Hello! I've been a bit absent from contributing to my blog, but have enjoyed keeping up with everyone else this week! What a crazy time the last few weeks have been! After the garage sale, Natalie's birthday party (Saturday), Trinity Family Church presentation, Will's birthday party (Sunday), leadership team meeting (Monday), book club (Tuesday), free night!! (Wednesday), Sean's ordination (Thursday), house cleanup-hang picture day (Fri/Sat), District Wide worship service (Sunday), and that brings us to preparation for this week ... Hawk Week!
In preparation for this semester, we wanted to let as many students as possible know about UC, and interact with as many of them as possible. One way we did this is through fliers ... 5,000 of them. A great deal on printing gave us an amazing opportunity to get our fliers into the dorms (2500), into the hands of students at our garage sale, and our big night ... the Info Fair (all the new freshmen come to the lawn of Strong Hall and are innundated with information from the KU student organizations). We have a drawing for gifts certificates to the KU Bookstore, Hastings, and Yellow Sub, and this way, if students request more information, we have their contact info, and can reach out to them beyond the first week of school. Our fliers are advertising our Welcome Back BBQ, which is tonight (T minus 3 hours!)! As we passed them out to students at the Info Fair, it was interesting to see the reactions: some tossed it in their pile, signed up for the drawing, and moved on; some looked very leary, as we are a church, some seemed politely interested, but not deeply moved; some were blatantly offended by a church offering them a free meal; some were intrigued; some were excited by the chance for free food; some wanted information about our organization; ... some will come ... some will not. HOWEVER, I am so excited by what is taking place in our "family". We have students who attended our events and services last year taking ownership in things this year, helping and planning. We have tons of people who will return from the summer and start engaging in spiritual discussions/growth. Our music team has more depth, as two instrumentalists have joined us. The opportunity for furthing the Kingdom of God is infinite!
Okay, I'm kinda getting giddy over vauge things here -- there are specific examples too many to record here, so I'll try to get them out over the next few weeks. However, I have a cake to frost before tonight, as well, as a little girl's overnight bag to pack for a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house. And I need to change my shirt! So, until later, have a wonderful day, and please pray with us as we strive to reach hurting people!
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Sold: Everything BUT the garage!
So, I am mostly recuperated from the crazy weekend we had ... THE GARAGE SALE! I posted about it before and wanted to share some of the "during" and "after".
Friday, I meant to get to Lawrence between 9:30 and 10, but David accidentally took the girls' carseats with him to work, so I was stuck here until he got home around 1:30. I left and headed to town with my baskets of clean clothes for the sale (after $27 at the laundromat from ONLY washing, Rachel and I still took several loads home to wash, and we had several baskets that we took to others' homes to have them dry). Upon arriving, I found lots of disarray, but that's okay, everyone organizes differently! I tried to start organizing and continued washing items that I found that were dirty -- we wanted to offer a "clean" garage sale, so even "if" we had leftovers to donate, someone wouldn't be getting dirty stuff. When my co-coordinator arrived later in the afternoon, she decided we needed to take everything off the tables and move the tables outside so we could start organizing out there (the tables would not fit through the doors of the rooms they were in without being on their sides). Thankfully, there was a breeze and the heat was not horrible. Matt and Dena arrived with food for the evening (THANK YOU!), and helped us get the tables out of the basement to the yard. Around 6, the UC crew started arriving, and we had a more constant flow of items going from the basement to the yard, and the storage annex to the yard.
Now, because everyone thinks differently, our main goal was to get the items out and on tables so many folks could go home and feel good about getting the stuff "out" on the tables. There were many different ideas on how things should be organized and also different opinions about prices ... all of our advertising said "most items are by donation", but some thought a price sticker would "help" people know what to give - geesh. Anyway, that is beside the point.
Okay, we're all bringing stuff up out of the basement and out of the shed, and we are filling the yard, which faces Kasold, a VERY busy street in Lawrence. Naturally, people see a yard sale, they stop in to check it out. On Friday night alone, we sold items that profited over $400. The yard was crammed with people and they were making piles of stuff to haul away. I don't know how to best paint a picture of the amount of things we had at this sale, but David estimates that we had at least 20 trailer loads of stuff. This filled 4 rows of "church tables", an 8'x4' table, the ground under the tables, the sidewalks surrounding the church, two queen sized blankets (toys alone), PLUS the area for furniture, shoes, sporting goods, and household appliance items (ceiling fans, foot spas, aquariums, ...). I felt bad, because so much of the stuff was still in boxes and not organized AT ALL! However, people still stayed to look and dig -- until 9pm. After that, the people from Faith church left, and we were allowed to start the organizing.
Rachel, Dena, Matt, Jimmie (sorry, Jimmie, I've been spelling your name wrong for a year now!), Sean, and I (as well as Avery) stayed all night at the church to "guard" the garage sale, but to organize it as well. After a few errands, we got to work, and spent the night sorting, organizing, and laughing about items we found. It took us until 6:15am to finish, but we all felt good about the progress were proud of what we had done. I would have to say that I was stunned about some of the items that people found appropriate to donate, but those laughs kept us going!
The next morning, we had customers arriving before 7, and we had a constant flow of people until 1, then we posted on freecycle and Larryvill.com that as of 1:30, everything left was free, and to come and get it! Another flood of people arrived, and carried away more things. At the end of the day, we only had three loosely packed trailers full of items left. EVERY item of furniture was gone -- all of it! Not too shabby! Thanks to Rachel, Dena, Matt, Jimmie, David, Sean, Lisa, Shirley & Don (Lisa's parents), Julie, Dott, Gary, Warren, Virginia, and Jan for all of your hard work!!
The fundraising part of our day was exciting, as we brought in over $2200, split down the middle between the two churches. Faith is putting their money towards a missions goal, and UC is putting our share towards the garage refurbishing project (we need more space, as our student center has met capacity again - we are converting the garage into a usable space).
The best part of the two days, I am so excited to share. The process and purpose of this garage sale underwent many changes throughout its entirety. At first it was simply a fund raiser. A few weeks into the process, though, we realized how much of an opportunity this could be to get out into the community ... IF we CHOSE to make it one! We met so many wonderful people through the freecycle/Larryville communities who donated items, and we were able to help many of them get rid of things they didn't want to move or store. Some of them have kept contact with us, and we hope to continue the relationship. The other way we were meeting people, is at the garage sale. We had our UC BBQ fliers and info cards at the table, and Faith also had an info card to pass out. As we were circulating through the people, I know the UC people were purposely connecting with customers, and inviting them to the BBQ. At the check out they also got info. The neat part is that when we see these people in WalMart or Dillons, we can reconnect with them, and continue to build a rapport with them, the beginnings of a relationship, a safe connection. I look forward to these relationships continuing and growing ... Erica, Josh, Erin ... Jana, Xiao, Shaunna ... Brian, Cher, John ... who knows where they are or where they have been or how we fit into that puzzle. I only know that Jesus was out among the people, making connections, being genuine, forming trustworthy relationships, and giving all.
Where else would we want to be?
Friday, I meant to get to Lawrence between 9:30 and 10, but David accidentally took the girls' carseats with him to work, so I was stuck here until he got home around 1:30. I left and headed to town with my baskets of clean clothes for the sale (after $27 at the laundromat from ONLY washing, Rachel and I still took several loads home to wash, and we had several baskets that we took to others' homes to have them dry). Upon arriving, I found lots of disarray, but that's okay, everyone organizes differently! I tried to start organizing and continued washing items that I found that were dirty -- we wanted to offer a "clean" garage sale, so even "if" we had leftovers to donate, someone wouldn't be getting dirty stuff. When my co-coordinator arrived later in the afternoon, she decided we needed to take everything off the tables and move the tables outside so we could start organizing out there (the tables would not fit through the doors of the rooms they were in without being on their sides). Thankfully, there was a breeze and the heat was not horrible. Matt and Dena arrived with food for the evening (THANK YOU!), and helped us get the tables out of the basement to the yard. Around 6, the UC crew started arriving, and we had a more constant flow of items going from the basement to the yard, and the storage annex to the yard.
Now, because everyone thinks differently, our main goal was to get the items out and on tables so many folks could go home and feel good about getting the stuff "out" on the tables. There were many different ideas on how things should be organized and also different opinions about prices ... all of our advertising said "most items are by donation", but some thought a price sticker would "help" people know what to give - geesh. Anyway, that is beside the point.
Okay, we're all bringing stuff up out of the basement and out of the shed, and we are filling the yard, which faces Kasold, a VERY busy street in Lawrence. Naturally, people see a yard sale, they stop in to check it out. On Friday night alone, we sold items that profited over $400. The yard was crammed with people and they were making piles of stuff to haul away. I don't know how to best paint a picture of the amount of things we had at this sale, but David estimates that we had at least 20 trailer loads of stuff. This filled 4 rows of "church tables", an 8'x4' table, the ground under the tables, the sidewalks surrounding the church, two queen sized blankets (toys alone), PLUS the area for furniture, shoes, sporting goods, and household appliance items (ceiling fans, foot spas, aquariums, ...). I felt bad, because so much of the stuff was still in boxes and not organized AT ALL! However, people still stayed to look and dig -- until 9pm. After that, the people from Faith church left, and we were allowed to start the organizing.
Rachel, Dena, Matt, Jimmie (sorry, Jimmie, I've been spelling your name wrong for a year now!), Sean, and I (as well as Avery) stayed all night at the church to "guard" the garage sale, but to organize it as well. After a few errands, we got to work, and spent the night sorting, organizing, and laughing about items we found. It took us until 6:15am to finish, but we all felt good about the progress were proud of what we had done. I would have to say that I was stunned about some of the items that people found appropriate to donate, but those laughs kept us going!
The next morning, we had customers arriving before 7, and we had a constant flow of people until 1, then we posted on freecycle and Larryvill.com that as of 1:30, everything left was free, and to come and get it! Another flood of people arrived, and carried away more things. At the end of the day, we only had three loosely packed trailers full of items left. EVERY item of furniture was gone -- all of it! Not too shabby! Thanks to Rachel, Dena, Matt, Jimmie, David, Sean, Lisa, Shirley & Don (Lisa's parents), Julie, Dott, Gary, Warren, Virginia, and Jan for all of your hard work!!
The fundraising part of our day was exciting, as we brought in over $2200, split down the middle between the two churches. Faith is putting their money towards a missions goal, and UC is putting our share towards the garage refurbishing project (we need more space, as our student center has met capacity again - we are converting the garage into a usable space).
The best part of the two days, I am so excited to share. The process and purpose of this garage sale underwent many changes throughout its entirety. At first it was simply a fund raiser. A few weeks into the process, though, we realized how much of an opportunity this could be to get out into the community ... IF we CHOSE to make it one! We met so many wonderful people through the freecycle/Larryville communities who donated items, and we were able to help many of them get rid of things they didn't want to move or store. Some of them have kept contact with us, and we hope to continue the relationship. The other way we were meeting people, is at the garage sale. We had our UC BBQ fliers and info cards at the table, and Faith also had an info card to pass out. As we were circulating through the people, I know the UC people were purposely connecting with customers, and inviting them to the BBQ. At the check out they also got info. The neat part is that when we see these people in WalMart or Dillons, we can reconnect with them, and continue to build a rapport with them, the beginnings of a relationship, a safe connection. I look forward to these relationships continuing and growing ... Erica, Josh, Erin ... Jana, Xiao, Shaunna ... Brian, Cher, John ... who knows where they are or where they have been or how we fit into that puzzle. I only know that Jesus was out among the people, making connections, being genuine, forming trustworthy relationships, and giving all.
Where else would we want to be?
Friday, August 04, 2006
HUGE Garage Sale in Lawrence, KS - 30+ families!
Hello, all! This Saturday, our church is having a joint sale with Faith Church of the Nazarene in Lawrence, KS at 1020 Kasold Dr. There is so much stuff, and I am so tired, I can't list it, but if you want to check out our ad ... please do! I'm excited to meet the people who attend, and know some new friendships have already formed through this process. I'll blog more about the entire situation after it's over! Please join us on Saturday!
Friday, July 28, 2006
Ours on Loan
I can't sleep ...
There is this sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach, at the back of my throat, in the depths of my heart. I feel awful, scared, ... faithless.
Erin, as I have mentioned several times lately, has been extremely in touch spiritually ... sharing Bible stories with friends she meets at the park, restaurant workers, at church ... picking out lonely hearts and seeking to ease the pain ... praying lots of prayers throughout the day and at bedtime (although sometimes it seems as if those are sometimes stall tactics, but what can you do? "Sorry, kid, no more prayers."?).
Tonight was different. On our way home, Erin was thankful for the stars, as she often is, and started saying like, "Is that Jesus' star? It's the brightest one. That must be where Baby Jesus is, and Mary and Joseph too. I want to go there, and be with Jesus." Nothing worrisome here, infact, very sweet, if off a bit theologically. As the trip progressed, things got a bit more serious, and she began asking more questions. We were listening to her Veggie Tales Worship Songs tape, and when the intro for the song In the Secret came on, it spurred a traumatic response in Erin ...
"... there's a place where we can hear God's voice ... it's a secret place ..." (kids on tape)
"Mommy, did you know there's a secret place we can go to hear God's voice? I wish I knew that place. I try and try and can't ever hear God, mommy. Why can't I hear His voice? I want to see Him and know Him." (I realize the last few phrases are from the song ... "I want to know you, I want to hear Your voice, I want to know You more. I want to touch You, I want to see Your face, I want to know You more.")
I tried to explain that we don't always hear God's voice, as in a physical sound or words, but that we know He hears our prayers and answers them, He gives us peace, and creates a beautiful world for us to enjoy and take care of as well as we can. Of course, I'm feeling very "out of my league" trying to explain this to her fairly literal mind in very abstract terms. The part that got me was when she started crying, no, sobbing, because she couldn't hear God talking to her. She kept spitting out phrases like, "There's so much I want to talk to Him about ..." "Why can't I hear Him?" "Why can't I be in Heaven too?" This continued all the way to the house, up the stairs, and through bedtime preparations (yes, she was exhausted from an early morning, and no nap). I pulled her onto my lap, and tried to comfort her, but she would not be comforted. During prayer time, she cried again, asking God if she could be in heaven and why her wishes (to be in heaven with Him and Jesus) had not been granted. Still distraught, she finally ended, and laid down to sleep. By this time, Avery was really hungry, so I moved to the rocker to feed her, which brought more distress to Erin, who enjoys me snuggling her at bedtime. She finally calmed down, and went to sleep, looking crumpled and defeated, but relaxed.
Now, why am I such a mess? "People say" (whoever "they" are) that sometimes people are more spiritually aware as they near death. They make closure with family/friends, take care of financial issues, wait for the "ok" from their family before breathing their last ... I can't help but wonder as I think about the last few weeks with Erin. The thing that tears me up, is that she seemed so unhappy in this place, and longed for intimate communion with her God ... and I had to fight the urge to try and dissuade her from that, because for her wish of being in heaven to come true, means that I lose my little girl.
That being said, I am reminded of several things ... 1. When Erin was born, actually, before she was born, we dedicated her to God, taking the view that she is a precious gift to us from our Father, on loan until His timing says different. 2. "Better is one day in Your courts than 1000 days anywhere else" 3. The song sung at her dedication service by a dear friend and his two daughters, I Can Only Imagine. 4. Sunday morning in our livingroom/kitchen ... David and I were running through music for worship service that afternoon, and were singing Blessed Be Your Name, one of Erin's favorite songs (on the Veggie Tales Worship Songs CD), and she drug a chair out from the table, stood up on it, her arm around me, bellowing out all the lyrics at the TOP of her voice.
How can I be so selfish, and want to keep anyone here, much less, my own child, when we, as the creations of the Holy God, will have the amazing (such a lame word choice, but what else is there?) joy of worshipping Him without end in the courts of Heaven? As the song says, "Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for You, Jesus, or in awe of You be still?" If you've ever met Erin, you will probably smile at this, and guess, as I, that she'll be dancing in His presence. Why am I not dancing myself, because my almost 4 year old longs to be in the presence of the Most High ... she looks at others through His eyes, follows the leading of His Spirit, and shows the compassion of His Son -- okay, maybe that's a proud mama talking, (if you've read many of the "Erin" blog entries, you'll know that she's no angel, and is very good at disobeying, hurting others' feelings, and being a general pill at times!) but every since Erin has had a personality, I feel God has used her as His vessel, creating opportunities in her life for ministry to others.
I still have yet to say exactly why I am sitting her snivelling and diverting tears away from the keyboard ... I guess, to come out and say it, I am afraid of losing my child. Just typing those words brings a flood of silent sobs to my throat, and a fresh stream of tears to my cheeks. I cannot imagine the feeling of going into her room and finding her cold and lifeless. I cannot imagine the pain of choosing a funeral home or picking clothes for her for the last time. I cannot imagine going into the girls' room to take her things out ... calling the relatives ... driving past a park full of kids playing without mine ... explaining to her baby sister in later years that her sister is with Jesus ... which is where she belongs ... we all do, it's where He desires us to be.
I said earlier that I felt faithless. I guess that is not completely true. Faith is what is keeping me from running down there every 10 seconds to check if she's still breating (I've only checked on her twice, and I was in there to lay Avery down both times), or laying down to hold her while she sleeps. I know she rests in His arms, as she has every night since they placed her in our arms at the hospital, and will every night until He really does take her home. I know He has had her days numbered from the beginning of time, as are mine and yours. It's funny, because just today she and I were talking about something that happened before David and I even met, and she asked where she was. I told her that she wasn't born yet, and was just a dream in God's eyes. Her eyes shone, and she said with awe, "I was a dream in God's eyes?!"
Yes, my beautiful, loving, ornery, mischeivous, stubborn, confident, amazingly faith-filled child, you were, and He is loving watching you grow in all matters -- he probably thinks it's hilarious to watch you make streamers out of toilet paper to decorate my room, mix up "cakes" out of salt and milk, and pick up that darn dead bird that keeps resurfacing in the backyard because you're curious. I will too, someday, I guess. No matter what happens this night, or tomorrow, or the day after that, I guess this is His way of reminding me what a precious gift He has given us.
This blog entry isn't meant for you, it was for me. Sorry for run-on sentences, bad punctuation, 500 links to song lyrics, and all the rest -- I don't care, it was raw, and I had to sort through my feelings. Throughout the course of this evening(morning), I gave Erin back to God ... maybe I have an inkling of the feeling Abraham had as he led his son toward the sacrifical altar, before the ram appeared. I am going to go kiss my children and go back to bed now.
Thank You, Father, for the gift of my beautiful girls. They are so precious to me, and I know even more precious to You. I know I have been selfish, and I want to lay them at Your feet, knowing that if You choose to bring one or both to You at any time, they will rest with You, in Your perfect arms of love, as you cradle our other baby. What a blessing, to know we have nothing to fear when we're safe in Your arms. Good night, Father. Thank you for holding me in Your arms, loving me, comforting my heart, and calming my fears. Good night.
There is this sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach, at the back of my throat, in the depths of my heart. I feel awful, scared, ... faithless.
Erin, as I have mentioned several times lately, has been extremely in touch spiritually ... sharing Bible stories with friends she meets at the park, restaurant workers, at church ... picking out lonely hearts and seeking to ease the pain ... praying lots of prayers throughout the day and at bedtime (although sometimes it seems as if those are sometimes stall tactics, but what can you do? "Sorry, kid, no more prayers."?).
Tonight was different. On our way home, Erin was thankful for the stars, as she often is, and started saying like, "Is that Jesus' star? It's the brightest one. That must be where Baby Jesus is, and Mary and Joseph too. I want to go there, and be with Jesus." Nothing worrisome here, infact, very sweet, if off a bit theologically. As the trip progressed, things got a bit more serious, and she began asking more questions. We were listening to her Veggie Tales Worship Songs tape, and when the intro for the song In the Secret came on, it spurred a traumatic response in Erin ...
"... there's a place where we can hear God's voice ... it's a secret place ..." (kids on tape)
"Mommy, did you know there's a secret place we can go to hear God's voice? I wish I knew that place. I try and try and can't ever hear God, mommy. Why can't I hear His voice? I want to see Him and know Him." (I realize the last few phrases are from the song ... "I want to know you, I want to hear Your voice, I want to know You more. I want to touch You, I want to see Your face, I want to know You more.")
I tried to explain that we don't always hear God's voice, as in a physical sound or words, but that we know He hears our prayers and answers them, He gives us peace, and creates a beautiful world for us to enjoy and take care of as well as we can. Of course, I'm feeling very "out of my league" trying to explain this to her fairly literal mind in very abstract terms. The part that got me was when she started crying, no, sobbing, because she couldn't hear God talking to her. She kept spitting out phrases like, "There's so much I want to talk to Him about ..." "Why can't I hear Him?" "Why can't I be in Heaven too?" This continued all the way to the house, up the stairs, and through bedtime preparations (yes, she was exhausted from an early morning, and no nap). I pulled her onto my lap, and tried to comfort her, but she would not be comforted. During prayer time, she cried again, asking God if she could be in heaven and why her wishes (to be in heaven with Him and Jesus) had not been granted. Still distraught, she finally ended, and laid down to sleep. By this time, Avery was really hungry, so I moved to the rocker to feed her, which brought more distress to Erin, who enjoys me snuggling her at bedtime. She finally calmed down, and went to sleep, looking crumpled and defeated, but relaxed.
Now, why am I such a mess? "People say" (whoever "they" are) that sometimes people are more spiritually aware as they near death. They make closure with family/friends, take care of financial issues, wait for the "ok" from their family before breathing their last ... I can't help but wonder as I think about the last few weeks with Erin. The thing that tears me up, is that she seemed so unhappy in this place, and longed for intimate communion with her God ... and I had to fight the urge to try and dissuade her from that, because for her wish of being in heaven to come true, means that I lose my little girl.
That being said, I am reminded of several things ... 1. When Erin was born, actually, before she was born, we dedicated her to God, taking the view that she is a precious gift to us from our Father, on loan until His timing says different. 2. "Better is one day in Your courts than 1000 days anywhere else" 3. The song sung at her dedication service by a dear friend and his two daughters, I Can Only Imagine. 4. Sunday morning in our livingroom/kitchen ... David and I were running through music for worship service that afternoon, and were singing Blessed Be Your Name, one of Erin's favorite songs (on the Veggie Tales Worship Songs CD), and she drug a chair out from the table, stood up on it, her arm around me, bellowing out all the lyrics at the TOP of her voice.
How can I be so selfish, and want to keep anyone here, much less, my own child, when we, as the creations of the Holy God, will have the amazing (such a lame word choice, but what else is there?) joy of worshipping Him without end in the courts of Heaven? As the song says, "Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for You, Jesus, or in awe of You be still?" If you've ever met Erin, you will probably smile at this, and guess, as I, that she'll be dancing in His presence. Why am I not dancing myself, because my almost 4 year old longs to be in the presence of the Most High ... she looks at others through His eyes, follows the leading of His Spirit, and shows the compassion of His Son -- okay, maybe that's a proud mama talking, (if you've read many of the "Erin" blog entries, you'll know that she's no angel, and is very good at disobeying, hurting others' feelings, and being a general pill at times!) but every since Erin has had a personality, I feel God has used her as His vessel, creating opportunities in her life for ministry to others.
I still have yet to say exactly why I am sitting her snivelling and diverting tears away from the keyboard ... I guess, to come out and say it, I am afraid of losing my child. Just typing those words brings a flood of silent sobs to my throat, and a fresh stream of tears to my cheeks. I cannot imagine the feeling of going into her room and finding her cold and lifeless. I cannot imagine the pain of choosing a funeral home or picking clothes for her for the last time. I cannot imagine going into the girls' room to take her things out ... calling the relatives ... driving past a park full of kids playing without mine ... explaining to her baby sister in later years that her sister is with Jesus ... which is where she belongs ... we all do, it's where He desires us to be.
I said earlier that I felt faithless. I guess that is not completely true. Faith is what is keeping me from running down there every 10 seconds to check if she's still breating (I've only checked on her twice, and I was in there to lay Avery down both times), or laying down to hold her while she sleeps. I know she rests in His arms, as she has every night since they placed her in our arms at the hospital, and will every night until He really does take her home. I know He has had her days numbered from the beginning of time, as are mine and yours. It's funny, because just today she and I were talking about something that happened before David and I even met, and she asked where she was. I told her that she wasn't born yet, and was just a dream in God's eyes. Her eyes shone, and she said with awe, "I was a dream in God's eyes?!"
Yes, my beautiful, loving, ornery, mischeivous, stubborn, confident, amazingly faith-filled child, you were, and He is loving watching you grow in all matters -- he probably thinks it's hilarious to watch you make streamers out of toilet paper to decorate my room, mix up "cakes" out of salt and milk, and pick up that darn dead bird that keeps resurfacing in the backyard because you're curious. I will too, someday, I guess. No matter what happens this night, or tomorrow, or the day after that, I guess this is His way of reminding me what a precious gift He has given us.
This blog entry isn't meant for you, it was for me. Sorry for run-on sentences, bad punctuation, 500 links to song lyrics, and all the rest -- I don't care, it was raw, and I had to sort through my feelings. Throughout the course of this evening(morning), I gave Erin back to God ... maybe I have an inkling of the feeling Abraham had as he led his son toward the sacrifical altar, before the ram appeared. I am going to go kiss my children and go back to bed now.
Thank You, Father, for the gift of my beautiful girls. They are so precious to me, and I know even more precious to You. I know I have been selfish, and I want to lay them at Your feet, knowing that if You choose to bring one or both to You at any time, they will rest with You, in Your perfect arms of love, as you cradle our other baby. What a blessing, to know we have nothing to fear when we're safe in Your arms. Good night, Father. Thank you for holding me in Your arms, loving me, comforting my heart, and calming my fears. Good night.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Wrong, Again.
Well, I had my butt kicked spiritually yesterday by my nearly four year old ...
After spending the morning worshipping with another faith community, Faith Journey, Sunday morning, we went out to eat at Red Robin for lunch. We had a large party, and it was very loud. The hostess keeps a stash of helium balloons for the kids at the front desk, which was right next to us, and Erin had been eyeing a green one for the entire meal -- a long time for her! She was bored, full of spaghetti, and ready to have her balloon, so I took her over to get one (I thought we were getting close to leaving at this point -- I was wrong). While she danced about with her new green friend, I was getting Avery settled, and trying to move our little family toward the car ... our church in Lawrence was starting in an hour, and we hadn't gotten the music together yet. While my back was turned, Erin noticed a girl sitting outside smoking, and she turned to me, excited to the point of bouncing, and said, "Momma, can I go outside with that lady with the smoke?"
My first instinct was to say "No" immediately, but I wanted to find the root of her curiosity (I know, I should really give up that dream!), so I said in a kind of "put out" sort of way, "Now why in the world would you want to do that?"
She looked at me, with eyes filled with that look of "Duh, mom", and said, "Well, she's sitting all by herself, and I didn't want her to be lonely."
Wow -- that one hit me right in the heart. Tears sprung to my eyes, as I beheld Jesus in the eyes of my daughter. I smiled at her and shook my head yes, and she ran out the door. I was a bit concerned, as the parking lot was right there, so I kind of hurried after her, cutting off a woman who was also heading outdoors. I apologized, and explained that my daughter had just run outside to keep a girl company that looked lonely to her. The woman stopped and thought about what I said, while holding the door for me, and then said, "Wow, how old is she?" I told her, and she just shook her head in amazement.
When I got outside, Erin was sitting next to the girl, happily holding her balloon, swinging her feet, and smiling at her soon-to-be friend. I watched, as Erin scooted closer to her and complimented her shirt (it had sequins on it). The girl looked at Erin kind of strangely, and kept looking at her lap. She told Erin she liked her dress. Erin proceeded to thank her and tell her that her mom had got it at a garage sale (Thanks, Erin!), and just continued beaming at this woman. I noticed then, that the girl was looking at her lap because she was holding her cell phone and as she brought it close to her face, I realized that she had an ear piece in, and was just talking into the actual phone. I held my hand out to Erin and told her that we needed to let the woman finish her phone call, and that she wasn't lonely because she was talking to a friend on her phone. Erin smiled, hollered out a goodbye, and headed back into the air conditioning.
The girl, still looking confused, made eye contact with me. I quickly explained that Erin had seen her from inside and was afraid she was lonely, so wanted to come keep her company so she wouldn't be alone. The girl's face melted and she smiled at me. I smiled and walked back inside, fearful of where Erin's next adventure might lead without supervision. However, as I was opening the door, I heard the girl comment to her phone friend, "Oh wow, I was out having a smoke, and this little girl saw me from inside and came to keep me company because she didn't want me to be lonely..."
The tone of her voice said more than the words, and I had to stop again to evaluate what had just transpired. Once again, my daughter saw a need, came up with a way to meet the need, and executed it, in spite of my efforts to detain her. All I saw was a girl smoking (I HATE the smell of smoke and how it permeates everything from hair to clothes to your purse!), but Erin saw her through Jesus' eyes, and took a moment to share love with her. Where did Jesus hang out ... the docks, wells, the temple, with sick people, and among the masses (who probably smelled worse than a little smoke). Where am I hanging out???
As we pursue God's plan for us in Lawrence, KS, growing His kingdom, and sharing His love, I was convicted that I have so far to go. May we all take a lesson from Erin, and learn to follow Him with immediate action and love ... faith like a child.
After spending the morning worshipping with another faith community, Faith Journey, Sunday morning, we went out to eat at Red Robin for lunch. We had a large party, and it was very loud. The hostess keeps a stash of helium balloons for the kids at the front desk, which was right next to us, and Erin had been eyeing a green one for the entire meal -- a long time for her! She was bored, full of spaghetti, and ready to have her balloon, so I took her over to get one (I thought we were getting close to leaving at this point -- I was wrong). While she danced about with her new green friend, I was getting Avery settled, and trying to move our little family toward the car ... our church in Lawrence was starting in an hour, and we hadn't gotten the music together yet. While my back was turned, Erin noticed a girl sitting outside smoking, and she turned to me, excited to the point of bouncing, and said, "Momma, can I go outside with that lady with the smoke?"
My first instinct was to say "No" immediately, but I wanted to find the root of her curiosity (I know, I should really give up that dream!), so I said in a kind of "put out" sort of way, "Now why in the world would you want to do that?"
She looked at me, with eyes filled with that look of "Duh, mom", and said, "Well, she's sitting all by herself, and I didn't want her to be lonely."
Wow -- that one hit me right in the heart. Tears sprung to my eyes, as I beheld Jesus in the eyes of my daughter. I smiled at her and shook my head yes, and she ran out the door. I was a bit concerned, as the parking lot was right there, so I kind of hurried after her, cutting off a woman who was also heading outdoors. I apologized, and explained that my daughter had just run outside to keep a girl company that looked lonely to her. The woman stopped and thought about what I said, while holding the door for me, and then said, "Wow, how old is she?" I told her, and she just shook her head in amazement.
When I got outside, Erin was sitting next to the girl, happily holding her balloon, swinging her feet, and smiling at her soon-to-be friend. I watched, as Erin scooted closer to her and complimented her shirt (it had sequins on it). The girl looked at Erin kind of strangely, and kept looking at her lap. She told Erin she liked her dress. Erin proceeded to thank her and tell her that her mom had got it at a garage sale (Thanks, Erin!), and just continued beaming at this woman. I noticed then, that the girl was looking at her lap because she was holding her cell phone and as she brought it close to her face, I realized that she had an ear piece in, and was just talking into the actual phone. I held my hand out to Erin and told her that we needed to let the woman finish her phone call, and that she wasn't lonely because she was talking to a friend on her phone. Erin smiled, hollered out a goodbye, and headed back into the air conditioning.
The girl, still looking confused, made eye contact with me. I quickly explained that Erin had seen her from inside and was afraid she was lonely, so wanted to come keep her company so she wouldn't be alone. The girl's face melted and she smiled at me. I smiled and walked back inside, fearful of where Erin's next adventure might lead without supervision. However, as I was opening the door, I heard the girl comment to her phone friend, "Oh wow, I was out having a smoke, and this little girl saw me from inside and came to keep me company because she didn't want me to be lonely..."
The tone of her voice said more than the words, and I had to stop again to evaluate what had just transpired. Once again, my daughter saw a need, came up with a way to meet the need, and executed it, in spite of my efforts to detain her. All I saw was a girl smoking (I HATE the smell of smoke and how it permeates everything from hair to clothes to your purse!), but Erin saw her through Jesus' eyes, and took a moment to share love with her. Where did Jesus hang out ... the docks, wells, the temple, with sick people, and among the masses (who probably smelled worse than a little smoke). Where am I hanging out???
As we pursue God's plan for us in Lawrence, KS, growing His kingdom, and sharing His love, I was convicted that I have so far to go. May we all take a lesson from Erin, and learn to follow Him with immediate action and love ... faith like a child.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
No? Now that's funny!
Who could say "no" to this face?
Avery Layne ... 3 1/2 months
Avery Layne ... 3 1/2 monthsDaddy hasn't got a chance!
Gotta love baby grins!
Newest Erin-isms
Some new words from Erin:
"road canschection" ... road construction
"Blessed be Your glorious soufflet" ... "Blessed by Your glorious name" (Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman)
"compilot" ... billfold (I think she was confusing/combining "compact" and "palm pilot" -- two other things found in my purse)
"pullsherry see-ening" ... poultry seasoning
As always, it's a joy (and sometimes, a hoot!) to converse with my daughter!
Friday, July 14, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Mary, Mary
We ran across the blog of some of our friends from our time in Emporia ... Chad and Angel, directors of our college ministry group during part of our college days. Their ministry in Tuscon, AZ seems somewhat similar to our ministry in Lawrence. I was captivated by one of their passions. Please read about it. I don't know that our ministry is ready for this yet, as we are kind of spread thin the way it is, but who am I to decide that?! I think this wold be a really special way to get immersed in the community. I can only imagine the hurt and pain that is living here. Let us pray that we would respond to His calling, even if it is against societal "norms" (in Christian circles, anyway), and seems so very far out of any box or comfort zone we have ever experienced ... OR ... if it is a place we have been, and removed ourselves from, that we are not afraid to be in and not of that very place.
Eek!
Remember the tale of Little Miss Muffet? Well, we had a similar experience here today, with a little variation ...
I was on the phone with Jill, my Mary Kay director today, discussing my team and how we were doing on our goals for the month. Erin, who was particularly needing to be right with me for most of the day, was at my elbow, asking every 20 seconds if she could talk to Jill.
During one of the 20 second intervals, she yells out, "Mom, there's a spider on my shorts!" I turned to look, and sure enough, there was a small black spider dancing illusively around on my daughter's purple shorts. Wanting to relieve her of this impending trauma, I leand over in my rolly chair to bat the arachnid from her little quivering leg. I was successful, however, just as I saw the spider drop to the floor and went to reach for it with my (bare - eww!) foot, I felt a loose feeling under me, and was powerless to do anything to prevent the chair from rolling backwards out from under me.
The trip to the floor was quick, yet felt as if it were in slow motion. My tush hit the protective floor mat, and I rolled up to make sure Avery (who was eating happily throughout the whole ordeal) was okay. She was, just looked a little bemused, and smiled at me anyway. I started to giggle, but was interrupted by the shrill squeaks of my firstborn, who was jumping around in a "potty dance"esque way, pointing at the floor mat.
"Mom, you didn't kill it yet, it's next to you, right beside you!!!"
"Where? I don't see it."
(Voice even higher pitched, and with even quicker, breathier delivery) "Mom, it's under your butt! You're squishing it with your butt!"
Now, by this point in time, I realize that the situation is fairly hysterical, and also realize that I am still "talking" to Jill. All is quiet on her end, and all I can say is "Oh my." We quickly finished our talk, and after hanging up the phone, having a big laugh out loud, I turned to Erin, who was still standing in the same spot, looking at me in a horrified way. She then kind of pointed to me and said, "Mom, that spider is still on your butt."
Needless to say, I "brushed myself off" and had another side splitting round of laughter. Yep, another day in the Rahija household. Don't you wish you were here?!
I was on the phone with Jill, my Mary Kay director today, discussing my team and how we were doing on our goals for the month. Erin, who was particularly needing to be right with me for most of the day, was at my elbow, asking every 20 seconds if she could talk to Jill.
During one of the 20 second intervals, she yells out, "Mom, there's a spider on my shorts!" I turned to look, and sure enough, there was a small black spider dancing illusively around on my daughter's purple shorts. Wanting to relieve her of this impending trauma, I leand over in my rolly chair to bat the arachnid from her little quivering leg. I was successful, however, just as I saw the spider drop to the floor and went to reach for it with my (bare - eww!) foot, I felt a loose feeling under me, and was powerless to do anything to prevent the chair from rolling backwards out from under me.
The trip to the floor was quick, yet felt as if it were in slow motion. My tush hit the protective floor mat, and I rolled up to make sure Avery (who was eating happily throughout the whole ordeal) was okay. She was, just looked a little bemused, and smiled at me anyway. I started to giggle, but was interrupted by the shrill squeaks of my firstborn, who was jumping around in a "potty dance"esque way, pointing at the floor mat.
"Mom, you didn't kill it yet, it's next to you, right beside you!!!"
"Where? I don't see it."
(Voice even higher pitched, and with even quicker, breathier delivery) "Mom, it's under your butt! You're squishing it with your butt!"
Now, by this point in time, I realize that the situation is fairly hysterical, and also realize that I am still "talking" to Jill. All is quiet on her end, and all I can say is "Oh my." We quickly finished our talk, and after hanging up the phone, having a big laugh out loud, I turned to Erin, who was still standing in the same spot, looking at me in a horrified way. She then kind of pointed to me and said, "Mom, that spider is still on your butt."
Needless to say, I "brushed myself off" and had another side splitting round of laughter. Yep, another day in the Rahija household. Don't you wish you were here?!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Shu Shu's Sheet
This morning, as I was checking my email, Erin popped into the office and said to me ...
"Mama, in my room, all the animals are going to listen to a song, but only the animals who have clothes on can listen to it."
"Oh, that sounds like a good idea."
"Yeah, but Mom, there's a problem. Shu Shu (one of her stuffed toys, a rabbit) really wants to hear the song."
"Okay. Does she need to get dressed?"
"Yes, but I have tried and tried to put some of my shirts on her, but they won't fit. So I need to cut off some of my sheet for her to wear. Where are the blue handled scissors?"
"Whoa ... why do you need to cut off part of your sheet?"
"Mom, I just told you, my shirts won't fit Shu Shu -- they're too big and fall off of her!"
"Well, have you tried some of your doll clothes?"
"No, Mama, they won't work. She just wants the sheet. Where are the scissors? That's just what I needed to get from here." (translation: If you hadn't have been in here, mom, I would have been happily snipping out a sheet tunic for Shu Shu right now.)
"Okay, well, I can see that Shu Shu is too little for your big girl clothes (the rabbit is about 8 inches long, and probably 4 inches wide), so how about some of Avery's clothes? They're much smaller, and might work nicely?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Why not?"
"Well, mom, I don't really like Avery's clothes, especially her shirts."
"Well, we aren't going to cut up the sheets today, so you'll need to find a shirt of Avery's, or Shu Shu will just have to listen to the song another time."
"Ohhh, okayyy."
Erin dashed out of the room (I was careful to note the position of the blue handled scissors!) and came back a few moments later with Shu Shu and a yellow onsie of Avery's. We worked together to put it on Shu Shu, and snapped it, and held her up to survey our work. She did look quite cute, even Erin had to admit... and, Shu Shu was eligible to attend the concert :)
All I can say is, whew, I'm glad I checked my email this morning!
"Mama, in my room, all the animals are going to listen to a song, but only the animals who have clothes on can listen to it."
"Oh, that sounds like a good idea."
"Yeah, but Mom, there's a problem. Shu Shu (one of her stuffed toys, a rabbit) really wants to hear the song."
"Okay. Does she need to get dressed?"
"Yes, but I have tried and tried to put some of my shirts on her, but they won't fit. So I need to cut off some of my sheet for her to wear. Where are the blue handled scissors?"
"Whoa ... why do you need to cut off part of your sheet?"
"Mom, I just told you, my shirts won't fit Shu Shu -- they're too big and fall off of her!"
"Well, have you tried some of your doll clothes?"
"No, Mama, they won't work. She just wants the sheet. Where are the scissors? That's just what I needed to get from here." (translation: If you hadn't have been in here, mom, I would have been happily snipping out a sheet tunic for Shu Shu right now.)
"Okay, well, I can see that Shu Shu is too little for your big girl clothes (the rabbit is about 8 inches long, and probably 4 inches wide), so how about some of Avery's clothes? They're much smaller, and might work nicely?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Why not?"
"Well, mom, I don't really like Avery's clothes, especially her shirts."
"Well, we aren't going to cut up the sheets today, so you'll need to find a shirt of Avery's, or Shu Shu will just have to listen to the song another time."
"Ohhh, okayyy."
Erin dashed out of the room (I was careful to note the position of the blue handled scissors!) and came back a few moments later with Shu Shu and a yellow onsie of Avery's. We worked together to put it on Shu Shu, and snapped it, and held her up to survey our work. She did look quite cute, even Erin had to admit... and, Shu Shu was eligible to attend the concert :)
All I can say is, whew, I'm glad I checked my email this morning!
Welcome William!
Our good friends Jeff and Valerie have a new addition to their family! We are so excited that Baby William has arrived, and it looks as if everyone is healthy -- tired mama, proud papa, and pink, sleeping baby! Congrats on a beautiful little boy -- we won't call him beautiful later, but something more manly, like handsome or dashing :) For now, though, as he can't protest, he's beautiful!
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Together again!
While David is downstairs writing an embarrassing blog about something I blurted out in a discussion about Johnny Cash and music in general ... I'd like to take a moment to share that Erin is home! She had a great time at the farm, and came home equipped with an even more prominent farmer's tan, a farm hat, and cat scratches across her lip (But she caught 'im!). She had a great time, and now is home to terrorize her little sister again (who is, yelling at me from her crib presently, so I shall close and rescue her from the monsters in her crib). We are together again!
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Toilet Humor
In response to David's post, I was reading the Men's Restroom Survival Guide, or whatever it's called and noticed one rule that should apply in both the men's and women's restroom ... noise reduction. I posted a response on his blog, then remembered an article I saw on the Lawrence Journal World today, Solicitor nabbed; toilet explodes. Now, this caught my attention, and upon reading it, I realized that the two phrases were not connected, but some of the online responses to this "Crime Blotter" were amusing.
Anyway, isn't it sad how bathroom humor always makes us snicker?
Anyway, isn't it sad how bathroom humor always makes us snicker?
Generosity
We've been a part of of several amazing acts of generosity over the past few weeks. Our church is partnering with Faith Church (Sean's other church) for a fundraising garage sale the first weekend in August. We are two small congregations, and were a bit unsure of how many items we'd have to actually sell. I decided to post a wanted ad on freecycle to see if anyone had things left over from their own garage sale or items they didn't want to drag along in a move, or just things they wanted out of their storage shed or garage.
I thought we might get a few responses with a few items ... I don't know why I try to limit God's giving ... we have had responses from 10-15 individuals who have given us trailers full of items for our sale ... furniture, freezer (full of food we will use for the ministry center!), clothing, toys, exercise equipment, books, and the list goes on ... I continue to receive emails from people who would like to donate. Faith Church has an annex building that is fairly large, and from what I hear, we have filled almost half of the building with items that have been donated. The church members have not even begun bringing their items yet.
It has also been neat to be able to be in the community and meeting these people. For many, this has been a great service to them, and they have thanked us for coming to take away the things that were cluttering up their home, or things they didn't want to haul to a landfill. For a special story semi-related to this, check out David's Blog. All I can continue to say, is WOW. Community.
I thought we might get a few responses with a few items ... I don't know why I try to limit God's giving ... we have had responses from 10-15 individuals who have given us trailers full of items for our sale ... furniture, freezer (full of food we will use for the ministry center!), clothing, toys, exercise equipment, books, and the list goes on ... I continue to receive emails from people who would like to donate. Faith Church has an annex building that is fairly large, and from what I hear, we have filled almost half of the building with items that have been donated. The church members have not even begun bringing their items yet.
It has also been neat to be able to be in the community and meeting these people. For many, this has been a great service to them, and they have thanked us for coming to take away the things that were cluttering up their home, or things they didn't want to haul to a landfill. For a special story semi-related to this, check out David's Blog. All I can continue to say, is WOW. Community.
Quiet Times
Shhh ... it's very, very quiet here! Erin is visiting Grandpa and Grandma G ("Derstenkorn") for a short week, and it's been so very quiet in our house!
Avery has found her voice, though, and has been talking up a storm ... poor David, he'll have to live with three chatterboxes! I love my little girl, just enjoying some time to think, do a bit of cleaning, and getting to know our baby a bit better!
I'm sure we'll have some "Tales from the Farm" to post later this week!
Avery has found her voice, though, and has been talking up a storm ... poor David, he'll have to live with three chatterboxes! I love my little girl, just enjoying some time to think, do a bit of cleaning, and getting to know our baby a bit better!
I'm sure we'll have some "Tales from the Farm" to post later this week!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
The Eyes Have It
Yep, they sure do ... after spending an afternoon with Eye Care Professionals, we know that the Rahija family eyes are a definite contender for the "Most Expensive Health Care Bill" contest we have going around here.
David and I both had eye exams this afternoon, and both had to have new glasses. David will also be getting new contacts, and I am going to try them to see how they work for me. Frighteningly enough, it has been nearly NINE years since my last vision appointment. I thought it was funny when the woman helping us fill our scripts said to me ... "You know, for being almost 10 years old, your frames are pretty good, not terribly out of style. Thank goodness you didn't have those big ugly ones that most people had then!" I quickly told her that I probably would have changed sooner if they were much worse than they were.
Well, like I posted earlier, the day was busy, but didn't seem to yield much blogworthy content. Hopefully yours did! Looking forward to reading some new posts!
David and I both had eye exams this afternoon, and both had to have new glasses. David will also be getting new contacts, and I am going to try them to see how they work for me. Frighteningly enough, it has been nearly NINE years since my last vision appointment. I thought it was funny when the woman helping us fill our scripts said to me ... "You know, for being almost 10 years old, your frames are pretty good, not terribly out of style. Thank goodness you didn't have those big ugly ones that most people had then!" I quickly told her that I probably would have changed sooner if they were much worse than they were.
Well, like I posted earlier, the day was busy, but didn't seem to yield much blogworthy content. Hopefully yours did! Looking forward to reading some new posts!
Family News
Well, my sister has some new news. Exciting times ahead. Check out her blog to read about it.
Sorry sis, it seems my day, although busy and full, didn't have much to share, so I thought I'd share something from you. Give Jon our hellos.
Sorry sis, it seems my day, although busy and full, didn't have much to share, so I thought I'd share something from you. Give Jon our hellos.
Monday, June 19, 2006
The "F" word
Whew, I think I got here first ... tonight while celebrating Father's Day with the Rahija family, Avery was very flatulent. She was fussy, with good reason, as it sounded as if her bottom half were trying to detach from the rest of her body via explosives. During one of these episodes, Uncle John asked if Erin or Avery was the culprit, and was informed quickly that it was Avery. This led to a more in-depth discussion of flatulence, or as we frequently call it at our house, "tuting". Uncle John made the remark about how Erin had threatened to fart on him earlier. I smiled and said, "Yeah, we've been using the "f" word around her lately." - indicating that it was okay with us for her to use that particular linguistic gem.
Innocent enough, yet the room fell silent for a brief moment, before erupting in laughter. Of course, the four letter "f" word I was referring to was "f - a - r - t", not the more popular one.
Yep, chalk another one up to the Embarrassing Sarah-isms Hall o' Fame (hey, another four letter "f" word!). Happy Monday!
Innocent enough, yet the room fell silent for a brief moment, before erupting in laughter. Of course, the four letter "f" word I was referring to was "f - a - r - t", not the more popular one.
Yep, chalk another one up to the Embarrassing Sarah-isms Hall o' Fame (hey, another four letter "f" word!). Happy Monday!
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Garage Sale Day!
It's Saturday ... garage sale day ... woo hoo!
I love going garage sale shopping! It's fun, cheap, and you get to meet lots of interesting people! On the "search" list for today ... Erin is seeking a doll house for her dolls she bought at a previous garage sale. I am searching for summer clothes for Avery, shoes for Erin, and some new Mary Kay customer contacts ... obviously, I won't be purchasing that last item, but they fall under the "interesting people" segment of the day!
I'll let you know if we find anything spectacular! Happy bargain hunting!
I love going garage sale shopping! It's fun, cheap, and you get to meet lots of interesting people! On the "search" list for today ... Erin is seeking a doll house for her dolls she bought at a previous garage sale. I am searching for summer clothes for Avery, shoes for Erin, and some new Mary Kay customer contacts ... obviously, I won't be purchasing that last item, but they fall under the "interesting people" segment of the day!
I'll let you know if we find anything spectacular! Happy bargain hunting!
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Breaking Through
I thought this was fun ... Yahoo! was advertising the Superchic[k] song, We Live in their "Entertainment" section.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Blogworthy ... who knew?!
After taking the "How much is your blog worth?" test found on John's blog, the results are in ...
I don't know where one might "cash in" the value of one's blog, but I would be really excicted to find out more info on that! David, is going to list his blog on ebay and try to reap the benefits there. We'll see how that goes ...
In other related news ... I took an online IQ test and scored 133. The results page said that was highish, so for those of you who were guessing I was a genius, you were almost correct, I'm the category just below that :) The sad thing is, I really enjoyed taking that test :) What a dork I am!
My blog is worth $2,258.16.
How much is your blog worth?
I don't know where one might "cash in" the value of one's blog, but I would be really excicted to find out more info on that! David, is going to list his blog on ebay and try to reap the benefits there. We'll see how that goes ...
In other related news ... I took an online IQ test and scored 133. The results page said that was highish, so for those of you who were guessing I was a genius, you were almost correct, I'm the category just below that :) The sad thing is, I really enjoyed taking that test :) What a dork I am!
Sweet Avery
David is helping me learn to post pictures on my blog -- I can't imagine it's that hard, but as the technologically challenged one in our home, I'm excited. This is a picture of Avery we took today as she was enjoying listening to the music from Beauty and the Beast. We didn't catch the whole smile, but a sweet look of content. We think she's pretty cute!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Bee Bites
Today was another first at the Rahija household. Erin, while playing in the backyard, encountered a stinging bug of some sort. She first told me it was a bee, then later, a wasp. All I know for sure is that she stuck her hand up under the "big green box" (some sort of utility box in the back yard that the kids use as their table and "play central"), a bug stung her right ring finger, and the bug, a large black stinging machine, flew out from under the box. She also said it had a nest with 5 holes in it, so I'm guessing a "mud dauber" or bumble bee. Either way, it caused much mayhem around here ... lots of tears, major swelling, lots of accusations of the bee/wasp/whatever, questions as to why God made those kind of bugs, and more tears. We called Rachel, our nurse friend, and asked for her expertise. She told us to use meat tenderizer. We didn't have any, so we made a quick trek to the store, and returned to make a paste for her finger. Later, we used ice, and between the two remedies, her finger is much closer to it's normal size, as the swelling has redused considerably! She tearfully told Avery about her misadventure, and I felt pretty bad for her as she squeaked her way through the story. Avery seemed to really not care, but cooed her sympathy anyway. Although her pain was great, she did manage to stop crying by the time we got to the store, and the Butterfinger BBs we brought home seemed to cheer her even more. Soooo, Erin is doing better, just a little worse for the wear! Always something fun going on at Rahija Central!
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Another Month ... Another Chapter
Hello. Seems like forever since I've read, much less posted a blog entry. We have been kind of without the web for a few weeks, and as of today, we are back "online".
News to report: Avery is smiling and chatting these days, AND growing like crazy. She has passed the 10lb mark, and looks it. Erin grows browner by the day. She and the backyard crew are outside as much as possible, however, the increased temperature drives them inside more and more. They all like to come here and hint (or blatantly ask/demand) snacks and drinks. David is battling poison ivy and has spent the past week in agony. I am getting back into the swing of Mary Kay, with three new team members this week (welcome Laura, Diane, and Alicia!), and booking the Tuesday night and Saturday afternoon fuctions with as many guests as I can for facials and pampering.
Events of the past two months: My sister, Desiree, graduated from Kansas State University. The following weekend, we treked to Gaylord, KS to celebrate my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. What a special time, to honor the love and committment of 60 years. Last weekend we stayed with David's grandma while his parents are in Guatamala on a mission trip.
Upcoming events: Matt and Dena's wedding tomorrow (actually, later today), getting back on target for that illusive Pontiac Vibe, David applying for his local minister's license, a few more weddings, a few babies, and lots of summer fun!
Well, I think that's about it for now. I'll post more if I remember more details or some silly story about the girls. Looking forward to catching up with our little blogging community news!
News to report: Avery is smiling and chatting these days, AND growing like crazy. She has passed the 10lb mark, and looks it. Erin grows browner by the day. She and the backyard crew are outside as much as possible, however, the increased temperature drives them inside more and more. They all like to come here and hint (or blatantly ask/demand) snacks and drinks. David is battling poison ivy and has spent the past week in agony. I am getting back into the swing of Mary Kay, with three new team members this week (welcome Laura, Diane, and Alicia!), and booking the Tuesday night and Saturday afternoon fuctions with as many guests as I can for facials and pampering.
Events of the past two months: My sister, Desiree, graduated from Kansas State University. The following weekend, we treked to Gaylord, KS to celebrate my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. What a special time, to honor the love and committment of 60 years. Last weekend we stayed with David's grandma while his parents are in Guatamala on a mission trip.
Upcoming events: Matt and Dena's wedding tomorrow (actually, later today), getting back on target for that illusive Pontiac Vibe, David applying for his local minister's license, a few more weddings, a few babies, and lots of summer fun!
Well, I think that's about it for now. I'll post more if I remember more details or some silly story about the girls. Looking forward to catching up with our little blogging community news!
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Update
Hello all! I've been a bit absent lately, but that's because I haven't had two free hands to type with for the last two weeks! David, Erin, and I have a new family member, Miss Avery Layne, born March 21st at 5:24pm (following a brief 14 hour labor!). She is beautiful in every way, peaceful, and sleeps amazingly well! She weighed 7lb 11oz, and is getting close to being back to her birth weight. She eats very well, about every 3 hours during the day, and an impressive 5-6 hour stretch at night (I should be sleeping now, but with the two girls, I won't have time tomorrow!). She is such a sweet baby, and cries only to let us know of a wet/dirty diaper, temperature discomfort (usually cold), or a gas issue -- sometimes burps get stuck and build up pressure ... she woke David up with two really loud ones a few nights back!
Erin is adjusting to life as a big sister, and loves Avery very much. We are, of course, having some "issues" of boundary testing and finding our places in this new family setting, but at two weeks, I think we are doing pretty well. It's been great to have so much family support for her ... at church, Daddy's work, at home, and even people calling on the phone to ask her how she's doing. What a blessing!
Well, my old, tired body needs some rest (I turned 28 today -- no more "mid twenties" claims for me!). David has a few pics of Avery on his blog, if you'd like to see her with her big sis! Have a great day!
Erin is adjusting to life as a big sister, and loves Avery very much. We are, of course, having some "issues" of boundary testing and finding our places in this new family setting, but at two weeks, I think we are doing pretty well. It's been great to have so much family support for her ... at church, Daddy's work, at home, and even people calling on the phone to ask her how she's doing. What a blessing!
Well, my old, tired body needs some rest (I turned 28 today -- no more "mid twenties" claims for me!). David has a few pics of Avery on his blog, if you'd like to see her with her big sis! Have a great day!
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
5 weeks and counting
Well, we had another doctor appointment yesterday. Baby is doing fine, with a heart pumping at 147 bpm, and measuring well. I had lost a pound this week, which is fine, because I had been gaining a little too much -- 2 lbs per week instead of the 1/2 I'm supposed to gain :) My blood pressure was great and baby is head down, ready for delivery. Doctor Peck is going to be gone two out of the next 4 weeks, so that will be interesting. He told me that in two weeks he'd introduce me to his partner, and told me that if I had to have Dr. McFarlane, that I'd like him very much. I hope he's right :) Dr. Peck is such a nice guy -- he seemed sad at the possiblity of not getting to deliver our little girl.
Erin got to go along with us yesterday. She was a big hit in the office. The nurse that did my bp and weight check (Leslie) took her out front to meet the other nurses and she came back stickered with Barbies and puppies. When she came back, she asked me when Erin's birthday was. Erin piped up and told her August 24th. Leslie asked how old she'd be then. When I told her that Erin would be 4, her jaw fell to the floor, and she told us how proud we should be at how well-mannered and poised Erin is. David and I smiled and said thanks, thinking of all the temper tantrums we've had in the past few weeks, the loud comments from Erin about how she doesn't like different names of people we meet, and other "precious" moments. However, it is wonderful to be reminded that we are having some positive impact on our daughter as parents, and that she is a precious creation. Nurse Leslie even wanted to give us her number so she could babysit for Erin sometime. I was very excited about that! As we left, they all invited her to bring her stethoscope along next time, so they could all wear them together (Erin has a real one, compliments of Grandma Gerstenkorn). They tried to convince her that is was okay to wear it around the neck, instead of constantly in the ears, but she was still not convinced, and looked at them suspiciously, as if David and I had bribed them to mention this to her :) She told them she didn't know how they could hear things with it around their neck, she could only hear with it in her ears, and that's how she intended to wear it. Stubbornness roots deeper still!
One funny moment about the doctor visit ... I had forgotten just how they check for "Group B Strep" in new mommies, and when Leslie brought the smock for the bottom half of me into the room, I remembered. Just a quick swipe with a cotton swab ... but this does require me to remove the bottom half of clothing. As I started doing this, I was trying to explain to Erin that Dr. Peck was just going to check me, and that it was okay and a "safe" thing. She was not near the end of the exam table, but up near my head. She looked at me, as I was disrobing, and said, "Mom, it is not appropriate for you to take off your pants here! We are not at home!" I about lost it, and had to agree with her, that most times, it is inappropriate to take one's pants off anywhere other than home, but again reiterated that at the doctor office or hospital, it was okay if a doctor or nurse asked that of you.
What a crazy time we are in ... the bridge between concrete and abstract thought ... learning to make logical conclusions from information that is known and new information. It makes me think twice about using "figures of speech" and other funny sayings as I have to try to explain them -- we use some strange word combinations, I have discovered! Here's to new discovery, new thoughts, and new levels of appropriateness!
Erin got to go along with us yesterday. She was a big hit in the office. The nurse that did my bp and weight check (Leslie) took her out front to meet the other nurses and she came back stickered with Barbies and puppies. When she came back, she asked me when Erin's birthday was. Erin piped up and told her August 24th. Leslie asked how old she'd be then. When I told her that Erin would be 4, her jaw fell to the floor, and she told us how proud we should be at how well-mannered and poised Erin is. David and I smiled and said thanks, thinking of all the temper tantrums we've had in the past few weeks, the loud comments from Erin about how she doesn't like different names of people we meet, and other "precious" moments. However, it is wonderful to be reminded that we are having some positive impact on our daughter as parents, and that she is a precious creation. Nurse Leslie even wanted to give us her number so she could babysit for Erin sometime. I was very excited about that! As we left, they all invited her to bring her stethoscope along next time, so they could all wear them together (Erin has a real one, compliments of Grandma Gerstenkorn). They tried to convince her that is was okay to wear it around the neck, instead of constantly in the ears, but she was still not convinced, and looked at them suspiciously, as if David and I had bribed them to mention this to her :) She told them she didn't know how they could hear things with it around their neck, she could only hear with it in her ears, and that's how she intended to wear it. Stubbornness roots deeper still!
One funny moment about the doctor visit ... I had forgotten just how they check for "Group B Strep" in new mommies, and when Leslie brought the smock for the bottom half of me into the room, I remembered. Just a quick swipe with a cotton swab ... but this does require me to remove the bottom half of clothing. As I started doing this, I was trying to explain to Erin that Dr. Peck was just going to check me, and that it was okay and a "safe" thing. She was not near the end of the exam table, but up near my head. She looked at me, as I was disrobing, and said, "Mom, it is not appropriate for you to take off your pants here! We are not at home!" I about lost it, and had to agree with her, that most times, it is inappropriate to take one's pants off anywhere other than home, but again reiterated that at the doctor office or hospital, it was okay if a doctor or nurse asked that of you.
What a crazy time we are in ... the bridge between concrete and abstract thought ... learning to make logical conclusions from information that is known and new information. It makes me think twice about using "figures of speech" and other funny sayings as I have to try to explain them -- we use some strange word combinations, I have discovered! Here's to new discovery, new thoughts, and new levels of appropriateness!
Friday, February 17, 2006
Cleaning House
I see that a bunch of "house cleaning" spam stuff is appearing on here -- I think someone feels sorry for me, or has seen the inside of my house. However, due to an increase in my own house-cleaning aptitude, I have added the word verification to comment on my blog. I don't need someone from Michigan, Florida, Arkansas, Montana, or any other state to solicit me for house cleaning services :) If they'd do it for free ... then they could post all they wanted, but somehow I doubt that is the case! Have a great weekend -- I'll be continuing the clean sweep around here. Erin's room and the livingroom have stayed relatively great, and the kitchen is catching up, despite the three baking projects in the past two days, and cooked dinners for the past three nights, plus a a cooked lunch for Erin and I yesterday! Nothing spectacular, but around here, for those of you who have seen it, you know it's an accomplishment! Now it's off to my bedroom to prepare for the big room-swap!
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Time for a new post
I see it's been a while since my latest post, and although I don't really have a lot to share, I was tired of seeing the "Manipulation ..." title at the top of my blog :)
According to Tuesday's dr. visit, baby Rahija is doing fine, on schedule to arrive in 5 1/2 weeks. Dr. Peck asked us to not have the baby the week of Feb 27th or March 13, as he will be gone, the first week on a surgical mission trip to the Dominican Republic, and the second week on his family vacation. I told him we were going to start a lottery, and he was welcome to join :) I know Aunt Krista wants a Friday baby, so she can come up to visit, Daddy wants a Monday/Tuesday baby so he can have some days home from work plus a weekend, one "adopted grandma" wants a Thursday because she'll be at the hospital volunteering, ... any other requests? I try to put in a few good words for these requests, but this child seems to have a mind all her own, and will be coming in her own time, I think :) I just hope she waits for Dr. Peck, because we love him as a doctor, and don't want anyone else!
I have finally gotten excited about this room-move we've been planning for the last few months, and as of yesterday, two of the three rooms that it is necessary to have clean/picked up, meet that requirement! The last room, our current bedroom, is the one lacking. It is a disaster area, but with only one room to work on, while simply maintaining the others, it doesn't seem so daunting. I am also starting to feel the urgency of getting baby stuff out, getting Erin settled without her feeling "displaced" by the baby, and the general energy from cleaning -- hark, is it nesting?! Whatever it is, I think it's good, and I aim to keep it going! We are going to need some help moving furniture around, as I'm not to be lifting heavy things, so items like our piano, cabinet stereo, entertainment center, dresser, ... will need some assistance :) Boy am I sad about that :) Actually, I kind of like moving furniture/rearranging rooms, and it's hard for me to visualize. I hate to ask people to move and move and move things around that are heavy. Oh well, I guess that's just part of the process!
Well, as you can see, I'm not full of much news. Hope everyone is staying/getting well from illness, and staying warm in the latest little blast of winter. Have a great day!
According to Tuesday's dr. visit, baby Rahija is doing fine, on schedule to arrive in 5 1/2 weeks. Dr. Peck asked us to not have the baby the week of Feb 27th or March 13, as he will be gone, the first week on a surgical mission trip to the Dominican Republic, and the second week on his family vacation. I told him we were going to start a lottery, and he was welcome to join :) I know Aunt Krista wants a Friday baby, so she can come up to visit, Daddy wants a Monday/Tuesday baby so he can have some days home from work plus a weekend, one "adopted grandma" wants a Thursday because she'll be at the hospital volunteering, ... any other requests? I try to put in a few good words for these requests, but this child seems to have a mind all her own, and will be coming in her own time, I think :) I just hope she waits for Dr. Peck, because we love him as a doctor, and don't want anyone else!
I have finally gotten excited about this room-move we've been planning for the last few months, and as of yesterday, two of the three rooms that it is necessary to have clean/picked up, meet that requirement! The last room, our current bedroom, is the one lacking. It is a disaster area, but with only one room to work on, while simply maintaining the others, it doesn't seem so daunting. I am also starting to feel the urgency of getting baby stuff out, getting Erin settled without her feeling "displaced" by the baby, and the general energy from cleaning -- hark, is it nesting?! Whatever it is, I think it's good, and I aim to keep it going! We are going to need some help moving furniture around, as I'm not to be lifting heavy things, so items like our piano, cabinet stereo, entertainment center, dresser, ... will need some assistance :) Boy am I sad about that :) Actually, I kind of like moving furniture/rearranging rooms, and it's hard for me to visualize. I hate to ask people to move and move and move things around that are heavy. Oh well, I guess that's just part of the process!
Well, as you can see, I'm not full of much news. Hope everyone is staying/getting well from illness, and staying warm in the latest little blast of winter. Have a great day!
Monday, January 30, 2006
Manipulations of a 3 year-old mind
Tonight Erin had a funny "solution" to a problem we were having in the car. Staff/leadership from University Church loaded up and drove to Bonner Springs tonight to share the vision of Nazarene Secular Campus Ministries and University Church with the congregation there. I drove separately, and missed a few minutes of the service. David and Erin rode home with me, though, and our problem was having too many talkers at the same time. David was trying to share a voice mail he'd received, I was asking about the part of the service I missed, and Erin was concerned about where/what we were going to be eating for dinner. Now, Erin, of course, feels she takes first place whenever there is a dispute as to who should be talking to mommy -- in her mind, it is a hands-down, no-brainer decision. We are trying to teach her that sometimes she needs to wait her turn, and allow others to speak or at least finish their conversations. Tonight, she had a great idea ...
"Erin, we're going to take turns talking, and right now, it's Daddy's turn to talk to mommy. You had your turn and shared about restraunts with mommy, and now it's Daddy's turn."
"No, it's my turn! I am always allowed to talk to mommy! Dad, it's not your turn! We are NOT taking turns, I am just going to talk to mommy! You are not allowed to talk to her. It is MY turn!"
"Erin, how can it be your turn, I thought you said we weren't taking turns?"
"Well, we aren't, see we can all talk."
"Oh? How is that going to work?"
"Well, (most resolutions begin with 'well')you can talk to yourself, and I'll just talk to mommy. See how easy that is?"
After much laughter, and several pleas from the backseat to divulge the source of the humor in the situation, we decided, that yes, it was a "valid" solution, and although it wasn't the choice we took, it was a creative, (yet manipulative) solution to a tricky problem. Here comes the diva!
"Erin, we're going to take turns talking, and right now, it's Daddy's turn to talk to mommy. You had your turn and shared about restraunts with mommy, and now it's Daddy's turn."
"No, it's my turn! I am always allowed to talk to mommy! Dad, it's not your turn! We are NOT taking turns, I am just going to talk to mommy! You are not allowed to talk to her. It is MY turn!"
"Erin, how can it be your turn, I thought you said we weren't taking turns?"
"Well, we aren't, see we can all talk."
"Oh? How is that going to work?"
"Well, (most resolutions begin with 'well')you can talk to yourself, and I'll just talk to mommy. See how easy that is?"
After much laughter, and several pleas from the backseat to divulge the source of the humor in the situation, we decided, that yes, it was a "valid" solution, and although it wasn't the choice we took, it was a creative, (yet manipulative) solution to a tricky problem. Here comes the diva!
Friday, January 27, 2006
Song Lyrics, Erin-style
As many of you know, our daughter is a singer, with quite an extensive repetoire. She finds great joy in music, and even though her tone and pitch sometimes aren't up to par, she sings with her whole heart, soul, and body. Tonight, I was amused as Erin serenaded one of the men at Phat Thursday with her rendition of "Father Abraham". She was plugging right along through the song and tweaked right at the end ...
Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you. So let's just bless the Lord. Right arm!
I smiled, because I thought, God probably was blessed through her moment of praise, even though the "real" words are let's just praise the Lord!
Other recent lyrical stylizations have been:
Johnjacobjingleheimerschmidt ... John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt, his name is my name too. Whenever I go out the people always shout, "There goes not Johnjacobjingleheimerschmidt! -- cause my name's Erin!"
The B-I-B-L-E ... The B-I-D-Aweave, yes that's the book for me! I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-D-Aweave!
There are lots of others, and of course, I can't think of them right now, but I'll try to add them as we hear them. It's funny, because she has lots of CDs that have lots of songs, and her interpretation of them makes me realize that we don't always hear what we think we hear, and it's probably always good to stop and check before repeating!
Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you. So let's just bless the Lord. Right arm!
I smiled, because I thought, God probably was blessed through her moment of praise, even though the "real" words are let's just praise the Lord!
Other recent lyrical stylizations have been:
Johnjacobjingleheimerschmidt ... John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt, his name is my name too. Whenever I go out the people always shout, "There goes not Johnjacobjingleheimerschmidt! -- cause my name's Erin!"
The B-I-B-L-E ... The B-I-D-Aweave, yes that's the book for me! I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-D-Aweave!
There are lots of others, and of course, I can't think of them right now, but I'll try to add them as we hear them. It's funny, because she has lots of CDs that have lots of songs, and her interpretation of them makes me realize that we don't always hear what we think we hear, and it's probably always good to stop and check before repeating!
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
New Erin quotes
Erin has been a queen of the "one liners" recently. A few that stick out are:
"Look, it's chicken on the cob!" (referring to a drumstick)
"Have a nice day there, Big Fella!" (greeting an old man at the grocery store)
"You are in deep trouble, Big Man!" (angrily addressing daddy fronm the second step at a church leadership meeting ... hands on hips, head bent down, eyebrows deeply furrowed)
We are in the process of trading Erin's room and our room (which will be the girls' room in a few weeks!). It's amazing what one finds when pilfering the contents of a 3 year old's room, as well as educational. Today I found bits of chewed up crayon, lots of torn coloring book pages (that I was quickly corrected in that they were "maps" or "messages"), medicine dispensers with sticky tylenol residue, various doll clothing (that explains why so many of the babies are naked!), and many many items that were "lost" previous to moving a few things off the floor. A perhaps even more mysterious adventure is combing through one's own room and "excavating" the nether regions of the "under-bed world" and finding what a 3 year old thinks is imprtant to bring to share with her parents. I found blocks, dishes, game pieces, gift bags stuffed with small "happy mealish" toys, dirty socks and undies, more medicine dispensers -- don't know exactly where these originate or that we had so many! --, and lots of other pieces of clothing that I thought were missing due to the "laundry monster" that is our dryer. In my closet, home of the bedroom unicorns (according to Princess Erin) I found a stash of beads, two milk cups (thankfully the milk was gone!), a "magnadoodle-type" contraption, and other various toys. I think she tried to move in months ago, and we just didn't notice! Oh the joys!
"Look, it's chicken on the cob!" (referring to a drumstick)
"Have a nice day there, Big Fella!" (greeting an old man at the grocery store)
"You are in deep trouble, Big Man!" (angrily addressing daddy fronm the second step at a church leadership meeting ... hands on hips, head bent down, eyebrows deeply furrowed)
We are in the process of trading Erin's room and our room (which will be the girls' room in a few weeks!). It's amazing what one finds when pilfering the contents of a 3 year old's room, as well as educational. Today I found bits of chewed up crayon, lots of torn coloring book pages (that I was quickly corrected in that they were "maps" or "messages"), medicine dispensers with sticky tylenol residue, various doll clothing (that explains why so many of the babies are naked!), and many many items that were "lost" previous to moving a few things off the floor. A perhaps even more mysterious adventure is combing through one's own room and "excavating" the nether regions of the "under-bed world" and finding what a 3 year old thinks is imprtant to bring to share with her parents. I found blocks, dishes, game pieces, gift bags stuffed with small "happy mealish" toys, dirty socks and undies, more medicine dispensers -- don't know exactly where these originate or that we had so many! --, and lots of other pieces of clothing that I thought were missing due to the "laundry monster" that is our dryer. In my closet, home of the bedroom unicorns (according to Princess Erin) I found a stash of beads, two milk cups (thankfully the milk was gone!), a "magnadoodle-type" contraption, and other various toys. I think she tried to move in months ago, and we just didn't notice! Oh the joys!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Back to square 1
Well, I hate to write this blog, but I'm also looking forward to it. My team missed our target production for our Vibe last month, and now I fear we have to start over again. The good news is that we don't have to wait and as DIQ target production is the same, I also will be starting over again. However, more good news is that I didn't lose any consultants/team members, and we can resubmit in two days. I am a little disappointed, but excited as well, because if we want that car and the director suit before the baby arrives, we have a definite deadline to work with! My team members are excited to get their businesses rolling this year, and we are going to rock! I don't usually understand God's timing on the front end, so I'm looking forward to enjoying the understanding part later! He is good, All the time! Talk to you again soon!
Monday, January 02, 2006
New Year
Well, we are at the beginning of a new year -- it seems like I just got used to writing 05 on things, and now will need to change again! Oh well. It is always a time to reflect and set new goals, and I have several.
One, I need to wrap up my car production this month -- I didn't meet my goal last month, so I'm hoping that doesn't put me back at ground zero again, in the $18,000 production, because I think I have just about $2000 or less to go as of orders placed in December. If so, we'll just start from scratch, though!
Another goal is to wrap up my unit by the end of January, so again, I need to get a move on, and motivate my team to start recruiting as well! As we are officially in DIQ, team members they recruit count toward our unit, and we need to have 30 active consultants in our unit to become official. I think our name is going to be Rahija's Radical Reachers -- at least until someone else comes up with a better name!
Personally, I also need to become a better homemaker -- I'm not the best Martha Stewart, thus am always behind on housework, dishes, laundry, cooking, ... the list goes on :) They say that practice makes perfect ... here's hoping!
Well, it is getting to be bedtime, and my body's telling me it needs more sleep :) Seems to be the case all the time now. Happy New Year!
One, I need to wrap up my car production this month -- I didn't meet my goal last month, so I'm hoping that doesn't put me back at ground zero again, in the $18,000 production, because I think I have just about $2000 or less to go as of orders placed in December. If so, we'll just start from scratch, though!
Another goal is to wrap up my unit by the end of January, so again, I need to get a move on, and motivate my team to start recruiting as well! As we are officially in DIQ, team members they recruit count toward our unit, and we need to have 30 active consultants in our unit to become official. I think our name is going to be Rahija's Radical Reachers -- at least until someone else comes up with a better name!
Personally, I also need to become a better homemaker -- I'm not the best Martha Stewart, thus am always behind on housework, dishes, laundry, cooking, ... the list goes on :) They say that practice makes perfect ... here's hoping!
Well, it is getting to be bedtime, and my body's telling me it needs more sleep :) Seems to be the case all the time now. Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Yikes!
Sorry for the lack of posts this last month+! Life has been so busy with Christmas preparations and celebrations, I have not thought much about my blog!
Now that most of the celebrating is over, we are settling back into a routine of sorts. We visited my parents/extended family the weekend prior to Christmas, and spent Christmas weekend with David's family. We came home with a "bit" of a stomach virus on Sunday night, and we now are feeling much better.
Well, I do not have much to share at this moment. Baby Rahija is doing well, as Dr. Peck found today, and she is as active as ever. We are going to watch a bit more of Pride and Prejudice (the A&E version, compliments of my husband!), and going to head to bed. Good night, and hopefully I will write again soon!
Now that most of the celebrating is over, we are settling back into a routine of sorts. We visited my parents/extended family the weekend prior to Christmas, and spent Christmas weekend with David's family. We came home with a "bit" of a stomach virus on Sunday night, and we now are feeling much better.
Well, I do not have much to share at this moment. Baby Rahija is doing well, as Dr. Peck found today, and she is as active as ever. We are going to watch a bit more of Pride and Prejudice (the A&E version, compliments of my husband!), and going to head to bed. Good night, and hopefully I will write again soon!
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Day-After-Thanksgiving Sale!
Hello! I am just posting this to let everyone know about the great 12-hour holiday sale I'm having on Friday, November 25th. Starting at 7am, all orders placed online will receive a 24% discount, orders placed after 8am will get a 22% discount, after 9 a 20% discount, and so on ... I am also doing a "lottery" at the end of the 12 hours, and drawing one name to receive 50% off their entire order, and two people to receive an additional 10% off their order!
I have great gift sets that are wrapped and ready to go under the tree, into stockings, or in the mail to those not near you. I also put together custome gifts according to your needs, and have gift certificates available. Let me help you de-stress the holiday shopping experience, by helping you choose the perfect gifts for your family and friends (and other miscellaneous people on your gift list!).
I also have great things for YOU this season, with new trendy color collections, glamourous glimmer, and luxurious skin-care to make your dull, winter skin melt away into silky soft skin. Don't forget to keep yourself looking cute, and feeling great!
Please visit my personal website to see what's new, and place your orders early on Friday to get your best savings! Happy Thanksgiving!
I have great gift sets that are wrapped and ready to go under the tree, into stockings, or in the mail to those not near you. I also put together custome gifts according to your needs, and have gift certificates available. Let me help you de-stress the holiday shopping experience, by helping you choose the perfect gifts for your family and friends (and other miscellaneous people on your gift list!).
I also have great things for YOU this season, with new trendy color collections, glamourous glimmer, and luxurious skin-care to make your dull, winter skin melt away into silky soft skin. Don't forget to keep yourself looking cute, and feeling great!
Please visit my personal website to see what's new, and place your orders early on Friday to get your best savings! Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Closer to the Goal
We have added yet another new consultant to our team this week, welcome Angela! Angela has been a great customer and is ready to stop paying full price for her products! She is a wonderful educator, mother, wife, and friend, and I am so excited for her in this new venture, wherever it takes her!
We also have two other lovely ladies who are in the decision-making process this week, and I would be honored to work with them!
The trip to Emporia was great with a power class of over 20 women in attendance between 4 consultants. What a fun time!
Our team production is just over half of what our goal is for the month, and we are just starting the second half of the month, so we are excited! God is moving in ways we haven't expected (I guess that's appropriate, huh?!) and is working in amazing ways in the women on our team! I am so blessed to know these ladies!
Have a great week, and keep us in prayer as we stretch to wrap our Vibe up this month -- two months ahead of schedule!!!!
We also have two other lovely ladies who are in the decision-making process this week, and I would be honored to work with them!
The trip to Emporia was great with a power class of over 20 women in attendance between 4 consultants. What a fun time!
Our team production is just over half of what our goal is for the month, and we are just starting the second half of the month, so we are excited! God is moving in ways we haven't expected (I guess that's appropriate, huh?!) and is working in amazing ways in the women on our team! I am so blessed to know these ladies!
Have a great week, and keep us in prayer as we stretch to wrap our Vibe up this month -- two months ahead of schedule!!!!
Monday, November 14, 2005
Great Ideas ...
Can I just comment on something that has been bothering me since Saturday morning? I would like to offer props to the individual who thought up the idea of a catheter -- use a tube to drain unwanted or needed fluid from one area of the body into a receptacle, I can definitely appreciate the ingenuity of this idea. HOWEVER, I don't know that the person who invented this miraculous device ever had one to remove fluid from an infected bladder. If so, I think they would have scrapped their idea, thrown away the prototype, and kicked themselves for thinking they could make things better :)
I found myself with a UTI late Friday night/Saturday morning, and because of the baby, I had to take a trip to the ER (UTI can cause preterm labor). Thinking I would simply to in and collect a sample in a cup, I was okay with this. Such was not the case. As I am over 20 weeks of my pregnancy, it is procedure to be admitted onto the OB floor to monitor the baby and make sure labor hasn't started. The nurse was great, and was sure we could to a "clean catch" (pee in a cup), but the doctor had another solution ... the catheter! For those of you who don't know, this is a fairly simple procedure. The nurse crams a bit of plastic tubing up to drain the bladder and collect a urine sample directly from the bladder instead of allowing it to pass through the body. I have not felt anything like this pain before ... at least with childbirth, there was a relief ... not so with the cath. If at all possible, I would avoid this at most costs!
Probably more info than you cared to know, but it was my current thought :) Have a great week!
I found myself with a UTI late Friday night/Saturday morning, and because of the baby, I had to take a trip to the ER (UTI can cause preterm labor). Thinking I would simply to in and collect a sample in a cup, I was okay with this. Such was not the case. As I am over 20 weeks of my pregnancy, it is procedure to be admitted onto the OB floor to monitor the baby and make sure labor hasn't started. The nurse was great, and was sure we could to a "clean catch" (pee in a cup), but the doctor had another solution ... the catheter! For those of you who don't know, this is a fairly simple procedure. The nurse crams a bit of plastic tubing up to drain the bladder and collect a urine sample directly from the bladder instead of allowing it to pass through the body. I have not felt anything like this pain before ... at least with childbirth, there was a relief ... not so with the cath. If at all possible, I would avoid this at most costs!
Probably more info than you cared to know, but it was my current thought :) Have a great week!
Friday, November 11, 2005
Blessing keep Rollin' In!
More good news ... Wednesday, we welcomed Judy, a new friend from the Overland Park area to our team! I am so excited to get to know her more, but already feel connected to her -- a God-thing! We are going to reach our goal this month of 6 new consultants and team production of $10,000, I just know it! Can't wait to meet the other ladies who will join us! We are 1/2 of the way there, and nearly 1/2 (Monday we will have another one, I am sure!)! God is good, all the time!
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Vibin'
Hello, just another note to celebrate my growing team (future unit!). We have another beautiful, talented, wonderful woman on our team! Rachel signed her agreement on Monday! I am so blessed to know this woman! She is so easy to love and I have enjoyed our friendship so much! This brings us to 10 team members, 4 active, and several who will be active soon! We will welcome 5 more new women to our team this month too, (that is my goal and positive affirmation statement!), and wrap up most, if not all of our car production, so we will be a Vibe-driving team! I'm tired of sharing the car with David, and now I won't have to anymore! I've never owned a new car before ... makes me excited to have a new one for free! Have a great day!
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Oops!
Well, I see it's been a month since my last post -- I hate it when I fall behind like this! There is so much that happens, but is seems the time to write about it is short, or in my case, the pregnancy-forgetfulness makes me, well, forget! So, I will hopefully get caught up on life in Rahija-land here soonly :)
A quick over-view:
The blue ghetto beast (aka David's work car) finally died.
Erin started story hour.
University church is going to one service on Sundays, not two ... yea!
I recruited two new team members, and am on-target again for my 2006 red Pontiac Vibe from Mary Kay (especially exciting in light of the first announcement!).
We took David to the emergency room via ambulance, suspecting a heart attack, and found a sinus infection.
Halloween was a disaster ... FYI, Halloween is a spooky time, not for being pretty :)
Baby Rahija (now half-way through the womb-time!) is not a baby Joshua, but a sister ... Big sister is not pleased.
I'll try to update the situations more closely and with a bit more detail in the coming days ... but who knows what will happen between now and then?! Hope to talk to many of you soon!
A quick over-view:
The blue ghetto beast (aka David's work car) finally died.
Erin started story hour.
University church is going to one service on Sundays, not two ... yea!
I recruited two new team members, and am on-target again for my 2006 red Pontiac Vibe from Mary Kay (especially exciting in light of the first announcement!).
We took David to the emergency room via ambulance, suspecting a heart attack, and found a sinus infection.
Halloween was a disaster ... FYI, Halloween is a spooky time, not for being pretty :)
Baby Rahija (now half-way through the womb-time!) is not a baby Joshua, but a sister ... Big sister is not pleased.
I'll try to update the situations more closely and with a bit more detail in the coming days ... but who knows what will happen between now and then?! Hope to talk to many of you soon!
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
New Team Member!
I am proud and excited to announce a new team member to my Mary Kay family! Bianca, of Lawrence, joins us and brings such a joy to our group! She is funny, sweet, adorable, and makes people feel comfortable instantly! So excited to have a new face on our team! She attended her first meeting as my guest this week, and enjoyed Dale's singing so much, I guess she wanted to come back!
Okay, we need a name soon here, because we're going to have to start stating it out loud soon, as we have 7 ladies on the team, and will be able to enter DIQ with 8 actives! Woo hoo! Any suggestions are welcome ... remember, I like words like service/servant, reaching, grace, ... Maybe Rahija's grace givers? I don't know ... like I said, I'm up for suggestions! Have a wonderful end of the week!
Okay, we need a name soon here, because we're going to have to start stating it out loud soon, as we have 7 ladies on the team, and will be able to enter DIQ with 8 actives! Woo hoo! Any suggestions are welcome ... remember, I like words like service/servant, reaching, grace, ... Maybe Rahija's grace givers? I don't know ... like I said, I'm up for suggestions! Have a wonderful end of the week!
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Diva in the Making
Tonight David and I had a worship practice with Glenn and Rachel and it was really fun to just play, sing, and woship together. What we didn't bank on was the extra back-up vocalist joining our group. Erin, after getting all "gussied up" in "play clothes" attire thanks to Glenn's daughters, came out of her dressing room looking the part of a Wilma Flintstone meets sequin/feather beauty. Her animal print top was adorned with green, red, and lavendar beads, wrists bedazzled with hot pink, green, and orange, and the skirt, perhaps the most intriguing part of the outfit, was silver sequins with hot pink feather trim. Oh, she also had a purple headband on, and almost looked like she stepped out of an 80's dance flick (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun comes to mind!).
Well, we all oohed and ahhed over her makeover, but she was just getting started. She informed us that she wanted to sing too, so grabbed some of our music, made a spot for herself on the floor, and did her best to sing along. Her heart was completely in it, as she mainly provided an echo for Rachel and I (who were not in her league as far as fashion goes!), but belted it out as loudly as she could, lips pressed to the mic that was plugged in, but thankfully not hot. She watched our mouths intently, trying to mimic every movement, and did a pretty good job with the choruses of a few of the songs. The Word says make a joyful noise ... and that she did! I know that His heart was smiling as widely as ours were!
Perhaps the most "diva-ish" moment was when she got up as David and Glenn were playing the intro to the next song, stopped David cold with her hand, and said, "Daddy, don't start the next song ... I need a drink." She casually sauntered across the room to retrieve her Capri Sun, sipped leisurely, then returned to her spot, with an "Okay, you can start now." I kept waiting for flourishing hand movements, but I guess that will come at the next practice. Whew, I feel sorry for her future band-mates! What a drama queen!
Well, we all oohed and ahhed over her makeover, but she was just getting started. She informed us that she wanted to sing too, so grabbed some of our music, made a spot for herself on the floor, and did her best to sing along. Her heart was completely in it, as she mainly provided an echo for Rachel and I (who were not in her league as far as fashion goes!), but belted it out as loudly as she could, lips pressed to the mic that was plugged in, but thankfully not hot. She watched our mouths intently, trying to mimic every movement, and did a pretty good job with the choruses of a few of the songs. The Word says make a joyful noise ... and that she did! I know that His heart was smiling as widely as ours were!
Perhaps the most "diva-ish" moment was when she got up as David and Glenn were playing the intro to the next song, stopped David cold with her hand, and said, "Daddy, don't start the next song ... I need a drink." She casually sauntered across the room to retrieve her Capri Sun, sipped leisurely, then returned to her spot, with an "Okay, you can start now." I kept waiting for flourishing hand movements, but I guess that will come at the next practice. Whew, I feel sorry for her future band-mates! What a drama queen!
Monday, September 19, 2005
Whew!
Wow, I see I'm LONG past overdue for a new blog entry ... yikes, over a month since the last post, and it seems like so much, yet so little has happened in that time frame.
We are still on course for a new baby late March-early April. We were so excited last visit to Dr. Peck when his doplar device for hearing the heartbeat was low on battery and we had to do a quick sonogram instead to check in on Baby Rahija. He/she is so much bigger than last time, and we got to see the heart beating, arms, legs, and a precious face! The day is nearing when I will HAVE to go shopping -- I tried on a shirt this morning that showed two inches of belly ... not-so-nice for those around me, so I quickly changed before horrifying too many innocent bystanders. Whew, lucky for them! The little stinker is giving me a run for my money, though! I have been SOOOOOOO sick-feeling, and as I have just crossed into the second trimester, I am feeling a little better, with more energy, but still the lovely feeling of nausea quite a bit of the time. This too, is getting a bit better, though, so there are things to celebrate ... like getting a load of laundry done, unloading and reloading the dishwasher without having to sit down in the middle, cooking a meal, and going through a day without a nap (or two)!
Erin doesn't seem to be experiencing sympathy pains with me, so I remain her personal jungle gym, trampoline, and punching bag. She has done pretty well, though, as the middle and end of summer has passed by without much outside play. The nice days last week were wonderful, and she had time to scream and play outside in nice weather. Today, she went to the Topeka zoo with Grandma Rahija, Aunt Michelle, Baby Natalie, Ann H and Kailee. This was a huge hit, and we made our own Lego zoo upon her return. The animals are a mix of Noah's ark and a garage sale misc. bag. They seem to be getting along, although I think it's kinda funny that the lions are next to the giraffes and gorilla. Hopefully they survive the night :)
We went to Tulsa over Labor Day weekend, and spent some great time with Krista and the Rahija family. David, Dad, and Krista did lots of hard work in the yard, while Mom, Michelle, and I stayed inside with the girls. Erin enjoyed playing in the dirt (buried up to her stomach, literally!) I'll save the story of "flying pizza crust" for another day.
We continue to build wonderful relationships with new and old friends at University Church. It's so wonderful to be a part of a loving family of believers, and adding to it all the time! We have had several students visit us for worship and Phat Tuesday (which is now held on Thursdays, so you can call it Phat Thursday or Phat Tuesday on Thursday, whichever you prefer!). The food and fun are still great, so if you don't have plans for dinner on Thursdays, swing over to 1921 Hillview, off 19th and Naismith and join us!
Okay, that's enough rambling for one night. I will try to blog again soon, as the thought of sitting at the computer doesn't make me nauseated these days (the heat from our office and the computers made me sick ... I know, it sounds stupid, but ... what can I say?) Talk to you soon!
We are still on course for a new baby late March-early April. We were so excited last visit to Dr. Peck when his doplar device for hearing the heartbeat was low on battery and we had to do a quick sonogram instead to check in on Baby Rahija. He/she is so much bigger than last time, and we got to see the heart beating, arms, legs, and a precious face! The day is nearing when I will HAVE to go shopping -- I tried on a shirt this morning that showed two inches of belly ... not-so-nice for those around me, so I quickly changed before horrifying too many innocent bystanders. Whew, lucky for them! The little stinker is giving me a run for my money, though! I have been SOOOOOOO sick-feeling, and as I have just crossed into the second trimester, I am feeling a little better, with more energy, but still the lovely feeling of nausea quite a bit of the time. This too, is getting a bit better, though, so there are things to celebrate ... like getting a load of laundry done, unloading and reloading the dishwasher without having to sit down in the middle, cooking a meal, and going through a day without a nap (or two)!
Erin doesn't seem to be experiencing sympathy pains with me, so I remain her personal jungle gym, trampoline, and punching bag. She has done pretty well, though, as the middle and end of summer has passed by without much outside play. The nice days last week were wonderful, and she had time to scream and play outside in nice weather. Today, she went to the Topeka zoo with Grandma Rahija, Aunt Michelle, Baby Natalie, Ann H and Kailee. This was a huge hit, and we made our own Lego zoo upon her return. The animals are a mix of Noah's ark and a garage sale misc. bag. They seem to be getting along, although I think it's kinda funny that the lions are next to the giraffes and gorilla. Hopefully they survive the night :)
We went to Tulsa over Labor Day weekend, and spent some great time with Krista and the Rahija family. David, Dad, and Krista did lots of hard work in the yard, while Mom, Michelle, and I stayed inside with the girls. Erin enjoyed playing in the dirt (buried up to her stomach, literally!) I'll save the story of "flying pizza crust" for another day.
We continue to build wonderful relationships with new and old friends at University Church. It's so wonderful to be a part of a loving family of believers, and adding to it all the time! We have had several students visit us for worship and Phat Tuesday (which is now held on Thursdays, so you can call it Phat Thursday or Phat Tuesday on Thursday, whichever you prefer!). The food and fun are still great, so if you don't have plans for dinner on Thursdays, swing over to 1921 Hillview, off 19th and Naismith and join us!
Okay, that's enough rambling for one night. I will try to blog again soon, as the thought of sitting at the computer doesn't make me nauseated these days (the heat from our office and the computers made me sick ... I know, it sounds stupid, but ... what can I say?) Talk to you soon!
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Much Ado ...
Yes, yes, it's been weeks since I've last posted! Sorry ... life seems to have taken a swing toward crazy, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down any! Since my last entry, I've been to Dallas for the Mary Kay seminar ... which was AMAZING and I am very excited to lead my team to become a unit this year, and return as a director next year, with David attending as well. I had a wonderful time, and enjoyed the "girl time" with the gals from our unit. I have a new niece, Natalie Renee, born August 1st, to John and Michelle Riggs. Erin is a proud new cousin, and although we have only seen Natalie in person once, we talk about her frequently and enjoy looking at her pictures!
We also have another piece of exciting news. Last Thursday, we went to see Dr. Peck and the fabulous staff at Olathe OB/GYN and saw our baby's heartbeat for the first time. The new Rahija will make an appearance in late March, due the 27th. We are very excited, although mommy is very tired of the "morning" (more like any time of day) sickness and feeling zapped all the time. Erin was sick last Wednesday with fever/vomitting ... thankfully I didn't catch that, although I felt like doing it right along with her! We covet your prayers during this time, as we know things are uncertain for the first trimester (we're about 9 weeks along now), and at any point in the pregnancy. I feel God's peace, and am not worrying everyday, just thankful for the life inside me. I am already changing shape, and will probably be in maternity clothes before too long ... whoever "they" are that say you don't hold the second one in like the first was right, I guess, ... bye bye "girlish figure"! I'm happy to lose shape, or at least distinctively change shapes! I hope you are all having a wonderful day!
We also have another piece of exciting news. Last Thursday, we went to see Dr. Peck and the fabulous staff at Olathe OB/GYN and saw our baby's heartbeat for the first time. The new Rahija will make an appearance in late March, due the 27th. We are very excited, although mommy is very tired of the "morning" (more like any time of day) sickness and feeling zapped all the time. Erin was sick last Wednesday with fever/vomitting ... thankfully I didn't catch that, although I felt like doing it right along with her! We covet your prayers during this time, as we know things are uncertain for the first trimester (we're about 9 weeks along now), and at any point in the pregnancy. I feel God's peace, and am not worrying everyday, just thankful for the life inside me. I am already changing shape, and will probably be in maternity clothes before too long ... whoever "they" are that say you don't hold the second one in like the first was right, I guess, ... bye bye "girlish figure"! I'm happy to lose shape, or at least distinctively change shapes! I hope you are all having a wonderful day!
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
New Bed
Erin is excited to be getting a new bed tomorrow! The reason for needing a new bed, is her deconstruction of her custome-made "big girl bed". Strangely enough, a wooden toddler bed does not support two "big girls" swinging, Tarzan style, from the support board between the posters. As crushed as I was, Erin seemed to think Grandpa Rahija would forgive her, and she is anxiously awaiting her new bigger, big girl bed (a twin bed). Grandma even found some Blues Clues sheets on a garage sale, and we've been using the pillowcase this week.
Hopefully we can have her room cleaned by tomorrow evening, as grandma and grandpa are coming over to deliver the bed and eat dinner with us! I hope I have my kitchen cleaned too! Thank goodness for dishwashers!
Hopefully we can have her room cleaned by tomorrow evening, as grandma and grandpa are coming over to deliver the bed and eat dinner with us! I hope I have my kitchen cleaned too! Thank goodness for dishwashers!
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Another New Consultant!
I have great news to report! On Friday afternoon, my team gained a wonderful new addition! We welcome Michele R to our team and are excited to help her get started! She has two very specific goals in mind for the beginning of her business, 1. to teach women how to and why it's important to take care of their skin and 2. to raise money for a move to a new city. The great thing is that she will definitely be able to do both things, and do them simultaneously. Also, she will be able to take her business with her when she moves, as Mary Kay has no territories or regions, and we are in over 20 countries world-wide! What a great opportunity for her! I am so pleased, because Michele is such a sweet girl, with some great life experience under her belt. She is going to do great things in Mary Kay, and I am pleased to be on the journey with her!
This brings me to a little problem. I have been trying to figure out a name for our team, and have come up with some ideas, but nothing that really grabs me. I want the idea of "seeking" to be involved in some way, as we are each seeking something, whether it be to reach women for Christ, make a few extra bucks, become a director or NSD, win the cars, ... we are seeking something. However, I don't like "Sarah's seekers" because it seems like they are seeking me, and that is not what I want to portray! It's nice to use alliteration, like our unit is "Derrell's Driving Divas". I've also heard Wanda's Wonders, Shaw's Shining Stars, ... Then again, there are some without, and that's fine too, SOOOOO, I'm asking for your help. I like words like seek, serve/servant/service, reaching, streatching, ... I also would like to try to use Sarah or Rahija as the beginning, but it's not necessary. I know some of you who read my blog are VERY word-creative, so unleash the creative juices and let me know what results! Please!
That brings our team to 6 this month! I am hoping to get back on target for the Vibe this month too, and as Michele is wanting to order a great inventory package, I think the rest of us can pull together to get us there! The company has some great incentives this month/quarter for us, too, and I can't wait to help my gals reach their goals and dream bigger than they've ever dreamed before!
Well, I need to get ready for our trip to Lawrence this afternoon. Have a great week!
This brings me to a little problem. I have been trying to figure out a name for our team, and have come up with some ideas, but nothing that really grabs me. I want the idea of "seeking" to be involved in some way, as we are each seeking something, whether it be to reach women for Christ, make a few extra bucks, become a director or NSD, win the cars, ... we are seeking something. However, I don't like "Sarah's seekers" because it seems like they are seeking me, and that is not what I want to portray! It's nice to use alliteration, like our unit is "Derrell's Driving Divas". I've also heard Wanda's Wonders, Shaw's Shining Stars, ... Then again, there are some without, and that's fine too, SOOOOO, I'm asking for your help. I like words like seek, serve/servant/service, reaching, streatching, ... I also would like to try to use Sarah or Rahija as the beginning, but it's not necessary. I know some of you who read my blog are VERY word-creative, so unleash the creative juices and let me know what results! Please!
That brings our team to 6 this month! I am hoping to get back on target for the Vibe this month too, and as Michele is wanting to order a great inventory package, I think the rest of us can pull together to get us there! The company has some great incentives this month/quarter for us, too, and I can't wait to help my gals reach their goals and dream bigger than they've ever dreamed before!
Well, I need to get ready for our trip to Lawrence this afternoon. Have a great week!
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Erin has Returned to the building
I picked Erin up in Salina today. She's been visiting Athol since Saturday, with Grandpa and Grandma Gerstenkorn. She was taller, browner, and full of stories from the farm (cows, mudpies, climing the guidewires from telephone poles, digging in Great Grandpa B's garden ...). She was also very tired, and needing some snuggling from mommy and daddy -- this made us happy! Upon arriving home, she began helping Daddy and Grandpa Rahija work on the Bronco. It was sure cute to see her two little legs sticking out from under the Bronco next to Grandpa's long legs. She soon tired of lying on the driveway, however, and resorted to tossing water in the general direction of the Bronco from the bench next to the house. It's good to have her home again, even if she didn't want to stay inside for a bath or stop coloring with markers at bedtime. Love her ... missed her ... glad to have had a little break from her! Thank goodness for Grandparents (on BOTH sides!)!!!
Oh, sidenote, congrats to our friends Jamin and Leah Will on the birth of their son, Levi Davis! What a precious little bundle of joy!
Oh, sidenote, congrats to our friends Jamin and Leah Will on the birth of their son, Levi Davis! What a precious little bundle of joy!
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Grandma Boeck
Well, news for Grandma Boeck is that they removed 1300 cc of fluid from her lung cavity today. That's 1 1/3 liters -- when I think of that inside my very skinny grandma, it's kinda scary! She's doing much better, but apparently there was much more pain this time than last. However, they were on their way home this afternoon. Hopefully she can slow down some, instead of trying to have the most beautiful lawn in Gaylord, KS, and growing enough corn for everyone in the county -- they don't learn! Thanks for your prayers, she (and I) have appreciated them!
Friday, July 01, 2005
Funny Erin Insight
I have been meaning to post this for a few weeks, and keep forgetting, but it is priceless. As we are preparing for a new baby in our family, Erin's new cousin, or "cousint" as she used to say, we have been talking quite a bit about how the baby is growing in Aunt Chellie's tummy. I have the Mayo Clinic's Pregnancy and Baby's First Year book, from when I was pregnant with Erin, and it has some great pictures of baby development in the womb, with actual color pictures. I found these and thought it might help Erin understand that the baby was taking time to grow, and when she was done growing, then she would come out, but until then, she had to stay safe inside Aunt Chellie. This was great for a few days, and we had lots of neat conversations. About four days into this, however, I see a look of doubt and confusion on Erin's face. A few moments later, Erin places her hand on my leg, looks into my eyes with a look of pity and consolation, and says, "Mommy, I don't think those are babies in the pictures."
I can see how this might be confusing to her, so I asked her what she thought they were. Again, with the hand on my leg, patting me in sympathy for my mistake, she breaks the news as gently as she can ... "Mommy, I'm pretty sure those are squirrels. It's okay, mommy, but those aren't babies."
Now, I can see why she would say this, as the babies' cords are plainly visible, and their arms and legs are not fully grown. How, though, was I supposed to hold in the laughter??! Well, I couldn't, and although I think Erin still thought I was in denial, she laughed too. What a precious moment in my life! I laughed so hard I cried, and Erin laughed because she thought I was insane! See, there are plenty of joyful moments to outshine the negative ones! I would have to say this is the funniest things she's said, except maybe the time she first saw kiwis and ran into the room holding two of them exclaiming, "Look mom, hairy acorns!"
Yep, it's great to be the mom of a two year old!
I can see how this might be confusing to her, so I asked her what she thought they were. Again, with the hand on my leg, patting me in sympathy for my mistake, she breaks the news as gently as she can ... "Mommy, I'm pretty sure those are squirrels. It's okay, mommy, but those aren't babies."
Now, I can see why she would say this, as the babies' cords are plainly visible, and their arms and legs are not fully grown. How, though, was I supposed to hold in the laughter??! Well, I couldn't, and although I think Erin still thought I was in denial, she laughed too. What a precious moment in my life! I laughed so hard I cried, and Erin laughed because she thought I was insane! See, there are plenty of joyful moments to outshine the negative ones! I would have to say this is the funniest things she's said, except maybe the time she first saw kiwis and ran into the room holding two of them exclaiming, "Look mom, hairy acorns!"
Yep, it's great to be the mom of a two year old!
Busy times
Yes, yes, it's been a while! With the Mary Kay year coming to an end, and lots of family things going on, it's been a busy two weeks! My Mary Kay team is doing well, and I am officially a Team Leader, which bumped my commission check up to 9% instead of 4%, which will be great this month! We had a great production, and are starting to function as a team! I also was a team captain in our unit to try to rally the troops to place an order to finish strong this seminar year. We didn't reach our goal, but did 50% more production than last month, so it was a success! Thanks to the ladies who worked hard to do that! The Driving Divas will wrap up the second cadillac in September or before! Congrats to Jill Derrell, our fabulous director!
Last weekend we stayed in Kansas City with Grandma Rahija while mom and dad were out of town. We enjoyed visiting with Grandma (Granny, for Erin), Jim and Pat, and the Parkway Baptist Church family. David and I helped lead music worship for the service Sunday morning, and had a great time!
This weekend is preparation for Michelle's baby shower (which is Sunday evening), and includes a visit from Krista! Erin is very excited (as are we all). I'm sure it will be fun, and hopefully we'll get John and Michelle's house pretty well finished! Baby Riggs is arriving soon, and we are all excited to meet her!
My grandma Boeck has fluid on her lungs again, much like she did when I started this whole blog thing. They are in Kearney, NE today trying to figure out what to do. Please keep her in prayer.
Well, I think that about does it. I have a new Mary Kay Look Book (catalog) for the new quarter, and my personal website has been revamped again, offering new options for everyone! The summer nail colors are hot, and the new lip colors (there are 22!) are great for summer, fall, and all year round! If you'd like to try anything, please let me know!
Enjoy the 4th of July weekend, and travel safe! As I always say, "Watch out for deers and drunks!"
Last weekend we stayed in Kansas City with Grandma Rahija while mom and dad were out of town. We enjoyed visiting with Grandma (Granny, for Erin), Jim and Pat, and the Parkway Baptist Church family. David and I helped lead music worship for the service Sunday morning, and had a great time!
This weekend is preparation for Michelle's baby shower (which is Sunday evening), and includes a visit from Krista! Erin is very excited (as are we all). I'm sure it will be fun, and hopefully we'll get John and Michelle's house pretty well finished! Baby Riggs is arriving soon, and we are all excited to meet her!
My grandma Boeck has fluid on her lungs again, much like she did when I started this whole blog thing. They are in Kearney, NE today trying to figure out what to do. Please keep her in prayer.
Well, I think that about does it. I have a new Mary Kay Look Book (catalog) for the new quarter, and my personal website has been revamped again, offering new options for everyone! The summer nail colors are hot, and the new lip colors (there are 22!) are great for summer, fall, and all year round! If you'd like to try anything, please let me know!
Enjoy the 4th of July weekend, and travel safe! As I always say, "Watch out for deers and drunks!"
Monday, June 20, 2005
Splash!
Erin has always been known for making a splash wherever she goes, but yesterday, she really did! It was warm, and we decided it would be fun to blow up Erin's little pool and let her play in it on our back patio (10x10 cement slab off of our kitchen). This was fun, I put my suit on, Erin was splashing around, and we all were enjoying the sun. However, it was soon apparent, that Erin was too big for her pool, and we were definitely much too big. Since it was Father's Day, and we didn't really do much on that end, we decided to go to WalMart and find a bigger pool, that we could all use. The one we found is just perfect for the patio, allows Erin to really move around, and David and I can both fit in it too ... at the same time! Erin is overjoyed, and we are looking forward to cooling off in it too! We also had to get Erin a new swim suit, as she is too big for the one she used last year -- a friend who stopped by said it looks like a rainbow threw up on her new suit ... it's very colorful, and she picked it herself! We will have lots of fun, and hopefully Erin will learn to float this summer! Hope you have a great week, and enjoy your life!
Monday, June 13, 2005
It finally happened
Well, I've been dreading this day for a long time ... the moment every parent hopes to escape, but few really do ... the dreaded "pant-pooping in a public place."
We took Erin to the park tonight, and she was playing nicely with some kids, I was visiting with a very nice woman and hoping to book her for a facial, because I was enjoying her company so much!
Then I saw it, a look of horror on Erin's face as she stood atop the firetruck on the playground. The panic struck, and she tried to decide whether to get down or stay and finish the job. This decision took too long, and although she tried, she just couldn't hold it in any longer. Thankfully, we recognized this agonized look, and took her to the bathroom, where she finished her business.
I didn't realize we didn't conclude all business in the bathroom, until trying to help her pull her panties back up -- they were not cooperating so well. Those panties went in the trash, in case you were frightened or just wondering, and needless to say, our park trip was cut short, as Erin needed a bath, not just from the extremely muddy conditions at the playground, but ... poor girl, now the memory/story will haunt her for the rest of her days :)
A good lesson learned here in Lawrence today ... "You can't hold it forever!" Have a great day!
We took Erin to the park tonight, and she was playing nicely with some kids, I was visiting with a very nice woman and hoping to book her for a facial, because I was enjoying her company so much!
Then I saw it, a look of horror on Erin's face as she stood atop the firetruck on the playground. The panic struck, and she tried to decide whether to get down or stay and finish the job. This decision took too long, and although she tried, she just couldn't hold it in any longer. Thankfully, we recognized this agonized look, and took her to the bathroom, where she finished her business.
I didn't realize we didn't conclude all business in the bathroom, until trying to help her pull her panties back up -- they were not cooperating so well. Those panties went in the trash, in case you were frightened or just wondering, and needless to say, our park trip was cut short, as Erin needed a bath, not just from the extremely muddy conditions at the playground, but ... poor girl, now the memory/story will haunt her for the rest of her days :)
A good lesson learned here in Lawrence today ... "You can't hold it forever!" Have a great day!
Friday, June 10, 2005
Another exciting day in Mary Kay!
I am so excited to announce yet another team member on my quickly-growing Mary Kay team! Brandy B. came with me to a guest event last evening, and is now excited about the new possibilities awaiting her as she embarks on the journey of ownng her own business! She is a beautiful woman who has a heart of service. Although I have not known her long, I am excited for our friendship to grow, as she is such a sweetheart, and I know that God brought her across my path for a reason!
So, welcome to the team, Brandy! We are excited to go back on target for that 2005 Red Pontiac Vibe this month, and see if we can't just wrap the whole thing in one month! Wouldn't that be something?! I read about a girl who achieved her car from her FIRST class ... wow! Anyway, as God has planned, we will move with Him!
So, welcome to the team, Brandy! We are excited to go back on target for that 2005 Red Pontiac Vibe this month, and see if we can't just wrap the whole thing in one month! Wouldn't that be something?! I read about a girl who achieved her car from her FIRST class ... wow! Anyway, as God has planned, we will move with Him!
Erin
Wow, I had hoped that parenting would not be this frustrating until Erin was a teen ... however, this is not our luck! This week has been kinda horendous, as Erin has decided that as she is almost 3, she needs to revisit every boundary known to her and see if it is still in place. Therefore, we are back to needing almost an hour to get to sleep at naptime, throwing screaming fits, hitting, throwing objects, yelling/talking back to adults, eating food off the floor (this is my fault for not sweeping after every meal). Those are just a few treats we've been experiencing. Another one, and you'll be able to attest to this if you've called me or I've called you in the past week or so, is Erin's ability to know exactly when I am on the phone, and producing a scream that is just the frequency to really grate on the nerves of everyone within three rooms of her, and within probably about 6 feet of the phone of the person who I am trying to dialog with in a semi-civilized manner. That one has been really special. She has been whiny, demanding, naughty, and devious all week. Any suggestions?? She has had several spankings this week (which seem to be working a bit more since she's only wearing panties these days), lots of toys have been in time-out for an afternoon, and today at naptime, I took away her "blue softee pillow", which really did make a big impact. She went to sleep after that! I've taken away priveledges, put her in time-out, and anything else I can imagine. Again, any suggestions?
For those of you who enjoy her antics, I'd love to invite you to come enjoy her for a day -- I need some quiet!
We love her. We are trying to cherish these times, and probalby failing miserably, but we do thank God for the gift of Erin!
This is a later addition ... we also know that throwing candy away makes a big blip on Erin's radar, resulting in tears and yelling ...
"We never, ever, ever throw candy in the trashcan, okay Daddy?!" Oh the humanity!
For those of you who enjoy her antics, I'd love to invite you to come enjoy her for a day -- I need some quiet!
We love her. We are trying to cherish these times, and probalby failing miserably, but we do thank God for the gift of Erin!
This is a later addition ... we also know that throwing candy away makes a big blip on Erin's radar, resulting in tears and yelling ...
"We never, ever, ever throw candy in the trashcan, okay Daddy?!" Oh the humanity!
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Bambinos and Naughty but Nice ... what a combo!
Today was crazy! I had a facial in Lawrence at 11 and my mom-in-law was so great to watch Erin while I was gone, and feed her as well, so I traveled to DeSoto, Lawrence, DeSoto, and Eudora this morning/afternoon. This evening, I traveled to Olathe, Lawrence, and back to Eudora. I did the "advanced" training at the Mary Kay meeting tonight (it was my first time, and although I have been preparing for about two weeks, compiling thoughts, and trying to be intune with God's plan, I still felt like it didn't go over well -- it's been too long since I've prepared lessons for adults!) and then was late in getting to my friends Laura's birthday party in Lawrence.
I had a blast with the birthday gang, and although we started the evening at Bambinos (Italian restraunt in Lawrence), we ended it standing under the awning, out of the rain, at Naughty but Nice. Now, this might seem strange, but mainly, the two businesses are next to each other, and the parking for Bambinos is against the building of NbN. Still makes for a fun story! We were a little concerned when a police car pulled into the parking lot and the officer entered the store. Maybe he lost his handcuffs??? We had lots of laughs, and I can't wait to see the few pics we took! It's always fun to have a girls' night! Happy Birthday Laura!
I had a blast with the birthday gang, and although we started the evening at Bambinos (Italian restraunt in Lawrence), we ended it standing under the awning, out of the rain, at Naughty but Nice. Now, this might seem strange, but mainly, the two businesses are next to each other, and the parking for Bambinos is against the building of NbN. Still makes for a fun story! We were a little concerned when a police car pulled into the parking lot and the officer entered the store. Maybe he lost his handcuffs??? We had lots of laughs, and I can't wait to see the few pics we took! It's always fun to have a girls' night! Happy Birthday Laura!
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Camping
As Krista mentioned, the Rahija family/friends Reunion 2005 took place over the past weekend. We camped at John Redmond Res. near Burlington, KS, and had a nice time. Erin enjoyed all the attention from her aunts and uncle, and her Dunley and new friend Matt. We saw snakes and blue herons in the water, heard lots of fish, and unknowingly fed one or more racoons -- I guess they really go after animal crackers, Nutty Bars, and baked potatoes! I would say the weekend was fairly "incident free" except for Erin tripping on Roscoe's tether and a tent tie. We were stinky and hot upon returning home, but in one piece, and fairly sunburn free, as well as minimal numbers of bugbites and poison ivy! And, ... a fun time was had by ... :)
Erin, it seems had the best time, as when it was time for bed Sunday night, she begged us to go back to her campin' trip. I was not keen on this. It was fun, but I'm glad to be home.
Erin, it seems had the best time, as when it was time for bed Sunday night, she begged us to go back to her campin' trip. I was not keen on this. It was fun, but I'm glad to be home.
Monday, May 16, 2005
Graceful as Ever
Well, once again, my natural grace and poise shine through! Today, I was on a phone interview with a potential new consultant, and was sitting on my bed. I decided to get up and go into the office so I could take some notes on our conversation. My body thought this was a fine idea, and moved forward and up to start the process. My feet, however, had some reservations about leaving the warmth of being tucked into my pant legs, and refused to budge. As you might imagine, the result was not-so-nice. I plummeted to the floor, landing on my hands and knees, particularly my right knee and left hand, acquiring a "strawberry" on both. The noise was so loud, that Erin came running in to scold me for being too noisy, but found me laying on the floor, and immediately began worrying about me, rubbing my legs, and kissing my knee. What a sweet moment. I am fine, just a little bruised (pride and knees). Thought all of you would like to know, I'm still the same, old, clumsy me!
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Garage Sale Season
It's here! It's here! The dreary days of winter have gone, and it's time for sun, fun, and garage saling! I don't know what it is about garage saling that is so addictive ... perhapse the "needle in the haystack" syndrom takes over, or maybe it's just nice to get a good bargain on something you want or need!
Speaking of bargains, today was a good day for that! Getting a late start (10am), we hit six or seven sales. Some of them were neighborhood sales, and we attended on at a church. I ended up getting five shirts for Erin, a cute hoodie jacket, two pairs of Gap pants, two skirts, and an overall for baby Riggs ... three games for Erin, a pair of large squeaky dice (for Erin as we learn to play Yhatze!), Backpack complete with a star pocket (from Dora the Explorer) and three nice books ... for the bargain price of $6.80. I thought we did pretty well!
Erin, however, is more than excited about her new games. She had to get them out as soon as we got home ... however they needed a little cleaning, so after her nap we broke out the Mean Green and got her Cookie Scale, Cooties, and Hungry, Hungry Hippos games clean and fully operational. Now, the only problem is to help her understand that the games do not have interchangeable parts, and do not need to be out simultaneously.
She asked us today what "garage sale" means ... I think she'll be excited the next time we tell her we're going to one! Have a great weekend!
Speaking of bargains, today was a good day for that! Getting a late start (10am), we hit six or seven sales. Some of them were neighborhood sales, and we attended on at a church. I ended up getting five shirts for Erin, a cute hoodie jacket, two pairs of Gap pants, two skirts, and an overall for baby Riggs ... three games for Erin, a pair of large squeaky dice (for Erin as we learn to play Yhatze!), Backpack complete with a star pocket (from Dora the Explorer) and three nice books ... for the bargain price of $6.80. I thought we did pretty well!
Erin, however, is more than excited about her new games. She had to get them out as soon as we got home ... however they needed a little cleaning, so after her nap we broke out the Mean Green and got her Cookie Scale, Cooties, and Hungry, Hungry Hippos games clean and fully operational. Now, the only problem is to help her understand that the games do not have interchangeable parts, and do not need to be out simultaneously.
She asked us today what "garage sale" means ... I think she'll be excited the next time we tell her we're going to one! Have a great weekend!
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Newest Erinism
A new "funny" to add to the Erinisms list. Today, when Daddy asked Erin who loved her (old trick the babysitters taught her ... adult says, "Who's the cutest baby in the world?" Erin replies "ME!" Adult responds with "And who loves Erin?" Erin triumphantly shouts, "Everyone!" Everyone laughs, agrees, and we create a complex for our young daughter). Erin responds with, "Oh, Krista, Aunt Michelle ... they all love me!"
Yep, it's good to be two (and a HALF!).
Yep, it's good to be two (and a HALF!).
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Get Motivated!
I went to a training seminar today called "Get Motivated!" with my parents and sister (in-law and heart!)and had a great time! Zig Ziglar was there, as well as former NYC mayor Rudi G., and several other very motivational speakers. It was a long day, but provided much food for thought, and also revving up for a great Mary Kay month! We have a big production goal this month, as well as a goal to bring in 6 new ladies on my team! I know that God will provide the ladies, and our team is going to flourish! I am excited to see what He is doing in my life, and the lives of those who don't even know that He's working on yet! Have a great rest of the week, and leave me a post with any good news you have -- even if we've never met and you're just trolling through random blogs!
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Mary Kay Open House Saturday, May 7th
Just a reminder that I will be having a
Mary Kay Open House this Saturday, May 7th,
in my home in Eudora.
Facials start at 2, 3, and 4.
I will also have gift sets available for
Moms, grads, brides, birthdays, dads, ...
There will be drawings, snacks, and savings!
Come on over, and bring a friend! It will be fun!
Remember, if you heard about this on my blog,
mention it to me, and receive an extra discount!
Contact me for more details and/or directions!
Hope to see you in Eudora on Saturday!
Mary Kay Open House this Saturday, May 7th,
in my home in Eudora.
Facials start at 2, 3, and 4.
I will also have gift sets available for
Moms, grads, brides, birthdays, dads, ...
There will be drawings, snacks, and savings!
Come on over, and bring a friend! It will be fun!
Remember, if you heard about this on my blog,
mention it to me, and receive an extra discount!
Contact me for more details and/or directions!
Hope to see you in Eudora on Saturday!
Weekend in Athol
Well, we survived the weekend trip to Athol. Rhett and Christina are happily married, the Mary Kay part of the day went well, and it was fun to catch up with some old high school friends. The singing part went okay ... however, the church needs to invest in a new music stand, as the one we were using was so ricketty, the music fell off during our singing in two of the three songs! Oh well, we did the best we could, and in one case, I just had to bend down and pick up the paper off the floor and keep going :) Erin had a blast at the dance, and wore Grandma and Grandpa Gerstenkorn out, I think! We also set a new trip record, and made it to Athol from Eudora in 3 hours and 50 minutes! Yikes!
In other news ... we are excited to have a new couple joining our ministry, Tim and Bree! They came to University Church for the first time on Sunday. They will be the "house parents" for the ministry center when we find one, and are getting married this summer. We are also welcoming Jimmy and Rachel, from Oklahoma, to Lawrence in June! Recently, Sean and Lisa have also met several families that are interested in University Church, and it seems that our little group may be growing! This is exciting! We are currently in a discussion called "The Matrix" (not about the movie!) that is interesting and I'd love to invite anyone to join us on Sunday evenings in Danforth Chapel, on KU's campus to add, listen, and take part in that discussion!
Well, that about does it for now. I don't think Erin's done anything too outrageous in the past few days ... or, I am just desensitized to it :) Have a wonderful day!
In other news ... we are excited to have a new couple joining our ministry, Tim and Bree! They came to University Church for the first time on Sunday. They will be the "house parents" for the ministry center when we find one, and are getting married this summer. We are also welcoming Jimmy and Rachel, from Oklahoma, to Lawrence in June! Recently, Sean and Lisa have also met several families that are interested in University Church, and it seems that our little group may be growing! This is exciting! We are currently in a discussion called "The Matrix" (not about the movie!) that is interesting and I'd love to invite anyone to join us on Sunday evenings in Danforth Chapel, on KU's campus to add, listen, and take part in that discussion!
Well, that about does it for now. I don't think Erin's done anything too outrageous in the past few days ... or, I am just desensitized to it :) Have a wonderful day!
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