Sometimes I Write

I think I coasted into the gas station tonight on fumes alone. $52.60 later, with three kids eating popsicles, we headed home. It was such a strange day. The whole family slept until 9 am! That’s unheard of at our house. That gave us exactly 30 minutes to get dressed, dress all the kids, feed them breakfast, grab a banana and some juice and run out the door so we wouldn’t be late for our Chiropractor appointment and Benny wouldn’t be late for work. It stinks that I usually work well under pressure. Came home from Dr. Zack’s a little befuddled. I don’t know what’s going on with me (other than my monthly inconvenience) that is messing my back and neck up, but I’ve needed more adjusting this week than I have in a long time. He asked if I was under a lot of stress…I almost laughed. “Not any more than usual” I said.

I got a bug up my bum to rearrange the livingroom today…I’m sure Dr. Zack would love to hear that! Since I couldn’t make the kids nap 3 1/2 hours after waking up for the day, we ate lunch and then went swimming. Evidently our manager thinks I’m an idiot parent. It was cloudy and we were expecting some rain late in the day. He comes out just as we’re getting in the pool, points to the sky and says, “If you see lightning, you need to get out of the pool”. REALLY??? That man needs more to do… Max has turned into a fish. The kid was fearlessly doing flips off the side of the pool. He was also using a pool noodle to do pretend high jumps into the water. Zoe is content to slowly make her way around the edge of the pool where there is a small ledge she can walk on while periodically saying, “Look Mommy! I can get my hair wet!” Woo Hoo! She’s learning. Petey is getting bolder by the day. I need to get that kid in swimming lessons. We had a good time and as usual they were mad at me when I told them it was time to leave.

Naptime was wonderful. They slept and I watched ALIAS reruns. Ahhhh mindless entertainment. I love our DVR! Then we headed to the bowling alley to hang out with the street kids and our Dry Bones team. We have two groups in this week. Two of the kids from Canton used to go to our church in Buena Vista, Kelly and Evan Fike. Kelly isn’t a kid anymore, but a college student at ACU. I knew her when she was 8. That makes me feel a bit old.

Speaking of being old (haha)…only 8 more shopping days for all of you who haven’t purchased my birthday gift yet. So don’t fret – there’s still time…

Leaving the bowling alley I realized I should have gotten gas about 2 days ago…oops. So that’s where the gas stop came in, with Max worrying the whole way there that everytime I slowed down we were running out of gas. (Whose kid is that anyway?) I paid $2.83/gal. I can’t complain – driving is a privilege us rich Americans get to have, so we get to pay for it as well. We got home, got into pajamas and watched a Veggie Tales DVD. That was my day. Aren’t you jealous of all the excitement? hehehe

Other details not mentioned above: 3 loads of laundry, phone conversation with my brother, 2 loads of dishes, vacuuming, and while the kids were napping – a long uninterrupted shower – also a luxury. We have a peeping Pete instead of a peeping Tom!

Benny goes back to work tomorrow after a much needed week off. Summer has been crazy busy for him. We spent the week as a family and I stayed off the computer as much as possible except to check my email.

I actually did write a post last week. I was in a pissy mood and it was about people not returning shopping carts to the corral and leaving them in the only available parking space. It was very sarcastic and probably wasn’t very nice and when I tried to post it, it wouldn’t post. I went to bed mad at Blogger. The next morning I woke up and knew in my heart that it wasn’t supposed to be posted…call it Divine Intervention then…whatever.

Anywho, I’ll be back in a few days…as soon as I can dig my way out from under Mt. Washmore!

Preferred type: ESFJ
(who you prefer to be)

(who you are attracted to)

Take Jung Explorer Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

I loved Zenith this year as much as the previous years, and for the same reasons. There were several things that happened this year to make it unique. In no particular order:

1. Saying goodbye to friends you know you aren’t going to see for a long time-if ever again, is REALLY hard. Two of our Y.M. friends are moving away and getting out of fulltime youth ministry. I know they’ll both do well in whatever they end up doing. They’re both incredibly gifted and Godly men. Adam and Eli – we love you guys!

2. As far as I know, nobody mistook Sarah Paulk for a camper this year! 😉

3. I was perpetually answering the “Where’s Benny and why isn’t he here?” question. He was missed by campers and staff alike! I got more hugs from kids asking me to pass them on to Benny! He’s definitely the kind of guy that leaves an impression!

4. I got to meet the one and only Jetty Betty!!! She is wonderful and I am so blessed to call her friend. My friend Kevin puts it as “friends with 1’s and 0’s” and “friends with skin”. Now she’s both to me! She traveled to OKC to see her mom and we got to spend a few hours chatting and attending Brock’s class on blogging for God. It’s amazing to me how God can bring two very different people together and bond us in a friendship, using us to mutually encourage each other as we journey towards Him. I am overwhelmingly blessed in the friendship department!!

5. Angi took care of my spirit in a million different ways during camp and the time she was at my house. She also took care of Max so I could do my job.

6. I made a few new youth minister friends – Welcome to Trevor and Brittany, Chad, and Nick Miller – who was recently hired as the new youth minister at Westlink – the last church we worked with.

7. Darrel Sears, one of the funniest guys I know, wasn’t able to attend due to severe illness. Please pray for him and his wife and that his doctors will be able to determine what is causing all the health issues Darrel is having. Complete healing would be great!

8. There were no major medical emergencies this year for campers OR STAFF! Thank you God!

9. I got to hear and meet a great band, Poor Rich Folk. They are extremely talented and really great guys. I got the chance to chat with them for a bit before and after their concert. They are friends with my friend Chris. If you ever get the chance to see them in concert, do it. Better yet, if you ever need a band to play for anything you have going on…book them!

10. Two words…Daren Streblow. I laughed so hard my video camera was shaking and I had to stop recording. He’s a comedian-extraordinaire! You’ve got to hear this guy. I think we’re already trying to book him again for next year. Check him out at his website, read his blog, or even subscribe to his e-newsletter. Buy his stuff. He’ll keep you laughing…I promise!

Summertime…aaaahhhh what a whirlwind it has been so far. I’ve been wanting to catch you all up on the happenings of my life for a few weeks, but Angi has been here and I didn’t want to leave her hanging so I could blog. I also felt I needed to finish up the sex discussion. So, let’s catch up, shall we?

I spent June 9-11 in York, Nebraska at my college Choir Alumni Reunion. I know, sounds boring to those of you not involved. Bear with me people. Over 100 people were in attendance with ages spanning five decades. We spent a night and full day rehearsing and then recorded one of the best CD’s of acappella hymns you’ll ever hear. It was fun. But the best part was that all of my closest college friends were there with me. ( Benny being the exception ofcourse – someone had to be home with the kiddos…Thank you honey! )

This is me, Michelle and Tawnya. The three amigas. They are my oldest and dearest friends. This is the year that marks us knowing each other literally half of our lives. Oh the joys and sorrows we share! It was the first time we’ve all three been together since we graduated from York in 1992! Michelle was my roommate and Tawnya is my DOE sister and the only constant friend I’ve had since college. We’re all three completely different yet fit together so well. There’s nothing like kindred spirit friends! And they aren’t always girls…Meet Kevin…

Can you believe I failed to get a good picture of him with his wife and new baby boy, Elijah? I know, I know, shame on me! I loved this picture though. I’ve blogged a bit about Kevin before, but just in case you didn’t know, Kevin was my best guy friend at York. He gave me away at my wedding – BIG honor ;)! I finally met his wife Glenda and she is so sweet. I held Elijah and prayed a blessing over him and his parents. They live less than an hour away from me, so I’m looking forward to our families spending time together in the future.

My friend Rebecca and I drove together to York and back and had a blast singing and stopping at the tourist stops between York and Denver. O.k., so there was only one (Kearney, NE). We toured the Great Platte River Valley something or other. It was a museum that stretched over the interstate…we were compelled to stop. Rebecca is a lot of fun and so easy to talk to. She’s a good traveling buddy!

At the reunion we saw quite a few old friends: Priscilla Russell, Chip Bloecher, Mike Taylor, Kristi Brant, Nicole Beck, Mike Glassmeyer, Steve Smith, Rachel Hanson and her husband Wes and their boys, Chris and Annahleise Luther and their kids, Laura Coppinger, and the list goes on. I even had the opportunity to chat with Mike and Debby Tinius who I spent the following week with at Zenith…that’s the next post. There were a few women there that I had sort of idolized when I was in high school and visited the college. It was strange but cool to sing with them on this project. It was such a great weekend!