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!

Funny!

This is a short email funny that I received today... Hee Hee!

Whispering In Church

An elderly couple was attending church services. About halfway through she leans over to her husband says, " I just let out a silent fart.... What do you think I should do?" He replies, "Put a new battery in your hearing aid."

To Do:

This week I am going to do the following:

Start logging everything that goes into my mouth... Losing 10 pounds is my goal, two pounds each week for the next five weeks. Looking and feeling thin again in November! PLEASE help me keep to this attainable goal, please!

Start drinking more water - no less than four bottles each day. Try for just one diet coke a week... EEK! I LOVE DIET COKE w/ extra ice!

Finish reading the book of James!

Call Joni

Send out the Claudia and Corts school pictures.

Catch up on work stuff...

Fold laundry (BOO!)

Help Claudia get ahead in her Indiana History workbook.

Help Cort clean his room, dresser and closet. Now, that's a big job! I have faith. :)

To be continued...

The Weekend

Friday night Beth invited the kids and I over to her house. Of course, Beth made a DELICIOUS dinner, taco salad! We haven't just hung out in a long time, it was nice. After dinner we looked at pictures of the house that they are buying!! If all goes well, they are closing on October 31st (during the day before Trick or Treating)! I am so excited for them to move to a bigger house, but sad that they will not live just around the corner anymore. The girls played on Chloes top bunk, which is there “get away”. Beth made M&M cookies, once again DELICIOUS! We watched a Halloween cartoon, I can’t remember which one because she has a couch that sucks you in and makes you fall asleep! I couldn’t help it, it was dark and I had a super comfy blanket.

Saturday I worked until 5, making last week a long week! Claudia went to Katie’s birthday party at the BSU swimming pool. Thank you Nic for toting Claudia back and forth to the party! Later Saturday evening Brooke came over to spend the night. They girls had so much fun, being girls! They even asked me to paint their nails.

Sunday we took Brooke to church with us. (She was excited to wear her jeans to church!) After church we had planned to go see Joni and the new baby but Mike and I both were struggling with a headache. We watched a little bit of the game and took a needed nap. After our nap Mike made burgers on the grill; yum, yum! I can't wait to see Joni, Jeremy and their new baby girl, Haley. I will take pics and follow up with a new post.

YHS Football Mascot 1992 -1993

Look what I found on Facebook! My Tiger Days...

Yes, I was the Tiger my senior year in high school. I cheered for the YHS football team. It was so much fun! I could put the tiger head on and pretend like nobody knew who I was. Since I was the tiger, I could be as uncoordinated and clumsy as I wanted... Even if I didn't want, that's how I am, uncoordinated and clumsy!