Hmmm...the last few weeks!

What happened to the last few weeks?! That, I'm not quite sure I have an answer to. As I looked at my last blog post, I could hardly believe it was early December. That seems quite a while ago! Here's a quick recap!

- Bernina 830! - Recently I purchased a new sewing/embroidery machine which I am totally loving!!! It has been a bit of a challenge learning all the new features and threading techniques (don't ask me why I had bandages on two fingers for a couple of days....! :)). I took a couple days off from work and just spent that time becoming familiar with my new 830. Ahhh...I just love it. And thankfully when I'm in doubt about something, Joanna is just a phone call or email away. :)

- Sewing projects! - Yes, I had some of those. Actually I've had quite a fun time stitching several things for Christmas this year with my new machine. But as usually seems to happen, I had a couple projects where I was on a Christmas deadline to complete. The final one, an embroidered memory cactus quilt, was finally complete on Christmas Eve. And yes, I have photos of my projects from this month and hopefully will upload them to my website and embroidery blog in January.

- Ryan & Krissa - As it turned out, Ryan and Krissa decided not to come home for Christmas for several reasons, so I boxed up a rather large box to send to them. Ahhhh...was that fun! I get the greatest joy out of decorating a box to be mailed or putting fun things inside for the recipient to open. I spent wayyyy tooooo much time one night printing labels to put on all the items I sent, but it was great fun! And as they opened the box and the toilet paper flew out, I can just imagine the surprise on their faces! How I would have loved to be a fly on the wall! :)

Here's a pic of what I sent:


My favorite has to be the Joy dish-washing soap! :)


- Jena - Dad and I were by ourselves Christmas day since Jena had to work, Krissa and Ryan weren't home and we were getting together for Christmas at Grandma's on Saturday. As it turns out, Jena had a Christmas to remember...spent at the hospital! Christmas Eve day, Oklahoma City was pounded with 14" inches of snow and blizzard conditions that closed all roads coming and going everywhere.

Since the day nurses on duty couldn't leave (the hospital declared a disaster) and the night nurses couldn't get into work, the nurses who had already worked a 12 hour shift were left to continue on into the night. She did manage to get a quick break, but ended up being at the hospital for 36 hours and working almost all that time before she could go home to her apartment. She was never so ready to sleep in her own bed!

- Christmas! - Saturday evening we went to Grandma's and spent the evening with all of Mom's family from around here. Jena did make it home to Kansas that afternoon and it was fun to get together at Grandma's again! Especially since we had Grandma's pickles for dinner! Ahhhh...that would be worth just about anything! :)

Jen and I spent the weekend watching the Christmas Shoes, chatting, laughing, facebooking Krissa, remembering fun times and eating white trash candy mix. (If you haven't ever tried that stuff, you should! It's the new candy I made this year!) The only thing we missed was our annual pitch game since there were only three of us around. No hilarious, funny videos this year! :)

The look & smell of Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Everywhere you go...

....and so on and so forth as the song continues. Yep, it's looking more like Christmas here at home as well. Last week I put up all our Christmas decorations and started baking some Christmas candy.

turtles!

chocolate haystacks & peanut clusters!

chex party mix!

Luke 2:11
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Solomon's Wisdom

Last week our Bible hero was King Solomon. I talked about how God had given Solomon great wisdom and that people would travel from other countries just to inquire of Solomon's mind. Then I asked "the question"...

Me: King Solomon would know all the answers to the questions that were asked to him. Do you know anyone who knows the answer to everything?

Several girls raised their hands and answered: Yes! Mom does!

And the spectator moms in attendance started laughing.

Me: Ummm, yes...moms are special and know a lot, but I think King Solomon knew even more than your mom does. And that would be a lot, wouldn't it?!

Finally...harvest is done and over with!

What an unbelievable and strange year for milo harvest! Three years ago when Dad was trying to finish up cutting milo and dealing with mom being sick the first part of November seemed to be late. But who would have ever thought Dad wouldn't finish cutting until December 4th this year?!

More pics are here.

Thanksgiving in Kentucky!

In actual reality, Dad, Jena and I spent Thanksgiving day in Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. Riding/driving in a car. The plan was to visit Krissa and Ryan for the weekend and since Jena had off Thursday through Sunday, we decided to take advantage of it. Dad and I drove to Oklahoma City Wednesday to pick up Jen and then head to Kentucky. Here's some bits and pieces from our five day Thanksgiving trip.

Thursday 6:00 am - Headed out of Oklahoma City. Made it to Jena's in good timing last night. However, the night was a different story. Do you know that girl receives text messages in the middle of the night? And she doesn't hear a thing, so it just keeps beeping and beeping. If it weren't for the fact that I would have had to crawl over her to punch her phone, I would have done it. I should have; she probably would have slept through it anyway.

Just passed a sign that said "Free Restrooms at Next Exit". Does that mean they charge for some of them? Must be an Oklahoma thing. ;)

8:30 am - Woke up to Dad saying, "This gps is going crazy. Are you sure it's right?" Looks fine to me and it's right, even though it says we're on that highway when we're really on this one. It's right. Really. Ignore what highway it's listing; just follow where it says to go. (Little did I know that this would come back to haunt me on the way home!)

10:30 am - Time to leave my cherished passenger side front seat and take my turn at driving. Jena's crawled back into her little cubbie hole of blankets and pillows in the backseat, "her area".

1:30 pm - Dad's back in the driver's seat. He's still not trusting my gps, pulling out the printed maps and trying to look at them while driving. I'm not the only one who multi-tasks while driving. Comparing the printed map to my gps....hmmmmm.....

2:30 pm - St. Louis. The arch. Seems like we've been through this city so many times within the last five years!

8:30 pm - Finally...Lexington...only 22 minutes. Getting close!

1:00 am - After Dad and Ryan left for the night, us girls piled on the couch and started catching up with each other and planning the weekend. Chatting, laughing (you know, the laughing so hard you can't breathe kind of laughing) and totally enjoying being together and then finally...heading to bed.

Friday 10:00 am - After breakfast at Krissa's apartment, we started some wedding planning, lists, etc. among other things. Then we headed to the church and several locations they are looking at for the ceremony/reception.

Caught snooping in the windows!! ;)

4:00 pm - Back at Krissa's apartment getting ready to go to Ryan's mom's house for dinner. Jena and Krissa were laughing up a storm in the other room and when Ryan and I went in, they both peeked out of the bathroom like this. I really have considered not claiming them as sisters at this point. It seems as though every time we went back to the apartment, they were brushing their teeth! ;)

Ummmm?!?!?!?!?!

6:00 pm - Southern Lights. If you are ever in Lexington during the Christmas season, you've got to see this. It's a drive-thru light show with so many light set-ups. Everything from Christmas scenes to nursery rhymes to Disney animated movies. As we were driving through, we had a blast trying to figure out what each one was. And then we got stuck on the twelve days of Christmas and could not figure out what the 12th one was, even through we spent much of the drive back home laughing, making up things and trying to figure it out.

Since this is Kentucky and horse country, one of the really cool ones was the horse starting at the finishing line and racing toward the finish line. All lit up with lights, creating the running motion. Very neat!



Saturday 9:00 am - Krissa, Jena, Emily (one of Krissa's friends from church) and I were ready to do some wedding dress shopping while Dad and Ryan went off and had their own plans for the day. Oh my! What a day spent laughing, trying on dresses, laughing, and laughing some more. It was hilarious, plus we'll remember that afternoon for years to come! Especially the swooshing up thing; sorry no details, but those involved will know exactly what I'm talking about!!! Makes me laugh just thinking about it.

5:00 pm - Met back up with Ryan and Dad, walked around downtown and went out to eat at the restaurant where Krissa's co-workers took her when she started work at Thoroughbred Times. Then we decided to go ice skating. Another fun and hilarious evening. I have a new appreciation for figure skaters; that ice is slick and takes concentration to stay up on it.

Yep, that's all four of us!

Dad was the appointed photographer and while he got a few pics, it was hard to get any decent ones. Ryan is an excellent ice skater and so he's been teaching Krissa and they are getting good at it; sorta kinda. Then on the way home, we were telling them they had to go ice skating every week and when we came back to Lexington, we expected to see a show, complete with little twirls and everything. Then Jena said, "Ryan and Krissa on Ice", to which we all started laughing. But you never know, they could be coming to an ice rink near you! ;)



9:30 pm - Dad and Ryan headed back to Ryan's house and someone found the pickles! Ahhh...yes...pickle party time!!! Ok, not Grandma's pickles, but Claussen pickles are a close second pick when Grandma's are unavailable. Needless to say the jar I brought was opened and eaten all in one day. All three of us sitting in front of computers, munching on pickles. Perfect end to the day!

Sunday - 6:00 am - Packed and ready to start the journey home. Since Dad started out driving, sounds like a very good time for Jena and I to take a long nap. Yep, sounds wonderful!

10:30 am - My turn to drive. How come the drive up always seems more exciting than the drive home? Hmmm...we did take a slight unplanned detour through St. Louis and saw more than just the arch this time through the city. Actually quite unexpectedly saw quite a bit of the city. Then got back on track to Oklahoma City. :)

(Note to self: always be sure to check the gps route to be sure it matches with my route! Never thought I would contradict that thing, but let me tell you...I sure did! The thing is that I know where I'm going, but I want it to tell me exactly where to go so I don't have to think about where I'm going as I'm driving. Make sense? Yeah, I know...you're thinking the same thing that Dad said when I told him that exact thing.)

4:30 pm - Jen's turn to drive and then I get to crawl back into "her area" with all the blankets, pillows and my computer. Ahhh...nice!

7:30 pm - Made great time today and arrived in Oklahoma City. Unloaded all of Jena's stuff, dropped her off at her apartment and then headed back out of town. Toward home.

11:15 pm - We're back in Kansas...just passed the border.

Monday - 12:30 am - After almost 19 hours of driving...home!

More pics are here!

Ryan & Krissa. Engaged.

Ryan & Krissa are engaged!!! I've known about it for months (although it wasn't official until a couple weeks ago), but I'm still in a little bit of shock that my youngest sister is engaged to be married next summer. However, I couldn't be more happy for her and Ryan or for our family! And as we're discussing details, arranging things and chatting every few days (thank goodness for skype, cell phones and email!), it's starting to sink in more and more and actually seem real.

We are spending Thanksgiving in Kentucky and soooo looking forward to chatting, planning and shopping!!! I have a feeling Jena and I will be making a few more trips to Kentucky in the upcoming months! :)

The half-marathon runner!

Jena's move to Oklahoma City has driven her to do some crazy things or at least what seem crazy to me. Last Sunday she ran a half-marathon which is 13.1 miles. 13.1 miles! That distance is equal from our house to Dodge and to think of even running that distance sounds crazy. Or as someone on facebook said, "stark raving mad". Yeah, that about sums it up too.

While it seems crazy to me and I could never do it, I'm still very proud of her for the diligence and perseverance in running the full 13.1 miles and for finishing. And believe it or not, she actually finished that milage in 2 hours, 12 minutes and 27 seconds. Jena and her friend, Kate, were able to keep pace with each other, averaging around 10 minute miles.

She ran a 5K marathon a couple months ago, then the half-marathon on Sunday and up next - the FULL marathon. That's what she says her next goal is and I'm sure she'll do it.

Finished!!!

So glad to be done!!!

David & Goliath: the slightly different version

Slingshot and mini slingshots...hmmm...wonder what's up for Kid's Klub today?!

And don't forget the armor!!

(Hunter was the tallest one there on Wednesday and was our "Goliath". I wish I had a video clip of the kids laughing as we put on all the armor....it was so funny! And of course, they all loved it. Goliath volunteers were abundant.)

Goliath was really big and tall and covered with armor to protect himself. Every morning and evening for 40 days he would show himself to the Israelite army and challenge someone to come and fight him. But all the soldiers were too scared when they saw this huge giant!

But when David visited his brothers fighting in the Israelite army, he saw this huge man and heard his challenge, calling for someone to fight. He asked the soldiers, "Why do you let this man defy the true and living God? If none of you will go out to fight him, then I will."

(Asking who is the shortest brought multiple volunteers as you can tell from the raised hands. After all, David was very young, especially compared to Goliath. To get the full picture of this story, David had to much shorter than Goliath, who at this point has grown a couple feet taller with the help of a chair.)

So King Saul heard of this and sent for David and dressed him in his strongest armor. But as David started walking around, he knew he could never wear this armor that was too large for him. He said, "God will be my protection. He will give me the victory over Goliath. I don't need all this armor."

So David took his slingshot that he used to protect the sheep and picked up 5 stones to use. God had helped him fight the bear and the lion who tried to kill the sheep and he knew that God would help him face Goliath.

(You see, you have to use your imagination here: the white foam balls are stones and the sack is the stream where David found the stones. Did I mention that a requirement for reading this is imagination?! Oh, and ignore the trashcan...that had nothing to do with our story.)

Giant Goliath laughed as he saw this boy come out to fight him with only a slingshot and some stones. ("Goliath" gave a sinister laugh and did an excellent job of it - wish I had an audio clip of that!!)

David took one of the stones and put it in his slingshot. He twirled it around and around......

(again, use your imagination....the slingshot this David had is a slightly different version from what the real David might have had.)

.......and around.......and around.........and around......

....and then aimed it at Goliath........and........

.......checked his aim again to be sure it was correct.......

........and........as the stone flew from the slingshot through the air..........

........and both the Philistine and Israelite armies held their breath, watching.........

........it flew right over Goliath's head. Um, yeah.

(Disclaimer: this is not what happened in the Biblical account of David. You see, he was much better with his aim. I had practiced this before class as I really wanted to be able to "hit" Goliath in the forehead (which I knew was practically impossible), so my goal was just connect the foam ball with his body. Oh, and you should have heard the kids laughing at this point....I'm sure you could hear them clear back in the church office, wayyyyy on the other side of the building. It was hysterical!! Wish I could have watched the kids more...I was too busy trying to correct David's aim for the second try.)

......and so David took another "stone" and twirled it around and around and around......

....and aimed it at Goliath......and all of a sudden let go......and.........

(btw, I love Felicity's eyes in this one - they're closed and ready for the "stone" to fly. And Josselyn in the background - hand covering her mouth, anticipating.)

..........and as David let the slingshot loose, the stone whirled through the air and.......

......and both armies watched carefully as the stone started moving toward Goliath.......

.....and suddenly.......

......it again, flew over Goliath's head.

(And to read this part of the story, just back up to where David aims and tries to hit Goliath and reread that part about 5 more times, then you'll be caught back up. Detailing how many times David aimed and missed Goliath seems totally pointless. All I kept saying as we missed over and over again is, "Remember that David was an expert at this since he watched over the sheep and killed the lion and the bear and hit Goliath with the first stone." Oh, and by now, you could hear the kids roaring with laughter out in the parking lot, I'm sure.)

And finally David resorted to drastic measures........

(Me: "Felicity, just throw the "stones" at him and try to hit him." Btw, this was NOT how I planned for this part of the story to go......)

Many stones later, Goliath still remained standing and as the kids were falling out of their chairs laughing......

I finally told Goliath, "Fall down, you've been hit!" (Remember: imagination required!)

Which Goliath did quite well.

And so after Goliath finally fell to the ground, David rushed over and took Goliath's sword and cut off his head. And so God allowed David to defeat Goliath with only stones and a slingshot. (A few extra stones were needed in our version.)

And that is the end of the story.

So what did we use the mini slingshot for as first pictured? Our David characters, of course! :)

God's perfect time to take Mom home to be with Him.

It was a Friday night in November. After battling the last three months and especially the emotional turmoil of the past week, I relinquished my bedside role to my sister and planned to sleep a little. I was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted when I went to bed, but knew that more of the same was to come. It wasn't over...yet. Just as I managed to fall asleep, I heard Dad awaken me saying, "I think it's time."

Yes, it was time. It wasn't my timing. This didn't fit into my plan. As a family we weren't ready for this. But it was God's perfect time. And as I was able to see my mother take that final breath and slip from this earthly world into eternity, I felt joy and sorrow all at once. Relief that the last several months were over. Sadness that Mom was physically no longer here.

It's times like those in losing a loved one that life seems bleak. That the world as you have known it is coming to an end. But think a minute from God's perspective. God brought us into this earth and He can take us away from it at any time. To us, with our human minds, death seems sad, sorrowful. The end of a life. There's a finality to it. But in God's eyes our life here on earth is just a moment...just a fraction of a second.

You see, death is part of God's plan. Our lives here on earth are temporary. What seems like a tragedy in death to us, is only glory and victory in the life of a believer. In James 4:14, God tells us that life is like a vapor that vanishes away..."Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."

It was early Saturday morning now. After people had been coming and going for a couple hours, at 2 am, the final person left. I never will forget Dad closing the front door, then reaching for my sisters and myself and saying, "It's just the four of us now."

But then, through his own tears and breaking heart, Dad also said,"Just remember that our lives here on earth are temporary. Death is not the end. Our lives are like a flower that blooms and is here for a short season and then passes away. God will give us the strength to continue, to keep going on, even though Mom is no longer here. Our time is not up yet. God still has a purpose for us." As I was to find out in the months to come, He gives more abundantly than we can ever ask for or even hope to receive.

God has been so gracious and without His strength and encouragement I can't even begin to imagine what the last few years might have been like. He brought people into our lives just when we needed them. When the hard days and tough moments came, He was right there just waiting to provide exactly what we needed - whether a card in the mail, a hug from a friend or other believers to lift us up.

But keeping in mind the thought that we are here for a season, that our lives are like a flower that blooms and then fades, has been a true comfort. Realizing that God put us here for a purpose and once His purpose is finished, He'll take us home. Those simple words that Dad reminded us of that night did so much to help the grieving process. As a believer in Christ, I can't imagine anything more glorious than living for Him here on earth and sometime in the future receiving my heavenly reward!

Through Mom's death I've come to realize just how temporal my life is and to remember my goal and purpose in life - to serve Christ. To run the Christian race faithfully, serving Him in what He desires me to do. Who knows when God will take me away from this earth and will I be able to say I lived my life for Him?

As Paul says in II Timothy 4:7..."I have fought the fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith". That always refreshes me and challenges me to think and do those things that are eternal instead of focusing on the temporary things that really don't matter. Can I say like Paul at the end of my life, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith? While this verse is encouraging and challenging to me, it also brings back memories of Mom and the wonderful example of a wife and mother she tried to instill in my sisters and myself.

One thing I recall Dad saying so clearly after Mom died was, "God put her on earth to do what He wanted her to do and she has accomplished it. She finished the race. She ministered, encouraged, helped those to whom He desired her to and now she has her reward. She, like Paul, finished the course. She kept the faith."

Through the tough time of Mom's illness and death, God taught me so much! He taught me to lean and depend on Him more than ever! He reminded me to have heavenly mindset, to set my focus on things above, because things on this earth will vanish away! And He also challenged me through II Timothy 4:7, which is my true desire and hope - to fight the fight, to finish the course and most importantly...to keep the faith!

Don't you know you learn it all in preschool?!

In Sunday School this morning we were discussing thankfulness, drawing things that we are thankful for and then attaching those drawings with leaves to the trees we made.

As I was helping Rebekah draw, we had this conversation:

Rebekah asking me: How can you draw like that?
Felicity in her cute, "don't you know?" voice: Because she went to preschool!

And so I learned this morning that you learn EVERYTHING there is to know in preschool. :)

God's Word IS living and powerful!

Each Wednesday, it's such a delight to see kids trooping into the fellowship hall at church for a couple of hours. Our little group of two or three has grown to seven and then nine and hopefully more in the days ahead. What a blessing and encouragement that has been to Errin and I each week.

Since my sisters had been home over the weekend, I taught my quilt class in Dodge on Monday and ended up battling my machine again on Tuesday, I did not feel nearly as prepared to teach Wednesday afternoon as I normally am. That morning I quickly read over the story of Joseph, figuring out how I was going to weave in the theme of forgiveness before packing up my supplies for the afternoon and driving to the church.

After getting off to a late start, we had our snacks and I breathed a quick prayer asking the Lord to help me think and bring out the points I wanted to as I was teaching. I should realize by now that even when I'm the least prepared, God still uses what I say and works through me to reach the hearts of the kids listening. Two important things stood out as I was teaching that thrilled my heart! Here are some bits and pieces from the lesson of Joseph.

In my usual animated voice story-telling way, I started to talk about Joseph and that he had 11 brothers and was his father's favorite. But how his brothers hated him and were jealous of the beautiful coat of many colors that Jacob, their father, had given exclusively to Joseph.

As Joseph traveled to check on his brothers as per his father's request, his brothers saw him afar off and whispered among themselves trying to decide what to do about this brother that they hated. They decided that as soon as he arrived they would throw Joseph into a large pit in the ground so he could not get out and then take his coat of many colors, tear it and spread blood on it from an animal they killed.

At this point, I totally have their attention. I see all these pairs of eyes looking up at me and as I am talking about ripping Joseph's coat and the brother's telling their father of the "fate" of Joseph that they made up, Felicity (in kindergarten) all of a sudden puts her hands over her mouth and says, "Ohhh, that's lying."

To which I respond, "Yes, it is. And is that right or wrong? What is lying?" I still have that mental image in my head - she fully understood what they were doing and that is was wrong. Adorable and yet paying attention to what I was saying!

I finished teaching the story, ending where Joseph's brothers go to Egypt because of the famine and how Joseph forgave his brothers for what they had done to him many years before. And then Alex raises her hand and asks in a voice of awe, "How do you know all these stories?"

To which I said, "These are not just pretend stories, they are true. They really happened and they come from the Bible. Remember how we talked about that God's Word is true and that's how God teaches us and shows us what is right and wrong? Well, the story I just told you is in the Bible, every bit of it."

I turned my Bible to the book of Genesis, laid it in the middle of the table and showed them where the author talks about Joseph and the coat his father gave him. I started picking out verses and reading bits and pieces from the story such as Joseph's dreams he had and that he was sold as a slave to Egypt, going over again what I had previously told them.

Then in my scheduled mind, I am thinking we need to move on, so I started closing my Bible and Alex stops me and says, "No, keep reading. Read this part." They were excited about reading directly from God's Word! Their intent faces and interest was totally centered on listening to God's Word!

I usually have them look up a couple verses in the Bible and read them during the course of what I'm teaching, but just verbally tell them the story. But seeing their interest in actually reading the story and what happened from God's Word was such a thrill, I may have to do that again.

Is the Word of God living and powerful as stated in Hebrews? No doubt about it!

Hunched over the table, reading from God's Word.

See their interest?! So exciting and thrilling!
I love Alex's face in this one!

No matter what happens...

...God is sovereign and fully in control of each and every little thing. I know that, but to keep trusting that fact and not worrying about things has been easier said than done the last couple of months.

Yesterday afternoon I had the all-too-familiar-situation of having my embroidery machine turn off without success of turning back on...again. And then the same all-too-familiar-situation of packing it up, loading it in the car and taking it back to be repaired...again. The last two months I've dealt with this over and over again.

Needless to say my frustration level has gone from minor worry to major panic several times because I didn't have a machine to embroider or stitch what I needed to do...all with deadlines creeping closer and closer. It seems that one area of my machine would be fixed and then something else happens. Right when I seem to need it the most.

As I walked in the store, dragging my machine behind me, one of the ladies that works there said, "Well, at least you're still smiling."

Ummm, yes, I was smiling and at the same time thinking that looks can be deceiving. Can I honestly say that's the way I felt at that particular moment or that afternoon as I watched my machine turn off again? No, not really.

But when I'm at a total loss as what to do and not particularly liking the situation I am in, I know there is Someone to whom I can turn. Someone to whom I can pour out my thoughts, feelings and frustrations when everything seems to be going wrong. Someone to whom I can trust every single day even when I'm feeling overwhelmed with everything that is happening.

Taped to my computer screen is this little saying that reads, "Don't worry about tomorrow...God is already there!" He is! He created me and loves me! He's allowing these situations in my life to cause me to lean and depend on Him more and more.


When things like this happen that I have no control over, I have no choice but to fully rely on Him. Continually praying and asking Him to help me take one day at a time and quit worrying over tomorrow, the next day or next week. How privileged I am to have a great God who is in control of everything!!

Wonderful, Wacky, Wild Weekend (Ok, not too wild or wacky, but certainly wonderful!)

Ahhh....what could be better than a weekend spent with everyone home?! I've been totally excited (Dad has as well!) about Jena and Krissa coming home for a few days!

It all started with Jena driving home from OK City Thursday night. She worked Thursday, texted me during the day saying she might drive home after work. Uh, yeah. Work 12 hours, drive home to her apartment and then drive home to Kansas which is 5 hours?! Sure.

That's exactly what she did! She called around 9:30, said she was leaving and to leave the door unlocked and she would be home around 3:00. Thankfully she made it safely and about 3:15, I heard her come downstairs.

Krissa and one of her friends drove from Kentucky on Friday. They left at 4 am that morning and by the time they got here around 8:00 that evening, they were exhausted from the 15 hour drive! Such a long drive, but Krissa said they were about two hours from being here and she was itching to be back home!

It's been a while since all three of us have been together and we tend to get a little crazy when we are sleep deprived, exhausted and just excited about chatting and being together. We did a fairly good job at not being overly wacky this weekend, except for one exception.

Friday night, we spent a couple hours piled on the bed chatting and finally decided we better go to bed considering that we were cracking up with laughter at every single little thing that wasn't even funny. Laughing so hard to the crying point; you know, the uncontrollable laughs and giggles which make your eyes water and stomach hurt!

Ahhh.....good times! Fun memories! Moments to treasure! Nothing can take that away! :)

We spent the weekend talking, laughing, watching movies (yep, Andy Griffith Show included - a good funny Barney one!!), church Sunday morning, playing cards, watching football and catching up on all the news from Kansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma!

And now, today, everyone is gone. Back home. Back to work. Back to a quiet house. And together again - sometime soon!

Krissa and I

Typical "Kris talking on the phone" pic

Of course, the weekend included computer time! :)

Jena was trying to duck from this photo, but I managed to catch her with my camera - love this pic! Krissa brought home one of Kentucky's famous carbonated beverages - Ale-8, which are packaged in glass bottles.

We sit around with computers in our laps and Dad just flips open the newspaper! ;)

In one word: crazily busy (Ok, maybe two!)

Yes, that seems to be the defining two words for last week, this week and next week. All I can think of is getting this one thing done I'm working on and then moving onto the next. Crazily. Hectically. Late nightsly (ok, maybe that's not a word, but you get the idea.)

Last week and this week I've spent getting my online class lessons finished up. Since my machine has been seemingly crashing every computer board it runs on, it's been out of my possession for over a month, which has put me behind schedule. So last week was big time catch-up week. Thank goodness for a fabulous Bernina dealer and a loaner machine! Ahhh!

Saturday morning I had planned to attend Erinn's baby shower (friend from church) which I think I was there a total of about 5 minutes. As it turned out, we had a funeral dinner at church which I was asked to help serve, so I was busy with that. But I did get to sneak in on the shower a couple of times.

Kid's Klub has started and it's been a fun time! I know I really haven't posted anything yet on that, but I will once I get a chance. Since we've started a new program right after school with a new time frame, it's taking a while to gather a group of kids. We only had a couple the first few Wednesdays. But praise the Lord for a group of 7 kids last week! Erinn and I were thrilled and excited! Although that's been one more thing to cram into my already crazy week, it's always a fun couple of hours spent at church. And that time spent is of lasting eternal value.

Fall seems to have finally arrived! It's been cold here. Well, it feels cold to me anyway since it's been in the 60's. But we've had some cloudy and windy days which makes it seem even colder. Plus Dad started the fireplace last week, so that really makes it feel like winter. I guess capri and flip flop wearing weather is over....*sigh*

As for this week! Exciting news! Jena and Krissa are coming home for the weekend! Whoohoo!!! I'm excited!!! Krissa hasn't been home since March and it's always more of a challenge for her to come home since she's 15 hours away, but that's the plan. It will be fun to have a little more excitement in our house for a couple of days.

Although there are days that Scamper and Skittles have enough energy during the day and night to cause ALL kinds of excitement. The unwanted and frustrating kind. ;) Do you know what it's like having a cat trying to catch a fly at night, on the ceiling, right above your bed? Not pleasant!

But since my sisters are coming home, that means I probably should clean the schoolroom so there is more than just a one foot path to walk though all my SS and Kid's Klub stuff. And I'm sure they would like a room to sleep in, so that means moving my stuff off the bed. And in addition to that, it would be much easier to navigate downstairs without boxes at the bottom of the stairs, thread strewn all over the floor and the chaos of last week still evident.

They don't ask for much, huh? However, I'll gladly comply to have them home for a weekend!

24/7: My computer is always on and working!

Anyone who knows me has knowledge of my complete dependency on computers. Yes, I am rarely without one. In fact most of the time, I'm working on more than one; I've even been seen with up to four in front of me. But that isn't the point of this post. Most of you already know that.

My Dad for sure knows that. He sees me sitting at a desk in front of a computer just about every time he comes downstairs. Or sees me carrying around my laptop upstairs from the kitchen to the family room to the schoolroom. But that is not the true point of this post either.

The main fact here is that Dad knows how invaluable computers are to me, so nothing should really surprise him in that area. But I guess that's exactly what I did.

We were discussing how long it took to upload my class lessons every month and because this last one I taped was so long, how long it would take, etc, etc. So I told him that I have to start it, let it upload for a couple hours, check on it, start another, etc.

THEN, I proceeded to tell him how the best time to do it is at night. So I would start one when I went to bed about midnight. Then set my phone for 3 am, get up and check on it. If it isn't finished, I would set my phone and check it every hour until it was finished and then start the next one, etc, etc.

Well, after I said THAT, he looks at me with this unbelievable face and starts laughing. Well, chucking. Dad isn't one to really laugh (unlike us girls; I'm not sure where we got that from).

What's so funny or surprising about that? I've been getting up in the middle of the night to check my computer for months. Just like he gets up in the middle of the night to check on cows getting ready to calve. Only mine is much easier; I don't have to go out in freezing cold weather to check on my job-related, necessary uploading.

I guess I did surprise him with that bit of information. Maybe I'll just keep more details like that to myself in the future. :)