Not sure where this post is going to go quit yet.
I saw a person's picture on FB that I knew when I was growing up. This person had band pictures on their page. I wasn't in band. I was in 6th grade, but I was so bad, I was in the second to last chair all year long. The 7th and 8th grade pictures were in front of the junior high that I went to.
I remembered that I had wanted to look on Google Maps at the junior high because I had a dream that included the field that was next to the junior high. I wondered if it was still there. The field is still there. But then, I had to go look at the house we moved into when I was 12. I followed South Street all the way to Moller. Google Maps didn't have street view of my street. But I could "stand" on the corner of Moller and College and see the end of my driveway. My parents sold the house several years ago. I don't know if I'll ever see it again. I can see the additions that my dad made to the house by the roof line.
So then, I had to go look at the house I lived in from age four until 12. It's labeled as County Road somethingC/Stadium. I remembered there being a county road number, but not the C. And there is street view of that street. We loved this house. There was a church next door. The church wanted to buy our property (2 acres+ the house) for a parsonage. My parents felt like they "should" because it was a church. Now, we all agree it was dumb. I learned to ride my bike in that church parking lot. On street view I could see that the ditches were full of water, how typical of Alvin. They didn't seem as deep as I remembered. The tree I loved to climb was still there. And so was the extra driveway that my dad put in for my Gramma and Papa. When I was 8 they moved into an Airstream. They traveled all over for 30 years. And when they were in town, they'd park in the driveway that my dad built for them. For a while my Uncle Mike lived in a trailer on the driveway. All of the trees were so big. Sadly, all the rose bushes were gone, including this giant one that took up nearly all our front yard. When I was little the house had blue gray slate siding. It now has what looks like yellow vinyl. When I was little, my dad closed in the garage and put in another front door (I don't know why, he did stuff like that.) We had two front doors. They are both still there, which made me smile. You'd have thought when they put new siding on, they might have closed one of the doors up.
I could see the house where the vicious dog lived that would chase me halfway down to my friends' house on my bike. Those people had a kid that would just walk right into our house without knocking. It freaked my mom out every time. I could see my friends' Melanie and Tracy's house. It looked exactly the same. But the house across the street where we used to go jump on their trampoline was completely obscured by bushes.
I looked at my friend, Christi's house. I couldn't remember the street, but I remembered how to get there on my bike, so I just traveled that route on the map. It looked the same. I remember sleeping in their camper and spying on her "fine" neighbors.
Sorry, HRL-B. I could not see your house at all. No street view and the trees obscure the view of the house. Tell your brother to get them cut, so the next time Google wants to take a picture we can see the house.
My mom thinks Google Maps is part of a conspiracy to spy on people. (Looks like the view of my current home is at least 2 and a half years old. So that can't be it.) I sure am glad for it, though. It's fun to go look at places you used to live.
Other places I looked at:
Quail Hollow Apartments on Rosharon Road
92 B Bridge St., Brandon, Suffolk
Now, I wish I could figure out how to capture the images on my computer so I could show you.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
May As Well Try
I managed to get my homeschool blog updated, so I think I will attempt that here, as well.
Life has gotten quite full suddenly. It happens like that, doesn't it? I took on being president of our homeschool group. And I accepted an invitation to preach on education at our church. Thank goodness we have a short trip to East Texas immediately following. My brain is going to be mushy after the next business meeting and the message.
I have not exercised this week. I haven't been able to get up early. I have kept up the Bible reading and prayer. That counts more, anyway, right? The last time I did exercise, I lay down on the mat in the middle of the routine and napped. I am sticking to one cup of coffee in the morning and I am drinking diet DP, instead of Coke. And that's been cut down to once or twice a week. I am not eating a whole bag of peanut butter M&M's in a sitting. I spread it out over a week ;-) Gives me something to look forward to. The boys and I have gotten a bit off our chore routine. Could have something to do with not exercising. So I am back to avoiding their bathroom and washing a humongous pile of dishes every morning. That's definitely not good.
That's it in a thin-skinned pecan nutshell. I have lots and lots to do, studying, cleaning, planning, choosing, teaching and instead I'm blogging and waiting for my FarmVille crops to be ready to harvest.
Life has gotten quite full suddenly. It happens like that, doesn't it? I took on being president of our homeschool group. And I accepted an invitation to preach on education at our church. Thank goodness we have a short trip to East Texas immediately following. My brain is going to be mushy after the next business meeting and the message.
I have not exercised this week. I haven't been able to get up early. I have kept up the Bible reading and prayer. That counts more, anyway, right? The last time I did exercise, I lay down on the mat in the middle of the routine and napped. I am sticking to one cup of coffee in the morning and I am drinking diet DP, instead of Coke. And that's been cut down to once or twice a week. I am not eating a whole bag of peanut butter M&M's in a sitting. I spread it out over a week ;-) Gives me something to look forward to. The boys and I have gotten a bit off our chore routine. Could have something to do with not exercising. So I am back to avoiding their bathroom and washing a humongous pile of dishes every morning. That's definitely not good.
That's it in a thin-skinned pecan nutshell. I have lots and lots to do, studying, cleaning, planning, choosing, teaching and instead I'm blogging and waiting for my FarmVille crops to be ready to harvest.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Means of Salvation
N has this tiny cyst in his earlobe. Dh and I have been telling him that it's a zit. All three boys + dh had physicals for BSA today. N said he was going to have our Dr. look at his ear, since we didn't believe there was anything wrong with his ear.
She squeezes his earlobe and says it's a cyst and rolls away on her rolly chair. No big deal.
In the car, on the way home, N was feeling his ear and saying he thought he was going to need surgery on his earlobe.
Q says, "Maybe they'll leave you with one ear, like John the Baptist."
N, says that it wasn't John the Baptist that lost his ear, it was a guy that arrested Jesus. John the Baptist lost his head.
To which M says, "I bet he went to heaven since he's a Baptist."
(we are not Baptists, BTW)
Also, N passed out at the Dr.'s. He needed boosters for three different vaccines. Not sure why he passed out, but it was scary to look at. All 5 of us, plus three nurses were in their largest exam room. I think they keep it just for us. They had one nurse on each boy. N is nearly 6'2". His knees started to buckle. One of the nurses says, "Is he going to pass out?" And I joke, "No, he just has rubbery joints." The nurse giving him the shots then says, "He's about to pass out, he's all sweaty." I think the first nurse was afraid that when N went down it was going to be like a redwood being felled. They start saying, "Dad! help! He's going out!" I'm glad he was there, because I can't hold N up. He lay there for a couple of minutes, eyes half open, all grey. It was pretty freaky.
So dh bought us Schlotzky's for lunch :-)
She squeezes his earlobe and says it's a cyst and rolls away on her rolly chair. No big deal.
In the car, on the way home, N was feeling his ear and saying he thought he was going to need surgery on his earlobe.
Q says, "Maybe they'll leave you with one ear, like John the Baptist."
N, says that it wasn't John the Baptist that lost his ear, it was a guy that arrested Jesus. John the Baptist lost his head.
To which M says, "I bet he went to heaven since he's a Baptist."
(we are not Baptists, BTW)
Also, N passed out at the Dr.'s. He needed boosters for three different vaccines. Not sure why he passed out, but it was scary to look at. All 5 of us, plus three nurses were in their largest exam room. I think they keep it just for us. They had one nurse on each boy. N is nearly 6'2". His knees started to buckle. One of the nurses says, "Is he going to pass out?" And I joke, "No, he just has rubbery joints." The nurse giving him the shots then says, "He's about to pass out, he's all sweaty." I think the first nurse was afraid that when N went down it was going to be like a redwood being felled. They start saying, "Dad! help! He's going out!" I'm glad he was there, because I can't hold N up. He lay there for a couple of minutes, eyes half open, all grey. It was pretty freaky.
So dh bought us Schlotzky's for lunch :-)
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Praise
I haven't posted in over a week. Gracious. Been Busy. The Lord added something to my plate this week and it's good.
I have this crazy story that I like to tell about submission. When we moved into our house in 2000, we'd spent several years getting out of debt, first. We moved in in October, my birthday is in November. A week before my birthday, dh walks in with a receipt that was a mile long from Circuit City. It was for a 52" TV, 6 disc DVD and a receiver. He says, "Happy Birthday" I saw that he'd opened a charge account with them and I was not happy. I opened my mouth to yell at him and the Lord shut it and told me to go into my room. Once in there, I told God how bad this was. When I got done, He quietly told me to tell dh that he could keep the TV, if he wanted to. I objected more, and ultimately walked out of my door and told him exactly what the Lord told me to tell him.
I returned to my room and cried.
The next day, dh took the receipt back and returned everything.
That December, dh busted his knee up terribly at work. Six months later he had a claim check, for a 3% permanent disability in his knee, from workman's comp. He bought his TV and got the DVD player for free.
All that is to tell you that I have been doing the worship music at our church for nearly 3 years. Without going into explaining what that means, I will tell you what it means spiritually. It has meant learning to walk in submission to church authority. I had a heart for us to play "younger" music. Well, I spent several hours with my pastor and his wife today and he gave me this long song list from Jesus Culture. Without further ado, here is our worship music for this week :-)
I have this crazy story that I like to tell about submission. When we moved into our house in 2000, we'd spent several years getting out of debt, first. We moved in in October, my birthday is in November. A week before my birthday, dh walks in with a receipt that was a mile long from Circuit City. It was for a 52" TV, 6 disc DVD and a receiver. He says, "Happy Birthday" I saw that he'd opened a charge account with them and I was not happy. I opened my mouth to yell at him and the Lord shut it and told me to go into my room. Once in there, I told God how bad this was. When I got done, He quietly told me to tell dh that he could keep the TV, if he wanted to. I objected more, and ultimately walked out of my door and told him exactly what the Lord told me to tell him.
I returned to my room and cried.
The next day, dh took the receipt back and returned everything.
That December, dh busted his knee up terribly at work. Six months later he had a claim check, for a 3% permanent disability in his knee, from workman's comp. He bought his TV and got the DVD player for free.
All that is to tell you that I have been doing the worship music at our church for nearly 3 years. Without going into explaining what that means, I will tell you what it means spiritually. It has meant learning to walk in submission to church authority. I had a heart for us to play "younger" music. Well, I spent several hours with my pastor and his wife today and he gave me this long song list from Jesus Culture. Without further ado, here is our worship music for this week :-)
Friday, January 8, 2010
Week One, 2010
Never thought I'd hear myself saying this but, What an awesome week I've had! Praise the Lord!
If you had a crappy week, you might just want to stop here, because I'm about to do some serious bragging.
On the 31st, I did a whole lot of thinking about order. God is a God of order and I think He expects us to order our lives. I bought a new bra a few days after Christmas and was completely horrified by the rolls of back fat that I saw in the mirror. I gained about 15 pounds in 2009. That's a lot for me. I am wearing a size 10 pant. I would be much more comfortable in an 8.
One area of order is my physical person. Instead of the old morning routine of thyroid meds, email/Facebook and 4 cups of coffee, I am having ONE single cup of coffee with non-dairy creamer and sweetener AFTER I get my DAILY BREAD. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I am following an exercise video that is on Netflix instant downloads. It's called Pick Your Fit: Fat to Firm. I am a level one. There are 4 circuits. Monday I got through one and a half. Wednesday I got through 2 and a half and today I got through all four! Thank you Lord! Today, when I got done, I FORGOT all about my one cup of coffee.
Daily Bread- Scripture and prayer. I printed out some prayer guides from Revive Our Hearts. One for the dh, one for the boys and one for their future spouses. I also printed out some things for me to think about for the day. I also printed a one year Bible reading plan. Yes, I have a checklist going. No, I do not think it's not spiritual, because let me tell you, it's better than nothing. And I don't expect to use the lists forever, just to get me in a habit. I started an afternoon Bible study that is about walking in love. I will be posting what I get as I go. Right now, I have Love is Patient. And it's helped me be very calm all week. Glory to God!
School- Last week, I spent several days writing out lessons for the rest of the year. And it helped so much this week. I was able to show the boys, "Look, this is how far we have to go, it's not that far, I've done my part, now you do yours." N and I did some pretty neat biology labs this week. Unfortunately I only got pictures of the sheep heart and lungs. But let me tell you, the brain was fascinating. God is an amazing Creator.
The other thing I did was put out a schedule with no times on it. It just listed the things WE needed to accomplish before lunch and after lunch. I got the boys doing chore cards again. They are not fancy. There are three colors of cards, orange for daily, yellow for weekly and red for monthly. Each card has AM or PM and a day and or week that it should be completed. The boys do the cards in their pocket for one month. The first of February, they'll rotate. We concentrated on working daily AM chores into their morning routines this week and next week we'll add weeklies. I worked each day with a different boy to help him learn how I want the chore completed. It went fairly well. N, who had kitchen duty, did complain at the end of each day about the number of drinking vessels he had to get into the dishwasher. Good :-) M did a fantastic job in the bathroom and it is already smelling better. Q had the living room/dining room. I was especially gratified when he asked his brothers to leave their shoes in the utility room so he didn't have so much dirt to sweep ;-)
The best thing all week was that I felt so much calmer (and since it's just us, I was hormonal too!) because I had fortified my spirit. I was on top of all the squabbling and was able to clearly think of appropriate punishments without freaking out and screaming. Thank you Lord for Your Holy Spirit!
If you had a crappy week, you might just want to stop here, because I'm about to do some serious bragging.
On the 31st, I did a whole lot of thinking about order. God is a God of order and I think He expects us to order our lives. I bought a new bra a few days after Christmas and was completely horrified by the rolls of back fat that I saw in the mirror. I gained about 15 pounds in 2009. That's a lot for me. I am wearing a size 10 pant. I would be much more comfortable in an 8.
One area of order is my physical person. Instead of the old morning routine of thyroid meds, email/Facebook and 4 cups of coffee, I am having ONE single cup of coffee with non-dairy creamer and sweetener AFTER I get my DAILY BREAD. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I am following an exercise video that is on Netflix instant downloads. It's called Pick Your Fit: Fat to Firm. I am a level one. There are 4 circuits. Monday I got through one and a half. Wednesday I got through 2 and a half and today I got through all four! Thank you Lord! Today, when I got done, I FORGOT all about my one cup of coffee.
Daily Bread- Scripture and prayer. I printed out some prayer guides from Revive Our Hearts. One for the dh, one for the boys and one for their future spouses. I also printed out some things for me to think about for the day. I also printed a one year Bible reading plan. Yes, I have a checklist going. No, I do not think it's not spiritual, because let me tell you, it's better than nothing. And I don't expect to use the lists forever, just to get me in a habit. I started an afternoon Bible study that is about walking in love. I will be posting what I get as I go. Right now, I have Love is Patient. And it's helped me be very calm all week. Glory to God!
School- Last week, I spent several days writing out lessons for the rest of the year. And it helped so much this week. I was able to show the boys, "Look, this is how far we have to go, it's not that far, I've done my part, now you do yours." N and I did some pretty neat biology labs this week. Unfortunately I only got pictures of the sheep heart and lungs. But let me tell you, the brain was fascinating. God is an amazing Creator.
The best thing all week was that I felt so much calmer (and since it's just us, I was hormonal too!) because I had fortified my spirit. I was on top of all the squabbling and was able to clearly think of appropriate punishments without freaking out and screaming. Thank you Lord for Your Holy Spirit!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Good Morning!
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