Ski Retreat Update:

I'm sitting in the lobby at the Holiday Inn in Beckley, WV. We've been here 3 days with the Stafford Baptist youth on the winter ski retreat. There has been a total of 21 that made the trip. Highlights so far include:

David going down the black diamond without falling
Paul, Jacob, Jonny, Elizabeth, and Stephanie skiing the first time.
Elizabeth wanting to go down a black diamond (she went down several blues).
Stephanie going all the way to the top of the mountain and wondering why she was up there and how she would get down. She made it down with minimal tumbles.
Paul wiping out numerous times but still going all the way to the top and coming down with us.

It has been a great time and a time of growth for all of us. Right now I'm tired but in a good tired way. Still one more night and a long drive back to Stafford.

The heat pump is dying

I have known this for a while-over 2 years now that our heat pump is dying. I knew this because 1. it was 10 years old in 2006 and most heat pumps die after 10 years so I am told (which is very sad) and 2. it has a leak in it which causes the air conditioner to freeze up in the summer and the heat to refuse to work (making the house 50-60) in the winter and needs transfusions of freon periodically. So now, our trusty heat pump guy, Kurt Lewis is coming out again (has been here only a year ago) on Christmas Eve,God bless him, to let us know the prognosis. Oh joy, we will pay him $200, then figure out how much longer the heat pump has, then research buying a quality new one if there is such a thing. So, I have heard good reviews on Train (I think that is how one spells it), and Carrier. Anyone else for wisdom and help in this matter? In the meantime, I am freezing.

Nancy

The Season

This is the earliest I have had all my presents wrapped thanks mostly to Elizabeth. I would have liked it if she would have wrapped her own presents, but she drew the line there. I have mailed my cards and baked (again mostly Elizabeth) over half of the things we wish to bake. I always enjoyed December 18th for some reason. Possibly because a lot of the busyness and events are done, it is more peaceful and yet there is still pleasant anticipation for Christmas. So I plan to enjoy this last calmer week by baking a bit more and doling it out to whomever such as work, neighbors, friends. After all, my cheesecake did go for $50 at the youth auction and I heard today the person would have paid $100 if the bidding had kept going! That was an ego boost. Some of these old recipes are really worth it.

Jonny: we are done with the testing at the counseling center and I will probably get the results and hopefully some help after the holidays. We had a bad morning today and this unnerved me until I had another friend over who also struggles with her 13 year old daughter.

My friend: I keep reminding myself how precious it is to have and be with my children especially as my friend's daughter is spending Christmas in the hospital with a severe illness like leukemia. She ate our bread and cookies which I feel blessed for the chance to serve her.

Book: I am in the middle of "To Kill a Mockingbird"-don't think I have ever read it. Seems good so far-told from the perspective of a 6 year old in the south. I also grabbed a book of poetry in the library called:Littlefoot by Charles Wright. I have a hard time understanding much poetry but this opening part was interesting:

"It may not be written in any book, but it is written--

You can't go back,

                                you can't repeat the unrepeatable.

No matter how fast you drive, or how hard the slide show 

Of memory flicks and releases,

It's always some other place,

                                                   some other car in the drive in the driveway,

Someone unrecognizable about to open the door.

Nevertheless, like clouds in their nebulous patterns,

We tend to recongregate

                                             in the exitless blue

And try to relive our absences.

What else have we got to d0?...

This book is according to the back flap, the author's meditation on mortality, search for a road map in the skies and for last instructions regarding the "other side of my own death". He is 70 yrs old. It will be interesting how he answers himself and his other question, "Will you miss me when I am gone?"

Dave and I: we have been able to finally carve out some time together-mostly working out in the club due to the weather. We went 2x this week just us 2 which was nice. I am so concerned with our marriage especially as so many of the marriages crumble around us.

David and music: We just returned from David's band concert tonight-the concert band, jazz band and wind ensemble played. David is in wind ensemble. It was excellent. Many students especially the female gender, said goodbye to David. I believe they agree with me, that he is "so cute".

Iceland article in Washington Post

From today's Washington Post:

Tourists Flocking to Iceland

Deck the Halls

Christmas: Well, the gifts are bought (but not wrapped) and the halls are decked except for a few annoying strands of lights. Baking and cards are not even started! I did make a cheesecake for the dessert auction at church that went for $50! (good side money!) But I am finding myself way too busy still. So I talked it over with Dave and we eliminated a few things and evaluated for future Christmases and even for the next 2 weeks.

Arianna: I like Christmas! because of Jesus and the presents! I like the Advent calendar (we get Legos).

The 12 pains of Christmas: If you all have not heard the song, "The 12 Pains of Christmas" you all need to google it and just listen/watch. I find this funnier every year especially the part about the lights!

Jobs: I now have a 3rd job which will probably start in January. But I might quit the 2nd one. It is great to be a nurse (all you prospective students, take note!) I have one friend whose husband lost his job and she is working 2 jobs as a nurse to cover the family expenses. Plus, for missions, medical people are in demand which is exciting for me (such as when I go to Haiti in February).

Nancy

Off to Iceland

Just saw that Colleen Graffy, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy at the US State Department is making a trip to Iceland.  Just thought you would like to know.

Great reading

If you want to keep up on book reviews, movie reviews, music reviews and great thoughts in general, you need to check out http://rabbitroom.com

With writing from musicians such as Andrew Peterson, Ron Block (Alison Krauss and Union Station) to pastors such as Matt Conner and Russ Ramsey, the posts are thought provoking and fun to read. Often times they draw from Frederick Buechner or Kierkegaard, people I normally read or follow.

I'm especially captivated by the current series of advent posts and will be writing another post related to waiting, quietness and the coming of Christ.

Books: If you see the book,  Zorba the Greek, don't bother reading it. I had heard of it and ended up starting it and then finishing it by skimming thinking maybe it would redeem itself but it was awful-immoral concepts, buddhism, promiscuity, hedonism. just yuk.

I finished the Greatest Generation which was good but just kept telling war story after war story.

The Search for Significance by Robert McGee is good-especially for counseling with a Christian perspective.

Now I have to start my school book on Psychopathology.

Nursery/toddlers: I have been in toddlers and nursery at church the last 2 week. I haven't done so in a while but I still was able to calm a crying 1 yr old so his parents could go to church. I enjoyed this much more since I do not have my own babies and toddlers.

The cold: I am already in my winter slump-cold all the time and more tired. I do like the change of seasons but I wish winter was a bit shorter even except if it would only snow. Instead, it rained a lot yesterday.

Gnocci: My Italian friend taught me and my daughters how to make the pasta gnocci yesterday. It was fun and tasting good. (a small pasta made of flour, egg, and ricotta cheese although I have had it made with potatoes.) She also makes homemade pasta so we may make that a youth event.

Decorating: We have over 1/2 the Christmas decorations up. I really enjoy Christmas. I hope to not get too caught up in the busyness.

Basketball: Kevin Dowker is convincing me to get up a 3 person basketball team for the 3 on 3 I must be crazy! He said it doesn't matter how good we are but he does not know how competitive I am. Right now it is me, Elizabeth and I need one more girl. Who do I know over 6 feet?

Thanksgiving and other trivia

Turkey Trot: Elizabeth described her run, but I thought I would fill you in on the rest of us. I, Nancy, ran my usual 29+ minutes for 3.1 miles. Pretty good for being cold at least half way and for having to wait for at least half of the 1,600 people to get going in front of me. David finished in 24+ minutes, Elizabeth in 28+, Jonny in 27+. We 4 ran the whole way. Arianna and Dave walk and ran and finished in 45+ minutes good for Arianna. We had bagels, water, gatorade, cookies, donuts, bananas when we finished. 

Ariannism: We saw a cemetery while we were watching Spiderman II and Arianna said she didn't like those "yards" because they were sad. 

Economics: I saw this quiz in our Navy Federal magazine and thought you might like the info. I was so surprised at how well I did:

1. What is Stagflation and when was the term first coined?

2. Which company was accused of creating a monopoly during the tech revolution of the 80's and 90's?

3. In what year did the Great Depression begin and what event triggered it?

4. What were the predominant economic conditions in the 90's?

5. What did the Federal Reserve do in the late 70's and what were the results?

6. What are the basic principles of supply-side economics and who was a proponent of this idea?

7. What is the misery index? Which president had the lowest misery index during his tenure?

8. The stock market crash of 1987 was the second largest one-day stock market decline in history. It became known as ...?

9. What were the programs that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) enacted during the great Depression collectively called?

10. Which president enacted the Medicare program to help the elderly receive medical care?

11. What was true about the "malaise speech" given by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 during the oil crisis?

12. On which date was the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) enacted?

13. What was a common site during the energy crisis of the 1970's?

14. Why did the US trade deficit grow in the late 70's?

Answers:

1. Stagflation is a period of high inflation combined with high unemployment and limited business activity first coined in 1965 in an address to the British Parliament.

2.Microsoft

3. 1929 after the collapse of the stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

4. Surging stock market, subdued inflation, and low unemployment

5. The Federal Reserve decreased the money supply to combat inflation resulting in an increase in interest rates, decrease in consumer spending and business activity, and a deep recession.

6. Supply side economics lowers tax rates leading to an increase in savings and investments, stimulating the overall economy. Ronald Reagan was a proponent of this theory.

7. The misery index is the sum of unemployment rate and the inflation rate. Dwight D. Eisenhower had the lowest misery index from 1953-1961 out of Clinton, Ford and Truman.

8. 1987 stock market one-day crash became known as Black Monday.

9.  FDR's New Deal.

10.  We have Lyndon B Johnson to thank for Medicare.

11. Jimmy Carter gave the "malaise speech" in which he stated that the nation was experiencing a "crisis of confidence" and never actually used the word malaise.

12. January 1, 1994 for NAFTA

13.  Long lines at the gas stations.

14. The trade deficit grew in the 70's due to: lower-priced imports such as cars were available and high-quality imports became available.

Hope this helps you a bit understand the economy and some of what is going on now.

Food: I have had this disturbing thought recently regarding food. It has occurred to me that a majority of the world including many in our own country are struggling to get enough food to eat and are malnourished and emaciated while a majority of our country and Europe are trying to stop eating too much food (which we are miserably failing at) and still have huge excesses such as Thanksgiving when the average calories consumed is 4,500. 

What is really important? My family was reading the paper and came across several disturbing stories about the frenzied shopping day on Friday after Thanksgiving: In a Walmart in LI, NY one worker was killed and a woman miscarried because of 200 shoppers who forced the doors down and trampled them. In another store, a man shot another man after their "women" were arguing. Do we really need the on-sale product that bad? I went later to Target and Kohl's and had a wonderful experience where people were courteous and kind.

Dessert

A delicious pumpkin pie, apple crumb pie, and homemade ice cream. The best part of Thanksgiving. Enough said.

-Elizabeth

Professional

The dinner started at lunchtime with pumpkin soup flavored with a kick and bread/cheese. The cousins came and we had fun playing and finishing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade leading up to dinner. Everyone was watching Uncle Jonny cook the turkey and commenting on how he could be a chef. Dinner was exciting, food crowding the table, people eating, drinking, and being merry. Everything was delicious. Uncle Jonny has trained me to be a professional bar tender, showing me all the tricks of the trade. I even made a wine menu. I'm still waiting for dessert, including homemade ice cream. look for future posts.

(No, it's not wine it's sparkling cider)

-Elizabeth

running

We just finished running, so we're all quite tired.  I just crashed, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and we're watching "In the Heights".  The running was very enjoyable and full of memories.  Here's my experience. 

We arrived a half an hour early and got ourselves ready to run.  Soon we were freezing and had to stay inside until the race started.  David and I decided to run together, so we found our way to the middle.  Out of no where the gun fired and people started cheering.  We started running, weaving in and out of people, but David was going to fast for me, so I ditched him.  After a while I was breathing with full force.  A lady asked me if I had asthma, but I just shook my head.  Then another lady told me to cover my mouth and keep it warm.  I was coming up to the water station and walked while I drank it up.  By then I was extremely tired, but "kept on keepin' on".  One of the same ladies, I think, then told me to breath in through my nose and out through my mouth.  I rounded the corner while Jonny passed me, and saw Dad and Arianna walking to the water station.  I was more than halfway there!!!  I was running barely, not able to go faster, but then the same lady told me I could do it and I knew I could.  My stomach was cramping and I needed food or I would throw up, but I could do it.  I was running the final stretch slowly and saw the finish line.  It must have been from God, but somehow I found the energy to run swiftly to the end, even with my numb legs.  It was like floating.  I finished in less than 28 min. 32 sec.  All in all it was nice and refreshing.  After the race we weren't cold at all.

A few things I learned:

1. Encouragement and tips are helpful during a race.

2. Bathing afterward is relaxing.

3. Running makes you sick, so only do what you know you can do.

4. Don't arrive to early.

5. Eat enough before, but not to much.

6. coming back is faster than going.

7. Give encouragement, it really helps.

-Elizabeth

"Thanks"giving

I never mentioned that I was the new blogger on Fauth Clan.  I  hope you dont mind reading my blogs on a kids view.  Enjoy!

We arent going anywhere for Thanksgiving, but family is coming.  Already Mom's brother, Uncle Jonny, is here.  But before anyone else comes we're of to run three miles.  Everyone is running so we'll see how it goes.

Don't forget to give "Thanks" on Thanksgiving.  Like Linus said,"In the year 1621, the Pilgrims held their first Thanksgiving feast. They invited the great Indian chief Massasoit, who brought ninety of his brave Indians and a great abundance of food. Governor William Bradford and Captain Miles Standish were honored guests. Elder William Brewster, who was a minister, said a prayer that went something like this: 'We thank God for our homes and our food and our safety in a new land. We thank God for the opportunity to create a new world for freedom and justice.'"

-Elizabeth

P.S.  I'll be posting throughout the day so look out.

Dining Room - Before and After

I've been working on our dining room for a few months. Here was the before pictures:

As part of the remodel, I cut out the drywall from the floor up about 33 inches all around. I replaced it with plywood and then built up the panels from there. After the first cut, I began to wonder if I could finish what I started. I just kept plugging away as the weeks clicked away. My goal was to be done by Thanksgiving. We painted, chair rail and crown moulding. Here is how it looks today.

Colorado Pictures

The long awaited Colorado picture slide show.

Enjoy.

Taking back the blog

Before my daughter, Elizabeth, takes over the blog, I thought I (Nancy) had better write. Besides, she has facebook. 

Colorado was beautiful.  We saw lots of elk (males get to be 2,000 lbs).   It was the end of mating season so they were locking horns over the females (surprise, surprise).  I did get very dry and some nose bleeding related to the altitude and lack of humidity, but no headaches or nausea which are other symptoms of altitude sickness. The only thing that would have made the trip better was possibly going in the spring or summer when it was warmer and having more time.  (We had a long trip home on Friday and reunited with the kids who stayed with friends for 4 days and 3 nights.) 

School: I registered for psychopathology and got my books - I hope I don't have to memorize the DSM IV which is probably over 1,000 pages, small print.  There's another textbook as well.  I had better get cracking.  The next course has over 7 books as well.

Jonny - I requested a child study in the school and must call the counseling center tomorrow.

Biking in Holland: on the plane I was reading an article about the amazing biking opportunities in Holland-makes me want to go:

Holland has 16 million people and 13 million bikes!

They use bikes for almost 1/3 of all their local trips while the US uses bikes for <1%.

The 1st bike rental was in 1869.

Their bicycle garages hold 5-18,000 bikes!

Groningen spent $52 million on bike infrastucture.

Holland has over 300 miles of bike lanes. It is so safe that they do not wear helmets.

You think they might be thinner and healthier? Are we missing something you think?

I hope I get to go there even for a vacation and bike my little heart away.

Books: I read an old English novel called Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskill. What a good book. The heroine in it was so good-selfless, generous, servant, sacrificial, kind, gentle, submissive-she inspired me to be a better person. See this is why fiction can be the same or better than non-fiction sometimes.

I also read The Danger of Raising Nice Kids on parenting. Encouraged me to disciple my kids instead of worrying about disciplining them all the time. I just told Jonny I love him no matter what he does even when I am mad. His reply, "I didn't clog the toilet!" The kid is funny.

Dining room: the dining is pretty much done-need to put up decorations and touch up paint. It is beautiful-Dave really outdid himself.

Toilets: We are replacing 2 of our 4 toilets due to clogging issues. God bless my brother for putting them in the day before Thanksgiving. Hopefully the new ones will not clog-that would be an answer to prayer.

Thanksgiving: Dave's sister and family, and my brother are coming for a few days around Thanksgiving. Then we will have our brother-in-law's sister's family here too. My brother plans to cook it all for the big day and even get a fresh local turkey. He loves to cook and I don't so this is a real treat. 

Iceland Economy

This article will appear in this Sunday's Financial Times.  It is a good look into what the current economic conditions are in Iceland.

Halloween and vacation

Halloween-Arianna and I went trick-or-treating on Halloween. (I may seem to old, but I didn't want to go to the football game.) I went as a "Holy" ghost with my friend Kathryn and Arianna went as a dancer with our neighbors, Amber and Ashley. (or A and A as my dad calls them.) Overall we had a fun time and acquired lots of candy. (but I gave alot away.)

Mountain Retreat-This past week Mom and Dad abandoned us for Colorado. (JK Mom and Dad!) Arianna and I stayed at the LaPortas' and David and Jonny stayed at the Grafs'. The boys had fun, but I had lots of homework, which is odd for me. I guess I still had fun though.

The mountains really refresh you so hopefully Mom and Dad had fun. For more mountain pics it will be on my facebook soon.

-Elizabeth

PS.) Read future posts to see how Family Thanksgiving goes. I'll get my parents to blog about their Mountain experience.

Paradise

If you know my wife, you know she does so much, so well and with so much passion. She is constantly pushing me to stretch my limitations and to grow to the person I should be.

She does it in such a great, gracious way. Not perfectly and not always. However, I wouldn't have it any other way. That's why being with her is as close to paradise as it gets.

heart warming addition

one more heart warmer:

When I told Dave in an e-mail (he is in Denver) about the dishwasher and labelled it "problems in paradise" his reply was: it is paradise if you are there. This is how he was when we were dating 20 years ago! It is nice to know our love is still fresh.

I get to meet him in Denver tomorrow and we get a 3 day get away in a bed and breakfast north of Denver complete with lots of hiking in the beautiful hills and fall foliage. Like a marriage retreat. Our dear friends are watching the kids. Praise God for fresh love and time away.

Heart warming and other news

Some heart warming things my kids have done/said lately:

Elizabeth: When asked if she thought what she wanted to be when she grew up: teacher and/or missionary. Praise God for a willing heart!

Jonny: David was short some money he owed me and Jonny immediately piped up with "I'll pay the rest". Also, when caught in a lie lately and spoken to about it, within minutes, he apologized, admitted his wrong and asked for forgiveness. Praise God for a soft heart!

Arianna: She struggles with getting emotional and crabby especially when tired. She then will become argumentative, irritable and weepy (I wonder where she gets this from? She's not even a teen). Anyway, when chastised for these displays the other day, she went in the other room for a few minutes and came back out calling my name. "I'm no longer crabby, Mommy!"

Praise God for self-control!

All: They had a good time yesterday and willingly gave their money to fill shoeboxes for needy children. Praise God for generous hearts!

Other notes:

Appliances: I think our dishwasher has finally bitten the dust-not spraying water, using soap, or cleaning dishes. I do not want to break any tile on its way out! Also, we must replace 2 toilets with ones that actually flush more than just water! Well, we have been here over 12 years.

Elections: I will be glad when they are over! It will be interesting to see the results especially since some people think Obama is the antichrist! The economy seems to be similar to the end times costs.

Prayer: I am praying for and with Jonny almost daily and am excited to see its results. I have a conference with his teacher next week. I also have a counseling place in mind as I went to a seminar last week on ADD

School: I may become both a licensed professional counselor and a marriage and family counselor. Why decide! There will be only an additional 2 classes, but I will have to sit for 2 license exams. Why not! One of the counselors I admire here (Bill Gay) has both and sparked the idea for me.

Holidays: We are having Dave's sister and family for Thanksgiving, my brother and maybe my brother-in-law's sister and family. Should be fun. This is my kind of holiday-lots of friends and family around. We may go skiing as a family around Christmas.

Missions: I am praying about going to Haiti in February on medical/mission trip. We hope to go to Iceland in April and are really praying to go to the Philippines this summer (all things are possible for God).

Nancy

decisions

Nancy

Counseling degree? I am trying to figure out which counseling degree to complete-licensed professional or marriage and family. They are almost the same except for a couple of courses. My advisor mentioned to call the places I want to work eventually which I did and of course got only answering machines. Hopefully they will call back. I am leaning toward Licensed Professional counseling since it is more broad and what I want to do (you were right Annie). 

Illness-to go to Doctor or not? I have been sick all week with the peak this weekend. Today I am giving myself a sick day=slept until 1pm and am still in pjs. Hopefully I rounded the corner toward wellness.

Jonny-drugs/not, homeschool/public-the jury is still out on the schooling but we are not doing drugs. Now we just need to implement the diet, supplements, behavioral tips found in the book I ordered. Homeschool is waiting until at least next year.

Work: Still haven't heard from 3rd job, hospital only gave me about 1 day a week and not much from the surgery center. So we are in waiting mode. The Stafford hospital does not have a PRN position open. For now I am enjoying some time off.

Updates

It's me, Nancy. My last blog messed up and was erased so I should get credit for trying a week ago.

School: I now officially have 24 credits toward my Master's. I ended up enjoying the culture diversity class and made friends with the Native Americans near us.

Ariannaism: Mommy, look at me I can do a bend back! That's back bend Arianna, but cute and worth noting.

ADD: I refuse to give Jonny medicine which may affect his heart!!!!!!!!!!!! So we are going for diet changes (all of us during the week at least), and supplements and tips. I ordered a book on-line which I hope helps.

Triathlon: Dave and I finished in just under an hour and a half. I was about what I thought in the swimming and a bit slower than I would have liked in the running. I never seem to get faster and it never seems to get easier but at least I am doing it and not going backwards (for now).

No coffee=PMS: I have observed that people who drink at least 2 cups of strong coffee a day such as my husband and other friends who shall remain nameless have almost the equivalent symptoms as PMS sufferers when they don't get any coffee for the day or even the morning. Headache, cranky, tired, irritable,etc. So, either quit totally and drink occassionally like one of our friends is doing, or drink the 2 cups!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Birthdays: Dave turned 42, David II turned 15, Jonny turned 11 and Arianna turned 8 all this fall!

Braces: Elizabeth has another year plus to even start braces. It seems that the Fauths lose their baby teeth and gain adult teeth late-lucky for us. (Dave lost his last baby tooth in college!) I do like the orthodontist I found on a recommendation so that is a praise for 2010.

Dining Room: It looks amazing. Dave is doing a great job. I think he was ready to take me out when I asked if we could add a chair rail. I believe he will get done by Thanksgiving which is the goal.

Comedy: We are going to see my favorite comedian tomorrow night-will let you all know how great he was (David and Elizabeth are going with me as Dave is in Seattle for a day!)

Iceland Economy

The United States is not the only economy in crisis. As I saw in today's paper and online, Iceland's economy is on the verge of total collapse. From today's London Guardian

It was also built on a massive inflow of funds into the country's banks and highly leveraged raids on the riches of Western Europe. By the start of this year, Iceland's three banks had foreign liabilities of more than $100bn– dwarfing the country's gross domestic product of $14bn.
Now, suddenly, everything may be gone, the economy wiped out with the same cataclysmic devastation that was regularly visited on the land by the eruptions and plagues of earlier centuries.

As Colby and Annie prepare to Iceland, please pray for their opportunities to share the good news to a lost and huring nation.

After the last tear falls....

And in the end, the end is
Oceans and oceans
Of love and love again
We'll see how the tears that have fallen
Were caught in the palms
Of the Giver of love and the Lover of all
And we'll look back on these tears as old tales

'Cause after the last tear falls
There is love

from "Love & Thunder"
Words and music by Andrew Osenga & Andrew Peterson

Liking our jobs/ADD/School

1. I go to the Sport and Health club down in Fredericksburg whenever I want to swim and the man who works the reception desk is exceptionally nice-always giving a warm greeting and generally interested in everyone who comes in. It struck me the other day how much he seems to love his job. I wish we all loved our jobs and portrayed that. Perhaps if we looked at them more as a calling from God than just a job or even a career. Something that God wants us to do and gave to us to glorify Him. Made me think.

2. I am taking Jonny to be checked for ADD or perhaps other learning issues. We sure do eat our words sometimes (or often in my case) especially when we judge others. I used to judge others about their kids and potty training and then one of my children was 3 years old and 8 months before he was trained. Now, I thought that ADD was overdone in its diagnosis and perhaps it is, or even that it didn't exist at all but was just some label to give parents a way out from taking responsibility for their parenting. Well, now the teacher is saying that is what she thinks Jonny has and all these years of school frustration could possibly be helped. I do have a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth though.

3. School is over next weekend for me.We are going to our first Indian Pow wow this Sunday-part of my assignment for school. My whole family is going which is nice. I interviewed a Cherokee which was interesting-still makes me cringe at what whites have done to all these people and that I am white, but God holds me responsible for what I do and I am interested in all people and cultures.

Thoughts, kids, biking

Arianna: Arianna took PALS tests today and read words on a 6th grade level-smarty pants. 

Personal biking record: Today I biked 15miles. Pretty soon I'll be able to do a biking vacation!

Culture: Last night I was doing homework and had to watch a video of an interview between one of my professors and a Japanese student. I was so struck by some of the things the student said that were different from our culture. He said that Japanese people are very reserved and more quiet. They do not speak much and when they do, they use few words. They think before they speak (imagine that) and are very concerned for how the other person or persons will take what they say-will they be offended, hurt, or even bothered? They think of themselves in more of a group identity as opposed to individualistic like we are here in the West. I was very convicted about his words especially since I think the Bible may have more to say in his defense than ours. (Slow to speak, slow to anger, quick to listen, think of others as better than yourselves are a few that come to mind).

Jonny wrote a great paper entitled "All about Me". In one part he wrote, "My favorite food is NOODLES! You can't go wrong with those! The rest of the paper was just as amusing. He really has a great sense of humor.

Races, times, school, kids, birthdays, LIFE

Races:

I did the Brian Tap Room 5k race on Sunday. It was bloody hot even at 0800 but I ran it in 28.42 minutes (I am usually in about the 50 percentile which is good for me). I still made it back to teach SS and sing in choir and have a women's retreat meeting! I met a lady there who was still running races into her 80's but now she walks them! I hope I am like her if I live that long. I met a couple of friends there my age which is fun-we encourage one another. 

I plan to do the Turkey Trot in Fredericksburg on Thanksgiving day and drag some friends and my kids too (5k for adults and 1 miler for kids).

Then Dec. 14th is a half-marathon or a 5k. I am toying with the half-marathon even if I walk but will at least do one of them.

So all kinds of goals for me.

Triathlon: Dave and I signed up for it as a team on October 12th. I am worried about my part especially the swimming. I get so out of breath! I will just do my best. At least I don't have to worry about transitions for my first one.

Saunas: I have been using the Sauna at the club because I heard it was good for me to ditch toxins (which is all I had to hear).  I only go in for 3-5minutes as recommended (176 degrees limits it). It will be fabulous in the winter!

School: Almost done with my paper on my cultural background. I learned a lot-like how I really am privileged as a white but that I can work on being more culturally cognizant. After this I will be half-way done.

Birthdays: Sunday, Sept 14th was Dave's B-day. We celebrated by going to Outback (delicious except they just stopped the sweet potato side dish unfortunately) and of course, Carl's for dessert! Dave got a chance to work on his dining room project which although a chore, I think her also enjoys it-a chance to be creative but he can refute this if I am wrong. Anyway, it is turning out beautifully.

David II: his birthday is Sept. 25th-he wants another Patriots' Jersey, this time travel one. He magnanimously gave his small older one to Jonny. He will be 15.

Jonny: birthday is October 11th-we are going to the field house to play dodge ball with his friends on the 18th. Should be fun. He will be 11.

Arianna: birthday is October 25th-we will just have tons of girls over and have games, prizes, food, cake, and lots of giggles.

Then in November-December, all of Dave's family (and I mean all) have birthdays, so this is our season for birthdays, in addition to holidays, school, activities,etc. BUSY for us.

My musings: I have been wondering if some of the good things that I practice have become too important. Let me explain. I am a stickler for keeping one's word which is all right and good except I notice that I get really angry at others when I perceive that they are not keeping their word which often comes out as forgetting, not having time,etc. The anger has set up a red flag for me. Perhaps I should just worry about keeping my own word and let others be convicted themselves? Any comments? Dave I am sure, would appreciate some reprieve from me.

Signing off for now-still have a weekly assignment to do for school

Nancy

Hanging clothes

For about a month now I have been hanging my clothes on the lines my husband had hung up for me under the decks. This brings me right back to childhood and of course, South Dakota where Dave's mom still hangs most everything out as long as possible. Unfortunately, we do not get as much wind as she does which is mostly good except for drying laundry. But, I am saving money and wear and tear on the clothes and they all smell soooo good-another good memory from childhood. I keep hanging them out a bit too late though and I ended up using the dryer for the towels in the long run. It is funny how I enjoy such domestic chores as laundry and dishes. (hate cleaning bathrooms and dusting though, cooking is not my favorite anymore either)

Funnies from son David

Jonny had a school assignment to learn more about our experience with 9-11. He asked Dave questions about his work because that is where Dave was at the time the Twin Towers were hit. Dave mentioned that he worked for the FBI like he does now but also with the DEA. Jonny asked what the DEA stood for and was told the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was then that David chimed in with, "Wait, before Dad worked for the FBI he did drugs?" We all laughed.

Getting a word in edgewise

This is Nancy and I have been wanting to blog but haven't been able to get a word in edgewise in blogvile with my talkative husband blogging away-he's doing so as I type.

School: I am halfway done with this class. I decided to do my cultural background paper on European Americans particularly Anglo and Italian descent. I am 3/4 Italian I found out but was raised Northern European American (English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh). I ended up interviewing my Aunt Marie (91 yrs old, means a lot to me, brought up some memories she had of me when my parents first adopted me "such a beautiful baby with a round face and chubby cheeks" and how "you always knew exactly what you wanted and got what you wanted" which she meant as a complement), Virginia (grandmother-biologically who praised our children and our parenting) and Ellen (biological mother who also praised our kids/parenting and still has regrets about having me out of wedlock and giving me up but knew it was for the best and I am glad she did). Anyway, it ended up being better than I thought and so now I am almost ready after reading for hours today, to actually write the paper.

Triathlon: so I will have help with the triathlon now but I am glad Dave is going to do it with me. Biking is something we can share. His bike is in the shop getting new tires and a tune-up.

Dave's Birthday is September 14th so all of you reading this-wish him well. He has about 2 gray hairs and doesn't have bifocals yet! Unlike me with the multitudes of gray and bifocals over a year ago! Must I get old first?

Arianna sick already and missed school today! It starts. I went right to the Natural Health place and told her to help me shorten and prevent illnesses this year so I am armed.

I taught chapters 1-20 of Genesis in SS this week to the youth and tried to help them apply some of it. For example, I bet Abraham and Sarah looked back and regretted having a child with Hagar and not waiting for God. I mentioned that wouldn't it be better to look back and be glad you trusted God, obeyed Him and waited for His timing? Sometimes I have done that and sometimes not. 

Pastor Bill taught on Matthew 17 and the transfiguration. Peter really puts His foot in his mouth and mentions building shrines for Moses, Elijah and Jesus. The mistake was that everyone pales in comparison to Jesus-certainly, no one is remotely on equal ground and therefore, no one or thing deserves to be worshipped but Him alone.

Tag Team - Call Me Crazy

On October 11, the tag team of Nancy and Dave will be competing in a mini-triathalon in Richmond. Nancy is doing the swimming and running while I do the 12 mile bike ride. The rest of the Fauth nation will be milling around cheering us on.

Keilan's Departure

After living with us for almost 15 months, Keilan finally left today for Richmond.   While we didn't always see him a lot, he left a major impact on our whole family.  Some cool things I remember are:

• Impromptu jam session in the family room
• Falling asleep while watching Florida/Auburn football game only to wake up at the end when Auburn won.  Keilan wasn't a happy camper.
• Wii tournaments and his Bob Marley Mii.
• Keilan and Jonny playing basketball.
• Listening to his first recordings and getting a copy of that.  He is some talent.

Keilan, keep chasing the Wild Goose.

Wild Goose Chase

Mark Batterson, author of Wild Goose Chase, is the pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C., and an avid blogger. His best selling book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day launched his speaking series about chasing lions—also known as huge, God-given opportunities.

“Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.” --from the introduction

I first heard Mark speak at the Whiteboard sessions earlier this year.  He spoke on how much larger and vast God is than us and how we often we don't dream God size dreams.  In his book, Wild Goose Chase, Mark challenges the reader to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, "the Wild Goose".  The reader is challenged to chase God-ordained passions like Nehemiah, to break out of the cage of routine, to break through our assumptions and let God do amazing things, and to challenge the cages of guilt, failure and fear.

With easy to read yet challenging chapters, this book caused me to think about so many ideas/thoughts/notions in my life.  

• "Don't make a living. Make a life." 
• Quit playing defense.
• Quit putting eight-foot ceilings on what God can do.
• Chase the Goose

Brian Regan

The Fauth 40+ were introduced to Brian Regan in Iceland. That guy is hilarious. We had an episode saved on our DVR (until the Olympics wiped out everything I had saved....) that we would watch over and over.

I checked his website and saw that he is going to be in Frederick, Maryland on Thursday, October 23rd so last night I scored us some tickets to go see him. Looking forward to it immensely.

Olympics - Iceland style

I'm not sure how Jason missed this but Iceland was in the finals for the last Olympic medal. The sport was team handball. Unfortunately, Iceland lost to the French and was awarded the silver medal. For the record, Iceland had only won 3 prior Olympic medals, all in the summer games. A triple jumper won silver in 1956, a judo bronze in 1984 and a pole vault bronze in 2000.

What really captured my attention were some of the quotes from Iceland's President. Quotes such as:

"Have none of you been to Iceland? Oh well you've seriously got to come, you don't know what you're missing. First of all it's not cold. Second, or rather reverse order, the girls are the prettiest in the world." -- Iceland's first lady, Dorrit Moussaieff.

and

Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson: It's very difficult to present a too positive picture of Iceland, because in many ways it's a dream country. It was for centuries one of the poorest countries in Europe. A nation which was under foreign rule. And we succeeded to gain our independence and establish the republic in the middle of the last century, and we have now reached one of the highest standards of living in the world. Our energy is 100 percent clean.

Everybody can read and write. And it's a country without fear, without terror. Our open, free, democratic society. So when my friends from the United States come to Iceland, they don't really believe that such a country exists. And what happened here tonight will be yet another unbelievable aspect of the dream country that Iceland really is."

However, having been to Iceland, the dream country is missing the knowledge of the gospel and a saving relationship with Christ. Just another reminder of the need for people like Colby and Annie to sacrifice and take the gospel to a lost and dying world.

Wild Goose Chase and How Small I am

I've been participating as a book reviewing blogger for Mulitnomah publishing.  The book I'm currently reading is Mark Batterson's Wild Goose Chase.  I heard Mark speak at the Whiteboard sessions and he talked about how our thoughts are so small compared to God's thoughts.  

In the Wild Goose Chase, he relates a story about Theodore Roosevelt.

"When Teddy Roosevelt was president, he and naturalist friend William Beebe would routinely go outside after dinner and look up at the night sky.  They would locate a faint spot of light in the lower left-hand corner of Pegasus and recite the following:

This is the Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda.

It is as large as our Milky Way.

It is one of 100 million galaxies.

It is 750,000 light-years away.

It consists of 100 billion suns, each larger than our sun.

Roosevelt would pause and grin.  Then he would say to his friend, "Now I think we feel small enough!  Let's go to bed."

Isaiah 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, 
       so are my ways higher than your ways 
       and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Book Review: God Loves Me More Than That, and When God Created My Toes

   

Summary: In two new books from best-selling children’s author Dandi Daley Mackall, clever rhymes and delightful illustrations help young children, ages three and up, understand God’s huge love for them and his joy in creating them. These enchanting picture books from the writer-illustrator team of Dandi Mackall and David Hohn will instill awe in young children as they revel in each page. Parents alike will appreciate the engaging stories that communicate God’s perfect plan and his divine purpose for little hearts.

            In God Loves Me More Than That, children learn that God loves them deeper than a wishing well, wider than a semi-truck, louder than thunder, and softer than a kitten’s sneeze. Each question, presented with charming child-like faith will help young ones grasp the great love of God through comparisons and descriptions they can easily understand. In short, they’ll discover that His love is bigger, wider, higher, and deeper than anything they could imagine!

            In When God Made My Toes, kids are drawn into the wonder of their creation by God. Their masterful artist who fashioned them just right for amazing and delightful adventures, such as roller skating, finger-painting, doing flips, and drinking cocoa. Children will come to an understanding that God shaped each part of their amazing bodies with joy, delight, and humor.

These books are written for the younger child.  Both are excellent choices for first graders or younger who can easily read and grasp the concepts of God's love and creation.  Both books are available at Amazon.  

God Loves Me More Than That

When God Made My Toes

Author Bio: Dandi Daley Mackall has published more than 400 books for children and adults, with more than 3 million combined copies sold. She is the author of WaterBrook’s two other delightful Dandilion Rhymes books, A Gaggle of Geese & A Clutter of Cats and The Blanket Show. A popular keynote speaker at conferences and Young Author events, Mackall lives in rural Ohio with her husband, three children, and a menagerie of horses, dogs, and cats.

 

Book Review - God Gave us Heaven

 Little Cub awakens one morning with some important questions on her mind: What is heaven like? How do we get there? Will we eat in heaven? Will we be angels?

During a delightful day spent wandering their arctic world, Papa gently answers each question, assuring Little Cub that heaven is a wonderful place, “a million times better” than she can imagine. He explains how God has made a way for those who love him to enter their heavenly home forever after their lives on earth are over.

My kids loved this book and it presented a biblically sound picture of how they have a way to enter this heavenly home forever.  For example, the little cub asks if he will be an angel but is told no as angels were created for a purpose.  Just as we are looking towards a heavenly feast, so is little cub anxiously awaiting a feast of fish in heaven.  This is an excellent choice for younger kids and parents, grandparents and librarians will love it.  The pictures are great and the story is easy to read.

Through captivating, full-color illustrations and tender, biblically sound storytelling, young readers and those who love them will find reasons to rejoice in knowing that God Gave Us Heaven.

God Gave Us Heaven is available at Amazon.

Author Bio: Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than one million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Heaven is Lisa’s fourth children’s book, following in the tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She makes her home in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.

Camera woes

Our Nikon D40 is giving an error message each time we try and take a picture so off to the Nikon repair shop it will go.

Getting a grip for the fall

Good thing Dave has posted a bit regularly or we would be out of the Pelt's good graces at least as far as blogging.

School: I start a new class tomorrow on cultural diversity. I am supposed to do one of the papers on my cultural identity. I don't feel like I have one which is how a lot of Northern European Americans feel according to my textbooks. I can't even interview my parents or grandparents as I do not have any now. Should be interesting to figure this out. Plus, Northern European Americans are bashed in most of the books as we are the domineering and privileged majority that have suppressed everyone else for hundreds of years. (An interesting fact: The Native Americans started out at 12.5million 400 years ago and by the 1980 were down to only 237,000 people). At least I am a woman!

Exercise: I have been contemplating the sprint triatholons and have been running, biking and swimming like a good little cross trainer. I was wondering about my bike though (bought from a garage sale, heavy, only 3 speeds, etc). So, yesterday I went into the bike shop to see what they could do with my bike. Well you guessed it, surprise, surprise, "You might as well buy a new bike" which I wasn't going to do, but he went on to say in the same breath, "We have 1 year free financing" and so that did it. I ended up settling for a hybrid (cross between a mountain ad road/racing bike) and some paraphenalia with it. Needless to say, the new 4 hour shifts at work will help pay the monthly payment for the year. Now I really feel pressured to ride.

Vacations: This has been an amazing summer for me as I went away for over 7 weeks between school, youth camp and family vacations. I really enjoy traveling but the summer is pretty much done leaving me to wonder where it went. We are definitely Kayak fanatics now and hope to find 3 double kayaks gently used so we can all go out on the lakes and rivers in the area. We enjoyed Myrtle Beach and St Augustine, FA-our first time at both. We saw lots of friends and family this summer and caught up a bit. Now I am working like a maniac to "catch up" a bit. Not everything is free financing.

Kids: Jonny's feet are now a size 9 men's and he is not even 11 years old. David just keeps getting bigger. Elizabeth is almost my height. I just bought Arianna size 10 clothes thinking they would be big-they fit nice. I am so proud of them all and I think they enjoyed the summer too.

Health: I am putting a plug in for the Natural Health place across from the New Marriot Hotel on Rt 1. The certified nutritionist there, Beverly, is very good and knowledgeable and has helped me a lot to figure out the maze of supplements to take or not. I am glad I have finally come to rest on that.

Bunco: I played Bunco for the first time last night with women at church. I had the most baby buncos. Colby and Annie, there is NO skill to that came-it is pure luck.

Travels

Been to Florida and now are in Myrtle Beach.  Quick notes from travels.

• Lots of Waffle Houses in the south
• Saw Keilan at the Creech compound.
• Saw a van with an air condition unit in the back window and a portable generator on back of the van
• Went kayaking several times in Florida

Pictures to follow

Congratulations

Congratulations to Bryan and Aimee on getting an iPhone and getting engaged.  Awesome....

Pet peeve / prayer request

The Fauth-nation went out to watch a great concert by Maranatha this past Sunday.  The emcee did a great job, but he said one of my current pet peeves.  "These kids are our future...".    The kids aren't the future, they are very much in the present and a part of the church.

King David started as a teenager fighting Goliath.  Josiah was 8 years old.  Mary and Joseph were teens.  They weren't the future, they were the present.  

Tonight we had close to 20 kids over for youth home group.  Luke Smith talked to us about loving Jesus, not making excuses, dropping everything when God calls and never looking back.  What struck me was Luke 14:15-24 where Jesus tells of the Parable of the Great Banquet.  Christ has a great feast awaiting us and I make excuses of how I'd rather eat my Spam instead of partaking in the Great feast.  

My heart is burdened for these kids as they all are struggling with at least one of those four things.  As Colby said, we see glimpses of something glorious and we need to step out in faith and act on it.

The Fauth Tribe

The Fauth tribe.  For some reason, people think we multiply or just take over tons of space.  I don't understand.

Last year, Shaun and Karen Doheney said we had "a million" kids.  It was a great joke that we still talk about.  It's a good thing Karen's Honda Pilot could carry a million and a half kids with our four and her two.

Now, I see that Jonathan Burke has called out Fauth Nation as a tribe of 40.  

We seem like a lot and we are a lot.  It just seems funny.

Camp and Dave

It is me, Nancy, back from Global Youth camp with 20 teens and 4 other young adults (I was the oldest in our group). What an amazing camp that is. I can understand why Colby wants to go there although I am still hoping to go to the Virginia version next year. I am so impressed with how their focus is so much on teens getting closer to God and reaching the world for Him. They are so concerned with youth groups not just in America, but around the world. I was tired but very happy I went.

So now my tribute to Dave ( I have to do this often because I want to remind myself and everyone else how amazing he is).

I was running this morning and came across the song written out below by Colbie Callat and thought about Dave immediately. After our first date 20 years ago! (see previously blog by Dave) and when he started to write to me, I realized what a different person he was and is than me and maybe the rest of the world. Like the song says, he really does want to make people smile and show how much he cares for them. He does this by 1. his quiet, subtle jokes, 2. by his constant service and 3. his generosity. He was unable to go to camp this year which I know was a big sacrifice for him and so the youth had a moment of silence for him and chanted DSF (his initials) when we returned home and saw him in the parking lot. Anyway, you still make me smile! And I am glad I am your lady. Thanks to Colbie Callat for her consistent sappy love songs.

Colbie Callat-Oxygen

I came apart inside a world made of angry people.
I found a boy who had a dream, making everyone smile.
He was sunshine, I fell over.
My feet like the rays under the water.

And how am I supposed to tell you how I feel
I need oxygen!

Oh baby if I was your lady
I would make you happy
I'm never gonna leave.
Oh baby I will be your lady.
I am going crazy for you.

We're back

Vacation: We returned on July 1st from South Dakota having had a good time, but very tired as we had to leave Dave's parents house at 0200 in order to drive to Omaha airport and be on time for our flight. To followup, the little baby bird was gone and no one knew what happened so that was good. Either mamma kitty and baby kitties had a meal or it was rescued in some other way. Before we left, we were able to get rid of mom and dad's furnace and oil tank that was taking up space in the basement. The furnace especially was quite heavy, but we got it done. I am glad we were able to help.

School: I am completing my paper today for school and then I should have completed 21 credits if I passed these last 2 courses-still don't know grades yet. I have a break until August 18th which is nice because we have one more vacation to FA and SC before that. I do have a test to take at work on heart arrythmias in the meantime.

Book: I read a great book while in SD called The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. This gentleman was born in 1960 and was a professor at the University of Virginia and then at Carnegie Mellon University in PA. He was diagnosed in 2006 with pancreatic cancer and has a wife and 3 small children under the age of 6. So, he was forced to retire and give his last lecture. The book is worth reading and you can see/hear his lecture at www.thelastlecture.com but here are a few highlights:

Apparently, he was a know-it-all and a bit proud. People were irritated with him. Finally a professor he admired told him: "It is a shame that people perceive you as being so arrogant because it's going to limit what your are going to be able to accomplish in life." He was able to change after that.

Brick walls (obstacles in life that seem impossible to scale or get through) are there for a reason: they give us a chance to show how badly we want something.

Not everything needs to be fixed (he told his wife after she had crashed both cars but they still worked).

Tips: Time must be explicitly managed, like money.
You can always change your plan, but only if you have one.
Are you spending time on the right things?
Develop a good filing system.
Rethink the telephone.
Delegate.
Take a time out.

Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

It can be a very disruptive thing for parents to have specific dreams for their kids. Rather, a parent's job is to encourage kids to develop a joy for life and a great urge to follow their dreams.

Dream big. Be earnest. Don't complain, work harder. Treat the disease, not the symptoms. Don't obsess over what people think. Look for the best in all people. Watch what people do, not what they say.

Running: Before I left SD I was able to run over 4miles straight. So on July 4th I join the 600+ people in Fredericksburg to run 5 miles. I had a great time. I not only did it, but I ran the whole thing with no walking and managed to finish in 47minutes which is a 9.4 minute pace. I was proud of myself and praised God the whole way that I could do this. I do have some soreness in my left lower leg so have been walking gingerly on it. I do need new sneakers. We ended up staying in Fredericksburg on the 4th to see the tiny parade, look through the craft show, and see a juggler then we went home. We had some friends for dinner and saw the fireworks at Lunga and got a bit wet and muddy, but they were grand nonetheless.

Youth camp: I am departing for GA to youth camp tomorrow bright and early. Will I ever catch up on my sleep?

South Dakota

Nancy is thinking so watch out:

Movie Review: Last night we were able to go see Kung Fu Panda ($4 adults, $2 kids/students-gotta love the country). It was an entertaining movie with surprisingly good truths. The "master" told the panda that yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future but today is a gift-that is why they call it the present! I'd recommend going.

Running: yesterday Dave and I just walked the 4 miles around the section. His knee continues to bother him. We plan to get new sneakers (although if anyone has any suggestions as to how to go about doing that, feel free to let us know-we've paid from $30 to over $100, gone to different stores, etc. and have not come across anything that is a perfect fit), get supplements of glucosamine/chnondroitin/MSM, build up our quad and hamstring muscles, maybe go to the Doctor? My knees are fine so far but I have had trouble in the past. Anyway, today I decided to run myself and then walk with Dave later. It was very windy-up to 40mph gusts and cool, so I kept going and going until I did 4.25 miles straight!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I had some resistance from the wind and my hair was everywhere (it blew off my headband) and the route was relatively flat, but I still was so excited and praised God for allowing my body to still work well. So while I cannot feel the fat oozing out of my body as my friend can, I did feel very healthy and alive. I hope I continue to feel this great.

South Dakota: As I was running today, I noticed (as I have before) how beautiful the plains of SD are. It has been cool, breezy, and clear here so everything is really green and one can see for miles because it is so flat. (By the way, Dave told me that a section is a square mile and covers 640 acres). The sky is amazing here because it is so big and is not blocked by anything. I can see the draw of living here although I will stick to just visiting.

New life: Here, there is a momma cat that has had 4 kittens. All live outside although they have access to the shed. The girls are in love with the kittens. We moved their home the other day by moving all the junk metal away from the side of the garage. We saw the momma and 2 kittens but couldn't find the other 2 kitties. Anyway, as we were loading a hot water heater, I believe, one kitty poked its head out of its small opening. The poor thing was scared out of its mind. I then realized we had rolled the container onto the tractor-poor kitties (there ended up being 2 in there). Finally, all came out and were sent to the shed where most of their junked home had been put and they seem to be happy. As my mother used to say, "babies of anything are so cute".

Life is sad: today Dave used the chain saw to cut down a bunch of dead trees and branches. As we were cleaning up one tree, we saw a baby bird on the ground. I put him in his nest in the stump of the tree, but he was by himself just opening his mouth for food. I thought maybe his mother would come for him, but my mother-in-law said no. I grew very sad because the bird will die. Mom suggested to give it to the kitties which was apalling at first. It is sad because life was not meant to be filled with fallenness, sadness, illness, and death, but that is how it is since sin entered the picture. But then, God reminded me of the new life above and how the kitties would benefit. As far as I know the bird is still on the stump. I couldn't bring myself to transfer it to the kitties. I hope it is not there tomorrow. Otherwise I may have to dig for worms!

More family coming: Tonight, Dave's sister, husband and 2 kids are coming to stay a night or two. That will make 12 people in the house with one bathroom. It was a nice surprise though and should be fun.

School: my last paper I have to do stressed me out the other day and so yesterday, Dave, my mom-in-law, and I went to mom's school library to get it started and do some research. The kids went to the town pool for a couple of hours and enjoyed themselves (again, gotta love the country where my kids can go by themselves to the pool!). Anyway, now I am almost done with the paper thanks to my wonderful husband and mom. Again, I could never do this degree by myself.

Memories of my mom: As we were driving home from the movie last night, my daughter was talking to her grandma about holding her hand. She then started talking about Grandma Cullum (my mom) and talked about how she often would go down and hold her hand to warm it up because it was always cold. I know my children brought my mother much joy especially at the end of her life. Arianna was home with her the longest and would go down daily, warm her hands up, sit with her, and watch "cartoons". God showed me that He provided my mother some joy and comfort that she was able to grasp at the end of her life and I myself was much comforted. But, I still cried at the loss of my mother and am glad her and my dad are with God, the great Comforter.

traveling and other tidbits

Traveling:

Traveling with me (Nancy) is exhausting-I admit it. Even I get exhausted. Usually, however, we are all mostly grateful for my full itinerary when it is over and we realize how much we did. Dave already mentioned the zoo, beach and Legoland. We then went to the other part of the zoo called Wild Animal Park in Escondido. It was blazing hot. We realized we were in the desert that day! (over 100 degrees with beating down sun) It was really cool though-except we could barely see the Tigers-too hot for them!!!!!!!!! We managed to come home and go to the beach again. The cold water was totally refreshing that day.

On Saturday, we went to Balboa Park in San Diego city proper (Near the zoo). It was a beautiful park with museums and gardens. We went to the Science museum which was excellent except we are not impressed with IMAX shows and felt gipped. (esp since it was an environmental one on the endangered Colorado River and had a lot of spiritism in it) We enjoyed the model railroad museum where all these retired men got to play with trains all day-what a life! We saw most of the gardens, got really thirsty and left to go to Seaport Village where we had a nice meal on the water. (Karen and kids met us around 4:30pm) We shopped til we dropped in the Village, had Ben and Jerry's ice cream, then finally called it a day.

Sunday, I crashed. We went to Karen's church, came home and ate lunch, and then went to La Jolla beach to see the seals. They were lounging and swimming on the beach there with several babies-again, what a life! Dave and kids went to the beach and I took a nap. I went to the beach later, but it was foggy and cool and they called everyone in within a 1/2 hr. I proceeded to sleep all night too.

Monday, we went back to Legoland to finish off what we had missed (the best part was the use of the 24 million lego bricks to make all the figures, animals, and buildings in the park). In the center was miniland which is Lego's rendition of several cities including: NYC, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Paris, San Francisco, San Diego, New Orleans, etc. It was so clever. I can't believe man's creativity but then, God is an amazingly creative God. We then ate lunch at this fabulous Mexican restaurant (at least 4 sporks, Colby) and went to Mission Capistrano, a late 1800's mission started by the Catholics in CA (there are 21 of them). I couldn't help admire how they evangelized all the natives (indians) there at that time period. The Mission was both interesting and beautiful-having a church with huge gold altar area and beautiful gardens. We shopped and looked around the small town of Capistrano and then dropped by San Clement which was also beautiful.

We came home to chill, eat dinner (of which I had none being so stuffed from the Mexican) and packed. We left at an ungodly hour on Tuesday-God bless Karen for taking us to the airport and for being such an amazing hostess for the whole week) and flew out on time to Omaha, NE. As soon as we got there, they had thunder storms and flooding but we made it through (Dave really loves to go driving though pools of water so it wasn't so bad). We made it to mom and dad's around 7pm and began our visit with them.

Yesterday, Dave got the golf cart running and the kids drove around in that in between playing baseball. We did laundry and hung it on the line which I find soothing. (I also enjoy doing dishes while I am here-again soothing and no dishwasher). The girls found the momma and 4 little kittens and started a relationship with them. They are adorable but I am glad they are outside. Elizabeth started her allergies to them, and David II and I are also allergic to them so further reason for them to be where they are. So we are a little more chilled out here, but that is good.

School: I finished the group class on June 13th. I enjoyed it-got to see Julia's delightful parents and grandmother again and spend time with Annie. I am trying to get back into running and thanks to Annie, I got up to running 2.25 miles straight which considering I couldn't even do 1.5 miles before, that was great. Now I just have to do all the post work which I have completed one paper and 2 tests and just have one proposal group paper left which I hope to start today. I am quite unnerved about tests since I have started this Master's, they are stressful to me and I keep getting in the 80's on them which pulls my whole grade down. I think I need a class on test taking and studying for them. At least I can write.

Dreams: I was reading Beth Moore's book called Breaking Free on Isaiah and getting out from bondage of sin, when I came across her statement that all little girls have dreams of being 1. married (bride), 2. being fruitful which usually means having children, 3. being beautiful. I decided to ask my 2 daughters if this was true. (It certainly was true of me from the time I was 10 years old) Elizabeth: My dreams are to be a fashion designer and travel all over the world. When asked about getting married and having kids, she said she didn't have to and that is not her dream! Arianna: To have a nice house, to have kitties, puppies, to live with someone (when asked to clarify she said married), to have a job (when asked which one, she said she would like to try them all but can't afford it), to go to church, to have 1,2,3, or 4 kids. I found these answers fascinating and realized that maybe Beth Moore and I generalize too much.

Eating: Being around Annie for a week was great for eating less. She really does eat when she is hungry (sometimes starving) and takes small amounts and then stops (fancy that idea-stopping the shoveling of food in one's mouth when one is full even if there is still food in front of oneself!) So I hope I have lost a few pounds but I can't tell since I do not have a scale (unlike my friend's uncanny ability to feel 10 lbs oozing out of him). So between controlling my eating and exercising, esp running, I hope to beat this middle age spread and slowing of metabolism. I also save money by splitting meals (did so with Karen, Dave, and Elizabeth whenever possible).

20 years ago, part II

Another footnote to the end of the dance. On that Sunday morning, neither Nancy or I really thought we may see each other again. We had both graduated from college. She was going on a trip to Israel and then to her job. I was going to South Dakota and then off to sail on the Great Lakes. It was a sad day as I left her house that day not really sure what was going to happen.

Legoland

Some pictures from today's adventure in Legoland...











Hanging out at Legoland









Kyle and Jonny after getting wet










Kyle, Julia and Arianna getting ready to ride the boats.










Nancy and Karen









David intently watching the younger ones drive around the track.

We had a fun, busy day at Legoland. Everyone enjoyed it and they all ended up with some Legos at the end of the day. They weren't quite tired out so we headed back to the beach and the kids hit the waves for another hour.

Now they are watching Madagascar and mellowing out.

20 years ago today....

20 years ago today was Nancy and my date to my senior ball at King's Point. It all started a couple of months earlier when I called Nancy up and said "I need a date." Amazingly she accepted and we had a great time. We went to New York City afterwards and took a carriage ride in Central Park. Arriving back at Nancy's house around 3am, I had to be back at the academy around 10am for church services (an hour away). Man I was tired that day.

I have a picture from that night and that I'll try and scan in later.

Back from the zoo

It is about 10:15 California time. Back from a full day at the zoo and stopping by Coronado. Here are a couple of pictures:

Cami, we did see several monkees, other than our family. We also saw three pandas which were really cool.

Nancy's luggage came in tonight. David said that at least a part of mom made it to England.

Tomorrow we are off to Legoland.

San Diego

Arrived in San Diego yesterday for our week with Karen and the kids around 10am. Nancy's luggage decided to go to London so we are hoping it decides to join us later today. Went to the beach at Camp Pendleton yesterday. Heading out to the San Diego zoo today.

Day 2 - Musings

More tidbits:

1. 95 degrees in Stafford. 54 degrees in Reykjavik.

2. Elizabeth tried to make a cake with Smart Balance instead of butter. Didn't work out to well.

3. David stayed home and got the remaining kids off to school on time.

4. Garman kids were over during deacon's meeting. No beds were harmed.

5. Karen Doheney is questioning my ability to make flight arrangements. In one week from today, we will be in San Diego having a great time.

6. It's 10:30 at night and I have no idea what we are eating for dinner tomorrow as we have youth group and Jonny has soccer try outs.