For the Fans

I received an email from one of my many (o.k...3) blog fans this morning requesting that I update the blog. So for that fan, you know who you are, here is what has been going on.

I have been avoiding strangers at all costs. Before the incident with the lady at the pizza place and the lady looking for the Atlantins on Mars, I never realized how many people I don't know feel the need to talk to me. This past week there was the lady at WalMart looking for a new toaster oven. I was at least 8 feet down the aisle from her and she started asking me questions as if I was wearing a button that said, "World's Foremost Authority on Toaster Ovens." I told her I don't have one and high tailed it out of there. Then there was the lady at the track who stopped me to ask me if the track was "one of those squishy ones." Apparently lady in the high heels on the side of the track, you are not here to walk or run, so please excuse me if I don't break my pace for you. If you read the comments in my previous post (welcome to my Uncle Dennis and my cousin Crystal...they left their first comment), you have figured out that attracting the oddities of society is a family curse. Great! That and straight hair, too. Are there any other family curses I should know about?

Rachel is learning how to play the recorder in music class at school. Her teacher uses a program called "Recorder Karate." At each level the students are given an opportunity to learn the next color belt, just like in karate. Rachel earned her first belt last week. Her Uncle Dan taught her how to play Amazing Grace over Christmas. That is the brown belt song. Anyone who was in the house over Christmas knows she has mastered that one. She is enjoying playing and I am excited to see what instrument she will choose after she masters the recorder. The piano would be nice since we have one.

Well before Christmas P.K. and I kept hearing something rattling around in the attic. Thankfully our landlord pays for an exterminator to come every three months to do preventive spraying and if we see or hear anything he will come take care of it. His name is Patrick and you can imagine that I greatly appreciate him. He went up into the attic to check things out. He said he didn't see evidence of anything (no droppings). Upon examination of the attic, we decided that what we heard was probably on the roof and not inside. Patrick set some RAT traps as a precaution. We hadn't heard anything for a while. I came in the front door on Sunday and noticed an unpleasant smell. I thought it was a gas leak. PK went up in the attic to check the furnace and noticed that we had indeed caught a critter. A squirrel. Yuck. Since removal of all creatures (dead or alive) is a blue job, PK removed it.

My cousin, Melissa, got engaged. It has been fun to read her engagement story and I am looking forward to hearing more details. It has been reported that there will be personalized M&M's at the reception.

For those of you who may not have heard of Beth Moore, she is a Bible teacher. I have taken several of her studies and had the privilege of hearing her speak in D.C. a couple years ago. She has a blog on her ministry's website. As a New Year's challenge, she encouraged her readers to memorize two scriptures a month for the entire year. On the first and fifteenth of each month, we post the verses we have chosen to memorize. My first verse was, "I rise before dawn and cry for help. I have put my hope in your word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night that I may meditate on your promises." Psalm 119:147-148. Today is the day we are to post our next verses. I started working on mine two days ago because it is long and I had my first one down. I will post it once I can do the entire thing from memory. I know you will all be sitting on pins and needles just waiting. :) Seriously, I really enjoy my quiet time with the Lord and love learning more about His word. I'm excited about this challenge and love that a couple of my friends are along for the ride.

Some of you may remember when I told P.K. that he is not allowed to go out of town until I have at least one friend. Well, he didn't take me seriously and will be gone for training the last week in January. I'm not looking forward to that. It just so happens that is conference week at the kids' school so they get out at 12:30 every day. That will only serve to make the days longer. I'm not sad about not making any connections here. I haven't really put forth much of an effort. But I would like to have one person to call in case of emergency. You know if one of the kids is going to spike a high fever in the middle of the night or experience some other unexpected accident it will happen the day my Navy hubby leaves for training and I will end up sitting in the ER with all the kids. I will just being praying for healthy and safe kids a little more often that week.

Aaron wants to do his own web show. P.K. taped an episode and when he gets a chance we will probably post it on the blog. I still don't know how to post videos. Stay tuned.

Hannah is watching cartoons right now and I promised to look at her I Spy book with her.

My biggest dilemmas today (I hope) will be whether or not I should bother taking a shower and getting out of the sweats I threw on to take the kids to school and what to fix for dinner.

Now my dear fans, you are caught up on life in our world.