Thursday Thirteen

Today I will share 13 things about my favorite sister Jennifer.

1. Jen is my only sister.

2. She is 18 months younger than me.

3. She used to have straight hair, but every time she had a baby it switched. Back and forth, etc. It ended up being quite curly.

4. My sister now lives 15 minutes from my house:)

5. She is a nurse.

6. Jen is the only one in my family who went to college.

7. She loves m&ms of all kinds and calls them "vitamins". I love that I can go to her house and have a few vitamins whenever I feel I need them.

8. Jen has three children (including one that we nicknamed "the big-eyed baby" when he was little. Adorable.

9. I laugh so much when I am with her (especially when we go through a Wendy's drive-thru)

10. We have a lot of inside jokes and we always think they are really funny.

11. She does not highlight her hair, even though I tell her all the time that she would feel so much better if she did.

12. She is a godly woman and a very good example to me.

13. Jen is my best friend and has been for a very, very long time. I am so proud that she's my sister, even though I had nothing to do with it.

14. Jen married her "high school" sweetheart even though they parted ways for a while after high school.

15. She has been known to use a bit too much butter in recipes:)

16. She makes fantastic chicken and dumplings.

17. She is ALWAYS thinking of other people first.

18. My sister was a HUGE support while Davin was sick. Not only was she there as a sister, but since she is a nurse, I was able to ask her so many questions. She even was willing to come over the minute Davin got home from the hospital to show me how to work all of the equipment.

19. Jen saved up her own money to buy herself a bike when she was young.

20. She has a pair of yellow sandals that she calls her "happy shoes".

I do realize that is more than 13, so I will now call this, "Thirteen Thursday plus a little bit more".

My Sarah Palin Thoughts (Getting really real)

I really like Sarah Palin. I have enjoyed hearing about her and I agree with much of what she has to say. She seems strong, she seems loving and is very personable. I can not help but ponder some situations in her life right now that must feel quite overwhelming. (The nomination aside) Sarah is in the middle of three rather huge, life-changing times. I guess maybe I have been thinking so much about this, because when I have been in these three situations, it nearly took the breathe out of my lungs. I have dealt with these situations one at a time, she is in the midst of all three together and she is campaigning. Wow.

First off, SP is getting ready to say goodbye to her son as he heads off to Iraq. I can not say that I ever sent anyone to war, but I did say goodbye to my husband for 6 months at a time. Even without the war aspect, it took a huge amount of energy and time to keep up with my husband (write letters, send packages, pray). This is a huge event in the life of a family.

SP is also dealing with a huge diagnosis of her baby boy. I know that she knew about the diagnosis before his birth, but still...... it's HUGE!!! There are feelings to deal with, there are questions from people, there are initial doctor appointments, there are therapy appointments. All of these things are so burdensome, especially in the beginning when you are trying to deal with the diagnosis and your dreams of what life is supposed to be like. I remember the first year after Davin's diagnosis and I really can't put into words the amount of times that I felt crushed. It's huge and it changes many things. It is one thing to accept the diagnosis, but that is really just the beginning.

SP is also dealing with her daughter who is 17 years old and pregnant and I have heard is planning to marry her boyfriend. I have never been a mother of a pregnant daughter, but I have been the 17 year-old pregnant teen and have married my boyfriend. I can not tell you the amount of energy this crisis took. I do not know how much energy it took for my mom, but I can imagine it was a great deal. There are so many things to think through, there is the space distance. Will her daughter be far away and really need that advice from her Mom? It's such a difficult time.

As I have thought about these things in her life and how much she does represent normal life and difficult things that women go through, I can not stop and think that that is a lot on any person's plate. And then, what if you are asked to run for vice president of the United States?????? Oh my goodness.

6 Random Things About Me

I was tagged by Kristina. I do not know how to link her name in this post, so if you go to my sidebar, you can go to her sight. Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you (but I don't know how)
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. List 6 random facts about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
5. Let each person know they've been tagged by commenting on their blog
6. Let the tagger know the entry is posted on your blog


1. I am humming most all of the time. I always have some song in my head. Alot of the time it's "Bill Grogan's Goat". Did any of you sing that at camp when you were growing up??

2. I love to watch "The Office". It is so pathetic now that I am often quoting things from the show that apply to my life. It's sad. I do not watch my t.v., but like to watch this show on DVD.

3. I really like anklets. I don't wear them often, but I really like them.

4. I often do not get jokes. The other day someone asked my son if he still had his girlfriend and when he said, no, they asked what happened? Did she get glasses? For the rest of the night, I was thinking that Cheney must have said something to him before about not liking girls who wore glasses. Alan and Cheney found this very funny when it came up.

5. I used to have such a problem with worrying that I would throw up.

6. I LOVE highlights! If you don't have some, you should get some. They are fantastic!!!

I will tag Michelle, Melanie, Christine, Angie, Carla, and Kelli

A Washing Machine is a Beautiful Thing - especially if it is in your own house!

Since school has started back up, I am dedicated to working for our small construction company three mornings a week. Last year, this totally overwhelmed me. I could never get anything done in the house, it seemed and I wasn't caught up in my work, either. Thinking back to last year, I realized that for about 7 months, I guess, I did not have a functioning washing machine at my house. I would cart my laundry over to my wonderful sister's house (whom I am SO thankful for - she let me use her washing machine and NEVER made it seem like an inconvenience!) and that took me a couple of days a week to do that. Also, I was picking Davin up two days a week and taking him to PT. Before that, I had been taking him to speech two times a week for the last couple of years. This year, Davin is not attending extra therapy outside of school AND I have a washing machine that works beautifully and the best thing is, it's right in my house!!!! My stress level with working is SO much less because other things in my life are not quite as demanding of my time.

Ah, the Weekend

One of the best things about school starting is being able to enjoy the weekends in a different way. During the summer, they are sometimes not that different than any other day of the week. But, during the school year, it's so nice to be able to sleep in late (except when Rocky wakes me up early anyway) and figure out what we want to do for the day on Saturday. Today I think I may sit down and scrapbook. That is the plan anyway. A plan that is often thwarted. I have already made a batch of cookies, folded a load of laundry,fed Davin, and have a load of laundry in the washer.

First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school for both Cheney and Davin. Things seemed to go very well. Davin was a bit nervous and with good reason. This year, he is over in the high school wing of his school, he has a new teacher and he does not have his aide anymore. He has a new one. (Sobbing, sobbing) The sobbing is from me because I get so attached to the aides. It is like we have joint custody and I trust them to care for Davin for half of the day. Miss B had been with us for three years and she did such an excellent job with Davin and he ADORED her. I'm sure his new aide will be great, too, but it is a time of adjustment.

This year Cheney is president of his senior class, so he is already busy with meetings and things. I think he is excited about all of the activities he is involved with this year.

On a side note, did you all watch Sarah Palin last night? Did you see little Piper (her daughter) holding Sarah's youngest son? Oh my goodness. It was adorable enough when she was just holding him, but then she started smoothing his hair down and when that wasn't enough, she licked her hand and then smoothed his hair down some more. It was adorable!!!

Some Good Cheney Days:)

Lately Cheney and I have been having a rough road of it. Nothing terrible, just the normal tugging between a mom and her son who is 17. He is wanting to be a man and be independent and I am a bit concerned with some things in his life. I remember being nervous when Ashleigh only had a year left before college and wanting to instill as many things in her as I could. I am feeling that same way quite a bit lately.

HOWEVER, for the last three days I have had such a wonderful time with my son. We have seen each other alot in these last three days and we have talked alot, too. I am greatly encouraged by what I see in his life. I told Alan last night that it has been a while since I have had such a sweet time with Cheney boy, and it sure is nice. You know the drill. Some days are just tough as a parent. Some days are discouraging and you wonder if they will ever be all they can be. But, some days are great! Some days you see so much of their potential shining through and it does a mom's heart good. I'm really thankful for those rough days so that the good ones shine so brightly.

I have only one year left with Cheney before college. This is such an exciting time. Today we are talking about which colleges he is going to apply to. He has a list of about 6. I am hoping he will start working on the applications soon. He has begun lots of things for school although school has not started yet. I am going to enjoy this year with him.

Watch the new Charlotte's Web?? Absolutely not!!

As many of you know, I am an Awana girl. I love Awana. I think it's a fabulous program. I love serving the Lord through this venue. I generally teach in Sparkies which is K - 2nd graders. Love it, love it. So, the new Awana year is almost here and I was looking through my catalog to get my order ready. I knew they had changed some things and I would need to order some new materials. Did I mention I really like the way Awana has done things??? Okay, anyway, I was looking and looking and found everything I needed, but could not find the teaching materials. Every year I would teach The Green Meadowland Series and they went with the books the kids were working on. They had adorable characters and told a story about the fictional Sparky kids and then a Bible lesson. It had lots of visual flannel graph kind of things and again, I loved it. I could not find anything like that, so I called my friendly Awana operator. I asked if they had anything new for me to teach to go with the new book they came out with. She told me where it was and I looked. It is a little book and there are NO (sigh) visuals and no stories about Grumpella or Stephen. The woman on the phone told me that it is only Bible stories, but also has ideas for me. I explained to her that it is very hard to change. I did keep myself from screaming out that I didn't want them to change it and what in the world happened to Grumpella!!

After I got off the phone, I did the next logical thing. I called my sister and explained this terrible tragedy in my life (I am really exaggerating, but you get the point). She knows how I am about changing things and told me that this would be a perfect time for me to sit down and watch the new Charlotte's Web! I told her that I would never do that because the old one is so good and there was no reason for a new one. I am the same way with Willy Wonka. I do not want to watch the new one. Are you crazy? I asked my sister why people would need to change things when they are really perfectly fine and even excellent the way they are. My sister is not afraid of change and just explained to me that sometimes you need a change:) Oh, Jen!!

So, I have two choices. I can teach the old lessons or move on with the new lessons. Probably because I could vent to my sister, I will be able to move on and teach the new stuff and probably because Awana's materials are so excellent, it will probably be really good. For now, though, I am missing Grumpella.

Oh The Things Neurologists Say...

"He has cerebral palsy...any questions???"

That was my first experience with a pediatric neurologist. When Davin was one day shy of 7 months old, he saw his first neurologist and after checking Davin out and saying, "good, good, good" over and over again, he blurted out the comment above. You can imagine how I left that appointment. Not one of my better days. I was terrified to ever go back to a neurologist. I never made another appointment until my pediatrician or someone insisted that I needed to. For one appointment, I could not even make myself go. I had to make Alan go for me. It was just too hard. The neurologist crushed my world and I just couldn't stand going there and giving him the ability to crush my world again. It took me years to get over this.

Yesterday Davin had a neurologist appointment. I slept well the night before. I wasn't sick to my stomach. I hardly thought about it at all, except to figure out how I would be getting Cheney where he needed to be and how and when Davin could get to therapy. That's pretty cool. God has brought me a LONG way. To think back to the anxiety I had in those first years and then to walk in with no nervousness is a blessing. And to top everything off, the neurologist had some nice words for me. We had been there a while and she was checking Davin out and looked at his belly and saw that he does not have a g-tube. She said, "You really have done a good job with him. You really have."

I have to tell you that hearing those words was much nicer than that first appointment in June of 1993.

In Training

I have been so totally challenged lately concerning my walk with Christ. I feel Him pulling me closer and deeper in my relationship with Him and expecting more of me. (He may have been doing this all along, but I am just now listening.) God began tugging on my heart a while ago and everywhere I go, it seems that I am reminded of my walk and what I can do to be a more devoted follower of my Lord and Savior.

I have been watching Michael Phelps and his swimming. He has spent so much time training. He has been so dedicated and driven to accomplish his goal. As he has gotten farther and farther, his goals became bigger and bigger. What if I do this? What if I go into serious training as a disciple? What if I spend hours and hours every day reading God's word, spending time talking to Him, and listening to what He has for me? What would my walk look like then? I am running a race, so why am I not training harder?


1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. they do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Big Day for Cheney oh, and I'm Back From Vacation;)

I am back from vacation! Isn't it nice that I could go away for such a looooooong time. Just kidding. We were gone a bit over a week and it was very nice. We really enjoyed Atlanta, GA and I do hope to be able to post some of our pictures, but you know I am not the swiftest at that....

Today was a milestone in Cheney Boy's life. It was a day that he has thought about and hoped for for a long time. He took his driver's test today......and he PASSED!!! I must say that I am hoping I did not show the shock on my face that I felt in my heart when I asked the instructor if he passed and he replied, "yes". It has been interesting to see each of my kids learn to drive and see how some are so natural at it and others are not. I will not say which kid is which. Anyway, we took his test, went to the DMV, got the actual license with the serious as can be face of my son on it, and were done 45 minutes after our appointment. Plus, the test and the DMV are NOT at the same place. I do not know what the DMV has done to streamline things, but every time I go in there lately, I am expecting a few hours like it used to be and they have me in and out in no time. Mad props for the DMV of NJ!!

Let me see, other happenings in our household since I last posted. This may sound awful and lazy, maybe, too, but for the last two weeks I have not had a car because Bethany's is broken and she needs to use mine for her jobs. So, I am "stuck" at home with no way to go anywhere and I have been LOVING it! Davin and I get his exercises done, we get things cleaned in the house which have been left undone for so long because of my busy schedule with working, etc. It has been fabulous. Several days, we took naps just because we could;)

I have always known that I enjoyed being a homemaker, but after a long stint of working and running myself ragged, I am so at peace being at home in my house and working on things and being here when my kids get home from jobs, etc. It is just what I am called to do. Even though my kids are getting pretty old, I so enjoy having dinner ready for them, having a treat made (which I was never having time to do) and listening to them when they wanted to talk. It's pretty cool to listen to your 21 year-old share her dreams and hopes when she gets home from work. It's nice to be able to ask Cheney how his day was and hear him groan when I tell him I am making something he doesn't like for dinner;)...okay not everything can be peachy. I may be of a strange breed that likes to be stuck at home, but I just don't see it that way. I feel so privileged to be home for these weeks and be able to serve my family and rest my mind and body.

Thank you Lord for giving us exactly what we need when we need it.

Vacation!!!

Vacation! I sooo look forward to going on vacation. I love the packing, the dreaming of what we will do when we get there, all of it. However, before you can go on vacation, there are so many things to do that it is hard to fit everything in. We leave tomorrow to head to North Carolina and then onto Atlanta, Georgia. Just a few hours left to get everything done, but I am sure somehow we will get it together before rolling out in the morning.

Ever since Alan started his own business, it seemed we really had an even greater need for taking some time off and getting away. Having your own business means hours and hours of work and sometimes it never leaves your mind. We have had a change in our lives lately, though. A few weeks ago, Alan was offered a job back in the area that he used to work in. He decided to take the job as our lives had gotten very difficult financially and we knew that a different job would make it easier on everyone financially. So, he has been working at the new job for about three weeks. He still has much to do with our business, though, and he is teaching me to take over some things, as well. I wrote a long post about the transition, but haven't been ready to share it yet. It was an emotional time to watch the man I love leave a business that he has nurtured for four and a half years. It had always been Alan's dream to have his own business and it was even better for him to have his family employed and be able to provide for them.

This vacation will be different this year because we only have three children going with us. I keep finding myself thinking about what Ashleigh will want to do when we are away and then I realize she will be here in her little house taking care of her new husband. Just the way things should be.

Have a good week next week everyone!

"Duffers for Davin"

I have had a bit of an absence once again from blogging. This time it was due to a little golf tournament called Duffers for Davin. 7 years ago, our Pastor at the time in NY started a golf tournament to raise money for Davin to go to special therapy that insurance doesn't cover and is very expensive, but very productive. 7 years later, it is still going strong, it is just not in NY, but in NJ. Yesterday was the 7th annual NJ Duffers for Davin and it was a great day! We had over 110 golfers and everyone seemed to have a great time. It is always such a big day for our family and of course, takes a lot of time and dedication to get it put together in the first place. We had a great committee who all worked so hard for the last six months. This golf tournament has provided all of the money for Davin's therapy and this year I am even more thankful than ever before. This year, while watching Davin be still and lose so much muscle mass, I knew that there were the golfers and sponsors that stood behind us and would enable Davin to get the therapy he needs to get back on track. It is truly a humbly experience to have so many people involved in our lives year after year. There are people who faithfully come to the tournament year after year. Thank you everyone!

News Flash! Boys Growing Way Too Fast

Okay, I have been doing pretty good with the fact that I have ADULT daughters. Yes, Ashleigh is now happily married and Bethany just finished up her junior year of college and will soon turn the big 21!!! I still had my little boys to focus on. They still need me for lots of things. There are still lots of school things to do and papers to sign and schedules to figure out. I could feel good about still having my 2 boys at home. I was NOT however ready for what has been happening now. Cheney's school just had their senior class graduation last night. That means that Cheney boy is officially a SENIOR!!! When did this happen? How could this be? To add insult to my injury, I just recently learned that Davin has been in 9th grade ALL year long! I thought we were keeping him in 8th grade this year and somehow that had made me feel much better. He was still in junior high. I still had years to go before he would be graduating. I know you all have your mouths open wondering how I could have missed such a big thing as knowing Davin's grade. I admit that occassionally (and sometimes more often) I miss some details. However, with the kids I am pretty on top of things. Last year at Davin's IEP, we decided to keep Davin in 8th grade for one more year since he can stay in school until he is 21. No one told me that had changed. So, all year I think he's in 8th grade with just really large junior highers. There is no sign that says what grade the classroom is at Davin's school, so I just go on in my little 8th grade bubble. Now here I am, with a senior and 9th grader. I am a bit shocked that this part of Cheney's life is almost completed.

I have to say that I am so thankful to God for allowing me the honor of raising these children. I am thankful for all of the lessons that He has taught me through this child and parent relationship. I have learned so much about his unconditional love and mercy through raising my kids. I am thankful for even the hard parenting moments when I think that nothing is working. I know that God has had those feelings with me. Will she ever learn? Will she ever rest in who she is in me?

I guess it's okay to have older kids. There is always something new to learn and to teach at each stage of their lives.

I Found It!

This is a picture from the Murder Mystery Dinner we did at my church in NY. The Bethany that you all know and love has a lovely look ;) on her face and is all the way to the left and my daughter, Ashleigh is right next to her. They looked so cute with these elephant ears. I don't remember why they were elephants, except that the theme was "circus". The whole concept of this mystery dinner was great. It was based on a Bible character and you tried to figure out who is was. However, in reality it was very confusing and probably the best thing about the night was the costumes and food we ate. It still made for nice memories!

Bethany, while I was looking for this picture, I found MANY more pictures of you, so I will be sharing some of those later!!

Boring Blogger

As much as I love going on my blog and catching up with all of my blogger friends, I am usually at a loss of what to write. That comes as a surprise to me since creative writing was one of my favorite things to do in school. I will have to get a bit more creative!!

Tonight we will go to youth group. Now that Awana is over for the school year, we head back into Wed. nights with the youth group. Boy is it a tough transition for me. Last week went a bit better, but the week before, I was really struggling. Although I enjoy both ages, younger kids is probably more of my comfort zone. The bigger kids can overwhelm me when there are large groups of them. Plus, I am not a "large group" person, so that increases my anxiety of it all. Last week did go better, though, and I am thankful for that.

In the meantime, Alan and I have been praying and praying about some decisions, but the Lord has said WAIT. That is a difficult thing. It seems that we have been waiting for quite a few years now, but God knows. He knows what our needs are and He knows what is best for us. So, we will keep praying and waiting upon Him and His perfect timing. It sure is hard when His timing is so different from mine;) Another lesson...

Busy, Busy Weekend

This holiday weekend was filled with tons of business, and definitely lots of cooking. One of Ashleigh's friends was turning 21 on Saturday, so Ashleigh and her other friend had planned a surprise murder mystery dinner. Alan and I and our siblings and their spouses had done a murder mystery dinner when Ashleigh was little and I think she has very fond memories from that, so it seemed like a great idea to celebrate Rachael's 21 birthday! And it was. We spent much of the day on Saturday cooking lots and lots of lasagna and chicken alfredo. We also made this awesome garlic bread that all of my kids love. We also got out the chocolate fountain that I had bought for Ashleigh's bridal shower and cut up fruit and stuff to dip in it. That is always so yummy!!! The dinner was so much fun, but I am afraid we mostly forgot to eat. There was so much to think about and remember and there were questions that we needed to ask other characters! It was a blast and Ashleigh and Kendra did such a good job thinking of everything. This picture shows me threatening to reveal some secrets that the maid had been keeping...

On Monday we had some of our family over and had a cookout. Memorial Day is such a great time to stop and think about the huge sacrifice made by so many. I am proud that my grandfather, my father-in-law and husband have all served their country in the armed forces.

It was a great weekend, although the Chapmans are on my mind so often. I keep thinking of their huge loss and also how they are ministering to their son. I think having teenage drivers in the house has connected me to that part of the situation. It happens in the blink of an eye. Keep praying for this family.

I hope you all had a great weekend!!

Basement Cleaning is Yucky

My big job for the last couple of weeks has been to get the basement clean and organized. So, today since I am home for the whole day, I am hopeful to get the majority of it done. Bethany has organized all of her part and so I am encouraged that I can do the same. However, I really HATE basements. As a general rule, when we look for a new house, which we have done countless times over the last 23 years, I don't even go into the basement. I just don't like them. I don't want to be in them and I really hate to clean them. But, we live in a pretty small house and need the space in our basement for storage, etc. So, I am off to clean some more after I feed Davin some lunch. That will be a nice break.

Moms

I was riding home from church yesterday and thinking about my Mom since it was Mother's Day. I was thinking of some of the ways that she has inspired my life. I was truly blessed with a great mother. She never made mothering look hard and she always seemed on top of things. I always knew she was a good mom and I have always appreciated the example she set before me.

Five years ago, that was taken to a much different level. Five years ago, last month, my Dad suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and nearly lost his life. By God's grace, his life was spared, but he had to learn EVERYTHING over again. He could not walk by himself, shave, eat, and many of his words got very confused. My Mom became less of a wife and more of a caretaker. I have watched her for five years be exactly what my Dad has needed her to be. Sometimes that was different things and she always rose to the challenge. Did she have discouraging days? Yes, but she continued on. Could she have made different choices that would have made her life easier? Yes, but she didn't. She chose to do what Christ would do and I am so thankful for the example she has been to me.

Things are so much better for my parents now and we rejoice continuously over what God has done for our family. Even five years later, we still see improvements and it is so fun to watch. My Mom has been an incredible example of patience.

Thanks Mom.

What a Week, What a Week

I knew right off the bat that this week would be busy and it has been! On Sunday night, we had our Awards Night for AWANA and I was able to hand out many awards to my adorable Sparkies! They did such a great job and it is always amazing to me how much scripture they can memorize. It was a fun year. On Wednesday, we had our Awana Fun Fair! It was so exciting, but there are many, many details required to get that together and when we finally left the church around 10:30 pm, I was very ready to go home! We did have so much fun, though. Yesterday Davin had an EEG to see if he still has seizure activity since he has not had a seizure for over four years. Praise God! Today I will drop Cheney off, go to PBU and help Bethany pack up her room and move back home from the summer. It is so hard to believe she will finish up her third year of college. Yeah Bethany! We will rush back, unload the car and get Cheney ready for his junior/senior formal (prom) tonight. Whew! (Oh, I almost forgot that in the meantime, Ashleigh will come and get Davin off the bus and pick Cheney up. I am very thankful for helpful kids.) I am a little bit tired from it all, but it has been an exciting week with lots of good things in it.

I have missed all of my blogger friends while I have been absent. I think my busy season is about to end, so I should be back much more often! Martha, Kristina, and Tracy, thank you for visiting me in Facebook land:)