Totally Lovin'

-- the new sound booth at our church! Instead of having this big square out in the middle of the sanctuary they converted a storage room that connected to the back of the room and it is awesome! Well done men who did so much work so quickly and farewell ark on the wall that will soon be painted over.


-- going to the library! I am a card carrying member of no less than four different libraries in three counties (although now you really don't need separate cards with the MI Card system). We go regularly to the North Branch Public Library, Lapeer Public Library, and Rochester Hills Public Library plus I belong to the Flint Public Library. Since we don't have any activities going on in Flint at the moment I haven't been using that one much but when Alex and the boys were heavily involved in music and theater at the Flint Cultural Center we spent many hours a week perusing the books, enjoying movies and spending time on the computers.

This is a stock photo of the Rochester Hills Public Library in a warmer season.


-- inspired writings by Ben.

Metaphor Me
I am an egg because I am gentle.
I am a Smartie because I am smart.
I am a shrimp because I am short.
I am lightning because I am so fast.
I am a river because I go with the flow.
I am a train because I am so loud sometimes.
I am a Wii because I like to try new things.



And I'll close with a Friday Fill-In
1. Pickles make sandwiches more fun.
2. I sleep the best at home.
3. The snow is lovely but quite unnecessary.
4. Cures for everything can be found in nature.
5. It's 5:16 PM; that means time to figure out what's for dinner.
6. Peace of mind is hard to find (or more so, keep).
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a good rest after a fabulous dinner of Brazilian Chicken Cutlets with raw tropical sauce & couscous (from Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book - Delish), tomorrow my plans include Valentine's fun hosted by my brother at my mom's house and Sunday, I want to have more Valentine's fun with mom and the boys. We're all going to go to her church and we have some more of our songs to sing for her, (& other surprises planned)!

Whatcha Gonna Blog

Friday Fill-In

1. The lesson I learned yesterday was that people have vastly different advice on how to chill out.
2. Hospitals are a place where friends and family meet.
3. All these years and still I've got more to learn.
4. I like to know what I'm walking into when I arrived.
5. The truth is sometimes you never know.
6. The sky's color is what I remember most from that day.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to chillin' @ home, tomorrow my plans include checking in on the moms and Sunday, I want to go to church and watch 24:Day 8 Premiere!

Gettin' stoopid at the bus stop!

TGIF, Y'all

FRIDAY FILL-IN

1. We need a new groove.

2. The kids had a great time singing and it made me smile.

3. If you want my honest opinion I'll give it to you.

4. Sing it because you love it.

5. Massachusetts has a proposed 5% sales tax on elective cosmetic surgery; I think I really don't care.

6. Spiked EggNog makes for a happy holiday.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Kids Fellowship (dinner & a movie), tomorrow my plans include seeing Alex in "Murder in the House of Horrors" at NBHS and Sunday, I want to kick back and hear a good word from Alfonso Vargas!

Updates......

Substituting: Did 2 half days this week, one for the Art teacher, had three Kindergarten classes that worked on a project to go along with Eric Carle's "Pancake, Pancake" book, they cut out a pan, pancakes and butter and glued the food on the pan. Fun times. Today I was in for one of the elementary music teachers, did 5th grade woodwinds at the Ruth Fox then back to the lower elementary for Ethan's 3rd grade class (we had a blast singing patriotic songs) and two 4th grade classes that were doing a lesson on quarter and eighth notes. Kinda dull, I wanted to do some movement games with them but they were taking to long to settle down so we didn't get to it.

NaNoWriMo: I'm only up to 6,000 words and the month is slipping away quickly. I've had the most luck when I go somewhere and sit with my notebook and write long hand as opposed to sitting and writing at my computer. The rate I'm going I may not win this year but you never know I may have a wave of inspiration before month end.

Conferences: Today I snuck in conferences with Ethan's and Ben's teachers. They both had good reports overall. Ethan is right on track with his reading scoring a 3.4 which is right where he should be, spelling is improving, and she said for the most part he is good and attentive in class. I also found out a little bit more about how the AR testing works. Ben is in a very challenging class and the teachers are really trying to make to best of their situation. Because they had several kids move, leaving them with a smaller class size, when new kids came in at the beginning of the year they got stuck with them and many came with 'issues.' So they are overloaded with "high-maintainence" students. Ben is slightly behind in reading, placing at a 3.8 which is end of third grade level although he is in 4th grade. They said this is nothing to be too concerned with but he should be encouraged to read some more advanced books. Also, he can be a little spacey, not going to the bathroom when a break is offered and then 20 minutes later going up and asking if he can go. This can be most irritating as an instructor and we will have a discussion about it. But generally he is pretty quiet in class and likes to keep to himself and not work in pairs or groups. This is very different from how he acts at home, loud, talkative, bossy, and explosive at times. Hmmmm. Guess he saves it all up for the ones who know him best.

Fill 'er In, it's Friday!

1. Plans and schedules are made to be changed.

2. I'm happy when things fall into place naturally.

3. The last thing I drank was instant coffee with French Vanilla creamer.

4. One of the most valuable things in my life is my health.

5. I like pretty much everything on my pizza.

6. Dear November, how odd you are.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to makin’ bank, tomorrow my plans include a movie with the moms and Sunday, I want to rejoice as the kids choir ministers “God Will Be Exalted”!

Updates: I did a floating day on Tuesday at the elementary, started with a first grade, busy bunch but worked relatively well, then I went into Ethan's 3rd grade class for a short time and lastly I did a 2nd grade room, we worked on updating their science journals, they're growing seeds in bags, plus we had recess, time went pretty quickly. No major problems or disturbances in any class or maybe my tolerance is growing. Today I'll be in a 2nd grade room all day since Ms. Jen did not need me at the office today since they are all caught up on their duplicating and copying for the week. Also, I realized on my last check that I got paid more for a couple of the jobs I took, not sure why, but I'll just call me blessed and bank it!

Speaking of blessed: this finally arrived at our house this week. My dad bequeathed it to us a while ago but Rob had it 'stored' at the shop AND as a family Christmas gift my dad is hooking us up with Direct TV, installation should commence later this month.

What's up with the kids? Everyone is doing well although Ben is still experiencing some frustration in his classroom due to some unruly kids causing the entire class to be punished ie: don't get down to lunch on time or miss out on recess. I'm going to talk with the teachers about this at conferences which are coming up soon. Fox is rockin' and rollin' still holding all As and an A+ in Math and SeminAR. Ethan is getting a groove on with his spelling but needs to take more time with his AR tests, he's not always scoring high enough for his points to count. Alex is working diligently to keep up with her 'creative writing' assignments, we use the term loosely since the teacher still hasn't gotten a grip on what the word creative means, for their final assignment they're putting together a memoir. Alex used several poems in hers just to use some creativity. Good for her. She got another 85% on her second Philosophy quiz so she'll probably end of with a B in that class. The play goes into final production next week and performances start Thursday. Wooo.

Fill-In

for Friday

1. Speak now or forever hold your pee!
2. If I ever get everything accomplished in a day I intend to I will either pass out or celebrate, depending on the day.
3. Sticks and stones can do serious damage to windows.
4. My favorite type of cake is white with LOTS of sweet frosting!
5. Maybe now I can sleep better.
6. One for the money, two for the show.
7. As for the weekend, tonight I'm going to attempt to make a Pineapple Upside-down cake for Rob's birthday, tomorrow I need to RECYCLE! and celebrate Rob's birthday, and Sunday I have a sound rehearsal after service with the kids choir in preparation for takin' it to the masses next week!




Updates: I picked up an afternoon yestesday in the 1st grade I was in before (Ben's old teacher). One of the med boys did not have a good end of the day. He went beserk for a minute running around the class, throwing open cupboards and drawers, going in the bathroom and yanking out the paper toweling and stuffing it in his mouth, running around the class punching boys in the chest then running back to them and hugging them. It got really weird for a minute. I got him settled and had to stay right by him and literally lay hands on him to guide him out of trouble. I put his coat on him, set him in the chair and stood behind him with a hand grabbing onto his jacket to keep him there while we watched a quick Pink Panther toon for the last few minutes of the day. He calmed down as we all watched then held my hand all the way out to the bus. Yikes. After dismissal, I spoke to a teacher that works with him. She said he's actually greatly improved from where he was last year wherein he would literally take off running out of the class where ever he decided to go, inside or out. Again, I can't emphasis, teachers are not paid enough.
--

Impulsively I made a phone call to the realtor listed on the sign in front of the old school house. At first she couldn't find anything but then later called me back. It was listed under vacant property, with a $49,900 asking price and land contract terms. The building is 1,920 sq.ft. that's all the info I have from her message. I would love to, by some miracle from God or Oprah Winfrey, buy and restore the school and use it as an art center, to host a community children's choir, visual art classes, yoga, and creative movement classes for super cheap or free. I did a quick google search about restoration grants but didn't delve to far into it yet. The realtor mentioned a grant option also. Hey, maybe I'll write a letter to Oprah for one of her secret blessing shows......
--
NaNoWriMo is off to a rather slow and fizzling start for me. I'm only at 2,101 words so far. I just haven't had the gumption to coffee up and stay up half the night, the time change has been hard on me this year. We've all been hitting the hay by 9pm around here. Odd. And my days have been really chopped up this week with subbing and appointments. I am however hopeful that an energetic burst is forthcoming. I like my story concept and have been thinking about it alot, mentally planning out options. So far I haven't named my characters, refering to them only with pronouns, eventually names will be assigned but not sure exactly how or when. Trying to keep some mystery unfolding as the story progresses.
--

Blessing in progress. A very dear friend recently offered to 'help' keep Ethan in gymnastics. I am extremely touched. We haven't talked specifically about it yet since the offer was made via internet but I'll keep you posted. Having some time to adjust to being in school full time was definately prudent and it has been nice not to commute down to Rochester in the evenings. Plus with soccer and cross-country, it would have been virtually impossible. But 'E' is definately missing it and he needs a physical outlet more than the other boys seem to. He is such a monkey! Plus the older boys miss hanging out with Gramma and Grandpa and our regular stops at the Rochester Hills Public Library.
--

Have a happy weekend everybody!

Looks like it's going to be a crisp one.

Umbrellas - Victorious

Originally I planned to take Fox up to Caro myself, but about a half hour before we needed to leave he said he'd like it if Dad and I were there for his last meet. This meant Ben and Ethan had to come to because Alex was at the school for a play workday. So, we all loaded up and headed out to Caro on a dark, rainy late morning. The high school runners got lucky and the rain stopped for their race. During the JV run it started up again. The team was huddling together under an umbrella one of the team moms had while they waited for their race to start. They had it on the schedule that middle school boys and girls would run separately but thankfully they let them run together. It was windy and cold. The kids were waiting until the very last minute to take off their layers. As you looked out over the crowd it was just a sea of umbrellas. The schools all have a canopy they set up too and people were hanging under those. Ben and Ethan occupied themselves by wrestling around and creating games from sticks and pinecones.

Finally middle school ran. Fox got off to a good start since NB had the side block and they all could get a good hustle to the center of the pack. He kept up a good pace, there were a couple minor hills but most of the route was relatively flat (Caro Golf Course). When I picked him up from practice yesterday he said he felt a lot stronger out running the 1.9 miles during practice even after two days off, Wednesday the team had a pizza party, Thursday he had some teeth extracted after school. Today he seemed ready to go if nothing other than to get it over with, get home, get warm, and play some Dungeons & Dragons with his brothers and dad. We didn't get his official time but from what coach clocked he was just under 17 minutes somewhere. Wow, talk about an improvement, his first race he did the 2 miles in a little over 23 minutes. Knocked it down 6 minutes! I'm impressed. Well done.

FRIDAY FILL-IN(one day late)
--
1. So are we going to get this party started!?
2. A crazy month of NaNoWriMo is what's up ahead.
3. I love to sing in the choir.
4. I need a witty catchphrase of some sort.
5. I walk a mile in my shoes everyday.
6. Dark chocolate is the true elixir of life!
7. And as for the weekend, tomorrow I'm heading down to Utica to the Fisherman's Net church to see some friends of mine that are in from Kansas City and ministering during the 10am service.

Ecstatic!

It's official, Alexandra has been accepted to Grand Valley State University. I got the letter when I returned home from helping at the Pastors Luncheon yesterday and promptly called her on her cell phone since the kids had just gotten out of school and caught her before she went in for call-backs. She was so thrilled she cried tears of joy. She has also gotten a sealed copy of her transcripts and will proceed with the free admission offer for UofM Flint next week but this is definitely her first choice. Now the fun will begin trying to procure funding, but I'm confident things will come together. She'll find out today if she got the part she wanted in the murder-mystery play and after school will be the first read-thru.

--

Rob had a great week at work as well, selling three motors that were shipped in error. He figured before he just sent them back to Italy he'd try to sell them so he sent out an email and got a bite, I believe they are going to a shop in Venezuela. Next week Mr. Rob Goes to Washington for a service call, originally he wanted me to come with him and while I appreciate the offer and gesture it just isn't feasible for me to be gone while the kids are in school and have so many activities going on, maybe another time. Venezuela would be cool.

--

I have another job possibility simmering, not going to give details at the moment, but please think good thoughts, send positive energy, pray, or whatever your fancy that developments unfold as they should. If Rob and I could both be receiving a regular weekly check we'd almost be living like real people! ;-)

--

Ben had another great game yesterday and it looks like the Blue Dragons are a go to participate in the tournament October 10 & 11. Everybody, however, is ready for the weekend!

FRIDAY FILL-IN

1. My car is named Goldie, she’s not the prettiest in the lot but she still gets me where I need to go.

2. More amazing opportunities are coming up next.

3. Lately, things seem better.

4. My back deck is one of my favorite 'hiding' places.

5. What happened to excellence in customer service or just plain decency toward each other?

6. Having it all is not impossible! (just make sure you want it all)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to no games or meets or practices, tomorrow my plans include house chores and Sunday, I want to rehearse, relax & refresh!

in my defense *

I just wanted to present a quick defense about my recent obessession with the 24 series. Since about April we have not had any television in the house AT ALL. So we do not watch any regular programming the only stuff we watch are shows on dvd from Netflix. The fact that I have nothing else to watch has probably compounded my attraction to it. I suppose there are worse things I could watch, trust me I know, I write the description of tv shows on dvd for income. Lately I have been investigating getting Dish Network installed but I'm just not ready to take on more expenses right now, soon though, soon.

Getting a jump on the Friday Fill-In

1. I remember when life was less complicated.

2. Dear Brother, I want you to know you never cease to amaze me.

3. Is that my problem?

4. I'm trying to resist the temptation of stopping and buying a fountain drink since I already bought a coffee earlier.

5. I'm saving a seat just for you.

6. If I made a birthday list a new laptop would definately be on it!

7. As for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to having a LOT of writing work done, tomorrow my plans include hopefully going to cousin Sarah's BBQ, and Sunday, I want to finish the bulletin board at church.

Steady as she goes ---

1. Campfires & fresh cut grass are my favorite summertime aromas.
2. My favorite John Hughes movies are ‘Mr. Mom,’ ‘Breakfast Club,’ and ‘Weird Science.’
3. A rose petal is something I love to touch.
4. The full moon has been so bright that last couple nights.
5. Let’s be nicer to each other right now.
6. When daylight fades slumber begins.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dropping Ethan off at his first sleepover birthday party, tomorrow my plans include a Parton Family Reunion and Sunday, is Alexandra’s 17th birthday!

Yesterday evening we attended the last free concert by my mom's house. It was fabulous as expected, and for an extra bonus my Aunt Denise showed up with her two grandbabies, Fabien & Dale (his real name is James but they call him Dale). The boys had a great time playing with balloons and we all got a kick out of watching two little girls dance their hearts out, oh if only we still had that abandoned, to just dance and not care who is watching. This time I tried to take some snaps of all the different dogs that people brought with them, such a variety, I barely scratched the surface.

Before dinner I took a quick ride on the bike as I usually do when I'm over there, manned with my camera, went by the abandoned mansion again but drat, this time things were locked up tight. I did however take a picture of where Fox is hoping to go to high school, Grosse Pointe South, isn't it a beautiful structure, looks like a college!

Other highlights from the week:

getting my office almost completely organized

a motherload of fresh bush beans ripe for pickin'

several successful spelling lessons

going a few rounds with the teenager

working on getting Senior pictures scheduled

following up on a lead to edit a screeplay

Have a great weekend everybody!

The End (Lennon/McCartney)

1. I love Jack Bauer!

2. Fruit smoothies & granola are foods I love to eat for breakfast.

3. It seems I'm always searching for Ethan’s shoes whenever we have to go somewhere.

4. Watching 24 episodes with commentary is a great way to end the day.

5. I think I am a little obsessed with a certain television drama!

6. Crab legs dipped in butter is what I've been craving lately.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching disc 3 of 24: Season 7, tomorrow my plans include blowing off the film school open house and Sunday, I want to go to church, hear some awesome special music by my own Ms. Alex & stay for a VBS meeting!

all the pictures of the boys are at the community pool, the black & white is Alex's self portrait in the car rear view mirror (kinda cool), the self snap of me was a sneaky way to get a shot of my mom chillin' poolside (see her in the background), and the bottom is Ms. Brulee after her appointment

Got up fairly early today, well, early for me, showered, rounded up the troops for a quick house straightening, then loaded everyone up and motored down to Grosse Pointe to my mom's house. I did a full clean on her house while Alexandra worked on her hi-speed pulling entries for me, and the boys assisted gramma outside with some garden chores. After everyone completed those tasks we had some lunch then went over to the pool for a quick dip. Aaaah. Felt good. Next we stopped at the groomer and picked up Ms. Brulee who looked fabulous with her new cut and bow. Back at the house the boys chilled and watched some Disney shows while I took mom's bike out for a ride. My wunderlust and delinquent nature got the best of me as I started snooping around some abandoned houses in the area. One in particular that I have always been intrigued by I stopped to check out and found to my delight that a side door was open! I couldn't resist and ventured in. Oh my goodness this place was huge, I almost got lost in there. It had a master kitchen, prep kitchen, a double sided fridge/freezer deal (like you could open it from two different rooms), a courtyard at the center of the house with a fountain, a living room that was probably the square footage of my whole house, 10 bathrooms, 6 bedrooms and each one had another attached walk-in closet with drawers, shelves, & cabinets built in, there was a large regular staircase and another servants staircase, an attached garage, with another room above that (although I didn't find my way into it). I don't even think I made it into all the parts of the house because I was afraid of getting caught I didn't want to start opening doors and making noise so I just quietly toured and made a quick getaway. Got back to mom's and googled the address. Found an old realtor listing (there is no sign out front at present) that stated it was 9500 sq. ft., was owned by a doctor, had a list price of a mere $850,000 (I'm sure a fraction of what it was going for in its heyday) and a yearly tax bill of over $25,000. It appears as though it has been empty for some time and there are structural issues definately but it was just a cool little escapade. I wanna go back and snoop around some more - wish I had the camera with me, maybe next time.....

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Lennon/McCartney)

1. Losing a job is not the end of the world.
2. Catch Me If You Can-Screenplay is the book I'm reading right now.
3. Fresh berries taste so good!
4. Sometimes, putting others first is necessary; other times futile.
5. Take time to think it over.
6. Well, maybe there is a solution I haven’t thought of yet.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a date night, tomorrow my plans include writing TVonDVD entries and Sunday, I want to chill-ax and hopefully do some house projects.



The boys are going to a Tiger game today with Uncle James and Grandpa Q. It's their annual summer boy bonding time. Last year they went to Chicago for the game but today they will be at Comerica Park. Looks like a great day for baseball!


OH! Laaaa, la, la, la, life goes on......

And Your Bird Can Sing (Lennon/McCartney)

Yesterday was mellow. I am loving this current weather, this is my kind of summer. Not hot, just sunny with a little breeze. The boys had their last swim lesson of the week. I am amazed at the improvements they've made since three summers ago. All have gained great confidence in the water. Fox is doing well working on the different back strokes, and has a strong front crawl. Ben and Ethan are in a class together and are the strongest in the group, albiet this is the second time Ethan took the class and Ben's third. I think passing is imminent.

In the afternoon I dropped Alex off at work then drove over to my mom's house to check out one of the free concerts in the the plaza. The leader of the group, Ron Kischuk was one of my instructors when I went to Oakland University, he taught a Business of Music class. He's quite a cut-up and a proficient trombonist as well. Good times. I just love hanging out and listening to jazz. Big Band, blusey stuff is really my ultimate fav. Vocal jazz really isn't too much my thing, although they had a wonderful singer, Jeannine Miller featured last night, even if the selections were rather mellow for my taste. Ethan was goofing around with the camera with me and actually took several that I used on the collage today. It was nearly midnight by the time we got home.

Still haven't been successful getting a snap of Alex in her Burger King clothes. So far this is the best I've gotten. This leads me to offer a challenge, anyone who can get a picture of her working at the back window with her smiling face showing, I'll buy them a Hershey Pie. Yum!

Friday Fill-In

1. Today is everything it is going to be.

2. Black and white and read all over.

3. Sometimes you just have to punt.

4. And if I told you once, I told you a thousand times, if you got it out then put it away!

5. French Vanilla, Peppermint, and Mocha are the best flavors for coffee.

6. North Branch is the closest town to my house (and it doesn't have a stoplight).

7. As for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to shopping and working, tomorrow my plans include a family birthday party and seeing an old friend from high school, and Sunday I want to see a new roof on my house and stop by Pastor and Diana's Good-bye Celebration.

Nowhere Man (Lennon/McCartney)

FRIDAY FILL-IN
1. It seems the world has settled into a slower pace.
2. Prosperity and restoration are in our future.
3. I am glad to have friends from many faiths.
4. July is usually much hotter.
5. Ever try mixing toilet bowl cleaner and cleanser?
6. On your mark, get set, BAKE!!
7. As for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to nothing really, tomorrow my plans include hoping my mom is discharged from the hospital on schedule, and Sunday, I want to go to church for the first time in a couple weeks.


Where am I going today....nowhere, man!

Maxwell's Silver Hammer (Lennon/McCartney)

Well my ‘vacation’ week certainly turned out to be interesting. With the boys away I thought it would be laid back, relaxing, productive, rejuvenating, but it didn’t quite pan out as I expected. Going under the guise that “everything happens for a reason” I suppose events worked out as they should even if it was a somewhat emotional roller coaster. It was good I could stay an extra day with my mother and be a buffer for her and my brother. It was also beneficial to be able to work on her hi-speed computer which helped me complete my editing work on time. I anticipated getting a lot more decluttering, organizing and cleaning done around the house but decided to cut my losses in some areas and save it for later. I did get the boys’ bathroom deep cleaned as well as giving their room a good going over (gotta clear out those little goodies under the beds and dressers every now and again). The rest of the house got a decent general cleaning but I still need to conquer once and for all my office and our second kitchen which is basically a big storage area for deal-with-later items. The weather was rather inclement this week so I didn’t really get out walking or riding other than one day at my mother’s. But the hammer dropped with the third phone conversation regarding the dating wannabes. Blame it on hormones maybe but I’m afraid my intensely presented satya (truthfulness) may not have helped matters and has brought my state of ahimsa (nonviolence) into serious jeopardy. Today I’m heading up to Port Austin to pick up the boys and I really hope we can have a fun time at the fireworks together as a family.

Friday Fill-In

1. When I heard Michael Jackson was dead I thought it was a hoax at first.

2. A merry heart is the best medicine.

3. It's late, but hopefully never too late.

4. Stay true to your heart always.

5. My eyes have seen far too many 24 episodes lately.

6. Sometimes I feel things to strongly.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to having the boys back home again, tomorrow my plans include seeing the fireworks with the family and Sunday, I want to celebrate Ethan’s 8th birthday!

Friday Again!

1. When I'm sick I'm usually not down for long.
2. When I take a walk, I think about as little as possible.
3. Money can't buy happiness but it can make things more interesting.
4. Cotton makes me cool and leather makes me hot.
5. The strangest person/character I've had lewd thoughts about was … hmm, I think I’d rather not say.
6. My favorite color these days is purple because it’s deep, rich, vibrant, and I look nice in it.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to hangin’ at the homestead, tomorrow my plans include my brother’s blow-out Deck Party and Sunday, I want to recover from the party and chill!

I took these shots on our walk last weekend and had some fun with my editing program. And now I leave you with one of my favorite writings.

Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant,
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others
you may become vain and bitter for always
there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career however humble
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business alliances for the world is full of trickery
but let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love
for in the face of all adversity and disenchantment
it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the course of the years
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with imaginings;
many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
do not doubt that the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God
whatever you conceive him to be
and whatever your labors and aspirations
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its shame, drudgery, and broken dreams
it is still a beautiful world.
Be careful.
Strive to be happy.

~Max Ehrmann 1927

Fillin' In on Happenings

Friday Fill-In

1. I enjoy smooth peanut butter more than crunchy.

2. Blogging satisfies my need for appearing to be sane.

3. When I look at a full moon, I feel small but mightily hopeful.

4. If I want a snack, I usually reach for a cracker.

5. The most recent movie I saw, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button made me think differently about aging.

6. If only I had a nickel for every time I had to repeat myself.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Ethan’s baseball game, tomorrow my plans include a good long hike with the hubby and some editing work and Sunday, I want to have a great time with my Dad!

Other Happenings: Alex got a call yesterday from the BK manager saying that her work clothes had arrived, and went in to work her first shift 4-7p. She came home tired but happy. Her cousin Karl was one of the people who helped train her. And another happy report was the orthodontist said her teeth are looking great and she is definately going to get the braces off ahead of schedule! Woot! We still need to get a consult for oral surgery and to get a bridge made for her missing tooth. Very timely too because I just made consultation appointments for Fox and Ben to get a grip on their othodontic needs. Yeah!

My mother also called yesterday with a fabulous report that there are no changes in the small spots they have been monitoring so that is awesome. She goes in next week for a round of treatment then a week off and in for one more week of treatment. After that they wait eight weeks and take pictures again. I claim those next scans to be free and clear! IJN

The boys have been making a good dent in their summer reading hours and have almost reached the first goal of 5 hours which awards them a free ice cream cone. Benjamin has also been very busy writing a fantasy story in a small notebook he found. The Sims game takes up a lot of their time when we're actually home, they like playing god and starting a world from scratch.

Alex has picked up on my obsession with 24 and is just starting the second season. I finished the second season in two and a half days and boogied up to the North Branch Library to get Season 3 but it was checked out! Aaaah. I keep trying not to slip and tell what has happened to Alex before she watches it. But I've got to find out what happens to President Palmer!

May your weekend be blessed beyond compare!

Baby - Book - Big Band

Wednesday was a great day we had fun googling over the baby. All the boys got a chance to hold him, and Evan put up with it for the most part but was starting to get a little cranky at times. But he's so cute, who cares.

It was good to see how Duke the dog is too, that crazy hound. Megan made me feel a little better about Alex getting accepted in Grand Valley. I've been stressing a bit over it since she is still working to get the grade cleaned up. We ended the trimester with only one C, one A, the rest some form of a B. I feel more assured Alex can get in but since she is still hoping to finance everything with grants or scholarships it is still important to have high marks.

From our visit we headed down to Rochester and hit the Rochester Hills Public Library, one of our favorite places on earth. I found a plethera of information on greening up your home and lifestyle. One of my goals is to do something every week to make the house more green and energy efficient. My first project being to put up a clothesline. Fox and I are also starting to research wind power because we think turbine power would work really well at our location.
They were starting their summer reading program that day so all the boys signed up as independent readers. I love the way they run their program, there are lots of incentive along the way for how many hours they read (ie: free ice cream cone, happy meal, chances to get in drawings for awesome prizes), there are also other little contests throughout the summer to earn extra chances in the drawings and lots of events and activities. They were kicking off the evening with a free concert. So after gymnastics we stopped back and caught the last hour of Planet Dino a fabulous jazz/blues/big band with some wonderful male vocalists featured as well.

It was nearly 11pm by the time we got back to the house but it was a full and fantastic day.

FRIDAY FILL-IN (I actually did the one from today)

1. I grew up thinking I’d be rich and famous.

2. Mapquest was the last website I was at before coming here.

3. Why don't you just relax?

4. Yoga helps me relax.

5. Thanks for the inspiration.

6. People trying to dictate how you raise your child can be very off-putting.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the blessed nuptials of Pastor Andrew Kluck and Ms. Alicia Wells, tomorrow my plans include helping at a boys gymnastics clinic in Hartland and Sunday, I want to complete the clinic, come home, and pass out!

Last May Fill-In

1. Birthdays are inevitable.

2. Fall is my favorite season because of the colors, harvest, & weather.

3. I feel my best when everything goes my way.

4. Homemade ravioli is my favorite food!

5. First impressions are forever.

6. The best piece of advice I ever received was “don’t sweat the small stuff (and its all small stuff).”

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to Ethan’s baseball game, tomorrow my plans include my cousin Vince’s wedding and Sunday, I want to have a great outreach to Bolton Brook Manor with the kids from church!

Other updates: The kids have been enjoying all the parties and end of the year surprises. Four and a half days to go before school is out. Alexandra got her work permit and other pertinent information turned in to Burger King now we're just waiting for the 'uniform.' Fox is going to be doing Cross-Country next year so we need to get him in for his physical over the next few weeks. I am still decluttering and looking forward to taking all these boxes and bags of toys, clothes, and other household items to our church "Care & Share" which is coming up June 4, 5, 6. Ben has his last soccer game tomorrow. I was originally thinking to get the boys each in some type of day camp this summer but as I looked into options and considered my summer schedule I decided against it. For the first time in several years we really don't have any major commitments during June, July, and August and I'm going to keep things open ended. The boys will be going on their annual camping trip to Port Austin with Gramma and Grandpa and we're going to do swim lessons at the Imlay City Pool again but that's about it. I just watched another disc of "Living with Ed" shows and its been making me long to get more house projects done and make things more energy efficient around here. Perhaps the fates will work with us.

Fill-In - Recycle Center

1. The last meal I had at a restaurant was chicken alfredo at Max & Erma’s on Mother’s Day.

2. Excessive cell phone usage is something I intensely dislike.

3. The full moon can cause some pretty strange happenings.

4. ‘Go Broncos!’ is one of my favorite local expressions.

5. Sometimes it's best to just smile and nod.

6. The Soloist is the best movie I've seen so far this year! (Robert Downy Jr. & Jamie Foxx are fabulous!)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to going nowhere, tomorrow my plans include deck project, yard work and writing more entries and Sunday, I want to prepare for our next Seeds of Jesus outreach with the kids!

Here is how I have my recycling organized for the moment. All types of plastic bags go in the top drawer, flattened product boxes go in the bottom drawer. Small paper scraps and food packaging go in the plastic basket to mix into compost. Items that our recycling takes go in the paper bag to be taken out to the garage for sorting (boys' job), the blue plastic basket makes for easier carrying and allows the paper bag to last longer. 4/5/6 plastics are in the recepticle behind, these are usually smaller, tops mostly and some containers. For food waste there are two levels, one for scraps the chickens can eat, basically anything except meat, pits, and bones. Then the other is for mostly meat scraps, bones, rinds, thick stalks, and pits.

The most challenging thing now is to get the family trained. For the past couple weeks I started reminding the kids that more things can go in recycling but I still 'rescued' a lot of things. They are getting better. This week I made the bold move and "took away" the main garbage. Rather I moved it to a different location so you have to think before you throw away and see if it can go in one of these other categories first. I also reused a large dog food bag in the 'not recyclable' garbage. My cousin (Shout out to Megan!) has been an inspiration to me by not buying regular garbage bags AT ALL. She only reuses store bags and large bags from purchased products. So there you have the basics for now, I have more to comment but must run to get ready for sub-teaching today.

Happy Memorial Weekend All!

Chess News & Fill-In

Our second adventure with the Chatfield Checkmate Challenge was terrific. It was fun to see friends from homeschool and also from public school. Fox's friend and fiercest competititor during Choice Time Chess, Austin was also there. Ben hung with Jeremy who he knows from church and homeschool. Fox had some tough opponents at the start and lost his first three matches but redeemed things the final two. Ben swept it and received his first trophy for chess! He was beyond excited.

Friday Fill-In
1. I believe whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

2. If you're good at something, then go for it.

3. Why so glum chum.

4. Something is out there, it's just around the bend.

5. If my life were a sitcom, it would be titled No, Really!?.

6. Sitting on my back porch (right now square o’ deck) I see major grass that needs to be cut.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to Ethan’s baseball game, tomorrow my plans include hopefully family work day around the yard and Sunday, I want to be refreshed!

* I love this variety of lilac that was in front of the Chatfield School. Their gardens are beautiful.