Hallmark Hall of Fame

Oh, how I love a good Hallmark Hall of Fame movie! I think it must have been my mom who introduced me to this type of movie. The commercials are the best part, of course. Tonight's movie was called "The Water is Wide." Interestingly, it was set in South Carolina and involved education. It was a good one, although not my favorite Hallmark movie. Hands down, that would have to be "To Dance with the White Dog." Oh, I know the title sounds a little strange, and to be honest, the story itself is a little strange. But, oh, how it's full of love & commitment. It is just so good! Here's a summary of it:

Academy Award®-winner Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy) and real-life husband Hume Cronyn star in this uplifting celebration of marriage that would last a lifetime and love that would live an eternity. After 50 years of marriage, Mr. Sam loses his beloved wife, Cora, and no amount of fussing by his overprotective kids is going to ease Sam's loneliness or his own failing health. Then one day, a white dog comes out of nowhere to change Sam's life and heart...filling his empty hours, reviving his faded dreams and showing Sam the power of everlasting love.
Stars: Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Esther Rolle, Christine Baranski, and Frank Whaley

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Like I said, the commercials during the Hallmark movies are the best. I think my favorite of all time is when the little child came into the classroom and had a card for the teacher. I can't remember if the teacher asked the child to read the card or if the child offered, but basically the child starts to read the card to the teacher. It's a thank-you card for teaching the child to read. It is sooo sweet!

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They didn't show that one tonight, but they had a similar one where an adult went to give a retiring college professor a card and he asked her to read it because he couldn't find his glasses. She read it and it was about how he had planted many seeds and she knew that at least one was blooming because it was her. She had gone on to become a teacher herself.

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I promise you, I had tears rolling down my face and my checkbook is itching to buy some Hallmark cards tomorrow. (Guess their advertising ploy worked with me, huh?!?)

So, what's your favorite Hallmark Hall of Fame movie?

sweet girls

Just wanted to share a few pictures of my girls. Gracie was helping me clean the kitchen cabinets & drawers. They were filthy and she was having fun using the Clorox wipes. Good for me to have the help and fun for her to be able to help. Katie wasn't helping, but she's still a sweetie!

updates

~Family Enrichment Night is over for 2006. Yea!!!!! It went well. I have alot of thoughts about it that I'd like to talk over with some people to see what could be done differently, etc. But you know what? Right now, "I'm over it!" I'm taking a breather and a break from it and I'll revisit it later. Today while I was at the school, one of the teachers asked if I'd be interested in being on the PTA....like on the board I think. She said it's that time of year to start thinking about it. I told her I wasn't sure if I was ready for that yet. She said to think about it. I will think about it. We'll see what happens. I think they're thinking, "Yes! We have an overeager ex-teacher parent who likes to have an excuse to come up to the school. Might as well put her to work while she's here!"
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~The gift certificate. Ah. What a saga. I put Chris to work calling them today. Blah, blah, blah, blah is basically what they said. She put it in her mailbox at home on Friday. The post office picked it up Saturday but for some reason didn't postmark it until the next Wednesday. She had problems with some bills being overdue that she mailed the same day. Blah, blah, blah, blah. She offered to add an additional service to the manicures & pedicures. Bad thing is that Chris didn't know I'd already paid for those additional services. Well, my mother-in-law is a "go get 'em" kind of person, so maybe she can talk them into giving her something else free. I still don't know if I believe them, and I still think the first girl we talked to (the boss' sister) needs to be educated on the USPS' holiday schedules and the fact that Martin Luther King day is only celebrated on Monday, not Saturday-Tuesday as she apparently thought. Oh well. What are you gonna do??!?

Although I love Deana's idea in my comments about me posting the phone number and prank calling them, I will fight the urge to do so. I will mention that it is a certain spa in Ruidoso, NM that is spelled S-a-v-i-l-a-'-s. I probably won't be using them again!
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~Something really neat happened with me & my friend, Tracy yesterday. We went to school together from 8th grade through college with a 1 semester break when she tried University of Alabama before transferring to ACU. She is such a spiritual person and has a thirst for and a knowledge of God that inspires me each time I talk to her. She currently lives in Louisiana. I called her yesterday. I hadn't talked to her in probably over a month. I left her a message and she called me back within 30 minutes. She'd had some stuff going on that'd been upsetting to her and she had prayed the night before about Him putting her on the heart of friends to pray for her. She really felt that God had put it on my heart to call her yesterday because He knew that she needed a friend. I hadn't prayed for her that day, but I did after talking to her! I thought that was really neat! I'm glad God is a God who can do things like that. I didn't feel God telling me to call her, but is it coincidence that I just happened to call her right when she needed a friend to talk to? I like to think not!
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~Katie peed on me at church tonight-yeah, not just a little-and potentially got a black eye! I had taken her out because once again she was wiggly to the point of driving me crazy. Poor thing was so tired. She usually goes to bed at 7:30, it was 8:15, she'd gone to bed late last night because of the PTA thing, so I was trying to be understanding. (I would never have been like that with Gracie. She would have gotten spanked. Katie gets away with so much more than Gracie. Why is that?!??!) I stood with her and she kind of was moaning quietly but laying her head on my shoulder so I thought she'd go to sleep. Fat chance! She started getting wiggly, so I walked out and sat down. She didn't like that, so I went into the nursery. Sandra held her for awhile and I decided to just sit in there because there wasn't much longer in church. (There were no classes tonight, it was singing night.)

She got down after awhile and was playing between 2 tables. Remember, we're in a temporary facility, so it's not really a nursery. Sandra & I heard this bad sound and after a few seconds, Katie started screaming. She was really upset, like she really didn't know what she wanted. After a few minutes, we could see the bump forming and maybe a scrape on the edge of the eyelid, too. I'm just glad it wasn't more actual eye damage. So tomorrow, she may have a black eye!

Then, a little later, I was holding her and I felt something wet. Sure enough, she was peeing-through a diaper and her clothes-all over my legs. I said, "Sandra!" She started dying laughing at which point I did too! It was all over me! I had no diapers with me, so Sandra went into church and got the keys from Chris. I held my jacket over me and went to the van to get a diaper. I had no extra clothes for her of course. After church, she went to get Chris and of course, he had a good time laughing at me.

When we got home, Chris discovered where she had taken a pen and scribbled over a good portion of the coffee table! He had caught her doing it earlier and told her no, so she had been properly warned, so needless to say, he made it clear that he was not happy! She wasn't happy after he made it clear either, if you get my drift!

Oh, I love that girl but she' s such a mess!
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My husband has taught Gracie to do "the robot." You know, the dance. Well, today at school while I was there, they had a puppet (marionette) show about not littering. During part of it, they played some lively music and the puppets were dancing and many of the kids started dancing (while sitting down.) Some of those kids have some pretty good rhythm. Well, my sweet white girl, who has the rhythm of a stick, is looking at me smiling and doing the robot! It was funny! Her daddy is going to have to teach her some other dances! Appropriate ones of course. I was "dancing" the other day (I have the rhythm of a stick also) and Gracie told me I couldn't shake my "boo-hine" because it wasn't appropriate. I don't know that she used those exact words, but that was the main idea!
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~I'm so sad about the death of a girl who had attended ACU that I originally heard about on BST's blog. I've read about the situation on many blogs this week. My sister-in-law, Erin, went to school with her and pledged with her.

I also learned last night that a boy I went to high school with had committed suicide this month. Apparently, he was depressed and he was gay and his family is requesting donations to a Buddhist temple. I went to a private, Christian school! I remember him fairly well. I think I remember knowing that he wasn't necessarily a "church-goer," at least not a "C of C-er," but I don't think I knew he was Buddhist. Maybe just his family was. Alot of people in Atlanta would send their children there just for the private school aspect of it and not for the Christian aspect. Maybe this was the case. I certainly didn't know he was gay. Makes me very sad. I know talking about homosexuality could be a whole other post, but I'm tired of hearing about people who are gay. People I went to ACU with or now, GAC, with. I know it doesn't make God happy, but I know He's waiting with open arms for people to change. I know He can help them change.
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Chris was out of town for 2 nights and I did very well! I didn't have a breakdown or anything! :-) I'm glad he's back though and he bought me a treat! I got Rachel Ray's 365 meals cookbook. I'm so excited! There are some really weird things in it but also some good things that I can't wait to try! I also happen to know~because I told him to do it~that he called my friend Melissa and had her tell him exactly which tablecloth it is that I've been wanting from Williams Sonoma. I hope to get it for Valentine's Day. We don't normally do really "formal" gifts, but I've been wanting this since before Christmas and there was a store where he was this week and I told him it would save on shipping. So, I'm hoping!
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My brother, Josh, and his wife Beth (my other sister-in-law!) are having a baby in 2 weeks or less! I'm so excited. This baby, Morgan Elizabeth, will join big sister, Ann Elise. This will be my parents' 4th grandchild.....4th granddaughter to be exact. Josh & Beth are really good parents and I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing my brother be a daddy to a little girl who truly adores him!

closed ALL weekend?!?!?!

Okay. I really hate to get taken advantage of!

I am not the type of person to be aggressive and demand for things to be done my way, but this is too much!

I mentioned the gift certificate that I received that was postmarked the 18th. I called and left a message at the spa telling them that I felt I'd been lied to and would like at least part of my money back. I told them how I'd been assured that it had been mailed that Friday (the 13th) but the postmark said the 18th.

She called back today and told me that I had not been lied to and that it was indeed mailed on the 13th. I expressed my confusion over why it was postmarked the 18th. This is what she said to me. (This is paraphrased as I can't remember word for word.)

spa lady: "Well, the post office was closed all weekend because of Martin Luther King day."

me: "Saturday?"

sl: "Yes, it was closed all weekend. My boss mailed it on that Friday, but it was after 3:00, so it probably would have been postmarked the 17th or 18th because of it being closed all weekend."

me: "Well, it was postmarked the 18th. What about the 17th? It wasn't closed on Tuesday."

sl: (apparently thinking that Tuesday is part of this holiday weekend) "It was closed all weekend because of Martin Luther King day. We are not going to give you your money back. You know, we didn't even charge you postage and we should have."

me: (pretty much in shock at this point!) "39 cents?!?!?!"

sl: "You can talk to my boss. I'll have her call you."

She calls back 5 minutes later and says that her boss won't be in today but gives me her name & home phone number. We hang up.

(I give my husband a hard time about New Mexico & its residents. He grew up there. Good natured teasing. I'm really going to have to give him a hard time about the education of its residents if they really think Martin Luther King day runs from Saturday-Tuesday!)

Okay, so I'm upset but want to make sure I'm not making a fool out of myself, so I hop online to check some things out. Going to the USPS website, I confirm that the post office was closed on Monday only, not Saturday, of that weekend. I confirm that the post office in this particular town is open on Saturdays (It is a small town, I thought it was a possibility.)

I decide to talk to a customer service representative of the USPS. The man literally laughed when I explained their case to him.

He said, (paraphrased again). "If they mailed it on the 13th, it would be postmarked on the 13th."

me: "Even if it was after 3:00?"

man: "yes."

man: (when I mentioned the all weekend closing comment) "There is no "all weekend" closing."

me: "So, there's no reason that if they mailed it on the 13th that it should have been postmarked the 18th?"

man: "If it was postmarked the 18th, it's because they mailed it the 18th."

We hung up.

You know, I'm willing to give a little. For example, if she mailed it late on the 13th after mail pick-up, but shouldn't it have been postmarked the 14th? The 15th was a Sunday, the 16th was a holiday, but the 14th wasn't.

I am really upset. I did call the boss at home and left her a message. Maybe I should just get over it, but I don't like being lied to. They could have just explained that they forgot about it and mailed it late, but why lie? Why do that especially when I have a postmark as my proof?

I just don't get it. I also hope they don't do something bad to my mother-in-law and her friend during their pedicure or manicure!!!! *yikes*

I'm trying to be nice. I'm trying to act as a Christian should. Does that mean that I should just get over it? Is it being un-Christian to want them to explain???

things that make you go hmmmm

She assured me the gift certificate had been sent Friday (the 13th). I received it today. It was postmarked the 18th. hmmmmmmm If she mailed it the 13th, wouldn't the post office postmark it as the 13th, or at least the 14th?

It's almost over!

I know some of you may be thinking, "Enough with the PTA stuff already!" Feel free to skip reading if this is the way you feel, but honestly, this blog is like a journal for me. It just happens to be one I share with the whole Internet world. Anyway, I like being able to write this stuff down just for my own sake.

I typed up the class rosters, made the signs and called the presenters this weekend. I took the rosters & signs up to school today to deliver to the teacher (Mrs. K) who has been helping me. I delivered the class placement notices to the teachers' boxes. I talked with the principal about making sure the rooms are open in time for the presenters to set up. Dr. B informed me that she is going to be the cake decorating presenter since that is the one who cancelled last week. She told me what she is planning to do and asked if I thought the kids would like that. Gracie signed up for that class, and I assured her that she will love it! Honestly, I'm just impressed that the principal is willing to do this. Some would have said, "Find a replacement. I don't have time for this." To me, she has earned major brownie points!

Not much more to do until tomorrow. Show up early, meet the presenters, I think Mrs. K is going to do most of the "trouble shooting" (and hopefully we won't have any), I'll go to the cake decorating class with Gracie, make sure everything gets cleaned up and go home! *whew* It'll be over!
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We had our first Life Group last night. I thought it went really well! We have a nice mix of people, jobs were signed up for willingly (teaching kids, coordinating food, emailing out prayer requests, etc.) I think this will be a good year!
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My mother-in-law's birthday is today. 60! My sister-in-law, Erin, and I put our heads together (like our husbands would do anything if we didn't!) and decided to get her a gift certificate for a manicure & pedicure for her and her best friend. We decided she would enjoy a little "girl time." So, I called New Mexico and ordered the certificate and asked them to mail it to me so I could put it in a card, etc. I ordered it a week ago Thursday! I still haven't received it. Now, believe me, mailing stuff from NM to here takes FOREVER. I tease Chris about NM all the time and how they still use the Pony Express. However, Chris' mom mailed us something last Tuesday and we got it 2 days later! I called the "spa" last week and they said they mailed that Friday (a week ago). She said, "Well, I don't know. I guess it'll get there as soon as it can." Yeah, thanks! So, I'm not happy. I really should have gotten it by now. If I get it and the postmark is anything other than the day she said they mailed it, I think I'm going to have to call and insist on getting at least part of my money back because they were dishonest about when they mailed it. Maybe they weren't dishonest, but I just don't understand why I haven't received it yet. Once I get it, I have to put it in a card and send it back to NM! Anyway, Chris is going to call his mom and explain what happened. He won't tell her exactly what the gift is, though.

funny story

Katie was quite wiggly this morning, so Chris took her to the nursery. Seeing as she's getting older, we're really trying to keep her in church with us the whole time. She's been doing better, but still has her moments.

After church, I was talking to Sandra, our preacher's wife. She had been in there with the babies. She said Katie had made her day! There is a television in that room where the nursery attendant can watch & listen to the service. Katie had seen Mark, our preacher, on the t.v. She pointed at Mark, the pointed at Sandra and said, "Your daddy!"

Since just about every woman strives to look young, Sandra was delighted that Katie thought Mark was her daddy rather than her husband! Mark, on the other hand, said that Sandra was going to be hard to live with now!

no more changing table

I've been thinking this for awhile now but didn't want to admit it. My sweet baby is way too big for her changing table! We've been using an old dresser as her changing table, an old dresser that I think was my grandmother's. Chris painted it before she was born, and it goes just great in her room.

After struggling with her for awhile now, trying to figure out where to put the box of wipes while I'm changing her, and having her head hang off the end, I finally decided to turn it into just a dresser. *sigh* It's a little sad. She's growing up. I'm sure I'll play around alot trying to decide exactly what to put on top.

so far, so good

So, this morning I get Katie and I "really" dressed to take Gracie to school (as opposed to pajamas, glasses, no makeup and flip flops!) I figure I'd better go into the office and check on the status of the cake decorating replacement. On the way up there, I notice that the teacher making the class placements is on carline duty. So I just walk over to talk to her instead. To me, there's something less intimidating about a teacher than a principal.....maybe because I have been a teacher but have never been a principal. Maybe I feel like the principal is about to pull out an evaluation form to grade me on my performance. HA! (only half kidding)

Anyway, I feel good after talking to her. When I asked her if Dr. B had found a replacement for the cake decorator, she said, "Oh, Karen will find one. She'll take care of it. Don't worry about it." She sounded very confident, so I'm trusting her on this one. With alot of things she said, she made me feel better. I could see myself having a similar attitude if I'd been a teacher at the school for a long time, but with me "just" being a parent, and my first year at the school, I'm just more nervous. Like Chris said, she's the one making the class placements, so let her deal with whether or not there's a replacement. He wasn't saying it to be mean, just to say, "Calm down. It's kind of out of your hands right now."

One thing I LOVED is how she handled parents who tried not to follow the rules. The form we sent home had the 8 classes listed. The students are supposed to circle "1" next to their first choice, "2" next to their second choice, and "3" next to their third choice. The classes are filled on a "first sign up" basis. Well, I guess some students circled 1,2, and 3 next to the same class OR circled 1 next to three different classes. If she came across forms like that, she promptly sent them back to the teacher with instructions for it to be sent home & filled out correctly. I love that! I told her that was great and I'm so glad she did that. If I had been doing that job as a teacher, in my former life, I would have probably done the same thing and not have thought twice about it. As a parent, in my current life, I wouldn't have felt I had the "right" to do that, so I'm glad she's in charge of this portion.

She was going to try to get finished with her part today and I'm going to pick up all that she's done after school tomorrow. I really am thankful to God that things don't seem to be falling apart. I'm still nervous, it's just my nature unfortunately, but things seem to be okay. I have prayed about this and will continue to do so. I'm just really thankful that I left the school this morning feeling good. I even treated myself to a Pumpkin Spice Latte! I passed on the danishes sitting next to the cash register, but my, it was hard!

As Jetty Betty says, "God is faithful!" I know that doesn't mean that everything always turns out the way we want it to, but He is still faithful, and I must remember that! Even if things don't turn out the way I want it to, I must trust that something good can come out of it!
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Sweet Gracie story:

Yesterday, sweet Miss S proved once again why we're so blessed to have her as Gracie's teacher! When I opened Gracie's folder, she said, "There's a letter." I'm thinking it's to me, but it's to Gracie, and the envelope is decorated with stickers. Always a plus with my daughter! She opened it up and there were 3 pictures in it. She handed the letter to me. It was from "Clue," Miss S's dog! Of course, my literal daughter had to explain to me that Clue didn't really write the letter. It was a thank you note for the doggy doughnut we'd given him for Christmas. The pictures were of him sitting for the treat, grabbing the treat, and running away with the treat. I thought it was really sweet that Miss S had done this for Gracie. I think it makes her more of a "real person" to Gracie to see her dog and to see her backyard. It helps Gracie to realize that Miss S is more than "just" a teacher.

We started talking about Miss S and how we like her. Gracie said, "I'm not going to be with her much longer." I asked her why and she replied, "Because I'll be in 1st grade." I told her that made me sad to think about. Alot of times, I'll just be silly and say things about being sad and "pretend" to cry and Gracie comforts me. A little cheesy, I know, but I do it. It's kind of a way to show that I'm sad without really crying that she's going to be in 1st grade. Make sense?

She started asking me if she would see Miss S next year when she was in 1st grade, etc. I talked about how she would get a new teacher and maybe we'll like that teacher alot, too. All of a sudden, her mood turned a little bit and she said, "I just feel like I want to cry." I thought she was kind of kidding like I do sometimes, so I kind of laughed and said, "Really?" She promptly burst in tears! I mean, she is heartbreakingly sobbing because she is going to miss Miss S! This was not "throwing a fit" crying or "I'm mad" crying. This was "heartbroken crying." Of course, I gathered her in my arms and started tearing up myself at this point! I tried to console her and tried to get her to stop crying while reassuring her that it's okay to be sad about things.

Oh man! I am so happy that her heart is tender and so happy that she feels such affection for her teacher. I know a teacher's main objective is not to get the kids to like her, because sometimes then the teacher is a pushover and not in control of her students, but if a teacher can be in control of her students and effectively teach the subject matter and be well liked by her students, then I think that's great! Of course, I had to slip a note into Gracie's folder telling Miss S about this, while asking her not to tell Gracie that I'd told her because I'm afraid it would embarrass her terribly.

Sometimes I worry about Gracie because she gets so excited over the "little things" that I'm afraid she'll be disappointed by alot in life. She's so much like me in this respect. I get excited over little things like "Chick Fil A Spirit Night" where a portion of our sales go to the school and potluck at church one Sunday night a month and special assemblies at school. To so many people, these things are just routine, mundane things, but I hope Gracie always sees the opportunity for these things to be special. I hope she always sees the chance for routine, possibly mundane things to be special times! I hope she doesn't get too disillusioned in life. Oh, I know she will some. I know I have been, but I hope not too much. I hope not to the point that she gets bitter about life.

It's so easy to be bitter. It's so easy to see the negative. I could find tons of negative things about her schoool or our church or even my friends. What would that accomplish, though? Chris' boss tells him, "Don't come in here to talk to me about a problem unless you have a solution to present as well." I think that's good advice. Don't get me wrong. I don't expect Gracie, or myself, to be a constant "Pollyanna" or to stick my head in the sand about things that could be improved, but I want to go into things believing that they can be good.
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Dear Lord,
Please protect Gracie's sweet heart & protect her physically, emotionally & spiritually. Please keep her always believing that life can be fun and special and keep her heart turned towards wanting to please You. Please help me to be a good example of positivity. I'm afraid I fail in this area constantly, but help me to be better! Thank you for Gracie. Thank you for her innocence. Please continue to help her to grow and learn at the pace You want her to. I want to continue to give her roots in You and our family, but I also want to give her wings to fly! Please show Chris & I how to do that. Thank you for precious Katie who makes us smile all the time..well, almost all the time! The same things I pray for Gracie, I pray for her as well. Please be with Chris as he goes to the doctor today and help him to get some answers for the pain he's been in. Please help me to be calm and trust in You and please, in all I do, help me to be a positive example and please let my Christianity show to all who know me.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Why, oh why????

Why oh why oh why?!?!?!

Okay, I have~had~8 presenters lined up for the Family Enrichment Night at Gracie's school next week. I have done alot of phone calling, time on the computer, time up at the school, email, etc. to get to this point. Last week, I sent home letters with 5 students whose parents are going to be presenters. I dropped 1 off at a place of business, mailed 1, and I still have 1 I need to mail because I just got the address yesterday. These letters were basically thank you letters to the presenters for agreeing to do this for our students and giving them some updated information.

One of my main objectives in doing this was just in case anyone needed to cancel, they could do so before I made the 600 or so copies for all of the students. (Yeah, I know I still have the 1 to mail today. Surely she won't need to cancel.) Anyway, I didn't hear from anyone, so Friday I made all the copies and left them in one of the offices. Yesterday morning, after I dropped off Gracie, I went into the office and distributed the copies to each teacher's box, spoke with the principal about some details and then left. Gracie came home with her letter so I knew that at least her teacher had followed the rules and sent it home that day. We filled out her letter after she made her choices of her favorite classes.

Last night, around 9:30, I noticed we had a message on the answering machine. We'd been home 2 hours and I hadn't noticed a message when we'd gotten home. I press 'play' and it's from one of the presenters asking me to call her. It was pretty late, but since it appeared she'd just called me 15 minutes earlier (why didn't we hear it ring?!??!) I tried calling her back. It was busy....and busy...and busy! So, I called her this morning at 8:15. Guess what?!?! You guessed it! She cancelled!!!!!!!!!! The day after the teachers sent home all the letters!

Granted, it's a good reason to cancel. A family member out of town is having surgery and she's going to take care of her. I understand, but still it's something that needs to be dealt with! Do I tell the teachers who are in charge of placing everyone in their classes to just cancel that class? Do I run to bakeries around town trying to find a cake decorator to take her place?

Today is my day to volunteer in Gracie's class. I had already decided, and told Miss S, that I wouldn't be coming in today. I needed to run some errands and thought I'd take Katie's MDO time to get some things done. Well, now I had to go up to the school and try to find someone to help me with this! Dr. B, the principal, was in the office talking to 2 of the secretaries when I went in. I explained it to her and she said she would make some calls to try find a replacement. She had some ideas of who to call. I was very appreciative of her calm approach to the matter and her willingness to help. I sure am hoping she can find a replacement.

Anyway, so I was already a little nervous, but now I'm even more nervous. What if someone else cancels?!?!? Breathe, Jacinda, breathe.
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Our new Life Groups start Sunday evening. I'm looking forward to that.
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I keep hearing about 'FlyLady.' I desperately need to get organized and apparently that's what she helps you with. Anyone else know anything about her?
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I called my dad yesterday morning and he was watching people skate at Rockefeller Plaza. I'm happy they got to go on this trip. He said "Wicked" is everything you could imagine. He said my mom just sat there spellbound with her mouth open the whole time. My friend, Alissa, had tried to read the book and couldn't get into it, but she loves the music from it. Dad said people had told them that the book was bad, but he said the musical was great! He said the story was really good...about 2 sisters who ended up being the "good" witch and the "bad" witch of "The Wizard of Oz." He said it really made him want to go see more Broadway musicals. (And that's not a typical thing for my dad to say!)
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Chris cancelled our satellite service yesterday. Honestly, we end up watching alot of junk we don't need to watch and it's just another bill we could do without. Putting those 2 factors together, we decided it would be a good idea. I sure will miss "Little House on the Prairie," "7th Heaven," "Food Network," "Jo Jo's Circus," etc. I'm sure we'll do just fine, though!
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Dear Lord,
Thank you for our blessings. Please help me to trust in You and not stress. Help me to get organized & motivated in order to do things I need to get done.
In Jesus' Name, Amen

Just like Daddy!

Chris had just gotten home from work and was just chilling out a little. Before long, Katie had gotten a pillow and laid down next to him. When the camera came out, so did Gracie.

new pose

This is Katie's new favorite pose for pictures. Her 2 year old

professional pics should be great, huh?!?

Where have I been?

These are the places I've visited. Granted, some of these states were only "drive throughs" but they count! I even had to call my dad and ask him about some of them. He said he thinks I probably went to Missouri when we lived in Kentucky. I'll trust him on it.

I think it's fairly obvious what part of the country I grew up in! I've got some traveling to do if I want to make all 50! You can make your own map if you want to. I got this idea from Alissa, JettyBetty and Elizabeth.

It's called nonfiction.

I mentioned earlier in the week that Gracie & I have begun reading the Little House series. Since she doesn't have school tomorrow, I suggested we watch Little House on the Prairie together. She readily agreed.

This particular episode was of Pa telling Albert about Grandpa (Pa's father). It was mainly flashbacks to when Pa's mother died and the hard time Grandpa went through when that happened. There were a few things I felt I needed to try to explain to Gracie as we watched. The episode seemed to be "heavier" in issue than I remember from when I was little. I guess alot of stuff just went over my head~as lots of stuff will with Gracie~but I did try to explain some of it and tried to "gloss over" some things.

For example, Grandpa set fire to the house while he was still in it to try to kill himself! I just said something about the house being on fire and Pa was trying to get Grandpa out so he wouldn't die. I made no mention of the fact that Grandpa had deliberately set it. She seemed to accept that okay. I also had to explain about how when a horse would get really hurt, sometimes they have to be shot. She wanted to know if they then would be okay. I told her that no, they would die but otherwise they would be in too much pain. Thankfully, she accepted that okay as well. No further questions. *whew* You never know what will upset them.

I'm getting off subject, but when we were reading the other day, it said something about their pig and "butcher day." It talked about how Laura would plug up her ears so she wouldn't hear the pig squeal. I wasn't sure how Gracie would take this, so I asked her, "Why do you think Pa wanted to butcher the pig?" She looked at me and said, "so they could have meat?" *whew, again!* I don't think we have a vegetarian on our hands here, and she seems okay with that, too!

Anyway...back to tonight's show. At the end, Ma was tucking Laura into bed. Laura commented on how when they're all old, their great-grandchildren won't know any of these stories that Pa was telling them tonight. (Of course, in my head I'm thinking that I know where this is going and sentimental fool that I am, I start to get teary eyed for some reason.) Ma assures her that typically people will pass the stories down from generation to generation. Laura says, "Well, if I write them down, then we'll know for sure, won't we?" (I just love this series and the fact that they're family stories! I know there has probably been some "embellishment" along the way, but they're based on real people!)

I told Gracie, "See, that's where we get the books from. They're based on true stories that a girl named Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote."

Gracie said, "True. That means they could really happen?"

I said, "They did happen. They're true stories from when she was growing up." (I didn't explain about the probable embellishments. I may try that another day.)

She replied, "Miss S says that's called nonfiction."

Oh! For some reason, I thought that was so sweet and so smart of her to know that! I just love how we can read the books and then watch the show and find similarities between the 2. This is a fun thing for she & I to do together and I'm having fun just like when I was a little girl! I'll have to find the picture next time I'm in Atlanta from when I dressed up as Laura Ingalls for Book Week!

I told Gracie maybe she could write down the stories of our family. She said she didn't know how, so I told her maybe not now but when she was older. I know she'd do a great job!

happy with her hair

I braided Gracie's hair a little this morning. From the smile on her face, you would have thought I'd told the girl we were going to Disney World! I love that little things like that make her happy! I'm curious to see if it stays throughout the day. I'm also curious to see if I can braid more of it as it gets longer. I go back & forth between keeping her hair short or letting it grow long. I love to play with it and try new things. I'm not very successful at doing new things with it, but I like to try.

Katie has a little "Pebbles" on top of her hair today. She wasn't real thrilled with me pulling on her hair to get it that way, but she's left it alone since I did it.

Yeah, I bought some.

*I bought some boots. I'm not sure what all I'll wear them with, but I bought some. I didn't get the high ones, though. I just got some to wear with pants. We'll see how it goes.

*Gracie & I started reading the Little House books yesterday. We have the 9 book set that I got when I was teaching. I saved up my bonus points from my students' book orders. I was so excited to get it! A few months ago, I started looking for the set and couldn't find it anywhere. I was really upset because I checked at Barnes & Noble and it was about $40-50! I finally found it in a box out in the shed and last night we began with the first book, "Little House in the Big Woods." I have also discovered that the show comes on each night at 8:00 on TVLand, so I've been watching it some. Gracie goes to bed at 7:30 each school night other than church nights, so she doesn't usually get to watch it. I just love that show!

*Katie did something today that Gracie never did. I put a bag of grapes in the grocery cart and turned away. When I turned back, she was eating a grape! I kind of laughed and told her she wasn't supposed to do that, so.......she put it back! Oh well, at least it was the bag I was buying!

*My parents get to go on a free trip to New York City next week! The junior class at Greater Atlanta Christian School, where my dad works, is going there on a trip. Some of the people who had already paid aren't going for some reason and the money was non-refundable, so they were looking for people to go in their place so the money wouldn't go to waste. They called Dad and he said yes and to let him know if another spot came up. It did and they called him again so Mom's going, too! This will be fun for them. Neither one of them has ever been. I think they'll do lots of things with the group but there are alot of chaperones, so they don't have to do major duty chaperoning themselves. They're even going to get to see "Wicked" which I've heard is really good.

*Playgroup is tomorrow. We used to meet in homes for playgroup. Then we got to be too large of a group, so we met at the church building. Then we sold our building and are in a temporary location and can't meet there for playgroup. Now, we usually meet at a local community center. We went through our kids' toys and made big tubs of "garage sale" toys to be our "playgroup toys." You may remember me mentioning earlier that my playgroup box of toys "disappeared." *ahem* I won't mention what my husband inadvertantly did to it. *ahem* Suffice it to say that the box is with us no more, so we filled a new box tonight with toys from our house. I'm thinking the kids will think it's cool to have "new" toys at playgroup anyway.

*I wanted to recommend 2 blogs for today: Deana's for humor. It's hilarious today! Also, Elizabeth's for warming your heart. It's precious!

*Well, I'm going to go read some more in the new book I just started. The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber. So far, I'm really liking it.

Have you met Madeline Ballerina?!?!

Gracie got into her dress up box today. She was a ballerina princess, then she was Madeline. I walked into her room a little later, and she had combined the two looks. I loved it!

Not to be outdone, Katie dressed up a little, too!

went well

The PTA meeting went well. They paid attention, were complimentary and quick to offer their assistance with things that still needed to be done.

Thank you, Lord!

The program is January 24 which is 2 weeks. Alot to be done, but I feel better about it today.

quote of the day from a stay-at-home mom

I was talking to my stay-at-home mom friend, Melissa. We were talking about shoes, black boots specifically. Alot of the girls around here are wearing the cutest black boots....with jeans, short skirts, whatever. I was telling her how I've seen them at the stores and like them but just don't know that they're "me."

I told her I liked the look Kate has when she wears her black boots with her jeans and how one day at church 2 or 3 other girls (well, ladies really....young moms & young marrieds) had on knee length skirts with patterned black hose and high black boots. I thought it looked so nice and had talked to Chris saying things like, "Who sets these trends? How do they know this is the new look?" (Like he's really going to know the answer to these questions!)

Melissa laughed and said, "Jacinda! These girls work! They see other people walking around. We watch Higglytown Heroes and they don't wear go-go boots!"

I laughed really hard. Ah, the life of a stay-at-home mom!
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On another note: I ended up taking Katie to MDO this morning where she did fine. I went up to the school and made the copies & distributed them to the teachers' boxes. The secretary was very helpful and I was done in about 1/2 an hour, so I ended up running an errand and having some "me" time. I was contemplating on how easy a time I'd had with making the copies and then I remembered that I had prayed about this whole thing. So, why was I surprised that it went well?!? :-)

I need Jesus to take this wheel!

Okay people, I'm stressed and could use your prayers!

I've mentioned in the past this PTA thing I'm coordinating. Well, it's getting closer. Basically, it's an event where we get different people to come and be presenters for a class. We send home a note telling the parents which classes are available and they rank their top 3 choices. We then will place them in their classes, trying to keep them fairly balanced in size. This program is done in the evening and is designed for the parent & child to participate together.

In the past, it's been called "Spring Enrichment Program" and was held in March. Because of soccer & baseball schedules, they asked that we move it to January when there's less going on. So, I renamed it "Parent Enrichment Program." Now, I think I'm going to call it "Family Enrichment Program." It was mentioned in the December newsletter once but that's it as far as the parents hearing anything about it, so I don't think it will be a big deal that I changed the name. I guess I'll hear about it if it is!

At the beginning of the year, I started trying to get my foot in the 'ole PTA door of the school. It took a little effort, I think, to let them know I was serious about being involved...involved to the point of wanting to do more than just pay my monetary dues once a year and supply a cake for the cake walk at the Fall Festival! Well, the PTA president mentioned that they had this program that they needed someone to coordinate and gave me some information about it....basically notes from years past. Wanting to prove myself to her, I accepted the task. I don't think there's a $150,000 job with Donald Trump waiting at the end, but you never know.

At first, I was okay with this because I knew I still had a long time to prepare. Then, the day I called 5 parents about helping and noone called me back, I started stressing. Then, things started falling into place and I felt better. Now, I have a PTA meeting tonight where I plan to present what I've done (it's mainly just officers who show up to this meeting so it's not like alot of people) and what I still need to do and I'm stressing again.

"What if they tell me I've done it wrong?" "What if they snicker?" "What if they roll their eyes?" "What if they snap at me to make corrections?" (I CANNOT stand it when people "snap" at me. If you want to disagree with me, that's fine. But, please don't snap at me and talk to me like I'm stupid!) These are thoughts going through my head. I'm just going to be honest when I say that I am intimidated by these people. Don't get me wrong. It's not like anyone's been rude to me. I just get the feeling that these people have been together a long time and I'm kind of the "outsider."

The PTA president had said she would get me some help, but she has had a family tragedy and hasn't been around for a few months. Her 2nd grade daughter had major brain surgery after suffering from a brain tumor and strokes. She has her own set of things to deal with right now and I understand that. The PTA secretary has been very helpful and supportive to me and has even relayed things to the president and she (the president) emailed the other day making nice comments.

Still. I'm stressed.

I've got 8 presenters lined up. Well, 7 for sure. I still need to confirm with the 8th. I have a lady coming to do Creative Memories, a gardening lady, a cake decorating lady, maybe a magician, someone from the SPCA with live animals coming to talk about animal care & safety, a gymnastics instructor, a karate instructor and a lady coming to talk about making child identification kits. So that part is pretty well set up.

This morning, I'm going up to the school to make copies of an announcement to go home because for some reason the event didn't make it onto the January calendar that went home Friday. (ugh!) I was going to call about seeing if Katie could go to Mother's Day Out, but she's been coughing this morning and it doesn't sound pretty. So, I may just take her with me. Think she'll be good while I make copies and separate them into the different teachers' boxes? I think there are about 600 students, so it could take awhile! Then there's a whole list of things to still be done. I'm hoping to enlist the help of some people at the meeting. The biggest thing is next week we need to send home the list of classes and have the parents rank their favorites and then fill the classes while trying to honor their requests while not having one class with 70 students and one with 5! Looking at the rosters from years past, it looks like the biggest class has only ever had about 50 people total, including parents.

I'm stressed. Plus, my husband, who NEVER travels, has an out of town business meeting the week of this event! He is going to go down for part of his meeting, then come back home for this event, then maybe drive back down (about 2 1/2 hours) for the rest of the meeting. I just know I'll need him for moral support as well as I want Gracie to be able to participate by going to a class and I may need to be popping in & out of the different classes checking on things. There's also the issue of Katie. She can stay with one of us; I just didn't want to have to be dragging her and Gracie around to all the other classes.

Looking back at last week's post, I need Jesus to "take the wheel." Please pray that I'll let Him!

Aunt Erin

*The date went well! Chris said for the first few minutes at Zaxby's, she just kept looking at him and giggling. He asked her what she wants to be when she grows up. She said, "Well, there's just so many things. Maybe a librarian or a tree cutter." Yeah, that's right. My sweet little girl has aspirations to be a tree cutter! She's had this occupation in the back of her mind for about 2 years now ever since we had 2 large trees cut out of our front yard. For those who know her and know how girly she is, this is a funny thought. But hey, if she can do it and act the way God wants her to, she can do it as far as I'm concerned! I'm just really thankful that Chris wants to spend this special time with our girls. I don't have to force it. He is as committed to it as I am and I feel blessed and I know the girls are blessed to have him as their daddy!

*This parenting road is a tough one and one I'm glad I have God to help me travel. I appreciate all the positive comments I got about the date. I truly do love having a support system of other Christians. Both online & in "real life," I think Christian relationships are so important and I yearn for even more of them.
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*My big tub of toys we use for playgroup has disappeared. We think we know what happened to it. However, if I tell that story, it will be a negative picture of my otherwise wonderful husband, so I'll refrain from revealing the details here. Alissa or Kate, if you really want to know, drop me an email! This story is one to hang over his head, for sure!
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*Last night we met with the 2 co-leaders of our Life Group to discuss logistics of our new group which will begin meeting later this month. I think we have a good group signed up and will pray that we focus our thoughts on God and doing what He wants us to do. Life Groups offer such an opportunity to have close relationships with others and to meet the needs of others on a more personal basis.
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*I bought a tablecloth last week at April Cornell. It had orginally been $89, was marked down to $45 then 1/2 off, so I got it for about $24. It was too big for my table, so I tried selling it on Ebay. It sold last night for $59.99 + $8 shipping. Whoo hoo! I'm thinking of going back and buying a few more!
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*Have I ever mentioned my wonderful sister-in-law, Erin? She is such a sweetie and cute, too! She's like this little miniature person because she's so petite!

I remember the first time I ever met her. We were living in Uvalde, TX but had come up to Lubbock for a Tech football game. Mike (my brother-in-law) and Erin, who were just dating at the time, had come up to meet us along with Chris' parents. Gracie was about 4 months old. A little background: I couldn't really care less about football! Well, to make this game worse, it was November, freezing and drizzling! Did I mention I had a 4 month old?!?!?! I don't think the fans needed bleachers because they rarely sat, but I did. I sat down with Gracie inside my coat being quite miserable about this whole thing. I was really hoping for a sister-in-law, so I was trying to scope this girl out. Well, let me tell you, I was disappointed! She was into this game big time. Standing up, cheering, talking about the plays, etc. I was like, "Great! She's nothing like me!" At one point, she sits down next to me and I said something like, "So, you like football?" She looked at me, never breaking a smile, and said something like, "No, I hate it. I'm just pretending to like it." From that point on, I liked her! Here she was, trying to make a good impression on my brother-in-law, who is possibly the most sports obsessed person I know, and his family, but deep inside, she hated it, too! I remember she & my mother-in-law and Gracie & I left early that night to drive back to Plainview where Chris' grandmother lived and we were staying.

Erin is lots of fun! I have to admit, one thing I don't like is eating with her. I mentioned earlier that she is very petite. I am...how should I say this delicately...not petite! Sad, but true. Erin will order off of the child's menu and eat 1/2 of it. I order off of the adult menu and leave hungry. Seriously, I just stay hungry. It's a curse and my body size is showing the effects of it. Anyway.....

"Aunt Erin" gives the best gifts to the girls! Gracie's precious hot pink personalized backpack came from her along with Katie's little lime green one. The posable Angelina Ballerina doll came from Aunt Erin this Christmas along with the Pottery Barn mixer & toaster. True, I steered her in the right direction for the Christmas gifts, but she's always happy to listen to my requests. I try to do the same for my precious niece, Sara Jane!

Aunt Erin was even referred to as "Aunt" before she & Mike got married. This was done a little discreetly as to not put too much pressure on Mike, but let's face it. He was getting old and if he let Erin get away, we were all going to kill him!

Gracie got to be a flower girl for the first time in Mike & Erin's wedding. She was about 1 week past her 2nd birthday, and not quite up to the mature responsibility of holding this position, but she looked cute!

Erin is a teacher, so we have that in common although she teaches high school and is still doing so while I've "retired" for awhile. She gets along great with my husband and my children and is a wonderful "sounding board" on many issues.

Erin is a great sister-in-law! She's a Christain and nice and compassionate and such a sweet mother! She also reads my blog regularly even though she never comments! She thinks I'm mad at her which is silly so I told her to keep reading my blog 'cause I'd write about her!
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Dear Lord,
You know the things on my heart. Thank you for helping me lately with keeping my mind off of things that threaten to overtake me with worry. Thank you for helping me to close my mouth when it threatens to open and say things that shouldn't be said. Please continue to help me with this and please forgive me for the times I haven't been successful. Please help our Life Groups this year to be successful with Bible Study and also in reaching out to others with a helping hand and a good attitude.

Please be with little Ira who is still so sick. Strengthen his parents & big sister as well.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

special day with Daddy!

Today's the day~Gracie's date with Daddy! She was very excited! I think they were headed out to eat for lunch and then to Fort Discovery, a science museum in a nearby town. Chris & I had discussed many different options, and I think this is what he decided. I think Gracie had decided on Zaxby's for lunch. After all, you get a Rice Krispie treat with your grilled cheese kids' meal. What else could she ask for from a restaurant?!? Here are some pics to record the beginning of the date.

Gracie waiting for the knock on the door. (We made it official and had him come to the door to get her.

She was excited opening the door.

Posing before they leave.

Katie was not happy that they were leaving without her!

On their way!

disturbing

Wow. I was just watching ER. A 15 year old girl was pregnant. She'd apparently gotten drunk at a party and was raped. It wasn't the type of rape where she tried to fight her attacker. It was the type where she woke up and found evidence, like her jeans being off, of having been raped. She did admit to drinking and doing "other things" with boys that night but always expected her "first time" to be with someone she loved. She & her family were deeply religious, so abortion was a sin to them. After the doctors talked with her and realized that it was a rape and that she didn't want the baby, one of them did a procedure on her that, in his words, "gave God a chance to reconsider." This response was given to her when she asked if it was a sin.

Basically, it wasn't called an abortion, but it would most likely cause her to miscarry. I can't remember the exact name of it. From what I gathered, this was done without the consent of her parents. She asked him, "What do I tell my mom?" He said, "She'll think you're miscarrying. You will be." He also told her she'd have to come back in a few days to have whatever it was he had put in her removed.

This was disturbing to me for many reasons.

funny moment

I just had to grab the camera when I caught Katie putting Gracie's shoes on her baby doll and trying to tie them.

Of course, not to be left out, Gracie wanted me to take a picture of her too. This particular one, I have to admit, is a little posed, but she is reading on the couch as I type this now. I got to help students in her class take their first Accelerated Reader tests on the computer yesterday. I loved that! It was a change of pace from the other kinds of tutoring I've been doing, pretty much a whole new batch of kids, and a change of scenery since we were in the library rather than the workroom. Of course, I was proud of Gracie's reading and her performance on the test for that book! I just feel very blessed to have a child who likes to read so much since the desire to read makes such a difference in how successful a child will be.

We had playgroup today. What is with my youngest child reverting back to wanting to play with electrical outlets?!? Honestly, she messed with them when she was little, but she'd stopped. Just this week, she started again. Alissa & some other friends caught her a few times as did I. She is stubborn too because I let it be known that this was not acceptable behavior and she'd go back. A couple of times, it looked like she was just getting close to it but not actually touching it. She'd been playing with some play tools and maybe she was trying to "fix" it, but still! I don't want my 22 month old even pretending to play with it! Ugh! Due to a new babysitting situation, Kate was able to be with us for part of the day, too! We got to have her little sweetie, Bryson, the whole time. That was nice!

Alissa and I were also commenting on how her little girl, Alora, and Katie have such an interesting relationship. Alora will be 3 in April so she's just about a year older than Katie. They will sometimes fight like cats & dogs, then still end up gravitating to each other to play at other times. They both tend to be a little stubborn which I'm sure leads to the fighting part!

Gracie & her daddy are going on a date tomorrow! Chris & I have been talking about how important the relationship is between a daddy & his daughter (as are the other relationships within a family too of course.) So, they're going on a date tomorrow during the day, just the 2 of them. I'm happy about this and Gracie is very excited to spend this special time with her daddy!

sweet moments

I love catching sweet moments like these:

~The girls having fun together while Gracie pushes Katie in the baby doll stroller.

~Katie hiding while I try to capture her messy mini M&M face.
Thank you Lord for our sweet girls!

Jesus, Take the Wheel

Gracie started back to school this morning. I was a little sad after having her home for 2 weeks. I even reverted back to parking and walking her up to the school rather than using carline. I didn't walk her to her classroom since that's discouraged~and being a former teacher, I do understand why~but I walked her up to the sidewalk and watched while she walked up to her room. It made me happy to see Miss S come to the doorway as she & one of her classmates walked up. As usual, Miss S was cheery and welcoming, greeting them with a smile and waving at me. Gracie will have a good day.

I was floating around online this morning while eating my 'Crispy Rice' (the generic version of Rice Krispies. How much different can they be from the "real" thing?!!?) I came across a blog that I think I linked to from somebody's. I'm not even sure whose. They had a feature where a Carrie Underwood song was playing along with part of the video. I had heard this song before but only once. It is soooo good! I love it! I'm going to try to figure out how to use iTunes and download it. Chris does that all the time, so surely I can figure it out. For 99 cents a song, I'm sure gonna try! I wanted to post the words for all of you to read. I think it's a wonderful message for me to listen to first thing in the morning. I copied the below in italics from cowboylyrics.com

Artist/Band: Underwood Carrie

Lyrics for Song: Jesus, Take The Wheel

Lyrics for Album: Some Hearts

She was driving last Friday on her way to Cincinnati

On a snow white Christmas Eve

Going home to see her Mama and her Daddy with the baby in the backseat

Fifty miles to go and she was running low on faith and gasoline

It been a long hard year

She had a lot on her mind and she didn't pay attention

She was going way too fast

Before she knew it she was spinning on a thin black sheet of glass

She saw both their lives flash before her eyes

She didn't even have time to cry

She was sooo scared

She threw her hands up in the air

Jesus take the wheel

Take it from my hands

Cause I can't do this all on my own

I'm letting go

So give me one more chance

To save me from this road I'm on

Jesus take the wheel

It was still getting colder when she made it to the shoulder

And the car came to a stop

She cried when she saw that baby in the backseat sleeping like a rock

And for the first time in a long time

She bowed her head to pray

She said I'm sorry for the way I've been living my life

I know I've got to change

So from now on tonight

Jesus take the wheel

Take it from my hands

Cause I can't do this all my own

I'm letting go

So give me one more chance

To save me from this road I'm on

Oh, Jesus take the wheel

Oh, I'm letting go

So give me one more chance

Save me from this road I'm on From this road I'm on

Jesus take the wheel

Oh, take it, take it from me

Oh, why, oh

[Thanks to xbsktbllgrl11x@aol.com, CRseasoccer@aol.com for corrections]

Gotta go get busy with the day. I need to wash sheets, finish other laundry, clean the bathtub, write some cards, check on my Ebay auctions, etc. I'm anxious to see how much I actually get done!

hero cat

Hmmmm......have you heard about the hero cat?

2006

~Gracie had a sleepover last night, her first one to attend! Her friend, Leigh Ann, had slept over here at our house back in September. For the past week or so, Gracie had been asking me about having LA over for a playdate. As I'm sure many mothers do, I murmured that "one day" we would have her over, but life kept getting in the way. Yesterday after Bible Class, Gracie asked again and went a step further asking if LA could spend the night. While I thought it was a pretty good idea, I stalled and said "one day." I asked Chris about it and he said it was fine. So, I went up to LA's mother and whispered in her ear, "Gracie wants to know if LA can spend the night tonight." She looked at me and said, "No, actually it's the other way around. LA just asked me if Gracie can spend the night with her. I told her she had to check with her dad to see if he had any family plans for tomorrow." I laughed and said, "They've already been planning this!" She said, "Yes. I think LA just went to tell Gracie that she just had to ask her daddy." Sure enough, I realized that as I had gone up to talk with LA's mom, LA had walked behind me to talk to Gracie! They're only 5 & 6 years old and already planning things pretty well! I'm just happy that Gracie has been blessed with a best little girlfriend from a Christian family. This was Gracie's first time to go on a real "friend" sleepover, and Chris & I both agreed that we trusted this family but wouldn't trust many others. We don't say that to sound mean, we just say that to mean that we feel like we know this family well enough to know Gracie will be well cared for while in their home. If she starts getting invitations from school friends, we'll have to choose our words carefully. We won't want to sound ungrateful for the invitation, but we're just not going to feel comfortable with that situation until we feel we know a family very well. Has anyone else gone through this already? Your child getting invitations for playdates & sleepovers from people you don't well? So far, she's had 2 playdates with a girl from school and I've tagged along. I'm just interested in what I should say if a sleepover is ever mentioned.

~True to my prediction, we were back home before midnight Saturday night. We left around 10:45. I think the girls could have made it; they were going pretty strong. Of course, Katie did look like she was walking around in her sleep a few times, but she was enjoying herself. Chris & I were sitting on the comfy chair about to fall asleep, so we decided to head home early. We rung in the new year on our own couch watching Dick Clark with each of us reading our own books. We did have a good time, though. We were with some friends we haven't hung out with too much in the past year or so, so it was nice to have that time. Also true to my prediction, I didn't do much karaoke. Chris did some. I would sing along a little, but didn't get up with the microphone. It was tempting. I think in my own house, with just my family, I would be tempted to belt out a few every now & then!

~There seemed to be alot of people missing from church yesterday. We only have about 150 on Sunday mornings anyway, but it was less than that yesterday I'm sure. Kate & I went to see "Fun with Dick & Jane" late last night. (2 movies in one weekend...unheard of for me!) It was really funny! Chris was watching the Cowboys play, so I figured I'd slip out and enjoy some time with Kate. It seems that she & I pass each other quickly sometimes, so it was good to sit & talk for awhile.

~Chris is in the other room yelling at the television while watching Texas Tech play Alabama. He is a huge TT fan and is even wearing his TT football jersey. Yeah, my husband is a football nut! He was watching the Cowboys last night...his other favorite team. Apparently, they didn't win.

~Our new Life Groups will start soon. I think around the 3rd week of January. I'm hoping, and will be praying, that they go well. I'm excited about the group we have. I know God can do great things with these life groups and I'm hoping we'll be open to doing what He wants us to do.

~Gracie starts back to school tomorrow. It's been so nice to have her home all the time during the day, but it will also be good to get back into a schedule, too. I hope that doesn't make me a bad mom for saying that.

Dear Lord,

Thank you Lord for all that you do. Thank you for my family & friends. Thank you for my blogger friends also, as they have a special place in my life.

Please help me to be the person You want me to be. You know I've had a bad attitude lately and a bitter heart towards some people & situations. I know that You want us to do all we do with a happy heart and I pray that You'll help me with that. Help me to have the kind of prayer life where I talk to You about everything~before I worry about it!

There are many times when I think about what other people should be doing. Give me the kind of attitude to step up and do those things rather than sitting around thinking about how other people should be doing it.

Help me to be a good example to all who know me. Don't let me be the person they think about when they think of a negative person or a person who knows all the latest gossip. Let me be the positive person who is there to help.

Be with Gracie as she goes back to school tomorrow. Please keep her safe physically, emotionally & spiritually. Be with Chris as he will be at work. Help him to do his work well and be a Christian example to all those around. Be with Katie as she is trying to learn the appropriate way to share. express frustrations & just generally live in this world. My family is precious and I'm thankful for them!

In Jesus' Name,
Amen