Thank you to everyone that took the time to chime in on the degree front. I love my friends. After talking it over with my coworker and my husband, and really thinking about what all of you said, I am going to take the plunge. I know you have all been waiting with baited breath for me to come to the conclusion you know I would anyway...did that make any sense? I think I just needed to talk it out and look at all the sides. So, I guess this long weekend will be devoted to filling out the application and the FAFSA stuff.

Ahhhhhh! Long day. I am still mulling over the master's dilemma. Tim says I should do it and that makes me happy. We already have so much debt though, I hate to add more right now, but if I don't do this soon, I wont ever do it.

Do I want the degree. Yes, I think I do. Do I want to go back to school for the next 14 months? NO. I found a college that is online and the credits are accepted in out district. I also have the opportunity to do this particular program with one of the other teachers on my 6th grade team. We work well together and have been talking about this for the last year and a half. Working with her would make the whole deal a little more bearable.

I'm gonna chew on it a little bit more. Thanks for the advice, encouragement, and scary math reasoning.

To master's or not to master's? That is the question. I can start a masters program in March and finish next June. It will cost me a fortune and will take me 5-6 years to make up that money. I know, negative. I also feel like it will open some doors for me in the future. I'm not really sure what to do.

Any advice from my smart friends?

Oh, I am so sad. I don't mean boo-hoo sad, I mean lame sad. I sent out all of my "please pray" emails and then forgot to update everyone on my Dad.

Ok, so...the Friday before Thanksgiving Dad had a left scapulectomy. Yes, that means his "chicken wing" is gone along with about half of that side of his collar bone. The surgery itself went as well as could be expected and he recovered quite nicely. The couple days following the surgery were entertaining as he was on a TON of pain killers and muscle relaxers (he had post-surgical hiccups). He doesn't really remember much about those few days which is good because he wasn't very nice. Note to self, next time a loved one has major surgery, switch to "forget everything they say directly after surgery" mode and try not to take anything personally. Wow, he let out a couple of doozies! After a few days in the hospital, Mom was able to bring him home on Thanksgiving. What a treat! We we able to celebrate as a family on that Saturday...a true blessing.

The surgeon was very happy with the surgery and the pathology report noted that they seemed to have removed the entire tumor. Praise God! He is now off all of the pain meds and working on his PT. He can move his hand to his mouth (more than we expected so soon) and he is able to dress and feed himself. Quite a feat considering many in the same situation lose their arms entirely. I have come to realize just how much we take for granted. His color is back to normal and so is his sense of humor. He was pretty depressed there for a while. At the moment he does not need further chemo for which his is extremely grateful. He has lost a ton of weight and looks great. He's happy about the weight loss just not a fan of chemo as the newest "plan". Unless you are really looking you can't really tell that he is missing part of his shoulder. Not that we were focusing on that, but what we worry about changes with every milestone.

As for me, this holiday season was one of looking back on our lives and being truly and utterly thankful for what we have. It's so easy to do in times of crisis and I just hope I can keep it up throughout the coming year. I have also decided no resolutions this year. All I do is break them and then get mad at my utter lack of will power so, this year I am just going to work on a few little things and see where I go from there.

Thanks again for all of your prayers and good thoughts. I know they worked and I am so blessed to have all of you in my life.

I wish you all a happy and HEALTHY new year! Be safe tonight and try to stay off the crazy roads.

The problem with being and extrovert is that I feel like there are no random things that you all don't already know, but here goes.

Here are the rules:
1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you are tagged, just do it, and pass the tag along!

1. I love black licorice. I don't know if that is random, but I was just thinking about the fact that I like Halloween because you can get black jellybeans. That's actually one of the only things I like about Halloween. How sad that I don't think that holiday is more fun.

2. I would love to skydive. I just need to find another crazy soul to go with me. Tim is not all that thrilled about heights so he's out. I know, the man can fly on his stomach on the bottom of a huge plane while pumping a highly flammable liquid into a plane that is also flying, but he hate heights. Go figure. Maybe that's more of a random thing about him. I love the sensation of falling and think skydiving would be amazing. Any volunteers?

3. I have found that as I get older I have a hard time being "silly". Oh, don't get me wrong, I can be sarcastic and completely inappropriate, but silly is something I just can't do. I watch Kathie, Liann, and Corrina and I am completely envious of how much fun they have with the strangest things. I wish I could do that. My silly just always comes out really lame.

4. It really bugs me that so many people are bothered by the fact that I hate tomatoes. Why does anyone really care? I think they are nasty and the texture makes me shiver a little. Yuck. Yes, that means that I don't like salsa or anything else that has chunks of the smooshy little devils. I'm not a fan of catsup, although I will dip fries in it if I can't find ranch dressing. It's interesting how many questions usually follow my confession of hating tomatoes. What about salsa? What about catsup? What about spaghetti sauce and chili? Not even on burgers? How about (insert other ways to eat tomatoes)? Ok, seriously, I have a friend that hates chocolate chip cookies. Why are we not more focused on him? Now that's weird. For the record, I do like spaghetti sauce and chili, just not anything that has tomatoes in their semi-original state.

5. I really like living in Running Springs and living by my parents and in-laws. I don't have any desire to move away. I don't want to leave CA and I don't think our state sucks. I think we are lucky to live in such a beautiful place with so many great adventures just hours away. I like spending time with my parents and consider them friends. They keep me sane and grounded and are really good to me, especially when Tim is gone.

6. I suck at being a military wife. I don't understand most of the rules and really, I think most of them, the rules not the people, are stupid. I hate ironing camo uniforms and I don't think it should matter if you can see your reflection in your boots when you are running through the jungle. I know that it is a necessary evil and I, like Katie, am glad that we have men and women that are willing to do this so I don't have to. Back to the wife part. This last training nearly killed both of us. I hate knowing that my husband is not always happy, warm, and safe. I knew what I was in for when I signed up for this. I'm just saying that I'm not very good at it. I refuse to live in places like Kansas or Oklahoma and I don't really have any desire to live over seas. Visit, yes. Stay, no.

For the record, I do not need anyone to explain to me that rules and being disciplined makes you a better soldier. I get it.

Tagged:

Christina
Corrina
Liann
Beth
Heidi
Katrina

Comin' Home to Mama!

Tim passed his last check ride and is headed home! It feels like it has been years, but it's only been a couple of months since we saw each other. I can't wait to have my family back together again. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!! It's been a really emotional 5 months and it was hard to spend our anniversary apart. This was the first time in 11 years that we were not together to celebrate. I'm pretty sure that I would have been a crying, snotty mess if I hadn't spent the day with Kathie, Liann, and Corrina and the evening with my parents. I know this is what I signed up for when I married military, but it gets to me after a while. It sounds like another deployment is just a few months away. We'll see. The ones in the winter will be harder because we don't tend to have as many friends and family visiting then.

Well, we are headed into week five of this school year and it is proving to be another great year. Although I don't think I will ever have a class like my darlings from last year, these kiddos are pretty good. I have a few little nuts in the pile, but it seems to be my calling...check with me in June. The good news is that I still love what I do and the time goes by pretty fast. I'm physically and emotionally exhausted each and every day which is why I haven't posted anything lately. Somehow, writing more at the end of the day just seems like a great big chore. Sixth graders seem way more "advanced" than we were and I don't mean academically! We are going through a big "inappropriate touching" phase at the moment. Wasn't thinking about that when I signed up for this. There's a whole new lingo to learn also so we sat around yesterday informing each other of the newest phrases for "touching". If only these kids could be as creative in their writing. Recess duty is exhausting...

Paul Bunyan starts his senior year on Tuesday. Wow! Senior pictures turned out great, but we are going to head down to a reasonably priced portrait studio and have more taken. The lowest priced package is $60. That is for 3 pictures. Yes, I said 3. What a racket! These people must be rolling in it because the package with the pictures you actually might want, such as wallets, is priced at about $100 and you still only get three sheets. If you are the kind of parent that can't let pictures of your baby go to waste, you can pay $300 for the whole lot. Are you kidding me? I love my kid, but not that much.

Hmm...

You scored as a Maximus
After his family was murdered by the evil emperor Commodus, the great Roman general Maximus went into hiding to avoid Commodus's assassins. He became a gladiator, hoping to dominate the colosseum in order to one day get the chance of killing Commodus. Maximus is valiant, courageous, and dedicated. He wants nothing more than the chance to avenge his family, but his temper often gets the better of him.

Vacations

Oh, how I love summer vacation. If I could only sleep past 5:30 life would be wonderful. I guess by the time I sleep until eight, it will be time to go back to school. Oh well.

My vacation has been so full. I got to spend two weeks with my step son and nieces and nephew and Paul Bunyan and I have had some great mom/son bonding time. I have also been working on house projects like crazy. Tim is still gone and it's a good time to get some of the projects done that have been hanging over us the last couple of lean years. My project list is as follows:

rip out floor and toilet and lay new floor and put in new toilet in Paul Bunyan's bathroom
sand and stain deck
repaint front of house
put up new trim around front door
new faucets in master bath
new faucet in kitchen
rip out carpet and replace with laminate flooring in Paul Bunyan's bedroom

Those are the completed projects. My to do list still has a ton of stuff to get done:

replace floor and vanity in guest bathroom
texture walls in master bedroom and repaint
build some sort of work space in shed
possibly repaint master bath and living room
build new section of fence in backyard
build retaining wall in backyard to stop all of the dirt from settling against the house

Whew, I'm exhausted. The good thing is that it is a good exhausted because I am getting so much done. I know that as soon as I am done with this list, I will have a ton of other things to do over my break in November. With any luck, by the time PB heads off to college next fall, we will be done with most of our projects and will be able to take a vacation. One can only hope. I find that all of the work keeps me from thinking about the fact that my honey is gone so long. We did these separations a bunch when we were first married, but I am finding it significantly harder to do this the longer we are married. Our 11th anniversary is in August and it will be the first time we have been separated and not able to celebrate together. I'm not sure how I will be dealing with that yet. Maybe I can find some girlfriends to go out with me :). Thankfully, the puppy keeps me pretty busy and he is growing so fast. He is still adorable and seems to be doing well with the housebreaking. Can I tell you how much easier the whole process is when you have a dog door?

Daytime television sucks by the way. There are some seriously wacked people out there. I know that's not exactly the revelation of the century, but it really hits you hard when it's in high def. I have however been watching a lot of DIY television and have been getting some really great ideas to add to my project list. The trick is not to watch a show that centers around a newly completed project as it only serves to teach you that everything you just did could have been done easier and cheaper. Live and learn.

You would also think that with all of this "alone" time I would have found a way to work on my relationship with the Lord. Well, you would be wrong. I just can't seem to find my way in that world and I am feeling further and further away from the spirit. I have a really hard time picking up the books or just talking to Him. This is especially interesting because I know I should pray about it, but I'm having a hard time praying...my own little catch 22.

On the bright side, I get to go see Kathie next week! Yeah!

Boys, boys, boys

Just a pix of my boys...for those of you that know them, this looks an awful lot like Richard, David and Tim.

This is my nephew, the Camster, Paul Bunyan, and my step son. We have a full house this week with five, yes five, kiddos. It has just confirmed why I only have one :) I'm EXHAUSTED! More power to those of you with multiple children.

Newest Addition

I know, I'm a glutton for punishment...

This is the newest addition to our family. His name is Madden and he is about 2 months old. Everyone at school laughed at me and decided that, with my boys gone most of the summer, I needed a new project.

I guess this is what empty nest does to some people. At least it's not a baby :) He's the sweetest puppy and really smart. I forgot how much energy they have...

Seven days left.

Wow, the time has just flown by. Ok, maybe I wouldn't have said that back in February, but now it seems like I just started. I was talking to my kiddos today and all I could think was "Man, I love what I do". Even when they bug the tar out of me, I love what I do. Thank you to all of you that have prayed for me and loved me and been so patient with me during this entire process. I take no responsibility for the grammar in this post as it is 12 am and I have been grading for what seems like an eternity. Yes Michael, I can beat what some of your college students write about. God forbid some of my kids write a story that does not involve blowing something or someone to smithereens. Alrighty then...maybe I will move onto the story about kitties. This should be a real page turner.

BTW - did you all know that Mt. Everest was located on the continent of Wyoming? Learn something new every day, don't you.

Yippee! Woo Hoo! Yee Haw! Yes! Hallelujah! Huzzah! Hot Diggety! w00t! Cheers! Sweet! Awesome! Out of sight! Alright! Hooray!

Yes friends and neighbors, I received an assignment for next year! Drum roll please...you can't hear Paul Bunyan playing the drums as I type this. I get to stay at my school, I get to teach 6th grade, AND I don't have to move out of the room that I'm in right now. How do you beat that? You don't!!!!!!!! I am so blessed. This year continued to be amazing and I definitely know that I made the right career choice. I love the kids and don't even mind 6th grade.

Off to bed...

Well, still waiting for an assignment and still working on the patience thing. I spent my morning planning with the sixth grade teachers and I was sad and excited at the same time. I know that the Lord has something in mind for me and he has a plan so I know that wherever I end up, it will be the right place. I am finding that really easy to say, not so easy to believe sometimes. As it gets closer to the end of the year, 16 days, I am getting more and more eager to begin planning for next year. So, I will just continue swimming, toward what I don't know, and I will hope the waters stay fairly calm.

I was sitting on the couch yesterday watching some sappy movie again. Don't ask why I keep doing this to myself. Anyway, it suddenly occurred to me that my baby will be taking his SENIOR pictures this summer. What? When did that happen? As Slater's baby takes her first steps to becoming a toddler, my baby takes his steps to becoming an adult.

One last thought before I head off to bed. I was cleaning my laundry room when I spotted the box for my back up fire extinguisher. On the box it claims that it is a "multi-purpose" fire extinguisher. What exactly is a multi-purpose fire extinguisher? I always assumed that a fire extinguisher only had one purpose. So, can anyone tell me what, other than putting out fires, a fire extinguisher does? You know what happens when you assume.

Notes to self...

Don't watch P.S. I Love You four days after your husband leaves for three months. Really good movie, really bad timing.

Do go see Harrison Ford in the new Indiana Jones movie. As a matter of fact, go see Harrison Ford in ANY movie.

Don't try to be happy-go-lucky with a bunch of 12-year olds...that never goes well.

Do go see the new Sex in the City movie with great girl friends...can't wait.

Don't assume the the nice, spring weather will last until the holiday weekend. Duh! How long have I lived up here?

Do take a four day weekend and watch movies and eat brownie batter.

Happy holiday weekend all!

So, I just watched Evan Almighty. Not a horrible movie. I do love Lauren Graham and Morgan Freeman. Anyway, I heard this speech that God gives to Evan's wife and it really hit home for me.

God: I love that story, Noah and the Ark. You know, a lot of people miss the point of that story. They think it’s about God’s wrath and anger. They love it when God gets angry.


Joan: What is the story about, then? The ark?

God: Well, I think it’s a love story about believing in each other. You know, the animals showed up in pairs. They stood by each other, side by side, just like Noah and his family. Everybody entered the ark side by side.


Joan: But my husband says God told him to do it. What do you do with that?

God: Sounds like an opportunity. Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, do you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If they pray for courage, does God give them courage, or does he give them opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for their family to be closer, you think God zaps them with warm, fuzzy feelings? Or does he give them opportunities to love each other? Well, I got to run. A lot of people to serve. Enjoy.

At the moment I am sitting and waiting for a job assignment. Now, don't get me wrong, I am completely thankful that I have a contract and a job for next year, but the waiting for an assignment is killing me. I am watching all of the the teachers plan for next year. I am helping as best I can, but it's hard when you don't know what you're planning for. I am not, by nature, a patient person. I was praying for patience and it just wasn't happening. I guess I was hoping that a pill would just pop into my hand and all would be well. What I realized was that God had actually given me the opportunity to be patient. DUH! I feel like the people in those V8 commercials that get thunked in the head. Thus began my journey into the world of patience. I of course have failed miserably, but I keep getting up, dusting myself off, and marching on.

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.Psalm 27:14

Prom update...

Ok, details for Kath and Beth -

The car is in one piece.
Paul Bunyan made it home by curfew (12:30 am. Huh?)
They ate mozzarella sticks, onion rings, salad, freckled lemonade, and a pineapple smoothie.
They said the place was about 200 degrees and nobody wore their extremely expensive jackets. Why not just rent the shirt and vest next year?
DJ, no band.
The kids had a great time.
Next year, Palm Springs. Anyone want to come down and have a party at our time share?

Any details I left out?

Paul Bunyan's all grown up!

Tuxedo rental - $138

Prom tickets - $125

Pretty yellow corsage - $25

Sending your baby off to his first prom - Priceless

God is good

Just about the time I am feeling as though I am at the very bottom, God does something wonderful and fills my soul will light.

Explanation...

About two weeks ago my dad was diagnosed with kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma to be more exact). He went through many, many tests and they decided that removing his left kidney was really the only treatment as this type of cancer apparently does not respond to chemo or other such treatments. He waited patiently, ok, maybe not so patiently, for two weeks. His surgery was this morning and was a complete success. We have to wait for about five days for the pathology report, but the surgeon thought everything looked pretty good and seems to think that he was able to remove the entire tumor. The kidney was huge seeing as it was mostly tumor. Yucky! The digital age is wonderful because they were able to take a picture of the kidney right after they took it out. Did I say yucky? Excuse any typos - I have been up since 4am because I went to the hospital with my parents this morning.

I can't really say why I didn't write about this earlier. I really felt that he needed the prayers, but somewhere in me I felt that the more I talked about the cancer, the more "real" it became. These past couple of weeks have really sucked for our whole family, not just for me. It really does put some things in perspective. Life is short and family is precious. I'm not completely sure what I would have done if I had lost my dad and I'm glad that today was not the day to find that out. Rather than praying for a good outcome I found myself praying for peace about whatever outcome God had planned. That was really difficult, but seemed to be the right thing for me to do. Maybe I shouldn't say this, but I'm glad, beyond words, that our Lord was not ready to call him home today. I need him here with me for a while longer.

In other news, Paul Bunyan is off to Prom this Saturday. Am I really that old?

Hug your loved ones really tight tonight...for my dad!

Spinning...

At the moment I am sitting in my classroom watching my little darlings take their excruciating state test. I will miss this. I found out this morning that two primary teachers have been assigned to 6th grade for next year. The problem with this? There are only four 6th grade spots to begin with and only one person that I know of is moving to another grade. Hmmm…that means that I do not have a spot in 6th grade next year. Ok, I can deal with this. I knew I was lowest on the totem pole so I am not completely surprised, but I am still a little sad by this news. I was really holding out hope that I would just stay where I am. The other part that makes this difficult is the fact that these two teachers have NO desire to teach 6th grade. UGH! Head hitting desk…trying to hold back tears and teach at the same time.

I know that God will put me where he wants me and I’m sure that it will be fine, but the waiting and wondering is killing me. I hear all of the other teachers getting ready and making plans and it stings a little. Ok, it stings a lot. I find it hard to go to the lunch room where teachers whine about their assignments and I just want to yell “at least you have an assignment you whiny, ungrateful wenches”, but alas, I hold it in and just smile.

Justine Bateman looks really old. I know, side track…I’m watching Desperate Housewives and she just appeared on the screen looking really bad.

That just gives you a glimpse into the workings of my mind these days…is that a goat?

Not the brightest tool in the shed...

Yes, that is how I am feeling these days...like a big mixed metaphor. I actually uttered this phrase at Starbucks the other day. I'm sure that's a party foul or something.

Not much to blog about lately. Actually, not much that I think anyone would be interested in reading about lately. I have been very whiny as of late and didn't really think anyone would be interested in my blabbering on.

I have seven weeks left of school and I still love my job. I signed a contract for next year, but still have NO idea where or what I will be teaching. I don't know how long the "it's all in God's hands" attitude will last, but I am doing well so far.

Tim comes home on Wed. for about ten days....YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! He will be home for Mother's day and some other yucky family stuff we are dealing with at the moment. For that, I am extremely grateful. I need him here with me now and God seemed to know and provide. Why I doubted that I'm not sure.

My big accomplishment these days was installing a new floor and toilet in Paul Bunyan's bathroom. Talk about a fun time...It's not leaking, the toilet not the floor, and for that I am proud. The floor isn't leaking either :)

This is Heidi and my niece at Disneyland. Heidi won eight tickets on a radio station so the whole family went to celebrate Heidi's kids' birthdays. Yes, all three of them have birthdays in a one-month period. We had a blast. My Baylas wasn't too convinced about the "happiest place on Earth" stuff until she saw the princess parade. This adorable picture was taken at the beginning of the ride. She wasn't having as much fun near the end of the ride. That seemed to be the theme for the day.



This is what happens when you let my dad, child, and nephew loose in the shops. Only my family...you would have to understand the total and unabashed love for flying that the males in our family possess to really appreciate this picture.

TTFN!