Didn't See This Coming

Who knew? Life is sure strange. We have been so focused on leaving this place and getting back to Vegas, or some place close by, that we totally didn't expect to hear the comment from Shad's grandma in Ohio let alone contemplate on it at all. But we did, and we are. Well, just a little right now.

Basically, every day I ask Shad about the transfer stuff at work.
Has he heard anything?
Does he know anything new?
I get the same answer every day. "No." I'm certain it annoys him but I feel like I should keep it fresh in his mind every day. Why? I have no idea. I think it makes me feel better. Like in some warped kind of way it is progress.

Anyway, yesterday I did again asked the usual questions, and got the usual answer with a "but" on the end of it. But what? Apparently Grandma in Ohio is contemplating moving to the city where she would be closer to the doctors she is frequently visiting. (Not by choice.) That is great! She needs to be some place closer to the hospital instead of being so far away all by her lonesome.
But....she is said to have made the comment of "I wish Shad and Sherry could move into my house and live in it." Or something to that affect.

What? Move to Ohio? That is so not close to Vegas. As a matter of fact, that is pretty damn far from Vegas. What?

My first reply of course was "Um, I don't think so." And then later that day we began to think about it. What would that look like? How would we manage that? Could we even manage that? There would have to be many cosmic things fall into place.

Just the other day I was commenting to one of the girls about how it is important that family takes care of family. That God wants us to take care of each other, especially when we are in need. So many of our family and friends are in need back in Vegas. But we have family in other places too. Grandma Kathy is in Vegas with a ton of family taking care of her. Grandma Ruth is in Ohio with, well, she is pretty much alone.

It has us thinking pretty hard and praying about some things. I didn't see this coming!
I'll keep you posted.

Another sign?

We went to a park in Alameda yesterday so Shad could practice softball with some of the people he works with. They go to a tournament every year in Vegas, but get only one or two practices in. Last year it was one practice, this year they are shooting for at least two.

Hailey's friend Cally came along with us and the girls were having a great time at the park when they suddenly realized they were hungry. They were very verbal about it, so we piled into the truck and left Shad behind while we went on an adventure to get lost in a little island city I have never driven in before. We managed to only get a little lost, and found a cute little park where an art exhibit was going on. Nope, no food there so we moved on. We were on a mission you know. Finally we found a shopping center that had a huge Trader Joe's in it. Thanks Trader Joe's! Crisis averted! We finally managed our way back to where we started by sure luck as I was totally lost.

Oh, the sign? Yes, well on the drive home from the nasty little bar-b-Que place Shad took us to for lunch after his practice was over, he informed me that the word in the office is: three new openings in Vegas. This means he has an even better chance at getting us back.

I am not getting excited though. If it is to happen, then it will be right? Shad will send in his transfer request and life goes on. It sure would be nice if we were to be back before Christmas though. :)

A sign?

I am currently procrastinating yet again as I am struggling to write a paper that is due tomorrow night for my History class. Oh well, at least I am consistent.

So today I went with Shad to his MRI. He has some back issues. Nothing serious that we know of yet, just old age at this point unless we are told different in a couple of weeks. During our ride back home, Shad got a call. It was his boss telling him that there had been some changes done. Major changes. Anyway, the result was that he is going to have to issue a new transfer request.

I am hoping that this is a sign. I have been thinking about how this December would be the perfect time for us to transfer to another place as I will be in between classes and we would be buying at a most opportune time. The fear was that the transfer would go through right away and make things difficult. However, after much thought, it really doesn't matter when it happens. It is just important that it does. So, I will be praying about that.

Anyway, I guess I should get back to that wonderful paper I have to write.

Yippee!

Warning!! Another very small look into my brain...

Traveling is something I love to do by car. I love it because it forces a time of quiet at some point in the journey, and with quiet comes deep thought. And thinking leads to realizations and discovery.

Well, traveling to Monterey this Saturday was one of those times where I found myself in deep thought about life and God and the future. The realization? I am an impatient person when it comes to the big things. Well, possibly all things. For instance, if Shad were to say "Lets take a month off and drive to the East Coast just to say we put our toes in the water," I would be like, "Let me just pack a few things and let's go right now!" I am becoming impulsive and crazy again.

Let me back up, I used to be impulsive and crazy. In my teens and twenties I would do wild and crazy things at the drop of a hat. No planning required, let's just do it! Do it right now! If I wanted something, well if I could, I went and got it because there was no time like the present. No fear, no regrets, and no planning. (Not always smart.)

Then something happened and I got a little lost. I still can't determine how or when it happened exactly, but when it happened I became afraid. Afraid of everything new and different. That fear lasted a very long time.

Now let's move forward. On the drive to Monterey I realized that I am getting impulsive again and the fear is not so strong anymore. But, the real realization that came to me was the reason I was like that in my teens and twenties. The thought of death. I didn't fear death, but I thought about it differently than most of the people I hung out with and I am realizing again that I am starting to remember the lessons I learned from watching the people I loved dye while growing up.

One lesson for me was that we only get so much time on this earth to do the things we are blessed with the opportunity of doing. And that we sometimes only get one opportunity to do them at all so, if you are faced with an opportunity take it.

For example:
Looking back, I can see that when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, I took the opportunity to be a mom. When faced with the opportunity to love someone despite their addiction, I did it and survived. When faced with the opportunity to forgive someone for something heartbreaking that they did to purposely hurt me, I forgave. And the list goes on.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying I am some wonderful saint of a person because I am not. No one is. I've done some horrible things in my life. When given the opportunity to help my mom take care of her mom when she needed the help most, I chose not to. When faced with the opportunity to spend time with a dying family member, I chose not to. When faced with the opportunity to support my brother throughout a bitter divorce with his now ex-wife, I chose not to. The list goes on here too. In hind sight, I think these events happened when I was lost and afraid. That is something to ponder on later.

I guess the point I am getting to is that the lessons I learned in the past are all coming back to me now and I am again beginning to understand that fear is still evil and sometimes we all just have to jump in and trust that God will take it from there.

I found a cool quote on someones blog: "leap and the net will appear"

I want to live like that. I want to have that faith. No regrets, just jump in and let go. Let God be in control of the direction you fall and see where you land. Trust that he will catch you.

More later..................

Summer Vacation!?

Well, we have had such a crazy summer vacation time. The kids went to Ohio, Vegas, and the county fair. Tomorrow night we are taking them to a concert, then we are going to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium on Saturday. We hit Vegas again at the end of the month, and end the summer vacationing with a huge party for Hailey's 13th birthday. Throw in movies, park days and other non planned activities and we have been busy!

The crazy part is that there is more travel to come, and more activities and school hasn't even officially started yet. But it is so clear to me how much the girls are still learning during this break. I love home schooling! I love that it can be so flexible and that there is so much learning going on the whole time.

I am coming to realize more and more that home schooling is really just living life. You might think I am just crazy and, well, I have no argument there but I know how I feel and what I see. There is no denying that learning is happening when the kids go out in the corn field and capture fireflies and question how their little butts light up. (The fire fly butts, not the kids). Or when kids try to calculate the distance they have traveled. And when as a parent I am constantly asked questions like why a word is spelled the way it is spelled, why something is called what it is called, or where something came from by my children, I am forced to do a little learning myself. So, I know learning is taking place no matter where we are, or who we are with. It is happening all of the time in so many different ways and I love that we have the freedom to learn this way.

Okay, I am done now. I sometimes get a little carried away I guess. I just love what I do.

So we are off to run an errand or two, then it's laundry time and then I have school tonight. Man we are busy. I am deffinitly looking forward to my little mini vacation in Sacramento.

Now go learn something!

Just Stuff

So we flew to Vegas and I had a great time visiting with some friends I have not seen in a long time. I also had a pretty good time visiting with family. As you can see from this picture, the kids did a lot of swimming, and grandma loved having these little visitors. But if you look at grandma, you can see the stress in her face and eyes. She is having a hard time dealing with her mother being in the hospital. I am speaking of Gram. Gram was in the hospital the entire time we were there and is still there. She has pretty much given up on life which is very sad because her body is healing otherwise. They need a lot of prayer.

Other than that bit of drama, life is going well for our Vegas family. It sure was hot there though. 114 in the shade! I sure don't miss that kind of heat, but it was great to be home for a while. I don't know what it is about Las Vegas. Perhaps it is just because I was born there, but I love that place. Not the casinos, lights, and traffic but the mountains, the desert, and yes, sometimes the heat. Perhaps I am just crazy.

Back here in Northern California things are nice and cool. It managed to get up to 102 before the weekend, but even that felt cool compared to what it was like in Vegas. And in the evenings here it cools down to a nice 65 degrees. It almost makes a person want to stay. I said almost. :)

Tomorrow we start a new week with nothing major planned. I have plenty to do for school, and the girls have piano practice, but other than that we've got nothing. This weekend we are going to an aquarium with the kids. I will share pics when we get them. There are more I could share from Vegas but maybe later.

Have a cool summer night.