DeWayne Kayaking

Well, I was hoping you could enjoy a video of DeWayne kayaking the St. Francis River. He took the day off last Friday to go with Austin, Kyle, and Aaron. They had the best time! If you want to see all the video, you'll have to go to YouTube and search kayak863. That is where he posts his videos. Very exciting. So instead of a video that I couldn't get to load you will have to just love the picture. :D

We are still working on the bookshelves in Dane's old room. They are coming right along. The south wall's cases are finished as well as the window seat. It looks awesome! I have the best husband ever!

Evan has officially changed majors. We now have an art major in our family. In reality, I guess someone had to give in to it! LOL! Art has always been her passion. I"m excited for her.

Thursday was the Tech Showcase at JALC. I really do like to go to the Technology conferences that are available. I get to see new ideas and try them out when I get back.

I'm glad it's Saturday! I've done laundry, I've cleaned my bathroom and bedroom, and I've put some pictures in an album. Very productive day!

Amazing, just amazing how time flies! Last Tuesday, I was finishing up my last day of work for 2009. Today, I am sitting in my robe at 8 am wondering what the day will bring. Christmas is over, the tree is down, and the gifts are almost all put away. Sometimes I look back and marvel at the difference a few days make. I have a deep thought in there, it's just having a hard time surfacing. LOL!

As we took the tree down yesterday, Evan and I looked at all the ornaments and decided which ones to keep and which to give away and which ones to pack away. Next year, we want to do the Christmas tree in red, white and silver. So, needless to say, most of my eclectic ornaments got put away! We have been to Dillards, Target, and Wal Mart to buy half price ornaments and decorations. Maybe I'll be more excited about Christmas next year!

I have talked to my mom a bunch of times over the last two days. She's trying to get her laptop set up with a wireless internet thingy that connects to her USB. I've tried to help over the phone but without seeing the screen, it's hard to help her sometimes. I hope she gets it worked out. Of course, they are enjoying the very warm weather in Florida while it's very cold here. Oh well, have a great time mom and Jim!

I've been reflecting about how fast this year has flown by. It's about time for my year in review of what each one of has been doing this year.

I'm glad that Evan is home this week and DeWayne is on second shift (so it's like we have the day off together).

I got a new flash for my camera for Christmas from DeWayne. It is amazing. I have messed with it a little bit. It will do some wonderful things. I'm most excited about the range. I need to take a bunch of pictures in lots of different settings to see all it does.

Time to get to work doing something productive. :D

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving! I love today. It is truly a day where everyone stops and takes a breath and realizes they have a lot to be thankful for. (Well, I hope everyone)

It is a little different this year. There is no cooking going on at my house. I am not at Marsha's baking and cooking early. No, we are too consumed with the wedding. Which is ok since it's day after tomorrow!

Wedding, wedding, wedding! It's exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time. There are tuxedos in Dane's closet for the guys. There are decorations for the rehearsal dinner in my living room. Every conversation is about when, where, what concerning the ceremony and the reception. By Monday, it will be over.

Back to Thanksgiving.

There are so many things in my life to be thankful for. DeWayne, Evan and Dane top the list and this year I have Jean to add to that list. They are so precious to me. I could list all my family but it would take pages and pages so I will just say my family. At the top with DeWayne and the kids, I am so grateful to Jesus for being my Savior. We have jobs and a home and cars to drive and food to eat and money to buy all these things with. My blessings abound. We have good health and a healthy attitude. I am thankful for all of my friends whether they are close or just acquaintances.

Mom and Jim were here yesterday because Jim helped DeWayne move the back drop pieces to the church. Jim had said the other day that he had signed up for Facebook but couldn't figure it out. So, we sat on the couch and uploaded a picture for him and added some friends for him. Then they went home and he was on there last night even writing on my wall and chatting. I think he got it!

Angela was here last night too. I had missed her! She and Evan and I played cards. We played the same games we played in Florida. There was a lot of laughing going on. DeWayne had to go to work so he missed the crazy card games. Good Times!

We are decorating the church at 9 am, eating dinner at mom's at 2 pm and decorating the reception hall at 4:30. Busy, Busy day!

One More Week...

Only 7 days. Only 1 week. Only a few hours really. Then I will be a mother-in-law or the other mother. Time really does fly. It seems that I was just saying there were around 100 days until the wedding. Now only 1 week. I'm glad I am an early planner. I like having all things put together. I am not a "last minuter girl" LOL I only have a few things left to do.

I have been in Springfield for the Illinois Educators Technology Conference this week. I really like this conference because educators from all over the state present workshops about what is working is their classrooms. I have come home with a lot of information that I need to process. Web sites, lesson plans, new equipment...etc.... I need to go online and print out handouts from the presenters. Maybe tonight.

Today I am going to Olney to my great-niece's birthday party. Ally is one! Amazing! She was born last year right before Thanksgiving and now she's a year old. DeWayne and I are riding with my mom and dad there. We are picking Evan up in Grayville. I am just glad to be spending the day with my family. Yay!!!!

There are only two days of school this week and on Tuesday we get out at 2. There will not be a lot of learning going on this week. I've got several projects I need to tie up though so maybe I will get them finished.

It's shotgun deer season this weekend. DeWayne has been hunting twice. He's hunting this morning. He has always hunted. He deer hunted before I even knew him. When we first got married, he usually went to "deer camp" with his dad and brother and uncles. After he started at the coal mine, he would save vacation days for deer season. Now, he hunts when he can and takes his vacation days for kayaking. :D The deer are so plentiful so just any deer will do. It doesn't have to be "the one". (and really I think he likes the hunt and sitting in the tree stand as much as the kill)

Funny story about the conference:

The conference was held at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. Yesterday after the luncheon session, people poured out of the ballroom (where we ate) and headed to the escalators and elevators. There were so many people on the escalator that it shut down. Funny site to see people just standing on the escalator like they were stuck in an elevator. Then they got it and started going down the stairs. I was laughing out loud because these are the "techie" people of their schools and they acted like they didn't know what to do. LOL

The Whirlwind

Well, the final countdown to wedding has begun. Today it is 21 more days or 3 weeks from today. I find myself feeling sad and happy all at the same time. My precious son is grown up. He is a man and he's getting married. I am so proud of him and the choices he has made for his life. He has chosen well. Jean is a woman after God's own heart. What more could a mom want. (OK, if you are reading this you know me and sometimes I WANT my way but I'm getting past it o.k.? :D)

I feel guilty about not keeping up with blogging but I just haven't had the desire. I want to say I haven't had the time but I blogger friend of mine just wrote that everyone has 15 free minutes a day. So there are no excuses except I haven't felt like it.

Work is going great. I really like my job. I had a class of preschoolers this week that really put my job in perspective. As the children leave I squirt hand sanitizer in their hands (to try to stop the spread of nasties). As one little girl passed she said, "I love you!" and I just smiled. As the next little girl passed she said, "I hate your computer lab!" (She struggles with using the mouse to drag and drop so it's not fun to work. ) I just had to laugh out loud. It just made me think that everything is like that. Everything in the whole world; from church to your home to your work. People are going to see and hear me say the same things and some are going to love me and some are not. All I can do is honor God in every word and action and hope that the ones who "hate" me will see God and soften. And perhaps finding the humor in every situation will keep my light shining!

I am working on the rehearsal dinner decorations for the tables. It's just a matter of putting them together. I'll work on them a lot this week when DeWayne is on second shift. I ordered black aprons for my friends who are serving at the rehearsal dinner. I'm having a friend embroider their names on the front in ivory. It will be their thank you gift for helping me. My thought was that everyone can use an apron!

I also have to start cleaning my house. UCK! I hate to clean but it has to be done.

Evan really likes her job at Steak and Shake. She's the hamburger dresser. She can practice art by artfully placing the condiments. LOL! I'm proud of her. She is so grown up sometimes. (Which is probably a good thing since she will be 20 on her next birthday!) Her friend Jackie, who is practically my other daughter, is turning 20 this week. The teen years are over. This of course is another reason why I seem to be in a reflective mood. DeWayne and I got married right before we turned 20. Seems like a REALLY long time ago!

OK this is the only Saturday that I don't have any commitments so I better get to work!

More another day!

I stand amazed at the beautiful colors of the leaves. Every year, I think they have never been prettier. Today as I was driving I couldn't get over the richness of the color. This has been the best weekend for color so far. The maple trees have really popped. Maple trees have all the colors - red, yellow, orange and brown. Some of the trees have all the colors. God is amazing! How can I not worship Him every time I look around. How can I not worship His magnificent creation! Thank you God! I don't want to miss a minute of worshiping You!

I am still babying my ankle. Yesterday I thought I could go a whole day without my "boot". Boy was I wrong. After grocery shopping (Walmart, Kroger, and Aldi) and putting up all the groceries. Then on to Addie's wedding; I was very ready to put my "boot" back on and leave it on. It's not as swollen it just hurts. Not when I put pressure on it but when I touch it or move it the wrong way. I go back to the doctor on Tuesday. We'll see what they say about it then.

Evan was home Friday night late and yesterday for the wedding. She went back yesterday evening. She and DeWayne carved her pumpkin before she went back to Evansville. I haven't had a Jack-O-Lantern at my house in a really long time. It is really cute. She probably won't be home for awhile. She got a job at Steak and Shake. She will probably have to work on the weekends. I need to go over there and get the rest of the stuff I for the rehearsal dinner and the groom's table. That's ok. I can spend time with her.

The wedding Evan came home to attend was our friend Addie Gulley. She is a year older than Evan. Her wedding was very simple and it was outdoors and at the Gulley Farm. It was such a beautiful day and the wedding was so pretty. They had hay bales set up in their front yard and the aisle runner was burlap. (To the wedding people on TV it would probably be classified as redneck but I thought it was lovely) The arch was made of grapevines and had small roses twined in it. The reception was a very simple buffet. The drinks were in a watering trough. And their was no cutting of the cake. They served chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. I will keep saying it; it was wonderful! I think Addie and Jake were of the right mind. They spent more time on the details of their marriage and let the wedding be simple! I wish I had known that when I was 19 and getting married!

It is the last week of October. How does time seem to fly by? Where do the days go? I have nothing to show for this month. (Well, maybe I do. LOL)

What a Week!

It's been a week since I posted. My wonderful day out with DeWayne and Evan was wonderful right up to the moment that I was walking on the path at Garden of the Gods and rolled my ankle. I wish I could say that I was doing something spectacular like skydiving or rock climbing or even hiking. I was just walking on the path and missed a step down and rolled my left ankle. It made a really loud snap sound and I thought I was going to throw up. Evan laughed REALLY loud until she saw my face. I declared I was not going to be a baby and I walked out the park and to the car. I even walked around Wal Mart a little bit when we got back to Harrisburg. By Tuesday morning I was hurting really badly though. I went to the doctor and they x-rayed my ankle and couldn't give me a "for sure" that it's not broken. So I am wearing a very nice boot on my foot until next week. Needless to say I have had to learn to walk at a much slower pace. Today, it hurts to touch the ankle area. I think I tried to do too much yesterday. I want it to be healed before the wedding so I am following the doctor's orders and keeping the boot on. Maybe I need to keep it up more too. :D

Yesterday was the bridal shower for Jean. Showers and gifts mean that the wedding is getting closer and closer. Just a little over a month. My Aunt Jean and Uncle Phil were here this weekend from Texas. It was their 50th class reunion. She had great advice for me as a mother of the groom. "Wear beige or taupe and keep your mouth shut!" I'm working on it!

The weather has really changed! It is officially feeling and looking like Fall. It makes me want to build a campfire and roast marshmallows and have a hayride! I love the colors of the trees. All the reds, yellows, browns, and oranges. Fabulous. Just fabulous. God is amazing and I am so thankful that he lets me live in a place where the leaves change with the seasons.

Colombus Day

Well, thanks to Colombus, I get to spend the whole day with DeWayne and Evan. DeWayne just happens to be off today and Evan is on Fall Break. Yay!!!

Saturday, Evan and I went to Olney for Will's 4th birthday party. What a fun day! Will is turning in to a very comical preschooler. His personality really shined through. He's very dry witted. And Alayna's Ally is so big. She will be a year old next month. Amazing! I remember when Alayna was born like it was yesterday!

Of course, there are only 40 something days left until the wedding. The invitations are out and the shower is this coming weekend. I think I have all the decorations I need for the rehearsal dinner tables. I just need to order the grooms cake, napkins, and get plates and then I think we're set. (Of course this is probably not true...there are always last minute details that are forgotten!)

Off to spend the day with my family!