Tuesday, January 31, 2006

The Gang.














These are Todd's brother, father, son and brother-in-law...oh, and Todd. The glasses aren't authentic, but they're necessary for safety. Close enough. Posted by Picasa

Where have all the Cowboys gone?

 Posted by Picasa

Train 'em up young, eh?

 Posted by Picasa

Monday, January 30, 2006

My personal addiction...


I'm afraid Hobby Lobby is going to be the death of me....or at least the impoverishment. They keep having these great yarn sales. "Yarn Bee" half off and "Sugar and Cream" for 99 cents, books half off, needles half off. It's evil I tell you!

Lucky for us I'm trapped at home today. Isaac woke up crying about his stuffy nose and he had a bit of a fever. It looks like your typical cold and Motrin fixed him right up. Now he's claiming total cure. I'm waiting on that final decision....at least until the 8 hours of Motrin is up.

Unfortunately it also means I can't work out. I'm afraid to let it slip. I know how I am and I don't want to get out of a habit I am only beginning to form.

I started writing a song today about my weight gain. It's cute but I won't share it with you. I'm starting to get an inkling of all the people who read my blog and, trust me, most of them DON'T want to delve the depths of my self-deprecating humor. I might share it with my husband but I'm not sure it's a ditty I want running through his head whenever he glances at me, know what I mean? Maybe I'll just use it as motivation to get to that gym!

I haven't figured out how to knit on the elliptical machine.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

"The Shirt"

 Posted by Picasa

The Weekend


See, I told you, people don't blog on the weekends. Well, it's over now and I can sit down and tell you all about it. I managed to finish Todd's shirt in time for him to go "cowboy shooting". I stayed up late sewing on the buttons and then put it in to wash out all the markings I had made....they didn't come out. At midnight, I'm hand scrubbing a huge shirt with dish soap. By gum, I did it though! I then re-washed it and dried it and then ironed it. I napped some in between and crawled into bed at 2am.

The guys were supposed to get up at 4 and leave at 5. I woke up at 4:30 and everybody was still asleep. Todd's alarm hadn't gone off. I said, "Todd!"(quietly and then a little louder) he said, "What..?" (or something to that effect) and I said, "It's 4:30," and he said, "Tell me what's going on (with great confusion in his voice)," and I said, "Your brother will be here in half an hour!" and he said, "What happened?" From there the morning progressed fairly well. Todd's sister and her family had arrived the night before so Shawn (her husband) was already at the house. We managed to get him and Todd showered and them and Hunter fed and dressed and packed up and out the door with Mike (who drove in from Little Elm) at just about the right time. They arrived in Abilene an hour early so next time we won't stress about the 4 am thing. I, myself, went back to bed and slept until 8.

Alicia and I then spent our day with 5 of our 6 kids at my house and McDonalds and eventually at Bearly Used (a second-hand shop) and things went quite smoothly, you know, for a day with 5 kids. I even taught Alicia how to knit! She says she finds it stressful instead of relaxing but she's still pretty proud of herself. I'm proud of her too!!!

The guys got home at about 6 and we let them clean up and change into normal clothes and then we went to eat and to Cabella's. The Todd's sis and fam' left right after that. Mike had left as soon as the guys got back here. We were all pretty whooped at the end of the day but we all had a blast and hope to be able to spend more time together from now on.

Today our family visited the Richardson East Church of Christ in Richardson (I know that's redundant, but you never know around here). They are currently searching for a youth minister and have narrowed their search to about 20 applicants. The church was nice. While not a "conservative" church, they are still quite traditional in many ways...at least in worship. The most fun part of the day was getting to hang out with Mike and Susan and their two boys. Todd knew Mike and Susan when he was in high school and attending church in Irving. Their oldest boy is a little younger than Josiah and has Asberger's Syndrom, which is a form of autism. They are a fun couple to hang out with, their boys are sweet and I like being able to "compare notes" with Susan. And I promise I'm not just saying that because I know Susan reads my blog. ;-P By the way, Susan, do you have a blog too? Let me know.

That in itself is a funny story. Do you see that "Next Blog" button at the top right of the screen? That takes you randomly to some other blog at blogger.com. It's a fun way to pass the time. Susan was cruising blogs one night and happened on Todd's. She started to read it and went, "Hey, I know him!" She linked from there to our family site and got our e-mail address and that's how we got back into contact! How fun is that?

I have some pictures of Todd in his cowboy get-up and I'm hoping he took some shots during the day out there. My camera, however, is still in his truck so I'll have to wait to upload them. Meanwhile, you'll have to content yourselves with that shot of the now famous shirt.....which doesn't fit him.

Ya'll keep praying about the ministry hunt!

Friday, January 27, 2006

Yeeee-Hawww!

Josiah had a "rodeo" at school today. It was a bunch of relays and line dancing and it was the biggest hoot! I didn't get good photos of the action but I got video and will try to get some shots out of it for you to see. He loved dressing like a cowboy. I made the vest last night as a last minute addition
Yee-Haw! Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Thoughts for the day.

I've been browsing Bored.com again.  It's not all pleasant or even worth looking at but occasionally there are some gems.  I've been reading the "Crazy Thoughts" and there are a few (very few) that really are fun.  Here are a few of my favorites:
 
 
Isn't Disney World just a people trap operated by a mouse?
 
Why is chopsticks one of the easiest things to play on the piano but the hardest to eat with?
 
If something "goes without saying," why do people say it anyway?
 
and my very favorite...
 
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
 
There are more but I'll spare you.....I mean save some for later.

 

Monday, January 23, 2006

Yesterday

We had a great morning at worship yesterday. The church (Southlake) was really nice. The service was informal yet everything ran smoothly. We felt like we fit right in. Even the kids liked it!

Todd sat around with their "interim minister" and worship minister today for a few hours and visited. They were just answering any of his questions. He responded to their vision document yesterday via e-mail and finally got our computer to cut a sermon CD for him. The next step is for his paperwork to be sent to the elders. They will screen his stuff and either send it on to the "search committee" or not. They do not recommend, they simply weed out the bad ones. Which is probably the same thing.

They are in no hurry and have no time line, which is a bit of a bummer for us but not anything to really complain about. Again, Todd has a phone interview for a youth ministry position on Thursday night.

I am currently in the midst of a new project. I'm sewing a shirt for Todd to "cowboy shoot" in. It's a "vintage" pattern that Simplicity puts out (remember that .99 pattern sale?) Did I tell you about the shirt yesterday? I don't have the energy to look it up. I'm learning things I never knew about "gussets", "narrow hems" and "flat-felled seams". There are no exposed seams on this puppy. I guess they were designed to survive the long-haul. I'm also learning why they sell for so much online. Maybe I've found a new career......maybe not, we'll see how it turns out. So far I'm pretty proud of it. We went with plain muslin and I'm down to the collar and bottom hem.....and buttons.....and a little hand-tacking......and button-holes.........O.K., I've got a bit to go yet, but it looks good so far!

Hunter and Josiah got hair cuts....hairs cut....hairs cuts? Anyway, they both look MUCH better. Maybe I'll post photos. Like how I tease you like that?

In parting, I found a list of oxymorons on www.bored.com tonight and found one I've never thought of as an oxymoron before: dodge ram. It made me smile. You?

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Long time no Picture

This right here is why you NEVER give ice-cream to a 4 year old before putting him into his grandmother's new mini-van. You could go hoarse saying "Don't touch ANYTHING!" over and over again.

Just so you know, he didn't touch anything. The van was unscathed and (as you can see) he suffered no emotional trauma from being told the same thing over and over. Posted by Picasa

Sunday

Have you ever noticed that people don't seem to e-mail or blog on the weekends? I think it's because that's when we're actually doing the things we want to do and so aren't avoiding work by blogging, or e-mailing. Then again, maybe that's just me.

We spent yesterday traversing the metroplex as a family. We went to a really cool leather place, factory/outlet that makes and sells all those Tandy Leather kits to make mocassins and purses and such. We didn't buy anything but we touched everything! It was fun....and mayhem. My three kids and a giant open warehouse with only metal shelves for rows and piles of furs and hides. Add that all up and you get a swirling, screaming whirlwind. Or least that's how it feels if you're trying to keep them quiet. Nobody else seemed to mind. In fact, from what I saw I think that's the norm.

We then went to some western wear stores and fabric shops to try to find stuff for Todd to get ready to go with his Dad to shoot "Cowboy Style" next weekend. He needed "braces" instead of a belt so we had to find some buttons and braces. I thought it was a fun jaunt. I don't think the kids liked it as much but they did have some fun.

After a stop at home for snack and rest we went out again just to drive around. We wanted to see Roanoak which is just north of us...if you don't count Westlake, population 300 or so. Roanoak is population 3000 or so and is pretty small, but it was cute and fun to drive around. It appears that there are some good eateries there...including a world-famous Babe's, supposedly the best fried chicken available for consumption in the US.

We came home wiped out, ate dinner and went to bed. Well, I didn't. I started cutting the pieces for a shirt for Todd. It's actually a pattern for a Civil War era shirt, but I bet it'll do for old west wear too.....if I can do it. I've cut the pieces but the instructions make me dizzy. We'll see.

Today we are planning to visit Southlake Boulevard Church for their 11 o'clock worship. I'll let you know what it's like when we get home. If it's like what we've read then I think we'll love it. I'm trying not to get too excited. I think Todd is too. He seems to be dragging his feet on getting his letter to them. Is it nerves? Is it second thoughts? You know, he has a phone interview with the church in Richardson about their youth minister position on Thursday night. I hate this part. We did it with support-hunting for over seas and with finding a ym position when we got back. You have to start the process with more than one church at a time or you'll be looking for years. It's a feeling I don't like.

Of course, it beats the feeling of NOTHING to apply for all to pieces!

Pray for us would ya? I'll tell you my selfish prayer....I want this church at Southlake to realize how perfect a fit Todd is for them and who they are and want to be. My unselfish prayer is that God will lead us clearly to wherever He can use us most mightily.....soon (that's a little selfish addition there).

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Ministry Profile

Anyone wishing to read the ministry profile sent to Todd regarding the pulpit position at Southlake please submit a request to my personal e-mail.
:-)

--

Muppets and Messenger

Well, I got my IM working. There were two firewalls operating and one of them (obviously, the one I didn't check at first) was set to reject google talk. So. I think I'm all set. Of course, no one's online right now....but when they are I CAN TALK! This reminds me: I signed up for Yahoo Messenger the other day, anybody chat there?

Todd received a reply from the guy at Southlake Boulevard Church. He's got to read their description of the perfect candidate and then submit a letter telling them why he's the one. I haven't read it yet but if he thinks he's the guy, I think we should have some of the guys at GP submit a letter telling why THEY think he's the man for the job. Don't ya think?

We've been watching the first season of The Muppet Show on DVD. Hunter says, "I didn't like the Muppets before, but now I do!" We've decided that the show was WAY different from the movies. Hey, would someone please find Molly Watkins tonight and tell her "Muhnah, Muhnah!" or is that "M'nah, M'nah!" or "Mahnah, Mahnah!"? Either way, tell her for me. Some others need to hear it too, but Molly will know who they are.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Who wins?

I lose! I didn't get into bed until about 9:55, which is about 10 minutes too late. I'm like an atomic clock when it comes to my 8 hours exactly, dude. Thing is, I got into bed and lay awake for a really long time....like close to an hour. Coffee.

First I got up to turn off the dryer. I still wasn't completely asleep due to the coffee and there was a quarter in the dryer that was bugging Todd. He never said a word but he got up and tried to find it, couldn't, and laid there tossing and sighing every time it clacked. I just went and turned it off, I never even looked for the thing. The load was almost done anyway. I fell asleep pretty soon after that.

Then Isaac woke me up. I got him back to bed and went back to sleep then the cat woke me up. I took care of that and went to the bathroom (coffee) and then went back to sleep. Then Josiah woke me up. I went back to sleep almost immedietly. Then Isaac woke me up again. I put him in bed with us which made for a bit of a rough rest of the night but I did sleep pretty hard after that. Then it was time to get up (5:45).

Josiah is safely on the bus and Hunter is in the shower. Todd went back to bed for a few minutes...fully dressed...because he doesn't have a project to start on this morning and has to wait for his boss to get there at 8. I'm hoping that Ike sleeps REALLY late this morning so I can go back to bed after Hunter leaves. Somehow it never works out that way does it?

Monday, January 16, 2006

Do I have a virus?


I can not get my computer to connect to my instant messenger.  It tries constantly and kicks me out the instant it begins every time.  I even downloaded Yahoo Messenger the other day and it does the exact same thing.  As soon as it begins to try to connect it kicks out.  YM has a message saying something like "check to make sure you are connected to the internet," which I am.  Everything else works great...surfing, e-mailing, even my Weather Bug is functioning just fine.
 
Anyone know?  Sound like a bug?  Todd and I have both searched all my settings trying to find something and we're stuck.  Wassup?  I JUST got some new friends signed up too!  Is that it?  Did one of you give me a virus?  You know,  that's the problem with friends.....all their baggage! 
 
I've learned through the years that sarcasm doesn't really communicate well via internet or even just the written word when it's in letter form.  So, in case you are wondering:  Yes, I was kidding.  
 
The boys and I just spent the night in Ennis with Todd's sister and family.  It really was fun.  We went out there Saturday for Todd's step-dad's birthday and then I drove the kids out yesterday again because of the MLK holiday.  I LOVE getting to hang out with family.
 
I am, however, exhausted.  It's almost 9:45 and I'm ready to pass out...even after 3 cups of regular coffee.  bleh.
Think I'll shoot for an actual 8 hours tonight.  That gives me about 5 minutes to wash my face, brush my teeth, change my clothes (not necessarily in that order) and get in bed and fall to sleep.  Think I can do it?  Bettcha I can!

Friday, January 13, 2006

Retraction

I would like to take this opportunity to offer my apologies to Hunter Thomas. His memorization of the Preamble to the Constitution was not due Wednesday January 11 as previously stated. It was not due until today, Friday January 13. He did, in fact, have it memorized yesterday and received and extra 5 points on his grade for saying it early. Today he has to write it out for a test. Not a problem. He rocks!

Sorry Hunter, and "Good Job!"

P.S. Do you folks out there remember it?

Zoo

We got season passes to the Fort Worth Zoo for Christmas from my parents. We had them in Montgomery too and used the snot out of them...of course, the zoo was 10 minutes away, not 30. The zoo here, however is so much bigger! We spent 2 hours there the other day and only saw 1 section of about 5. It'll be fun in the summer when we can go spend a whole day and not have to fight crowds, as on holidays.

I like this shot of the boys. It seems to really capture their personalities. Each is so different! Hunter, deep feeling, Josiah, in his own world, Isaac, hammin' it up. What a hoot! Posted by Picasa

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Look what I found.

I was looking through New Wineskins' online job search site the other day and look what I found:

Southlake Boulevard Church Seeks Pulpit Minister. SBC is a dynamic grace-filled church located in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. A comprehensive position description which reflects the tremendous thought and prayer that has gone into defining the right minister profile to lead us is available via email by contacting Ron Holifield.

I have no idea how old the ad is and Todd hasn't received a reply to his e-mail to Ron Holifield yet, but I looked them up online at www.southlakechurch.org and they seem like a really neat group of folks. They are also located about 8 minutes from our house. I hope we can go visit soon. When Todd came home and told me the building was within "yelling distance" of our house, I asked, "Would they hear me if I went in the backyard and yelled, 'PLEASE!'"

Again, I don't know the current status of their search, but it gives me something to hope for. We're also waiting to hear something...anything...from the church seeking a youth minister in Plano. We just don't have the contacts we need around these parts to be job hunting here.

Todd's finally really fired up about seeking a ministry position. Bless his heart. I think it's cool that God is letting me see the changes in us almost as they happen. Usually it's much later that you can see how a struggle has changed you.

Meantime, we wait........

"I hate waiting."

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Josiah Shaving

I know it's a terrible photo but I love it! He's been pretending with the end of his toothbrush, which is sort of flat and...well, razor looking. He even had a towel around his waist. How great is that? Posted by Picasa

Here he is.

His name is Jose, or Joey, or Joe. He's crate trained, house broken, good with little kids....and he was free! He's not too bad. I like him.

How about Hunter's "cool" look? He's cracking me up with it. It's his new look for photos, no smile, half-closed eyes. It makes me grin.

Todd's applied for a youth minister job in Plano with Richardson East CofC. We're praying and fasting.....again. This church seems really great from all we've heard. Maybe...... Posted by Picasa

Monday, January 09, 2006

Anybody?

Anyone out there on gmail besides the Kisers? Not that I don't like chatting with Geraldine, I'd just like to not look so pitiful with only two "friends" on my Google Chat list. Know what I mean?
The boys are back in school. Hunter has apparently been making all A's and B's, much to our surprise. We just found out today via e-mail that he's supposed to have the Preamble to the Constitution memorized by Wednesday. He neglected to tell us that. What a dork. Luckily, he's a fast memorizer and has a slim chance of actually doing it in that time.

Josiah is struggling with English but doing fantastic in Math. No surprises there but I ache to help him like English. I know communication is one of the main "issues" with autism but...

Isaac is back into his "no brother" routine now. I think he loves it. I know it would embarrass him so I won't tell you about him running around naked most of the morning. I will tell you that he sliced the crud out of his finger on a globe...of all things. He's recovering nicely with some triple antibiotic and a band-aid.

I've been surfing the web for patterns for tatting and hairpin lace. I've found some great stuff but somehow the whole day has disappeared and I haven't done any laundry. Not good.

Next blog.....pictures of the new pet.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

The Problem...



The Problem with being gone a while is getting back into blogging. I keep thinking, "Oooh. I should blog about that!" but then I think, "I can't until after I've done all my blogging about Christmas and posted those pictures." Well, I think it's time to overcome my outmoded notions of proper blog-order and get back in the swing of things.

Christmas at my Mom's was nice and quiet...comparitively speaking. Christmas in Kansas was even quieter considering that noone was there but my dad, my kids, my grandmother and me. And there's the fact that Thayer, Kansas is almost always relatively quiet. We got to go to a sheep ranch and Josiah and Isaac (Hunter was with Grandma at the time) got to pet a newborn lamb, sit on a horse and see bunches of sheep, cows, horses, dogs and even some chickens. The place belongs to a friend of my Dad's and since Josiah had been asking about "farmers" all day he took us out there (actually just up the road from Grandma's). Dad told Josiah that the farmer's name was David so Josiah called him "Farmer David" the whole time. It was awesome, but I didn't have my camera! We had gone to the library and I wasn't expecting a field trip to a farm. That's what I get....

I also inherited some knitting tools while there. My Grandmother's mother passed away this past year (at 105) and left some needles and some unfinished work. My Grandma doesn't knit so she gave them to me. In exchange, I knitted her a scarf on her mother's needles.

I also inherited a tool that I didn't recognize. It was some bars held together by "poles", a little less than a foot long. I came home and did some research and found out it was for hairpin lace. I love the internet!!! Now I know how to use it and am working away!

Snyder was fun, as previously mentioned. The ENTIRE family was there. All of Todd's Dad's brothers, their kids and their kids were at the grandparents' place on Saturday, 30 people and 3 dogs. Most of us went to church with them on Sunday and then out to eat. And I thought the Ennis Christmas was wild. The photo is just Todd's Dad and Step-Mom, Sister and brother-in-law and their three and, of course, us. I haven't had time to go through the others but I (again) didn't have my camera for the main festivities on Saturday. We didn't even attempt an organized group shot. No one was that brave.

My favorite gift of the weekend? While at his dad's house, Todd's step-mom pulled all her yarn out of the back closet and after taking out what she needed, told me, "Take whatever you want." YEEEHAW!!! I behaved well, I think. I only took one bagfull, all sizes and colors.

Again with the internet. I've had to learn some crochet to use the hairpin lace properly and so decided to learn to Tatt as well. The long and the short? I'm not getting much housework done, but I'm having fun.

We've also made some pet additions. When I get up the guts to tell my parents all about it, I'll tell you too. (It's NOT the dog in this photo. That's Todd's Dad's. One of three...and several cats. Wonder where Todd got his thing for pets?)

Todd's working at Verizon still. He's decided that he really was meant to be a youth minister. God works in strange ways. How long do you figure he'll make him wait to give him a youth group again? Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be just as long as he needs. God's cool like that.

Monday, January 02, 2006

Quickly


Don't you hate it when someone doesn't blog for days and days and days?  I know I do.
 
We are now home from our Christmas wanderings and I'm trying to play catch up on laundry and sleep and e-mails and toy playing and movie watching and all that stuff.  The boys and I had a fantastic trip to Kansas with my Dad last week.  We got home Thursday night and left for Snyder Friday afternoon.  We just had our Thomas family Christmas out in Snyder and that went fairly smoothly.  The kids had a blast and even got to make some fireworks pop.  We took it easy on that because of all the grass fires...and we've seen quite a few of those the last few days.  We even got a good old fashioned dust storm while in Snyder.  I can tell by looking at the cars around here that it blew at least this far East and was probably made even thicker by all the smoke from the fires.  It's like living in California eh?
 
I've taken lots of pictures and will post and give details soon.  Really I will.