What to do with myself?

I'm having my first experience of being the "stay at home" parents where I don't have to parent all of the time! The boy's Aunt Jenny came on Sunday and asked if she could leave with the boys in the morning for almost two weeks. She had been talking about taking them on a trip but we thought it would be later in the month.

Of course this has been a week where Todd was overwhelmed with tests and homework so he hasn't had a ton of time to spend with me. It really is amazing how much more time I have on my hands without little boys around. I'm so not motivated to get anything done though! I miss them but I know that they are having a great time and it's good for me to have a little down time too. The living room has been clean for days and I haven't cleaned the kitchen counter a half dozen times a day.

I will be happy to have them back, being without them really makes me realize just how much a part of my life that they are. It also makes me realize how much joy they bring to me as well.

Brittney, Gary, Lisa, Stef...

This post has been rumbling around in my head for a couple of months now and so I need to try and get something out. The four people mentioned in the title are currently battling cancer - two are doing this for a second time and three of them stage IV (that's as bad as the stages get). As far as I know, none of them know each other but as a group they are in my thoughts constantly. In this list of people there exists very little in common between them which shows that cancer doesn't discriminate. What also is amazing is that God doesn't discriminate either, He loves and cares about everyone. Each of these people has a story to tell of a horrible disease they are fighting. But, the story that they would much rather tell and the one that is even more amazing is about how God is using them and has blessed them through their disease. Each one of them knows that their hope and security lies in their faith in Jesus Christ. Their God will take care of everything and they will get to spend eternity in Heaven. They are all human and can't see how God will do that, but their hope, and their family's hope, is amazing.

I can't think put into words too much more, though there is so much rolling around in my head. I wanted to give all of these amazing people a tribute because of how they have changed my perspective. God never promised that life would be without pain but He did promise not to leave or forsake us. I can see Him through the lives of each of one of them and that increases my faith and trust in HIM. I do pray for a miracle of complete healing but know that God is doing other amazing miracles with their lives even if He doesn't answer my prayer how I would like Him to. Even if they get to go to heaven before we think they ought, the manner in which they battled their diseases will hopefully lead others to trust in Jesus as their savior. We'll all get to spend eternity in heaven together then.

If you happen to want to know more about some of these...you can check out their blogs (I intentionally didn't do hyperlinks so spammers wouldn't invade their sites - you'll have to do some typing):
garybonjour.com
www.caringbridge.org/visit/brittneymann
tarapchak.wordpress.com
windowsofimagination.blogspot.com

We have TV!

It's been four months almost to the date that we moved into our house. We have so very much enjoyed our time in our new town, it really has been a great time for our family. We have kept ourselves very busy with making friends and finding out about the town. There really is an amazing amount going on for a small town and school has only been in session for a month. I think it helps that we have small children and aren't looking for entertainment into the night, but nonetheless, we have enjoyed the time that we have had together with the family and how content we are with a quiet house. Highlights of what we found in our small town - we went to two productions this summer that the boys still talk about. We got a huge bowl of candy at a rainy parade. We are getting used to the local library and enjoying what it has to offer. There's a great mini-golf course here.

We came to an impasse now that it's September and football season has started. Both of us love football and love to watch football on TV. (We also have to admit that we like to watch golf on TV too and the FedEx Cup is almost over.) It's not really as fun for us to watch a football game in a bar especially when we have the boys to keep after and entertaining them while we do what we want to do (just maybe some naps happen too). So we broke down and signed-up for cable. (When you live in a hilly small town, free TV stations don't exist.) The cable-guy came today and put it all in so we officially have another bill this month and have a fast amount of visual entertainment at our disposal. It's really a bittersweet kind of moment. We have done so very well without the noise box in our lives, but we are now introducing it into our lives again. We'll see how it goes and how much football we actually do end up watching. The nice thing is that we can cancel anytime and come back to our quiet house again though it may be a bigger adjustment next time. I just don't know when to actually turn on our massive 12in screened TV...we resisted signing up for a long time and part of me wants to resist even longer to watch it...but if I'm paying for it, I may as well be using it!

I'll keep you updated on any new shows that I happen to get hooked on. In the mean time, if you want a fun game to play on the computer check out www.handdrawngames.com and play Tower Defense.

The next transition

School started for Todd three weeks ago but the boys "school" activities didn't start until this week so it's been another week of getting a schedule down and a lot more carting people around. The boys were very busy this week as compared to the summer but that's what happens when both of the parents have scheduled stuff too!

Tuesday they were a part of Home School PE which is put on by the local Rec Centre. We didn't know the protocol for the first day that we were supposed to bring a snack, but they had Popsicles for them...they enjoyed that as much as anything that I could have brought for them! Homeschooling is pretty big here - there were probably close to 75 kids there for the event and 25 of them in the 4-6 year old class! I feel like I actually know some people now when we go to these events and not always the new guy. Though in the small town, we'll be "new" for a really long time.

Wednesday they did "one day school" that a local church is doing all day program (9-4:30) for home school kids to provide enrichment activities including learning Chinese. I didn't get to hear too much about the day, but they are ready to go back. JL was talking last night about some Chinese facts so he did learn something! After school, we ate a quick dinner and then carted the boys off to AWANA for their first night of that. They had a good time there too and some of the same kids have been at other events before. The boys probably would have been ready to crash when they got home, but we ended up having a Bible study at our house that night so there were a bunch of people here when they got home and they had to spend some time with them!

Our bigger transition inside the house was that Todd reupholstered the kitchen chairs! Staple guns are really amazing things and what they can transform (with the help of some internet research). The white seats were showing their use by small children for the last few years and we were ready to have a cleaner look. Finding the right materials in a small town can be a little challenging. Most people suggest WalMart when you ask where to get something but they didn't have much. But there is another fabric store that we had been in once before to get fabric for pillows and they had the perfect stuff for the chairs and only $3/yard. I really like to be able to support local business! So now when you come to visit, you won't have to sit on stained chairs.