Sunday School Picnic and Blessings Galore

It seems September 29 was the day for SS picnics. Our church had ours that day, too. It was a GORGEOUS fall day. A little cool to begin with but PERFECT by the early afternoon. We had around 35 or 40 to attend. Our pastor's children and grandchildren came and so did Sister Gretha's children and grandchildren. Jackson had a blast and I was on pins and needles almost the entire time. There was a creek there that looked more like a river to me with a strong current because of the recent rains from Ike. It was very pretty, but the older kids couldn't stay away from it, and, of course, Jackson wanted to follow suit. I had to stay by him and hold the back of his shirt while he threw rocks in the rushing stream. Thankfully, the Lord kept him and all the kids safe.

Sister Emma, our Sunday School superintendent, planned some games for the kids a litle while later. They did the egg on the spoon game and the water balloon toss. The kids had a blast. Jackson was the youngest and didn't quite understand what was going on. He ran with each kid as each one took his turn. It was pretty funny.

Here are some pictures from our day:

You see how that water's rushing?

The kids had SUCH a great time.
Jackson ... always in the middle of the action. *rolling eyes*
I love this picture.
There was a playground area there, too.

Brother and Sister Bentley and Sister Gretha

The Lord has been sooooo good to us and especially these past couple of days. Last week on Wednesday, Anthony came home from work and walked in the door with looking rather upset about something. Then I noticed this bright orange sticker in his hand. It seems the lease we signed for this apartment has a covenant that says you can't have a vehicle on the property with expired tags. Our Trailblazer's tags had run out at the end of August and we hadn't had the money yet to renew them ($225) because we also had to renew the tags on our car this month and it's been a little tight with only Anthony's income. The sticker warned they would tow our car at our expense if our tags hadn't been renewed in 72 hours. I called the office and asked if we could have a week extension on that because of when we'd get Anthony's next paycheck. I told them we weren't doing anything illegal because we weren't driving the car, we just needed a little time to save the money to get the tags. Au contrare, she informed me, that we were indeed doing something illegal. Apparently it's illegal to have a car without updated tags EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT DRIVING IT! (Remember how much I love this state? Grrr....)

So I called the BMV. They informed me that since our title was with our leinholder in TN we couldn't even get our tags yet. We would need to come in and fill out a form to request our title be sent to the state of IN and pay the fee to get the tags (the $225) PLUS a $15 fee for a temporary tag that would keep us legal for a 15-day extension. So I got paid today my measley little check from the college that took care of only part of the now $240 we needed to fix this pestilence, we scrounged up the rest, and Anthony headed down to the BMV. That's where the Lord took over!!! When Anthony got out of there, he called me and said, "Honey, go get some groceries!" Wooo hoooo!!!! He said for some reason, (and we know why and how) :D the guy gave him a 60 DAY temporary tag, didn't charge him for it, AND told him we could wait until the title was received before we had to worry about paying the taxes and fees for the tag (the $225). Isn't that just ... God? :D We are sooo thankful. AND I get to buy groceries. It was getting pretty low in the pantry, let me tell ya.

As it that weren't enough blessing for the day, I got a phone call too. I have an interview Monday at 10:30 for a job I had almost given up hope for. I'm soooo excited.

And my mom emailed me and said she's coming up the 14th of Nov. to stay the weekend with us, which I'm very excited about.

And God's giving me some ideas for ... I don't know if He's wanting me to write Sunday School material or if it's for sermons or ... I don't know, but I'm excited. It's good stuff. Of course it's good stuff ... it's from the Lord.

I almost feel giddy. God is soooo good. I love Him so much and I want to please Him at all times.

Welcome to a sweet baby girl

My cousin Shawna just had her third little girl. First there was Allison, then Isabelle, and now baby Madelyn. I couldn't wait to show her off. :D

Here she is, little Madelyn Grace, born September 10.

Take the Poll and Visit a Blog

I've been getting onto my son lately for being bossy and just look at that title. Well, I'm not DEMANDING.

Anyway, I created a poll on the left here that I thought'd be neat to see everyone's response to.

And you all need to take a look at Sister Angie Munoz's blog (www.angieshouse.blogspot.com). There's an urgent prayer request there that I'm sure she'd be happy to know all of ya'll are helping her pray for.

Until next time ...

Is It a Full Moon Tonight or Something?

I've seen that two people are out-a-blogging at this unreal hour and I'm awake too. Hmmmm.... something's weird there.

Anyway, I just saw something very interesting. I was surfin' the net and there was an advertisement that had some ethereal looking white light with translucent-type words that said, "What will happen when I die?" And then it flashes over to an advertisement claiming that you could chat live with a Mormon person. Of course, I don't have any interest in chatting with a Mormon, but I thought ... how difficult would that be to set up something like that for the Church? What a ministry that could actually be if it were done right.

Grayson, if you're out there, it might be an idea for you or some other internet-savvy people in the Church.

Anyway, Anthony and I had a very good prayer tonight. The devil's attacked again in another way because he's mad at the step of faith we recently took, but we're not giving in. Jesus is just down the road ready to step up and speak the words that'll bring the miracle we need. I know it. At this point, we're thinking the job interview Anthony had yesterday probably isn't where it's at. Not positive, but it's just one of those "nyeh" feelings, you know. BUT Anthony's got another one set up for this Saturday afternoon, so we're just praying and believing. We really do need that miracle now AS OUR HUMAN EYES SEE IT, but we have surrendered this thing over. That's why ole Lucifer's ticked. But he'll just have to get over it, though, because God's in control. TOTALLY in control.

Anthony's not lost his job or anything, but there's a reason we feel God's gonna give him another one. And as to whether or not I'm supposed to get a job, we don't really know, but we're trusting the Lord. I'm flexible and willing to accept God's will. I'm not puttin' Him in a box. He's God and He's got the reins on all of this, so we're patiently waiting and looking for the answer.

Like Sister Kasey commented once, "It's always darkest before dawn." That's such pretty imagery and sooooo very true. Well, it's pretty dark right now so dawn's just an hour or so away. I'm ready to see the Son arise and experience all the glory and majesty those sunrises can bring. I'm ready.

Praise the Lord.

Ladies and Gentlemen ...

May I present the man who could quite possibly be our next President.

I Know It's Been Awhile

And I'll catch up with ya'll soon.

Pray for us. Pray for Anthony. He's interviewing for a different job right now. We want God's will more than anything. We sought God, took a major step of faith, stomped on the devil, bruised his stinkin' head, and now we're believing for God's will to be accomplished. HALLELUJAH!!!

Love ya'll.

BTW, I cannot for the life of me find this Bible story, but I was wondering if someone out there could tell me where it is: A story about an angel of God with a message for someone that is held up for ????? 21 days ????? by a ??? demon ??? Somebody wanted me to find that story and I don't know.

Thanks.

Art and History

I thought I'd share about this really neat program I just found out about called Picturing America that is a neat way to use art to teach American history, culture, music, literature, science, math, etc. It looks really cool and it has a teacher guide book with activities adapted for different levels (grammar, middle, and high school). It's free if you're selected and homeschool parents are encouraged to apply. If you're interested go to picturingamerica.neh.gov for info. The deadline to apply is October 31 so you still have some time to apply. The website gives lots of info so you can check it out if you think you'd be interested.

Enjoy!

Olive Garden Salad and Classes

I had a request for how I make Olive Garden salad dressing. Well, I cheated. I was going to buy all the fancy ingredients and make my own, but I decided to go the cheaper route. I would have RATHER made my own. I like to do stuff from scratch, but I don't like the cost that's sometimes involved. (Sometimes it's cheaper to make things from scratch, I know, but on this ... it's not!)

So ... I bought a bottle of Kraft Italian Vinaigrette made with olive oil and added a little bit of vinegar, a couple spoonfuls of sugar, and some fresh-ground pepper. I just played around with it until it tasted right and I actually got it really close to the real deal :D. Then I tossed in thinly sliced red onion, some whole pitted black olives, and some chopped tomato. Tossed that in the dressing and threw in the lettuces and some grated parmesan-romano. Tossed slightly and there ya go. Olive Garden salad minus the banana peppers. (Who eats those, anyway?)

My night class is going GREAT so far. I'm so thankful the Lord is helping me. About half of my class are non-traditional students (older than your typical 18 year old college freshman) and are looking for a life change with a degree that will help them get into better careers. It gets them out of the poverty-ridden or close to it existences that many of them come from and just helps them feel better about themselves and have better financial situations. If you look at the big picture, my little role in a classroom with 24 students helps create a better society for all of us in even a small way. Maybe with their new way of life after they get their degree, the temptation to engage in criminal activities will be alleviated. And I don't mean to be prejudiced. We all know that the worse the circumstances people have to live in, the easier it is for the devil to entice them to unfavorable lifestyles. It's just true.

I'm inspired by my students. Many live in grim circumstances and are determined to rise up out of that. I'm helping them to do that. I know my class is the tiniest of stepping stones for them, but it's a step none-the-less. I thank the Lord that I can be a part of that process. I take my job seriously and I feel honored that God has chosen me to make that much of a difference in these people's lives. I pray they see Jesus in me. I pray that the small role I play in their lives is the part of their lives where they see that God truly does love them. By some of the class discussions we have, they know that I'm a Christian. And they know that I'm committed to their success. And they're smart enough to put two and two together. I pray each one of them who hasn't already (because I know a few in there are definitely Christians) will turn to the Lord because of a tiny seed the Lord enables me to plant and because of any other seeds the Lord plants in their lives.

I praise the Lord for my education. The Lord knew when He enabled me to get my education that I would one day use it for Him and His glory. I pray before each of my classes and I ask Him to help me to show them Jesus during that class period. He's helping me to do that and there's glory in soul tonight because I know it!!!! Praise the Lord.

My Kid is the Weird One!

Last night I made an Olive Garden salad to go with our vegetable lasagna for supper. Well, we sat down to eat and I put a little bit of the salad on Jackson's plate. The kid really likes salad, but I didn't think he'd like the dressing (you know, he normally only eats Ranch or French or some other kid-friendly dressing). Well, I was right. He didn't like the dressing ... but he did like the black olives. Sat there and ate like three or four and asked for more!!! Now, how many kids do you know who like whole pitted black olives? Weird kid.

Oh, and, Houston, we have a problem! For the past several nights, Jackson has been sneaking into our room and getting in our bed. He's so good at it that some of those nights I don't even know it until I wake up the next morning and see the little rug rat next to me all snuggled down in the covers. Usually I do know it but I'm having a horrible time forcing myself to wake up enough to take him back to his bed. Well, last night before I went to bed, I determined that when he did come in our bed, I was going to make myself take him back to his. I mean, this has GOT to stop. Well, I did, and boy, was it ever a fight. Had to take the little twerp back to his bed THREE more times. Kicking and screaming and carrying on the whole way. The last time I rocked him in the rocking chair and sang the little lullaby I've sung to him since he was a newborn, laid him down, and prayed with him, and that's all it took! He was fine after that and went to sleep. Now why didn't I do that the FIRST time? Why? Because I wasn't awake enough is why. I think I'm getting old. Last year this time I could wake up at the drop of a hat and be on my feet. Now it's like you'd need to drag me into the shower and turn on the cold water full-throttle and I MIGHT wake up. Ugh. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself.

Also, I'm getting worried about something else with him. The kid's almost four years old and doesn't really have a friend and, of course, doesn't have any siblings around to play with. There's just me and then his daddy when he gets home. And before anyone says or thinks anything, we DO want more children, I just have some health issues that kind of prevent that right now. I'm praying for healing from this. Please pray for me. I want God to heal me. I've tried doctors and they don't know what to do except they want to put me on the pill and I refuse to do that. Anyway, I'm done with doctors on this one. I'm just waiting on the Lord. Back to Jackson, I think he needs some friends. Some playmates. I think he's lonely and that's partly why he acts the way he does sometimes. It breaks my heart. So I'm praying for the Lord to send a family to the Church up here who has some kids Jackson could play with. Will ya help me pray for that too?

Well, gotta go. I've got some papers to grade for my night class I teach, a little bit of laundry to do, and some phone calls to make. Not to mention the kitchen. I sort of let it go after supper last night because it was so hot in there from the oven being on for so long baking that lasagna. Now I'm kicking myself because I've got the mess to clean up today. At least I cleaned the rest of the house over the weekend. Ahhhh, that feels good to know. Oh, and I've got to take the rent check over to the office. THAT's very important to remember. ha!

Have a good day, all.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!!

Melissa actually posted on her blog--with pictures, even! It's true! Go take a look.

www.daveandmelissa4.blogspot.com

BUT what is NOT true is a statement made on a certain person's blog a few days ago. Someone said that when you post pictures, you tend to get more comments. Well, I posted a BUNCH of pictures and got three commenters. That's not very many, now is it? And I comment on other people's blogs all the time. *sniffle* I feel rejected. *sniffle* ;-)

Oregon Trail--A Blast from the Past!

When I was a kid in school, I loooooved to play Oregon Trail. Does anyone remember it? The roleplay game where you are the leader of your pioneer family trying to travel from Independence, Missouri, west to Oregon. You have to make decisions along the way, like the pace of travel, ration sizes for the family, stopping to rest, when to hunt for food, trading, floating or fording across rivers, etc. It's fun AND clean. There is NOTHING in this game I'd have qualms about letting any child play it.

Anyway, I was wanting to play it and I figured out how to download it FOR FREE. It's now on my computer and I can play anytime I want. :D Thought I'd share how to do it in case anybody else wanted to play.First, go to http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/View.php?view=GameMuseum.Detail&id=266and follow these instructions to a tee. Careful. Don't read all the "comments" on this page. There are some wordy dirds in there. I stopped reading once I got to the instructions on how to do it. I've pasted them below. Let me know if you need help.

First download the file otrail.zip by clicking on [Download the: Oregon Trail Apple II Disk Image] and save it somewhere on your computer. Next, extract the contents of the zip folder. In XP you can do this by right-clicking on the zip folder icon and selecting "extract all". Note the location to which you extract the files, you will need to know later on!Next download the program AppleWin, the Apple //e Emulator for Windows from Link This file also arrives as a zip, extract the zip contents as before, then open the folder you've just extracted. Double-click on the Apple icon named "Applewin" (note there is also a help file named "APPLEWIN" which is not the same thing), the program should start up.On the right side of the Applewin window there is a column of icons. Click on the disk drive icon labelled "1-Master". At this point you should get another window titled "Select Disk Image for Drive 1". Using the "Look in" drop down menu navigate to the folder where you extracted the contents of the otrail.zip file. There should be two files in the folder, Otrail1 and Otrail2. Select Otrail1 and click the "open" button. Repeat this procedure for the disk drive icon numbered "2" and select the file Otrail2 for this drive.At this point you are ready to play! Just click on the Apple icon, the one near the top right under the help icon, and the game should load.Tip: during game play, when you are prompted to switch disks, if you have followed all the above instructions all you have to do is click on the disk drive icon labelled "12"; this will move the disk image not being used to the master drive, then you can hit the space bar to continue playing.Tip:The Applewin window is not scalable, so it may appear very small on your screen depending on your screen resolution. If this is the case, prior to starting the Applewin program, right click on the program icon then select "Properties". Navigate to the "Compatibility" tab, select the box next to "Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution", then hit "apply", then hit "ok". Now when you start Applewin it should appear much larger. Your screen resolution will be returned to normal when you close Applewin.

It's easier than it sounds, really. HAVE FUN! :D

AK Governor Sarah Palin!!! I'm so excited!!!

What a shocker, but I think it's a good one! She's socially conservative, which, contrary to some people's beliefs, I am STAUNCHLY socially conservative. But I'm also an advocate for women's rights to lead as it is appropriate. Sometimes there needs to be a little leaven thrown into the mix, and the right woman can give different viewpoints and see situations with a different slant that could be helpful to men when ascertaining the necessary solution. I think it's absolutely the right pick. A woman who's been married to the same man for 20 years; has five children, one of whom serves our nation in the military and the youngest of whom is a 4-month old little boy with Down's Syndrome; is pro-life and committed to overthrowing Roe vs. Wade; and has a backbone. I mean, this woman began as a member of the local PTO and rose quickly to City Council, City Mayor, and then Governor of Alaska. Once there, she sought out ways to truly "serve" the people who elected her. She scoped out political corruption in the oil industry in AK and had the perpetrators jailed, she stood against government overspending and shut down unnecessary and failing programs. She even sold the state's private jetliner and flies commercial or drives herself, saving the state TONS of money. And she put much of that money back in the pockets of Alaskan citizens where it belongs. She also works "across the aisle" to get things done. She even appoints Democrats to her Cabinet when she feels they have the "right idea" of working with a "servant's heart." She has an approval rating in the high 80% range, which is almost unheard of. I think it's GREAT!!!! Wooo hooooo!!!!! Hats off to John McCain and to Sarah Palin.

Welcome to Blogsville, Annette Deitz!!

That's right. She's got her own little mouseketeer land over there at deitzdomain.blogspot.com. Go check it out.

BUT NOT BEFORE YOU TAKE A LOOK AND COMMENT ON MY RECENT POSTS. HA!!!

Sister Smith has Done it Again

Ever notice how when Sister Smith chides someone for not blogging or posting enough pictures, she gets a post or pictures from the person she's childed? Well, I got the hint. ha!!!

Alright, here are a few more Jackson pictures. I've got a bunch from when I wasn't blogging due to a computer that had blown up. I guess it's alright to post outdated pictures under those circumstances. ;-)

Here's Jackson having fun in our February snow earlier this year:

Christmas morning. Jackson's Christmas present this year was a train table. He loooooves it ...

The Deitzes came out to see Jackson and me in March when Anthony was here in Indiana before we could move up here with him. That was SUCH a blessing to me. Annette and Megan came first and watched Jackson while I was at work and then Phillip came for a few days later. We had lots of fun. One day we went to a Japanese garden in Springfield.

Here's Jackson and John Devon, Terry and Shaye Ammons's little boy. Aren't they cute? These were taken Easter at Zion Hill. The one shot is Jackson with Sister Janet Talley. And the other is Shaye with Jon Devon and her mom, Sister Wanda Arrington. I think that's Terry in the background leaning against the SUV:

And here are some pictures of when we were visiting Anthony's parents this Easter. Anthony's little sister Charity and nephew Skyler had fun playing with Jackson.

Wow, that takes forever to post so many pictures, but I'm glad I did it. Enjoy, all.

By the Way....

Does anybody know when GH is going to put the new appointments on the church website? Just wondering.

AND THERE'S A NEW POST WITH PICTURES!!!! LOOK BELOW!!!!

Two More!!!! Wa-hoo!!!

I got two calls today. Thank you for all those who are praying for us. I know God is working it all out and I'm soooo very thankful to Him.

One class I'm being offered is a Monday night Academic Skills Advancement Writing Class at Ivy Tech Comm. Coll. where I'm teaching my freshman English Comp class. I'm definitely taking that one. The other is a Tues/Thurs ESL class (English as a Second Language) that meets from 12-2. It's in Dowagiac, MI, pretty close to our pastor's house. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to take that one because I don't know who'd watch Jackson. I'm going to check with Sister Bentley to see if she or someone she knows might be able to watch him for a few hours. It'd probably only end up being a little over three hours each of those days that I'd need someone to watch him. We'll see. I'm praying about it. The cool thing about this class is that the students are from Korea and Japan. Japan!!!! I could very possibly get to practice my Japanese skills. I've been wanting to brush up for so long now, but I don't have anyone to practice with. It'd be so very cool if one of the students would be willing to drill me or practice with me. English lessons for Japanese? Sounds good to me. ;-)

In other news, my youngest brother got to come see us for a few days last weekend. We had fun one night but then he woke up the next morning with what I think was a sinus infection, so he slept most of the rest of the time he was here. Poor kid. Anyway, on Friday night we got to play miniature golf. We had a coupon so we only paid $9 for all four of us!!! It cost that much for one person in a lot of places. But we had fun. Thought I'd post a couple of pics.

Here's Jackson trying his best to look sweet ;-)

A victory stance ...

Here he's attempting to block his Uncle Christopher's shot. Little twerpie.

Well, I'm trying to finish my syllabus for my class tomorrow night. I'm having a hard time deciding which of these readings I want to assign. There's one I KNOW I'm going to require. It's called "Becoming Literate: A Lesson from the Amish". It's neat. The author lived with an Amish family for some time as part of her research and analyzed how the Amish introduce reading and writing to their children and how it's followed up in the Amish school. I find it really fascinating. Even small children are encouraged to "read" along with the family. If they play Scrabble or Boggle, 3, 4, and 5 year olds are included and are helped by the older children and the parents with no one hollering about cheating. They don't go past the eighth grade generally, but they still encourage and practice literacy in the home starting at younger ages than some "Englischers" start their children. It was a neat journal article.

Anyway, I need to get going. Thanks again for the prayers and keep 'em coming. We're still looking for some answers about some things. G'night, all.

Anthony Made the Cut!!!!!

Because we're so close to Chicago, the local NBC-affiliate news station did a story on the candidacy of Chicago for the 2016 Olympics and asked Anthony for an interview on the impact it will have for the local hotels. :D Here he is, my star, who now has a bigger head than he had when he left for work this morning! ha!

We do feel the Lord allowed this to happen. It kind of looks good for him at corporate office.

Please keep praying. I still need a job and we're still trusting God for it. A weird thing happened today. Terry Ammons (Brother Ammons's son) met with a guy who owns a Fairfield Inn in Cleveland. The guy was practically begging Terry to manage this hotel for him but Terry's pretty happy with what he's doing, so he threw Anthony's name out for the guy to consider. Well, apparently the guy wants to see Anthony's resume. We just really need to know God's will and we really need you guys to help us pray so we can find exactly what we're supposed to do.

PS ... I FIGURED OUT HOW TO TURN OFF MY MUSIC FINALLY SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY HEAR THE NEWSCAST.

Pleeeease pray for us

Anthony and I have a very serious need and we reaaaaaallllly need to see God's hand move in this. Please pray for us. We need God to move, like, today. There's no doubt Satan's attacking Anthony on his job to the point where we feel it may even be in jeopardy, and I still haven't found one. We cannot be o.k. financially without me having some type of job and we'd be dead in the water if Anthony lost his. We've felt for some time that the answer's on the way, but we really are running out of time. Please pray for us. Please.

And thank you.

Ecstaticism

I've been really trying to work with Jackson this summer for him to learn his letters and the sounds they make. We've been playing games (let's go on a letter hunt) and singing a cute little song from the Leap Frog DVD ("The A says ah ... ) and I've even tried to show him simple words and tell him how the letters sound to form the word, etc. I really didn't think it was taking. But last night Anthony and I were playing Scrabble and Jackson had to get his own rack and letters. And much to Anthony's surprise and to my sheer ecstaticism (my made up word for the day, I guess ... tee hee), he began pointing to some of his letters AND MAKE THEIR SOUNDS!!!!!

"Mommy, this is an R. rrrrr rrrrr. This is an S. ssssss. This is a U. Like uh, up." (A word, too!! HA!!!)

After some drilling from both parents, from what we can tell, Jackson knows more than half of his letters and the sounds that most of those make AND a word that begins with a few of those letters as well. Yayyyyy!!!!!! I'm so happy.

But why did he have to make me go through the agony of thinking I was doing a pitiful job teaching or that he was having difficulties learning. Little twerpie.

Anyway, we'll be continuing our lessons ... with renewed enthusiasm. So happy. :D