It's Sunday...

Well, here we are again at the end, or beginning, of a new week. Soon everyone will be getting dressed and ready for church and hopefully this Sunday, there won't be any squabbles over who touched who, what anyone is wearing or anything! Riiiight!

Well, today is also Piano Recital day for Melissa's students. This afternoon 12-14 students and siblings, parents, grandparents and anyone else they invite will invade our home for about 2 hours. I've already been assigned to furniture moving and chair setup. But, I can handle it. We spent some time yesterday cleaning the living/dining room and I even got to clean out the filing cabinet. Yech! I didn't actually get done cleaning out old files, and creating some new one's we need, but I did get a bag full of trash, so I felt like I accomplished something at least.

We also finally printed out some long overdue pictures from this summer of the kids to hang on our wall. It looks pretty nice, I think.

Melissa had a rehearsal for all of the students for about an hour and a half yesterday afternoon, so the boys and I went over to the park and played a little baseball. Yes, it is hard to play baseball 2 vs 1, but we managed to have some fun for about 45 minutes. Then we were just too cold. It's so funny that now that football season is just about over for everyone (NFL winding down) Jacob and Caleb have switched to baseball. Since the rehearsal wasn't finished yet, we drove over to Wal-mart and bought a couple of baseballs. One soft "t-ball" type, and one hardball. We had been playing with a tennis ball. :)

We really haven't gotten settled in our new church yet. The kids have to some extent, but Melissa and I don't actually have the opportunity to meet anyone in just one hour a week. I know we need to get involved in a small group or some sort of ministry to meet people, but with Melissa's work schedule, it just hasn't worked out yet. Hopefully soon.

Well, it's that time now to go get ready. Have a great day!

Back to School

Ok...this morning is an exciting one for Melissa. The kids returned to school!!!!!!
I had to post this pic, because I got the biggest kick out of Caleb. He took two of his MANY "friends" with him in the van, and as he's getting out he turned to me and said, very seriously, "Oh Mom, would you babysit Spot and Diney today?"
"Of course, Pumpkin!" I love my 6 year old!

And a Happy New Year to YOU!!

Well, Christmas is offically over. I've taken all but the wreath off of our door (Jarrod's getting tired of the Jingle Bells jingling every time someone comes in), and the string of cards lining our stairway. It's not because I wish to hang on to 2007, it's more of a "Fiddle dee dee, I'll think about that tomorrow" mentality.





This week has been a confirmation that God intended children to go to school. My kids have been off since Dec. 3rd, and we are on week 5 of vacate. I'm about to do just that...VACATE!!!




I have officially given the TV permission to entertain my kids as often as it wishes! They are so great, but the "togetherness" is becoming "out-to-get-them-ness".





Yesterday Anna Mary and I made curtains for her room. I've felt so sorry for her, as she's the only girl, and with a crazy last 2 months, I've not had the time to fix up her new room. I went to Dillard's on New Year's Day for an INCREDIBLE sale (my Mom and I love to add the phrase ,"Plus our discount" because we both work at Dillard's), and was able to purchase some Tommy Hilfiger sheets for pennies on the dollar. I transformed them into Anna's new curtains!! We are now going to transform her room into a Hawaiian Paradise! Our plans are to make grass skirt tiebacks, and add a grass skirt bedskirt to her bed, a pink "surfboard" (that Jarrod doesn't know he's making for her yet) with her name on it, and a cool rug for her floor. Who says that one can't create beauty on a budget?!?
And so, I've been inspired to finish the boys' room (all football, of course), make curtains for the downstairs and my room, and generally finish "moving in" to our new home. I do not like white walls; however, "we rent, therefore we accessorize!!"
This week has opened my eyes to some new VeggieTales songs. My kids were out of the whole VT thing for quite a while, but when we discovered our new library, they began checking out quite a few newer DVD's unseen by the Flamings. My new favorite is the SUV song, sung by Larry and the lady veggie who plays one of the beauty contestants on the "Queen Esther" movie. It's hysterical!! Her voice is what makes that song. So yesterday the kids and I karioked to "Oh-oh...you and me, in our sport utility vehicles! Cruisin' to 7-11 for a bag of Frito-Lays".
Good Times!!

It's like manna from heaven... Just keep me grateful!

Well, I'm going back! Yes, the Lord has provided a job for me and it's back to Santa Fe I go. I am starting back with the State of NM Motor Vehicle Division as a Help Desk Specialist tomorrow (Thursday) morning! Even though on my end it has seemed to take forever for all the paperwork to happen and everything get lined up, it's really been a fast process to get me back this time! I am so grateful for the people up there who have worked hard to get things ready. They have actually created a temp position for me until they can get a permanent position lined up. It's incredible, and I am so thankful.

As many of you know, I did not have work for 3 weeks in October and then began working for TEK Systems as a PC Tech at CitiBank for about 4 weeks. However, the week of Thanksgiving they told me that they didn't have approval for the next phase of the project, and so..."Sorry, we have no work for you" and away I go until they get approval. Well, I have not worked since those 2 days before Thanksgiving. I have been hitting the Internet and the streets hard trying to get any other job that I could that would fit our family's needs and schedule. No callbacks, no interviews - No one seems to be hiring! It's been 4 weeks now and man, has it been tough!

Fortunately, Melissa has been giving piano lessons and has even added a couple of students. She is also working at Dillard's during the evening and weekends. Unfortunately, this has not been enough to provide for all of our needs, but we have had some incredible gifts from friends and family that have sustained us. As you can imagine, the next 3 weeks will still be very tight as it will be that long before my first paycheck comes in. God has provided for us so far, and I know he's not about to leave us now. Please continue to pray for us.

I am so grateful for my wife! She is my best friend and I could not have made it through this time without her. Even though there have been times where both of us have been extremely frustrated and have taken it out on each other, we have really come through this time, (and I do hope we're coming up for air) we have come through it shining. It is so awesome that God blessed me with her. We have been able to spend so much time together - praying, playing and just being a family. Our kids have been home all of December as well, because they are going to a year-round school this year. They have 1-month breaks every 3 months, so they have December, April and August with no school. It has really been a good time for us to be together. Not every moment, mind you, but definitely some good times.

Now, another chapter begins. I will be commuting, so I will be gone most of the day, leaving around 6 am and getting home about 5:30-6 pm, depending on the traffic. Melissa works from 6-?? several evenings a week, so we won't see a whole lot of each other. Please pray that she can increase the number of piano students she needs, so that she can quit Dillard's. She probably needs 5-7 more students.

Thank you so much for your prayer and support. We are so grateful. We also covet your prayers for local friends and that we start to feel at home at church.

Thank You!

New Look

Hey everyone, or anyone that reads this! We thought we try a new look for a while. Y'know, like when you paint a wall and everything looks really fresh all of a sudden. Well, we painted a wall this past weekend in our bedroom - now everything has to change, right? Not really. More later, but hope you like the look.

Clouds...clearing? Is that the sun I see?? Could it be?!

After not having ANY work to do for what is going on 3 weeks now, it appears that there may be a change in the weather in the near future. I received a phone call from my previous boss at the State of New Mexico today. He has known of our situation and we've talked about me coming back, but there hasn't been anything firm or definite.

Well, today he said that they are creating a temp position for me, just to get me back in, and then I will apply for a Help Desk Specialist position they having coming open. There are many more details to be worked out, and yes, this does mean I will be commuting to Santa Fe again :( but thank you Lord for some good news finally!

Coming soon - Some thoughts I've developed over the past couple of months regarding faith!

It's Still Raining

Hello all.
It's still raining and I feel like a drenched puppy dog.
Please pray for us. We soooo need a job!