No More Trips to the Laundromat for Me!

For those of you that may not know, I've been doing a bit of bookkeeping work for 2 businesses here in Jackson. One is Siemer Appliance here in Jackson. While Jacob is in pre-school for 6 house a week, I go to Siemers. Well, at the moment, we have only one tech that goes and does service calls. He's a great guy and he sure knows his stuff, and to put it simply, he's always booked SOLID with his service calls. So, when my dryer quit this past weekend, I was hesitant to try and get him to come check on it. So, Rob thought I could ask and see if there was anything that he could check before he had Ron (our service tech) come over. So, this morning I asked and was given several things to check first. When Rob got home today around 5:30, he started working on it. The things he was asked to check first all came out good. When I checked on him, he had the dryer completely apart. He has this nifty tool from the Snap-On man (gotta love Snap-on tools) that checks continuity (I kind of see it as that it checks for electrical current). He got out the sheet from the dryer that is a complete diagram of the electrial flow of the machine. With a break for pizza, Rob found the cause around 9:15pm!!!!!!!!!!!! He is simply amazing and would not quit until he found the problem! The culprit was a tiny little fuse coming from somewhere (can't remember where at the moment) in the dryer. So, tomorrow I'll either be ordering it or puchasing it if it's in stock. Thank you, Rob, for working so hard and figuring out the problem!

We Have an AMAZING God!

Isn't this photograph simply beautiful?? This is a good friend of mine, Amy, with her little girl, Isabel, that she and her husband are adopting from Guatamala. She just got back from a visit with her and had the most blessed time with her new daughter. Amy and her husband also have 3 little boys, one of which is a very good friend of Matthew. Please pray for them in that they will soon be able to bring Isabel home with them for good.

Whenever I have new prayer requests I will list them on my blog...please check often and pray as you feel led. Thanks!

Two of the requests are from two amazing young gals, one of which is my niece, the other is Jacob's AWANA leader at church. Please pray for them as they prepare to leave on mission work this summer. God's timing is simply perfect...we just had a missions conference at church that was just awesome and Rob really felt like we should be doing something as far as supporting God's work to reach those that are lost and have never heard of God's word.

Friday night I spent the evening with a group of moms that also have 1st graders at St. Paul. We went out to the Gordonville Grille for good food, company & conversation. It's fun to talk with other moms about stuff that is happening at school...we're going to try and go out once a month...basically a Ladies' Night Out!

Yesterday evening we went to the bowling alley to bowl...little did I know that you needed to make reservations! So, needless to say, we didn't get to bowl. The boys weren't too upset since they got to play a bunch of video games!

Gotta go...need to get the boys ready for AWANA.

Have a great Sunday!

Another Snow/Ice Day...

It was great to have Matthew home today...but, it's getting to where we'd rather have the days off when it's nice outside! Jacob's Valentine party at school had been cancelled yet another time! Who knows about tomorrow...that's the day Matthew's Valentine party is supposed to be!

Jacob & Matthew didn't even ask to go outside today so I didn't even suggest it! We spent the day doing puzzles, painting baseboards, playing mario brothers & watching Scooby Doo. Oh, I forgot coloring too! I got to complete a few layouts that I had waiting so that was nice.

Yesterday was literally a computer day from hXXX for me. I simply could NOT connect to the internet. After a phone call to Charter & Microsoft, it was determined that I needed to contact Dell since I had free technical service from them. I was on the phone with a tech for approximately 3 hours. My cell phone went dead, so he had to call me back on our regular phone. Eventually, after the boys were so tired of me being on the phone, my computer was fixed. I have been operating with literally no anti-virus software and something in my computer was preventing me from accessing the internet. I am definitely not a computer guru so I completely did NOT understand what he was talking about. Anyway, I have now subscribed and downloaded an anti-virus program and my computer is completely protected. Yay!

Hope you are enjoying your Thursday night!

Has This EVER Happend to You??

This evening on our way home from AWANA at church (I filled in for Rob tonight because he went to a hay sale) we drove thru the drive-thru at McDonalds. I got up to the first window to pay and I handed the gal my debit card. She said, "Would you mind paying with cash...I already hit the "cash-only" button?" I said "No...I'm sorry but I don't have any cash." She said, "oh, okay...don't worry about it...I'll just pay for it myself...they're too busy up front for me to go and get someone to fix my machine." I simply did NOT know what to say...so I just said, "okay, thanks." Isn't that bizarre???? So, our supper tonight was free! Has this ever happened to anyone else out there??

Well, it's back to school tomorrow for Matthew. He had a hard time going to sleep tonight. Even though we've been going to bed around 9:00, he's my late sleeper so he's been sleeping in in the mornings. Since he's been off now since last Monday I think it's going to take him a couple of days to adjust. It's going to take a while for Jacob to adjust as well...although I'm sure he will like NOT having to share the plug-n-play games!

Have a great Monday!

Ice Storm!

As I stated in a couple of posts ago, we had a major ice storm here in Jackson and Cape and the surrounding areas. It started Monday night...I had just gotten done with my post Monday night when our power went off again. We were without power from Monday night at 10:00 to Tuesday night around 7:00. Rob kept us warm though...we had our wood stove going in the basement...cooked chili & hot cocoa on it. We camped out in the basement Monday night...Matthew & Jacob thought it was a real adventure! All Monday night, throughout the night, it sounded like little bombs going off everywhere...tree limb after tree limb breaking, and the crashing to the ground. Rob went out in the middle of the night after one of our huge trees in the backyard came very close to falling on our deck and air conditioning unit...he moved what he could and then came quickly back inside. It is so sad...our trees have just been destroyed...ours, along with so, so many others here in Jackson. We are thankful, however, that we didn't have any house damage and that we were all okay. Rob and Matthew worked a big part of the day outside...doing what they could to trim some of the tree limbs that were touching the house. It is just a huge, huge mess outside...tomorrow we should see a lot of melting. The first two photos and the last photo are from the 2 big trees in the front yard. The 3rd & 4th photos are views from our back yard.

Our niece, Maria!

Lauren sent us a few photos of Maria...she was 5 months old on Feb. 12th. Isn't she ADORABLE?!?!?!

What's Been Happening in our World Today!

1. I hear "I've got a sticky situation in here" coming from Jacob's room. I don't run...but I walk into Jacob's room, not quite sure of what I will find. Jacob has climbed on top of his bookshelf (he has a 3-drawer dressor that has 2 shelves attached to the top of it) and couldn't get himself back down. He just looked at me with the sweetest little grin... I couldn't help but chuckle!

2. Jacob had asked me to play Candyland so I said okay...that I'd be there in a minute. When I got downstairs he had it all ready and set up. I sat down on the floor with him and he said, very seriously, "Now, Mom, don't be upset with the cards that I get...it will be okay, I'll wait for you in Candyland". He had stacked the deck...the first card he pulled was the one that passed you all the way to the spot right before Candyland! Once again, I chuckled!

3. At work today, Rob & his buddy, Darrin, the other operator, set bridge girders with 2 cranes. What makes this scenario different today is that he has run a lot of hydraulic cranes, but this was a first for running a friction rig. Everything went great, no one got hurt...then the ice/sleet came and the job shut down for the day.

4. Matthew got out of school today at 10:30 because of the ice/sleet that was expected. It just so happened that as Jacob & I were leaving the house to go pick him up...the sleet started coming down. Man, did it start coming down quick.

5. Quick stop at the library on the way home from picking Matthew up...movies, movies & more movies!

6. Rob worked until noon and then we spent the afternoon playing a few video games, doing Valentines for school & watching Arthur.

7. After supper at about 7:00ish...lights went out. We sat in the basement with about 5 candles for about 35 minutes. It was awesome and amazing to just sit (having no computer, tv, etc.) and be still...and talk with the kids.

8. Electricity came back on and we watched the movie, "GAME PLAN"...you HAVE GOT TO SEE IT! It's about a self-centered football star whose world is turned upside down when his daughter, whom he didn't know he had, shows up at his door. It is a MUST SEE.

That's about it...we're iced in. No school tomorrow. Headed to bed!

A Valentine's Day Party!!

Today the boys were invited to a Valentine party that that their friend, Carson, was having. Matthew had such a fantastic time...they started with a cake walk...then it moved on to playdoh, card-making, cooking decorating, yummy snacks, and an awesome Valentine exchange. Poor little Jacob was home sick with a cold. You should have seen his eyes light up though when we brought home his Valentine box...he had a GREAT time looking thru his treats and Valentines. Thanks, Carson (and Amy!), for a super fun time!

Looks like we might be headed for a bit of bad weather...we'll see in the morning! Good night!

A Few Things About Me!

I took this from Sophia Corbridge's blog...as well as Amy's blog! Thanks! The main reason I like to do these questionnaires is that SOMEDAY I would like to scrapbook a few pages about ME...something that our boys might enjoy later on. It will be nice to have something to refer to when I journal.

One thing I won't let my husband buy me: Shoes comes to mind...although anything that he would buy for me would be appreciated!

One thing I would love to have, but I probably will never have: A cabin in the mountains somewhere.

One thing you will never find in my closet: I'm with Amy on this one...HIGH HEELS.

One thing I would choose if I were having elective surgery...A smaller butt & smaller thighs.

One thing I love about my face: my chubby cheeks.

One thing I love to do: watch our boys play and act goofy together.

One thing I would like to change if I could: the past 1 1/2 years where I've gained weight.

One thing I would change as a mom: not worrying so much about our boy's outward behavior but focusing more on their "heart" behavior.

One thing I would do if I had unlimited money: Purchase a beautiful condo somewhere in the mountains and let family/friends to and stay any time they wanted.

One thing that I will not do again:

One thing that I would like to do: exercise 3-4 times a week.

One thing I could do without: a bunch of clothes that are hanging in my closet that I never wear (sounds like another de-cluttering day in my future!)

One thing I love to smell: our boys' hair after it's shampooed

One thing I would do if I won the lottery: assuming it's a LARGE amount, I would pay off all of our debts, including the debts of family members & close friends.

One thing that infuriates me: parents that are completely rude to their kids

One thing that I love about winter: SNOW.

One thing I love about scrapbooking: getting together with great friends to work on our albums.

One thing I am addicted to: blog-reading!

One thing I pray for: my husband

One thing I wish I had: at the moment, nothing...I'm trying to be content with what we have.

One thing I would do again, regardless of the pain: having our boys.

One thing that I absolutely hate to do: I can't think of anything right now...hate is a VERY strong word.

One thing that is weird about me: I like to drink milk in bed while I'm reading (this is the one thing about me that Rob really gets annoyed by!)

One thing that I need help on: setting priorities.

One thing I find most relaxing: massage.

One thing that could get me in trouble: on-line shopping.

One thing that annoys me: our sweet little princess kitty, Calli, tips over every cup that has ANYTHING in it.

One thing I dread; and therefore, don't do very often: hmmmmmmm.

One thing that I have learned, but still sometimes forget: God tells us to be content with what we have...I know it but I have a hard time living it!

Just a QUICK post...

to let you know I'm alive! Several people have asked about my blog this week...not really sure why no posts...but now I've got the crud and I'm not feeling too well. Just hanging around the house this am trying to get sheets/blankets washed, disinfecting, etc. We've all had some bad colds but we're on the upward slide. Hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

SNOW DAY!

WOW...what an absolutely, incredibly FUN day! We first headed out to the farm to pick up the boys' 4-wheelers. We then headed over to Rob's Mom & Dad's house and let the boys ride their 4-wheelers and Rob & I rode his Dad's 4-wheeler. Then, Rob's Dad got out his mule (actually, Rob's Mom bought it for herself!) and started pulling us on this big make-shift sled. We had SO MUCH FUN! And it was so beautiful out in the country. We are now cuddled down in the basement watching movies...Rob picked up some firewood today so now we've got the wood stove going...nice and cozy.

Have a great weekend and stay warm! Be sure and check out the photo show below of our day today!

SNOW Day! 2-1-08