The end of a long week

One week of school down, and I have learned a great deal this week, and it hasn't all been from books!

I am HUMAN

Okay, I already knew that... but it was truly driven home this week. I am taking 9 credit hours at school... not alot when you first think about it... but oh my! Three classes... one on Monday night, and two on Tuesday and Thursday... not alot, right? Well... let me tell you... to those students who are taking 12 to 15 hours... you are my HERO!!! Tons of reading... lots of notes... memorization skills to hone... and it isn't easy! And in my human-ness, I have been afraid that I will fail.

I am NOT ALONE

Going into this I knew that I would need support... and I have gotten it by the truck load! Mickey has been awesome... he has been so encouraging! (Thanks for testing me with Flash Cards!) Carly has just warmed my heart... she is so proud of me, and that keeps me wanting to do MORE! Chandra and Rachel have been encouraging as well... from texts on my first day to calls wanting to know how my day has gone. Rachel has even quizzed me on FB!

Even my friends have joined in with encouraging words on FB and through e-mails... and it has all be very much appreciated.

God has a SENSE OF HUMOR

Ever been in one of those situations where you are just determined that you want something YOUR way, and with a chuckle, God tells you it is HIS way that counts? Yeah, that happened this week as well. Can't wait to see what I am to learn from this!!!

You may be OLD but you are NEVER TOO OLD

I thought I might just get to Ivy Tech and be the OLDEST person taking classes... WRONG. You are never too old to learn something new... and I have been blessed to see that! We have even joined the YMCA and the older people there... those ladies and gents who I know I are their 70's that are doing the machines.... they INSPIRE me!!!! I just hope that I can one day inspire someone in the same manner.

It is okay to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

I have been on quite a journey this week... not only a journey into a new place... a new chapter in my life... but a journey into finding out just who I am... and not just who I am in this WORLD, but who I am in CHRIST... and I fully believe that He is showing me things about myself that I hadn't noticed, or believed existed within me.

Yes... it has been a long week... but one that I am glad to have experienced.....

God is ABLE where I am NOT.... and for that... I am truly thankful!

Another first day....

This post is for my kids... every first day of school of their lives a picture has been taken to mark the moment... so Carly snapped this one of my on my "first day" of college!!!

Is it me... or do the books seem heavier now? Maybe I have just grown a little weaker over the years. Regardless... the adventure is beginning! Wearing my WoF shirt as a reminder that I CAN do this.... I just need a little faith to make it happen!

Heading back to school....

Yesterday I spent the morning at the IVY Tech Sellersburg Campus signing up for classes... that's right, I'm headed back to school. Who thought that at 50 I would be doing that?!

I am currently enrolled in the Medical Assisting program, hoping to become a Certified Medical Assistant... praying that it all works out. I'm excited to begin another chapter in my life... it should be fun!

Just hope that my 50 year old brain can keep up with everything !!!!!

First Day of School

SURPRISE... AHHHH... IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

Hard to believe that this is Carly's Senior Year!!!!

And look how handsome my little Kindergarten Man is!!!!
New hair cute... sporty shorts, a new backpack and a huge smile...
what more does a guy need to impress the ladies?!
(And I'm talking teachers and lunchroom ladies... NO girlfriends...
not until he is at LEAST 25!!!!)

Oh NO!!!!, What is this, and Women of Faith

Last week we had a pretty hefty storm move through, and as Carly and I were helping Rachel get the "grands" out of the van we heard a huge popping noise. When I got in the house and looked out the window this is what I found! Fortunately, the playset was NOT damaged... just a lovely old tree.

And WHAT IS THIS???? Mick found this in the woods near our home. We have NO clue what kind of plant this is, so I am thinking that some of my bloggy friends might have a clue.

Whatever it is, it is kind of cool looking isn't it?

And Friday we were off to Women of Faith where we met up with 50 women from our church and an additional 12,000 of our newest friends! Prior to our arrival in Indy, we stopped off at the outlet malls for a little recreational therapy... one of Carly's purchases...

... these truly amazing sunglasses. And she and Bec managed to put on a fashion show in Rue 21...

Normally, Bec would have just KNIT these hats, but hey... for $6 AND it matched her shirt... yeah....

Our first speaker at WoF was Patsy Clairmont... how I LOVE this woman. She can have you laughing like crazy one minute and bawling like a baby the next. She is truly a gifted speaker and the way she weaves words into stories... only someone truly gifted by God could do what she does....

AND ... yes... Steven Curtis Chapman was our concert the first night. Thought I was gonna have to chain Bec to her seat... but she was a good girl. She DID rush the stage, with Carly close behind camera in hand. (check here to see the picture). He was truly amazing... and I was in tears listening to this man's testimony.

And meet two of my wonderful friends.... Vicki and Sha. This mother / daughter duo are some pretty awesome people!!! My friend Vicki opted to attend the second day of WoF "topless"!!! Yep... she is battling cancer, and is just beginning to get a little "peach fuzz" going... and I was SO VERY PROUD OF HER for leaving her hat in the car! I am so excited to see that her hair is beginning to peek through, and believe that she should wear it PROUDLY like a badge of honor. She is truly an amazing lady, and has raised her daughter to be pretty amazing as well. Sha just happens to be one of the most awesome children's ministers I've ever had the honor of working with!

And who knew that "pop art" could be so colorful??? The lovely "street artists" below are my best sister-friend Rebecca, my oldest daughter Chandra, my youngest daughter Carly and my middle daughter Rachel. They literally almost knocked a couple of guys over on the sidewalk striking this pose!!!

The weekend was amazing... we were all moved... we were all touched by the speakers... and we were all sad to see the fun end... and if you want to join us next year... mark your calendars for August 20-21st!!! It's an awesome time and we would love to see you there!!!

I'm A Winner

"OH YES I AM!"

I take part in a "Sock A Month Knit Along", basically I try and knit a sock every month and post it to the blog. We just finished SAM 7, with each KAL running six months. This was my third SAM, and each month I have watched as winners of drawings have taken home "fabulous prizes". Yarns... most hand dyed, have brought tears to my eyes... markers, lovingly made, have made my simple plastic markers pale by comparison... and each month I have NOT been the winner. You see... I just don't win stuff.... until NOW!

I had put my socks on the blog early in July so that I could concentrate on other Christmas gifts, and had not checked back. I received an email from Zonda, one of the administrators of the blog with a link back to the blog... and there it was...

...400 yards of the most beautiful spring colored sock yarn you have ever seen... with my name below it as the winner!!! (And that little package you can see at the front... MARKERS! Yes... I was so very happy when this arrived!) Anyway... I digress.... I was SO excited when I saw this blog entry that I called out to Mickey with the news... he said, "That's nice"... NICE???? Okay... this was WAY better than nice!!! Then I told Carly, who politely smiled and said, "That's great, Mom." GREAT???!!!! Again... why all the lack of enthusiasm???? So I did the only thing that a girl can do in a situation such as this... I sent the link to my best sister-friend, and fellow yarn lover, Rebecca... and I awaited her reply. I was NOT disappointed... there were more question marks and exclamation points in her email than there had been in the conversations with my family. FINALLY... someone who understood the importance of this occasion!!!

Now... don't get me wrong... my family was thrilled for me... but they were thrilled as only those looking in from the outside can be... they did not have the JOY of a knitter plastered on their faces... or dripping from the voices... but I love them anyway. Afterall... not everyone is called to LOVE YARN... we are a chosen few!

Our Weekend in Pictures

Mickey has always wanted a hardwood floor... when we built he wanted it, but didn't want to spend the money on it at the time. So this weekend, we put a hardwood floor in our livingroom... all by ourselves!!!


Wednesday, I spent the day unpacking 15 boxes of wood planks....


On Thursday, Mickey tore up the carpet while I pulled up the staples holding down the padding. The floor was then vacuumed and preped for the wood!

Friday morning, we began the day at 8:30 by laying felt paper on the floor...

And then I laid out the first row of wood for Mickey to nail in... no fancy nailer here... had to drill holes and hand nail the first row!

Around 12:30 we took a 30 minute break for a sandwich. I think we managed to get pretty far by that time. Using the "fancy nail gun" made the work go much faster!

We were pretty excited when we got to the final row of the living room... this mean that we only had the area in front of the stairs and the hallway to complete... and while it didn't seem like much, it was harder to lay... there were doors to go around there, as well as the carpeting at the top of the stiars!

(For supper... we ordered Domino's... LOVE the fact that they deliver here!)

The completed living room...

Michael had the entire downstairs at his disposal... complete with TV... but he decided that he would rather watch a video while reclining on our bed! His own personal little nest!

I think that the finished product turned out amazing... and on Sunday we brought up the new couch and loveseat we had in the garage.... our re-do was complete!



But I have to admit... it was a long weekend... (we had a VBS day thrown in the middle of this!) and I am still tired!!! And last night... just before we went to bed... Mickey said... "I'd really like to do hardwood in the bedroom as well!" With a big smile on my face I said... "Sure... but not for AT LEAST two or three years!!!"