The New Year

It's unbelievable that I have put up the calendar for January 2009! Every month I take the write-on/wipe-off calendar on the frig and clear out the dates and start fresh for new month. I still can't believe that it's already January again.

2008 was a year of many things. Let's start at the beginning:

January

Dane started Linemen's School in Trenton, GA. This was a 4 month program to train him as an electrical lineman. Abbie was still living with us finishing cosmetology school at John A. Logan. Evan started her last semester of High School. DeWayne was still working at EEI and I started another Spring semester at West Side. Physically I was a wreck and I went to the doctor who explained to me that I needed to lose weight. So, with much determination I started Curves and I changed my diet. (Not so much a diet but a definite eating change).

February

Dane is still at school in Georgia. The month started with a snow day. We voted in the presidential primary. Snow day #2, & 3, & 4 thanks to an ice storm. Then snow day #5 & 6. Our Whitlock Family (DeWayne's mom, brother & sister and their families except Jake and Dane) left for Disney World the last day of the month. DeWayne is offered a job at Southern Illinois Power Company at Lake of Egypt.

March

The first week of the month we were on vacation. DISNEY WORLD. Yeah!!! We took Jackie with us. While on vacation snow day #7. We spent one night in Chattanooga visiting Dane. By now, I have lost over 20 pounds!!! DeWayne started his new job the week after we got back from Disney. He's 20 minutes closer to home!!! Not snow days but rain days. We missed many days of school because of a severe flood in Saline County. I have never seen so much water in my whole life.

April

Snow, ice, rain, flood and earthquake. We were rocked awake by the earth shaking. Dane graduated the 16th. We were very proud of him and still are! He got a job with Groves Electric and started before the end of the month. Evan hurt her knee and wasn't able to finish her Sr. year of soccer. :( DeWayne loves his new job. Evan got accepted at University of Evansville.

May

Prom. The last one I have to buy a dress or rent a tux for. It was lovely. We served dinner here for 14. Evan turned 18. Graduation. Summer Vacation

June

SOAR at U.E. Dane's still working at Groves. Evan's collecting stuff for a dorm room. 

July

I turn 45 this month. Fifty is not looking that old anymore! My very good friend got married in Ohio. Evan, Jackie and I go to the wedding. Evan finally got to ride the Beast at King's Island. Dane turns 21. Wow where does time go? 

August

Grandma Griswold comes for a visit. I start my 4th year as the Technology Aide at West Side. I feel comfortable in my job. Not anxious. Evan starts school on DeWayne's birthday. Abbie moves home to Wisconsin.

September

Liberty Fest -Lemon Shake-ups Dane and Evan both helped. DeWayne made sure the power stayed on. Dane is accepted in the Lineman's Apprenticeship program. He will start working for Asplundh in Jackson, MO. This is the start of a 3 year program. 

October

I have now lost 50 pounds. My health is much better. Dane likes his job, DeWayne likes his job, and Evan loves school. 

November

We elected a new president. Dane goes to climbing school 3 weeks in a row in Ohio. I now have a great-niece, Ally. Thanksgiving at Marsha's. Much laughing and great family pictures.

December

Yuck-stomach flu.(but I lost 5 more pounds). Snow day #1. Evan home. Dane on his first storm duty in Peoria, IL. DeWayne working many hours of overtime. And now getting ready for a new year. 

This is long, I know. It doesn't sound like we accomplished that much for the year. As I reflect, I am so thankful for every person that God has put in our paths this year. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve him and to publicly praise him. He is a Great God that I serve! I pray that my life will be an even greater testimony to his greatness in 2009. 

Now to Clean Up

It's Saturday and all the Christmas presents have been given and received. We've opened gifts at 3 different homes; 4 if you include our own. I think we've covered everyone. :D 

I keep thinking the Christmas tree will just disappear, but I guess I need to put it away. 

Well, maybe tomorrow or Wednesday! :)

 I am thankful for every gift and especially for all the time we've been allowed to share with our families. Probably the most fun was at DeWayne's sister and brother-in-law's home Christmas Day evening. No formal meal, no gifts, just junk food and games. Not board games but wii and Dance, Dance Revolution and xBox. Let's just say that I don't usually participate in video game night. (I think I have a hand eye coordination deficiancy.) Wii is very different. I really enjoyed being silly and getting my butt kicked by Dalton. Watching Delaney and Ame play DDR...well, let's just say I'm impressed. I have no hand foot coordination either. :D The wii Fit is a marvelous tool I wouldn't mind owning. All that exercise and fun too. 

I watched The Patriot with my husband last night before he left for work. It is one of his all-time favorites. I enjoyed watching it too. The bloody battle scenes aren't my favorite but I have learned to look away. :) My favorite line is when Gabriel (Heath Ledger) and Benjamin (Mel Gibson) are arguing about Gabriel going back to join the battle. Gabriel says;"I am not a child!" and Benjamin says:"You are my child!" Those lines have really made me think last night and today. I feel that way about my own children when I am giving them advice. I'm sure my own mother feels that way about me still. And then I thought about God. How many times do we practically yell at God with that reference that we are not children and I'm sure God is very patiently saying to us "But you are my child." Many things in life don't go the way we want them to. Many situations scream that WE ARE IN CHARGE OF OUR OWN LIVES!!! and God on his throne is still saying "But you are my child". So I guess what I'm trying to say is that maybe I need to live my life like God really is my Father and I am his child. And for this; I am truly thankful.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

 I told my family I wouldn't blog today. But, you know, here I am. DeWayne had to go to sleep because he worked last night. We've opened gifts here and at DeWayne's mom's and now it's a lazy Christmas Day afternoon. Movies, Games, Food. What more could I ask for?

I am truly blessed to have two wonderful children and a fabulous husband. God is the true giver of all good things. And sometimes those things don't seem very good at the time but they turn out to be amazing! My thankful list is overflowing today!!!

Have a blessed day!

Yeah!!! Dane got home last night. He will be home until tomorrow night. He has to work on Friday and maybe Saturday. But he's home and he's safe. God is so wonderfully good!

I have an annual checkup on Tuesday next week and had to have blood work done. So, I got up early this morning and went to the Harrisburg Hospital to have my lab work done. Very smart move. It took longer to fill out my insurance information than to have the blood drawn. I was there and back in less than an hour. Very nice!!! (and very unusual for the medical profession):D

It's Christmas Eve. Wow, the year has really flown by. I have to fix cookies for tonight. We eat at DeWayne's grandpa's house and open gifts there. Let's just say there are too many people to fit in a 12 x 60 trailer comfortably! "Nuf, said!" I will put on my happy face!!!

Well, if you don't like the weather, stick around it's sure to change tomorrow. I can't believe that it is 55 degrees outside. Yesterday morning there was a layer of ice on everything! Oh, well. The radio announcer this morning said the radar looked like someone had spilled a Slurpy on it. I agree. It's all green and pink and yellow. Very Pretty! :-)

I read about half of my book yesterday (The Shack). I started writing down sentences and the page number so I could talk about them later. I'm liking it pretty well. Let's just say though that if it gets any deeper I will have to reread several parts. It requires me to think. Most of the books I've read lately don't make me think too much. You know, mind candy or maybe mind chewing gum. (It takes no thought to chew gum!)

Well, enough randomness for today. I really must get to baking those cookies. 

So for today remember:

Life if too short to laugh alone.

Another Icy Day

Here comes the ice again. It's not a lot but just enough to make going anywhere a sliding experience. DeWayne just got home; said the highway wasn't too bad but the blacktop was SLICK! I think I will just stay put today. It's warm and cozy here at the Whitlock house. :D

I just tried to look up a telephone number in the phonebook for our hospital. Living in Raleigh; we get 3 phonebooks a year. They have numbers for everywhere under the sun; but I had to look in 2 phonebooks to find the number. Craziness! That's my peeve for the day!

I wrapped all the gifts this morning that had not been wrapped. Even the little stocking stuff. It's all ready to be put out by Santa! :) 

Dane called last night. He thought he might get to come home today. We got ice, they got more snow. Soooo.....I will probably see him when I see him. I just pray for his and his crews safety.

Evan made cupcakes last night. Her first, by herself project. She did a good job. Christmas Funfetti cupcakes. DeWayne and his crew ate them. 

I started The Shack. It is so far pretty good. The characters refer to God as Papa. I've never been a part of a book club. Am I supposed to be taking notes about the book? Do I mark the pages that speak to me? Or do I just wing it when I get there? Maybe I'll just play it by ear for the first meeting. 

I've been thinking a lot about Christmas traditions. Besides running around to everybody else's houses; we as a family don't have any traditions. So, I have decided to claim Christmas Eve as our holiday time for our family next year. I want to have a big meal here. I want to cook for the masses. I want people to come and have a good time. This will probably be a time with DeWayne's family (Dad, brother, sister and families). God blessed us with a big house and I want to be able to share. I have a plan. I'm looking forward to how it all turns out next year!

For those of you who know me, I have had a year of transformation in my physical body. I was not a very healthy person this time last year. I went to the Doctor in January this year and he informed me I REALLY needed to lose weight. So, I joined Curves. I changed my diet. And I have lost 55 pounds. I am in the best physical shape I have been in in years. I feel great and I am excited about life! I could not have done it without the strength of God and the moral support of my family and friends. Once I got started, there was no turning back. I really like Curves. It makes working out fun and quick. I like vegetables more now and I like to encourage those around me to lose weight too. I am not following any diet. I eat what I like. I just don't eat as much of it! My goal is 15 more pounds. When I reach that, I'll set another goal if it seems realistic.

Evan brought home a book I forgot I had bought: Really Important Stuff My Kids Have Taught Me. I thought this little quip would be my great random thought for the day:

Some weeks you really need Saturday on a Wednesday.

Did you know that Charles Lindbergh, the first guy to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, was afraid of heights? Just goes to show you, with God all things are possible!

Isaiah 9: 6-7

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Not Your Typical Monday

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues 

through all generations.

I read this and every time it makes me want to read it out loud and very loudly!!!! For this time, and this time of the year, we should be giving thanks continually and declaring that the Lord is good and His faithfulness abounds!!!

Only 3 more days until Christmas and it is not a "Typical Monday". I am home. I got to have an extended quiet time. I'm on my second cup of coffee. DeWayne is asleep because of midnights and Evan is asleep because she's a college student on vacation. I am doing laundry (I do laundry on Thursdays) and it's FREEZING!!!

Dane has checked in a couple of times. It is very cold in Peoria and they are working very long and hard days to get the power back on for the people there. We're still wondering if he will be home for Christmas. The weather is supposed to be bad again Tuesday and Wednesday. It's a toss up. 

The answer to the Cosby Show question: Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy. I wouldn't have known the answer to that question. I think I would have gotten 2 of them. :D

My friends Lisa, Brigette, Darla, Terah, JeriLynn, Kari, and Julie have decided to do a book club for 2009. I am so excited. These are the craziest and funnest (Not a word) group of women I have ever had the pleasure to call my friends. I love them all dearly and I am so glad that God put us all together at LCC. But anyway, back to the book club thing. I wasn't able to go to the "Planning meeting" but we are going to read The Shack for our first meeting in January. I bought it yesterday (oh yeah, I went shopping AGAIN yesterday) at Target. I've read many reviews on it and I think it will be a good read. I'll keep you posted.

This same group of ladies have all read Karen Kingsbury's books about the Baxter Family. The "R" series, the "F" series, and the "S" series. I have only read the "R's". This family seems so real that we have joked about asking for prayer for their family in our small groups. I am waiting patiently :D for the first book in the "F" series - Fame. Brigette is a couple books behind the rest of us and we actually made her go to the bathroom so we could talk about the plot in a book she hadn't read yet. Brigette is a really good sport. 

I help cook breakfast on Sunday mornings for the transportation kids and whoever walks through the kitchen hungry. I see a lot of these children at school during the week and it's a joy to love on them on Sundays too. I work with Brigette, Wayne, Susan, DeWayne, Ashley, Jesse, Tammy, Evan, Hannah, Kaylynn, Zach, Jeremiah, Wyatt, and sometimes Isaiah. We all have our little jobs we like to do. I seem to have graduated to making scrambled eggs. We only scramble 10 dozen every week! Yesterday we served hash browns with our regular food of eggs, bacon, and pancakes. YUMMY!

DeWayne's sister, Denise, wanted to go shopping after church yesterday. So being a good sport I went shopping in Carbondale and Marion yesterday. I think, I really, really think that I bought EVERYTHING that I need for Christmas. I am not going back to Marion or Carbondale this week. I was there 3 days in a row. I bought the funniest book at Walden Books. It's called Scared of Santa. It is a book of pictures of children and Santa Claus over the years and most of the children are crying so hard. It's hilarious! Many of the Santa's are very, very scary looking. I had to buy it. I'm putting it on my coffee table for all to enjoy!

I will have to watch 2 of my all-time favorite Christmas movies today: Christmas Vacation and White Christmas. I think since Thanksgiving I have watched them both about 3 times already but they are so good that I have to watch them again. I also have to venture out of my warm house and go workout sometime this afternoon. I really need to work out these 2 days before Christmas. 

So, until tomorrow...

Did you know that Cary Grant never won an Oscar. (What a crime!)

Have a great Monday!

Twas the Saturday before Christmas

Well, I got my major shopping finished Friday evening with the help of DeWayne and Evan. DeWayne loves to shop. :D He spends a lot of time waiting for Evan and I in the mall. He doesn't seem to mind though. The only thing left to buy are those little stocking stuffer gifts that seem to add up to more than I spend on the entire Christmas!!! How come little things cost so much? Anyone have an answer?

While shopping, Dane called and his crew has been called out to ice storm damage restoration and repair in the Peoria, IL area. So we will see if he makes it home for Christmas. We may be opening gifts with our immediate family on New Year's Day. It's his first storm damage call. He was nervous and excited at the same time. Looking at the weather for the Peoria area he may wish he was working a hurricane damage area instead. The high for tomorrow is to only be 9 degrees. BRRRRRR!!!! 

I went to Barnes & Noble last night. (No big surprise seeing how much I like to read and LOVE books) I found the best book. It is 1001 Things You Didn't Know You Wanted to Know.  Guess who's going to get to find out all kinds of useless knowledge? You guessed it...You all!!!!

Such as:

Can you name all five of the Huxtable children from the Cosby Show?

(I'll tell you the answer tomorrow)

I am officially on vacation. Yesterday was not as bad as I had predicted. I think I ate way too much chocolate but other than that the children were pretty good. Parties, Parties, Parties!!! I got some very cute things from the children and their parents. I appreciate them so much. I'm glad that God has put me in this place for this time. Maybe, just maybe I can be a bright light to a child. Maybe that love and compassion that God pours out on me can be turned around and poured back on all those little people I work with. (maybe even some of the adults too)

I have let several ideas float around my head and I think I will just go with whatever seems to work each time I write. That's why it is random. I like movies. I like to read. I like to take pictures. I like to just be on the computer-surfing, chatting, Facebook etc. So as I said on the first post, I will probably not ever stay focused but it will never be dull!

I'm off to enjoy the rest of my day with DeWayne and Evan!

Just another day.

Well, good news and bad news. Our school system thinks that blogspot must be evil because it's blocked from our district's server. This is good news because we have a very strong filter to keep junk away from our children and bad news because I can't blog at work. Wait, that's not what I get paid to do anyway. So I guess it's all good news. I must work at my job like I am working for God. 

I woke up thinking, "What can I say today that will make a difference in the world?" Then I just thought about all the useless stuff that floats around in my brain and wondered what I could bless you all with today. :D 

I use a devotional called InDeed published by Walk thru the Bible. I really like it because it has a Scripture, then a story and then how it applies to my life. I tend to write down quotes from these devotionals. I have a whole book that I am devoting to writing down the quotes from this, Scripture that speaks to my heart, and random quotes that also speak to me. Maybe I will share some of this book here. I really like it when the Holy Spirit leads my quiet time and everything speaks directly to what I need to hear for the day. It still takes my breath away when that happens. It would probably happen more often if I slowed down ALOT.

I really like my job at the school. We have a saying for this week though: "Tis the season to wish you worked somewhere else!" Small children just cannot stay focused one week before Santa is to come. Excitement is running really high. Parties are tomorrow. Lots of sugar!!! Maybe they will share with me. 

If you have small children www.northpole.com is a great site for games. It is also great for big people too. If you are looking for a Christmas recipe, there are hundreds listed there. 

Tomorrow, I am going to finish my Christmas shopping. No excuses!

The Beginnings of Random

Well, here goes nothing or something.... Whatever your perspective. I guess everybody needs a place to be random now and then.

I'm wondering, who will read this and who really cares? :)

I really like to read the blogs of my friends and family. So...feeling a little left out I decided to join the ranks of bloggers across the U.S. Ha!

As Sue Buchanan once said: "I am the deepest shallow person you will ever meet!" I can so relate to that. I don't know if I am truly shallow if I am so unable to concentrate that it makes me feel shallow. Who knows!

My children poke fun at me because I really do say very random things. During conversations I can take the weirdest turns and then get right back on subject. How do I do this? I do not know. Maybe God will explain why he made my brain the way he did when I get to Heaven. :D

It's a week before Christmas. It's a snow day off school. Evan is home from college for 3 weeks. Dane and DeWayne are at work. And I need to finish shopping and wrapping. Anything else...

I'm just going to go with this and have fun.