hello, world!

So, it has been quite a while since I last posted. So much has been happening in our lives.

Our friend David has been living with us this summer and is getting ready to move in the next week and a half. Rand, who has given up his room, is excited to be getting back into his own space before school starts. He is going to be in 7th grade this year! I can't believe it! He will be joining the football team this fall which I'm really looking forward to. He is also going to be co-owning a fantasy football team with me. Hopefully we'll do better as a team than I did by myself last year.

I went in for surgery just over 3 weeks ago and had a Cone Biopsy, removing about half of my cervics. I was diagnosed with CIN3, which is very abnormal tissue growth. It is one step away from cancer, which is a little scary, but God is good and has been protecting me and blessing my family through this hard time. I go in for my final post-op appointment this week and am looking for a good report.

I am also starting a job! What a huge change that will be for us. I worked one day a week ago and will be staring tomorrow on a regular schedule. Four days a week, four hours a day. Rand is watching Charlie between now and the start of school and looking forward to making some money. I'm working a the airport for Stephen Marq, a musician that I worked for a few years ago, selling his CDs while he is playing his piano. He is an excellant composer and a great guy to work for.

In another area of our lives, our senior pastor's family is moving back to Iowa. We are sad to say good-bye to them, but also excited about what God is going to do in our church as we face a new challenge. Chris (my husband) and I have become more and more involved in our church since the Reeves' arrival about two and a half years ago. We have both learned a lot from Chris and Nicki. We will miss them dearly.

As I'm looking back over this post it seems very disconnected and rambling. But, at least I'm getting things down.

Until next time... hopefully not 2 months this time!

I'm how old?

So we have recently changed health clubs from the YMCA to Lifetime Fitness, and one of the perks of starting at a new club is that they give you all of the free assessments to see just how badly you need to work out!

Yesterday and today I did an assessment that calculates your "Body Age". Now, I knew that I wasn't going to be coming in at my real age, not to mention under my age. I know that I haven't been doing anything since my ankle injury last November. I know that I'm heavier than I used to be and generally just not in good shape. All of that to say, I didn't have high hopes for the "Body Age" assessment. But, alas, it was still sad to see the calculations tell me that my body is 39. 39. that's one away from 40. 39.

Wow. That is a motivator, which is the point of course. Get me to sign up with a personal trainer, stay at the gym, keep giving them money. So, now I have a goal. I want to lose 20 pounds by Christmas. Do I think this will actually happen? I'm not going to hold my breath, Christmas is a long ways away! But I'm hoping that a goal will help me stay on track for losing the weight that I want to lose. And maybe by the time I turn 33, my "Body Age" will be too. :)

So far this summer

I think the kids and I are enjoying the summer so far. We've gone to Valleyfair a few times now. They have a new Roller Coaster this year called Renegade. It is one of the best roller coasters I've ever been on. What a blast! Charlie went on his first big coasters this year. He went on Renegade with me and then he went on the Wild Thing with Rand. He loved them!

We have also been swimming several times so far. The Health Club that we are members of now has a nice outside pool with slides that the kids are really enjoying. Give me a book, the sun and lots of happy kids? That is heaven to me!

We will be seeing family this upcoming weekend. Hopefully we are going to Iowa to my family reunion and then on Sunday we'll stop in Lanesboro to see Chris' Dad and brother/girlfriend, and Uncle too. Then this next week is going to be a hectic one! Nathan and Lydia will be at the house and so we'll have to figure out how to keep everyone sane. :) I'm sure it will go smoothly and we'll all come out of this loving each other even more! :)

I know... nothing philosophically thought provocing... And nothing even humorous. Sorry, TS. But, at least you know what's happening in this crazy world of mine. :)

Good Quote

So I liked the Emily Dickenson that was on my blog today when I logged in. "Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels or believes." IT is so easy to say you believe something, but to live it is another matter all together.

Soon, very soon!

We are on the verge of school being out! I can't wait to have the kids home from school. We have seasonal passes to Valleyfair and have a membership at the new Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville which has an outside pool with a slide and a rock climbing area for use! I'm hoping to have some kind of flexible schedule each week including a day to go to the library, VF and Lifetime Fitness.

Trips planned this year? In two weeks we're heading to Iowa for our annual family reunion. We get to go to my Uncle's cabin which is on a pond loaded with fish. It is the only time that I get to see my grandparents and cousins. The boys love goinjg fishing, and it is a general blast! We are also planning a trip to Mount Rushmore with the kids this summer. It will be the first vacation that we have taken with only the kids. We are all excited about that. And then we have our annual camping trip with my parents and my brother's family up at Temperence River in August. We will actually be there on Chris' and my 11th anniversary! What a fun summer we'll have.

So, I am counting down the last two days. Tomorrow I get to go on a field trip with Matrim and then on Thursday night we're taking the kids to the drive-in to see Shrek the 3rd and celebrate the beginning of summer.

So, there's the little update on where I am at and on what's going on in my little corner of the world. Hope you are all enjoying your week!

Here is a picture of Rand and his "Wacky Grandpa" at the award ceremony that I told you about in a previous post. Isn't he getting tall!?

Recent news

My husband posted yesterday about feeling stretched thin. There have been several things pulling on us lately. In our attempts to meet our family's needs, our personal needs, our marrital needs and help our friends' (our chosen family) it has become a bit overwhelming. But! Last night my husband and I sat in bed and watched TV together. We had a good conversation about what happened yesterday and I found myself content and peaceful. I am thankful for the relationship that I have with Chris. I can not imagine not having him to lean on, and be leaned on by him.

It is interesting how God works. In the midst of this time of giving, God has brought something from my past into my mind. An event that I had forgotten about, but was still effecting the way I think and react. God has started healing me of a violation that is now 14 years old. The fear, self-hatred, and shame connected with this violation was clinging to me. I thought that I had delt with all of that stuff a while ago, but there was more hiding in the crevises of my emotional being. And while it has been a painful and uncomfortable process, God knew that there was still some junk that needed to be cleaned out. Chris and I went and prayed with N from church yesterday and it was really good. I am grateful to have a God that will push me into the uncomfortable in order to heal me. This will probably take a couple weeks or processing, but I am well on my way.