They say it's my birthday. It's Janelle's birthday too, yeah!....(Are you singing along?!)......Okay, today is my 37th birthday. Hard to believe that I'm that old. Since it's a special day I thought I would share 37 things about myself. I recently bought a book of 1,000 questions that my 7th & 8th grade students love. Getting the idea from there, here's a little bit of info. about ME!!!!
1. Born in Illinois to Ed & Virginia who eventually divorced when I was 7
2. Born on my cousin Mark's 10th birthday. To this day he can't stand strawberry cake because that is what I insisted we have every birthday party!
3. Have 1 brother named Chuck & 4 sisters: Brooke, Heather (Yes, her name is also Heather. Okay, okay, she's my step-sister, but I consider her my sister!), Tracy, & Angie
4. Before getting my teaching certificate I obtained a degree in Mortuary Science & Funeral Service
5. Met my husband Paul (who is a funeral director) at college
6. Love salsa & chips
7. Went through numerous fertility treatments - 9 IUI's & 4 IVF's - before adopting Zoe from China in 2005
8. Coached two jr. high teams to the State Championship - volleyball & basketball
9. Drivers license still says the same weight as it did when I got it at age 16! (Why not? They ask every time I go to renew it if anything has changed. Heck, if they don't care, why should I?!)
10. Carpool with another teacher to work most mornings
11. Scared of birds (When I was young, my friend & I were walking down the street & a bird swooped down & pecked her on the head. Frightened me!)
12. Enjoy listening to a variety of music - country, Christian, rock, rap (notice I didn't say crap - that's what I call most of the music that my students listen to!!!), classical, etc.
13. Love candles - favorite is Banana Nut Bread
14. Gulf Shores, Alabama is my favorite vacation spot (right on the beach)
15. First car was a used 1981 Mercury Capri. (Didn't even get to pick it out, but had to pay for it. Let me tell ya, it was nothing to brag about, but it got me where I needed to go!) Now I drive a Mercury Mountaineer & love it!
16. Bummed when they quit making Vanilla Pepsi. (Vanilla Coke just doesn't do it for me!)
17. My family & I were missionaries in Anguilla for 5 months between my kindergarten & first grade years.
18. Could care less about politics. (Paul loves them so it really bugs him that I show no interest.)
19. Love to read. Nicholas Sparks, Debbie Macomber, John Grisham, Kristin Hannah are just a few of my favorites.
20. Hated math growing up. (Still do! I have never understood why I would have to do all 30 problems for homework if they were all covering the same task. If I could do the first 15 correctly whey did I have to do the rest? Wasn't I bound to make a mistake?)....Can you tell I don't teach math?
21. Took piano lessons for 7 years & can't play a thing. (I would give every excuse not to practice & to get out of lessons each week.)
22. Love Friday Night Lights the tv show. It's the only show that I don't miss each week. (Don't tell me what happened this week though because it's tivod!)
23. Been to two Nascar Races - Michigan & Talladega
24. Must have sugar in my tea!
25. Love looking at magazines - People, Adoptive Families, Sports Illustrated, Prevention, etc. You name it, I'd probably look at it.
26. Favorite color is green. Growing up my bedroom was decorated in pink & pale green.
27. Enjoy coloring. Zoe loves to color so there are many nights that she & I will sit at the dining room table & color.
28. Miss rocking Zoe to sleep. Haven't done this in quite a while. Since she's been in a big girl bed she doesn't let me rock her. If she would let me, you can bet that I would.
29. Can't (or should I say won't) watch a movie at the movie theater without getting a soda & buttered popcorn.
30. Saw Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, & New Kids on the Block while in college. Crazy, huh?
31. Went boating with Tony Romo (the Dallas Cowboys quarterback) a couple of years ago when he was in college. My sister-in-law (Paul's sister) attended the same college as Tony & lived with his then girlfriend.
32. Can't stand the smell of campfire smoke on my clothes. (Disgusting!)
33. Didn't even get my bicycle out of the garage this year. You can call me lazy. Go ahead.
34. Want to visit the east coast some day.
35. Thankful for my job teaching 7th & 8th graders. I absolutely love it. I try to have fun with my students each day. I figure if they are not enjoying school then they aren't learning & they do NOT want to be there.
36. Love having lots of nieces & nephews. Just wish I could see the all more. A couple of them we see about two times a year - that's definitely not enough.
37. Have a wonderful husband & daughter who love me unconditionally. God could not have given me two people who complete me more than Paul & Zoe. I consider myself very lucky.
There you have it - all 37 things about me. Hope you learned a little about me that you didn't know before.
I can't end my post with that though. Just wanted to tell you that Zoe got her wish tonight. We did have dinner tonight again as a family. However, we didn't eat at home. Paul decided that he wasn't going to make me cook on my birthday so we went to a local restaurant. Once we got home, Paul & Zoe hooked up for a little "Daddy & Zoe time"!
Oh, I must brag a little - Zoe can tie her shoes by herself. We have been working on it every once in a while. Well, tonight she came to me & wanted to show me something. Sure enough, she tied both shoes by herself. She was so excited. She said - "Mama, are you amazed?" I told her I was & that I was so proud of her. She then said - "I knew you'd be proud of me. I wanted you to see that I could do it on your birthday!" What a great present! (It's the little things in life......)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Could It Be Three in a Row?!!!
Before I begin, please take the time to read the following & sign the petition.......
Crisis faced by American Adoptive Families......... Friends of ours, Erik & Adrienne, are waiting for their little girl in China. They have been logged in China for about two years now & hope to receive their referral in the coming months. Recently they learned that some of the rules & regulations with international adoption have changed. While the new law (The new Hague I800A) that Congress passed was intended for all families who have been in the international adoption process before April 1, 2008, to be grandfathered in, the Department of State & the US Department of Homeland Security's CIS (the enforcing agencies) are ignoring the new law & are forcing all families to abide by the new regulations. Not only does this contradict the way the law was written, but it also creates undue hardship for the thousands of US families affected, and will likely cause the disruption of the adoption. Under the new rules these families will have to pay additional dollars, in some cases running into the thousands in fees to US adoption and homestudy agencies. Having already spent in excess of $10,000, many cannot afford these additional fees. Besides the extra fees, some families may find themselves having to find a different adoption agency which means China will require that they resubmit their dossier, and move to the end of a line that includes adopters from many countries and is in excess of 25,000 families long. I cannot imagine being in this situation. When we went through our adoption of Zoe, the wait time was 8 months. Some families have already waited 2 or 3 years. And now there's a possibility that they will basically have to start all over? NUTS!!! So, what can you do? Sign this petition - Adoption for All: The Fairness for Families Petition. It is aimed at Congress to require the enforcing agencies to grandfather those families in just as the law was written. These families should not have to suffer because the enforcing agencies are not doing what was expected of them.
Okay, what about three in a row?..........Growing up my parents, brother, & I ate together as a family every night. It's just one of those traditions we had. Once Zoe joined our family, I always longed for those times knowing it would be impossible every night to do. With my husband Paul being a funeral director there are many nights that he is not home, let alone for dinner, because of visitations, funerals, removals, etc. The past two weeks have been crazy around our house. Paul has had to work quite a bit, & Zoe & I have been busy with activities as well as meetings. So, you can imagine how exciting it has been having everyone home the last two nights. Not only did we enjoy dinner as a family, but we actually got to spend some quality time together. Zoe has loved having her daddy home; laughing, joking, & playing with him. She has really been Daddy's girl these last couple of nights. Before going to bed tonight, she informed her daddy what plans she has in stake for the two of them tomorrow night. I sure hope we're able to make it three in a row with everyone home, or Zoe is going to be one disappointed little girl.
Crisis faced by American Adoptive Families......... Friends of ours, Erik & Adrienne, are waiting for their little girl in China. They have been logged in China for about two years now & hope to receive their referral in the coming months. Recently they learned that some of the rules & regulations with international adoption have changed. While the new law (The new Hague I800A) that Congress passed was intended for all families who have been in the international adoption process before April 1, 2008, to be grandfathered in, the Department of State & the US Department of Homeland Security's CIS (the enforcing agencies) are ignoring the new law & are forcing all families to abide by the new regulations. Not only does this contradict the way the law was written, but it also creates undue hardship for the thousands of US families affected, and will likely cause the disruption of the adoption. Under the new rules these families will have to pay additional dollars, in some cases running into the thousands in fees to US adoption and homestudy agencies. Having already spent in excess of $10,000, many cannot afford these additional fees. Besides the extra fees, some families may find themselves having to find a different adoption agency which means China will require that they resubmit their dossier, and move to the end of a line that includes adopters from many countries and is in excess of 25,000 families long. I cannot imagine being in this situation. When we went through our adoption of Zoe, the wait time was 8 months. Some families have already waited 2 or 3 years. And now there's a possibility that they will basically have to start all over? NUTS!!! So, what can you do? Sign this petition - Adoption for All: The Fairness for Families Petition. It is aimed at Congress to require the enforcing agencies to grandfather those families in just as the law was written. These families should not have to suffer because the enforcing agencies are not doing what was expected of them.
Okay, what about three in a row?..........Growing up my parents, brother, & I ate together as a family every night. It's just one of those traditions we had. Once Zoe joined our family, I always longed for those times knowing it would be impossible every night to do. With my husband Paul being a funeral director there are many nights that he is not home, let alone for dinner, because of visitations, funerals, removals, etc. The past two weeks have been crazy around our house. Paul has had to work quite a bit, & Zoe & I have been busy with activities as well as meetings. So, you can imagine how exciting it has been having everyone home the last two nights. Not only did we enjoy dinner as a family, but we actually got to spend some quality time together. Zoe has loved having her daddy home; laughing, joking, & playing with him. She has really been Daddy's girl these last couple of nights. Before going to bed tonight, she informed her daddy what plans she has in stake for the two of them tomorrow night. I sure hope we're able to make it three in a row with everyone home, or Zoe is going to be one disappointed little girl.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
No Boys Unless You Count Daddy!
I know it's been a while since I've posted. Things have been absolutely nuts around here. In all of our craziness though, we did celebrate a little someone's special day.......
Zoe celebrated her 5th birthday this past Saturday. It's so hard to believe that she is already five. (My baby is growing up way too fast!) Saturday evening Zoe wanted to stay home, have her daddy cook bratwursts on the grill, & roast marshmallows in the fire pit. She also enjoyed opening a few presents.
Paul & I hosted a birthday party for Zoe at her gymnastics facility Sunday afternoon. We let her invite her friends from pre-school. She could have invited whoever she wanted, but she decided NO boys except for Daddy! (Now if we could just keep her thinking that!!!!) Anyway, all twelve girls had a blast playing on the gymnastic equipment & also the blow-up bounce house. The Hannah Montana cupcakes were a big hit too!
Do we have to hear the rules??!!!
Zoe playing on one of the slides.
Zoe getting ready to do a trick on the parallel bars.
Showing how to do a bridge kick over.
The three Amigos - Zoe, Gracie, & Sydney!
Gotta love that pink icing!!!!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Will it be a Hooters Halloween?
Zoe & the Hooters girls!Zoe's 5th birthday is this coming Saturday. Paul & I usually let Zoe choose where to eat for dinner on her birthday. However, this coming weekend we just have too much going on so we decided that we would take Zoe out for dinner last night. Wouldn't ya know? When Paul asked her where she wanted to eat to celebrate her upcoming birthday, she chose Hooters. (I think her father has brainwashed her!) So, is was off to Hooters.
Zoe was so excited when after finding out we were celebrating Zoe's birthday, our waitress gave her a balloon & a few stickers. (Of course, Zoe decided that not only did she need to wear one of the stickers, but I did too.) A few of the other waitresses then gathered around for a picture with Zoe. She was so cute about it. After the picture she immediately asked our waitress (the blonde next to Zoe) if they sold the Hooters outfits in her size. It caught me & Paul off guard. Our waitress told her that they do sell the shirt in Zoe's size, but not the shorts. In fact, they do not sell the orange shorts at all. They only keep a few pairs in stock for the waitresses. So, Zoe then talked her dad into getting her one of the white Hooters tank tops. She then asked me if I would look on the internet to see if we could find some orange shorts in her size. (Quite honestly, as little as our waitress was, Zoe could probably wear her size shorts!) When asked why she wanted a pair of orange Hooters shorts, she told us that she has now decided she doesn't want to be Mulan anymore for Trick-or-Treat. Instead? Yep, you guessed it - a Hooters Girl!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Writing with a Heavy Heart...........
First I'll let you see the pictures from the wedding this past Saturday of Zoe's daycare teacher Amanda. Zoe really enjoyed being part of Miss Amanda's special day. I think she realized how neat it was that Miss Amanda picked her to be the flower girl when she could have asked anyone...........I might also add that Zoe looked pretty darn cute too!!!!!
In front of some of the decorations....
What a smile!
Posing without being asked!
Mama's Little Cutie!
Lovin' the dress!
Zoe & Patrick, the ring bearer!
The entire wedding party.......
Zoe & Miss Clara (another of her daycare teachers)!
Zoe & Miss Brittany (another daycare teacher)!
Zoe & friend Courtney dancing at the reception!
Zoe with a new bouquet of flowers that she collected off of the reception tables!
Why a Heavy Heart?...............This morning a farming accident in our little town of 1,400 claimed the life of a young husband/father. Nick, age 27, lost his life when he became buried in a grain bin full of corn. Nick & Erica had been married a little over two years & have a 6 month old son named Braxton. Our friend Sue, who happens to be Nick's neighbor says it best:
Just when you think things can’t get any worse, they do. Today we lost a friend, fellow firefighter and our neighbor, Nick R. at approximately 9am. He was only 27 years old and a young dad, Braxton is 6 months old. Married just 2 years to a great gal, Erica. Nick and Erica made you feel like family every time you were with them. I worked with Nick’s oldest sister, Camille. She worked part time at the bank before leaving for college several years ago. Today is her birthday. My son Jimmie was a classmate of Nick’s youngest sister Chrysse. Nick and Erica were to be in Erica’s brothers wedding this Saturday.
Nick was the kind of guy that would do anything for you; he worked hard at farming and he loved every detail of farming. He also was said to be one of the greatest basketball referee’s in these parts. I don’t have any personal experience with basketball, but I’ve been told that he wasn’t far from refereeing the NCAA Division I games like his uncle Greg.
My husband Lyle was first on scene and did everything he could to try to get to Nick. Nick was buried in a grain bin full of corn. He didn’t have much time before suffocating. They just didn’t have enough time to save him. Even cutting holes in the sides of the bin and using a trackhoe to dig into the bin; there just wasn’t enough time.
I’m sitting here in my office at home watching the huge grain trucks rolling by filled with corn. My husband Lyle, and sons Jim and Luke are among some great neighbors and friends that will haul all the corn to the elevator all night if they have to, just because they want to help. By helping you feel better. And Nick would do that for anyone else too, ANYONE.
I don’t know who is going to mow the weeds on the sides of the road now. Nick was a stickler for mowing. He never let the grass in his yard get too long. And he took care of the neighborhood making sure the weeds were cut down in the ditches.
He was a fireman too. When Lyle, Luke and Jim would get a call, they’d holler as they were scrambling to get out of the house, “hurry, if you want to beat Nick.” They never did.
Nick beat them all today; I wonder what kind of task God needed him for??
As I leave you with this post, I have a prayer request: Please keep Nick's family & friends in your thoughts & prayers. It's going to be a very tough week for all of them. Perhaps some peace & comfort will come to them as we storm the gates of Heaven asking for God's blessing.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Catching Up is Always Hard to Do
As you know, it was a crazy week for us. Not only did we have something going every night, but Paul ended up getting three calls (for those of you just joining us, my husband Paul is a funeral director) during the week. So, that had us rearranging our schedules.
The highlight of the week was the wedding that took place yesterday that Zoe was the flower girl in. The wedding had a harvest theme & was held outside. I was a little sceptical at first about the site, but I do have to admit that it was probably one of the prettiest weddings that I've ever witnessed. It helped that it as in the low 80's with a light breeze. The decorations were gorgeous! I apologize but you are going to have to wait until tomorrow to see pictures of Zoe, the bride & groom, decorations, etc. I accidently left my memory card reader at school on Friday so I have no way of uploading my pictures.
Zoe also had a great first piano lesson. She was thrilled to have Lyndsay spend a half hour with her showing her where to put her fingers on the piano & explaining to her about using both her right & left hands. Immediately when we walked in the door from her lesson, she went straight to the piano & started practicing. I know she's only 4 & is very excited, but we haven't had to tell her to practice yet. So far, she practiced every day at least once a day.
Today was spent trying to get everything caught up around here. Not only laundry, but there was mail to go through, phone calls to return, e-mails to answer, etc. Seemed like everytime I turned around, I was adding two more things to my "To Do" list. It's hard to get caught up when there's so much to be done.
Paul & I received an e-mail from Half the Sky, the organization that provided Zoe's nanny while she lived at her orphanage in China. Anyway, we try to do some type of fundraiser each year with 100% of the proceeds to be used specifically for Zoe's orphanage through Half the Sky. Well, this year we held a golf tournament & raised over $4000. Now Half the Sky wants to feature our fundraiser on its website. So, in the next day or so, I have to get an article together along with a picture of Zoe & e-mail it to them. We're pretty excited about it; hoping it will inspire others to host their own type of fundraiser for the children living at orphanages world wide.
Speaking of inspiration......our little friend, Gunner Gillespie, is really having a tough time right now. Gunner is suffering from an inoperable tumor on his brain stem. The type of tumor he has is called a pontine glioma. It is highly aggressive, highly malignant, treatment resistant and recurrent. It is an exceedingly rare form of terminal cancer that mostly affects children between the ages of 4-10 years old. Please keep Gunner & his family in your thoughts & prayers.
Did you know that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month? You might have, but most people do not. Why? Because there is not much about it in the media. According to an article in the New York times, “Cancer is the No. 1 disease killer of children in the U.S. ...We tend to talk about it in hushed tones instead of screaming for help. But scream we should.” The article goes on to say, “The funding for pediatric cancer clinical trials has gone down every year since 2003, and is currently $26.4 million. By comparison, funding for AIDS research was $254 million in 2006; funding for breast cancer topped $584 million the same year.” Pretty unbelievable, huh? I can't imagine the frustration & dispair these families must feel. Will you help promote awareness to this devastating disease? Together we can bring it to the fore front.
The highlight of the week was the wedding that took place yesterday that Zoe was the flower girl in. The wedding had a harvest theme & was held outside. I was a little sceptical at first about the site, but I do have to admit that it was probably one of the prettiest weddings that I've ever witnessed. It helped that it as in the low 80's with a light breeze. The decorations were gorgeous! I apologize but you are going to have to wait until tomorrow to see pictures of Zoe, the bride & groom, decorations, etc. I accidently left my memory card reader at school on Friday so I have no way of uploading my pictures.
Zoe also had a great first piano lesson. She was thrilled to have Lyndsay spend a half hour with her showing her where to put her fingers on the piano & explaining to her about using both her right & left hands. Immediately when we walked in the door from her lesson, she went straight to the piano & started practicing. I know she's only 4 & is very excited, but we haven't had to tell her to practice yet. So far, she practiced every day at least once a day.
Today was spent trying to get everything caught up around here. Not only laundry, but there was mail to go through, phone calls to return, e-mails to answer, etc. Seemed like everytime I turned around, I was adding two more things to my "To Do" list. It's hard to get caught up when there's so much to be done.
Paul & I received an e-mail from Half the Sky, the organization that provided Zoe's nanny while she lived at her orphanage in China. Anyway, we try to do some type of fundraiser each year with 100% of the proceeds to be used specifically for Zoe's orphanage through Half the Sky. Well, this year we held a golf tournament & raised over $4000. Now Half the Sky wants to feature our fundraiser on its website. So, in the next day or so, I have to get an article together along with a picture of Zoe & e-mail it to them. We're pretty excited about it; hoping it will inspire others to host their own type of fundraiser for the children living at orphanages world wide.
Speaking of inspiration......our little friend, Gunner Gillespie, is really having a tough time right now. Gunner is suffering from an inoperable tumor on his brain stem. The type of tumor he has is called a pontine glioma. It is highly aggressive, highly malignant, treatment resistant and recurrent. It is an exceedingly rare form of terminal cancer that mostly affects children between the ages of 4-10 years old. Please keep Gunner & his family in your thoughts & prayers.
Did you know that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month? You might have, but most people do not. Why? Because there is not much about it in the media. According to an article in the New York times, “Cancer is the No. 1 disease killer of children in the U.S. ...We tend to talk about it in hushed tones instead of screaming for help. But scream we should.” The article goes on to say, “The funding for pediatric cancer clinical trials has gone down every year since 2003, and is currently $26.4 million. By comparison, funding for AIDS research was $254 million in 2006; funding for breast cancer topped $584 million the same year.” Pretty unbelievable, huh? I can't imagine the frustration & dispair these families must feel. Will you help promote awareness to this devastating disease? Together we can bring it to the fore front.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Busy Week Ahead
Wow! It's gonna be a crazy (& I'm afraid - a long) week. Here's the schedule thus far:
Monday - Zoe has gymnastics from 4 to 6 PM. It's always a challenge to get there on time since I can't leave school until 3:05 PM, drive 25 minutes home to pick her up, & then make a mad dash to the gym which is 1/2 hour away!
Tuesday - I have detention after school (No, I am not in trouble, I proctor detention at my school for those students who DID do something to warrant such a thing) & then Paul has a village board meeting.
Wednesday - I have to go pick up Zoe's flower girl dress at the dress shop in a nearby (30 minutes from us) town. Paul will be taking Zoe to her first piano lesson at 7 PM.
Thursday - I have a school board meeting at 7:30 PM. (Yes, I am on the local school board in the town in which we reside.) Paul has a another village board meeting at 7 PM but he thinks it won't last very long.
Friday - Rehearsal for the wedding that Zoe is the flower girl. Haven't heard any of the details yet.
Saturday - Wedding day. Zoe is getting her hair done at 11:30 & then she must be at the wedding site at 1 PM for pictures. The wedding is outdoors & starts at 3 PM. The reception follows.
Sunday - REST. We will all need it!!!! I can already pictures it now - laundry, laundry, & more laundry. Hopefully I'll be able to get a nap in there somehow!
And, to top it all off, Paul just got a call. (My husband is a funeral director.) So, we will have to wait & see what the arrangements will be. Never know, we might be rearranging our tentative schedule!
Monday - Zoe has gymnastics from 4 to 6 PM. It's always a challenge to get there on time since I can't leave school until 3:05 PM, drive 25 minutes home to pick her up, & then make a mad dash to the gym which is 1/2 hour away!
Tuesday - I have detention after school (No, I am not in trouble, I proctor detention at my school for those students who DID do something to warrant such a thing) & then Paul has a village board meeting.
Wednesday - I have to go pick up Zoe's flower girl dress at the dress shop in a nearby (30 minutes from us) town. Paul will be taking Zoe to her first piano lesson at 7 PM.
Thursday - I have a school board meeting at 7:30 PM. (Yes, I am on the local school board in the town in which we reside.) Paul has a another village board meeting at 7 PM but he thinks it won't last very long.
Friday - Rehearsal for the wedding that Zoe is the flower girl. Haven't heard any of the details yet.
Saturday - Wedding day. Zoe is getting her hair done at 11:30 & then she must be at the wedding site at 1 PM for pictures. The wedding is outdoors & starts at 3 PM. The reception follows.
Sunday - REST. We will all need it!!!! I can already pictures it now - laundry, laundry, & more laundry. Hopefully I'll be able to get a nap in there somehow!
And, to top it all off, Paul just got a call. (My husband is a funeral director.) So, we will have to wait & see what the arrangements will be. Never know, we might be rearranging our tentative schedule!
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