Just Stuff

A couple of week ago, I had the unexpected opportunity to hear Chris Tomlin on the beach in Panama City. Wow! It was amazing! I have wanted to see him for years, so to get to do it finally, and for free--what a blessing. My friend Bonnie and I went, and we had a great time.

We had a great day yesterday. We set out to visit the Ocheesee Creamery in Calhoun County. We didn't have an address, and they didn't have a very big sign, so we ended up driving all the way to Blountstown. That turned out great though because there's a little park there that is a tribute to the M & B Railroad--Marianna and Blountstown. It was the shortest railway in Florida in its time. It had a real engine and a caboose, and the boys, as well as Benjamin and I, had a great time climbing around on it. After that, we went back and found the dairy. The boys got to pet calves to their hearts' content. We capped the day off with a stop by Grammy and Grand's for a short visit. It was a great day!

I am grateful for my life and for my family. Thank you Father.

I have to say (again) how sad it makes me that I have almost completely quit blogging since I started "facebooking." I really enjoy looking back at the entries about the boys. Oh well. All I can do is try to do better. :)

I am a busy girl these days:

I am volunteering with bereavement services with Emerald Coast Hospice. I make phone calls to the bereaved families to see how they are coping with loss. I love doing it. I feel like I've been able to make a real difference for some of the people I've talked to. I also do the monthly mail-outs for the chaplains. I wish I had about one full day a month that I could devote to it, but it's completely hit and miss right now with everything else that's going on....

I have a part-time, mostly at-home job with a tutoring company. The No Child Left Behind Act provides tutoring services for students who need it and can't afford it, and I am the liaison between my company's corporate office and the teachers who are actually doing the tutoring in the schools. It's been an okay job so far, but we're gearing up for our busy time for about the next eight weeks, so I'll know after that how I really feel. :)

I clean house for two sisters on alternating Mondays still, and I really enjoy that work. I've been a little spoiled all summer though in that I haven't had to take the boys with me. They started back with me last Monday, and it's so hard! I wish I could hire a sitter, but that make me be cleaning almost for free--and I don't enjoy it quite that much!

Benjamin is back in school this fall, working on his bachelor's degree. He's juggling three part-time jobs in addition to being a full-time dad and going to school full-time. He handles it beautifully though, and once we get used to his new schedule, it will be fine.

I still try to drive a bus now and then, and I may be driving some for Venture this year. That remains to be seen, but I hope I get to. I really enjoy that, and it's a little extra money too.

Oh, did I mention that I have a 2 1/2- and a 4 1/2-year-old who keep me HOPPING?! They are so much fun! David is completely potty-trained, and we are so thrilled. Honestly, some days it seemed like it would never happen! He is so grown-up, and some of the things that come out of his mouth just amaze me. Of course, right now, I can't think of any of them, but I will. I'm amazed that this time next year, he will be in school. And I'm determined to make the most of this last year where I am his primary influence in life. :) It's been interesting to watch David gravitate more and more toward his dad this summer too. He asks about him when he first gets up in the morning and can't wait for him to get home in the evenings. It's very sweet.

Sam. Sam. Sam. What can I say about that little rascal? He is so mischievous! He talks up a storm and does his best to keep up with David in all things. Except potty-training. He's showing no interest in that! But I'm not stressing; it will come in time!

We've done some fun things this summer--two trips to the beach, one to Wilder's World or "the bouncy house" as Sam calls it. We've been swimming at the Oliver's several times. We took lots of pictures, and eventually those will make it off my computer and into scrapbooks.

Okay. I think I'm done for now. I intended to have more anecdotes, but the power actually went off in the middle of this (thank goodness for auto-save), and it's getting late. I will do this again before the month of September is out!!!!! I will. Seriously. :)

It's About Time

I wrote this back in June and never got back to it. I will do a real update before I go to bed tonight! I am determined!

I wrote a LONG post a couple of months ago and lost the entire thing somehow. It made me very sad because I just didn't have it in me to start over!

I will attempt now to update this chronicle. We'll see how it goes.

We have had an great spring. Neither of the boys has been to the doctor in several months. It's been a record year for pollen, but they've had doses of local honey in their oatmeal several times a week, and there hasn't been even a runny nose. It's been so great not to have any ear infections this year!

David has made great strides in potty training finally. Have I learned my lesson? Don't stress over things you cannot control. They will fall into place in the right time. I have seen that time and time again with David. He's not completely done with the PT, but he's well on his way.

I was trying to think how I would describe him to someone who doesn't know him. He's got a great imagination and a fun sense of humor. He's polite most of the time, and sometime he's shy. I have a hard time sometimes getting him to greet people at church, but he's getting better about that, and there are days that he will chat with anyone who will talk to him. He and Sam are getting better every day about playing together, and it's really fun to watch on the good days. :)