Thanksgiving trip

We had a great trip to PA in November. The weather was wintery (for us southerners). The grounds at Willow Valley are beautiful any time of the year. The picture above was actually all one photo - worthy of 3 frames. Loved the food, I think we visited the bakery 3 times a day.

Washed by the Water

I love this song. This video was directed and edited by a Regent student/employee and has won film making awards. Enjoy!

Those Last Minute Gifts..

Good grief! I can't believe it's the last week of school for the year! Yikes. So before I forget all I still need to do, I thought I'd jot myself a list.

1. Busdriver gift - she's priceless. I have the best bus driver in the world and you can't have her!


2. Pastor gifts - there's a lot of pastors at our church, but I try to acknowledge those who minister to us personally, Pastors Billy, Matt, John and Wayne.


3. Cookies - 6 dozen for cookie exchange + 2 dozen for class party + 2 dozen for teacher appreciation = we are ordering pizza on Thursday because I'll be busy busy busy baking!


4. Ornament for cookie exchange. We take turn picking an ornament and then fight over them - it's hysterical fun! I always search and search for a clever ornament to bring, but I never find the one that is coveted. Where do people find singing, dancing, light-up ornaments anyway?


5. Christmas cards! That is my FAVORITE! Even though I didn't have time to design and craft my own cards this year, I am very happy with my printed photo cards. I just love the chance to touch base with all of my old and new friends and to tell them how much I appreciate them. I REALLY REALLY hope I can stay home on Saturday and do those instead of running around and shopping - enough!


6. Mail out gifts. I know, I know it's getting late! I just don't have time to get things wrapped up! One thing is for sure - I will NOT step foot in a post office! That has to be the most depressing place in America. Ours are run down, dirty, dark and you should really pack a snack because even on a slow day you are going to be there a while! The stamp machine doesn't take debit cards, so even for stamps people have to wait. What a miserable failure of an enterprise. I'd gladly pay double at the UPS store if necessary. It's clean, friendly and fast. But this year I have a secret weapon to beat the holiday maddness. It's the college bookstore here at Regent. They sell stamps and ship packages. I LOVE it!


7. Stocking stuffers. I think I'll check out the bookstore for that too. Anything beats WalMart.


8. Help Danny finish his alphabet weather book project. Anyone have a weather word for the letters Q, Y and Z? We're kind of cheating by using Ozone for Z and Oxygen for X. Guess what we found for Y - Yellow Snow! It's acually snow that absorbs pine and cypress pollen and appears yellow, but you know that's not what everyone will think...


9. Fill prescriptions, finsh laundry, clean the kitchen floor, make doctor's appointments, catch up on PTA stuff, blah blah blah.

Oh Chistmas Tree!

This should have come with a warning - tree will expand when brought inside!

More Christmas Merriment

Merry Christmas!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Chance of a white Christmas - 0%

After growing up in a 60% zone, I sure miss the snowy winters. Of course, now that we live in a green zone, I'd probably freeze in PA! Please, Santa, couldn't you bring some snow this year?

All the things I need to do before we leave for Thanksgiving...

1. Laundry

2. Laundry

3. Laundry

4. Laundry

5. Take Summer to grandma's house

6. Pack

7. Remember tickets, hotel reservations, camera, computer, snacks, reading material, medicine, chargers, phone, DS, game cube, winter coats, hats, gloves,

Cool Stuff

1. The Emperor's New Clothes. We went to a children's production of the fable at Regent. It was hysterical. The play was performed in the studio theater where the audience is almost part of the show because we are so close. It was lot of fun for Danny especially. I was proud of "my" Regent students!
2. Geoffrey's new camera. He saved his mowing money and his computer consulting fees and bought a Canon Rebel Digital SLR camera, telephoto lens and camera backpack. It is an amazing camera, and he's already been put to work at church taking pictures for the church website.
3. Shoeboxes. Every year we fill two shoeboxes for Samaritan's purse. Danny has fun picking out the toys and school supplies. I have fun shopping for girly stuff. We think about the children who will get the boxes and wonder where they will live - China - Ukraine - Honduras - Poland - Phillipines? We pray they will learn about Jesus and that they will be thrilled with their little presents. We hope they know we love them!
4. 33 Miles concert. Our friend Andy was setting up a church for a concert and took Geoff along to be a roadie for the day. They put him to work, even changing cables on the stage during the show. He also got a preview of the church's new sanctuary with the million + dollar sound system and all of the Macs that Geoff had worked on.
5. Student Council. Danny's having a ball being part of the student council this year. He never misses a meeting and is hoping to participate in the first read-a-thon sleep over at KMES.
6. My new job. There is always something interesting. We had chapel with the owner of the Miami Dolphins last week. My first enewsletter goes out next week. I wrote the indexes to a new book about family therapy. I helped a professor edit a journal article.

ELECTION DAY

It's 5:30 am and I'm on my way to vote. I hope to be there when the polls open at 6 am. I'll be praying all day. If you are reading this... Go vote!

Office Art

Family Update

We're so busy now with me working full time, I thought I'd make a list of what we are all up to.
1. Geoff is playing Guitar Praise, which is just like Guitar Hero, but with Christian songs. It's cool.
2. Danny is taking the season off of soccer. It has made our schedule so much more manageable. It is a shame that children's sports get so competitive that they have to have multiple practices every week just to keep up. I thought I'd miss it - but I don't! Saturday is my only day to sleep in past 6 am!
3. Brad is working hard and serving at church on Wednesdays and Sundays. He's also enjoying the break from soccer, since he was the head coach.
4. Geoff signed up to be on the technical team for the school play. He'll be great at that, he has so much experience. I'm very excited to see him trying something new. He's so active at church that there is not a lot of time for school activities. I hope this will be a great experience and a good memory for him.
5. Danny is on the Student Council executive board this year. Boy is he excited about having an important role in student government. He is enthusiastic about everything in his life and this is no exception.
6. I am busy with my new job at Regent University. I'm processing student academic forms, arranging for faculty travel and planning residency programs for the Doctoral students. So far it has been fun! We have Bible study on Friday mornings, and people are SO nice to work with.
7. I am also in charge of PTA membership which is going great. Now if I could just get into the computer system to enter them all... I've got to get that figured out this week!
8. I wish we had more time to campaign for McCain. We did hunt down the Republican office and got 2 yard signs and bumper stickers. We had to. Our house sits on a corner and 2 of the other corner houses have Obama signs up. Yikes!
9. Photos. I'm way behind on editing and printing pictures. But I did manage to make some art for the walls of my awesome new office! (My office has high ceilings, lots of moulding, two giant windows and enough room for a couple of visitors.)

Why I Admire Cindy McCain

1. Mom of four
2. Special Education teacher
3. Founder of American Voluntary Medical Team (AVMT)
4. Active in the HALO Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to landmine removal and weapons destruction in war-torn countries
5. Serves on the Board of Directors for Operation Smile, a non-profit organization whose mission is to repair cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities for children around the world
6. The kind of person who leaves the world better than she found it
7. Seriously, Cindy McCain could have led a country club life. She is wealthy and could have been content to be a Senator's wife. But she didn't. She's used her wealth and influence, her education and her own hands to minister to some of the poorest children in the world. She sees a world that needs her help and she steps up to make things happen. Not for headlines or hollywood approval, but for the children who have no hope.

Why I Love Sarah Palin

1. Mom of five! Including a special needs child.
2. Married 20 years.
3. Army mom.
4. Hockey mom.
5. Fiscal conservative.
6. Ethics reformer
7. Understands the energy problem. Wants to drill in ANWR.
8. Sarah Palin looks like someone who could be a friend of mine. She served in the PTA like I do. She's a hockey mom, I'm a soccer mom. She's a military mom and I'm surrounded by them. She has a child who needs special care and so do we. She's risen through the ranks not by playing ball with the establishment, but by confronting it.

Fun in the Sun

Got It! My Awesome New Job

I've been seriously, but selectively job hunting for over a year now. So I finally snagged an awesome new job - way better than I even hoped for! That's God for you. So here's a list of why my new job is so cool.
1. It's at Regent Universiy, a Christian college and graduate school.
2. It has flexible hours, so if I can get up early, I can be home just after the boys get home from school! This was essential. I thought I was dreaming when my new boss told me that at the interview!
3. Big tuition breaks for me and the boys!
4. The campus is beautiful. Red brick buildings, lots of mouldings, in the woods. One the same campus is also CBN and the Founder's Inn and Spa.
5. Commute time: 10 minutes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6. I got to quit my old job. Really, it was a great job. But boring and lonely. And it was just part time. I'll keep the store going until someone else takes over, but I don't think I'll miss it. It was just time to move on.
7. Salary - darn good. Benefits - a great company. Dental - yahoo!
8. The timing is perfect. Of course, I have not felt very patient waiting for this opportunity. I've applied to lots of jobs and was getting pretty frustrated. But I've had a great summer with the boys, I got to help out a friend while she went on maternity leave, I got the PTA membership drive off to a good start this year and I even have the Christmas ordering done for the bookstore.

Your kids (and husband) might be geeks if...

1. You are being spyed on by a remote control car with a camera mounted to the top.
2. Your child saves his mall gift cards to buy a giant book called Visual Basic, then reads it.
3. A son begs you for a month to buy him his own Periodic Table of Elements. Then he carries it around with him for days.
4. Male bonding time includes websites, wireless networks, five computers in the same room and a lot of language you just don't understand.
5. After reminding your husband that your anniversary is coming, he reminds you that he just got you a Mother's day present - from Best Buy.
6. When traveling, you pick your hotel based on free wireless internet.
7. When you have computer problems, you call your kids.

Does anyone have a girl child I could borrow?

Missing my babies

Geoffrey is at on a mission trip in Florida and Danny is at camp 4 hours away. Just missing my boys so I made a layout of our putt-putt golfing day.

Summer in Virginia Beach

1. Beautiful sunny days in the 80's and 90's. No jackets required.
2. Beach Street USA. The city pays for performers to line the main street every evening. There are singers, comediens, magicians, acrobats and we even saw a woman imitating a statue. Stilt walkers mingle through the crowds. The beach shops stay open until 11pm or later, just in case you need a postcard or a boogie board. You never know what you will see! To top it off, parking for VB residents is only $1!
3. Town Center. This is where the grown ups go for an evening without the kids. Last week we parked and listened to live music in the plaza as we walked to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Couples are always dressed up and holding hands. It's peaceful, romantic and definately special.
4. The beach. Miles and miles of sand and surf. Boogie boarding, dolphin spotting, tanning, ice cream, collecting shells, watching jets burst throught the sky. And it's only 10 minutes from home.
5. The pool. Really, it makes the backyard look so pretty.
6. Camp. Geoff has over two weeks away from home and Danny has five days. A little peace and quiet for me!
7. No school, no soccer, no PTA. Life is good.

Swimming with the Dolphins

Who needs to spend tons of money to swim with the dolphins? Danny, Granny Sue and I went to the beach last week. It seems that the dolphins thought it was a great beach day too. They jumped and played just past the swimmers for over an hour.

Pool Stars

Pittsburgh - Game Day

We love baseball. The crowd, the excitement, the stadium, the food! Oh yeah, and the all American game. Heading to PA for a week was a great chance to check out the brand new PNC Park. It is very intimate. We were so close that both of the boys got a ball that was tossed up into the stands. It rained the whole week we were in PA except for those hours we were at the ball game. Then the sun came out and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon with us.

Photo Quilt

CLICK PHOTO TO VIEW LARGER

My first quilt only took 10 years to complete. So why did I think it would be a good idea to make one in less than a month? This is our family photo quilt made for my parent's 40th anniversary party.

Threatened

We've heard for years about the persecuted church. Believers who meet in secret, in fear for their lives, their families and their livelihoods. I don't know if any Christians are persecuted here, but now I know what it is like to be threatened.

Our church had a revival scheduled for June. It's three days of concentrated messages, singing, commitment and recommitment. Our speaker backed out about 4 weeks before the event.

Through the persuasion of one of our pastors, we convinced a very popular speaker and seminary president to be the featured speaker for the Revival. He has been on network television, has debated religious leaders from over a dozen religions and is a former Muslim.

The first thing we noticed was the bomb sniffing dogs. Then we spotted the body guards. One of the computers in the sound booth was converted to watch all of the security cameras. There were guards posted at the doors of the children's wing and in the stairwells and that was just the security that we could see. The local police was there and so was the FBI. Our own Navy Seals and other high-ranking military officers were organized and dispatched throughout the church. There were guards on the stage with the speaker. They walked his family members to the bathroom. Can you imagine fearing to go to the bathroom alone? There was even more security that I won't mention because it wouldn't be security if everyone knew about it.

I don't know why this man has been threatened, but I suspect it is due to his outspoken criticism of Islam. Whoever has threatened him and his family has been taken seriously. He is quite frank about the evil intent of Islam and of many Muslims to eradicate Israel and to kill Americans.

But this is America. The land of free speech and free religion. Living in a military town, we are well aware of the cost of our freedom. I want you all to know that this liberty is precious and costly and sometimes threatened. Celebrate the fourth of July with all of your heart and pray for our nation to remain free.

Going Home - Seneca, Pennsylvania pop. 966

In just three weeks we'll pack up the car with food, videos, games and luggage and head "home". I don't know why it's still "home" when I left when I was 18 and haven't lived there since. I hold a special place in my heart for the area where I grew up, here's why.

1. It is beautiful there. I never realized until I left how unique and special the area is. In the fall we would drive through mountains covered with the most vivid colored trees that it looked like they were on fire. And we didn't have to make a special trip to see them, we passed them on our way to work. In the winter, the melting snow would form icicles that were as tall as buildings on the sides of the cliffs. Somehow, people dyed the ice different colors, I still don't know who or how. That is something most people will never see.

2. All of the roads are windy. All of them. And they were all still only 2 lanes the last time we were there. Unless we were setting out for an hour or more trip to Erie or Pittsburgh, I only ever drove on one road that was more than 2 lanes. That one was, of course, known as "the four lanes".

3. Everybody knows everybody. Well, I'm sure they don't, but sometimes it really seemed like it. And I'm sure everyone I still know who lives there, still lives in the same house.

4. When I lived there, we had 3 traffic lights. Two at the mall and one by the supermarket. Until I turned 12 and we got the mall, there was just one. Now I can't get to 7-11 or the grocery store or work or school or ANYWHERE without going through lots of lights. It sure would be faster without them!

5. Cows. We saw cows everyday. It's not that it was very exciting. It's just that my kids only see cows when we drive for an hour or more. Actually, I think we could smell them everyday, too. So maybe less cows is an improvement.

6. Friends and family. Childhood memories. High school and youth group. Great grandma's house that literally hangs on a cliff. Roller skating, sled riding, swimming in a lake. Conneaut Lake Park and Canadohta Lake. Bucktails day camp. It's more of a journey to the past than it is a drive of 10 hours. I guess it's worth it.

Yes, I have 9-1-1 on Speed Dial

Daniel saved all of his AWANA bucks this year in hopes of buying that spiffy new skateboard. It was almost 100 AWANA bucks. He earned them by learning about 4 verses every week. Last week was the last meeting for the year and store night. So guess what Danny brought home?

New Bikes - look out Virginia Beach!

Bumper Cars

Things We've FINALLY Gotten Done!

1. Shrubs. We've bought all of the new bushes for the front of the house. That might sound boring to some people, but really, how often to you get a chance to design all of your own landscaping. Usually you just inherit whatever came with your house. This was fun! The best part, two weeping Japanese maples (on sale!).

2. PTA. I'm caught up on newsletters, calendars, membership duties and correspondence. Yahoo! Our elementary school finally got 100% membership, with only a month to spare! Just one more issue to get out and I'll be done for the year.

3. Soccer Party. 10 wild boys + 200 water balloons + 1 swimming pool + 80 hotdogs + cake + 1 sunny day = a great soccer party.

4. Invitations. My brothers, their wives, Brad and I are helping to throw a 40th Anniversary party for my parents in June. Everyone has been working hard at the preparations, but I've kinda been slacking. But Shutterfly is printing up the invites as we speak.

5. Laundry. Wohoo - It's only Monday and I'm done with the laundry from last week. It's a small victory, but one I'll be proud of!

6. VBS Gear. At the bookstore, I stock up on VBS themed goodies to sell during VBS registration. Well, Oriental Trading came through with flying colors this year by offering tons of Power Lab science toys. Need a bouncy ball that lights up? Gooey slime? And later this week... VBS t-shirts arrive! Hopefully this will stir up some business.

Camp Piankatank

Last summer Danny wanted to go to a "camping" camp. And he was really serious about it. He wanted to go on the internet and find one himself! So we did some research and found Camp Piankatank. A camp with a funny name has to be great! So he went all by himself, slept in a cabin, cannoed in the Piankatank River, climbed a rock wall, spent all of his money at the camp store and had an amazing time. We sure were proud of our little guy!

Star Wars and War Games

30 years. I can't believe I have memories that are 30 years old.

Geoff is kinda scary with the computer - figuring out stuff that no kid should know. For years we have joked with Geoff that someday the FBI would come looking for him, just like in the movie War Games. AMC channel is celebrating the 25th anniversary of War Games and we are watching it with Geoff for the first time. We watched an adolescent Matthew Broderick play a "game" with WOPR and almost initiate WW III. He gasps when he sees the "cool" TRS-80 set up at NORAD. WOW! I used a TRS-80, but I couldn't get it to play any games.

But in 1983 Brad knew all about the Comodore 64. It was the beginning of the pc. (I honestly never imagined what they would be good for!) And now we have Geoff who knows all about HTML and servers and networks.

In third grade (30 - yep, 30 years ago) I remember all of the boys had Star Wars t-shirts. And Star Wars lunch boxes. And little plastic R2D2s. And now Danny knows all 6 Star Wars movies by heart and he uses legos to build jet-wing fighters with an ejection compartment for R2D2.

I am grateful for these connections from our childhoods to our children's lives. We enjoy our memories and the boys have a frame of reference to understand the past. We see a little piece of our life experience passed down to another generation. Maybe someday they will tell their kids about Star Wars or My Space and their children will understand what was wonderful and exciting about them.

Do you share any childhood experiences with this generation? I'd love to hear!

Goalie

Danny's first day as goalie. It was a muddy one! The bottom photo is Danny after coach Jim dumped him in a giant puddle. All the boys went home soaked. That's what boys do!

Stuff I Didn't Get Done This Week

1. PTA newsletter. I guess we'll make it an April/May issue.
2. Buy dog food - I'm sure all the dog treats I gave her will keep her tummy full. Really, if she ate something that they sell at Wal-Mart I'd be o.k. But she has to have special food from the pet store that closes at 9 pm.
3. Grocery shopping - what? Pop Tarts and cereal aren't enough? At least the milk hasn't expired.
4. Hair cuts - Geoffrey has the most ADORABLE curls, but he can't do a thing with them.
5. Danny's paragraph about spring. I won't write it, but I have to supervise. Maybe we'll just skip to a paragraph about summer instead.
6. Register Danny for summer camp.
7. Address the cards that I bought last month. Why do I even buy them? I just know I won't send them.
8. Pick up a prescription. Really, I tried. But after 30 minutes of waiting for the pharmacy to get the insurance straightened out I had to cut my losses and move on.

9. Take the box of Capri Sun juice drinks off of my back bumper before I drove to pick Danny up from school. The intersection by my driveway is very sticky.

Stuff I’ve learned about Digital Scrapbooking…

1. “Designers” create digital paper, word art, frames, embellishments and more. Designers sell their work in many venues. There are two main ways that materials are disseminated. One is through web site “stores” and the other is through blogs.
2. Both stores and blogs offer “Freebies” to entice you to visit their site often. Freebies are digital elements like paper for backgrounds, paper clips, cool frames, templates, and word art. Some are in “kits” of coordinated items. I’ve collected hundreds, well probably thousands, of freebies. It is customary when downloading a freebie from a blog to leave a comment of thanks.
3. This craze is international! In one evening I visited blogs from Germany, France, Sweden, Australia and from some country that I couldn’t identify because the letters were backwards! I’m stretching to remember some French so I can find the download link and I can say Merci! What a fun sisterhood of artists. You can’t help but be inspired! I’ve found some French designers I love. They use clean lines and vivid colors.
4. There seems to be a lot more gorgeous stuff out there for scrapbooking girls than boys. I don’t know why… I guess that leafy, flowery designs are popular, just not boy-friendly. There is a trend called “grunge” that is perfect for boys.
5. There are whole communities set up around some of the web stores. They have contests and galleries for everyone to post their creations. It seems like people spend a lot of time doing this. Who could have so much time?
6. I love layouts inspired by advertisements and web sites, instead of traditional scrapbook layouts. It is awesome to not be limited by scissors and tape!
7. There is a file sharing web site called “4shared.com”. Bloggers post their files there for you to download. You just download, unzip the file and you’re done.
8. Most people use a version of Photo Shop or Photo Shop Elements. Honestly, I’ve tried. But Adobe is just not intuitive and it gives me a headache every time! I love Microsoft Digital Imaging and I can do almost everything that the Photo Shop people can do.
9. SAHM means “stay at home mom”.
10. Word art is my favorite part. I love SAYING something that captures the memory and arranging the words in an artistic way. Dr. Seuss quotes are awesome and many of them rhyme.

TGIF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well it's been an interesting week! I'm working full time to help out a friend who is on maternity leave. So a lot of life is a blur now, running from work to soccer to the grocery store, to school, to the police station... More on that later!

1. First, to my wonderful friends in NY, FL, CA & TX - I love you all! Even when I don't have time to write or call, I LOVE hearing what is happening in your life. I love just knowing you are out there. You inspire me, encourage me and delight me. Thank you.

2. O.K. back to my crazy week... So on top of working 2 jobs I tried to tackle a photobook this week. Shutterfly sent me an email offering a FREE photo book (worth 30 bucks - cool!). So I thought I'd love to print up some of my digital layouts. Of course, it can't just be a book of pictures, I have to have a theme. So I decided to scrapbook the 20 most memorable events of 2007 - in my spare time. The deadline was Wednesday. After 10 hours at church I worked and worked and was in the home stretch at 11:45 pm when of course, the web site went down! AHAHAHAHAHAH! All's well in the end. I begged for an extension of the deadline, finished the book and I can't wait to see it!

3. Got some interesting mail this week. A postcard from a catalogue company saying my purchase is backordered. Problem is, I never bought anything from them. When I called the company, the customer service rep. informed me that this is possible identity theft and I'd better notify the police right away. Good grief! I think the real crime is what was ordered - size 18 leapard print blouse! I keep wondering if I'll find some fishnet stockings or a tiger print skirt in the mailbox someday - grin!

4. Last year we dug & tugged & chainsawed out all of our 35 year old bushes in the front of the house. We'll plant new shrubs this spring. But in the meantime, we filled the beds with bulbs - it is amazing! You can't miss springtime at my house!

Where Oh Where?

Thursday was really one of those days. I was sad that I couldn't be in Florida for a very important adoption. (Congratulations!) We were waiting all day for a friend to have her baby (welcome to the little guy). Another friend was having some tests done that could have been very serious (grateful all was fine). We got news of a dear old friend in New York who has terminal cancer. Brad wasn't feeling great. I was struggling to find time to clean the house for company this weekend. Then the big one... the dog was gone. Poor sweet old Summer dog wandered far away and we couldn't find her anywhere. We walked, we called, we drove for hours. Finally all we could do was go to bed and pray for her to be safe.

Friday we found her at the animal shelter. Thank God she was safe, traumatized, but safe. So after a bath, she is now grounded for a month!

Anyway, I think we've recovered from all of the drama. Here's some photos of our fun weekend at the beach.

What I Love About Soccer - GO RAIDERS!

1. It's a cool thing for dad to do with Danny and Geoff.
2. Teamwork. We'll never succeed in school, business, life or soccer without cooperation. What better place to learn it than on a field?
3. Boys need to run, kick and yell, breath fresh air, sweat and run some more!
4. Snack time.
5. Our awesome team parents who always arrive with a good attitude. They cheer all our efforts, win or lose. The players never feel defeated when the parents treat them like winners.
6. Sportsmanship. Face it, we all lose sometime. Soccer teaches us to lose with grace and dignity.
7. Watching the kids learn and grow. It is so exciting to see players communicate with each other, try out "moves", plan, problem solve and throw their whole body into what they do.
8. Belonging. Everyone on the team has the same name on their shirt - Raiders. A place for everyone.
9. Fresh air, sunshine, green grass, photo ops, chatting with other soccer moms, cheering til we're horse.
10. GOAL!

Love Language

My husband's love language is computer repair.

On Saturday, one minute my computer was fine. I was happily downloading digital scrapbooking stuff and reading Fox News. We zipped out for some errands and when we came home... The screen was black and filled with those ominous large-print, courier font words of warning. The bottom line was - it was really bad.

If I had a husband who values writing love letters instead of building wireless home networks I'd be in big trouble. Most people would have been on their way to Best Buy where the Geek Squad would have wiped out every file, email, photo, font and every last scrap of my digital creations. Then I'd have to pay to have them re-install a new operating system and return the computer to me empty. No programs, no files, no memories, no links to the past.

I promise you I wouldn't trade my techno-savvy husband (and son!) for all of the romantic cards at Hallmark. Neither hubby or son have rested in days. They've spent every free moment, diagnosing, strategizing, and rebuilding my computer. They have so far partitioned the hard-drive, installed a new operating system, recovered ALL of my precious photos, letters, address book and creations and backed them up. Soon, I'll have an updated computer complete will all the programs I had before, free of charge.

Now what could be more romantic than that?

Sorry, I don't rent them out. But they do help out a friend in need on occasion.

ADDICTION

Why I just (today) became addicted to Digital Scrapbooking

1. It's free
2. No glue
3. It doesn't cause my dining room to look like there was a paper explosion
4. No special storage units, bins, bags required
5. Less stressful!
6. I LOVE my photos, can't have enough things to do with them
7. Ahh.. the memories
8. It's more satisfying than doing housework!
9. No guilt from worrying "Is this scrap of paper small enough to throw away, or should I keep it for the next project?"
10. Really, really cool embellishments

Another Beginning and Ending

1. O.K. This week the good news comes first. We are all thrilled that our wonderful friends in Florida are just weeks away from finalizing the adoption of their beautiful daughter. She is an answer to many, many prayers. She joins four handsome, fun-loving, smart boys who we also love and admire. Congratulations. Thank you for sharing your miracle with us!
2. Living in a military town is usually great, but some parts of it are very, very painful. We've seen great families come and go through deployments. But the worst part is the loss. A young, sweet, energetic PTA mom lost her Navy husband this week. He leaves a 2nd grader and a preschooler. The news will hit the school today and a whole community will be affected. Military life can be very hard on families. Long separations, missed holidays, birthdays, babies being born, first steps, graduations, proms... But this is almost too much. These families exhibit the purest example of sacrifice. Please pray for our troops and their families. They need Jesus.

An End and a Beginning

1. This week we said goodbye to our friend Doug who died unexpectedly at the age of 50. Doug enthusiastically embraced everything manly and outdoorsy. He was the dad of two beautiful girls and foster boys. He was not afraid of hard things, like raising children who had been abused. Three years ago Doug almost died in a car accident. It is amazing to think about all the things he and his family has done in those precious years.
2. This week we rejoiced with our church friends who just found out that their grandchild-to-be is actually identical twins! I saw the sonogram. What an awesome creation those tiny little heartbeats are. I am grateful they are generous in sharing their joy with us!

Ecclesiastes 3:2 a time to be born and a time to die.

Wii Messages - Updated

Why would you want to send emails from your video game system? As the only woman living with three techies, I now know the answer is obviously "Because you can". While I continue to be stumped by the vast array of new technology that seems to have no practical value, I am very blessed by this quirky innovation. The following are the emails that my sweet 8 year old Danny sent to me from the playroom.

1. Hi mom!I love you!
2. Cars im gonna win.
3. I love you and want icecreum.
4. I love you alet so here's a kiss.
5. I love you too much.Jast
kidding,thear's never too much.

Things We are Going to Do When the Kids Are Grown

Brad and I have a running joke about the fabulous things we want to do when the kids are grown and college is paid for. I think it's important to write these down in case I have no brain cells left to remember them. We may need a few years of rest first, but then we will:

1. Go to Hawaii
2. Cruise the Mediterranean
3. Live in the Caribbean
3. Learn to Sail (maybe in Hawaii or the Mediterranean or the Caribbean?)

More to come as we add to the list. We have a LOT of years left to add to it. And sometimes we all need something to look forward to.

Really Great Things About Geoff for His 14th Birthday

It is hard to make a list about your child. I don't want him to think that these are the only things I love about him. It might not even be the things I admire the most. This is just a random, non exhaustive list of some really great things about Geoff in honor of his 14th birthday that was last month.

1. He's tall. Don't you love that in a guy?
2. He is honestly a computer genius. Need a network? A website built? Software installed/uninstalled/updated? Video editted? Powerpoint/Sunday Plus/Easy worship slideshow built? An A-V system designed and set up? Just call Geoff. Check out the London Bridge Baptist Church student website, new on the Hot Links. Yep. Geoff's in charge of that. He's threatened to edit this post if he doesn't like it and he could do it.
3. He's taking school seriously, even Algebra 2 and Spanish. Whoo Hoo!
4. He is very understanding about his brother. Face it, Dan has issues.
5. He is a cheerful helper. He can get Danny off the bus and babysit. He really pitches in when I can't be home.
6. Those eyes are an amazing color! I think they are hazel, but there is a lot going on in them. O.K. I guess that one would embarass him.
7. He can have a conversation with an adult and use real words and eye contact. I love that!
8. People always have nice things to say about him.
9. He's a lot like his dad. Generous with his talents. Confident of his own opinion. Size 13 shoes.