Visitors From Home

The girls cousins came to visit, as well as their Aunt Shonna and Uncle JR. We have been spending time traveling and playing and well, just having a good time.

They leave tomorrow, and the girls will be very sad. I am just glad we got to spend time with them. It has been great having visitors from home as we miss everyone so much.

Prayers to the Carders, and the Palmer family. Prayers to Sara and Jules. Thinking of you Susie, and praying as well. Miss you all!!!!!

Just a moment of thought

One of the first things I noticed when I moved here was that the people here are more friendly. Back in Vegas, no neighbor ever come up and said hello. You had to make first contact by going out when you saw someone getting the mail, or sneak in a hello when people were getting in their cars to leave. Around here, every neighbor on each side of us come over to say hello. They introduced themselves and were friendly. It's just an observation.

School is going fine. My Learning Team is weak, yet we are muddling through. I have learned a lot this first semester which will be over in two more weeks. Then I go right on to my next class. For the final day of this first class, the team and I have to put together a Power Point presentation on Ethics. Oh, this should be good. (I am being very sarcastic)

I started reading some books outside of my school reading. (this helps me not stress over the amount of reading I have to do for school. Strange I know) One of them was a book on Alcatraz. It is written by the son of a former guard who worked there during one of the escape attempts. I am amazed at the way things were done during that time. Families lived on the Island along with the prisoners. Would you feel safe doing that? It was a good story, but sad. It is called Battle at Alcatraz by Ernest B. Lageson. I even got him to autograph the book which was cool. It allowed me to find out some information straight from the author.

I am also reading a book on homeschooling. It is called Teach Your Own by John Holt and Patrick Farenga. It has really opened my eyes to some of the things that went on in the past, and helped me to realize just how long people have been homeschooling their children. I have only just begun reading it, however it is really interesting and insightful. It talks about the different questions homeschoolers always get regarding socialization, special needs children, quality of the education and so on. I am enjoying it.

So we will be visiting in May around Labor Day. Perhaps we will get to see some of you. I wonder if there is a gathering around that time? I will have to look that up. I can't wait to see the babies!!!

I tend to read Mark Palmer's blog ever day, even though I have never met him. He is in need of prayer, more than usual. Could you please pray for him?

Blessings to you!

Just a quickie!

Thought I would share a few things.

School was cool. I enjoyed it and look forward to the fight ahead.

A quick story:

My cousin has been down a long and crazy road. He has chosen many a wrong path. His brother dis-owned him a few years ago, and he went to jail for six months for some crazy things. His wife divorced him and left with his child while he was in jail. Before he was put in jail, I had the chance to talk with him a little about the path Shad and I have been on with God. He listened, but said something to the effect that God couldn't possibly forgive him for all of the things he has done in his life. He was very depressed, and I was not sure he would make it through the night. He did of course, and then went off to jail and that was the last I have heard from him.

He has been on my mind a lot, and in my prayers even more.

So, today, I talked to someone in the family to see if they have heard from him or know how he is getting along. They say my cousin has been going to church, reading the Bible and stopped drinking and smoking. This alone is huge. But I also found out that he went to see his brother, knocked on the door with a Bible in his hand and simply apologized for all the things he ever did wrong to his brother and asked for forgiveness. The news brought tears to my eyes.

God is so amazing! I just had to share.

Our house sale didn't go through, so if you know anyone who wants a house, well, we still have one for sale. Or maybe God is trying to tell us something? HMmmmmm.........?

Just a quick note

School starts for me on Monday night. I am filled with anticipation, horror, anxiety and the such, but I also know that God is right beside me. So with that said, I guess I should just pray and meditate and move on with my day.

The girls and I are going shopping for my sister today. I love to go to the mall during the day. It is so quiet. Her birthday (My sister's) is coming up and I want to get her something real nice. We have at least one birthday in every month in my family. August is full of them, as well as May.

I am trying very hard to stay in touch with everyone but it is hard to do for a person who sucks at it. I just need to practice. I am writing more letters though. School will put a dent into that I am sure.

We have a couple of home school families coming over tomorrow afternoon to hang out. I am trying hard to start a community of God loving people who will feel free to visit at any time. Our door is open, so lets see who God brings our way. If you could pray about that, well, thanks.

Blessings to you all, and prayers for all.

Someone turned 8 today! She picked out her own cake, got a new bike, and went shopping at the mall. She blew up a bunch of yellow smiley face balloons and has been playing some kind of game with them most of the day with her family. She is very happy and has had a greatly blessed day.

Her mom and dad are very proud of her and love her very much.

Happy Birthday Mackenzie!

This is my favorite picture from yesterday in San Francisco. We went to see our Nephew who was visiting with his school. It was cold, but we had a super time walking around, showing the girls the city and going to Alcatraz while hanging out with Ryan. He is an amazing young man.

Mackenzie said her favorite part of Alcatraz was solitary confinement. Should I be worried?

Hailey loved seeing the Sea Lions that were being lazy in the dock. There was one that looked like he or she was praying. They were cool.

I am finally savey on the whole downloading pictures thing. Wow, if only someone could have pointed it out a little sooner I could have been sharing lots of pictures with you. I am a picture addict. We have photo albums everywhere and tons of pictures on our computers. While this one is not mine, it is from my computer and is just a test to make sure I have it down. I will be adding lots of things for you all to see very soon.

life moves on

I am now a college student. Weird!

Our house is also off of the market as we received an offer. I am so happy because now we will be able to pay off our truck and have no debt other than the usual. Except that I am now about to be in debt because of school. It's all good though.

I was just reading my email from the home school group I am with and someone went to their childs doctor and was treated pretty crappy as soon as the doctor found out they were home schoolers. The doctor made comments regarding kids being too protected when they are schooled at home and how they should have to go to school so they can deal with "shitty" teachers. Okay, so the doctor thinks teachers are shitty and that it is our duty to send our kids to deal with these kinds of people? What about dealing with shitty doctors? Doesn't that count? The doctor also started talking about home schoolers being a red flag. What in the hell does that mean?

While this lady was able to turn the other cheek and not say anything, I wouldn't have been so nice. I am pissed just from reading her email. I am so happy to have not had the chance to deal with assholes like that. I could care less what others think about me teaching my children at home.

Not much else is gong on. We have a nephew coming up with a school group this next weekend and then we will get to celebrate Mackenzie's 8th birthday on the 20th. Hailey starts tennis this weekend as well.

We miss everyone and are looking forward to getting to see some of you in May.
Peace and blessings

Shad went to work today at three in the morning. His usual time is around seven, but today is a special day. He is making an arrest. Anyway, that is how his work is going for those of you who are interested.

We are still unpacking, still looking for things, and our house is a mess most of the time. It is driving me a little crazy because I need to get all of this stuff done soon so I can take on school. I am about to start college again. I will be needing a lot of prayer. It isn't easy going back to school at 34 years old. I feel that God is directing me in this way though, so I am doing what He wants.

We are studying California History as required by law and my searching for a book led me to a place called The Golden Apple. It is a lot like L.I.F. but not so expensive. I found a book that is perfect. God has been doing that around here a lot. Showing me things, leading me places. We might be starting a house church here is a few months. In the History of the World that we are doing, we started reading about Ancient China and how silk is made. Then last night I was reading with Mackenzie from one of those Magic Treehouse books and it was about Ancient China as well. They even have a little thing about how silk is made and Mackenzie was amazed that we were reading this and how we had just studied about it. Her eyes twinkled with excitement which put a smile on my face as she is loving to learn more and more every day. Thanks Amy.

I am officially off of my depression meds. I dream some super vivid and crazy dreams too. But other than that, I feel good. Now I am going to tackle the other med I take.

Running and walking is nice up here and very popular. Sheba pouts if she doesn't get out to walk too. She sulks in front of the window watching people go by with their dogs. It is so sad. Oh, at the vet, we found out that Sheba is two years older than we thought. They said that a lot of places will put down a younger age of an animal so that they have a better chance of being adopted. Hailey is upset now and worried that Sheba will die sooner. And, of course I said she would, but that it doesn't change the fact that she is alive now, so we are all doing better with that now.

Missing you all.

Today is VET day for the dog. Sheba has the longest nails I have ever seen only because she tries to run and bite when we try to cut them. I look at her and she seems so happy and eager to get out today. She won't even know what is about to happen until we get to the door of the office and she smells the place. Once she becomes aware of her surroundings, she will start to shake with fear and shed like a tree in fall. Poor Sheba! However, once her nails are cut she will feel a lot better. So will I as this means she won't be making the clicking sound any more on the kitchen floor. It is driving me insane!

Pray for me as I am looking into going back to school. God has placed an urgency in my heart to learn to counsel. For what or whom? I have no idea. I just know I am supposed to go back to school.

Every Saturday we go to the Farmers Market down the street. On the way there last Saturday, a car was pulling out of a parking spot, and the wheels were making this horrid squeaking sound, and Mackenzie turns around and says "Geeze! Get your tires fixed would ya!!!!" Shad was so proud.

I am still working out the bugs so I can post pictures. I have many from our trip to Washington D.C. that I would love to share.

Nothing is new. The sun is out and Mackenzie has Soccer today. Other than that, I am just being a lazy mom and hanging out in the living room in front of the T.V.

The girls are playing some pretend game and soon they will start thier reports. Hailey is writing about African Elephants, and Mackenzie is writing about Desert Tortoises.

It is the most amaizing thing that Mackenzie has never been to school a day in her life and she is reading and writing now. I guess I'm doing okay.

I think I will take a nap.

I am a craft artist now. I started making crafts and am sending them to a shop to be sold. How cool is that? Okay, the shop is in the family, but still, it is kind of cool.

My dog is trying her hardest to catch the phantom squirrel that is living on our roof. The little thing comes down once in a while into our back yard to, well, I really don't know what it is trying to do, but the dog takes off chasing it and it is the funniest thing. I just hope the dog doesn't ever catch it. Go little squirrel!

Mackenzie started soccer yesterday and it was such a joy to watch her play with all of the other kids. She didn't know any of them, yet she jumped right in and played and laughed. The coach had certain games for them to play like "shark in the water" and "tail grab." Mackenzie said it was "great!" Worth every penny in my book.

Hailey starts a babysitting class next week. We shall see how that goes. Pray for her anxiety as it has gotten a little worse with the move. She starts tennis in February. Watch out Stephanie!

Love and miss all of you Apexers! (my spell check wanted to replace Apexers with abusers. What's up with that!?!?)

Where am I?

I am missing my friends badly. This whole move to another state and start over thing is not easy. People here are not that friendly and it is cold.

Okay, I will stop. I went to a new doctor today. It was weird. I have a chest cold, so he gave me a pillow case and a huge bag of rice. He said to put the rice in the pillow case and warm it up in the microwave. Then I am to place it on my throat and chest four or five times a day. He also wants me to drink hot water six times a day. Did I mention that he is about the sweetest little old man I ever did see?

I think we moved into the twilight zone.

Happy Christmas

We took a road trip to Vegas for Christmas and it was awesome. I ended up driving most of the way and it wasn't that bad. Then, on the first night we got in I went with Shonna to help feed some homeless Vets Christmas dinner. That was the most awesome experience. So many stories, and the kids put a smile on every face. One of the vets said that they saw God's love in the kids smiles. How great is that? I would have to say that my time there was the best part of my Christmas.

We never were able to make it to the Carder Ranch as we had so many things going on with family. However, we did see the pictures on Amy's blog and oh my! We missed a good party. And Oh my goodness, welcome to the world Noi!!!!!! What an awesome surprise to see your picture! I wish we would have had more time to visit everyone.

The plan for today is going to Park Day in Livermore to meet some of our new homeschooling family. My prayer is for the girls to get connected with a few friends this week. I am also in the process of getting Mackenzie hooked up on a soccer team.

I am still not sure why God placed us here, but I am trying to get this house ready for visitors. I feel like that is the mission I need to be on right now. We love you all, and miss you. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Where does all the rain go?

It has rained for two days now and I keep wondering where all of the rain is going. I mean, in Vegas is just collects in to a huge flood and we get all kinds of news on it, but here it just seems to never collect very much. Weird.

I think I am finally starting to have a little bit of reality hitting me. I woke up thinking I was in Vegas, and then I caught myself wishing I could see the awesome mountains that Vegas is surrounded by.

We found Target, and this Cost Plus World Market that has all of these cool things from all round the world. It is way expensive though, so Shad made me leave the store. Party pooper!

My first purchase here for the house was a new shower head. Ours is a little worn for such a nice house. I need prayer as I am constantly looking at all of the items that still need a home and not finding the interest to put them some place out of the way.

Do kids get louder as they get older? I don't remember ever being louder, but my girls are so loud these days. It really is getting on my nerves, and is damaging my hearing as I have to turn on the radio really loud now. But then, we are supposed to loose our hearing as we get older, right?

Baby it's cold outside

I am not sure, but I think it is in the 40's today, and there is rain. I might even put on a fire in a little bit to warm us up a little. Northern California is nice, but they sure make it hard to live here. We went to get our new California drivers license today and was told that we had to have a copy of our marriage cert. and a copy of our birth cert. Which seemed wierd. On line it just said you had to fill out a form and pay a fee. We also have to take some kind of written test. I guess it is nice to know your $25 is paying for something.

The last few weeks have flown by and I am still trying to come to grips with us living here. I feel as though we are on vacation. It still has not hit me or something. I have to say I am super happy to be here away from my mother. I miss friends and family, but boy am I happy here.

I signed up on Yahoo with our new home school group and am planning to invite people over as soon as I get the boxes emptied and out of the living room. Unpacking isn't all that fun, but it is nice to reorganize things and get rid of stuff we really don't need anymore.

Shad is doing well so far with work, and I am going to attempt to drive around this week to learn my way around to the different freeways so I can take the girls to some of the home school events. I don't know where San Ramone is but we are going to find it so Mackenzie can play soccer this year. There is an indoor team starting in January for home schoolers. Kicking a ball around will be great for her.

Our dog is smelling everything all of the time. She has been so good through this whole thing and loves to go out for walks. I took her to the park yesterday and she was so happy.

I have to go, and will write more later.

We leave this Sunday! How did it get here so fast? I am happy, excited and yet sad to be leaving the desert. I have lived here all of my life and now we are going to a new place. It is just wierd.

The movers will be here tomorrow to pack us up, then they take off with our crap on Thursday, and we end up at the in-laws for a couple of days. I don't like good-byes. There are always tears involved, and then tissue and then a mixture of sad and happy laughter. Hugs are good, and knowing that we can always come back to visit is nice. I am really going to miss church family, and home schooling friends, my nieces and nephews, and my vegas family.

Well, I will stop all of that talk for now. Shad is in morning over the loss of his beloved huge ass television. It went out the door last night never to return. (Thank you so, so, so, so, much Zack! ) I am trying to be supportive, but it is not easy.

Our car is all messed up I guess, and we had to choose between a $300 fix and the other $1200 fix which would be the air, so we decided to go with the $300 fix and live without air. I figure we don't really need it in Northern California right? I am also kind of glad we didn't sell it. It has been the best care ever. And most of all, it is paid for. I like having no payments.

Well, I am off to check on Mackenzie as she has a flu bug going on, and I have some packing to do. Pray for our family if you wouldn't mind.

More later........

Wow!

I am sitting in a hotel room in Walnut Creek. It sure is different here in Northern Cal. The weather is awesome, and the green is a nice change, but the traffic sucks and everything costs a f*^&%$g arm and a leg.

We found a house to rent in Pleasanton that is beautiful, but expensive of course. We will have to live on soup and crackers for a while, like about the next four years, but I am glad to do it if it allows us to stay in such a great area.

We went to Alcatarz today and it is way bigger than I thought. The cells are very small and the place is kind of creepy, but it has some great views of the city and the Golden Gate. We drove over all three bridges today as well. That was really cool. Clam chowder in a sour dough bowl rocks too!

The one thing that kind of sucks is that we will have to leave on Saturday instead of Monday to the new house. Shad has to be at work on Wednesday the 14th and we have to do an inspection on the 12th. It is crazy how fast it is all going.

Guess I will go and pack for our trip back home tomorrow. We are leaving early becuse we have all things ready to go on this end. Now to get all of the things ready on the other.

Can't wait to see the Carders, and holy crap!!!!!!! Congrats Steve and Jules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Can't wait to hear of the happy day that the little one arrives!

At the airport waiting to go to San Jose. Shad is bugging me to check his email. Can't a person write a blog note without any interruption? Guess not.

This is the only trip we have ever been on with just the two of us. I am happy about it and excited as to what awaits.

I will update more later.

The wind is blowing like crazy right now. It is kind of cool.

The dog got to go on a field trip today to grandma's house. She fell into the pool twice before realizing that she just can't walk on water. It was fun to watch but my girls freaked out thinking she would drown. I told them it is called the "doggie paddle" for a reason. Although, not all dogs can swim. I realize this, but I believe ours can now.

No lookers on the house as of yet, so I am getting a little worried. We did have a couple of people look at the car though. It would be great to have all three things taken care of before we go to San Fran, however, I just can't stress over it. Too many other things going on.

I was reading about how as a Christian I am supposed to be honoring God by using my spiritual gifts to help others. What is your take on how to find out about your gifts? Someone gave me a test to take, but who made it and how do they know if it is correct? And what other way is there to find out what they are besides asking others?

I also read that if you have questions, you should find the answers in the Bible. Because I have not read much of it, how do I know where to go to find the answers?

It is all so corn-fuzing but so simple at the same time.

I used to have a stuffed animal puppy dog when I was little. It was my favorite, and I took it with me almost every place I went. At about the age of 12 my father took it from me because he was afraid I would keep it until I was 20. Well, at the ripe old age of 34 I just went out and bought me a Snoopy stuffed animal. How do you like me now pop?!?!? I am taking it with me every place I go, and I sleep with it in my arms. He is cool and very acrobatic. Snoopy rocks!!