Another Day in the Warehouse

Christmas traditions

2008-12-06T07:28:00.002-08:00

My family over the years has invented its own Christmas traditions. We bake Christmas cookies and decorate them together--well Phil mostly eats them. We open one gift at a time to savor each gift and show appreciation to the giver. We have our children open one gift per night the week prior to Christmas so they can enjoy each gift instead of being on overload with a mountain of gifts. Santa then brings the stockings on Christmas morning. I usually make chocolate chip pancakes or biscuits with chocolate gravy on Christmas morning for our traditional Christmas breakfast.

Last year my mom and dad, sister and her husband, Lindsey, my niece and my daughter Megan decided we had enough stuff and we needed to share with a family in need. When we received the list from the family (we don't know who they are and they don't know who we are) we divided the list and shopped for our people on the list. Then we got together and wrapped all the presents a couple of days later.

This year our tradition continues. However, this year we are shopping together today for a family. We thought it would be more fun to shop together. After our purchases have been made, we will come back to my house and wrap gifts. I plan to play Christmas music and I know we will have lots of laughs and giggles as we wrap the presents together. There is something about helping someone anonymously that brings joy to your heart.

I thought it would be fun to read about other families traditions or how your family blesses others during the Christmas season. If you have a neat holiday tradition, please share!!

Am I seeing a Ghost?

2008-09-28T15:01:00.001-07:00

Many of my close friends know that we had to put our beloved "Tiny" to sleep a couple of weeks ago. He was a red haired, miniature dauschand who had been in our family for over 12 years. It was sad, but Tiny had lost the feeling in his back two legs because of a back injury and it was the merciful thing to do.

We have another miniature dauschand "Lexie" who is small and black haired. She has been lonely and tends to howl when she is sad, so it has been rather pitiful watching her look for Tiny and cry for him.

Anyway, after church today, I was home by myself. I was sitting at the kitchen table and suddenly a glimpse of a small animal with red hair went by our back door. Okay, I am telling myself....that was probably Lexie and you just thought it was red hair. So, I went to the door to look out and ya'll, there was a miniature red haired dauschand that looked just like the presumed dead Tiny. This dog was in our backyard! Lexie was huddled behind her doghouse evidently terrified of the "ghost" dog. I immediately called my preacher husband and told him that we have had a miraculous resurrection of our Tiny. He was stumped as I was. You have to admit, this is a little weird.

Well, when Phil got home and I was brave enough with him there, we both went out to look at our resurrected dog. I am sad to say, it was not Tiny. Yes, he was a miniature dauschand and yes, he had red hair, but just as Lexie knew, he was not Tiny. He did not smell like Tiny, he did not have the swagger Tiny had and yet, here he was in our yard.

Many thoughts ran through our heads. How did this dog get in our yard? Who put him there? Did some sweet (out of their mind) church member, bring us a new dog to replace Tiny. We finally figured out it probably belonged to our neighbor on the next street over. Come to find out, yes, it was their dog and the next door neighbors saw it out and assumed it was our Tiny. They sweetly put it back in our yard thinking it was ours, where later it scared the wilies out of me and Lexie.

Our neighbors have their dog back. Lexie is back to howling. Everything is normal-or as normal as it gets around here. If some sweet church member or friend is thinking of replacing our Tiny, please DON"T! I have had enough trauma today as it is.

The Days of Romance

2008-09-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were first dating your beloved and he would write you poetry, bring flowers, and whisper sweet words to you. I have a wonderful marriage and my husband has done a great job of keeping up in the romance department. However, nothing could have prepared me for the beautiful picture he sent of himself this morning. I was swooning at the sight of my precious husband and the incredibly romantic scene he chose to send me. He is out of town and it will be evident when you view the picture, what he has been up to. I have to say-romance is not dead, the pig may be, but not the romance.

Traditions

2008-09-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

I believe traditions can be a good thing. Our family enjoys its traditions. One of my favorite is how we open presents at Christmas. Beginning when the kids were smaller we open 1 gift per night until Christmas Eve when Santa comes. So, if the kids had 5 presents under the tree, 5 days before Christmas we would begin opening one a night. I loved this because my children were able to focus and enjoy that one gift the whole evening and gifts didn't get lost in the madness of doing them all at once.

My family (mom and dad) had a tradition that only one person opens a gift at a time so everyone can enjoy the opening and then the gift giver gets a hug and kiss from the recipient of the gift. We have kept that tradition with my children. However, when we go to Phil's moms for Christmas, their tradition is everyone opens all at once and it is fun that way too. It is wild and crazy and everyone is laughing and having a great time. My children have had two different traditions given to them and I wonder which one they will use with their family. Will I be upset because they choose Phil's family's way and not my family's way. Not in the least. I will just be happy they love each other. The gift giving is just an outlet of their love for each other.

I have been thinking a lot about traditions lately. Mainly traditions in the church. Why we do things the way we do them and how sometimes those traditions become our religion instead of our relationship with Jesus. We have been moving away from some of our long kept traditions at one of our services at church lately and there has been quite a bit of controversy over the changes. Some love them, some hate them. The changes were made in an attempt to reach the lost of our community who may never have stepped foot in a church building and to reach the young in our community who see church as irrelevant in today's world.

I have my personal opinion on these changes and I know I have to be careful about my thoughts and actions. I don't want old or new traditions to become my religion. I only want Jesus. I only want a relationship with my Father. I only want to show others his grace and mercy. I believe there are many ways to accomplish this, but I need to be careful that I don't become so set in my traditions that I value my traditions more than my relationship with God.

Like I said earlier, just thinking.....

Two weeks in and counting

2008-09-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

I have finished my first two weeks back at school. Only 178 more school days to freedom--summer! I know that is sad wishing my life away, but boy, I miss my freedom!

Things went well at school except for "NO AIR CONDITIONING" in my little room and "THE COMPUTER FROM THE STONE AGE."

Yes, as I was putting loads of books onto my little cart, I was sweating through my shirt and capris--remember an earlier blog-I am something of an Olympian Gold medalist in the sweating category. There are a lot of physical elements to my job the first two weeks and my thermostat was set at 100 degrees and could not be moved. Finally, a maintenance man came out yesterday (Kevin--I read name tags now and try to be Jesus by calling all people by their name) "So, Kevin, what is going on with my air conditioner?" Kevin responds, "Well, it looks like your thermostat was set at central office to come on at night and not the day"
( if you are in the world of education, you know this makes perfect sense to the powers that be). "So, Kevin how are we going to fix this little problem." Kevin says "Well, I will check at central office and see if they will let me change it to come on in the day while you are here." "Well, thank you very much Kevin, that would be so awesome to have air conditioning when I am actually here!" I said that last part in a very Jesus like way. I pasted a smile on my sweaty face because it really is not Kevin's fault that I am melting at work. I think I kind of grossed him out because as you know, I was sweating profusely and he had not one bead of sweat on his face or uniform. I bet he gets day air conditioning in the maintenance department. Lucky Kevin.

Now I can only hope that central office will change their position on air conditioning. Maybe Kevin will help them see the value of having air conditioning during the day instead of at night. Stay tuned. You never know how these educational decisions will turn out.

Tomorrow I will write about my computer. This whole air conditioning blog has made me sweat. I need a shower. Til' tommorw..

What a Weekend!

2008-08-24T15:54:00.000-07:00

I have just awakened from a marathon nap--it is Sunday afternoon people! I don't awaken well after a deep sleep nap. My brain is not fully functional and I have learned that because of this, my mouth can sometimes say things that people (my family) sometimes misunderstand. I need to be awake so that my "be nice" filter is in place because I tend to be somewhat grumpy when I awake. So while I am in my "no filter on brain and mouth mode" I thought I should write about this weekend.

The reason for the marathon nap is because me and my "Peeps" went on a road trip to hear Beth Moore speak God's words to us in San Antonio. There were around 10,000 ladies from all over the world-even Japan in attendance. The worship was incredible. Hearing all of these ladies praise God was something I won't soon forget. Beth visited with us about our inheritance in God. It was powerful.

I loved seeing Beth-we all got our picture made with her. She had her two girls with her and we bloggers got a special chance after her last talk to sit in a question and answer period. Very fun! I have to tell you all that even though I loved seeing and hearing Beth, my favorite part was before and after the picture shoot with her. You see, I got to visit with "Boo Mama"

Boo Mama has always been one of my favorite blog sites. I love her writing style, precious stories about her comings and goings, and her incredible testimony on the internet. I also felt somewhat connected because she and my husband and about 10 others went to Africa together in February with Compassion International. (My husband, Phil, got to meet our little adopted girl there-Doreen which was so precious) Anyway, I and my Coffee Group friends just marched ourselves up to Boo Mama and before I knew it, I was in a big bear hug with her. I just love that woman even though it was the first time we had officially seen each other in person. Isn't it neat that those that love the Lord have such a common bond that we can't help but love each other.

So to recap the weekend:

Cost of hotel: $244, plus $38 to park; Drive to and from Abilene:12 hours (we had lots of potty breaks); loss of sleep: 4 hours; Friday night supper time: 10 pm on the river walk; Grossness: huge rat on said river walk; Hair: wet and dripping from rain in San Antonio; Walking to and from and all around the Alamodome: three hundred miles (I am exaggerating somewhat, but I didn't have my pedometer so I had to estimate), water for sale in Alamodome: warm and $3.75 a bottle.

Hearing Beth and meeting BooMama: priceless!

Number 2?

2008-08-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

We are getting a bid for the repair to our ceiling today. You know the one that had the leg sticking out of it last week. That was number one house fix.

Last night as Phil was returning home, he pushed our trusty garage door opener and the door would only open 1/4 of the way up. He tried several times and nothing above that height. It is a little hard to get through that space, so he goes around to the front door, where I meet him saying "I think the garage door is broken." I need to remember to be quiet in those obvious times of husband frustration. He seemed to already know that the garage door was broken, so I quietly stepped out of the storm that surrounded him and kept my mouth from stating anymore obvious facts.

We were supposed to be on our way to a rehearsal dinner. Phil had just finished the rehearsal and had come by to pick me up. We had to call and cancel because we had to get this fixed. My car is being held hostage in the garage and Phil is leaving for Alaska Sunday.

Phil looks at the garage door and the spring has broken. This is the garage door opener and spring replacement that we put in two years ago. Hmmm...things sure don't last like they used to.

So another $225 to the garage door people this morning who came on a Saturday and replaced the spring on our door.

I figure this is number 2. You know when things begin to break around the house, they always come in threes. So, the air conditioner is 1, the garage door is number 2, ...I am waiting to see what number 3 is. Do you think that maybe the leg through the ceiling would count for number 2? That sure would be nice. I am really glad I have a job or I would have had to sell my wedding ring or something to pay for all this.

I'll let you know when and if number 3 lands.

IC-Warning-this may be TMI-too much information

2008-08-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

As many of my close friends know, my health has kind of been an issue for the last two years. After my hysterectomy in May of 2006 it seems my body decided it was time to give me a good dose of reality. You see, I have never really been sick. I have had the usual childhood diseases (measles, mumps etc) and I did have aseptic meningitis after Zach was born, but on the whole I have been very healthy. Kind of took it for granted. I had no fear of doctors or hospitals because I knew that if I ever came down with anything, they could fix it. Oh, the innocence of the unafflicted!

In October of 2006, I had a urinary tract infection. Never had one of those and I didn't like it one bit. I went to the doctor, they put me on antibiotics and I fully expected it to go away. It did get better, but kept coming back. After 3 rounds of antibiotics, it never truly went away. During this time my hormones were down in the dungeon. My body was in shock from the hysterectomy, having no hormones and then the UTI hit. I guess my bladder said, "I am not happy and I am going to tell you about it." I had pain, terrible pain, bladder spasms and everything seemed to hurt. I went to doctor after doctor. No one could help me. They couldn't understand why I was having this continued pain and no bacteria was showing up when they tested me for the UTI.

Being the resourceful person I am, I got on-line. I was desperate to find out what was happening to me. I spent many hours researching. Surprisingly, there are not many diseases of the bladder. However I did find one that fit my symptoms. So I found a doctor who specializes in this disease and went to Lubbock to see if this was truly what I had. After a bladder procedure entitled the "potassium sensitivity test" which is just as fun as it sounds. This involves putting potassium into your bladder. If it hurts, you have Interstitial Cystitis. Mine hurt-bad-I wanted to jump off the table. Evidently, my bladder lining is falling apart. The GAG layer (weird name) keeps the acidic urine from touching the nerve endings in your bladder. People with this disease begin to lose their GAG layer. Hence the pain. So I was diagnosed with IC-Interstitial Cystitis

Here is the kicker: No one knows what causes IC, there is no cure, and there are over 700,000 people in the US alone that have this disease. Many have it so much worse than I do. They are not able to work, they go to the bathroom up to 60 times a day, and their bladder gets smaller and smaller because it is scarring over trying to protect itself. If you have ever had a UTI, these people put up with that pain times 10 each day of their lives.

So far, my symptoms have been minimal. I do have pain, but most days I can handle the pain. I even have a few days that are pain free. I rejoice in those days. I keep praying that mine will not progress and so far this has held true. My doctor is wonderful and has me on the only treatment they have that works on 20% of the cases. I am praying that I am one of the 20 percent. I am careful about eating acidic foods. I take my meds. I rest when I need to. My friends have prayed with me and have been great about supporting me through this. My mom has heard me cry for hours on the phone. My husband is a saint and always really wants to know how I am doing each day.

I guess I needed to share this because I was a person that really didn't understand when people had pain or diseases. There are millions of people each day walking around this world trying to hold up and do what they need to do, but are doing it in pain. I believe the Lord gave me the blessing of having IC so that my eyes would be open to those who quietly suffer. I needed to grow in patience towards others "having a bad day." This "bad day" may be because they are doing the best they can to hold themselves up. I needed to see suffering from this side to truly know and understand.

I just found out that one of my friends from school has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Before, I would have told her I would pray for her and that is a good thing. I believe in the power of prayer. Now, however, I want to hug her and let her cry and tell me everything. I want her to know that I will be there to talk about it and she can tell me how she is feeling and I will never grow tired of hearing her story. I want to tell her it is okay to be angry with the disease and it is okay to have days to just rest and to not worry about what people will think if she misses another day of school or an important event.

So, I am learning my lesson. I pray that I will be more tolerant, kind, merciful and will react with the heart and mind of Jesus. I want to remember that every person on this earth is suffering from something-maybe not physical, but some kind of hurt. If you know someone who is going through a bad time today, give them a call, send a card, reach out in some way. It makes a difference-it really does.

Picture of Dad's Surprise Party

2008-08-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

I have been promising pictures of my Dad's Surprise party. Here they are. The theme was "Cowboy" so that is why he is wearing a sheriff's vest, hat and badge.

Bad Karma

2008-08-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

Last week we noticed that the air conditioner on the other side of the house didn't seem to be cooling well. We asked our friends who they used for these problems, since we are still fairly new to the area. They gave us a name and we called them the next day. They came right out which was nice, however, the guy they sent didn't seem to "with it" if you know what I mean. He checked both of our units and said that we were low on freon on the one that wasn't cooling, but the other unit was fine. He said he would put some freon in and it should cool just great--as long as there was not a leak. This is an important part to the story. So he filled up whatever you put freon in and lo and behold, he found a leak. But all we need, mind you, is a little part that will be easy to get and he should be back the next day to fix it.

So $300. later Phil and I are in bed on our side of the house and notice that the air conditioner is not cooling. Yes, you have that right. Not the one that the man had worked on, but the one that was working perfectly fine the day before until the air conditioning guy checked on it. So, we get up the next morning after a very sweaty night and call. The same guy comes out and lo and behold, something that he didn't notice the day before has miraculously burned out after he had checked on it yesterday. So, we need just one more little part and it will be all better. So, $87 later the air conditioner on our side of the house if fixed.

While he is fixing this air conditioner, his company calls and said they can not get the part for the first air conditioner because they only sell it if you buy the whole unit (motor-compressor--one of those things that cost lots of money) So we have the choice of spending $1000. more to fix the first air conditioner or we might want to buy a new one that has a 10 year warranty because this one is 12 years old. So, Phil and I debate. Do we want to throw another $1000 at an air conditioner that might break down again. No. So we decide to get a new one--$4500. Yep! you read that right. You would think we would be smart by now. So Phil went in to sign the papers and we were promised that Monday morning they would be there at 6:15 to begin.

Monday morning we are all up-some grumpier than others---all grumpy actually. We waited until 7:00 and they still have not come. So we call. Guess what! They didn't know they were supposed to come Monday even though we had called, gone in and signed papers and set the time. We were getting a little upset by this time. I kinda hung up on the guy--my excuse was it was really early and evidently I woke the guy up even though we were up and waiting on him to come and fix our problem. I was beginning to feel we were being taken advantage of. I don't know if Jesus would have hung up on the guy or not, but I was really nice to them the next day until they fell through our living room ceiling.

Yes, you have that right ladies and gentlemen. We now have a broken air conditioner, which may or may not get fixed. They are still working on it and have been since 6:45. We also have a beautiful hole in our living room ceiling. Luckily the man was not hurt. He is fine. I made sure he was fine, but Donna is not in a happy mood. We found out what happened when Megan walked out of her room and said, "Uh Dad you might want to come in here. There is a man's leg coming out of our ceiling." It is an attractive element in the room, but it is not really the theme I had in mind in redecorating

So we have called someone to come repair our ceiling which will entail taking off all the texture, retexturing and repainting the entire ceiling. He can come maybe in two weeks. I am having company this weekend and won't it be lovely to show them the new hole in our ceiling.

Yes, I am very happy. We now have spent $5000 and nothing is fixed.

I was telling a friend about this and she said, "I think you all have bad karma." I am not sure what "bad karma" is, but I would like to be rid of it if you please.

Going to take a valium now and take a nap. Phil is already resting with a headache. It has been a day!

School letter

2008-08-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

I received the yearly letter from my superintendent yesterday. This is the form letter that all employees of the district receive before the school year begins. The letters I have received over the years from various districts are always on a positive, slightly humorous and "we are going to conquer the world" note. These letters have never had their intended purpose on me. They descend me into a cloud of denial and depression. "The summer went too quickly", "I don't want to go back", "You can't make me go back!" Yes, I become whiney, emotional, depressed --kind of like that teenage mode where you don't want to do anything that you don't want to do.

But because I am an adult, let me just say, Yes, I know I have to go back. Yes, I am thankful I have this job. Yes, I love my principal who is also a good friend. I am blessed. I know this. But for now all I can think of is NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

That is my tantrum for the day. You can be assured there will be more to follow.

Horsefeathers and decorating tip

2008-08-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful trip to Salado. It is a really neat litte town, full of cute and eclectic shops. Phil and I went shopping at a store named "Horsefeathers." We always stop at this little shop because it is just full of neat furniture and accessories. While we were shopping, Phil was visiting with me about a piece of furniture and a young lady heard him talking. She had not seen him, but just heard his voice. She followed his voice to the room we were in and said, "Are you Phil Ware from Abilene?" It seems she is a student at ACU and her parents had recently moved to Salado and bought the shop "Horsefeathers." We thought it was so funny that she recognized Phil by his voice. We had a great visit with her and her dad. They go to the church in Salado where Phil was speaking, so we saw them again that night. You never know when you are going to meet fellow believers and friends. This is wonderful and also means you have to be good wherever you go!

We ended up buying two pieces of furniture and somehow squeezed them into my little Trailblazer. We were packed to the gills, but made it home fine. One of the pieces I bought was a little round table. In the store it was decorated with a lamp, plant, three candle holders with candles and a little plaque with the scripture Matthew 22.37 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, and your mind." I was showing the shop owner what I wanted and I pointed at the display and said, "I want to buy this." He asked me, "You want the table?" I said no, "I want this." He said, "You want the plant?" I said "No, I want the whole thing--the whole display." He said "Oh!" I think he was pleased. You see, if you find a table and like the way it is decorated--buy the whole thing. It is so much easier than trying to decorate the table yourself. That is my decorating tip for the day.

Pictures of The Inn on the Creek

2008-07-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

A Trip to Salado

2008-07-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

Phil and I are off tomorrow to one of our favorite places in Texas. Salado! We stay at the best bed and breakfast ever-The Inn on the Creek. We have been for the last three summers and have enjoyed our stay each time. The manager is a precious lady who makes an incredible breakfast, but also will just come up to you as you sit out on the porch rocking away the day and say "You look hot, I just made some raspberry sherbert. Let me bring you some." Well who am I to turn down homemade sherbet. Yummy and refreshing!

Last year we had friends come from Austin to hear Phil preach and they came over to the Inn after church. As we were visiting on the porch rocking away and remembering old times, here comes the sweet manager again and she says, "I am going to bring you all some homemade creme brulee." Well who are we to turn down creme brulee? Yummy again!

As you can see alot of our love of this place revolves around rocking chairs, porches and yummy food. The perfect combination for a two day getaway with your hubby.

I am still working on the pictures of my dad's birthday. Will post as soon as I figure out how to do that on this blog. I will also try to come up with some pictures of the Inn on the Creek, just in case you are ever in Salado and hankering for some homemade creme brulee.

Dad's birthday and summer musings

2008-07-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
Let me introduce myself. It has been since September since you last heard from me on my blog. I don't have any excuses except when you are teaching you are too exhausted to have a full coherent thought in your head. I had good intentions and maybe this year I will do better. (don't mention that it is almost August and I have not written until now)

We had dad's surprise 75th birthday bash last night at our house. We had a cowboy theme, complete with cowboy hat, sheriff vest, and badge for my dad to wear. You may be thinking, hmmm he is 75 years old. Would he want to wear a cowboy hat, vest and badge? Of course he would! He dressed in the get-up for the whole evening and was just precious. I believe this is the first birthday party he ever had, so since he missed out as a child, my sister and I thought it would be a good time to have a surprise themed party for him. We had about 23 of his friends and family here and everyone was so sweet. It was a fun night and I will try to post pictures later on. The crowd was mostly in their "older" years and I asked my daughter if she thought the party was a success. She said "Well, no one broke a hip, so I think it was successful." She has a wry sense of humor, that sweet child of mine.

Summer has been glorious!!! Phil, Megan and I went on a Alaskan cruise in June. So fun! If you want to see pictures from our trip, go to Megan's blog at countryfriedpk.blogspot.com. By the way, the pk in her blog title stands for preacher's kid in case you didn't know. We had a great time together--all in one little room the size of a small closet, but it was a special time together.

I spent most of July cleaning out closets, cabinets etc. Phil said he thought I might be pregnant because I had that nesting fever. No pregnancy--just wanting to get things straight before the new school year rolls around.

Phil and I are preparing to travel to Salado where he is speaking next week. They ask him every summer and we love going there. They always put us up in a great Bed and Breakfast and we always buy one extra night because we love it there.

The Coffee Group had a wonderful year. We met so many wonderful women in our travels. We have updated our website and blog and hope you will visit. Our site is www.thecoffeegroup.net and our blog is espressohislove.blogspot.com. We are beginning to hear from churches who may want us to come speak at their retreats and we are always excited to go meet new friends!

See you next time!
Donna

My friends are the best!

2007-09-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

I have finished my first week of school with the students. It has been fast and furious. I only had time for lunch one day and ate my slim fast bar the other days while working at my desk. Whew! I am a wee bit tired. However, I had a wonderful surprise on Friday. Let me back up here: Last Wednesday night I learned that "my coffee group girls" had gone out for coffee the first morning of school like we have done for the last three years. I am usually with them drinking coffee, laughing, talking.... you get the gist. When I found out they went and I hadn't known because I was at school, I kinda had a little pity party for myself. Well maybe it was a big pity party, but I love coffee and I love my coffee group and I love laughing and talking, so I was pretty blue. Then on Friday moring I heard this familar voice yelling down my hallway at school, "Where is Donna Ware's room?" As I looked up there stood four of my coffee buddies with a to-go cup of Cafe Mocha just for me! They drove all the way to Clyde to see me in my new school! I was so excited and so happy to see them. We got to visit, laugh, talk, drink coffee and even though it wasn't at Tuscany's or Starbucks, I felt right at home because they were there with me. It is really true, wherever your friends and family are-that is home. Thanks sweet precious friends. You made my day, my week and my year. I love you all and will miss our morning coffee times, but I am thinking it can be dessert and de-caf at my house soon!

The bracelet of complaints

2007-08-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

In my last posting I mentioned that I needed a bracelet from Sarah to cut up into little pieces. I realize that all of you out there might not know what I am talking about. My friend Sarah has a principal who gave them little rubber bracelets to wear. It is to keep them from complaining. Uh, I don't think a bracelet will keep me from complaining, but hey, I am just repeating what she told me. Anyway, the way it is supposed to go is that every time you complain you have to move your bracelet to the other arm. It reminds you not to complain. Well....my post had a little complaining in it....all justified of course.....but I realized that I might just have to cut my bracelet up into many little pieces because I just don't have time to move my bracelet back and forth for the thousands of times I have complained over the last two days. I now repent......except for my daughter was supposed to move into her brand new apartment today. Let's just say it didn't happen because of no air conditioning, no working appliances, no furniture, red dirt everywhere, a lovely hole in her ceiling and white paint that needed patching, so of course they used pink to cover up their mistakes. It is just lovely, let me tell you. But as I have repented from complaining I will not say another word....until Monday after the first day of school. See you all then!

T I R E D!!!

2007-08-24T17:34:00.001-07:00

Okay, I have been back to work now for 18 days. Yes 18 days. My contract calls for me to work 10 extra days, plus 3 days for "comp" time and then the regular 5 days of staff development and work days. Thus 18 days. Did I tell you that my cute toenails are now surrounded by puffy, swollen feet. Did I tell you that my eyes are feeling like red sandpaper (red for the color of my eyes), Did I tell you that my back hurts in a new spot and Megan is giving her Dad a back rub right now and I am sitting here with the "achy and I am feeling sorry for myself back"? Let me whine a little here--I want a back rub, can't anyone see that I need a back rub? My hubby took my massage appointment on Thursday because I had to go to Meet the Teacher night and now he is getting another back rub. Is life fair?? No my friends, it is not.

This was my schedule --let me back up to last Friday. Precious friends-yes they are precious because if anyone else had asked to come stay with me for the weekend before I went back to work I would have said "Are you nuts?". Anyway, friends came in and stayed with us through Monday dropping off their daughter at ACU. As they were literally leaving our garage, our second guest arrived, my daughter's roommate who needed a place to stay for the week. Okay, my smile is still pasted on. As she was settling into our guest room, the phone is ringing with my mother in law and guess what? Their house is being exterminated on Tuesday and can they come and stay the day and spend the night because they don't want to be gassed by the fumes. My smile is kind of fakey now.

So, I go to work Monday and get to go into a cafeteria of about 100 teachers of whom I know two and they are no where to be seen. Remember jr high days when you would rather not eat than sit by yourself. You feel like everyone is looking at you and no one, yes, no one wants you at their table. Yep! That's me. After asking several tables if I could sit with them, I finally found a high school teacher who had pity on me and let me sit there. I wanted to call her the Good Samaritan, but didn't know how she would take that and I really wasn't beat up or anything. My confidence was just dragging the ground.

After a wonderful day of sitting on cafeteria stools (little round ones that don't fit anyone's bottom unless you are two years old), I got to go to the staff BBQ. (This actually turned out to be nice, but I was missing my Bunko night and I didn't get TP'd) (I'll tell you about TP later) So now we are at Tuesday (remember in laws coming) so I scurry around picking up the biggest pieces of dirt and mess in the house and leave to go off to another fun filled staff development day sitting on cafeteria stools. Have I mentioned how I love those stools. After a few hours my bottom was lets say, not so happy with me. Numb is the word and I didn't look very graceful as I hobbled off after such a wonderful day.

After school I go home and we take the in laws out to a fancy restaurant called Rosa's. Cheap taco night--saw a good friend and that made it fun. We are up to Wednesday now--another staff development day but at least we were at our school on our own cafeteria stools. I think they were made by the same person who must have had a bad teacher somewhere in his/her life and who get sadistic joy of 100 teachers sitting on these stools.

Now we are up to Thursday, a work day where we get to work in our rooms. Have you ever seen those commercials where everything is at warp speed--that was the staff because that night we had "Meet the Teacher" night. Yep, after a fun filled week of listening to "staff development" where all we developed was a numb rear and red eyes and swollen feet, we got to meet our students. All in all it has been a great week. Just thought you should know. And Sarah, I need a bracelet to cut up in a million pieces.

While Dad's Away......

2007-08-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

My husband Phil is away on his annual Alaskan Fishing trip with his good buddies Bill Wilson and Dan Garrett. It is a good time for him to be "a real man." They fish, tell jokes, do not shave, and lots of other things that I probably am glad I don't know about. While Phil (or Dad as Megan calls him) is away, Meggie and I are having some girl time. We love to watch HGTV and the food Network without having to jump to see how Nascar or the PGA is doing. We have eaten out just about every night. Chili's, Olive Garden, Cotton Patch and who knows where we will end up tonight. We have laid on our beds and visited and giggled and dreamed about Meg's future. We enjoy hanging out together (especially if I am paying) It is great to have a daughter that you enjoy being with and who gives great shoulder rubs! So we will enjoy our last few days of "girlness." We need to buy some shoes and purses--think we will head to the mall. Now where is my charge card???...

Sweat

2007-07-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have posted. Lots going on in the Warehouse these days. One thing you need to know about me is that I sweat. Yes, not perspire, but sweat. By the buckets. It is not very feminine and I only share this with you because after last night I am sure most of Abilene knows that I sweat. We have had unusually humid weather here in Abilene. My body does not like humidity. It pretty much goes into melt mode with the slightest humidity factor. I remember as a child being sweaty and my mother tellling me not to sweat so much. Hmmmm...I have tried. I put on face powder which helps my face look dry for about...30 seconds before the sweat seeps through. I do use a good deoderant-Dry Idea. The name indicates that I should stay dry. Not always so. What's a sweaty girl to do!
On to my most embarrassing event since I have been in Abilene. (believe me, I have had more than one) We are doing a garage sale for one of my good friends whose son has a brain tumor. We are raising funds for their travel expenses etc. So, like the good friend I am, I went up last night to help price and sort. (I am not good at pricing and sorting-- I just like to put 25 cent stickers on everything--I've always liked a good buy) Anyway, I was wearing brown capris and an orange t-shirt. Seemed like a safe choice for a sweat prone girl. I worked my little heart out in the non-air conditioned gym for 2 hours. I saw just about everyone from church and they saw me. It's a good thing for a preacher's wife to be seen doing good. I noticed people looking at me and smiling, and of course, I assumed they were thinking-wow, what a hard worker. Nope! They were smiling because as I discovered when I got home, my pants were soaked from the waistband in the back to the waistband in the front. Yep, it looked like I had a big accident on the way to the bathroom. You would think that sweat would not show through on brown capris, well let me tell you, it does--big time. What made it worse, was my shirt didn't really look that sweaty, unless you looked at the pit rings. So I am sure everyone thought I had wet my pants and just didn't notice that I was dripping with pee-pee. So.....I am humbled once again. I will never wear those brown capris again on a humid day and if any of you are sweat prone like me, you better not either.

To the Work, To the Work

2007-06-13T12:53:00.001-07:00

I am sure the title says it all, but I am now officially hired at Clyde ISD. Wow, it took me two tries to spell Clyde--even spelling the word has me frazzled! I signed my contract yesterday and I will start back in August. I have been off for three years now. Three years of blissfully sleeping in, doing grocery shopping at prime times, leisurely having coffee with my BF's (best friends) and staying up late to watch Leno. No more. Back to rising at 6:00, throwing on something that is hopefully ironed or at least not wadded up in the bottom of the closet, rushing back home to grocery shop or do a load of laundry and then falling into bed by 9:00.

On the bright side of things, the people that I met at a recent workday were so nice and friendly and laid back. One of my best friends is the principal and I will be teaching reading (which I love). I also will be adding to my retirement--which now that I am 52 seems like a good thing to do. I don't want to be eating cat food or working as a greeter at Walmart when I am 80.

So, part of me is excited to go back and part of me is sad. I guess that is somewhat normal. I'll let you know how things are going in late August when I am driving home from school sticking to the seat of my car from the heat after a parent yelled at me and I made two children cry.

Hubby does good!

2007-06-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

I just have to brag that my husband got me the most beautiful ring for my birthday/anniversary present this year. It has emeralds and diamonds set in a white gold band with gold accents. I just love it! I am so blessed--and yes, I will wave it in your face the next time I see you--so be prepared.
We have been married 30 years as of June 11th. The time sure has flown. I remember when he had John Denver hair down to his collar and my hair was long and brown. We both were skinnier in those days. I think we both weighed 135. I won't tell you what we weigh now because that would just be too, too sad. (how did I get on a weight subject anyway?)
We are going on a cruise to celebrate in October. We are going up the Eastern seaboard and hope to see lots of beautiful trees and scenery. It has been a great 30 years. I am praying for 30 more! (especially if he keeps getting me rings!)

Lost Marathon

2007-06-07T15:48:00.001-07:00

Let me just start by saying that my family loves the show "Lost." We are late bloomers. We didn't start watching until this season. My mother in law loved the show the first season so my daughter got her the complete First Season when it came out. After watching most of the shows this season (we miss some because church goes tooooo long sometimes on Wednesday nights for us to get home and see the whole thing) (I know, I know, where are my priorities!) Anyway, we borrowed the First season and have been watching it in marathon style for the last week or so. We are down to one DVD in season one and we are watching it tonight while eating our steak etc. (If you remember from earlier posts we usually eat steak while watching starving survivors on "Survivor."--that show has now been replaced in our hearts by "Lost." I have purchased Season 2 because we just can't wait to see all that happens! It is kind of hard since we are watching it so out of order--like I know Charlie is going to die, and what happened to the narcisstic blond who likes Sayhid. I figure she gets killed off along with her brother. What is the monster thing? What do those numbers mean that Hurley used to win the lottery. I have so many questions! Don't tell me if you read this. I want to find out as we happily watch Season 2 next week. It takes so little to make me happy!

University Kids

2007-06-05T06:41:00.000-07:00

Phil and I hosted a University devotional Sunday night in our home. I fretted over what to serve and finally decided on Taco Stack because they could put it together with whatever they wanted. Megan, my daughter, made the brownies because she makes the best brownies ever eaten.

Anyway, as I was sitting there singing with these "kids", I was transported back to my University days. Going to ACU was huge for me. My family drove across town to go to a "big church"--I think we averaged about 200 which was big for Dayton, Ohio. When I came to ACU I was overwhelmed by the singing and the committment of the students there. I remember attending a church in Abilene of over 1000 people and thinking that heaven must be like this. Lynn Anderson would preach and his talks always included his struggles and how he was not perfect. This was a comfort to me and helped me know that I wasn't the only one struggling if he, the preacher, struggled too. It was the first time I was ever taught about grace. I had never heard of grace. I had only heard of hell, and rules, and sin. I always felt it was impossible to be a "good Christian" because I could never keep up with all the rules. I actually remember thinking that I wish I hadn't known about Jesus because it was just too hard and I was never going to make it. So I lived my life in fear of death and the Lord coming back because I felt I was going to hell.

At ACU, for the first time I was taught about God's grace. I was taught that no one is perfect by themselves, only through Jesus are we made perfect. That perfection in Jesus is possible! I began to realize that God forgives and also forgets. I began to realize the enormity of God's gift to me. I still stand in wonder and awe that my God who created the universe would not only be mindful of me, but that he loves me and forgives me and sees me perfect. I am thankful for the grace filled people and churches that have guided my path and also for a husband who has taught me about this great gift we have received. So now I can rejoice! I have been made perfect through Jesus. Praise His glorious name!

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgreesions from us" Psalm 103:11-12

My mom

2007-05-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I am a little late on this since Mother's Day was last Sunday, but better late than never!

I learned lots of things from my mom. My mom taught me to love the elderly. I remember visiting older people with her when I was young. She would visit them, or take them to church, or take them food etc. She taught me that older people are of value and often forgotten. She taught me by example to love and take care of our elderly.

My mom also took people to church that needed rides off and on through the years. She would pick up a woman and her two girls every Sunday night to go to church. This ladies husband did not go to church and this lady either didn't know how to drive or didn't like to. Mom picked her up every week. My sister and I were always squished in the backseat with her two girls, but you didn't have to wear seatbelts in those days-so it worked out. In my high school years mom picked up one of my friends from school who wanted to go to church. This girl was a little different but mom never complalined about her or the inconvenience of picking her up. She also picked up a lady named "Dixie" who was a nail tech and lived out of the way, but wanted to attend. Dixie was a true blond-a little ditsy! Mom asked her advice on how to get me to stop biting my nails and she said "just don't bite them" Well duh!! not exactly what we were looking for. Anyway, I learned that when people are searching for God, you go out of your way to help them.

My mom carted me to every youth event my church held. This was a 30 minute drive each way. She never complained--she wanted me there and felt it was important for me to be there. I learned it is important to fellowship with other believers.

My dad wasn't a Christian until I was in high school. My mom never gave up. She continued to go to church and take me and my little sister every time the doors were open. My dad now is very faithful and I feel if it wasn't for my mom, he wouldn't be a Christian . I learned that church is important and you don't give up on people who haven't found God yet.

My mom is very clean. I mean very very clean! I learned that being clean and looking your best is important. I don't always get this one right. My home is not as neat and tidy as I would like and sometimes I am wrinkled because I HATE to iron, but I am working on this one.

So, I have a great mom. She moved to my town recently and it has been fun getting to know her again. We haven't lived in the same town since I was 18. We enjoy each other now alot more than we did then. You know I was going through the "independent stage" back then. Now I know how blessed I am to have a mom like mine. One who taught me so much about loving and serving others.

Thanks Mom for everything!