End of another month

Time sure flies by-even when you're not having much fun! Boring month full of cleaning out and getting organized and now it is gone.....

Our TBH group was canceled the first session due to a storm, so we finally got started last week. Lovely group of people once again, and I am looking forward to the journey we are going to take over the next few months. It is such a privilege to serve them and pray for them and I hope that they are able to take something away that is helpful and healing. Bible study is also going well. The study is about ministering unto the Lord and uses the tabernacle as a blueprint. Very interesting stuff. We signed the papers and refinanced the house and now need to find a good contractor to remodel the bathrooms. We have also been cleaning up Nate's room and I'm ready to get painting the boys bedrooms before the nice weather comes along. Need to sit down and get our tax papers around this week also. Still waiting on a few things and then we can sit down and do taxes and FAFSA (my FAVORITE chores of the year). Nate told me a week ago that he wants to go go college. We had a good talk and decided on the community college. Lots to do to get him ready there too! He hasn't taken any placement tests, need to visit with someone and apply, need to look for scholarships. I'm glad he has got to this point of decision, but I'm not sure he is ready for the next level. I tried putting a new hem in my black pants last weekend and wound up very frustrated. Don't know what I was doing wrong to keep missing areas and had to keep ripping it out and starting over. Then I broke the needle! I bought new needles yesterday and am going to try one more time before I give up. I took a little craft class at the local Scandinavian shop and learned how to make German paper stars. It was fun, but there are lots of steps, so I wondered how I would do once I got home. Well I'm pleased to say I completed my first star all by myself. The instructor said that the man that invented them was named Froebel and he founded kindergarten. He used the star folding as an activity for kindergartners-unbelievable to me! I want to make a bunch for my Christmas tree, so I better get some supplies and keep going. Well, I'd better sign off now. It is a beautiful day-nearly 50 degrees-and I need to get the Christmas lights down and the ice off my driveway.

Another gloomy day

What happened to my sunshine? It was so nice earlier-I was out shoveling the slush that was melting on the driveway. I even took a nice long walk, but now it is gloomy. That really affects my mood! Not much is new around here.

Noah got a job as a bank teller. He will be working 20 hours a week, which he will soon find out is not as easy as he thinks it will be with school. He needed nice clothes for work though, so we went down and took him shopping. Found a couple pairs of pants and later several dress shirts and ties. Not easy to find at a bargain price as he is so huge! All in all, his job has cost me $160 to clothe him. I'm glad for him though, he needs the experience and cash. Unfortunately, instead of thinking about things like covering his expenses and saving for future expenses, he keeps thinking about getting a dog. He has no idea how expensive that is or what all that entails as far as responsibility or commitment, but I can't say much to him about it without setting him off. Nate finished the semester with all passing grades, which he seems to be very proud of. His class schedule is light this year. He doesn't seem to feel the pressure he has in years past and is better able to keep up. He is still not really looking for a job. I just don't think he has the skills to find one in time. And of course, he won't listen to me or accept any help. Nate missed two days of school last week due to a stomach virus. He gave it to me, but it didn't go full blown (trying to be delicate here) and I was just lightheaded, tired, and had stomach cramps.

I worked to get the Christmas stuff put away and now we are refinancing our house. We are trying to add a home equity loan and use it to remodel our bathrooms (which badly need it). Detail stuff keeps coming up, that my non-detail husband didn't catch when he visited with the banker and it is driving me nuts! I just don't need this dumped into my lap right now. Of course, I am feeling pressured to get my tax stuff organized. You need to do that quickly with a college student so you have the information for the FAFSA. I am leading a TBH group again this winter session. I asked to lead a children's group, but I was placed with adults again. What made me nervous is that my co-leader didn't show up for the required information session, and didn't respond to my follow up e-mail. Thankfully the director of TBH made an executive decision and replaced him with a very experienced leader, so I am feeling much better. I am continuing to go to the Prism group. The leader and I are on continuance, and it is a mutually encouraging thing for us to have each other. We have enough new members that we split in two and I am leading a discussion group. I am also going to a bible study this winter. I have done several studies with this same awesome teacher, so it is exciting to have a new one with her. It does make for a busy week though since I am gone three evenings. While I was sick, I watched the old Carey Grant movie, "An Affair to Remember". I ordered it after catching Sleepless in Seattle on tv a few weeks ago. All the women in the movie were crying when they were talking about/watching that movie, and I had never seen it. I must have lived with men too long because-NOTHING. No tears, no choking up, not even a tug at my heart-and I have PMS! What is wrong with me?

Looking forward to some fun things in the next few months, but I'll write more about that later! Hope you are all healthy and warm!

Happy New Year

This holiday season has been a blur, so I can't believe it is already the start of a new year! I haven't thought much about resolutions or things like that, but I do know I want to read through the bible again this year. I started that a few years ago, and then Mom died and I got all off track. It was like the wind went out of my sails, and I have been rather stagnant spiritually these past few years. I also have got off track with my healthy living over the holidays and even though my weight didn't change, I know I need to get back to the plan there. I really want to be a consistent exerciser this year. I was doing that over the summer and I felt (and looked) much better. My last goal, would be to visit old friends. Time has passed quickly raising my boys and it is finally time for me to renew my relationships with my friends. So even though I haven't thought much about these things, I do have these goals in mind as I begin the new year. I hope you have a blessed 2009 and that you take the time to review your life and set new goals for yourself too!