A Blog Redux

It's been almost 9 months since I have blogged. I didn't intend to take a long break but I think it has been a good thing for me. I have had time to ruminate on lots of things I want to say and refine the voice with which I want to say them. So welcome back to my blog, I hope you'll settle in and stay awhile.

Yeah, whatever!

So another sick child has disturbed my plans to blog. Wyatt was sick all last weekend and Monday he was officially diagnosed with an ear infection in his right ear! Plus Alex and I spent some time at the National Youth Worker's Convention downtown so my time was limited.

So now you'll just have to guess at my top three reasons to vote for Obama!

The Best Laid Plans

My Top Ten List got knocked off track on Wednesday by a sick 6 year old. Little Lucy has been fighting something for a long time...she has been on one round of antibiotics but hasn't rebounded well. She started to go downhill fast on Wednesday and she ended up back in the docs office today. She is on a stronger medicine now and hopefully it will knock this thing out. She did rally enough to make it to a festival at our church tonight so Halloween wasn't a total bummer.

Approximately 100 hours until the election now - my nerves are already shot. I vacillate between confidence and panic. I'm finding myself so irritated by all of the propaganda and rhetoric...I feel like people are blind and it makes me so angry. I'm sure the other side feels the same way.

So tomorrow I will try and pick up with my 3 most important reasons for voting for Obama. Tune in and chime in!

Clean Sheets

Thanks to simply chic blogs for my new duds!

Can I Get An Update???

I can't believe it is August 22nd. As I sit here with my mouth wide open, astonished at the pace the summer has flown by at, I'm feeling really blog-lazy. I haven't been here nearly enough and I haven't kept you updated nearly well enough.

There are so many things to tell all of you that I feel a little overwhelmed - okay a lot overwhelmed! Well I'll try to take them one by one and see how far I get before I'm called away.

1. In 6 days Annie and Lucy start in a brick and mortar school for the first time. I have been homeschooling them via the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School for the past few years. But finally, a charter school that we have been following the progress of for more than 2 years had it's charter approved this past February and is opening it's doors next week. Annie will be in third grade and Lucy in first grade at The Environmental Charter School at Frick Park. It is a city of Pittsburgh public school but it is run by Imagine Schools one of the nation's only NFP charter school companies. The teachers and administration are employees of Imagine Schools and though they are accountable to the city and state for test scores the majority of their accountability lies with Imagine and also the parents of their students. This year it will be limited to grades K-3 and they will add a Kindergarten class each year until they are K-8. (So Annie will always be in the oldest class!) It is housed in the old Regent Square School building and the transformation that has occurred there over the summer has been amazing. We have been attending events all summer long designed for the kids to get to know one another and the staff and we will attend the Grand Opening on Monday and the girls will meet their teachers and see their classrooms for the first time.

I'm thrilled for this opportunity for them - it seems to me like a perfect mix between public education and homeschooling. Part of the Imagine vision is lots of parent involvement and satisfaction so I'm confident that my voice will be heard and listened to. Also they had over 300 applicants for less than 50 positions so they were able to hire the best of the best for their staff. Everyone I have met so far has been incredible and I'm excited to see how they year unfolds.

Of course I have my reservations - how can any teacher know my child and their learning style better than I can? How will my kids fare with a more rigid schedule and less flexibility? Will they fall prey to all of the potential hazards that exist for young kids in school today...bullying, trying too hard to fit in...etc? And, to be as transparent as possible, I will miss them horribly. I know that after I drop them off the first day I will shed lots of tears...my eyes are welling up writing this. But in my heart I believe this is what is right for them and for our family right now. I don't think my homeschooling days are over...we may have to revisit that issue come time for high school but that is 6 years away. (OMG - Annie will be in high school in 6 years?!)

2.Wyatt is only 9 days away from being 5 months old! Yeah, I have no idea where that time has gone. He is AWESOME! He is rolling over both ways and laughing and grabbing onto everything he can and getting it into his mouth as soon as possible. He is mesmerized by his siblings and saves his biggest smiles for them. He had some extended time with his daddy on vacation and they are developing a strong bond. I'm happy to say though that he still prefers Mama over anyone else! Our CPU is being worked on right now but when I get it back I promise some updated pictures...he looks EXACTLY like Jack did at this age...it's actually a little freaky.

3. Speaking of Jack...he is already dealing with the fact that his "sissies" (sisters) are going to be gone for much of the day this fall. He is sad because the three of them are a little pack, traveling everywhere together. Along with that comes the good - and the bad - but for the most part they are super close. He will have a tough adjustment but he is also very close to me and I hope that he and I can have some special time together this year because next year he will be in Kindergarten...and sending him off to school is sure to break my heart in two.

Okay that is all for today - I still want to write about our house and vacation...but that is all I can muster for today!

Looking for Soup Recipes

It's getting colder now and I need some good soup recipes. I have a fab Black Bean Soup recipe but I'm looking for others that are hearty, healthy and low maintenance. Please, if you have any let me know!!!

Convergence of Chaos

This weekend seems to define chaos for our family.

It is our church's retreat weekend which means Alex is loaded up with responsibilities with students at a retreat center about an hour away.

It is also the wedding weekend of our dear dear friends Bobby and Susie!!!! Alex and I are leading some worship in the ceremony and Annie and Lucy are flower girls! We also have the honor of being the people who set Bobby and Susie up with each other...our very first set up to actually go all the way to marriage! So it's a very important event for our family.

In addition my aunt is coming to town to celebrate her 50th high school reunion!

So today around 3, Alex will leave for the retreat and I will take the girls to the wedding rehearsal at 6:30. I, unfortunately, have to miss the rehearsal dinner to get home and get the kids in bed. Then tomorrow, my mom and aunt will take Jack for the day and Alex will come home at 1:30 so we can be at the church by 2:30 for the wedding at 3:30! My mom will pick the girls up after the ceremony while Alex and I get to enjoy a bit of the reception before picking up all three kids and heading back up to the church retreat by 10 pm. Tired yet?

We will be at the retreat until lunch on Sunday and then we will come home and collapse in front of the television to watch the Steelers (hopefully) beat the Seahawks. I bet I'm not awake for much of the game!

Although I'm dreading all of the busy-ness of the weekend, I am filled to overflowing with joy for Bobby and Susie. Susie is such a wonderful friend and she has been there for me through thick and think. We have known her for 7+ years now and she is a part of our family in inextricable ways. Bobby and Alex have known one another longer than I can even remember and we value him more than we could ever say. We are so thrilled to have been a part of their story up until now and we look forward in great anticipation to what God has in store for them in the wonderful adventure of marriage.

So even though I won't be drinking the champagne my heart will be toasting the coming together of these two lives for weeks and months to come.

Happy 4th of July

We're Back!

I have lots to say but we are getting settled back in so I will be back later!

Off We Go!!!

I wanted to come and post today because tomorrow the we are leaving for 2 very different adventures.

Alex is taking a large group of junior and senior high students from our church to Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi to work for a week on homes that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. They are teaming up with another church from Pittsburgh and will spend next Monday through Friday working hard and sharing God's love with some neighbors who have had a hard time in the last couple of years.

My mom and I are taking the kids to Virginia to visit family. We will spend one night in Washington, DC visiting with some old friends and then we will head to Virginia where we will see my aunt and cousins. I'll also get to see my dear friend, Angela, and her new baby!!! It will be nice to get away and see some family and hopefully relax. I just checked the weather and the temperatures in Virgina next week are expected to be in the upper 90's. YIKES! It hasn't gotten that hot up here yet this summer...good thing we'll have access to a pool!

So, if you are the praying kind, please pray for both journeys. My hope is that all of us will see God in important ways this next week and that we will come back together with much to share about God's goodness. See you soon!

Popping up for air

I have been so absent from this blog. We have had an insanely busy schedule the past few weeks and to be honest I am exhausted. But the end is in sight...and the pool opens Sunday...and I'm getting a mani/pedi today!!! So by the middle of next week I should be started on my tan and feeling more relaxed. I'll be back then!!!

Coming out of the Dark

Earlier this week we were without electricity for 24 hours. Thankfully it was a beautiful spring day, and nothing in the fridge or freezer spoiled...or else this post may have had a very different tone.

I loved being without power! It forced me to think creatively and solve problems that (any other day) could have easily been solved by flipping a switch or pointing a remote.

Once I realized that the power was out and (according to the power company) probably wasn't coming on anytime soon, I broke the news to the kids. At first they were disappointed (no TV) and scared (no nightlights) but I soon distracted them with an activity. We sat around the kitchen table and painted rocks. I had come across a rock painting kit and I broke it out and we got to work. We painted footballs, cats, flowers and daddy! After that we all pitched in to clean the house and then we played outside. Once Alex came home we went out for dinner and then went to a park to run around before bed. I gave them a bath by candle light (which Jack loved!) and then it was bedtime. This was the hardest time of the day...the girls really hate being in total darkness. But after stories by candle light and lots of singing they fell asleep. They even slept through a quite powerful thunderstorm, that Alex and I enjoyed very much.

Once everyone was asleep, Alex and I sat talking in the darkened living room and somehow stumbled onto the topic of sitcom theme songs. We laughed and laughed listening to one another sing the themes from "WKRP in Cincinnati", "Family Ties", "The Jeffersons", "The Facts of Life", "Happy Days" and many more. We headed up to bed and as we lay there we continued on the TV theme by recalling our favorite shows from different decades. I drifted off somewhere around the 90's with a smile on my face and a contented heart.

When the power is on it is so easy to overlook one another...to turn to TV or the computer or the phone (and when you have VOIP no power = no phone). But when it was off we re-discovered how much fun we all have together. Running in the park, singing favorite songs, telling funny stories, and recalling childhood memories...all things that happened because we were in the dark.

I'd love to tell you that things haven't changed even thought the lights are back on...but I can't. We appreciate having lights to turn on and fans to cool us on warm nights...and it is all too easy to slip back into old routines. But I think I'm going to to institute a once a month "power outage" in our home. Maybe we'll eat by candle light and sleep outside under the stars next time. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Tragedy at Virgina Tech

I don't know anyone (as of yet) who is connected in any way to the tragic situation at Virgina tech and yet I am still profoundly saddened by it. I have thought about it from two different perspectives in the past 24 hours...from the student's perspective - the fear and confusion that must have flooded over them as they heard shots ring out and saw their friends and teachers shot and killed...and from the perspective of the parents whose children attend VT - the horror that must have gone through their minds to realize that their babies were in danger and many of them were hundreds of miles away.

My heart aches and feel heavy within my chest - words of sorrow and comfort come to my lips but seem somehow trite and empty. 32 people are dead and 15 others are injured - and the lives of 26,000 students plus faculty, staff, and families will never be the same. In the span of a few hours, one person impacted so many others with evil and hatred.

What is there to say or do in the face of such evil and hatred? Not a lot. Now is a time for healing, a time for loving, a time for consolation. Now is a time to turn to the only one who can bear this kind of burden, because we surely cannot.

Join me in prayer for all those impacted by this horrible tragedy. Pray for healing and comfort. Pray for those who represent the one true God - Jesus Christ - on the campus...that they will be agents of peace and love. Pray for those who are left with questions too big for any human to answer.

Lord, in Your goodness, have mercy.

Sleepless Night

I pride myself on being a good sleeper. I can sleep anywhere and through anything. I don't usually lose sleep over stress or anxiety. So being awake for much of last night is a mystery to me. I just laid there, eyes wide open, NOT sleeping. So I got up and surfed the web for awhile, contemplated blogging, decided not to, muttered complaints under my breath over the drastic weather change - from 80 one day to 30 the next - and eventually went back to bed. I still couldn't sleep and now my feet were freezing too. So I did what any good wife would do and I woke up my husband!!! Isn't marriage about sharing everything - including insomnia??? We talked, he snored, I tried to bore myself to sleep with talk radio...all to no avail. The clock showed 4:45 now and I knew the morning was coming fast. I was already dreading the day today knowing how tired I would be and the dull but constant ache my head would experience.

Then I fell asleep - and my wonderful husband got up with the kids and let me sleep in until 8:15. So three and a half hours of sleep later I was up to face the day, and not feeling all that thrilled by it. My head aches and the kids are getting away with more than normal because I just don't have it in me to be on top of my mom game this morning.

So what do you do when you experience insomnia? Any tried and true methods of falling back to sleep? I'm hoping this won't continue but if it does I want to be armed with some good solutions.

Smooches all around.

It Has Begun

Spring cleaning that is!!! Shaking off the dust, packing winter away and welcoming spring. Now if I could only breathe it in without sneezing!!!