December 2008

It was a Merry Wii Christmas!


Yes, a shovel is what mom wanted for Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

WOW I have not blogged in a really long time, November 2008. Here are some of our highlights since the last time that I blogged.

December 2008: We found out right before Christmas that Mike was being deployed to the Middle East, leaving in January. :( We were both in complete shock!! My heart was broken, I couldn't believe that he was really leaving again. I was defiantly thankful that we were able to have Christmas together!!

December 25, 2008: Mike celebrate his last year of his 30's! Happy 39 Michael!!

Mikes Promotion!

In August Mike took the promotion test to go to the next ranking (Navy Reserves). He ranked 15 out of 309!! I think that's pretty amazing myself! He is now a E6 MA1... (Which I don't totally understand.)

" So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7

It seems like forever since I have written on my Blog. I know that there have been so many funny things to write about also... I am going to have to do a little thinking. EEK!

Tonight was the last BSU game of the season. We have followed the Cards pretty close this year. It has been a lot of fun. I won two tickets at work in a drawling to the game. I really thought that I was pretty cool bizness for about an hour... Then another bank wide email was sent out offering tickets to everybody! So I gladly asked for two more tickets. I was pretty excited that we wouldn't have to pay to get in at all. THANKS MutualBank! Tonight it was about 30 degrees while we were at the game. I wore long johns, a long sleeve t, a heavy sweat shirt, Mikes RED BSU t-shirt, topped off with his red BSU jacket. Oh and two pairs of socks, gloves and a hat. We each took hand warmers that you take camping, and a fleece blanket. So, we really stayed pretty warm. I had hot chocolate and nachos for dinner. Really, how much better could a football game be! Since it is a school and work night, along with it only being 30 degrees we left after we watched the band play at half time. Thanks to ESPN 2 we are able to watch the rest on TV.

I am going to finish watching the game and I shall continue this soon.

It's over... BSU 45-22 over Western Michigan! Mid-American Conference West Division champions!!

Happy Birthday Chloe!

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

The Golden Girls

My favorite showing growing up was the Golden Girls!

(After the Punky Brewster stage.)

I watched it almost every weekend with my grandma.

HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY CHRISTY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTY!

I didn't leave a birthday message to Christy on our blog. So please accept my apology Aunt Christy!?! (I just looked back, I didn't leave mom a birthday blog message either... I am slacking!)

I am glad that you had a fun birthday week. We celebrated Corts birthday on your birthday at Chuck E Cheese. You were in my heart!!

We Love U!

On the positive note:

Mike is making eggs and bacon for dinner!

Gas is still down below $2.00 a gallon!

The Colts are won against the Steelers 24 - 20.

Saturday night I was asleep by 7:30 PM..

Tuesday I have the day OFF of work for Veteran's Day.

Mike and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this Wednesday!

We had parent teacher conferences Friday evening. Both of my babes are doing well.

The Krejsa family will be moving to the new house next weekend.

Cort spent the night with mom Saturday. They went to the movies to see Madagascar 2 and had a great time! Mom brought Cort home today after church, I was glad I missed him.

Claudia spent the night with Brooke on Friday. They went skating and stayed up until 2:00 AM. Brooke turned 10 years old today.

HHCS

It's hard to believe that this is our school! Cort has been talking about all of his preschool memories. He has such a big heart! We are praying for the students, teachers and leadership of Heritage.

http://app.razorplanet.com/acct/41788-6494/tmpl/index.php?s=au&nid=70216&news_id=9866&preview=true

Christian school destroyed in fire

Nov8, 2008 9:31 PM EST

Cat Andersen/Eyewitness News

Delawre County - A fast-moving fire burned down a pre-school Saturday morning in Delaware County. It happened at the Heritage Hall Christian School between Yorktown and Muncie. No one was hurt, but they're still in shock at what was lost.

"It's unbelievable to see what's happened to our school," said Kerri Kimbrough, a student at the school.

Yorktown fire crews arrived to wall-to-wall flames inside one wing of the Heritage Hall Christian School.

"When we first got here, smoke was coming out of all sides of the building. It was just solid flames inside," said Yorktown Fire Chief David Coffin.

"This was a preschool building," said Assistant Pastor Rory Bond of Grace Baptist Church.

Toys, books and school projects were among many items that burned to ashes.

"It's devastating to realize it's gone and the high school also has so much smoke damage," said
Kimbrough.

But firefighters say it could have been much worse. The adjacent high school and fine arts center might be gone if it weren't for a school trip to Chicago returning right around the time the fire started.

"It was a late trip. They were coming back at two or three in the morning and their parents were here waiting for them. They smelled the smoke," said Pastor Bond.

"We were notified very quickly, which is odd that time of night. Usually it would have to get much worse for that to happen" said Chief Coffin.

Firefighters say the place is completely gutted. Church leaders say they have insurance on the building but for those who went to school here everyday, there were more than just school supplies in that building.

"A lot of the kids you see out here have gone to pre-school here and on up through Heritage Hall," said Pastor Bond.

"It's devastating realizing it's gone and there's nothing you can do about it. I mean it brings back so many memories of different playtime's or the friends that you've made," Kimbrough explained.

Investigators say because the damage is so extensive it could be Monday before they know what caused the fire.

Cort

Tonight Cort and I spent the evening together. Claudia went to a birthday party and Mike was trying to sleep before going to work. Cort and I had dinner together at Subway, our favorite! We had our normal, apples, diet coke and shared a BLT.

Cort and I talked about our Faith and a lot about going to Heaven. He asked me if he got all A's and B's on his next report card if he could take Cha Cha dance lessons. I was so curious why Cha Cha? He wants to learn how to Cha Cha so he will know how to dance at the first party he goes to in Heaven! WOW, what a sweet spirit he has. So now I need to find a place that my eight year old little man can learn to dance. Or maybe I will go to the library to find a Latin dance video. I LOVE HIM!!

BSU Football Game

More to come!

Election Day!

Today is Election Day... I am praying for our country and for who ever is going to be our new president! It only took Mike and I 10 minutes to vote this afternoon. I heard other people talking about waiting for more than an hour. EEK!

I hope that my vote counts!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACIE!

I can't believe that you are 3 years old; you were just a little baby.

We LUV and MISS U so much!!

The Jar Skating Party!

We had a lot of fun at the Jar skating party on Thursday.

More to come...

Happy Halloweenie!

Connie and Beth

One of our favorite stops was at Mrs. Briners house!

Wyatt was the worlds cutest pirate and Anna was a sweet witch this year.

Our Halloween has been spent with the Krejsa's for many years. This is the last year that we will be trick or treating in their neighborhood. They will be moving in just two weeks to a much bigger house fifteen or so minutes from here. I was pretty emotional thinking about them living more than three minutes from us. However, we are all looking forward to making new memories in their new house!

Cort was our military man this year.

Claudia decided this year that she was going to be a "slumber party girl". When you go to a sleep over you put make-up on, do your hair and play with your babies. Chloe was Mitchie from one of their favorite movies, Camp Rock! We were thinking that the girls should be Laverne and Shirley next year. If they don't want to be that maybe Beth and I will... Hee Hee.

Claudia has been standing on her head now for 1 minute and 56 seconds (right in front of the TV). She has Mikes stop watch on timing herself. It's almost 8:00, bedtime. I don't know that I will make it for the Colts game tonight. I am pooped; I didn't get my Sunday afternoon nap today.

Mom came to Muncie after church to visit! Claudia, Hannah, Cort and I went with mom to get her haircut. Cort also had his hair trimmed up and it l looks great! Mom didn't have her glasses on while she was getting her haircut so she couldn't see what was going on. It was a lot shorter than she had planned. She cried... I thought that it was a fun cut. I don't think that she will go back to a salon in the middle of the mall though...

Saturday evening Claudia and I went to see Joni, Jeremy and their new little baby girl, Hailey. Claudia held her for the most of the time that we were there. I can’t believe how much she loves little people. Chloe came over last night to sleep over. We watched the Kit movie, it was really good!

After church we went to moms for lunch. She made roast, sweet potatoes, green beans and rice, it was super yummy! Mom has a great backyard, it's cozy. The kids got some bird feed from mom's neighbor, Miss Jane. They decided to stand on mom's porch swing and do a "bird call".

Happy Birthday Party for Cort

Cort had his 8th birthday party Friday evening. Our company was Corts four friends, and Beth and the kids. The kids were really good and had a lot of fun playing! Mom was sick so she wasn't able to drive to Muncie. Jess and Cole were not able to make it either. It was different without all of our party "regulars".

I made spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, fruit pizza and a party mix. I think that everything was pretty delicious!!

Cort and I clean his bedroom Thursday night, it looks great. (I need to take a picture!) Mike also set up the bunk beds in Cort’s room. He is so excited about his “new” bedroom. Our new deal is to make sure everything is picked up before bed and before leaving for school. So far, so good, it’s been all of four days now. For Christmas this year we are going to paint the kids rooms, and let them pick out a new comforter and curtains.

Catching up...

It’s getting COLD outside. I am ready for spring.

Cort will be 8 years old tomorrow!

Wilma is back from her trip to the wild. Sammi is happy to have somebody to fuss with again.

Claudia, Cort and I all need a haircut!

I felt like poo for the last three days.

BSU Football team is 8 - 0! We had tickets to the game on Saturday but I felt to crummy to go, boo.

We have my car back. We took moms car to visit Natalie about a month ago since it is more comfortable than the Tracker. The van is needing some repairs... A few weeks ago, Mike was on his way to work and a kid ran into him and crashed mom’s car. Mom’s car was at Stoops for a couple of weeks and we drove a Kia Sportage. It was fun driving a newer car for a while. I am praying that we will be able to have the van fixed soon. It's getting old sharing one car between the two of us!

Wilma is home!

The Shaffer family is so grateful! We prayed a lot for the safety of our sneezing, furry little cat. Mike had just tucked the kids in and I was getting ready to come to bed. We heard a noise outside the family room. I went to the kitchen and heard a noise outside the window. I had cleaned the kitchen window earlier so it was still up a little bit. We heard it again, it was a loud meow!! Mike opened the patio door and there she was! I got the kids up from bed; I couldn't wait until the morning to tell them. We wrapped her up in a towel, and brushed her real well. I turned on the laundry room faucet, she was so happy. This evening before dinner we drove around the neighborhood a few more times looking for Wilma. I have no idea where she has been for the last three days, but I am so happy that she found her way back home!

Bloggers...

I would sure love if some of my friends were bloggers also!!

Wilma

Friday night we dropped Mike off in Fishers, he rode to drill with two guys from Ft. Wayne. The kids and I also met mom at the Fishers Target (our very favorite Target). The kids spent the spent the night with mom since I had to work on Saturday. When I got back home around 10:00 Friday night I didn't see Wilma anywhere. I didn't think a lot about it until I got in bed and she didn't come in my room. Saturday morning I turned on the water in the laundry room sink like I do every morning. I fill up the food and water bowls, while I do Wilma drinks the water from the sink. She didn't come in there; she also didn't come to the bathroom when I started the shower. I looked everywhere, I couldn't find her. I came home on my lunch to look some more. I left cat food out for her by the front door. I looked everywhere around our yard and throughout the neighborhood. After work when I still couldn't find her so I went to moms to spend the night.

Mom and the kids spent the day serving the servers at her church Saturday morning. Mom’s church spent Saturday and Sunday serving the community, there were at least 2,100 servants. Mom’s bible study group and several others passed out water and prepared lunch for the first group that went out from 8 to noon. Claudia passed out hamburgers and Cort brats. They had a lot of fun!

This afternoon we took mom to the med center, she was had been feeling dizzy since Saturday afternoon. She ended up having a really bad ear infection! The kids and I went to the candy store a block from mom’s house before we left. The candy store was AWESOME, they had everything! The kids each had a couple of dollars to spend and they were so excited. We picked Mike up in Fishers about 4:00 and headed home. When we got home we searched for Wilma for a while longer. She is nowhere to be found. We will continue to pray that she is safe!

Fourth Grade Fieldtrip

Today I went with Claudia’s fourth grade class fieldtrip to the Levi Coffin House in Fountain City, IN. The story of Levi Coffin was amazing! The class has been learning Indiana history this year. They all lreally liked learning even more today! It was fun watching them absorb and enjoy learning.

Levi and Catharine Coffin were legendary in helping many slaves escape to freedom in the North. Levi is often referred to as the President of the Underground Railroad. During the 20 years they lived in Newport (now Fountain City, Indiana), the Coffins helped more than 2,000 slaves reach safety. So successful was the Coffin sanctuary that, while in Newport, not a single slave failed to reach freedom. The Coffin house was purchased in 1967 by the State of Indiana. The house was restored and then opened to the public in 1970.

http://www.waynet.org/levicoffin/default.htm
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6595/

One story that I found interesting was about the Samplers. Young girls would practice their sewing by making samplers. They would omit a letter or word as a reminder that the only one who can obtain perfection is God.

After the Levi Coffin House we went to the Chicken Shack in Winchester for lunch. It was YUMMY! The kids ran off their lunch at the park. The merry go round was a big hit!

I am excited for Cort and Mike to go on this field trip in two years.

Moms Birthday Lunch at BUBs!

We celebrated mom's birthday at BUB's Sunday after church. Home of the BIG UGLY BURGERS, that is. This little restaraunt is so cute, it's like a little resort two blocks from mom's house. If you finished this ONE POUND BIG UGLY burger they posted your pic on the wall. We decided to take our own pics and post them on our blog instead, one pound of cooked burger is a LOT! Mom and I had the grilled chicken sandwich, it was delicious! Mike went a little lighter also, The “Not so Ugly Elk” Half Pound. Claudia and Cort are now deciding that they are too hungry for a childrens meal... They chose The “Settle for Less Ugly” Quarter Pound and finished it all.

After dinner I was wishing that we had our tennis shoes on so we could have taken a walk on the Monon. Instead we walked back to mom's. Mike and I fell asleep on the couch while mom and the kids raked her yard. I consider this to be a great day!!

http://www.bubsburgersandicecream.com/burgers/about.html

Mike's Scuba Adventure...

The kids and I dropped Mike off at Phillips Quarry on the way to church. He is taking a scuba class this semester. He LOVES it! There were a lot of people there doing their dives, two students per instructor. I am glad that he is doing something fun; he has such a crazy schedule. He had to do two dives before getting his certification. When I saw this place, I was kinda scared; I don’t know exactly what I was expecting?!? The water was kind of icky, not the sparkling blue that you see in Mexico!

Cort loved watching Mike get ready for his dive. He must have hugged him 20 times in the half hour that we were there hanging out with him. Getting dressed It was a process for sure! There is a lot of garb to put on to keep you safe.

http://www.dtmag.com/dive-usa/locations/PhillipsQuarryIN.html

Claudie Curls!

Claudia decided that she is going to be a "sleep over girl" for Halloween this year. She picked out super cute jammies, matching slippers, she is going to paint her nails different colors to match her jammies, carry a pillow case for her bag and wear her hair in sponge curlers. Last night we did a trial run with the sponge curlers. She asked if we had a shower cap to put over her head so they would not fall out while she was sleeping. I did exactly what my mom did when I was her age... Her curls came out bootieful this morning! One day she wants to be such a "big girl" and straighten her hair the next she is sleeping in sponge curls.

School pictures were taken last month. Claudia picked out cute dangle earrings to go with her shirt, she looked so cute. The plan was to straighten her hair for pictures. I asked her that morning if I could curl her under one last year. I just couldn't think about her straightening her hair for school pictures in fourth grade, she's still my "baby"!

Cort also looked so much older in this year’s pictures. He has second grade teeth! Last year his front teeth were loose, but still there. Cute, cute!!

Here are a couple of pictures that I made on yearbookyourself.com Friday evening. Hee Hee!

I am up early this morning, couldn't sleep any longer. (I can't believe it either!) I am here in bed with the laptop listening to Spirit 66, one of my very favorite TV channels. The song Grace Like Rain by Todd Agnew is playing, I absolutely LOVE this song!

I had a nice but pretty lazy weekend. Friday night we relaxed, it was so nice after such a long two weeks. I played on the computer and watched the Muppets Wizard of Oz with Claudia. Cort and Mike both fell asleep by 6:30! Cort spent the night with Logan on Thursday, they must have played hard. Thursday and Friday the kids were out of school for fall break.

Saturday I was off work! We went to The Children’s Place so I could exchange a shirt for Cort. I exchanged the two that were too small, picked out two flannels, two rugby's, and pair of sweats all for an additional $14!! I was sooooo excited, that was my deal of the fall. Besides some socks to fit his large feet, and a winter coat, he is good to go. Saturday evening we started watching a movie. I don't remember anything other than Mike starting the movie, apparently I was tired.

I am going to take a 10 minute power nap before the alarm goes off again. (It's Monday...) I will be back soon!