Our Camping Trip

We arrived to the campground late Friday afternoon and after determining that it'd be a tight squeeze with our tent on the site we were suppose to be on, we were invited to pitch our tent and set up camp on the site of other friends. Their site had a whole lot more room. As it is, we could have fit another tent on it, if the maximum amount of people wasn't set at 8 people. Our Friday evening was spent relaxing around the campfire and playing games. And just fellow-shipping with our friends. In most of the men's cases, like Steven, they are so busy setting up and attending to their ministry obligations that they rarely get time to talk and fellowship with others at church on Sunday. Going camping with people you enjoy being around makes for nice fellowship throughout the day and in the evenings.Saturday, the wind blew all day. Late morning, most everyone headed down to the beach. I stayed behind with a friend and we played a card game in her trailer. That was fun. Early afternoon, our friends, Keith, Amy, and their daughter Bethany, joined us for the remainder of the day. It was nice to have them come down and share in our camping experience. Saturday evening, we had the best fajita/carne asada/Mexican food buffet. There were twenty six of us for dinner and the evening of games that followed was a blast!Some of our friends were staying through Monday, some of our friends reserved their sites through Monday but leaving on Sunday. Reserving the site through Monday meant no one had to be off the site by the noon check out time and no one would be waiting for the site. Essentially they could leave as late as they wanted. We were on the site of friends who were staying through Monday, but either way, we didn't have to rush to pack up and get off the site by noon, which was nice. The extra time allowed for a few more hours spent on the beach building sand castles, or another rip roaring game of Phase 10 or Mexican Train Dominoes.We eventually packed up and loaded up the van. It was just after 5:00 before we were pulling out of the campground. Having Uncle Bart live only a mile up the street, we met him for dinner, and then headed for home. Our camping gear is orgainized enough now that we can have the car unloaded and everything back in it's place within half an hour. All that's left is the laundry and unpacking of the ice chest and unused food.

This was our fourth camping trip this year. Four times just since the first weekend in June. I really enjoy camping and it's all become so easy with how prepared we are and all we've acquired. But like Steven said, he's ready for a hotel vacation, and so am I! LOL.

My Dentist Appointment

So I broke down this morning and called the office of a potentially new dentist for me. I had no pain today and made it through all of yesterday with no Advil, etc. So I'm doing great (thanks to everyones prayers!) and it took a lot for me to call to get an appointment. I knew I had to have this checked out, for if it gets put off and put off, it'll happen again or something MAJOR would have to be fixed.

First off, the office is in an old house that has been transformed into a beautiful and nice dental office. Very nice. The office staff, as well as the assistant, were all extremely nice. Once I was put into a room, the assistant decided to do an xray. I warned her of my sensitive gag reflex. However, the xrays at this office were so much different than my "old" dentist. She put the film on this little clip wand and put it into my mouth, and the xrays automatically came up on the computer screen in front of her, and on the TV hanging above my head! How totally cool is that?!?! I could see my own xrays in a very cool way and didn't have to wait for them to develop to see if they needed another, etc.

When the dentist came in, he was nice. Thanks to an awesome website, I had seen his picture and saw that he looked nice, but once I met him, he was nice in person as well. He was very gentle and caring and did a very thorough exam of the tooth in question. He had me put my teeth together, he checked my bite and my jaw bones, and he's pretty sure my problem is a combination of a few things: 1) I clench my teeth and that hasn't been helpful to the teeth in the area 2) My bite is way off and that doesn't help things either 3) The crown I had put on 2 years ago was hitting wrong. He grinded my top teeth a bit and a spot or two on the bottom and then tested it with his marking paper over and over and over again til things looked and felt right.

And in the end, I REALLY, REALLY liked this dentist. I made a return appointment for next month to have my teeth cleaned and him recheck that tooth and I'm suppose to call if I have problems before then. But when I got to the car, I literally could have cried. I was so anxious about this tooth and seeing the dentist, and choosing a new one at that, and I was so thankful to the Lord that this appointment went well.

Now, I just need to get Steven in to see him...it's been a while since he's seen his dentist. And make appointments for the girls to see his wife, who is a pediatric dentist, and we'll all be set in the dental hygiene department!

Home.

Ahhh, We're home from our wonderful weekend camping trip to the beach. More details and pictures, of course, to follow tomorrow.

But I wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who's been praying for my tooth. I definitely could feel your prayers. Friday was the worst and I made myself sick to my stomach with all the Advil I had taken. :X But Saturday, I got away with only one dose of Advil about midday and that was to keep the achyness at bay. Today, I haven't taken anything and if I touch my tooth, it's not even tender like it was the last time this happened. Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow morning, I will make an appointment with a new dentist. I found one, his website is amazing and they specialize in patients with high anxiety when it comes to the dentist, and the best part....he's covered on our insurance!! But THANK YOU for your prayers, I really appreciated them!


ETA: I called the dentists office. I have an appointment today, Monday, at 1:00! Here's praying it's nothing too major, like a root canal!

The Dentist

I hate going to the dentist. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. I personally would rather visit the OB/GYN twice a year than go to the dentist twice a year and I am so not kidding.

So I have this tooth ache. It's constant. I know somethings wrong and I have to go to the dentist.

For the last twelve years, I've gone to the dentist I always saw growing up, however, he isn't covered on our insurance, so we've always paid extra for me to see him. And with my fear of 'the dentist' I was always willing to pay the extra to see someone whom I knew was gentle, wouldn't hurt me, etc. But the time has come to go to someone who is covered on our insurance. Paying the extra money just isn't a good steward of our money and a waste of our dental insurance.

The dentist on Rachel's craniofacial team had recommended someone outside of Loma Linda for the girls to see, so I called her office this morning in hopes she took adults, she doesn't. But her husband is a dentist and she highly recommends him, go figure. I didn't call and make an appointment though, I'm too scared to. LOL. Did I mention I hate the dentist??

We're suppose to leaving in a few hours to head out for the weekend camping. Please, please be praying the pain I am having goes away and it's not a constant, gnawing pain, and I can enjoy the weekend.

This Weekend...

It's a three day weekend for Hannah, Friday is an inservice day for the teachers. Three cheers for inservice days! LOL

We are taking advantage of the extra day off and are heading out camping at the beach with our church friends, most of the same friends that went when we went in July with a few more families. This time there are eight families going camping and we have four campsites, unfortunately they aren't all together, but we'll have a great time nonetheless!

Would you please be praying for my tooth. LOL. I had problems with it about a month ago, and today it started hurting again all of a sudden. Last time it hurt REALLY bad for days. I sure don't want to have to be in pain the entire weekend. Thanks!

Menu Planning and Grocery Lists

This morning, after I drop off the girls at school, I will make a trip to the our grocery store for my major grocery shopping.

The last several months I've really been trying to meal plan and then make out my grocery list accordingly.

I found these magnetic note pads that has a box for every day of the week. It is on this pad that I write out my meals for every day of the week, writing in special occasions whereas we might already have plans to go out, an event to attend, a night where a home cooked meal isn't required. I post that menu on the fridge and pretty much stick to it. Posting the weekly menu for the family to see does one of two things, they either are excited for dinner, or the complaining starts early in the day. And when I say complaining, it comes from the eight year old and younger age group in our house. LOL. It's no secret that when a list is made, and you stick to the list, you're a better steward of your grocery money. As I plan out my meals, I make a second list of ingredients I need to make each meal, and I check the cupboards and freezer to see if I might already have some of the ingredients, etc. And if one meal isn't used for one reason or another (like spontaneous trips to Jose's), that meal gets moved to the next week.

I've really been trying to not make the same thing two weeks in a row, mixing things up, trying new recipes and old favorites gone unmade for a while. When I am organized like this, I really enjoy grocery shopping and feel better prepared for dinner time!

Queen of Returns

For years, I've kinda been known as the Queen of Returns, not so much recently as return policies have changed drastically, and you need a receipt, etc. But when we got married, we got A LOT of duplicate gifts and I was GOOD at returning things, etc. I'm not afraid to take things back, attempt to, etc.

Which leads me to my story...

Last night, Steven's dad stopped by for a visit and we went to dinner at Marie Callendars. We got a pie to bring home to enjoy later in the evening. When the time, we cut into the pie and sat to watch TV, the pie tasted like onions. Ewww! The slice of pie that I was looking forward to indulging in was a huge disappointment to say the least.

Soooo, this morning I returned the rest of the uneaten pie!! Marie Callendars gave me no hassle, and let me even change the selection of pie! So tonight, I will attempt to sit and enjoy another piece of pie!

Do you return things?? What's the strangest thing you've ever returned????