Growing Pains

Have you Hugged Your Secretary Today?

2011-04-26T19:44:00.003-05:00

Well, in some cases that would be a bad idea. (For example, I am personally not big on hugs and tend to stiffen up kind of like a cat when encountered with an unexpected one.) However, hopefully you know your secretary (aka Administrative Assistant) well enough to know how to bless him or her for Administrative Assistant's Week.

Now, there is a chance that you don't really know exactly what this person does all day. It usually varies widely by industry, location, personality and a great number of other factors. There are a few traits that are common, though.

1. The ability to sincerely smile 92.4% of the time, despite what is thrown at them.
2. A lack of whininess (although occasional venting is bound to happen.)
3. A knowledge of policy, procedures and laws, and a strict adherence to them (even when they are profoundly stupid).
4. The energy and courage to work to change those profoundly stupid policies, procedures and laws.
5. The ability to multi-task (i.e. answer the doorbell, phone and walkie talkie while taking a child's temp, doing payroll, turning off the fire alarm and counting money and trying to figure out when to go to the bathroom or inhale lunch.)
6. The insight that it is more important to know how to fix mistakes and apologize quickly than be perfect and never lose one's temper.
7. A desire to serve others.
8. And most importantly, making 1-7 look easy (most of the time)even though it isn't.

So, with or without the hug, be sure to say "Thank You" this week. On behalf of my fellow secretaries, you are very welcome.

On Coffee Mugs

2010-09-24T19:08:00.003-05:00

I broke one of my favorite coffee mugs today, the one I got when we went to the Cincinnati Aquarium. It was perfectly weighted, a little bigger than average, had a easy-on-the-hand handle, and had cute little penguin drawings all over it. It had one small chip on the rim that I had super glued back into place, but it wasn't in a place where my lips would touch so it didn't effect the comfort level.

I have lots of average mugs I can use and I don't tend to keep any that are truly awful, such as the one that are really light, or too small or too big. Anything that makes you dribble when you drink or that has a really wide rim is out, too. If the color or design is a turn-off then the cup is out, but a design I love can push a borderline mug into more frequent use.

I despise drinking out of Styrofoam cups, and paper cups aren't much better. I usually grab a mug off of our open cabinet on my way to work, and I have three or four that I keep primarily for work. I keep my true favorites for the weekends when I can enjoy leisurely drinking coffee at home with David.

When I picked up my penguin mug today the thought crossed my mind, "What if I break it?" I told myself that it was just a mug and it would be fine. I didn't think anything else about it until I was rushing out the door of my office this afternoon and somehow managed to whack the mug on the edge of my desk. It flew into pieces, spraying coffee all over my desk and credenza, but the bottom of the cup landed upright on the floor with coffee still in it. High performance until the end.

I had one other coffee mug end its life in a semi-spectacular way. It was my "Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History" cup, and one day as I was leaving the house I tried to balance it on our back porch rail while I locked the back door. It tumbled off the rail and broke on the ground below. But the really bright part of that was soon after David build a little shelf onto the railing for me to set my cup down on. He even carved our initials in it. (Yes, he IS amazing.)

Goodbye, Cincinnati Penguin mug! You will be missed.

Unfinished projects

2010-09-19T00:00:00.001-05:00

I think my list of unfinished projects has started to get overwhelming. I think I need to write them all down, purge what I can and get cracking on the rest...

We all MUST be heroes

2010-05-05T11:14:00.005-05:00

There is one thing that I keep hearing during this crisis that I find frustrating. It is the same cry that rises up after every disaster in the world- "Where is the government? Where is the official help?"

The fact is that during the midst of a disaster there is no way for a governement or relief organization to know exactly what is happening or going to happen. There aren't enough resources or eyes to predict or even assess the event as it happens. Normally it is something that has never happened before so the best they can do is make educated guesses.

In the immediate aftermath there is much confusion and misinformation as the urgent needs are addressed and rescue efforts are organized. There is no communication in the hardest hit areas so sometimes it is not known where they are.

During the recovery period all that the governement and relief agencies can do is provide a framework to help and try to get a grasp of where the needs are. Any one of us who has organized a yard sale, fish fry, fund raiser or family reunion knows that even with weeks or months to organize it is still a huge job with huge obstacles. Now make it a matter of life and death that affects thousands or millions of people and try to make it happen instantly, with little or no warning.

There are still pockets of devestation that have not yet been found. Those residents have no water, no power, no home and no way to know where to go for shelter or apply for aid. It is up to those of us largely unaffected to connect with aid agencies to volunteer, but more importantly, don't wait to be deputized by an "official" agency. Go, do, serve. Be the bridge between the people in need and the agencies that can help them. Be the hands that take water and feet that wade through the filth to clean out a stranger's house.

As we go through this time of recovery it is up to each one of us to do most of the heavy lifting. We must take care of our own homes and the homes and businesses of those around us. We all must be heroes.

What a weekend!

2010-05-02T21:02:00.018-05:00

We have managed to collect more than fifteen inches of rain in our gauge since yesterday. The rain collected about 1 1/2 inches high in our basement, and trickled down our chimney into the laundry room. The boys bailed the basement and I supported their efforts with lots of good cooking. We have been okay since the rain slowed down, but things are really rough in Nashville and all of Middle Tennessee tonight. Hundreds of homes underwater and the worst is yet to come as the rivers start to crest. Here are some pictures the boys took of the soccer fields near our house. Fortunately we are way up on a ridge and it is down in a bottom, but close none the less.

There are two sets of pictures taken several hours apart. You can click on the photos for a larger image.

Also, we are quite close to the Opryland Hotel and it has been evacuated and the water is in the parking lot of the hotel and Opry Mills Mall. It is all very surreal.

These steps at Lock Two Park go down to the Cumberland river about ten feet further down.
May 2, 2010 at about 11:00 am.

Heartland soccer fields
May 2, 2010 at about 10:30 am

Heartland soccer fields
May 2, 2010 at about 10:30 am

Heartland soccer fields
May 2, 2010 at about 10:30 am

Heartland soccer fields
May 2, 2010 at 5:30 pm

May 2, 2010 at 6:00 pm

May 2, 2010 at 6:20
The disappearing fire hydrant. Now you see it...

May 2, 2010 at 6:45
Now you don't.

Fire hydrant mostly gone, and the blue storage containers from the earlier pictures are just visible in the right corner.

Inspiration at Work

2010-04-06T20:57:00.002-05:00

I had a horrendous morning and was looking for some inspiration. I asked someone for an encouraging word, but she didn't have any. Then I asked her why we keep showing up every day to do what we do. I thought I wanted to hear something about how "children are our future" or "it takes a village." Maybe a dash of "being where God sent us" and even a bit of "a mind is a terrible thing to waste." What I got was "to pay the bills." And you, today I think that was just what I needed to hear.

Easter Pictures

2010-04-06T00:06:00.003-05:00

First Mowing of the Year

2010-04-04T18:17:00.002-05:00

Nick's Room

2010-03-21T15:36:00.004-05:00

Nicholas is getting a belated birthday gift with a freshly painted room. One wall is black, the opposite wall is neon green, then one of the other walls will be black with small green stripes and the last wall will be green and black checkerboarded. David and the boys have been working hard the last two days to get the base coats down, then we will start figuring out how to do the stripes...

Saint Patrick's Breastplate

2010-03-17T01:20:00.000-05:00

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

Latest Nicholas News

2010-03-16T10:47:00.002-05:00

Nick has conqured the EEG and MRI and now we just have to wait for all the results. Our Dr. moved our next appointment to April 29th so we will be waiting for a while.

Nick has not had any seizures since that first one and life has just about returned to as normal as it gets around here.

Please pray for good results, wisdom on the course of action, and our finances. David's work schedule was quite a bit lighter last year and has been very sparse so far this year. The combination of less income, more medical expenses and tax season has really put a squeeze on our finances.

I'll post an update on Nick when we have anything else to share.

Nicholas' Stinky Day

2010-02-25T20:25:00.006-06:00

Last Wednesday, February 17th, David got a call from Nicholas' school that he had thrown up and needed to be picked up. A few minutes later they called back to say Nicholas seemed to be zoned out and was possibly having a seizure so they had called the paramedics. The short version is that we spent the afternoon at Summit Hospital and the evening at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. The neurologist ruled out most of the big scary things and the standard protocol was to start Nick on an anti-seizure medication and then follow up as an outpatient.

Nicholas took a day or two to recuperate from the ordeal and has been going full steam since then with no more seziures. We had our first appointment with the neurologist this afternoon and Nick has an EEG scheduled next Tuesday and a MRI on 3/11 (or maybe the other way around.) The plan is to continute on the meds for now then figure out a long term course of action after the tests are completed.

There are a few possibilties as to what the test results may show.
1. Absolutely nothing to indicate why Nick had a seziure. This would be frustraing but obviously our favorite option.
2. Scar tissue or some type of genetic or developmental areas that would most likely explain the seziure.
3. Least likely, but still a possibility, a tumor.

Regardless of the findings the suggested course will include finding the most effective dose of meds and continuing on them for two years. If he remains seziure free for 2 years then they would try to wean him off and see if he remains seziure free. If not the meds would be restarted. If it were #3 there would likely be neurosurgery involved, as well.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as the Lord leads, and here are a few specific requests as well:
*Peace for all of us because it is easy to be fearful sometimes
*No more seziures, ever
*Financial provision
*Wisdom for everyone on Nick's medical team.
*Wisdom as we make medical decisions
*For Nick to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how much God loves him

Thanks to all of you who have supported us with your actions, words, time, finances, and prayers. It has been a blessing to remember that we are not walking through this alone. Much love to you all!

My Father's Stories

2010-02-09T16:15:00.003-06:00

I have been working for several years to collect my father's stories. I have hours of tapes that I have transcribed and have started editing them for readability. I thought you might enjoy reading some of them here...

The first time I saw my official birth certificate it was a bit of a surprise to discover my name listed as Gerd Fredrich Franz Schmitz. My first name as far as I knew had always been Gert. Fortunately that was in an era when a misspelled name on a birth certificate could be overlooked. And it was only one letter.

I think the earliest memories I have are kind of sketchy, more like flashes. I can see myself in a little wicker basket on wheels. It has 4 legs on it and a kind of white finish, with rings around the rim. That was my basket to sleep in. We lived upstairs in an apartment of the house where we later lived downstairs. I was in the bassinette about a foot from the stairs and I remember that I looked down the stairs. Then my mother came and grabbed me because I was jerking my body in the basket and jerked it toward the stairs. If she didn’t pull me out I would have gone down the stairs in that basket. I probably would have gotten killed.

I remember once when I was about three years old, I walked off from our home, toward Trills, which was the next town. I just took off and a friend of ours recognized me when he passed me on the street. He took me by the hand and brought me back to my mother. She was already looking for me.

Another early memory of while we lived still upstairs and we had walls that were kind of slanting down because of the roof line. There was a window about two feet off the floor, but it dropped lower behind the floors I could actually sit on the edge of the floor with my feet down a little more on the window sill. During the German Carnival people would run around in the streets while wearing masks. I was sitting in the window watching them and some older boys saw me sitting up there and said, “We’re going to get you! We’re going to come and get you!” And I was afraid and said, “Mommy! Don’t let them come up here and get me!” I was scared to death they were going to come up and grab me, but they never did. That is engraved on my mind.

Then the next thing I remember is almost drowning in our septic tank. We had an outside septic tank but it was like quicksand. There was straw on top that they took from the chicken and rabbit bedding. There was also the liquid stuff and the bad stuff in there from people. One day mother had me all dressed up in a blue knitted outfit with a matching hat with a ball on top, like skiers wear. I picked that day to try and walk on top of the straw and I went through the straw and into the sewage so all you could see was my hat floating on top. We had a German shepherd by the name of Rolf and he barked and barked and barked. My mother came out to see what was wrong, because she knew I was outside. Rolf looked to that big concrete pit and kept barking. He went wild! Then my mother saw just my hat there sticking out of the straw, and she pulled me out. I remember my mother pulling me out and the dog barking. I must have swallowed some stuff while I was under there because told me much later on that I stank for days when I burped.

There was another blue outfit I remember. A blue Kossack outfit with black trim. She had me all dressed up, washed and combed with knee socks on and nice brown shoes polished and everything. We were supposed to go visit somebody, and she got me ready before her so I went outside. Mr. Rüffert, the one that owned the place (he was also a relative- his wife and my dad’s mother were first cousins) had a long bean stalk, about twelve feet long, that had a big cloth ball on the end, like a Q-tip. He used that to clean out the chimneys and he had laid it alongside the chicken coop. I saw it laying there and had to get my hand on that ball! I went in all that soot, and played with that. I was one sooty mess! I had a knack of getting into things like that, especially when I was all cleaned up. My mother saw me and had a fit. She had to change my clothes and wash my hair and get me all cleaned up again. I don’t know why I played with it. Because it was there I guess. I don’t know where we were supposed to go, but it must have been important because we all got dressed up.

Those are the earliest things I can recall. I also have very clear memories of the years before I went to school, when I was 4 and 5. My favorite playmate was also my uncle. He was the son of my mother’s father and his second wife, Maria. Maria was close to my mother’s age and Helmut was close to my age. At that time Maria worked at Stallenhouse. That was a big farm, really a huge farm, almost like a castle. They had the houses in a square with big doors where you could come in and be protected inside the square. That’s the way they built them way back in the 1700’s and1800’s. Stallenhaus had lots of land and cows and pigs and chickens. Thousands of chickens! My grandmother was in charge of the kitchen there and they had to cook a lot. They had eight or ten farm hands that came in for breakfast and lunch and dinner.

When Helmut got out of school, there was nobody at his house because his and mother were both working. I wasn’t in school yet, so he took me with him to the farm in the afternoons. I had nothing else to do and Helmut and I were together a lot, so he and I walked up the street about half a mile to the farm where she worked and we stayed there on the farm just fooling around until she got off. We had pretty much the run of the farm and we constantly got into trouble.

We loved to play in the barns where they had the straw. We would build passages in the straw and crawl around inside. We must have breathed in dust by the pounds! It was so dark in there. We played in there all the time and we called it buden bauen --- that’s an old run down place where people live.

Stallenhaus had all those chickens and a huge chicken coop where all the chickens laid most of their eggs. But the chickens were also allowed to run loose so they went all over the farm. We didn’t call it “free-range” back then but they definitely were. The chickens loved to go into the barn, and would get way up in the rafters. There were little boxes formed where the four by eights went horizontally and the rafters came down at an angle. It was a perfect nesting place for the chickens so some of them would lay eggs up there. Nobody could go get those eggs but us kids. The grownups wouldn’t climb up there. They didn’t even know about it until we found the. We would climb from rafter to rafter and to get all the eggs out and would throw them all down in the straw. They usually didn’t break when they hit the straw. We had 10, 15 eggs sometimes and had to make sure we didn’t throw them on top of each other. We’d have to make sure we spread them out. Then we climbed down and got a basket and took them to my grandmother. She paid us a penny for each egg we found, which was pretty good! Helmut and I each had a book. One was Helmut’s Egg’s and one was Gert’s Eggs. That’s how we kept up with our earnings.

How do you define church?

2010-02-06T12:03:00.002-06:00

I was pondering this morning what exactly defines a church. I have been feeling a bit disconnected at our home church, although we have attended several years. I have been encouraging myself to get more involved and attend more activities but sometimes all that "more" just make me feel stretched so thin. I was trying to define what it is I feel like I am missing and really it boils down to relationships and shared lives with people who hold the same core values and beliefs that I do. Which led me to the question of how to define church. I spend 40+ hours a week with a small congregation of people who share one another's burdens, pray for one another, cry on each other's shoulders, encourage my faith, minister to the poor, pray for deliverance, and prophesy. We've even been known to break bread together and share what we have to meet one another's needs. We do all this as we fulfill with excellence our roles as teachers, administrators, and servers of all kinds. Now granted, we rarely pray together or study the word together and those are both things I require to keep my soul from shriveling up. So while I don't intend on giving up church membership because of a great workplace, maybe many of us should remember to appreciate and recognize the community of faith we are privleged to be a part of each and every day. What a blessed woman I am!

Lower standards

2010-01-26T17:51:00.002-06:00

I know in a world where we are constantly trying to do things better you might be shocked to know that I've discovered the secret to happiness is sometimes lower standards. Realizing that it is okay to not vacuum the living room because we allowed Nicholas to create a Ninja room by stringing out an entire skein of macrame cord is not the end of the world. I can live with a messy house (but not a dirty house.) It is simply not possible to do everything on my to-do list every day, so instead of feeling chronically guilty I just quit making such a long list.

It was also a revelation to figure out that perfectionism had the ability to paralyze instead of spurn forward. Example thought pattern: "I need to change that light bulb, but while I have the step stool out I should clean the fixture and if I'm going to clean the fixture I should go ahead and dust up there, too. If I get the duster out I might as well dust the rest of the room, but if I dust then I will need to vacuum because dust will be all over the carpet. If I am going to vacuum I need to move all the furniture around and I better sprinkle some deodorizer on the dogs sleeping spot so it will not smell so much like dog"... You get the point.

I'm telling you, for some of us less is definitely more!

Katie's Hair

2010-01-24T22:21:00.005-06:00

I know it has been a while since there have been any Katie hair updates. That is because since around June of last year it has been a natural color. Shocking, I know! Actually, to get it from purple to brown was a much greater trial than anything else we had ever tried. It involved bleach, hair color, several trips to Kroger and finally an emergency call to our stylist who has been doing Katie's hair her entire life. She was kind enough to meet us at her shop that evening and worked a miracle that got Katie's hair from a funky gray to a natural looking brown. We haven't touched it since then with anything stronger than shampoo. I say all this set the stage for this evening. Katie is in the bathroom right now washing off some Mahogany Brown hair color and I am waiting for the grand unveiling. I'll keep you posted...

Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T19:19:00.004-06:00

Ephesians 3:14-19 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth, I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

What a wonderful day!

Lots of fun opening the presents this morning. It was a bit of a hard year, but we were all very creative with gift ideas.. (I gave David a new box of vacuum cleaner bags along with an official proclamation declaring 2010 "The Year of Excessive Vacuuming." He does love a clean floor.)

We have eaten well, laughed a great deal and enjoyed one anothers company. We are now snuggled up in the den by the fire watching the Titans. (That is not going too well at the moment.)

I have had a bit of a growing pain since Katie spent most of the day at Kameron's house, but I think I'll survive it okay. I am thankful that all the children are well, happy and healthy.

Many blessings to you and yours!

My New Year's Psalm

2009-12-22T22:50:00.000-06:00

(Written almost a decade ago, but still the cry of my heart.)

You have made me to be so much more than I am
in holiness,
righteousness,
discipline
and love.

You have called me to be so much less than I am
in vanity,
idleness
and pride.

I cry out for you to empty me.
I thank you for filling me,
thrilling me,
loving me.

Oh, gracious, beloved, eternal Lord!
I am awed by your care of me,
grace so free,
on my knee I fall.

I struggle to walk while my soul yearns to run.
Dying flesh can be so heavy.

Victory is mine!
I will not lose the fight,
the way,
the faith.

Yes, Lord! Yes!
I'm forever yours.
Your plan is mine.
Obedience makes my path straight.

The In Between Season

2009-09-06T09:28:00.000-05:00

There is a season that falls between summer and autumn. You can identify it by the sound of acorns falling on the roof and lawnmowers on the same day. It happens when the nicely spaced and staked tomato plants explode out of the top of their cages and droop over onto the patio, while still bearing an abundance of fruit. The neatly caged cucumber plant has crept out of its enclosure and is trying to pull the tomato plants back into the garden. The carrots that were planted far too abundantly have grown into a thick border, with hundreds of mishapen carrots underground. And over it all the volunnteer hummingbird vine has appeared and woven an all encompassing net which is far too attractive to pull up.

Whatever it is called that season is here, at least in my backyard.

Another summer gone already

2009-07-18T13:40:00.000-05:00

Well, somehow my 6 week summer break has flown by already. I go back to work on Monday at my new school. Don't tell anyone, but I am a little scared about the move. There are many new co-workers to meet and names to remember, training to receive and training to give, procedures to learn and procedures to establish. Overall, I think I'd prefer to crawl back under the covers and sleep for a few more weeks.

What if I forgot everything I know? What if nobody likes me? What if I mess up? What if I let my boss down? What if...

I suppose I would check my notes, like them anyway, get used to messing up, and apologize and move on to the next project. That's what I've done so far and it has worked out pretty well.

One of the best bits of advice I got about my job was passed down to me from the previous secretary who wrote it down when it was passed on to her by her predecessor:
"You will always be interrupted. You will always make mistakes. Get over it."

Most useful secretarial hint around.

Thoughts on social networking

2009-07-06T10:03:00.000-05:00

First we started blogs to keep our friends up to date with our lives. We usually used them as a journal of sorts to share about our activities and thoughts. Posting once a day or a few times a week was keeping pretty current. Entries could be long and thoughtful or short and sweet. Then you could throw in some pictures of the new house or baby. People could leave comments and share their thoughts. Kind of like an ongoing Christmas card.

Then we had our social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. Now we could share more details, find old friends and update our status several times a day. We could connect with old friends and show the world what they looked like in fifth grade. This seemed more like having friends over for coffee and some good conversation.

Now comea Twitter, the ADD network. You are supposed to share snippets of your day while on the go, and do it in 140 characters or less. I think that is more like opening the window while driving and shouting at people on the sidewalk as you speed past.

The funny part is, I have all three.
:o)

Unexpected Changes

2009-06-22T13:04:00.000-05:00

This fall will be the first time in 14 years that I will not be at McGavock Elementary. All three of my children have attended there and for the past three years I have been on staff as the secretary/bookkeeper. I assummed I would stay there at my neighborhood school for the next 20 or so years, but I was wrong in my assumptions.

The MNPS superintendent decided to "Fresh Start" several schools that were not progressing academically. Now, McGavock has been progressing very well, thank you very much. So well that our Principal is moving to Napier Elementary School, and I am going with her.

I am very sad to be leaving McGavock. Over the years it has become home and the staff and teachers are part of our extended family. I am sure that the move from my neighborhood school to an inter-city school is the right one for me at this time. It will be an adventure and calling that will definitely stretch me and all of the team that is signing up to be part of Team Napier. However, it is a very bittersweet time as well.

Someone asked me the other day if I was happy about the move. After thinking about it I don't think "happy" is the right word. I am excited, scared, energized and content, but it makes my heart ache to leave my McGavock family and my neighborhood cocoon.

Please pray as we go through this time of transition and ask the Lord to cover everyone effected with peace and vision for the future. And don't forget to volunteer at a school, wherever you may live.

Father's Day

2009-06-22T13:00:00.000-05:00

It's a wonderful testimony to my dear husband that when he asked them what he could do to be a better father their only response was that they would like to hang out with him more. As Katie put it, even if we aren't doing the same thing it just feels better when we are all in the same room.

The down side is that we got so busy that I missed speaking with my dad. Hopefully I will catch up with him this afternoon. I love my Daddy!

Melinda Knott's update on John

2009-06-16T09:53:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,
God is good 24/7. As most of you know, John was to come home this week. When I arrived at the hospital this morning, we were told that today was the day! I was not ready. Our home was not yet set up with the necessary furnishings for him to recuperate in our living room. I was frantic! But, we accepted the situation knowing that God would help us find a way and provide the necessary help.

We were packing up. The bandages were changed and the new wound vacs that insurance would cover at home were in place and we had spoken with the home health care folks. As the wound care nurse was putting away her supplies and cleaning up, social services came in (12:00 noon) and said that Blue Cross Blue Shield had approved John for in-patient rehab services at Skyline Medical Center! We were both pleasantly surprised. This was something that John felt he needed from the very beginning.

When we arrived (5:20 p.m. you know, hospital time) he was admitted and given a thorough evaluation by the doctor in charge of rehab services. We were told that everyone would put their heads together and come up with a plan to get John up and going again. The doctor said that he would be at Skyline a week and a half to two weeks. He has his first session tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. and will have 3 hours of rehab each day. They will also train me on helping him get up and down and moving from the bed to a chair. He is not to try to get up on his own, mainly because of balance problems. We are so relieved. We feel that this will give John a much better chance at a full recovery. If you want to drop him a card, he is in room 206. Again thank you for all or your prayers in his behalf.

Sincerely,
Melinda
John and Melinda Knott

John Knott Update

2009-06-15T12:12:00.000-05:00

Good News! John had successful heart surgery last week, and is actually scheduled to go home from the hospital tomorrow. Hurray!

Broken Window

2009-06-12T12:10:00.000-05:00

Well, all those years of telling the kids to not play ball in the house apparently didn't quite sink in. Nicholas spent the night at a friend's house last night and he broke a window while, you guessed it, they were playing ball in the house. No one was hurt, other than being really scared. (As well they should have been!)

Nick apologized and they were gracious with him, but the fact is they still had to spend time and money to replace the window. (Nicholas now owes them several hours of yardwork.)

And this is not a characteristic limited to boys. Katie learned this lesson the hard way, too. The one time she played around with the boys at home she knocked over a glass vase which broke into a million or so pieces.

Let me repeat it again for all of you, "DO NOT PLAY BALL IN THE HOUSE."

Summer Kaffeklatsch

2009-06-07T15:15:00.000-05:00

Are you looking for a social outlet for the summer? Starting this week I am going to host a Tuesday morning Kaffeeklatsch. Basically that means around 10 am I am going to be sitting down to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee and maybe a baked good. Anyone is welcome to come and enjoy some downtime with me. I can't make any guarentees that the house will be picked up or that I will be out of my jammies, but I will guarentee that the coffee will be hot and fresh.

Ya'll come!

Update on John Knott (6.7.09)

2009-06-07T15:12:00.000-05:00

The latest news is that John is being moved to Centennial Hospital today (Sunday) and they will be doing surgery to remove the tumor in his heart tomorrow afternoon. The Doctors are hopeful that things will go well. They told the family that there was a 95% chance of success. Obviously it is still a very serious situation, but the reports are currently more encouraging than before.

Please continue to pray.

Please Pray for John Knott

2009-06-04T11:54:00.000-05:00

One of our teachers at McGavock Elementary is in serious medical condition and needs your prayer. I've posted the information below that was sent to me by a friend of the family. This started Wednesday.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Wednesday afternoon)

Melinda has asked me to email you regarding John, her husband. He collapsed today at the YMCA and was taken by ambulance to Summit Hospital where he is in surgery right now. He had lost feeling in his legs and was in much pain. they discovered he had blood clots in his heart and they had traveled south to perhaps his abdomen and definitely to his legs. They have cleaned out one leg and they are still working on him. Their son has been called in from the Persian Gulf to come home. So far the reports have been good (they have been calling Melinda every hour with an update). We are very thankful about that. Please pray. Thank you very much! Susan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Thursday morning)

I wanted to send an update on John. He had over a 5 hour surgery and it is very major. Apparently John has a tumor(nonmalignant) growing in his heart. A large piece fell from his heart and cut off the circulation to his legs. The doctor was able to restore circulation to his legs. The doctor stated that he is doing as well as could be expected but has a long way to go. They had to cut his legs to account for the swelling. Also, they do not know how much of the tumor may be in other organs like kidneys, spleen and intestines.

The good news is that he can wiggle his toes and he knows people. The other news is that once he is stable, the tumor in his heart has to be dealt with. The doctor put it this way: "We are in a long game and we are still in the middle of the first inning and the score is tied."

I will try to update you when I get other news. The prayer for tonight is that there are no complications to his surgery today and also the tumor does not damage any other organs (eg. the doctor gave was his stomach hurting which would mean immediate surgery to look at his intestines.). Tomorrow they are doing an echocardiogram and calling in a cardiologist.

He has been given 3 pints of blood when we left and the doctor was sure that he would need more tonight. Pray that Melinda gets some rest. it will be a very long journey for the two of them.

Their son should be here tomorrow night or early Friday morning. He was able to talk with his dad before the surgery.

Ahhhh....

2009-06-03T21:59:00.000-05:00

I finally finished up the inventory at work today so I am officially on summer break. Right now David and I are sitting on the loveseat enjoying brownies and coffee. Tomorrow I don't plan to do anything, even make the bed (if I get out of it...)

Any Advice?

2009-06-02T00:37:00.000-05:00

I am starting a checklist of things that Katie (or anyone) should know before they live on their own. The goal is to make sure everything has been checked off by the time she is ready to move out (whenever that may be.)

What do you wish you would have known, or was the best thing you learned?
What skills do you think are the most important to know?

I'll pull everything into a single document and post it when it's finished.

Thanks!

Crazy Busy

2009-05-31T01:16:00.000-05:00

This past week has been crazy busy. Even though Monday was a holiday it still felt like a long week! I spent the week at work closing out the books and getting my paperwork finished and packed off to be audited. I worked late most nights and then had guilt for not being home in time to make supper before eight o'clock, if at all. We went out for my birthday Tuesday, but decided to postpone going to see Night at the Museum 2 until I was sure I wouldn't fall asleep during the movie. I'm looking forward to a long summer nap...

Katie's New Old Car

2009-05-31T01:09:00.000-05:00

Miss Katie finally has a car!

Great Place to Live

2009-05-31T01:01:00.001-05:00

I think Donelson, TN, is the most fun place to live. Tonight David and I went to the Grand Ole Opry to see Steve Martin's debut Opry performance. (He is a darn good banjo player!) Not to mention hearing some really good music from the likes of Riders in the Sky, Marty Stuart, Vince Gill, Amy Grant and lots of other amazing artists. Even if you aren't a country fan, there is just something about hearing "Tennessee Waltz" sung by the original artist. Then after we picked Mike up downtown, we came back to our part of town and went to Shoney's for a late night dinner. (Normally we do Steak and Shake for late nights, but decided to do something different.) About halfway through dinner Kenney Chesney came in with some people and they sat down about three booths away from us. All this within 4 miles of home. Nifty!

Mike is Driving

2009-05-25T10:56:00.000-05:00

Mike got his driving permit last Friday. He has been behind the wheel every since. We are finally car shopping for Katie, so hopefully she will be driving herself wherever her heart desires very soon. (If you know of a nice car for sale, let me know!)

My Brilliant Children

2009-05-25T10:53:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick rundown of end of the year honors:
Katie graduated with honors from McGavock High School last weekend.

Mike finished his freshman year at Nashville School of the Arts with wonderful grades and the award for the top student in Music Theory I.

Nicholas finisehd 5th grade at Two Rivers and was the student of the year from his class and won the Outstanding Math Student award and had perfect attendance and straight A's all year.

Hurray!

Graduation party webcam

2009-05-13T23:33:00.001-05:00

For those of you who'd like to join the Graduation Party Sunday afternoon but won't be able to make it, we will be setting up a Katie Cam. Right now I can pick you up on Skype or Messenger. I'm working on a couple of other options. I'll keep you posted.

A helpful note for job seekers

2009-05-13T23:07:00.000-05:00

If you use the phrase "please overlook my resume" or any variations that involves the use of the work "overlook" we will do exactly that. We will be happy to look over, review, peruse, consider, analyze, or just a simple read.

Prom pictures

2009-05-05T10:24:00.000-05:00

For those of you who haven't already seen them on Facebook, here are some prom pictures of Katie and her boyfriend, Laurington (Lo).

Good Formula

2009-05-02T23:50:00.000-05:00

Shingles + mumu = comfort

Shingles...and I don't mean on the roof

2009-05-01T11:59:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to decide if taking a sick day off and laying in bed on a rainy day is worth the pain of shingles. At the moment I'm thinking not, but maybe after the Lortab presecription is ready...

Better than backward pants

2009-04-30T17:01:00.000-05:00

So, does anyone remember my backwards pants incident that happened several months ago? Well I finally topped it today. I was in a rush to get out of the door this morning and when I got to school I was walking in with a co-worker and realized that I could see my shoulder pad out of the corner of my eye. I reached down to tuck it in when to my surprise I discovered I was walking into work with my shirt on inside out. The greatest part was having at least two (short) conversations with people who didn't appear to notice my dilemma. As someone pointed out, at least I didn't wait and notice it around 2 o'clock!

Notes From the Office-April 24th

2009-04-24T23:15:00.000-05:00

I put riddles on my door every week, and the one from this week was, "What is red and smells like blue paint?" The funniest answer by far was the student who said, "I know-it's perfume! Because it rhymes."

New York 2009

2009-04-19T10:19:00.000-05:00

What a fun weekend. I am sitting in my friend Ginny's living room after a couple of days of stiching temari with friends and laughing ourselves silly. Life is good.

Notes from the office-April 10, 2009

2009-04-10T00:50:00.000-05:00

As an elementary school secretary I have lots of good stories to share. I'll try to start posting a few so you can get a view of life in the office.

This morning a student came in the office crying. When I asked her what had happened she told me she hit her nose another student's head. I asked her how his head was and she replied, "Hard!"

I also had a student come in during lunch and announce that he had a fever. I asked him why he thought he had a fever and his response was that he had gone swimming in the lake over the weekend and touched a fish and it made him sick. I told him I didn't think that would make him sick, so he told me that he also touched some fruit on a stick. I took his temperature and he was just fine. This was the same child who earlier in the year came in the office and told me that he was sick. I asked him how he knew and he told me that he "licked a nut."

Oh, and one final image for you. A child came in from PE and had a bump above his eye where he had been hit with a basketball. I was out of ice and alone in the office, so I grabbed the first thing I laid my hand on in the fridge and sent him back to class holding a pudding cup on his eye. Hey, it worked and I did call his mom and warn her that I had made him a pudding head.

April Fool's Day!

2009-04-08T17:43:00.000-05:00

So for April Fool's day Katie dyed her hair brown. Go figure.

Perfect Prom Dress

2009-03-28T10:23:00.000-05:00

You know the prom dress is perfect when she wears it around the house, just because she loves it. The swishing when she walks and sighing contentedly when she sits down are also clues.

24 Hours

2009-01-24T11:08:00.000-06:00

I know that God put only 24 hours in the day, so if I can't do everything on my chore list in one day I'm the one who needs to make a change, right?

Some days I'd really rather stay in bed and pull the covers over my head than be a semi-responsible adult!

2009, More or Less

2009-01-16T10:43:00.000-06:00

It seems to me that often times the resolutions we make to start a new year are all about things we do or don't want to do. Those declarations are only half of the equation. I can't commit to doing more of one thing without doing less of something else. With that in mind, I'm working on my list of resolutions for 2009, more or less.

More going to bed on time and less playing games on Save the Planet.
More time reading my Bible and less time reading murder mysteries. (There are plenty of mysteries in the Bible to keep me going.)
More water and less soda.
More fruits and veggies and less of all that other stuff.
More time with friends and less worrying about how the house looks.
More walking and less sitting.
More blogging and less just thinking about it.

That should do for a start!

David's Christmas Wagon

2008-12-26T23:57:00.001-06:00

David got a dumping yard wagon for Christmas. It was the first time in many years that a wagon was under the tree, but I think it has been the most fun of all. David, Nick, Mike and Katie's boyfriend, Lo, all had a hand in putting it together. There was lots of male bonding while they had to drill extra holes, follow instructions and for some reason unknown to most woman it is required that if the pneumatic tires smell really bad you have to keep passing them around and say, "Wow, those smell horrible! Here, sniff them." I heard rumor of tire licking, but I'm hoping that was just fiction.

Now that the wagon is finished, the boys (all of them) have given each other rides, dumped one another in the floor, and had much amusment using the wagon. David was going to put it outside, but it is so much fun to watch them we've decided to give it a bit longer in the house.

Yo-Yo Ma

2008-10-19T23:38:00.000-05:00

Katie and I got to see Yo-Yo Ma perform with the Nashville Symphony last night. Her school got some free tickets to distribute to students and she was fortunate enough to get a pair. We really enjoyed the opportunity. It was the first full performance I had the opportunity to see. I've been to a practice or two on field trips, but this was part of the classical series. The Schermerhorn hall is an extraordinary facility and so beautiful. Also extremely cold! All the performers were wonderful, but Yo-Yo Ma was a delight to watch as well as hear. No only is he a fabulous cellist, he is quite an actor as well. All in all it was a wonderful evening.

Why procrastinate about posting?

2008-10-06T22:56:00.001-05:00

It seems like when it has been a while since I've posted that I keep NOT posting because there is so much to say. I think it might be easier ifI don't feel like I have to go back and cover everything that has happened.

For the moment I can tell you all is well (as far as life in general can be.) Katie's hair is a brilliant pink, Mike is in love with Twiggy, Nicholas is enjoying middle school and David and I are staying busy. More details when I can...

Thoughtful Living

2008-07-10T15:01:00.000-05:00

I think that life is often times such a rush with so many unexpected events that we forget how to live thoughtful, intentional lives.

We don't think about what we are going to eat until it's lunch time and we run to get a burger because we didn't bring anything to work. Or it is supper time and we are standing with our head in the freezer trying to figure out what will thaw out the fastest.

We don't give much thought to our finances until the bills are due or the children need braces, or a car, or college tuition. We have some vague notion of a plan, but few of us actually take time to budget because it can be kind of depressing and we can't always have what we want when we want it.

Our spiritual life can fall into such a routine that we don't realize we have drifted from having a passionate relationship with God to just being a Good Person who prays before meals and doesn't cuss and everyone thinks of as nice.

Marriages become ordinary and we lose the thrill of knowing we are cherished and loved, maybe because we forget to show it.

We become fatter, poorer, weaker and lonelier one minute at a time until one day we look around us and hardly know ourselves. It can be quite a shock, and rather difficult to figure out how to correct.

So maybe it is time to stop wandering down the road with your eyes on the pavement and start looking up. Look around you and see what is really gong on in your part of the world. What assignments has God given you today? Start paying attention to your choices.

Start living a thoughful, intentional life.

Atlanta

2008-07-10T14:58:00.000-05:00

We had a lovely trip to Atlanta last weekend. Mike got to see his girlfriend, Morgan, and we visited the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. I think my favorite part of the trip was spending an hour at the hotel pool by ourselves. No crowds, no tickets to buy and we all had fun together. It is nice to be home!

Kenya update

2008-06-30T14:57:00.000-05:00

Well, the latest deadline for our Kenya trip has come and gone and we have had to resign from the team. We are both disappointed, but were very glad we got to walk with the team as far as we did. Maybe we can make it next year.

I Hate Fleas!

2008-06-30T14:47:00.000-05:00

Does anyone know of a good reason for fleas to exist? We have been battling them at our house all summer. I blame the cats since they are the ones who spend most of their time outside. We got a bit behind (read: lazy) about giving the pets their spot flea medicine, and before we realized what was happening they were everywhere. It is similar to dealing with head lice, for those of you who've had the pleasure. Treat the animals, vacuum and wash sheets daily, and brush them to get any stray fleas out. I hate it! Fortunately it seems to be getting under control, but it is a huge robber of time and energy. Oh, well. At least I've got more time to deal with it while we are off for the summer.

Have you ever...

2008-06-11T12:00:00.001-05:00

Have you ever had one of those days where the foot that you sprained a month ago was still tremendously painful, so your daughter strongly encouraged you to go to the doctor when she saw you hobbling around? You said you'd go if they had an appointment and when you called they said, "We can take you right now." When you got there they took 2 rounds of X-rays and told you it looked like you broke your foot, but it was healing nicely. Then they put an Aircast splint on you and told you to take calcium supplements.

I had one of those days yesterday.

I guess I should have noticed sooner that sprained ankles don't usually hold on quite so long and they tend to start feeling better eventually. I just kept thinking I was being a big wimp and needed to suck it up and get on with life. I've now given myself permission to take a couple of days off and stay off of it. Just one of those days, I suppose.

You've all done the same thing, right?

Picture of the Kenya Girls

2008-04-27T19:33:00.000-05:00

Katie and I are mailing out our letters asking for prayer and financial report for our trip to Kenya. I love the picture we took to put on the postcards.

If you would like to help us through prayer or finances let us know and we will make sure we mail one out to you.

Lampost

2008-04-27T18:39:00.000-05:00

Well, the very nice people from Nashville Gas made it by the day after David's birthday and got the lamp working. Hurray! It looks very nice and is quite bright. Now we are making plans to put a small garden around it as David is concerned about it getting bumped hard enough to cause the mantle to break. Actually, I have lots of plans for the yard this year, but not sure exactly where to start. Time will tell.

Birthday time

2008-04-07T20:17:00.000-05:00

Whew! It is whirlwind birthday time. Our friend, Jeff, had his almost two weeks ago but we celebrated with a yummy chocolate cake yesterday. Today is David's birthday and I have a strawberry cake waiting for me to frost it. Tomorrow is Mike's birthday (14!) and he hasn't told me yet what kind of cake he wants.

Unfortunately I haven't done a very good job planning celebrations this year. All David wanted was to get our gas lamppost in the front yard working. I called Nashville Gas today and they assured me it was probably no big deal and they would come out and take care of it today. But, alas, I pulled into the driveway and it wasn't on.

Mike has been very low-key about his birthday. He has a soccer game tomorrow after school, then he wants to order dinner from Pizza Hut. He's not having any kind of party, either.

I feel like I should be doing a much better job of this birthday thing...

Which is worse?

2008-04-07T20:09:00.000-05:00

Rushing around so much in the morning that you put your pants on backwards or not even NOTICING it until you go to the bathroom around lunchtime?

(No, this isn't a hypothetical question. It is just another day in my life.)

My boss pointed out that no one would know if I hadn't announced it, but I figure why would I keep something that funny all to myself? It's not like anyone is going to say, "Wow, I really thought Nicole had it all together until that backwards pants thing happened."

Besides, how else could I explain my random bursts of laughter throughout the afternoon?

Spring Break "to-dos"

2008-04-07T20:05:00.000-05:00

Okay, so we just can't do it all.

We still haven't made it to see Horton, but I'm sure it will be out on video by Christmas.

I gave up on cleaning the vehicles, but did get the house a bit spruced up.

There is one less box to unpack.

Our passports are in. My photo looks like Jabba the Hut

I finished up the taxes yesterday.

Katie's dress is hanging in the closet, along with the shoes to go with it. I still need to get it hemmed, though.

All in all, not too shabby.

Spring Break '08 (so far)

2008-03-21T20:27:00.000-05:00

Well, here's an update on our Spring Break list:

sleep late and/or take naps (not nearly enough. Lots of staying up too late, though.)

*see "Horton Hears a Who" (not yet, but hopefully Saturday)

*read bunches of books (Yes! Katie and I have been quite busy ready. Unfortunately hers is for a book report that is due Tuesday.)

*visit our family in Huntsville (Yep. That is where I am typing from.)

*finally put up Katie's trim in her room (Did it Monday. It looks great!)

*throughly clean the vehicles (not yet)

*vaguely clean the house (hah!)

*finally finish unpacking (double hah!)

*put in passport applications for Katie and I (Done. She had to list her haircolor as purple.)

*play our new Wii game, Mario Brawl (lots, but more could be played...)

*finish doing the taxes (yup.)

*shop for Katie's prom dress (We've almost settled on just the right dress. More to come.)

Poo

2008-03-17T12:19:00.000-05:00

How is it that the boys bathroom can have a generous amount of poo under the rim, and yet no one seems to know how it got there? Amazing.

Thankfully they will be getting a through lesson in bathroom cleanliness today.

Happy Spring Break!

Did you say Passports?

2008-03-17T11:58:00.001-05:00

Yes, as a matter of fact I did.

This summer Mexico Mike has retired and Kenya Katie and Niki have been born. Our church (Belmont Church) is sponsoring a trip to help our missionaries in Kenya who run a K-8 school, Christ's Gift Academy, for about 300 children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS and other needy children in the area. Katie and I believe we are to go on this trip, although we aren't quite sure how it is going to happen. It will require gathering many intercessors and it will cost close to $4000 each for airfare, food and lodging, passports, shots and the like. We will send out support letters as soon as we can to ask for partners to help us go. Watch here for updates!

Spring Break

2008-03-17T11:52:00.000-05:00

Hurray, it is spring break for us this week. Here are some things on our to-do list:
*sleep late and/or take naps
*see "Horton Hears a Who"
*read bunches of books
*visit our family in Huntsville
*finally put up Katie's trim in her room
*throughly clean the vehicles
*vaguely clean the house
*finally finish unpacking
*put in passport applications for Katie and I
*play our new Wii game, Mario Brawl
*finish doing the taxes
*shop for Katie's prom dress

We kicked off our celebration by going to Steak and Shake around midnight on Friday. It was wonderful! I'll let you know how the list progresses....

It's Not Easy Being Green

2007-12-31T12:06:00.000-06:00

Catching Up (the short version)

2007-12-31T11:41:00.001-06:00

What a busy couple of months! It been kind of like wedding vows in that we have had better and worse, richer and poorer and sickness and health. Thankfully, it's all been wedded to God's faithfulness, so all is well.

Here are a few notable things...

• We enjoyed Thanksgiving and Christmas with our families in Huntsville.
• I've had a kidney infection coupled with kidney stones. The infection is gone, but the stones are still making their way through.
• Katie's hair is currently green and Mike has a cut similar to Katie's, only his is dyed black.
• We've attended two of Katie's orchestra concerts, Nicholas' Christmas concert, and for Mike, two orchestra concerts and two gigs at Rocketown by his band, Love Fire.
• I finally unpacked the last two little boxes in the kitchen that had been living on top of the fridge. (Now I need to figure out where to hang all those ribbons from the fair that I found.) And there are still plenty of other boxes scattered around the house waiting for attention. Not to mention the piles where I've unpacked a box, but didn't get all the contents put away...
•And a big hurray because I got a new camera for Christmas so hopefully I can post some pictures soon.

Happy new year to all!

Ode to Autumn

2007-11-10T13:32:00.000-06:00

Trees wearing hot colors do a slow striptease
while standing in the spotlight of a golden chill.

Their dry leaves provide the applause
as they dance closely with the wind.

The audience shamelessly watches the show
while sipping hot cocoa.

After the stage is raked clean,
the heavy perfume of burning leaves lingers
to remind us of our seduction.

August 2007

2007-09-09T11:58:00.000-05:00

I realize that posts have been rather sparse lately. August 2007 was a very full month, and I have to admit to being a bit glad to have it in the rearview mirror. It is tempting to focus on all the hard parts: Pop's passing, things slamming hard at work with our back to school rush, several other deaths among family members of coworkers, the drought and extremely hot temperatures we had, and a few other odds and ends.

However, despite all the difficulties there were constant reminders of God at work: Fresh tomatoes, huge sunflowers, a garden full of butterflies, getting buzzed by hummingbirds, the outpouring of love and care from friends, the precious time grieving and remembering our common history with family, our thankfulness for air conditioning and running water, watching caterpillars become butterflies and the daily joys of living.

Life can be hard. God is always good.

Happy September!

Edwin Lacy Buchanan

2007-09-09T09:24:00.000-05:00

June 23, 1920 Aug. 6, 2007
Edwin Lacy Buchanan, 87, of Meridianville passed away Monday, August 6, 2007. He was a faithful servant of his Lord Jesus Christ. He was a charter member of Lakewood United Methodist Church, where he served as chairman of the building committee and held many key offices. Mr. Buchanan was a resident of Huntsville since 1953 and retired from the U. S. Army Missile Command with 32 years of service. He graduated from Brandon High School in Brandon, Miss., and was a decorated World War II Army veteran. He received a degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lacy Elisha and Hattie Buchanan; and siblings, James Warren Buchanan, Mary Celeste Buchanan, L.E. Stingley, Bivian Clark Buchanan, David Graves Buchanan, Sam Henry Buchanan Sr., Benjamin Hal Buchanan, Sr. and Hattie Sue Smith Allen. He is survived by his loving wife of 59 years, Dorothy; daughter, Nancy Bryson and her husband, Charles, and their sons, Tom Bryson and wife, Ashley, and Steve Bryson of Leland, Miss.; sons, James Buchanan and his wife, Sherri, and their sons, Jamie Buchanan and Jacob Buchanan of Kosciusko, Miss., and David Buchanan and his wife, Nicole, and their children, Katie Buchanan, Michael Buchanan and Nicholas Buchanan, of Nashville; sister, Minnie Stephens of Magee, Miss.; and numerous nieces and nephews. Interment will be at Huntsville Memory Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lakewood United Methodist Church, P. O. Box 3918., Huntsville, AL 35810. The family expresses their immense gratitude to the doctors and nurses of the STICU of Huntsville Hospital for the loving care that they provided.

We are saddened by his passing, but so very grateful for our time with him.

Prayer Alert!

2007-07-09T17:10:00.000-05:00

David and Mike headed out for Mexico on Friday morning. A few hours after they left David's father (Pop) was in a serious car accident in Huntsville, AL. Pop had to be cut out of his car and transported to the hospital by ambulance. He was immediately taken to surgery because he had internal bleeding. They removed his appendix, spleen and gall bladder and determined that he had two or three broken ribs, but no additional injuries.

As of today (Monday) he remains in Surgical ICU and on a respirator and heavily sedated. They are weaning him from the respirator but are still predicting a 2-3 week hospital stay. He seems to be in a great deal of pain when his sedation begins to wear off, but he has responded to simple commands.

The Mexico Men have continued on to Reynosa with much faith for Pop's speeding healing. Today was there first day on the worksite. I should have more to report if I speak with David this evening.

Thanks for your prayers!

Yard Sale

2007-06-08T12:41:00.000-05:00

So, we have such a tremendous amount of "stuff" that I have been making a Yard Sale pile every since we moved in and it currently takes up the entire foyer. So, I've never had a yard sale, and I really don't want to do it but, it's a LOT of stuff. So, I'm wondering if it's okay to not price anything and let people just make an offer...

Hurray for Summer

2007-06-07T19:59:00.000-05:00

Well, the kids and I have throughly enjoyed our first week off together. They've actually been out two weeks, but my first day off was Monday. I swore I would spend all my time catching up on house work and trying to finally finish unpacking all the boxes around the house, and I am sure I will start that next week.

In the meantime I've enjoyed the hammock that the family got me for my 40th birthday a few weeks ago. I guess they figured I am so old I need to rest more often. I'm not arguing.

I've spent a great deal of time this week trying to get organized and sort out the chores. The kids always pick up a few extra in the summer and they also each have a "Junior Chef Night" where they plan the menu and do kitchen duty. They are all getting very good around the kitchen, and it is fun to work with them.

For the annual changing of the chores I actually print up cards listing the job, how often it's done, and assign it a point value that is a combination of the time it takes and the "yuck factor." ( High on the yuck factor, picking up dog poop, washing underthings, and doing dirty dishes.) It's like a fast paced card game as we sit down and play Choose your Chores. I get all the discards and if anyone complains I always offer to switch one with them. They rarely take me up on the offer, though.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer, too.

How rare is it?

2007-06-07T19:49:00.000-05:00

Katie likes her meat so rare she is trying to grow a cow. We'll let you know if the spirit of Ellijah the prophet beings to manifest.

New cut and color

2007-06-07T19:34:00.000-05:00

Katie's hair has been changing again. It's getting shorter and brighter....

Mexico Mike (& David) 2007

2007-06-04T11:30:00.000-05:00

David and Mexico Mike are on the move again this summer!

Click on the letter below to see it full sized and find out how you can participate with them on this adventure.

Easter Pictures

2007-06-03T16:46:00.000-05:00

Strawberry Pie

2007-04-14T23:17:00.001-05:00

Mike 13th birthday party. His band had their first public performance. That's Chris on guitar and Tom on drums.

Kind of yucky...

2007-02-26T13:10:00.000-06:00

Nicholas and I are home from school today. He started throwing up last night and continued on through the morning, but things seem to have calmed down now. I woke up with a mysterious ankle sprain last Monday, so I don't mind a day to lay in bed, either.

Everyone else seems to be fine, although Mike is a bit grumpy. He went on a ski trip with the youth group this weekend and didn't get much rest. He's got soccer tryouts this afternoon, then hopefully will have an early night. David is on the tired side since he was up much of the night with us, but last time he called in, he seems to be holding up okay.

Not too bad in the grand scheme of life, but a slightly yucky day.

Kaylee and Georgy

2007-02-13T17:44:00.000-06:00

Kaylee Bark-Bark seems a bit too fond of Georgy the Guinea Pig. Last night David and I heard a loud crash from the other end of the house. We went to check it out and discovered that Kaylee had knocked Georgy's cage off of its little table and onto the floor. Bedding full of you-know-what spilled all over the floor. Georgy was fine and Nicholas slept through the whole incident, including the vacuuming. We decided to move her cage to the floor so it wouldn't happen again, and I took her out of the cage to make sure she wasn't hurt. Kaylee hovered around me, sniffing and even licking (tasting?) Georgy. Then, once she was back in the cage Kaylee started biting on the bars. We are keeping Nicholas' door closed until we can convince Kaylee that Georgy is a friend, not food.

It's another girl...

2007-02-10T22:19:00.000-06:00

Nicholas is now the proud owner of a Guinea Pig named Georgy. He used all his birthday money to buy her and all her necessities. She is a cutie and her cage is situated by the foot of his bed so he can watch her.

One other animal update: Molly Cricket was spayed yesterday. She came through it just fine. She was full of pain killer when we got her back, and it showed. The vet's office told us that we should keep her in Katie's room with her food and water (and litter box, of course) for a few days so she had time to heal. They also said that if she didn't start eating by today we should give them a call. So we got Molly all set up in a corner of Katie's room with her food and water dish and a shoebox litter spot all on a beach towel. She felt well enough during the night to rearrange everything. She pulled the food dish into the closet and tipped it over. She pulled the water dish off of the blanket, and then she tried to pull the entire towel (with the litter box on it) into the closet. When that didn't work, she tried to move the litter box by itself.

I think she will be fine.

Orange you glad she's Katie?

2007-02-06T20:55:00.000-06:00

Well, after a 24 hour visit to blonde, Katie is now neon orange. We did it on Super Bowl Sunday, and she cheered for the Colts because if the Bears won people would be wearing orange and the first rule of Katie hair color is, "Never match the season or event."

Katie got a haircut

2007-02-03T20:35:00.000-06:00

Well, Katie got a haircut. I didn't think she could be even prettier, but she is.

Tonight, we bleach it and tomorrow color it neon orange. One of us will post as soon as we get finished.

The Titans' Year

2007-02-03T20:32:00.000-06:00

Kaylee, along with the rest of us, was very disappointed that the Titans didn't make it into the playoffs this year.
Maybe next year, girl.

Snow Day

2007-02-03T20:26:00.000-06:00

My trip to Fairhope, AL

2007-02-03T20:17:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I was blessed to attend the Southern Stitch-In, held in lovely Fairhope, AL and hosted by Blair H. We had full run of a needlework shop and spent our time stitching, preparing for our upcoming certification application for the JTA (Japan Temari Association), shopping, eating and laughing. It was a fabulous get-away. The town of Fairhope is a jewel. We had beignets and coffee one morning in the French Quarter courtyard. Ahhhh....

Christmas Break

2007-02-03T20:12:00.000-06:00

One might think that Christmas break would be a great opportunity to unpack a few more boxes, especially since we were coming up on the one year anniversary of being in this house. On the other hand, Molly Cricket really enjoys sleeping at high altitudes.

Perhaps my time would be best spent organizing my temari threads....

New Year's

2007-02-03T20:10:00.000-06:00

Christmas on the Road

2007-02-03T20:04:00.000-06:00

Buchanan Family Christmas

Schmitz Family Christmas

Christmas at home

2007-02-03T19:46:00.000-06:00

Stockings hung by the chimney with care....

Christmas Kaylee Bark-Bark

Christmas Rosie

Sleepy Katie in her new Papasan Chair

The boys with their new Bikes

Niki's favorite present

Sick, Sick, Sick!

2006-11-24T13:24:00.000-06:00

Well, the bug that has been running around the house is still on the loose. Katie and I ended up in bed for a few days last week, Mike was also feeling crummy, and David spent Thanksgiving Day in the bed with a fever. Yuck!

Mike and I went to the Dr. on Saturday, and he said that we were all sharing the same virus. He said it sounded like a parainfluenza virus. Basically, a milder version of the flu. David's mom said they used to call it the three day flu, and that sounds just about right. Dr. Kinney told us we shouldn't go out of town for Thanksgiving because it wouldn't help us get well and we could spread it around to our families. He looked at me and said, "You are too sick to travel, and too sick to cook a big dinner." So we spend Thanksgiving day doing not much of anything. I ordered lunch from Cracker Barrel and it was great, except for the sweet potatoes. We sat around in our jammies and watched TV and napped. We missed our families a bunch, but it certainly was a restful day. We are doing a command performance today, although I think the kids are getting a bit restless.

The only up side was that we hadn't found a kennel for Kaylee yet, so we didn't have to figure out where she was going to spend the holiday. She really likes turkey and dressing. And green beans and mashed potatoes. She also spent the day with an orange sweet potato beard. She thought they were just fine and couldn't figure out why I didn't finish mine.

Meet Lars

2006-11-10T11:37:00.000-06:00

We have a dry erase board on our refrigerator to help keep up with chores and schedules and such. It also gets used for creative expression quite a bit. My favorite example lately is been Lars. It all started when Mike drew a picture of Lars. The next time I walked by I added Mars. The next thing we knew, Lars was off on all sorts of illustrated adventures. Yes, we are a bit silly around here but we sure have fun!

(If you can't read the story, click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Well, mostly fine...

2006-11-10T11:24:00.000-06:00

So last Thursday Nicholas was home sick with a fever and lots of congestion. The Dr. put him on a 6 day course of antibiotics and he seemed to be doing better. Then by Wednesday of this week both he and Mike were feeling pretty puny, so off to see Dr. Kinney again. He put both of them on antibiotics and said no school until Friday.

David was off Wednsday and Thursday until around lunchtime, so it worked out for the boys to stay with him during the morning and then they were on their own for a couple of hours until Katie got home. I was going to take the afternoon off to be with them but they decided they'd rather be on their own. I figured I was only five minutes away and some brotherly bonding would be good. Besides, as Mike pointed out they felt too bad to argue with one another. Of course, I didn't really think that plan through. When I was talking to my principal I said, "Well, they will just be sitting around playing game cube all afternoon so if I went home I'd just be sitting with them and reading a book or something." Then I stopped and said, "Wait a minute, I think they really need me!" But, it was too late. She was onto me.

Mike felt better and went back to school today (Friday) but Nicholas is still having a bit of trouble shaking it, so I'm home with him. I went in to do payroll this morning and made it back in time for David to leave for work by 9:30. Whew! Please keep little Nich in your prayers. He isn't lethargic by any means, just crummy. I think he finally got rid of the fever this morning, but he's very congested. If he's not better by Monday, it's another trip to the Dr to try and figure out how to kick this thing.

I don't suppose all the insulation dust helped much, but thankfully it was the cellulose type. I'm not sure we would have attempted to do the fiberglass stuff ourself. That would have been quite a mess.

Insulation

2006-11-10T11:12:00.000-06:00

We finally go around to blowing insulation into the attic this week. When we moved in the inspector had it on the high priority list since the original insulation had greatly disintegrated. (David found a bag when he was up there that identified the original as Mule Hide - "No Kick in a Million feet." We still aren't sure what that means exactly.)

It was quite an ordeal when you factor in all the figuring, buying, loading, hauling, unloading, bringing in, loading in the blower, crawling around in the attic, moving the attic flooring, sweeping, dusting, and more. However, we got it done and our knees seem to be about back to normal. (Which is the best you can hope for once you get 40 year old knees.)

The kids were out of school for fall break, and I don't think this was quite what they had in mind, but they survived all the dust and work and chores just fine.

Japanese maple

2006-11-10T11:11:00.000-06:00

Almost all the leaves are gone now, but they were so lovely. Now we get to walk on a red carpet when we come in the front door. Just like celebrities.

Autumn View

2006-10-31T15:05:00.000-06:00

The view from where I'm sitting is so lovely I thought I'd share. Actually, it's even better now because Katie is out there raking up leaves to play in.

Full Week

2006-10-31T14:21:00.000-06:00

So last week was a bit crazy around here. Mike was part of the county-wide Jr. High Honors Orchestra. They started rehearsals on Monday night and spent all Tuesday rehearsing together. They had a concert Tuesday evening and sounded super! Mike was third chair on the bass, even though they don't technically have chairs.

In the midst of this, Katie came home Monday and asked if we could do her hair because they just announced picture day was Tuesday. Now, in most households this would call for a haircut or maybe some highlights. In our house it means a trip to Sally's beauty supply for bleach and unnatural hair colors. We finished up around 1:30 in the morning, but her purple and pink hair looked awesome.

Wednesday night, Nicholas worked on his landform project. He made a peninsula out of salt dough and moss. Katie helped out, especially when it came time to play with the leftover dough. Nicholas got an A+, and very green hands from all the food coloring he used in the dough.

For some reason it seemed extra hectic at work, too. Especially with all the plumbers running around and working on our 50 year old pipes. Yuck!

I'm still peddling hard to try and keep things on even keel. Actually, Nicholas is home sick today and since it's nothing serious, I am REALLY enjoying the day off. He went to a party last weekend and got in a hay fight with a friend. He was getting wheezy and congested Sunday, then started to run a slight fever last night, so we went to visit Dr. Kinney today. Dr. Kinney told Nicholas that he must have Hay Fever and that some bug or another must have gotten in his lungs and thought it looked like a fun place to throw a party for his friends. He prescribed an antibiotic and some cough medicine, so all should be fine quickly. He's sitting on the couch watching Sponge Bob, and seems to be doing well.

That's the latest from here.

My Daddy

2006-10-15T18:47:00.000-05:00

My dad went into the hospital last week and had two stents inserted. There were some blockages where he had a quadruple bypass about 15 years ago. He's had a few other stents put in over the years so we were familiar with the procedure. Everything went fine and he went home on Wednesday, which was his 79th birthday. The doctors said that his heart is very strong and there hasn't been any damage to it. He reports that he feels much better and can definitely tell a difference since the procedure. Hurray for dad!

New Van

2006-10-15T18:39:00.000-05:00

Well, after about 9 years we've traded in the Grand Caravan. I thought we'd pop on down and buy another one just like it, but they had changed them so much in the last nine year that I didn't care for them as much anymore. We shopped around and ended up getting this 2004 Honda Oddessy. David was snapping the picture while I was flying out of the driveway on my way to work. It drives like a dream. It's amazing, if I punch the gas it goes!