storm 2011

Chris and Jason trying to knock first round of ice from driveway

Frozen basketball goal

Ice on trees

Today has been another LONG day - these dreary, winter days in Ohio are getting depressing. We woke up to ice on the roads, driveways, trees, everything. Chris called the base weather report, and they had delayed reporting until 10:00. He ran on the treadmill, and by the time he called again at 8:00, they had closed the base. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to get out in this mess, but unfortunately, that meant the commissary was closed, also. We have enough food, but hopefully, we have enough until I can get to the store. If the power goes out tonight, it might prove a blessing that we don't have alot of food in the fridge.

Nothing has come down during the day, but now at 7:00, we can hear the freezing rain starting up again. The second round is supposed to hit overnight and be worse than yesterday. Hopefully, we will retain power. I pray for everyone who has to be out in this mess to try to make sure that doesn't happen, and those who had to go to work anyway despite the weather.

The weather is dreary, and I feel worse. I pray I am not coming down with the flu, but I have been all achy and tired and stopped up and cold all day! I pray I can get a good night's sleep tonight and that we wake up with power.

Getting ready to curl up on the sofa and watch The Biggest Loser and maybe do a little cross stitching! Need to do something productive!