Wednesday

Stuff in general.....


I am in my first full week of being an employee of Curves. We just had Curves Smart installed. It's like your own personal coach and it will really enhance your workout. It's kickin' my hiney! It's great! I work 9-1, 4 days a week. I'm planned to work through September.




We have quit buying bread. *gasp* I have been making bread for 3 weeks. I have yet to have a good loaf turn out! I either don't let it rise long enough.. .or go too long. My loaves are about 2" tall. Not good for a big sandwich. I have my dough rising the first time right now. We'll see how it goes.

The dining room is finished! Paul got the trim up around the window and A/C yesterday. We do have a tiny bit of touch up paint to do, but it's done. Now I can do a good vacuum, shampoo the carpet, and we are ready for a B.R.E.A.K.! We are so tired of painting!

Okay... not much newsy stuff. But it's been a bit since I updated. Karen has one week of school left. Curtis is fully potty trained. His speech is doing well. We are all happy, doing well, and loving life.

Goals

As you may have heard by now, the Steven Curtis Chapman family lost their youngest child on Wednesday. I've googled her and read about her, watched videos of her... she was a precious little girl; Maria Sue. She was 10 days past her 5th birthday.

Steven had a song released not too long ago called Cinderella. If you haven't heard it, find it, read the words, listen to it. I've had part of the chorus going through my head a lot today.

So I will dance with Cinderella, while she is still in my arms.
Cuz all too soon, the clock will strike midnight, and she'll be gone.

The song is a story of a little girl going to 'the ball'. Then prom, then dancing at her wedding. The story says to spend time with your daughter before she's married and out of your home. But this chorus says over and over to me... cherish, love, spend time with your children now, because you don't know when your midnight will be.

So today I had a lot of To Dos on my list. Some of them got done, but when Curtis called "cuddle me!", I did. He helped me make bread. We tossed the ball. Because I don't know when midnight will come for him. Hopefully he'll be a grandpa when the clocks strike twelve.

Praying for peace and comfort for the Chapmans. Rest in Jesus' arms, Maria.

Healthy Me!

I started working at Curves 2 weeks ago. I worked out 3x this week so far and am already seeing good muscle tone. It's kicking my hiney!

Three weeks ago I finally went in to get my blood drawn for labs that my doc ordered 9 months ago. Oops. I got my results today. My hemoglobin, blood sugar, liver, kidney and thyroid function tests all came back normal. My cholesterol was 182, my LDL 122 (under 130 is good) and my HDL was 48 (over 50 is good). So yay for me! I think high cholesterol runs in the family. I should ask. But I'm glad it's low!

General Life Stuff

My aunt Jeanne is up from Cali for a week to visit before my parents leave for another 3-months in Africa.

This is Grandpa Cecil listening to J's iPod.

My first peony is about to bloom!

We got up to about 85/90 yesterday

Shameless Product Plug

I saw these in my new Parents magazine last night, then today a friend mentioned it on our bulletin board. I think these are a great idea.

http://www.safetytat.com/



I used to write my number on karen's hand with a sharpie, but that's not the best idea. These are temporary tattoos that you apply to your child's arm (forehead?) when you are in public areas... amusement parks, the mall... and if your child comes separated from you, they can show an adult your cell phone number to call you.

Happy Mother's Day

From my sweet babies.

Karen's first spelling bee

The Altrusa club had their first Spelling Bee during the Balloon Stampede. Karen was one of 35 spellers. She did a great job and we are so proud of her. The most tenseful moment... when her word was /pleasure/... she spelled pleasur....[pause]...e. You could hear everyone hold their breath until that last e. Then they all cheered. She ended up getting 3rd prize... a $25 gc to Book and Game. She was pretty bummed tho; 1st prize was a laptop! Next Year!

Grinny Pigs

Karen's friend brought over her pet guinea pig. Curtis was in heaven over it!























Then karen took it.

Living room... finally!

Mom and Dad brought the entertainment center over last Saturday. My gf's dh Ralph helped move it in.


















And here are the final pictures! I am so happy with how it turned out.






I do want to put an iron decoration above the TV, so that's still to come.

Ooohhhh my nite nite

Curtis has a strong addiction to his blanket... or Nite nite. He's been this way for over 2 years. Lately he'd started pooping in his unders, so we took nite nite away. For 3 days Curtis had to survive without his blanket. We hung it on the wall in the kitchen so he could see it. It didn't take long for him to figure out a way to get it down. You can see his elation over being able to hold it again. Oh the joy!

Owie!

Just over a month ago Paul got a nasty splinter in his left palm at work. He ended up at the Urgent Care. Two more visits, x-rays, and 2 stitches after that, they still weren't able to get it out. So Paul lived with constant discomfort and sometimes pain. He was told to wait 3 more weeks and if it got worse to let them know. We've prayed about this wound that the body would either absorb the splinter or make it come out. Well, GOD ANSWERED! This morning while washing his hair, the splinter came out! It is hard wood, so even being moist for so long, it wasn't plyable. He said he immediately felt better. It ran nearly horizontal in his hand, so when he gripped something, his hand bent, and it poked his hand on both sides.



So we thank the Lord for taking care of this!

Relay for Life

Once again, Faith in Christ is in action!! Our whole family is involved this year. Curtis and Karen will be on the iGrow team (kids) and Paul and I on the adult team. Our family goal is $500. If you are able to make a donation, we would greatly appreciate it! You can send a check to our home or send paypal to larisaerin @gmail. com. Thanks!

Pictures going up!

With our highly technical laser level, we got our vinyl Bible verse on the wall above the window, and the framed pictures on the big wall.

These are our saved newspapers from 1926 and 1929.

On to the Dining Room....

I textured the dining room on Monday while Curtis napped. Good thing he naps a long time! That tiny room took me 2 hours. It may have 50 square feet of wall space that isn't windows/hutch/AC. I primed it yesterday, but then Paul took down the rest of the trim, so I filled in the blank spaces. I bought more primer and will get that done today during naptime. Hopefully can paint tomorrow or tonight since I'm hosting Bunko Thursday night.

Time Capsule

I was asked what I put in my time capsule. I printed out a family picture. I typed out a note describing what work we've done in the house: both kids' rooms, our room, bathroom, and what we did in the LR with pictures. I put in that day's newspaper. Also sales flyers from the grocery stores.

God is SO Good!

I just got word from my gf Melissa that her sister and brother-in-law, M & B, who have been fighting to adopt their foster son A for over 3 years just found out this morning that they finally get to adopt him! They've been going back and forth to court and different judges to adopt him. Finally, he's theirs! I was standing in Ace hardware when she called and started crying. We've been praying so long and hard for this. M& B are new Christians and this was a big test, but God proved Himself faithful!

So rejoice!!! God is still in the answering questions business!

ABCDABF

Jesus Wump Me

Happy Flower Photo Time

time: 6:30 pm wednesday

place: our yard

why: cuz it's good for the soul

and to celebrate God's goodness for giving us these beauties!

A new use for artichokes

As of today....

Here is where we stand today. Walls are painted with just a couple little spots to be touched up.



I haven't asked if I can put up that vinyl sticker yet, but I might put it there. We still need to find ceiling tiles to replace the ones I tore. Then outside trim, blinds up, and we're good to host. Oh yeah, clean up everything else that had stuff tossed into during the demo.

Dad said he'll have our 'entertainment center' in a couple weeks.

Something other than remodeling

My newest niece was born on Saturday. You can see her at the Jon & Chris link to the right. Ellen Lucile.

And Curtis wanted to play my tute.