Happy new year and PTL!

First:  Dorothy was able to eat and hold down food today, so that is such a good sign.  In fact her doctor told her if she could do that she could probably go home tomorrow!  So, she's looking forward to tomorrow with hopes of going home!  She's still flat on her back and weak as a cat, but she feels so much better since her stomach is no longer 'rolling.'  Praise the Lord and thank you all for your prayers!

The picture tonight is one I got of Nate today when we stopped by to see who we might catch at their house.  We don't catch him much, so it was a treat to get a hug and a picture!  He'll be 21 in March, so his life is very busy.  We got to see Rob and Trish, and also Mason, Gracie and Raynie, so it was a fun visit.

Lee was able to see his dentist in the city and they are working on fixing his broken tooth.  It's a long story, but they think they can add a tooth to his partial plate.  They will make the final adjustments on Wednesday.  We had intended to go to OKC on Thursday to be ready to leave early Friday morning for Hawaii.  Since we're going Wednesday for dental work, I went ahead and made our reservation for Wednesday night as well.  So, we've got to get all packed and ready to go tomorrow and leave here on Wednesday instead of Thursday!  It's a good thing I started packing last weekend!  We can do it.  Whew.  I'm ready for some Hawaii weather!  Maybe we can get a chance to rest some on Thursday, too.

Please pray for Dorothy.

This looked so cute when I saw it that I had to take the picture.  Lee left his boots and hat tok dry after digging the truck out of the snow the other day.  I saw it and it reminded me of a picture of a little tyke in his daddy's Boots and hat; only there's no little tyke, just Papa's boots and hat.  It made me smile and I thought you might smile, too.

Now, the serious news is that Dorothy was taken by ambulance to the hospital last night.  They had called the doctor earlier in the evening and she gave them instructions to get her through the night and told them to bring her to the hospital this morning if she wasn't better.  At 3 this morning Jeff (her grandson) called an ambulance to take  her to the hospital.  She was so sick, but too weak for him to get to his truck.  I called a few minutes ago and talked with her, but she had no idea what they are doing for or with her.  All she knows is that she's on an IV and she's still sick.  The IV will help to get some nourishment into her and keep her from being dehydrated, but something is making her really sick.  She said, "Jo, I'm so sick; I'll talk to you later."  Bless her heart.  Please pray that God will give her the strength to get through whatever this is.

I am doing much better.  I feel like I've been able to keep this crud in my head and it hasn't gone to bronchitis, which is always my greatest fear.  It's all beginning to drain, so that's good.  The drainage causes me to cough and gag and make a terrible scene, but when that's not happening I'm fine.  I'm resting a lot, drinking lots of orange juice and water and taking Vitamin C and antihistamines.  I'm going to stay away from the hospital unless Dorothy needs me.  I don't need to catch what she or anyone else has and I sure don't want to pass around whatever I have!  She's where she needs to be and will have the best of care.  She was the president of the hospital's board of directors for years, so she's highly respected up there.  Thanks for your prayers for her recovery.

Hawaii shorts.

I started packing on Friday night.  Today I tried on clothes and packed most everything I'm taking.  It sure feels funny to be packing shorts and tank tops when there is snow on the ground outside!  That snow sure makes me ready to go see some whales, though!

Today I felt the best I have since Sunday night, when I started feeling this cold.  I've hit the stage of coughing up junk, so that's a good sign but not pretty.  So far, I think it has not hit my lungs.  Thank God for the neti pot, colloidal silver water and benadryl.  I think the combination of those 3 have helped me the most.

Dorothy has been sick all week and I talked to her grandson a few minutes ago.  If she's not better in the morning he's taking her to the hospital.  She's been refusing, but I think she's ready to go, now.  I pray that she will recover from this and that it is not anything too serious.  I will keep you posted on her well being.

Glad we don't get this often!

This is a pic of Lee digging out a path so we could get out of the driveway yesterday.  Notice the tracks near the pole of the basketball goal and the red bud tree.  He came to within a hair of wrapping that mirror around both of them.  Of course I was having a conniption.  I could have shoveled but he wouldn't let me!  I was so afraid he'd have a heart attack!  He didn't, so, once again, I was worried and it was worthless energy.  I should have been praying!  I pray a lot, but I missed that opportunity.  I've thanked God a lot since we got out of there in one piece.

We didn't go anywhere today.  I don't expect the roads are any better.  It's just better to stay inside when the weather is tricky.  Ice and snow are tricky!  For kids it's fun, but for old people it's way risky!  I'm learning to be more careful with this body.

Today we woke up to more snow, but it was just flurries, but enough to remind us that it's still bad out there. Lee's daughter had hoped to come yesterday and then today, but I think it's just not in the cards for her to make that play at this time.  Maybe we can see her before we go next week when we're in town; if not we can see her when we come home.

Today we started packing for Hawaii.  It's a little bizarre to be packing shorts and tank tops, but we sure won't need these sweat shirts in Hawaii.  Woo hoo!

It blows into drifts.

When I open the door of my bedroom onto the deck this is what I see.  Notice how in the bottom left hand corner are Lee's footprints from when he took out the trash and it looks about 6 inches deep.  The alley where folks have driven looks deep, as well, but see how the grass is showing through on the lot behind us.  That's how the wind blows it.  In our driveway the very front near the street is blown clear, but there were 3 foot drifts around Lee's truck.  He had to dig a path to get out to go get his prescriptions today.  There are two main streets clear in Hobart, but the rest are snow and ice covered.  It's a good time to stay inside!  I know of people shoveling show and then having a heart attack, so I was leery of Lee shoveling snow, but I was really sweating him wrapping his truck around the basketball goal or the red bud tree beside the driveway.  I thank God that we got out and back safely!

One of Lee's daughters had planned to come visit today, but something came up and she had to stay home to take care of it.  Hopefully, she'll be able to make it tomorrow.  I think the roads will be clear until she gets to our little barely traveled town.

Finished the puzzle!

This puzzle was started over the Thanksgiving weekend of 2011!  I thought I'd never get it finished, but I finished it today.  It's my Christmas present to myself!  And, yes, when the weather is this cold I wear this sweater every day.  It is SO warm!  You see all the tools of a real puzzler; the picture of how the completed puzzle looks; a magnifying glass to inspect the picture closely; a pancake turner to pick up the little 'communities' that grow around the puzzle and place them where they go when you find that place; pie pans to hold like pieces; a candle to burn up the whole thing if you give up!  Seriously, all but the candle are a big help; that's just the place I found to let the candle live.   I am so relieved to be done with this puzzle and really pleased to find that all the pieces survived over a year and a move from the dining room to this guest room!  If you make this huge, you'll see it's 1000 pieces; the top right corner was the part that has been undone for the last year.  Those last 75 pieces were TOUGH; yes, I counted the pieces when I couldn't find any that fit.  Then I counted down as I found a piece here and there.

I had been challenged about 3 years ago to make a snow angel when it snowed when we were in Branson.  I only had my good coat there and didn't want to get it all wet, so I didn't do it.  So, today I went out to make a snow angel.  Holy cow!  How dumb was that???  People my age should never get down into the snow; they have to get back up!!!  And, getting up messes up the snow angel!  Well, I'm a sport, but I'm a lot wiser, now.  I will stick to jigsaw puzzles and never, ever lay down in the snow unless I fall.  And, I'll thank God for letting me NOT fall when I got up!  I did it when Lee was reading the paper online, so he didn't miss me.  He would have wanted to help me and we could have both fallen!  Certainly we would have both gotten cold and there was no need for both of us to freeze!  Freezing me was enough to teach me the lesson.  I thank God for just letting me be frozen to learn the lesson!

Merry white Christmas from Hobart!

I've got on my winter snow shirt.  We've got a white Christmas for sure.  It's blowing every which way, so I can't tell how much we have, but they're predicting another 3 - 4 inches before it stops.  When it stops I'll go out and make a snow angel and get a pic of that!  It may be dark before it stops and I'll have to do it tomorrow.  I got this picture of us chilling out by our wee Christmas tree, a bunch of candles and the Santa Collection.  Merry Christmas to all!  Praise God for sending His son to set an example for us and then provide for our salvation.  Wow!  What an awesome gift!

Merry Christmas Eve!

This pic is slightly different from last nights; I haven't felt like taking pics today.  I'm struggling with a head cold and I'm determined to nip it in the bud.  Lee broke a tooth this morning and it's the one his partial plate hangs onto, so it's pretty important.  His dentist is closed for the rest of the year, so I guess we'll be eating lots of mashed potatoes.  I thank God that nothing is hurting him, though!  I thank God that I have Nyquil and colloidal silver water to throw at this cold, too.  If I can just keep it from going to bronchitis I'll be so pleased!

I didn't post the pie recipe last night because it didn't set up like it should.  I figure out why it didn't, though, so I'm going to go ahead and post it.  The pie is still delicious and if you don't make the same mistake I did it will set up right and be beautiful as well as delicious.

It's nearly sugar free key lime pie::

1 pkg sugar free lime jello
1/4 c. boiling water
2 6oz light key lime yogurt
1 8oz cool whip
1 graham cracker crust

DISSOLVE jello in the boiling water.  (I didn't dissolve it enough; I found some solid pieces of hard jello in my pie, so I'm sure if I had done a better job of dissolving it and stirring it all together with a whip it would have set up better.)  Add the yogurt.  Mex well  & stir in 2/3 of the cool whip.  Pour into the crust and chill.  Ice the top with the remaining cool whip.

When I made it, it was firm enough to ice in about an hour.  I just wish I had used a wire whisk; I think that would have worked better.  It's way yummy, though.  I'm going to make it with different flavors and see how it works.  I'll report my findings.

Christmas Adam.

Our preacher's daughter who is 8 came up with Christmas Adam.  Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and Adam was before Eve, so this must be Christmas Adam.  Out of the mouths of babes!  That's a classic and will stick with me for the rest of my life, I hope.

Today we had the devotional at the nursing home and I loved visiting with the folks there.  It wasn't too cold; it would have been nice if the wind weren't blowing, but this is Oklahoma, so we accept and expect wind.  After church we came by the Mexican restaurant and it was OPEN!  It hasn't been open on Sunday for nearly 2 years!  So, we whipped in and hurt ourselves for lunch.  I brought home enough for 3 more meals for me, but we still ate too much.  It was great, though.  Dorothy has company, so she wasn't with us and we sure missed her!  After the nursing home devotional I came home and shelled pecans as I watched a movie.  Now, nothing good is on, so I might go work on my puzzle that has been in the building stage since Thanksgiving of 2011!

I thank God for someone special who will share Christmas Adam, Eve, and Christmas with me.  We're just chilling out and taking it easy this week.  Again, I forgot to take pics while we were dressed today.  Ugh!  I meant to take the camera to church to get pics of Alyssa with me, but I forgot the camera.  Alyssa was sick, so she didn't get to come, anyway.  We saw her daddy this morning and her mommy tonight, but we'll have to see Alyssa the next time.  She has a fever and with a 4 year old that could be most anything, but so far that's her only symptom besides feeling like a wet rag.  We pray that they can continue with their travels and see a doctor with her tomorrow.

Thankful for an easy day!

Do you remember Betsy Clark?  I think she was the forerunner to Precious Moments.  Anyway, I always loved her and I collect Betsy Clark items.  The one behind me says, "A true friend is the best possession."  I believe that is so true and I know that I am wealthy when it comes to my possessions of friends!  I have several pictures and items displayed on my stairway to the basement; it's one of my favorite nooks in the house because of all the Betsy Clark pieces.  I go up and down those steps to the basement a lot on my exercise plan.  My goal is to do 25 flights of stairs a day.  I thank God for a good place to get my stairs and walking done.  If I don't get enough walking in during the day, I can always go down and walk laps around the pool table.  I've got to keep moving and I thank God for the place to do it and the ability to keep moving!

Today has been an easy day.  I went out to Dorothy's house this morning and we visited for about an hour.  That was fun.  I picked up a recipe from her for another sugar free pie and stopped by the store on my way home to get the ingredients.  Oh, Ruthie, you're going to like this one, too!  I made the pie and it's supposed to set up.  We ate a piece after supper and it wasn't set up like I think it should so I'm not sharing the recipe until I know I've got it right.  I should know it the morning if it's set good and firm.  If it's right, I'll post it tomorrow on the blog.  It sure tasted good even if it was kind of soft.

Lee was taking a nap in his chair this afternoon, so I heated a rice buddy and laid down on one of the couches and napped along with him. Now, there's a Christmas tradition I can maintain!  Love those naps and love my rice buddies.

Forgot to take the camera, again! Ugh!

We went to OKC today, primarily to go to the funeral of a guy who worked for Lee for about 20 years.  That was on my mind when we left at 6:45 a.m., so I didn't even think to take the camera.  We did get to go visit 3 of our kids and Lee's brother, Dan, and his wife, Sandy.  The picture I posted is one I got of Chris, Lee's son-in-law and his precious baby, Bryce.  That picture I got when they were here Thanksgiving.  Today we got to see Brice at home with his mommy and two sisters and then we went by Cris' work and got to visit briefly.  We stopped at Tricia's and saw all the kids except Gabe and Sadie; Sadie was at work, so we went to where she works and saw her and had lunch.  On the way home tonight we stopped by Lee's son's house and got to visit with him and his wife and one of their daughters.  So, today was full of great visits and a really nice celebration of the life of Lee's good friend.  We also went to the coffee shop before the funeral and got to see several of Lee's good friends.

So, it was a full day and a great opportunity to give many thanks to God for abundant blessings.  We are rich when it comes to family and friends.

It's a slightly different pic; it's all I've got!

This picture looks very much like the one I posted yesterday, but it's slightly different.  I took pics today, but it was of the papers I had ready for the tax preparer and I sent them to her.  I hope that procedure worked and I'll be done until it's time to do our personal taxes.  I dissolved the corporation, so I should be done with reporting for it after this year.  What a relief!

It's really weird to be home all day!  I got 4 loads of laundry done and changed our sheets, plus I finished up the corporate taxes.  I'll have dinner ready in a few minutes.  It feels really good.

I should report on the 'sick and afflicted.'  Lee's sore throat is gone and he seems to be just fine.  His knees, shoulders and back bother him a lot, but we're old, so I think that's to be expected.  We just have to learn to pace ourselves to not do too much and use Ibuprofen sparingly.  His gout and blood sugar seem to be under control.  Praise God!

More praising God over Ruthie and Phil.  They are hobbling along, but, as I said, we're old, so we just have to do a certain amount of hobbling and give thanks for the ability to do that!  Ruthie is still feeling some dizziness from her concussion and Phil is dragging after his stroke.  We think he's dragging because of the meds they have him on to prevent another stroke because other than tired he seems to feel really good.  When I talk to them on the phone they sure sound good and cut up like they feel good.  For a few weeks there we weren't cutting up any; we were all kind of holding our breath until we found out what each test would reveal.  The tests revealed that Phil has had 3 strokes, but 2 of them were old, so must have been back when he didn't even realize it.  All the tests on his heart showed that his heart is in great shape.  Ruthie has tested out really well, too.  So, other than the obvious, (strokes, MS and a concussion) they are doing well considering all.  

We're all alive and up and at 'em.  That's good stuff, in my opinion!  I thank God for bodies that heal and the energy to keep going every day.

Another day off and my year is done!

Now I can sleep in every day except Sunday for a while.  Yahoo!  They didn't call me today so I got my taxes for the corporation almost done.  I've got to fill in the papers, but I've the figures all ready to post.  Yeah!  I thank God for the opportunity to get that done before I take off to Hawaii!  I'll have to post the very last figures right before we go, but I've got all done that I can.  It feels good to be ready.  I've shut down the corporation, so this is the last time I'll have to file these taxes.  It was just more than I wanted to keep going.

We're watching the Thunder play in Atlanta tonight.  We just got home from church and it's halftime but the Thunder is ahead, so we're happy.  We're in the middle of a wind and dust storm here; it sounds like thunder outside, but it's only wicked winds.  God is mighty and awesome!

Nice day off!

Today and tomorrow are semester tests at school, so I really don't expect to be called.  The elementary schools will be having parties, so I just think I'm done for 2012 and subbing.  It was so nice this morning!  I got up at 6:30 and got ready, then when they hadn't called me by 8:30, I went back to bed and took a 2 hour nap.  I loved it!  I thank God for the opportunity to sub and share some life with the kids, but I also thank Him for a day off; even a couple of months off!

Then we did some grocery shopping and went out to see Dorothy.  I had cut up some apples and celery for her because she's making a cranberry salad for dinner with her grandson's family on Thursday.  While we were out there I put together a sugar free ice box pie for her.  She loves that as much as we do.  Tonight I made her some quiche to have this weekend when our friends are coming for a visit.  The couple who have the little girl, Alyssa, have moved away to go into the mission field and they're coming this weekend for a visit.  They'll stay at Dorothy's house, so I wanted to help her get some food ready to have for them.  We're excited about seeing them.  They were a special part of our lives and we've really missed them.  It's been nice to have a day off to do things I don't always have time to do.  Tonight I'm throwing pills to last until we go to Hawaii, then I have to take enough with me to Hawaii in their original bottles.  Flying is really a pain, anymore, but it's the best way to get to Hawaii!  We don't have long to get ready, so it's starting to get more and more exciting!

Blue and gold day.

An algebra teacher had a sick baby this morning, so I had to sub, to my surprise.  I had read somewhere (probably face book) that  on Monday we should wear the school colors if Sandy Nook Elementary School to honor those suffering due to the tragic killing there on Friday. Yellow is not my best color, but I wore it today.  We open each day with the pledge of allegiance and then a moment of silence when we can pray or meditate or just think.  I took that time to thank God for the safety in our schools and for the kids and my opportunity to share in their lives.  I always ask Him to guide me so that I might have some positive impact on the students whose life I get to touch.  They are treasures to me; I'd sure like to be a positive part of their lives.

Tonight the Thunder plays, so I'm doing the blog early so I can be ready to watch and get to bed early in case they call me in the morning.  Lee seems to be doing fine today.  I just have to get used to life with a diabetic!

Forgot, again.

I promise these are different pictures; just all of them were taken on Friday.  I was all dressed and should have taken a picture this morning, but I got all in a dither about leaving and forgot to take one.   Then Lee had what he calls a wobbly spell just as church was over and I've been concerned about him all afternoon.  We were standing to sing the last song and I thought he was going to sleep.  I asked him if he was all right and he shook his head, "No."  I told him to sit down, but he was leaning on the pew in front of us so he didn't sit, but I could tell he was about to fall.  As soon as the last prayer was over he sat right down.  Of course everyone else was standing to leave.  He got it together a bit and we made it out to the truck where he had a candy bar stashed.  He ate that and drove us to the house; he went in and I took Dorothy home and by the store to get a few things she needed.  I rushed right home and he was eating a sandwich.  As soon as he ate he sat in his recliner and slept all afternoon.  I'm not used to this diabetes thing at all, so it's kind of scary for me.  I know I'm never going anywhere without a candy bar in my purse, now.  It was a long way to the truck  from our pew up front.  He seems to be okay, now that he's awake, but I sat right by him all day and watched to be sure he was breathing.  I guess I've got a lot to learn!  I thank God that he seems to be okay. I hope he really is.  I didn't leave him to go to church tonight.  I felt like it was my place to be here with him even though he insisted I should go.  No way.

I've shelled about a pound of pecans this afternoon while I was watching Lee.  We're watching a movie, now, so I'll get some more shelled.  I really like shelling pecans; I think it's part of my wiring.  It falls into the category of peeling skin off a sunburn; I just can't resist.  Somehow I feel like I'm winning over the pecans.  I love eating them on my sandwiches, too.  A grilled cheese sandwich with caraway seeds, jalapenos and pecans is AWESOME!

Too funny.

Lee's brother called when we were in the truck today, and Lee couldn't get his cell phone out of his pocket in time to answer it.  We were almost home, so he called him back on the house phone to keep from using his minutes.  Anyway, his brother reminded him that he never set up his voice mail on his phone.  So, I sat down to figure out how to do it and the lady instructed:  "Say your name."  So I handed the phone to him and said, "Just say your name!"  He did, but he was watching a movie called, "The Shooter."  When they played it back it sounded horrible with all that gun fire in the background.  So, I pressed whatever buttons I had to press to get to do it again, and he muted the TV and then when I handed him the phone, I  DROPPED  it!  So, the message came on and sounded like Lee was falling on the recording.  We laughed and laughed and finally got it right.  I guess after the stress of yesterday we needed a good laugh.  I told Lee we should set up the voice mail every week or so if it's going to be that much fun!

Lee is feeling better.  We hope he'll feel like going to church tomorrow.  I think a good laugh helped him!  I still feel fine and thank God that I haven't had even a hint of Lee's sore throat.  Tonight is spa night; good hot bath, haircut and shampoo.  Ahhhhhh.

Sad day; I thank God for safety in our schools.

Today we are reminded how brutal life can be.  You'd really think that it would be safe to send your kids to school!  I thank God that our schools in Hobart may be rowdy, but they are certainly safe.  I am so hooked on these kids.  God bless those folks in Connecticut who have suffered such tremendous loss today.

Lee is still fighting a sore throat and he's watched the news all day about this shooting.  It's just so very sad.  I thank God for the safety of all our kids!  I thank Him for their health and for the joy they have been in our lives.

The truth is I pasted that smile on for today's picture; I had to really work at giving thanks and recalling precious moments and that helps to bring a smile.  We have so many reasons to smile even when our hearts are breaking.  God gives us courage and strength and I thank Him for that, too!

Sewed, dusted, changed sheets, did laundry.

Got all that done after testing this morning.  Now, I'm headed to basket ball games.  Lee is still not feeling up to games, so I'm going with the ladies tonight.  Tomorrow I hope to get the floors done, then the house will be clean.

I thank God that I'm able to clean house.  I'm thankful that the house is straight enough to clean.  Ah, and I'm thankful that the kids can play ball and I can watch!  Yee haw!

Remembered the mascara, but it didn't help; maybe I'll toss it!

I've worn mascara since I was 14, I think.  I thought it was necessary, but I'm not so sure, now!  Maybe I can be more flexible in the future!  I just know that I'm blessed to have vision and health in general.  I'm counting down the months until Medicare will pay to have my cataracts removed (9); then I will be so pleased to see good, again!

Today went fine.  Lee is struggling with a sore throat.  He went to the doctor yesterday and got some meds, but he's not doing much better today.  I guess he has to go through the cycle.  He's not interested in my remedies, so I can only watch.  I just hope I can stay clean!  (I think I can!  I feel fine.)

I have one more day of testing at school and then Friday I'll be subbing for a history teacher/wrestling coach.  He's going to the wrestling tournament and I'll hold down his history and geography classes.  I'm looking forward to it.  I think that surely next week I won't work because they are doing review and 9 weeks testing.  Surely the teachers will want to be there for that.  We'll see!

Holy cow!

I helped with testing today, so not too many kids saw me.  Good thing; I forgot to put on mascara this morning!  I can't believe I did that.  I wore purple today and came home and put on my cammie jammies to lounge around in tonight because it's cold!  I remembered I needed to take a pic, so I went in to put in some earrings that weren't purple and saw in the mirror that I had no mascara on my lashes.  That's a first!  I may go to the beach without mascara, but I never intended to go to school without it!  Life went right on and the earth didn't stop.  Hmmmmmmm.  I thank God that I survived even a day with no mascara!  I'll help with testing again for the next two days and then I sub for the history teacher Friday because he has a wrestling tournament.  History I can do; lucky I don't have to do wrestling!

The senior high has games in Granite tonight.  I hope they'll be on the radio because we aren't going.  Lee got up with a sore throat this morning and saw the doctor today to get meds to help him get over it quickly.  I sure hope we can nip this in the bud and that I don't get it!

We were up late last night with the junior high games, so I've been sleepy all day!  I'm going to go to bed early tonight so I don't have to fight sleeping through the testing tomorrow!  Anyone who doesn't wear mascara to work surely cannot be trusted to drive at night and probably shouldn't be teaching!  Maybe nobody noticed!

Surviving, thanks to God!

Tonight's picture is Lee's daughter-in-law, Kathy, and her sweet mom, Weltha.  Weltha (I may be misspelling her name.) has recently had open heart surgery and she's doing GREAT!  It was a pleasure to meet her when we visited the week before Thanksgiving with James and Kathy.  I've heard so much about her.  As I age and survive breast cancer, I've observed that most of us are surviving something by this time in life!  I thank God for those of us who have been able to survive and for the blessings we had to live with and love those who didn't survive.  God has a plan and we just have to trust it and accept it and always give thanks.  That's my belief.

Tonight Lee and I went rushing to junior high basketball games.  I thought the games were at 6, but Maggie called me at 4:45 from the game where she was saving us seats.  We dropped everything and rushed over there where she and Dorothy were waiting for us.  Maggie is a great survivor and a dear friend.  Of course, you know that Dorothy is a great survivor and dear friend.  I'll have to get a picture of us all at the next game.  Tonight was a real joy; we won all the games and I got to see some of the kids play who don't always get to play.  There were 4 ballgames and we're exhausted from all the cheering.

They called me today to ask me to help with testing again for the next three days.  So, I'll be working in the morning.  I made my lunch today and they never called for today, so lunch is ready for tomorrow.  I'm doing laundry right quick and then heading to bed.  Hope you're getting to enjoy some basketball and mostly I hope you are grateful for your survival!

The cat is only a prop.

For some reason when I took this picture the cat's eyes glowed like she was a candle.  Red eye fix wouldn't fix that, so I used the retouch tool.  It looks okay unless you make the picture big and then it looks like she's blind.  Just figure the cat is a prop; this picture is all about Gracie.  This cat, Ginger, is a sweetie, but the real doll is Gracie.  What a blessing she is to all who know her.  I sure thank God for this precious person in my life!

Today has been a nice, restful day for me.  Poor Lee got up not feeling well, so he didn't make it to church.  What a bummer for lots of reasons.  He's feeling better, but his throat is bothering him, so he's afraid he's coming down with something.  That's a REAL bummer.  He doesn't believe in Colloidal Silver water like I do, so I suspect he will have to live through it.  I just hope I can keep from getting it.  This will be a big test for the Colloidal Silver water!  We had a fellowship meal after church and Lee missed a real pleasure there!  he was in no mood to eat, though, so he wasn't sorry to miss that.  After the fellowship meal we had a devotional and then we didn't have a service tonight.  So, since I had the night off, I came home and took a nap.  Ah!  Love those naps!  Then the Thunder played tonight and beat the Pacers, so I got in some good pecan shelling time.

I'm not scheduled to sub this week and I sort of suspect the teachers will really make every effort to be there since it's so close to Christmas break.  Surely there won't be any scheduled workshops, etc., but people get sick all the time, break or not, so they may call me.  I'll get up at 6:30 and get ready in case they call.   Then if they don't call I'll have an early start on the day.  That's my approach to each week these days.  I'll work all I can before the break and then it's time to get ready to go to Hawaii!  Woo hoo!

It's almost glove weather.

'We stopped to visit a few weeks ago when we were in the City and got this picture of Raynie loving on one of their kitties.  It looks to me like this kitty is very tolerant of all the loving she gets!  Notice that Raynie is ready for cold weather with her gloves that match two different things, but if you're squeezing a cat, it might be the perfect day for wearing gloves whether they match or not.  Looks to me like the cat my jump at any moment!

I'm buzzing around the house doing things that didn't get done during the week when Isubbed.  I've also been to the grocery store and have to go back for something I forgot.  Ugh.  It's one of those days!  Tomorrow we have fellowship dinner at church, so I've go to go get the right thing for my recipe unless I can find a substitute.  So my day goes kind of haywire, but it goes and I give thanks for it.  God is good to give me a Saturday to get things done that I missed during the week.

A great day!

I had lots of fun today at school.  I really get a kick out of the middle school kids.  Actually, I love them all.  Today was kind of a wild day, because we had a concert at school from a nearby college.  It just threw our schedule way off, but the kids handled it really well.  Plus we had a training session for the ACT test, so that threw us off schedule, too.  You can tell the kids who are already college material because they are able to buckle right down and get the job done when it's really time to do that.  It was rewarding to me to see the kids step up to the plate.  I think it's just real obvious that I'm really hooked on the kids.  I thank God for the opportunity to do this job.  I'm thinking the teachers may want to be right there with the kids for the next couple of weeks because we are getting so close to break time.  We'll see, but I'm not expecting them to call me so much for the next couple of weeks.

I'm happy to have some time off.  It was good to come home and cook dinner, again, tonight.  I started a pot of beans which we can enjoy this weekend.  We had eggs and fried potatoes for supper; the fried potatoes will go with the beans this weekend, too.  I'm getting finished with the blog so I can watch the Thunder game tonight.  It's nice to be relaxing.

Only Friday left this week; then the weekend.

I really do enjoy subbing, but it really makes me appreciate the weekends!  I love Saturdays because I can sleep with no alarm!

I came home tonight and actually fixed supper.  It was nothing big, but it was nice to sit down and eat.  We've been going to so many ballgames that between ballgames and church it seems like there is never a free night.  We just grab a sandwich or a bowl of cereal and run.   Today the kids played in a tournament during the day so we didn't have any games tonight.  They lost in the tournament, so that's sad, but it's the end of the tournament for us and we won't be racing to more games. The Thunder plays tomorrow night, but we can watch that from our living room.  I like that.

Tomorrow I sub in the class that I had hoped to get on a full time basis.  By the end of the day I may be really glad I didn't get it!  Actually, I'm glad I didn't get it, already, because if I were teaching full time I couldn't go house sit in Hawaii next month!  My frequent flyer miles are all used, now, so if I get a full time job next year then I can afford to BUY a ticket to go the year after that!  There's always a silver lining in every cloud . . . even if you have to search for it.  The main thing is that I know that God is in control and I trust His timing and direction.

A little 'housekeeping.'

I didn't get a call to sub today, so I've been taking care of little loose ends around here.  One that comes up is what to do about the crazy comments that I get on the blog.  By that I mean the scumbags out there who prey on people.  The blog is set up to catch them, and they don't show them in the comments that are open to everyone.  However, some of you have indicated sometime in the past that you'd like to be on a list that sends the blog to your email; you get the blog in your email as well as any comments that are made on the blog.  That means you get the perverted comments.  They are usually innocent enough in the comments, but if you click on THEIR websites, you may be taken 'over a cliff.'  I apologize for these comments and awful websites.  I have no way to control them except to take you off the mailing list so that you will never see them.  I never respond to them; I sometimes check their website to see if it's someone I know because the message looks innocent enough.  I've learned to just ignore them, but it dawned on me that you might like to be removed from the mailing list.  After all, you can pull up a browser and either type in the address to the blog (maryjoshnell.blogspot.com) or make it a favorite and go there that way; some people put an icon on their desktop, so they can go there easily.  You can go read the blog on your own and not have to put up with scumbag comments and websites.  That's the only alternative I know other than to just stop the blog.  I am not willing to give up on the blog because of a few creeps, but I will surely understand if you would like to be taken off the mailing list.  Please just let me know if you'd like me to remove your address from the mailing list.

I thank God for all the support you people who read the blog have been to me through the thick and thin of the last 6 years.  I pray that the blog has served as a learning tool for folks so that when they face difficult challenges in life, having been through some tough stuff with me will better prepare them; and that sharing my delights will encourage other folks to seize the moments in their lives.

I've muddled around today and cleaned up some things.  I don't know that this has cleaned up anything, but maybe it restates my purpose and will help you to know if you want to stick with me on the mailing list or if you want to just keep finding the blog (or not) on your own.  Thank you for being a vital part of my life.

A quick game tonight.

I subbed in Government and History today; it was a good day for me, but the coach has a bad back!  The picture posted is the one the professional took at our reunion in San Antonio back in October.  The pics just came over the weekend.

I had planned to stay home and watch the Thunder play tonight, but Maggie called and asked me to go to Carnegie to watch our high school kids play.  Lee's knee is bothering him, so he's not going, but he's generous to let me go with Maggie.  He can cheer on the Thunder, but they come in second to my guys.  Maggie is a sweet lady at church who always saves us seats at the games here.  She's a great fan and a great friend.  I thank God for great friends, a wonderful husband and way cool kids who play so hard!

A day off, so I worked at home!

They didn't call me to sub today, so I spent the day dusting and sweeping and mopping the hard floors.  It feels good to have that behind me.  If they don't call me to sub tomorrow, I'll get the carpets vacuumed.  We got all cleaned up to go to games tonight and got there and nobody was there!  I had the schedule wrong, I guess.  Anyway, we came home and ate burritos for supper and I'm stuffed!

This picture is one we got on our way to church Sunday morning.  We usually forget to take a picture, so I'm glad we slowed down to get one Sunday.

I got some other bookkeeping chores done today, so it feels good to have that behind me, too.  I'd rather sub than keep books or clean house, but it all has to be done, so I was glad to get a day off to get some completed.  I thank God that I'm able to sub and also able to clean the house.  I thank God for someone wonderful to share my life.  I am blessed and I thank God.

Happy birthday, Garrett!

Here is my hiking buddy and he's 16, now!  Wow, it was just yesterday it seems that he was a toddler.  Time sure flies.  I'm so very proud of him and can hardly wait to hike with him, again.  Love you, Garrett!  I thank God for precious grand people in my life and Garrett is sure one of them!

Today I took a 3 hour nap, so I got some rest!  I did 3 loads of laundry after church tonight, so I'm  up late.  I don't have a plan to sub in the morning, but I'll get up and be ready in case they call at the last minute which is likely.  If I don't sub I've got plenty to do around here, so I'm headed to bed.  Happy December, everyone!

These are my guy: champions!

These guys played in a tournament all week and I got to go to the final game for the championship today and they WON it!  The trailed the whole game and then came on with a burst of energy at the last and won it 31-30!  Their coach is in the yellow shirt and the guy in the white shirt is the assistant coach and also my chiropractor!  I love watching these guys play!  They are a mighty group!  I love the high school team, too, and the high school guys have a tournament next week.  So, here comes a busy week!  These guys will make a great contribution on the high school team, too.  In fact about half of them are already on the high school team and they're great at that level, too.  I'm so thankful for the opportunity to have these guys in my life.  I should have got a shot of the cheerleaders, too.  I didn't get this shot, though; I swiped it from someone who posted it on Facebook.  I'll have to take my camera this week and get some shots of the high school team and cheerleaders.

I cut Dorothy's hair today and I've got a couple of pairs of her pants to hem tonight while I watch the Thunder play.  I love it when I find things that I can do well.  Maybe that's how these guys feel; they've found something they can do well.  I'm sure glad to get to watch them do it so well!  God is great to give us each other!

A better picture, PLEASE!

This is a picture I got a couple of weeks ago.  I looked at the picture I posted last night and thought I'd better post something looking alive or you all would worry about me.  Actually, that picture I posted was the best one I got out of about 8 I took yesterday.  Yesterday was a hard day; the kids got the best of me and I was bushed.  The game last night boosted me.  Today was a good day and it was Friday!  We're watching the Thunder beat the Jazz, so I'm feeling good tonight.  I probably look rather weathered, but I'm good.  My contacts were bothering me all day and jumped out as soon as I got home, so I'm wearing glasses to let my eyes rest. The best rest will come when I go to bed!

Phil called me last night to tell me that Ruthie had fallen and he couldn't get her up, so they'd called the ambulance.  She had a bump the size of an ostrich egg on her head and couldn't figure out why she fell, so they took her to the hospital and admitted her.  I just talked to her and they had just come in from the hospital.  They checked her over good and are still waiting for some test results.  They observed her over night, though, and felt like she could go home if she'll take it easy.  I thank God that she didn't break anything.  She's sore, but nothing is broken!  They checked her carotid arteries and they are good.  They did a cat scan of her head and there is no bleeding or swelling within the brain.  Everything is checking out good; she's just going to have to be really careful.  This aging thing is tricky, tricky, tricky!  She and Phil manage to take care of each other, but I believe God is helping, too.  I thank Him and ask Him to keep up the great work!

Have a great weekend!

Only Thursday? One more day!

Is it only Thursday?  Only one more day and then this week is done and the weekend belongs to Lee and I.  At least I get to sleep in on Saturday!  This week has gone well, but I'm ready for it to be done.  I'm only scheduled to teach on Thursday next week, so maybe I'll get to restore some energy.  I do love subbing and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to do it, but I'm tired.  Tonight is high school games, though, so Lee and I are looking forward to cheering on the teams.  I'm sure glad we've got some kids who are willing to give it 100% and then some on the court; it's refreshing to me!

Tomorrow night the Thunder plays, so we'll enjoy watching that right here from our living room.  Ah, it's nice to have the house livable!  I thank God for the health to enjoy it.

A part of Thanksgiving!

This is a picture Lee took of Peyton swinging at the park on Thanksgiving day.  This park and lake are just a couple of blocks from our house and I can remember when we used to come here every Thanksgiving and the first thing the kids wanted to do was go to the park!  It's still the thing this generation of kids wants to do.  The park is special and represents lots of precious memories.  This is also a great walking place for those of us who are walkers.

Our girls were ahead in the game last night but let it get away from them.  The guys came back with a vengeance and beat their guys easily.  Both games were fun to watch.  I am so proud of our teams.  I love having the players in class and really love watching them on the court.  I am blessed!

We took one van to the car wash and cleaned it out to sell.  The ad for it comes out in our paper today.  Hope I find a good home for it.  I love this van, but I don't need two vans with Lee's truck!  We need space in the garage more than we need this van.

Tonight is dinner at church and then Bible study.  Lots of people buy the paper after church, so maybe we'll get some calls on the van when we get home.

Last of this year's re-bloomers.

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This is the last of this year's re-bloomers, but I was glad to have a few of these and a few yellow ones.  Last year there were none; this year there were precious few.  They really need some rain, as do our farmers!  I thank God for the precious few, though!

I'm done with the testing and I'll be teaching Freshman and Sophomore English for the rest of the week.  The Freshmen are studying Romeo and Juliet and the Sophomores are studying To Kill a Mockingbird.  I'm enjoying To Kill a Mockingbird more than Romeo and Juliet, although the kids make it all fun.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to work this much so that I can take the winter off.  Lee is studying up on The Big Island. Woo hoo!  We're really blessed to have this opportunity!

There are high school basketball games in Hobart tonight, so we're leaving in a few minutes to cheer for our great players.  I love it!  Sometimes the kids struggle with academics but they can shine in athletics.  I love getting to see them in both areas!

Grammy sure delights in granddaughters, too!

I got this picture of Gracie when we stopped by their house on Saturday.  She's in the 4th grade and was just chosen as "Pick of the Litter" for the 3rd or 4th time.  Nobody is real sure, but I choose her as "Pick of the Litter" all the time.  She is a real joy and I thank God for her.  I'm not so sure exactly what "Pick of the Litter" means, but to me it means special in every way.  If I were her teacher I'd sure be pleased to have her!

I helped with testing this morning and then finished out the day subbing for the English teacher who lost her baby last week.  I'll probably be subbing for her the rest of the week, but if they can find another sub, then I'll be out of luck because I'm still helping with testing in the morning.  Once that is done I'm available for the week, so we'll see what happens.  That's the joy of subbing:  I have to be flexible, but I can always say, "No," so it's a deal I can like.  Someone asked me today if I liked subbing.  I really do.  If I didn't like it, I wouldn't do it because the pay isn't worth it.  The kids are worth it, though.  I'm so hooked on them!

Tonight we watch a Thunder game and tomorrow night and Thursday night we have home Hobart High School basketball.  We'll love all that basketball!  Our kids are really fun to watch.  I'm so proud of the way they play with all their hearts and then a little more!

Grandpas sure delight in their granddaughters!

This pic is one I got last week when we visited Lee's son in the City.  This is Lee, with Katie, the granddaughter who had her gal bladder removed last month.  We were sure happy to see her doing so well; she's no stranger to pain, but she's way over quota with it and we pray that she can be very healthy for the rest of her life!

Today is rest day!  We are so tired from this past busy week, so we're taking an off afternoon!  I'm going to the nursing home to sing in a minute and then the rest of the afternoon is reserved for a nap!  I can hardly wait!  I thank God for the busy and wonderful week we've had, but I sure thank him for this afternoon of rest, too.  I hope all of you are getting a chance at rest and are thankful for it!

Safely home after more celebrating.

Tonight's pic is one I got while we were relaxing Thursday afternoon after a huge dinner.  Lisa, Lee's daughter, is in the recliner checking her phone messages and her husband, Rick, is watching the game.  It was wonderful to have them share Thanksgiving with us and spend the night!  They were our first overnight guests since we got the house in order.  Behind Rick, you can see Peyton's head; she's over at the table having some grapes, I think.

Today we saw Peyton again as well as lots of Lee's family.  We went to his niece's house and her sister and two of Lee's daughters and their families were there.  It was a great crowd and delicious food.  Oh, my!  We have so much for which to give thanks!  God's blessings are so abundant!  On our way there we stopped by Tricia's house and got to see her and Rob and Gracie, but all the other kids were gone somewhere.  It was still a good visit.  We're grateful for a safe trip and we're glad to be home.  We've got to stop eating this much!!!

Two happy people!

This is a picture I got of Lee yesterday with his granddaughter, Peyton.  You can tell by the big smiles how happy they were to see each other!  Peyton is 8 and is Bryce's big sister (Bryce was the lump of sugar in my lap in yesterday's pic.)  Today Lisa and Rick left and we got the house back into receiving shape.  Maybe someone else will come to see us!  Tomorrow we're going to OKC to do some more celebrating, so we'll see some more family.  It is great to celebrate the blessings of family!

This time last year was so bleak for me and the sadness is easy to remember.  A good friend passed away on Thanksgiving day last year and my heart aches for his wife's pain this year as she has to be so reminded.  The teacher I had hoped to finish the year for when she had her baby lost her baby Friday, so she is having a sorrowful Thanksgiving, but she is being a marvelous example for all of us.  She posted on facebook:

 Romans 15 13  " Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing, that ye may abound in hope, in the power of the holy spirit."

I am amazed at the strength of some folks and thank God for blessing me with them in my life.  Life is not always easy, but we have so many blessings.  I believe we have to count the blessings and thank God for giving us a part in His plan even if it's not easy.  I really love it when we can smile and I thank God for those precious times.

Many of you are concerned, as I am, for my brother-in-law, Phil, who has recently suffered a stroke.  He is at home and taking it as easy as possible.  They are running lots of tests to do their best to determine what is at the root of his problem so that they can prevent another stroke.  Please keep him and Ruthie in your prayers because they are looking at some lifestyle changes to say the least.  Hopefully, a cause and a remedy can be determined.  In the mean time he still feels tingly and numbness in his left side and his energy level is way down.  He is alive, alert, mobile, content and praising God for his life, though.  Thank you for your love and concern.  My sister, Ruthie, has MS and is in need of a knee replacement, so she is struggling, too.  However, she's as tough as they come and she's stepped up to the plate during this crisis to be strong.  Ruthie has been my leader all my life and Phil stepped in when I was 12; lucky me!  I thank God for the blessings they've been in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This pic is for you, Ruthie!  You said to hug this baby for you and here's the hug.  It was so cool to have him fall asleep in my arms.  This is Lee's youngest grandson, Bryce, and he and his mom and dad and one of his sisters came to visit today.  We have another of Lee's daughters here, as well, but alas, the kids get the press!  It's been a great day for us and we are thankful for so much.  For starters we're thankful for family; we're also thankful for their safe travels!  Bryce and his family are gone.  Lisa and Rick are staying the night.  Lee and I have a lot to eat next week!  It'll be good in my lunches at school, I guess.  I'll post pics of Lisa and Rick, soon.  We thank God for our abundant blessings and for yours, too!

Happy birthday, Gabe!

Eighteen years ago today it was not Thanksgiving eve; it was the day Gabe was born.  Wow; time sure flies! Today it is Thanksgiving eve and still Gabe's birthday; he's on my list of thanks to God!  What a blessing he is in my life.  Thank you, Gabe, and thank you, God!

Lee and I are about ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow.  The house is pretty livable.  I still have a lot of fine tuning to do, but it's ready enough to clean and have company!  We're thankful that two of his daughters are coming to join us.  We have the food all ready except for what has to be done at the last minute.  Tonight we'll watch the Thunder play ball on TV.  The last two nights we watched Hobart's kids play ball and they sure put on a great show.  The high school girls just lost by a couple of points last night in a barn burner.  Then the boys got even when they won their game by about 12 points after it was a really close game all night.  I am so impressed with our kids!  I thank God for the opportunity to see these kids in a setting other than the classroom.  The classroom is fun, but I really, really love watching them play basketball!

Happy Thanksgiving eve; I hope your Thanksgiving will last for every day and not just tomorrow.  Mine will.

More basketball tonight!

The high school teams (girls and boys) are playing at home tonight and we'll leave in a couple of hours for that.  I helped with testing this morning and then subbed for the freshman English teacher this afternoon.  They are a handful, but many of them played ball last night, so we had lots for which to be thankful.  This is the class I hope to finish out the year teaching when the teacher has her baby.

This pic posted tonight is Lee's son James and his wife, Cathy.  James had his gal bladder removed the first week in October and he's recovered really well.  His daughter had the same surgery the same day and she, too, is doing very well.  I'll post a picture I got of her soon.  It was fun to visit them Sunday.  Cathy's mother has had open heart surgery since James had his gal bladder removed and she, too, is recovering very well.  She's staying with James and Cathy until she is fully recovered and it was sure fun to meet her and visit.  We have lots of great family for which we give thanks!  James is the one who took apart all Lee's electronics when we moved his things here.  Because of his great job I was able to put it all back in working order.  I love James!

No more school this week, so I'm off until Monday, when I will help with testing, again.  Lee did lots of my prep for Thursday's dinner today, so my work tomorrow has already had a boost.  Lucky me!  We're so pleased to have a couple of his daughters coming and hope maybe Davy and Susan and their family will be able to stop by on there way to or from Susan's parents' house.

Holy canasta!

I'm HOOKED!  The kids I teach are right in the middle of basketball season and I love basketball.  I learned that they had games tonight, so I went at 4:30 and just got home.  The junior high girls played and then the junior high boys.  Then the 9th grade girls played.  All of them lost but they all  hustled hard and played giving it their all; I was so proud.  Then the 9th grade boys played and we nearly raised the roof screaming for them!  They led most of the game and then got about 6 points behind in the last quarter.  But, they rallied and  claimed the game after all and won it 44 to 42.  I must never miss another game!  This was too much fun and it's really so important for me to see the kids in all their elements if at all possible.  I loved every moment of watching them play.  I thank God for a bunch of home games and kids that play with all their hearts!  Tomorrow night the high school girls and boys play, so I'll be there.  It was a great date for Lee and I!  We sat with Dorothy and another lady from church.  What a great night.

Today I had a good day at school, too.  I helped with the testing for the first half of the day and then subbed for the home ec. teacher after lunch.  I'm having more and more fun.  I'm really enjoying all the different classes.  Lucky me!

Happy birthday, Deanna!

Today is my niece, Deanna's, birthday, so I hope it was awesome for you, Deanna!  Lee and I took the day off to go visiting some of the family.  We had two tables we'd used at the garage sale that we were taking to his son.  That's two more things out of the garage and we had a wonderful visit with them.  We stopped by and spent some time visiting with Trish and Rob and we caught the two oldest and two youngest kids.  We missed Sadie and Mason, but 4 out of 6 isn't bad!  I got pictures of some of them, so I'll be posting them in the next few days.  The picture I posted is Lee and I before we left the house this morning.  We stopped and visited for a while with Lee's brother Dan, and his wife, Sandy.  Those are all good times.  Lee hopes we can keep up such visiting every 2 or 3 weeks.  That would be nice, so I hope we can make it work, too.  Thankfully, he can see to drive in the dark!

I thank God for a safe trip and for precious time with awesome family!  Tomorrow is coming up quickly and I'm helping at school with testing, so I've got to go get into bed.  My weekend was short but wonderful and I thank and praise God for it!

There he goes!

The last time we were in OKC and visited with Trish and the kids I got this picture of Mason scurrying up this tree.  Gracie ran and climbed up another one and posed for a picture, but Mase doesn't slow down for a picture!  I got him in action, but you can't see him very well.  Before long he was way up in the top of that tree and I couldn't even see him, let along get a picture.  I thank God that none of Tricia's kids have ever fallen and broken a bone!  They are awesome climbers!  I doubt if they fall much, but the probably have great, strong bones from her great breast milk in their early years.

We're hoping to see them tomorrow when we go to the City.  We're taking tables to Lee's son and going by to see his brother, too.  It's just a quick trip, but it will be nice to see some family that we haven't seen in a while and we won't see over Thanksgiving.

I got my cleaning done today.  It'll be good to have some company; we haven't had any in a while and this house is made for lots of people.  Hope I remember how to cook!  I'm trusting it to be like riding a bicycle; hope I never forget!

It was a breeze!

Sure enough, today was really a breeze.  I was amazed at how some kids who usually give me lots of challenges were dream kids.  I guess it has to do with what the teacher normally lets them pull!  They were perfect kids today!

It's going to be nice to have the weekend at home.  I've got some last minute cleaning I'd like to do before the holidays.  A couple of Lee's kids will be here for Thanksgiving, so we're looking forward to having our first guests since we got the house in pretty good shape.  Lee wants to go to OKC this weekend, so I'm pulling for Sunday so I can get my cleaning done tomorrow.  We'll see how the weekend develops.  I'm so grateful for a week of work, topped off with a perfect day!  They asked me to help with testing next week, so I'll work Monday and Tuesday of next week.  I'll work the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving with the testing, too.  It's good to get experience in different areas and it's good to have the work!  I am grateful to have the work now, so I can take time off to go to Hawaii!  Woo hoo!

One more school day this week!

There's one more school day and I'm subbing in Junior English and remedial reading.  I talked to that English  teacher today and she said she's planned reading for them, so it should be an easy day for me.  We'll see how it goes tomorrow, but all I really have to do is make it through the day.  I'm grateful for the work.  I really do enjoy working with the kids, no matter what the subject.  I'm just more competent to help them in English than the others.

Today I got home early enough to go out and dig the biggest monster weeds that were in my flower bed.  There are a ton more to dig, but I enjoyed getting those.  Saturday is supposed to be nice, again, so maybe I can get lots more that day.  I sure hope so. I took about a 50 pound bag out to the dumpster, so that much is gone!

I've done my power plating and Nubaxing, so I'm ready to go to bed early.  Ahhhh.  I thank God for strength and the opportunity to recuperate!

Great news!

Today they called me to teach algebra, geometry and calculus, again.  I use the term teach, loosely; I just held the fort and the kids did all the work.  I loved the day with them, though.  It wasn't nearly as tiring as yesterday with recesses and standing on my feet all day to actually teach music notes!  After school the 9th and 10th grade English teacher came and asked me if I'd consider teaching long term for her after her baby is born April 15th!  Woohoo!  That's right up my alley!  I'd love to have that job, so I sure hope they call me for it!  It was a compliment that she wanted me to do it, too.  I had those 9th graders last year when I taught quite a bit of English in middle school, so many of those kids are 'my kids!'  I've taught enough at the high school that I'm getting attached to the sophomores, too.  It's a nice thing to look forward to next spring.

The secretary also came and asked me to sub for the other English teacher at the high school this Friday, too.  I may have tomorrow off, but I'll be teaching Friday and more in my league than I've been the last few days!

Now, here's the really great news!  Bob Dwyer called last night to ask us to house sit in Hawaii in January and February!  Now, THAT's great news!  I was able to get tickets using our frequent flyer miles, so that's great news, too!  Frequent flyer miles are trick to use, so I was very pleased to accomplish it!  We'll get to spend about 7 weeks in Hawaii!  I had some time already booked for that time in Branson, but I was able to rearrange it all and put one time up for rent online.  It becomes tricky scheduling to get it all worked out, but I'll get it worked out.  A trip to Hawaii will be so awesome.  Lee has been to Hawaii, but always as a tourist.  It's really fun to go when you can just live there for a spell, so this will be a treat for him and a treat for me to get to share it with him.

I thank God for the way so many things seem to be falling into place.  He blesses me so abundantly!