This and That

The girls returned to school on Monday after having had a two week break.

It was a nice break from the regular routine of getting up and out the door so early every morning, from homework, and for me, the busyness of being so involved at school.

While we were off, I didn't touch my black PTA bag once! I vowed to finish up all my little projects on the last day of school and then put my bag away for the two weeks and I was able to do just that! Yea Me! LOL.

I had every intention of catching up on my blogs while we were off, but I never accomplished that. I'm such a slacker. I do miss blogging.

We had a great time off. The girls and I got one trip in to Disneyland, in addition to the private annual passholder party that Steven and I got to go to one weekday night! The girls spent the night with my parents and Steven and I went with some good friends of ours. It was a great date night and we had a great time! I love Disneyland this time of year!!We had a nice Thanksgiving. I cooked this year for the four of us, my parents, and my brother and sister in law and two nieces. It was a quiet very low key day with lots of yummy leftovers!

This is the second year in a row that I've pulled an all nighter for Black Friday shopping! And boy, is it ever fun, especially when you go with a couple friends! I scored some amazing deals and think this very well be my new tradition of literally shopping til I drop. LOL.

We went back to school on Monday for three weeks and already I'm back to the busyness of projects. The PTA recently sold See's Candy for a fundraiser and that arrived yesterday, which required it to be sorted and bagged for all the orders the kids brought in. Today is pick up for the candy. So I'll be at school a few hours today for that. Next week is Hannah's Christmas Choir performance and the teacher has already cornered me into video taping it and processing it, there's the December PTA meeting next week. The following week is our last week of school before going off for three weeks for Christmas and the New Year. And that week holds a field trip for Hannah to Medieval Times, musical auditions that Rachel is participating in, and Christmas parties for each of the girls classes. This busy and this is just my school projects. LOL. But I love it and I love being able to stay home and be so involved...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

For most of my life, I've always had long, long hair. But at the beginning of summer, two years ago, I had ten inches taken off and I donated my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

I donated my hair on behalf of three women. My longtime friend Diana, diagnosed with lung cancer in the summer of 2008 and went home to be with the Lord in January 2010, and for the sister-in-laws of my friend Amy, both who had been diagnosed with breast cancer earlier that year.

You can read about it and see the before and after pictures on the post I wrote "Taking a Load Off".

Who would ever have thought that as my friend Trudi cut my hair that warm summer evening, that less than two years later she too would be diagnosed with breast cancer.

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This afternoon, I went to "Dancing for a Cure", a dance recital put together where all proceeds go to breast cancer research. This afternoon, and at the show this evening, Trudi got up before two almost sold out audiences, and told her story.

She told her story of how one weekend morning, as she rolled over in bed, she found two lumps and how she put off going to the doctor until weeks later when she couldn't lift her arm up to get something high out of the cupboard without pain.

She told of the day she and her husband were told that the biopsy revealed, "it's Breast Cancer".

She told of how she thought that having only 9 of the 31 lymph nodes testing positive for cancer was a relatively positive thing, while her doctor thought otherwise and upgraded her to Stage 3.

She told of the two rounds of chemo. The effects of loosing her hair. The five weeks of radiation, five days a week.

She told of the booth at opening day of our local town soccer club. They were taking pledges for an upcoming walk for Breast Cancer. Trudi signed up to walk. A year ago, breast cancer awareness wasn't as close a topic as it had become in the last nine months.

I'll never forget the morning she told me. It was at school, kids were running about on the blacktop, waiting for the bell to ring to begin their school day. She wanted to be the one to tell me before I heard it from anyone else. Her news hit me hard.

I've known people who knew people diagnosed with breast cancer, or so and so's Mom, or the friend of so and so. Or so and so. But never had I had a friend who'd been diagnosed with breast cancer. Now I personally KNEW someone who had breast cancer. She's my age (a couple years older, but close enough). She had two kids the same ages as our girls. I remember calling my mom once I got in the car and tearing up upon telling her. Trudi's cancer has touched many a hearts.

This is Trudi with her eight year old daughter. Trudi is a Breast Cancer Thriver. The last eleven months have been horrible ones. Filled with doctor appointments, Chemo appointments, radiation appointments. But she's alive. She's thriving. And she's an inspiration to many....

It's been a Busy Month!

October has turned out to be a very busy month for me. And slowly, one by one, I'm checking things off my list!

Myself and another Mom were in charge of the 6th grade fundraiser that ran the last part of September into the first week of October. The kids sold raffle tickets and are raising money for Science Camp in April. There were three different deadlines for the kids with and each deadline meant a trip to the classrooms to pick up any tickets that had been turned in. And then there was the counting of the money and the raffle tickets, etc, etc. The buying of the prizes to be raffled off, etc. I spent countless hours working on the record keeping and making sure everything would be easy for the teachers to stay informed of the students who paid, who still have a balance, etc. Last week, myself and the other Mom were finally able to turn over all the money and the balances to our office manager and to the teachers in preparation for parent conferences to be held this week. I was sure happy to hand all that over!

On October 13th, our family attended our first Fall Ball at the school. In the six years that Hannah's been attending the school, we've never once gone to any of the dances. But this year, rather than the traditional Monster Mash that's been done in recent years, our Fall Ball Committee did a Country Hoedown! I had the best committee chairmans overseeing and planning the entire thing (Thank You Letti!!!) It was a fun evening of line dancing, face painting, food, and a country photo booth! We had all kinds of props that made for great and fun pictures! I've heard nothing but wonderful things about the evening and how much fun families had and what a great change it was from years past. I think we may have a new tradition!Members of the 2011-2012 PTA
In addition to to 6th grade fund raiser, and the hoedown, I also had a school wide Box Tops contest come to an end last week. Which for me, means counting all the Box Tops that have been held on to until the last minute and then verifying the count and ready them for shipment, and then printing up notifications for the winning classes, etc. We collected almost 20,000 Box Tops!This is what 15,800 individual Box Tops looks like. 316 bags of 50!
The other thing that's been on my plate this month is a project at church. October is Pastor Appreciation Month and for the second year in a row, I've taken on the project of collecting donations and special cards, etc, and then purchasing gift cards and putting together a gift for our Pastor and his family. Numerous emails having gone out, as well as printed copies of the letter handed out at church, proved very successful and we were able to bless our Pastor and his family by presenting them with a package of beautifully written cards, gift cards for dinners out, as well as a Visa gift card to go away as a family for a few days. That was presented to them yesterday, and thus another project finished for me for the month...

My Day in Pictures...

I had nothing on the calendar today. Nothing going on that needed my attention at school (PTA, 6th grade science camp fundraiser, Box Tops, etc). My laundry is all caught up. It was a day that was totally open. So what better way to spend the day than make a trip to My Happy Place. It's my favorite time of year at the Disneyland Resort - Fall and soon it'll be be Christmas. I dawned my tennis shoes, transferred the necessities from my big purse into a small shoulder purse, and once the girls were dropped off at school, I was on my way.

There was a little hesitation when I first hit the freeway. The weather forecast had rain forecasted for tomorrow, so I thought I'd be safe. But there were reports of rain in the neighboring cities between here and Disneyland. I called Disneyland to see what the weather was like there, and while it had already rained there this morning, the sun was beginning to make an appearance.

I debated back and forth on whether to continue going and finally came to the conclusion to go anyway, no matter rain or shine. I hit patches of sprinkles here and there, an the morning traffic was cooperating all the way from here until I had to get on the other freeway. And then it was STOP and GO for the entire time until my exit!!!! Which I think is approximately 20 miles. It took me an hour and a half to get to Disneyland, when it normally would take me about 50 minutes!!!

This picture was taken as I was getting off the freeway! Yippeee! I reached my off ramp!Upon arriving to the parking structure I had already decided to throw caution to the wind and just deal with the sprinkling rain which had started when I exited the freeway, but once a few cars from where I'd parked, I noticed it had begun to rain harder, so returned to the car to get my umbrella. Now only if I'd had a jacket in the car, I would have been set!

And this is the view I saw quite often throughout the morning, the bottom of my umbrella in my line of vision. It began raining once I got inside the gates. Main Street was clear as most people had gathered into the shops of Main Street or under the eaves to get situated with rain ponchos, etc. I had my big umbrella so I waltzed my way down Main Street. I strolled through Tomorrowland to see what the wait was for Star Tours, only 30 minutes, but the line was outdoors and I didn't want to wait in the line. So I kept strolling. I ended up riding the Monorail and taking in the soggy sights of the park and some of the construction going on over at California Adventure that is hidden to the eye at street level.

People everywhere obviously came prepared, or found the nearest Dollar Tree, and had ponchos. I couldn't help but snap a picture of this adorable line up. All these little Asian girls had matching rain jackets!! That was sure going to make keep track of them all a lot easier!! And for the rest of the people who didn't come prepared, good ole Disney was prepared with their ponchos for sale! There were lots of these! Walking close to any of the people who had Disney ponchos on you could smell the newness of the poncho. LOL. I must have hit the line in the bakery just right, it was actually short. So a chocolate chocolate chip muffin and a nice cold Coke was my breakfast for the day and I staked out a dry table along Main Street to sit and people watch. I love to people watch at Disneyland. It's entertaining. I browsed through the stores of Main Street, and then through the big Disney store in Downtown Disney, as well as the candy store in Downtown Disney. I eventually made my way to the car. I wanted to give myself some extra traveling time back to the school just in case there were accidents on the freeway from the rain. I stopped off at the discounted Disney Warehouse to see what they had in stock. Christmas is coming and I was keeping my eye open for POTC shirts for Hannah. The warehouse didn't have much that caught my eye, except for this purse. It's a pin collectors bag really, that comes with an album to display your collectors pins, but I've had my eye on it for a long time to use as a purse. It had been $64.95 when it was in the parks. And now at the discount warehouse, it was $49.99, which really wasn't that great of a deal, so I passed. I left empty handed. And on the freeway I got.

Heading back towards home, there is one more Disney discount warehouse right off the freeway on the way home. I wavered back and forth on stopping. I decided I had the time to stop, so I might as well stop. They had practically all the same stuff, a little more clothes. But they also had the purse I had just seen!! However, here, at this Disney warehouse it was $20.99!!! Almost $30.00 cheaper than where'd I had just seen it a half hour before!! I had a gift card I'd recently been given by a teacher at school, so I bought it! I have a discount card for the discount Disney warehouse (isn't that a funny one) and it gave me an extra 15% off! So I got it for $19.80!!! When it was originally $64.95! I was pretty happy, even more happier that I hadn't bought it at the previous discount warehouse!

The other thing I contemplated briefly buying, was for my Star Wars loving geeks in my family...They were $27.99 each. So I passed.

It was a wonderful day! I love my quick trips to Disneyland. I love strolling through the park, seeing what's going on, people watching, and just taking a day off from the busyness of life outside the magical gates. I'm thankful to be able to do such days! And I look forward to more in the future!!

A New Bible Study

Fall.

The time of year when the kids have been back in school for a while.

When the weather starts to cool down a bit.

And the time of year when new Bible Studies within churches typically start up.

The Women's Ministry at our church offers a Women's Bible Fellowship, however, it is held in the evenings. I am one of the very few women in our church who do not work outside the home, and after a long day of playing taxi back and forth to school, household chores, school obligations, and an afternoon of homework, toss in preparing dinner... I'm simply ready for a quiet and slower paced evening with my family. Not to mention that by the end of the day, my brain is fried and I just can't concentrate very well, therefore evening Bible Studies just don't work well for me.

A few months ago, my Mom approached myself and my sister-in-law, as well as her mother, about starting up a Beth Moore video series. The four of us don't work outside the home therefore a morning Bible Study was PERFECT for us. As I've mentioned before, we've been watching Beth Moore's video series called Wising Up, a study in the book of Proverbs. It's been wonderful and full of applicable things.

It's been working out perfectly for us and Beth Moore is an absolutely amazing Bible teacher. The Lord really blessed her with a gift. As our video series has been winding down, we've decided to start another of Beth's Bible Studies. This one has a workbook and homework to do.

Today was the start of our New Bible Study! And now until the Spring time, we will be doing Beth Moore's Believing God series. "Originating from a concept introduced in Isaiah 43:10, Believing God examines what it means to believe God rather than only believe in Him. Participants study the lives of Abraham and others from Hebrews 11 as examples of people who believed God. This study parallels a personal journey Beth took in coming to understand what it means to believe God."

Today was our first day! And not only are the four of us continuing, but the girlfriend of one of the nephews is joining us as well! She's young, a fairly new Christian, never been part of a Bible Study before, and is excited and hungry for what the Lord has in store for her. And we're excited to have her join us!

Today was the introduction. We have our workbooks, our index cards for writing down scriptures, and our schedule for the year ahead. It looks like it's going to be a GREAT study and I am very much looking forward to it!

Tired?? Nah, Exhausted is More Like It.

I'm not sure anyone could be more happier than I am that today is the end of the week and the weekend is upon us.

This week has probably been one of the busiest weeks in my grown up life. LOL. Yesterday when I was grocery shopping I felt as though I could have just sat right down in the canned good aisle and have a good cry, that's how exhausted I am.

On Tuesday, when I left here to take the girls to school, we did not return until twelve and a half hours later. I had Bible Study that morning, a PTA meeting, following by a parent meeting for 6th grade Science Camp. Which may not sound like a lot. But a lot of preparation work goes into my PTA meetings, and for the Science Camp, I am one of two Moms who are heading up the fundraiser, which has had me busy as well. Last weekend, I counted out 5500 raffle tickets and divided into 100 envelopes and stapled and sorted packets for the meeting Tuesday night.

It's still the beginning of the school year (even though we've been in school almost 2 months), and things are still getting going. We've had school wide fundraisers, PTA membership drive, planning meetings for the upcoming Red Ribbon Week and the first ever Family Country Hoedown! Lots going on, especially this last week. In a few weeks, the fundraiser orders will arrive and then we'll kick off our Christmas Sees Candies fundraiser, and then officially be in the final months of 2011 and the holidays will be upon us.

Devotional by Liz

I have 'met' tons of people over the internet through the years. Quite a few of them have become good friends.

Liz is one of those friends in particular. While she lives in Texas, and we've never met face to face, she's a true friend who I've emailed on occasion sharing prayer requests, life frustrations with, and answered prayers.

She keeps a blog, which is how I 'discovered' her so many years ago. Recently, she shared this devotional on her blog and I loved it so much that I thought I wanted to share it here, on my blog.

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I didn't forget 9/11.

On Sunday, I remembered where I was on the morning of 9/11 like so many of you did. Our pastor's sermon began with remembering the day, telling us where he was when he heard the news. We talked about it with our kids like we always do. We watched videos on youtube about the planes crashing into the Pentagon & World Trade Center towers. I paused to think about the awesome stories of heroism in the biography I read a few years ago "Let's Roll!" by Lisa Beamer, whose husband was on the ill fated Flight 93 that crashed into an open field.

But something struck me part way through the day.

I am, by no means, diminishing the power & importance of September 11, 2001. I will never forget the horror of that day. But it hit me like a ton of bricks that so many of us have our own 9/11s in life. We measure life that way, creating a roadmap of our life based on what happened before or after our 9/11. Those milestone dates will never be erased from our memory. Without thinking at all, I bet you can tell me exactly where you were when you got the news about 9/11. You can tell me how old your kids were. You can tell me what you did the rest of the day. And maybe even the day after. You can remember vividly who told you what was happening or whom you were with when you found out. And most of all, you can remember the terror that filled your heart. The questions that spewed from your mind. The fears that we all felt.

Maybe your 9/11 was the day you found out you had cancer. Or the day your child died. Or the moment that your spouse came to you & said that he/she wanted a divorce. Your 9/11 might be when the doctor walked in & told you that your dad was dead or that your friend would never walk again after the accident. Maybe it was the day that you lay in a hospital bed & handed your child over to his adoptive parents. It is different for all of us.

Life is like that. Horrible, awful things happen. We think we are safe, protected, secure....and then something slams into our life that reminds us we are just humans and that we're as fragile & weak as the rest of the world.

Today might be someone else's 9/11. Keep that in mind when you face the world today.

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