Kuehl- All Things Being Even

Whoa, this thing still exists!

2012-01-11T19:52:00.002-06:00

Yeah, I just found this again. Let me tell you a little bit about myself since it's been a while.

My name is Lori Kuehl.
I am 31 years old.
I am married to Ryan Kuehl, been married for almost 8 months (as the ticker above will tell you.)
We have two cats, Dixie and Daisy.
I have been at my job for six months, I am the teacher in the infant room at Play Palz Day Care. (And, yes, you can teach babies lots of things! There are some that doubt me.)

Um, I think that's about it. I'm hoping to remember about this more and keep up with it. Hahahahahahaha! Who am I kidding? I will probably forget about it again.

~Lori

2010 Top Ten Memories

2011-01-01T18:17:00.002-06:00

My friend Abbie did this for her blog, and I thought it was a good idea.

So in no particular order ...

10. Marriage Inc. presented Bill and Pam Farrell in a marriage seminar (January). They had some wonderful insights (i.e. their book "Men are like waffles, Women are like spaghetti", is a must read) and very funny. It made for a wonderful date night and great way to start of the year.

9. March presented some awesome memories with my special needs kids. First we went to Special Games, not to be confused with Special Olympics. My kids competed in ring toss, basketball drills, and races (and things of that nature). We came in second for most school spirit and were treated with a visit from Staley, of the Chicago Bears. That same weekend, one of my kids, Sean Rooney, held a book signing for his first published children's book. "Paddy's First Day at Hilltop School" is the first in a series of books that Sean plans to publish. The line for his signature was out the door and Barnes and Noble sold out of his book. It was awesome!

8. May 15th, my little brother Ian got married to a wonderful girl, Katie. I'm glad to call her my sister and it was a beautiful day. Not to mention, I got to go back to Kentucky. ;-)

7. Memorial Day weekend I had the opportunity to go to my first Indianapolis 500! It was Ryan's first Indy Car race, and what way start. One of my favorite racers, Dario Franchitti, won the race. Thanks to the Tolleys (a quizzing family that I adore) we got to go for FREE!

6. Jenny K. Moore, Room 204: happened at the end of June, beginning of July. Others would remember this as Q2010, but since I spent the whole week in one room, that's all that I remember. LOL! While in room 204, I witnessed some amazing quizzers from all over the U.S. and Canada. It's amazing to watch these kids study and memorizing Scripture. It makes my heart smile.

5. This year I turned 30! Eeeek! No, it's okay. I don't have a problem with that, since I still get stopped in the hallways at the high school and asked for my hall pass (even though I'm wearing my work badge on lanyard around my neck)! For my birthday, Ryan and I went to Grand Rapids/Holland, MI to spend the weekend with my parents and my dad's side of the family. I went shopping, and to the beach, and ate some fabulous ribs...a perfect weekend.

4. Kuehl Roadtrip 2010! 10 weeks of something every weekend, visiting with friends, family, and quizzers. 'Nuff said.

3. I became an aunt again this year. I have beautiful niece, Delaney Elizabeth. She's just precious, and I can't wait to get to know her better. :-)

2. Christmas break was very productive for me. I was able to get lots of crocheting done and other things around the house this past week and a half. Plus it was just nice to have a break from working two jobs and get some extra sleep. Oh, and have time to read, too!

Now I haven't really put these memories in order of importance, mostly they are listed in order of their occurrence. But the last one I'm going to list is one that is very special to me.

1. Parkview Christian Church's Easter service. Parkview is a church that has about 6-7,000 members and had to have three nights of Easter services to fit everybody in the church. Ryan and I went with our small group on Good Friday. Earlier in the day we went to our church's Good Friday service, which was very somber given that it was about the death of Jesus. But four hours later, we were able to celebrate a Resurrected Savior with much gusto. When we entered the sanctuary, we were given poppers and when Pastor Tim Harlow told us to (during a worship song) everyone popped their poppers. It was so awesome to see thousands of tiny streamers fill the air in the sanctuary in celebration of the fact that Jesus is in the grave no more! Now that's how I like to celebrate! AMEN!!!!!

~Lori

Christmas around the corner

2010-12-04T07:02:00.003-06:00

Boy o, boy! It's December already. Where did 2010 go? I'll tell you, it went by like the miles we put on our car. In the month of November we traveled about 3500 alone. Started the month with an oil change. Need another one again.

We are almost to the end of the Kuehl Road Trip. This week though, Ryan is going solo. Another quizzing tournament, this time in St. Louis. I decided to stay home and decorate the house. I've been so excited about it, and planning it in my head, that I haven't been able to sleep. I woke up at 5:20 this morning and haven't been able to fall back asleep. (I don't get up this early on the weekdays, sometimes on Saturdays for quizzes, but this is CRAZY!!!). I'm trying to bide my time before getting into full out clean/decorating mode. I don't want to disturb my downstairs neighbors.

Yesterday was a nice day, so I put up the lights outside on the deck. I have garland lights around the railing and a spiral tree in the middle of the deck. And of course it has to snow as soon as I put them up. Woke up to about 2 1/2 inches, and it's still coming down. So I will be staying in today. Finishing up the Christmas tree (branches and lights were put up last night) and stuff around the house. Pictures will follow. :-)

I love this time of year. And I really only like snow for Christmas... then it can go away. I am definitely a summer/hot weather gal. For now I think I will eat some breakfast, put in a movie, and THEN get started.

~Lori

How do you fix a broken pumpkin?

2010-10-30T09:13:00.002-05:00

Well, hello there to all my friends! It's been a very busy fall for us Kuehls. Ryan calls it our "10 week Kuehl road tour", but it's really longer than that.

This year at school, I'm in the special needs room, but I'm also job coaching a student. This is Sean, he works at Orthopedic Associates of Kankakee (or OAK). He works in the billing department, scanning papers. He is also a published author. He wrote a children's book, "Paddy's First Day at Hilltop School". It about a muskrat with cerebral palsy, which is what he has. He's a really great kid. This is us just before the Homecoming parade.

The next week was a District quiz, and the beginning of the road tour. Our first quiz, my team took 9th place, which wasn't so bad, but I felt they could have done better. The other teams took 2nd and 5th. (This was on Sept. 11th) So the District quiz on Oct 9th, my team took 4th place. And the other teams were 1st and 6th. Needless to say I'm very proud of our quizzers.

Our next stop, wasn't even a destination, but it sure took a lot of energy and stress from us. I'm talking about QUIZFEST! Oh, yeah! This is the quiz tournament that my own dear hubby directs. This year we had it at our church, instead of College Church. College Church has hosted Quizfest for 20 years, but they don't have a team anymore, and we are just more comfortable at our church. Plus we have more room and thus can have more teams. We had from 350-400 teens and adults at our church. It was amazing.

I finally got to quiz myself this year. Ryan has brought back "Old Timers" quizzing. It's for those quizzers who are too old to be in quizzing (or out of high school). My team (pictured below) was me, Sara (the other coach) and Daley (she was a quizzer last year, and is a freshman at Olivet, so not really "old"). We had one of our current quizzers be our coach. I concentrated on the memory verses. And I jumped and correctly answered three questions, two verse questions and one according to question. I'm not sure if I want to do this again. We'll see.

As for my team that I coached... we place 5th in the Novice division. Wahoo! Go K3 1st!

Our Experience team place 6th! Wahoo! Go Kankakee First!

In the midst of all this quizzing fun, my sister-in-law gave birth to my niece, Delaney Elizabeth. My nephew, August (and Delaney's older brother) turned 5 on Oct. 4th, And Delaney was born on Oct. 5th. But with all our quizzing engagements we weren't able to see her for a couple weeks. She was our third stop on the the road tour.

I'm a very proud auntie. I love her to pieces already. Damen (Ryan's older brother) and Stacey didn't find out what they were having, so I was able to make a blanket in advance. So when Ryan called me to tell me it was a girl, I immediately began planning what color I would use to make her blanket. I used a dark pink, a light pink, and a light gray. I think it turned out very pretty.

Isn't she such a cutie?!? I love this picture of her. Ryan's holding her and she's looking up at him like, "So, you're my Uncle Ryan?" Oh, I could just hug her all day.

And of course, we can't forget August!

This week's road trip stop is here in town. It's Olivet's Homecoming. We always have a blast watching the games and catching up with friends we haven't seen in a while. The basketball game was a great one against Point Loma Nazarene University. We won by 11, but it was really a closer game than that. After the game was the Taste of Olivet. The highlight of that was the Candy Bar. There were bags to fill up with all kinds of candy. Ryan was literally a kid in a candy store. Hahahahaha! This afternoon is the football game. I hope it's a good game and not a slaughter, meaning the other team slaughtering us.

Our upcoming stops on the Kuehl Road Tour are as follows:

Nov 5-7 Olathe, Kansas for the Olathe Quiz Tournament (and to see family)
Nov 13th Manteno, Illinois for a District Quiz
Nov 19-21 Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo, Michigan for the Michigan Tournament (and to see family)
Nov 25-28 Tennesee for Thanksgiving.
Dec 3-4 St. Louis for the St. Louis All-Stars Tournament
Dec 11th Gilman, Illinois for a District Quiz
Dec 18th Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

And that brings us right up to Christmas and New Year's. Whew!

~Lori

Oh, and how do you fix a broken pumpkin?............With a pumpkin patch! (Thanks August for the wonderful jokes!)

Q2010

2010-07-10T09:06:00.002-05:00

Wow! It's been two months since I've posted on here (sorry) and a week ago today I was traveling back from the Wonderful Land of OH.

We went to Mount Vernon Nazarene University, in Mount Vernon, Ohio for the General Bible Quiz 2010. Or, Q2010 for short. Our church took 8 teens and there were 19 total from our district. Ryan and I signed up to be officials. Ryan was a quizmaster for the Local (individual church teams) Experienced. I was a content judge for Local Experienced and District Experienced. I worked with two different quizmasters: Charles Perabeau (from my district, he's the pastor of Chicago Northside) and John Shearer (from California). Tuesday was my first day officiating. I had two rounds in the morning and then TWELVE rounds in the afternoon. But that was nothing compared to Thursday. I officiated from 9am to 9 pm. With breaks for lunch and dinner, of course. But that was a looooooong day.

I met people from all over (there were teams not only from all over the US, but there was a Canadian team and a team from Antigua). I took my crocheting with my and worked on in between rounds. I had several quizzers say that they crochet/knit too. There was even one girl from Georgia who wants to start her own crocheting ministry at her church (similar to the one I'm involved with here at my church). The kids from Kentucky and I really hit it off (I had my UK tote with me). We chatted a lot about UK basketball and giving Ryan a hard time. He always came back with the fact that Duke is the current National Champion. Several coaches and quizzers asked me if they would see me at Quizfest. Since my husband is the director, I kinda have to be there. :-)

Our kids did great. We had three district teams in the experienced division and one in the novice. Our A team (all girls, by the way) placed 8th out of 45 teams! The Kankakee 1st team was 11th out of 45, just missing the tournament. But I am so proud of those kids. THEY ROCK MY SOCKS OFF!!! And I'm so proud of the kids on the other teams, too. These kids are amazing.

I didn't get many pictures of any actual quizzing. Most of the quizzing pictures are of Decades Quizzing (or Old Timers). Ryan was the director of that, so I was heavily involved in it, too. That took place at the end of the day, after the kids were done quizzing. The pictures of the kids quizzing are the ONU Regional teams. The local teams compete to make the district teams, which then compete to be on the regional team. The regions all correspond with the eight Nazarene Universities. They split them into the A pool and the B pool. The ONU B team beat Mount Vernon B in the Championship!!! And then it reversed in A pool, MVNU beating ONU.

Most of the pictures I have are during down time when we are playing silly games or just hanging out. If you click on the picture below, it will take you to my online photo album. This picture is of Ryan cheering on our ONU B team to victory! :-)

~Lori

Babies, babies, babies!

2010-05-09T13:50:00.003-05:00

Let me just say that I'm simply gaga for these babies I'm about to introduce to you. The first one is D'Kari. He is my friend Natalie's foster baby. She got the call to pick him up on Tuesday and I've had the privilege of hanging out with her this weekend (while her husband is gone to L.A. for business). D'Kari is such a sweet baby, almost 3 months old. When she first handed him to me, he just "talked and talked" to me. And then he fell asleep in my arms. *sigh* Isn't he just the cutest?

I've also been busy trying to finish a blanket that I was making for him. I was up way, way late last night getting it done. There's a chance that he might be taken away from her (his mom is not that stable and is making some difficult choices), so I wanted him to have a blanket for him to keep. It's hard to tell because of the flash, but it's blue and light yellow.

The next baby is Elijah Scott. His mom is my friend Emily. His dad is the bee keeper. He was born on Friday, May 7th. He's such a cutie. He seems to like his blanket.

I know his mom does. :-)

~Lori

My crochet projects

2010-04-28T20:32:00.004-05:00

So I've recently gotten back into crocheting. I learned 3 years ago at a ladies retreat, made one scarf and was done. At Christmas, my cousin Tiffany was finishing a scarf that she knitted, and it reminded me of how much I loved crocheting. So I went out the next day to buy some yarn and hooks, got on You Tube and retaught myself how to do it. My first project that I did was a scarf for myself, since they are so fashionable right now. I'm pretty happy with it. :-)

But I didn't want to be selfish with my talent. So I made my mom a scarf. It was during this project that a new ministry was started at my church. It's a knitting/crocheting group, called Stitches of Love. They've helped me a lot during my projects.

My next projects were baby blankets for my friends. My friends Natalie and Jonathon are foster parents and have been waiting since September to get a placement. I made this blanket for her, it matches her awesome baby room. She asked me to make some blankets for her to give to the children to take home with them. A little memory of their time at their house. My current project is a blanket just for that purpose.

This blanket is for my friends Scott and Emily who are expecting a baby boy, ANY DAY NOW! Scott is a bee keeper, so I made them a bee blanket. I love this blanket! I worked overtime on this one, since I needed to get it done before the baby comes. I was done on time, he was not.

These bees were easy to make, but gave me hand cramps. But they are so cute and were worth it.
My next few projects are going to be Christmas presents, so I'm going to be hush hush on those. Another cool idea I had was to make a blanket for myself, using my left over yarn. It will be a remembrance blanket of all the projects I've done. So I gotta get these projects done, so I can work on my blanket. :-)

~Lori

Special Games 2010

2010-04-05T21:04:00.006-05:00

Okay, so...Special Games were a while ago, but I'm finally uploading the pictures. Special Games are different from Special Olympics, but the same concept. Each year they give out a "Spirit Stick" to the school with the most school spirit. For a change this year, we decided to forgo wearing school colors, in favor of neon colors. We came in second. There's always next year!

Here are a few pictures (Click here for all pictures.)

Here is our "Spirit Wall". It was too heavy and fell down...Bummer :-(

This is Taylor, one of my students. I kept trying to get her to smile, no avail.
Here are my teacher friends, Aimee, Amy, Dana, and I.
Robin is one of our Best Buddies, and her buddy is another student of my students, Kelly.
Bruno, the Boilermaker
Chicago Bears mascot, Staley, came to hang with us.
Sean Rooney is an awesome writer. Click here for info on his book. That's right, I said HIS book!

~Lori

6 Loooooonnnnnggg Years

2010-03-30T21:34:00.002-05:00

This last Saturday was our 6th Wedding Anniversary. Where did the time go? I told one of my coworkers that it was our anniversary...she asked how long. I told her. She then asked if it was how long we had been married or been together. When I told her that we have been together almost 8 years, she was in awe. Then she asked, "Still madly in love"? I told her yes.

But I got to thinking...are we still madly in love? I can still answer with a yes. But it's a love that has grown and matured. It's not the same as when we were first married, or dating. I wouldn't want it to be the same.

We celebrated by going to church. But not just any church. We went to Parkview Christian Church. It's a mega church. Just 45 minutes away. I loved it. The worship and the sermon were great. (Disclaimer: I am not looking for a new church, Ryan and I still love our Kankakee First Church of the Nazarene). We could have gone to a movie, but decided on something that we help us individually and our marriage. Afterwards, we went to Girodano's for some delish stuffed pizza. (I cried in pizza, because UK lost to West Virginia.)

~Lori

March Madness

2010-03-19T22:07:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again. Yes, basketball has taken over CBS and offices everywhere. But I'm talking about the crazy weather we have here in Illinois this month. We always get a little teaser. This week has been it.

It was gorgeous. No jacket required. Two words. LOVED. IT.

I was able to enjoy it for a while when we to the high school class out to walk the track. I only did three laps, but I was pushing a kid (120 pounds of dead weight) in a wheelchair.

But, alas, it's not to last. Tomorrow, 30 degree temps, rain/sleet...maybe a little of the "S" word. One word. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I know that this little blip in my perfect spring shall pass as well. But enough is enough. I think after this winter it wouldn't be too hard to convince Ryan that we need to move south. (Heehee)

As for the "other" March Madness, it's in full swing at Chez Kuehl. Ryan woke up early to watch the bracket announcements. And then we proceeded to wear our team shirts to small group with pride. It sparked a lot of conversation and laughs. We have both filled out two brackets each. One is our "Wish List" bracket and the other is the "Real" bracket. And we have wager between the two of us, winner takes all. Exactly what "All" is, we can never come up with anything to wager. We've still got a couple of weeks to decide, any ideas?

~Lori

I'm actually blogging....haven't done this in a while

2010-03-07T16:42:00.003-06:00

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted here. My life has been so busy and every time I go to post something, I don't feel is very blog-worthy. So I don't. There have been quizzes and conferences, and other things, but I just haven't had the urge to blog about any of it. Maybe it's the winter blahs. We have had a lot snow and a lot of cold. It's starting to look like spring here in Illinois. All I can say is... Thank. Goodness.

Due to the construction at BBCHS we haven't had many holidays. And there haven't been any snow days either. There are still 19 more school days until Spring Break. I can make it. I just keep plugging away. The daycare is going well. I mostly work in the toddler room. And this year I've come up with activities for them to do in the afternoon that are alphabet related. We are learning a new letter every week. This week coming up is the Letter I. Yes, they are young, but they are soaking it in, even if they can't communicate it to me yet.

The quizzers are doing well. Yesterday was our final quiz, before Finals. Our A team placed 3rd, and our B team placed 6th. This weekend is the tournament in Indy. Looking forward to it. Finals will determine who will make the District team to go to Regionals (Which take place, by the way, the same weekend as a certain wedding). Ryan is trying to figure out how he can do both.

I have been working really hard this year on loosing weight. Since getting married I had put on about 30 pounds. Well, I've had enough. The teacher in my classroom joined Weight Watchers to get ready for her wedding. While I cannot afford to attend meetings and buy their food, I've started counting points and working out as much as possible. So far, I've lost 6 pounds. It's such a slow process. But it's working.

Ryan and I went to the Marriage Inc. Conference at the end January. Marriage Inc. is through Olivet and they hold events to strengthen area marriages. This year the speakers were Bill and Pam Farrell. They have written several books, including The Marriage Code and Men are like Waffles, Women are like Spaghetti. The latter contends that men have boxes, like a waffle. Each box represents are part of their life. And they can only be in one box at a time. Women are like a plate of spaghetti, where every noodle touches every other noodle. When we talk, we go on a spaghetti journey, only we know where we are going with the conversation. When men have stress, they assign it to a box, find the solution, close the lid and are done with it. For women, stress is a giant meatball that scatters our noodles all over. We have to gather our noodles and then talk about how to incorporate this meatball in with our noodles and talk and talk.

So anyhoo. That's all for now. I promise, I won't wait so long.

~Lori

Paper, Rock, Scissors!

2010-02-10T20:17:00.004-06:00

Rock beats Scissors......

Paper beats Rock....

Scissors beat Paper.....

EVERYTIME!!!!

~Lori

Recent happenings and thoughts

2010-01-13T19:36:00.002-06:00

Ryan just revealed to me that he finished a jar of peanut butter...in a week. I opened it to get one teaspoon out to add to my hot chocolate (it was good, until I got to the unmelted, unmixed-in peanut butter at the bottom). The rest of it, Ryan ate. This guy loves his peanut butter.

Christmas day, I watched as my cousin Tiffany finished knitting her first scarf. In talking with her, I was inspired to take up crocheting again. So the next day I hopped on to YouTube, searched for crocheting videos, and retaught myself how to crochet. I also went to Hobby Lobby to buy the necessary supplies and I made another scarf (my first I made three years ago). Now I've joined the newly form knitting/crocheting ministry at church. We are invited to bring our own projects or we can work on things to give away (i.e. prayer shawls to patients and baby blankets). Tiffany, you are welcome to come with me if you want.

I am so excited that Kentucky Basketball is back to where it should be. I no longer have to be embarrassed wearing my UK gear. And now, there are more converts. The Mantors, who moved down to Kentucky last summer, are now Wildcat fans. Yeah!

In the past two years I've spent the summer reading about a certain person. Summer of 2008 was the "Summer of John Adams". Last summer I read about John Wesley. I've already picked what I'm going to concentrate on this year. I've always told myself that I should read the "Classics". Kids in high school have read more of them than I have. I'm currently reading a series, but as soon as I'm done I'm starting on books by Jane Austen. I'm really looking forward to it.

Well, that was random.

~Lori

I'm glad 2009 is over!

2010-01-01T09:12:00.002-06:00

Well, when Ryan and I rang in 2009 at the Resolve Center, we were filled with the hope of great change lying ahead. (Geez, I'm sounding like Obama.) The things that we were hoping for did not come, instead 2009 brought a lot of heart ache.

Ryan's coworker, Dave, died of cancer.
Ryan's brother, Jee, was in a horrible motorcycle accident. Thankfully he walked away with only a broken arm.
I lost my friend and cousin, Annika Dace. I still miss her incredibly.
News came of my best friend Abbie Mantor moving to Kentucky to go to seminary.
Then my other best friends, my mom and dad, were moving to Michigan.
Lost opportunities for a new job, and news that my current job is hanging on by a thin thread.

But not all was bad...

Ryan and I joined a new small group, with couples who are wanting to grow spiritually and find God's purpose.
We got a new cat, Daisy.
We have had some great times with friends, new and old.

So with that, I leave 2009 behind, and I'm looking forward to 2010 and all that it holds for the Kuehls.

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14

Happy New Year! ~Lori

Christmas is almost here!

2009-12-23T16:32:00.003-06:00

I can't believe that Christmas is here. It doesn't feel like it to me. Maybe because we haven't had the time to put up decorations. I'm worried to put out a lot, Daisy has an affinity to destroy. I have lights up around the sliding glass door that she keeps chewing on and a spiral tree that has fishing string holding it up that she like to chew on as well. I didn't dare put up our real fake tree...she likes to climb it.

Today is my first day of Christmas break. Yep, we got out three days before Christmas. Stupid construction on the school building is the reason. We started a full two weeks later then everyone else in the area, and will be missing some holidays... like Casimir Pulaski Day. One of my favorite days, and I'm sure Chet would agree. :-)

Last Saturday we went up to Chicago to see the play, Thoroughly Modern Millie. We went to the Drury Lane Theater. There was a restaurant there as well, we had a fabulous meal, followed by a wonderful show. Ryan even enjoyed it. After the play we were treated to some Cold Stone (oh, I was in heaven).

Don't you like my hair? Tiffany did it for me.

The lobby was full of these trees. Now I would love to do that in my house someday.

~Lori

We neeed a little Chirstmas

2009-12-13T11:23:00.003-06:00

One of the enjoyable things I get to do at my job is take one of my students to the choir room to watch the Ladies Choir practice. They've been getting ready for their Christmas concert. One song that they always sing is "We Need a Little Christmas"....which makes me think of the opening song of the movie, Muppet Family Christmas (which is watched every year by my family). So I've had this song stuck in my head, and I keep seeing in my mind's eye, the Muppets bouncing along in their truck, singing this song. So here are the words...

Haul out the holly;
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.
Fill up the stocking,
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now.
For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.
It hasn't snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry;
So climb down the chimney;
Put up the brightest string of lights I've ever seen.
Slice up the fruitcake;
It's time we hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough.
For I've grown a little leaner,
Grown a little colder,
Grown a little sadder,
Grown a little older,
And I need a little angel
Sitting on my shoulder,
Need a little Christmas now.
Haul out the holly;
Well, once I taught you all to live each living day.
Fill up the stocking,
But Auntie Man, it's one week from Thanksgiving Day now.
But we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.
It hasn't snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry;
So climb down the chimney;
Put up the brightest string of lights I've ever seen.
Slice up the fruitcake;
It's time we hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough.
For we need a little music,
Need a little laughter,
Need a little singing
Ringing through the rafter,
And we need a little snappy
"Happy ever after,"
Need a little Christmas now.
Need a little Christmas now.

My Thanksgiving in Tennessee

2009-12-01T19:38:00.002-06:00

So, I've been back from Tennessee for a while now...I'm mean my laundry's all caught up for heaven's sake.

Per our tradition, Ryan and I headed down to TN to spend Thanksgiving with his parents. We left here at 6 pm, and didn't get there until 12:30 pm on Wednesday. So Thanksgiving day, we slept in and relaxed. Gail had to go to work in the afternoon, so our turkey dinner was postponed until Friday. We did end up getting to Walmart early on Black Friday. Jim went with us and after he found what he was looking for, he wandered off. When Ryan was done shopping for movies, and it was my turn to shop, we mostly ended up looking for Jim. (Thanks a lot!) Once we located him, we left...there are no other stores open that early in Camden.

Gail invited a couple friends from their church for the dinner. We sat down to eat at 1 pm. Ryan had the honor of cutting the turkey (Gobbla, gobbla, not so Humunga!). After dinner, we started playing board games, followed by card games. Next thing we knew it was 9 o'clock. We had sat at the table for 8 hours!!!

Saturday we drove to Nashville to see our friends, the Coveys (Aaron and Lauren). We usually go out to eat or hang out at their place, but not this year. Trevecca Nazarene University (in Nashville) was hosting a Nazarene University Basketball classic. So we went and watched Olivet (our alma mater) play Mid America (my mom's alma mater) at Trevecca. I was hoping that ONU would win, so I could call up Uncle Bob and rub it in his face...sadly though, we lost in TRIPLE OVER TIME!! Aaron and Lauren both graduated from ONU and now Lauren works at Trevecca, so we stayed to watch the TNU game against Southern Nazarene University.

Sunday we came home, with half of America on the roads at the same time. It wasn't very eventful, which was good. And now we are safe at home, and unfortunately, back to work. Why can't every week include Thanksgiving break?

~Lori

A crazy past couple of days...

2009-11-14T20:15:00.003-06:00

I'll just dive right into it...

Thursday is swimming day at the high school. It's mostly for one student, we'll call him R, he has Cerebral Palsy and this is part of his therapy. The aid who usually works with him, was gone for the afternoon. So I had to work with him, not a big problem. I had a blast pushing and pulling him around in the pool. We decided to get him and the others out of the pool, which is quite an undertaking. R requires to be lifted and is dead weight. We have a special Hoyer Lift to get him out of the pool. We were just getting the sling under him, when another student, we'll call her K, had a seizure over by the bleachers (she was NOT in the pool). K has severe seizures. She has a device implanted in her chest and keeps a magnet in a fanny pack on her at all times that will help start her heart again and stop the seizure. The teacher and another aide were trying to get her to situated, call the nurse and 911. Meanwhile, I'm still in the pool with R and the three others and another aide. We decided we needed to get everyone out, so if we were needed to help K, we would be able to and not worry about the others being unsupervised in the water. The next 30 minutes were a blur of getting everyone out, dressed, and back to the classroom while K was being loaded onto the ambulance. Whew!

Friday...was a lot calmer at the high school and nothing TOO bad at daycare, the highlight of the day was the Newsboys concert. This a band that I have loved since I was in high school. And they have a new lead singer, who happened to be from another band that I've loved since high school. Some friends of ours gave us a couple free tickets. (BTW I had gotten free tickets to the high school's production of Guys and Dolls. It was a no brainer as to what we would go to.) Ryan and I had an amazing time of worship. Of course the Newsboys were the headlining band. There were several opening bands. My favorite was Seventh Day Slumber. Their lead singer had a awesome testimony about how Jesus saved from a life of drugs and depression. To listen to my favorite song by them, click here. Ryan was really impressed by him and we hung around after the show to meet him and the rest of the band. Awesome!

Saturday (Today) we had a quiz meet at our church. So it was quite nice not having to get up so early and drive to one. Our church had four teams! That's amazing. My team had three girls. One of my girls placed seventh, individually. She had to leave before the tournament. The other two girls were able place fourth, just the two of them! Way to go!

~Lori

All that purple!

2009-11-09T21:50:00.002-06:00

I tell you what...I get so frustrated with the ideal fashions shown at ONU Homecoming. At first I tried to fit in, but not any more. Not after last year's incident. It didn't even happen to me, just something I witnessed and vowed I would never become like that.

At the basketball game, level that some women go to is insane. And I mean levels (i.e. High heels). AT A BASKETBALL GAME!!! Last year I witnessed a woman, who graduated a year behind me walking from one side of the gym to the other, somewhat painfully too, with her child in her arms. Just watching her walk made my feet hurt. Not only were her shoes high heeled, they were platforms. And to top it off, she had a baby that was not happy (and what do you usually do when you have an upset baby...you walk!). And her husband did nothing to help her.

Then this year I witnessed another obnoxious display from a woman that goes to my church. She too decided to get all decked out for the game and included high heeled boots to her ensemble. Meanwhile she was walking her one-year old son into the arena. Needless to say she had to walk tilted so she could reach down to hold his hand. If she had been wearing flats, she could have walked normally...Just saying.

Meanwhile I was quite comfortable in my loafers with the fleece lining. Sorry to rant and rave, but sheesh....

Anyhoo!!! It was a great time again this year. I happened to have all of Friday off, due to Parent/Teacher Conferences, so I was relaxed for the games on Friday night. The girls basketball game was a disappointment, and I felt bad for the other team that played the men's team. And what a gorgeous day for a football game. I say it was well worth those cold days in October, IF it means that I have the privilege of sitting out at a football game in 70 degree weather! Now, if we could just get some defense on the team, and some offense. :-)

For a few of my pictures from the weekend, click here.

~Lori

I received this in an email...

2009-11-06T08:53:00.001-06:00

"What do Teachers Make"

The dinner guests were sitting around the table
discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to
explain the problem with education.

He argued, 'What's a kid going to learn from
someone who decided his best option in life
was to become a teacher?'

He reminded the other dinner guests what
they say about teachers:
'Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.'

To emphasize his point he said to another
guest; 'You're a teacher, Ned.
Be honest. What do you make?'

Ned, who had a reputation for honesty
and frankness replied,
'You want to know what I make?
(He paused for a second, then began...)

'Well, I make kids work harder than they
ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional
Medal of Honor.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class
time when their parents can't make them sit
for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make?' (he paused
again and looked at each and every person at
the table.)

''I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take
responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make
them write. Keyboarding isn't everything.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math.
They use their God-given brain, not the
man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries
learn everything they need to know in
English while preserving their unique
cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all
my students feel safe.

I make my students stand, placing their
hand over their heart to say the Pledge
of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation
Under God, because we live in the
United States of America.

I make them understand that if they use the
gifts they were given, work hard, and follow
their hearts, they can succeed in life.'

(He paused one last time, then continued.)

'Then, when people try to judge me by what
I make, with me knowing money isn't
everything, I can hold my head up high and
pay no attention because they are ignorant...
You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
What do you make, Mr. CEO?'

His jaw dropped, he went silent.

Fall Smilebox

2009-11-01T22:19:00.002-06:00

Here is a Smilebox creation I made for some of recent fall activities. Including a Halloween costume party we went to. Ryan was a bee keeper, I was his Queen Bee.

Make a Smilebox photobook

Enjoy!

~Lori

Wahoo!

2009-10-26T19:58:00.002-05:00

I just applied for my teaching certificate! It's been approved and will be printed in a few days...then mailed TO ME! Can you tell that I'm excited?!?

I also have more good news....I have four endorsements! Basically I can teach the following:

High School History
Middle School Social Science
Middle School Biology
Middle School General Science

WOW! That opens a LOT of doors for me.

Hee hee!
~Lori

Sub Plans

2009-10-23T22:46:00.002-05:00

Well, I survived this crazy week. Although it wasn't as crazy as last week. I feel like that is becoming the motto of my life..."I survived a crazy week". It's gotten to the point where I almost have to change my sub plans daily. There is always something that changes in the daily routine. It's nuts!!

But, Thank You Jesus for the Weekend! We still have a bunch of things planned. Things that we are looking forward to. Hopefully I will remember to take pictures for you all.

~Lori

Quizfest 2009

2009-10-18T21:00:00.002-05:00

Another Quizfest has come and gone. This year I felt more involved than last year, much to my stress. I took Friday off because I knew Ryan would need me for the last minute details. It didn't help that Ryan was sick. He went to the doctor and was basically told that "he was allergic to October". (Thanks to Uncle Chet's recent message, we think it maybe our air ducts blowing allergens around the apartment. Something that we didn't have in our last apartment.)

Friday was the first of hours of registration, getting housing settled, and the "Old-Timers" quiz. Ryan has wanted an Old-Timers quiz for a long time and since he was in charge, he organized one. I was stuck at registration, but was relieved for a while so I could watch him quiz. There was the whole craziness of getting host families and quiz teams connected for the night. I made the executive decision NOT to sell lunch tickets while getting housing settled. I did not need that extra stress.

Saturday started at 7:00, finalizing registration, selling meal tickets (which I delegated to our quiz teams), and getting everyone settled for the day. I had to coach a team in the Novice (Rookie) division. I am definitely feeling more confident in my coaching "strategery". While I had my team to worry about, I was still having to deal with questions about the day (oh, the life of a wife of the Quizfest Director). I was really proud of my kids. On top of quizzing to an 8th place finish (our other team got 7th in the Experienced division), they did the 30 Hour Famine.

30 Hour Famine is a fundraiser done by youth groups and other Christian organizations to raise money and awareness of World Hunger. Sara and Scott felt that our kids needed food to quiz. So we gave them a poverty meal...they could only have water or juice and one peanut butter sandwich. They did it willingly although it was hard for them to smell the pizza that all the other quizzers were eating. And you could tell it effected their quizzing. They would get the jump and just draw a blank.

After all was said and done and the church was put back in order, we left at 6:30, just shy of 12 hours. We went out to eat with several of Ryan's quizzing friends, who are excepting me into their group. We discussed how the day went and of course swapped stories from quizzes past. Ryan and I got home at 8:30 and were in bed by 9:45. I didn't get up until almost 9:00 (and that was just to get the crockpot started), I went back to bed and slept for about another hour. So, yeah, Ryan and I slept for 12 hours. And have cat napped on and off all day. What a great day!

~Lori

Day by day by day by day...

2009-10-14T21:34:00.003-05:00

Honestly, this is not a tribute to Meet the Parents (or DC Talk)...but how I'm living. I haven't blogged in quite a while. Just barely getting by, day by day. Here are some highlights of what has been going on:

I've started swimming again, well attempting to get there when the pool is open.
I coached a quiz team to THIRD PLACE! Well, they did most the work, as in any coaching/team situation. I am growing more confident in my coaching skills.
I got to see my nephew this weekend. We celebrated his 4th birthday! He's a hoot, let me tell you.
This weekend is Quizfest, the tournament that Ryan directs. So there has been a little add stress to our lives. But this year looks to be going a lot smoother that last year.

So, yeah...that's about it.
My life has boiled down to: What day is it? Which job do I go to now? What's going on this weekend? Can I go to sleep now?

Good news: I am thismuchcloser to getting my teaching certificate. And then one more chapter of my life will be closed. YAY!!!

~Lori

It was a WILD and CRAZY weekend!

2009-09-29T09:56:00.004-05:00

So much so that I'm still recovering. Well...actually I think I'm getting sick.

Friday was the busiest I've been in a while. Last week was Homecoming at good ol' BBCHS. So Friday was "Boiler Pride" day, and the parade. But I was unable to watch the parade, I had to go to my other job.

At the daycare I was alone in the baby room with four babies. Well, 10 minutes after I got there one left, another left after 45 minutes. Then I was able to get the other two to take naps. So it was a pleasant afternoon.

Ryan then picked me up after work, and we rushed to U.S. Cellular Field for the White Sox game. They beat the Detroit Tigers 2-0! (Not that it matters anymore.) Here are some pictures.

After the game we went straight to Camp Manitoqua for Junior High Retreat. I was in the cabin with two other women with the Seventh Grade Girls. I wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The first night I didn't sleep much, but the second night I was out early and out for good. We went on the ropes course, played flamingo football (guys hopping on one foot vs girls on two feet), and of course, worshipped Jesus. "Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire, Lord send your Fire, Fire." Here are the pictures of the fun.

Thus this weekend was jam packed with activities and Jr. High drama. Don't get me wrong, it was all fun...I'm just glad it only comes around once a year!

~Lori

Hello, it's been a while

2009-09-25T09:48:00.002-05:00

This is an awesome song we sung a Youth Group Wednesday. It seems that lately God has really been speaking to me through songs and Psalms. How awesome is He!

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Holy, holy is He
Sing a new song, to him who sits on
Heavens Mercy Seat.
Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come.
With all creation I sing,
Praise to the King of Kings.
You are my everything
And I will adore You!

Here is a link for you to listen to it.

Keep Ryan and I in your prayers, please. This weekend we are going to Jr. High Retreat. While I'm excited about it, I'm dreading the lack of sleep. Plus we will be in cabins. And it's supposed to rain this weekend. :-(

Anyhoo....

~Lori

Quizzing

2009-09-16T21:27:00.002-05:00

So I realized that I never blogged about our quiz last Saturday. So...

We had three teams of four. That means 12 teenagers went with us. Our team names were based off of Dr. Seus. Thus we had the Sneetches, the Truffula Trees, and the Green Eggs and Sam (guess the name of one of our quizzers ;-).
There were 13 teams, the team I coaches (Truffula Trees) placed sixth, Green Eggs and Sam placed fifth, and the Sneetches placed second.
A rookie placed second over all individually. She is also memorizing the whole thing.
These kids amaze me. If a question is missed, the other teams get a chance at half point bonus. At the halfway point of our last round our only points were from bonuses. And at the end, they accounted for half of our points. While my kids had a hard time getting the jumps, they still knew the material to still get points.

All in all, it was a great day.

~Lori

And the winner is....

2009-09-05T23:29:00.002-05:00

Well, you can obviously see which picture is the winner. I was totally shocked by the vote. I don't know why y'all think Ryan and I are a couple of city folk. Because we don't see it that way at all.

So maybe I'll make this a quarterly thing. Keep changing it up, keeping it fresh. For some reason I thought you all would pick the basketball one. That's more us.

Anyhoo...After I put the vote up there, I got to looking at the blog and realized, I liked it. But I will stay true to my word. I put the one that you all thought was the best. For now....

Sorry this took so long and that I seem to be rambling. It's been a long, stressful week. One that tested me, and Ryan. One that I stood on the promises of God, the lifter of my head. But that's another story.

So, in short thanks for your help.

~Lori

I want..I want..I want...

2009-08-26T20:29:00.002-05:00

I want...a penguin. Okay, this was just a passing fancy. Mostly due to the over the top cuteness factor of March of the Penguins. Everytime we saw a commercial for the movie, I would tell Ryan that I wanted one. He would just nod his head and roll his eyes. That's okay, Dixie would attack it anyway. She doesn't like anything that's black and white.

I want...a Mustang. That is a Ford Mustang. This is NOT a passing fancy. I've wanted one since I was in high school. Someday...... I really like the new design and have been partial to the light green. It's the same color as my birthstone. That is until I found one that was black...w/PINK racing stripes!!!

I want...to adopt. There, I said it. I have wanted to since I was in college. I even had a date in mind to adopt, if I didn't marry. A college buddy of Ryan's is in Poland right now, adopting a little boy. I've been following their blog loyally, looking at their photos, and viewing their videos. It makes my heart hurt to see some of these kids who just want to be loved. It's brought up lots of conversation between Ryan and I. It won't happen for a few more years, so Family...Don't get your hopes up. I just wish there was a Facebook quiz to tell me where I should get my baby. I, of course, would like an African baby. But I also would like a little girl from Russia, so I can have my own little Natasha (my best friend from ONU). Now I'm tempted to go to Poland.

~Lori

Okay, here are the pictures

2009-08-24T22:42:00.003-05:00

For some of you who had trouble viewing the photos...

Picture #1

Picture #2

Picture #3

Picture #4

Picture #5

Picture #6

Why am I never satisfied?

2009-08-23T22:07:00.002-05:00

Maybe I just have too much time on my hands...I don't know. But I've been wanting to make more changes to the look of my blog. I just can't seem to find a look I'm satisfied with. Some of it is, I don't feel that it represents me. I don't know.

So...I'm leaving it up to you, my loyal readers. I'm letting you decide how it all should look. (Oh, I don't know if this is such a good idea...) Below I'm posting several pictures, that will be placed at the top of the blog.

Step 1. Please click through them at your leisure.

Step 2. Place your vote for your favorite. The poll is located at the top of the page, on the right hand side. (Note: For those of you who receive the email updates, this means that you have to actually go to the blog web address to vote.)

Step 3. Wait until next Sunday for the vote to be revealed. I will go from there.

Thanks and get out and VOTE!!

~Lori

Yay for Brett!!

2009-08-16T21:45:00.002-05:00

Tonight Ryan and I attended the "other" church. All of the other members of our small group attend Calvary Bible Church (or as Ryan likes to call it...Cavalry). Instead of meeting at Brett and Jen's house for our normal small group, we went to their church because....they were voting on Brett becoming their youth pastor. We figured our group is about supporting each other, so we wouldn't we brave going to a different church. Since we weren't members, we couldn't vote. But he didn't need us. The vote was 63-0 in favor! Yeah!!!

To celebrate we all went to Oberweiss for ice cream (and for me a hot chocolate).

~Lori

It's been a crazy week

2009-08-15T11:29:00.002-05:00

Ryan and I had something every night this week. While I like doing stuff and hanging out with friends and family, sometimes you just need some down time. Here is what we've been doing...

Saturday - Family celebration (Birthdays, moving, starting school, etc...). Good food, good times.
Sunday - Quizzing kickoff and then small group for the evening.
Monday - A friend from college, who has moved to Maryland, was home for the week. So we attended a cookout to celebrate her homecoming.
Tuesday - Small group dinner.
Wednesday - Ian and Trevor moved some of Ian's furniture into our garage and we then hung out eating pizza and pie.
Thursday - I went to PWA bible study and Ryan went to game night.
Friday - NOTHING!!!! Stayed at home to veg and eat spaghetti.

Tonight we start it all over again. We are going to a birthday party for Eve (who is in our small group). She and I have the same birthday, but she turned the big 3-0.
Tomorrow we are attending the Jr. High cookout at church, then quiz practice and then small group.

Oy!

~Lori

Here we go again!

2009-08-09T17:44:00.003-05:00

Today was the first quiz practice of the year. It was also a meet and greet, since we don't know each other all that well. We will have anywhere from 11-16 quizzers this year! That means I'm gonna have to coach.

So we'll see how this year works out.

I will post memory verses from 1 & 2 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 1:8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

~Lori

He took The Cup

2009-08-07T09:48:00.002-05:00

In my bible study, Jesus: The One and Only, I am coming to the end of Jesus' life on Earth. Last night's video session talked about the final Passover meal Jesus shared with his disciples and his agony in the Garden in Gethsemane. Here is something new that learned during this session:

The Four Cups at Passover, represent to Four I Wills of God from Exodus 6:6-7

1. I will bring you out. The Cup of Salvation.

2. I will deliver you. The Cup of Plagues.
*Note: at this time the father, or MC, would take a white linen napkin, dip his finger into the wine and place drops onto the napkin as he read off the ten plaques that afflicted Egypt during the time of Moses.

After the second cup, Jesus and his disciples would have had the meal. So when Luke 22:20 says "In the same way, after the supper he took the cup...", it is talking about cup #3

3. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. The Cup of Redemption.
*Note: This was was Jesus was about to do. Outstretch his arms on a cross to redeem us from our sins!!!!

In Matthew 26:29, Jesus says..."I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." He is talking about cup #4.

4. I will take you as my people. The Cup of the In-Gathering. Jesus calling us all to be with him to live in his Kingdom forever.

Amen.

~Lori

I'm getting old and forgetting to post things...

2009-08-06T13:42:00.003-05:00

Some things I forgot to tell you about the game last night...

Right after we got out of the bus and were gathering everyone together, before going in to the stadium, I turned to see a black SUV. The passenger window was down and inside was...Jesse Jackson. Now Ryan and I don't really care for him, but it was surreal to see him driving by. He even waved to us and flashed a thumbs up.
Upon entering we all received a free poster. It's commemorating Mark Buehrle's perfect game. It even has a picture of Dewayne Wise's catch to rob a home run to save the game.
Then before the game, before the National Anthem, they played a highlight reel of Buehrle's perfect game. I would have loved to seen him pitch last night. Hopefully I will sometime soon.

I think that's about it.

~Lori

Pictures from last night's White Sox game.

2009-08-06T09:26:00.004-05:00

"The Cell"

Yeah! I'm actually at a game!

Thanks for the birthday gift, Ryan.

Look at that field.

Manager, Ozzy Guillen, conferencing with pitcher, Gavin Floyd.

WHITE SOX WIN!!

For the whole picture album, click here.

~Lori

Let's go, go, go, go White Sox!

2009-08-06T00:04:00.002-05:00

Tonight was special...Ryan and I went to a White Sox game to celebrate my birthday. We went with the youth group, which was fine with me. We didn't have to drive, and we didn't have to find parking, it was great.

I have never been to a professional baseball game, or a professional anything. Although, would Bears training camp count? Or a Joliet Jackhammers game count? So I was very excited. We have driven past old Comiskey (Ryan cannot call it by it's new name, U.S. Cellular Field) many times on our way up to Chi-town. Yet, this was the first time actually going in it.

Ryan bought me a t-shirt as part of my birthday gift. But the greatest part of the gift was a White Sox win, 6-2, over the Los Angeles Angels. Included in that would be two home runs by Jim Thome (one was a three-run homer) and one by Paul Konerko. :)

So there were plenty of fireworks. Shot off three times for the home runs and then for the win!

Don't worry, pictures will come soon.

~Lori

Welcome Home Charlie Company!

2009-08-02T15:06:00.004-05:00

Charlie Company consists of troops from our area that are in the National Guard. They have just returned from fighting in Afghanistan. So of course, we HAD to be there for the Welcome Home parade. Our church had a section of the route assigned for those of us who wanted to be there. Ryan and I got there early and made a quick stop for Wendy's hamburgers and Frosties. Mom and Dad came with TiBi. At one point Ryan asked if I was going to cry, I retorted "What do you think?" He said that he thought I would... and I did as soon as I spotted the uniforms in the bus. I couldn't even get out a "woo-hoo", much less a "Thank You". Anyway, here are a few pictures from the parade. Click here for more pictures.

Ryan and I being "Patriotical".

Like Mother, like Daughter. We both cried.

The men kept our spots, while Mom and I retreated to the shade.

Welcome home, Thank You!

~Lori

Water the Plants...

2009-07-27T23:24:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I had mentioned that I was viewing sermons online about the Seven Deadly Sins. The sermon on sloth wasn't just about not being lazy in action, but sloth can affect a lot of areas of life. It can make us neglect our relationships (spouse, friends, family...), much like the way we can neglect to "Water the Plants".

At Annika's funeral, many testified to the way she never neglected her relationships. She was always sending emails, or cards to those who God impressed on her heart.

I always think of people, but I don't let them know that. I don't always send the email, or post on their wall (it's a Facebook thing). After hearing about the way Annika was and the sermon on sloth, I aspire to do better. In fact my first card is ready to mail. And keep an eye out for a wall post or an email in your inbox. I'm not neglecting my plants any more.

~Lori

Connection...(light bulb above head flashes on)

2009-07-26T15:39:00.003-05:00

Yep, it was one of THOSE moments. All that you already know comes together to make one astonishing "aha" moments. Had one of them myself this week. Lately they seem to be coming from the book that we are doing in bible study. Beth Moore's "Jesus: The One and Only".

This week the study was on Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Everyone is praising Him, placing their cloaks on the ground for His donkey to walk on, and waving palm branches. And of course, not all the people are happy about Him coming to Jerusalem. So some of the Pharisees tell Jesus to tell his disciples to be quiet.

"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Luke 19:40 (Please keep those stones in mind.)

So Jesus makes it to Jerusalem in time for Passover, and is there for a week. He's teaching and preaching and preparing His disciples. And then He is crucified...

"And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split." Matthew 27:50-51

Those stones that were going to cry out praise to Jesus, they were split. At THE moment of his death. Well, if there are no more stones to praise God, then I better get busy.

~Lori

Will you grant me a moment to brag a little?

2009-07-24T22:14:00.004-05:00

Hey, I'm the wife, I can brag about my awesome husband if I want to. Many of you know that Ryan has memorized several books of the Bible, the New Testament to be exact. People are fascinated by this, including one Johnny Rock, the morning DJ at the local Christian radio station (Johnathon Eltrevoog to the non-radio world).

This morning he had Ryan come on the morning show to quiz him. There is a new album out that is solely scripture. Who could write better lyrics than God, right? So they would start the song and Ryan would tell them when to stop and tell them what book and chapter that scripture came from. The first song played "Whatever is true...", and Ryan answered correctly Philippians 4.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9

The second song began to play, "We have this treasure...". Ryan answered correctly 2 Corinthians 4.

We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

While he did have trouble with a song from the Psalms, I'm still proud of him. Not everyone can pull from a few words what book of the Bible it is, much less the chapter. Johnny kept calling him "Bible Man Ryan". Yep, he's my Bible Man. :-)

~Lori

Presidential Trivia - This Day is History

2009-07-18T10:01:00.002-05:00

On this day in history....

1947 - Harry Truman signs the Second Presidential Succession Act. Meaning, he changed the order of those who would become President should the Vice President be unable to succeed. It was the Senate president pro tempore and then the Speaker of the House, when Washington was President. Then it changed to two cabinet members in 1886. Truman than changed it back, but reordered it to the Speaker, then the Senate president. Some say it was because Harry was friends with the Speaker of the House at that time and not friendly with the Senate president.

1962 - Congress preserved the birthplace and property of Theodore Roosevelt. Meaning, his properties were now under the care of the National Park Service (which he created). The National Park Service also owns and maintains the birthplaces of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

But the Biggest thing that happened on This Day in Presidential History...

1940 - FDR nominated for an unprecedented third term! While many criticized him for even seeking it (there had been an unwritten rule about Presidents not serving more than two terms, since Washington turned down a chance at third term). But Roosevelt felt that it was his duty to serve his country with the pressures building in Europe.

~Lori

Presidential Trivia - First Ladies

2009-07-09T12:04:00.003-05:00

Our 15th President, James Buchanan, was the only President to never marry. His niece, Harriet Lane (Johnston) served as the White House Hostess. She bequeathed her sizable art collection to the Smithsonian.

Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams (wife of 6th President John Q. Adams) is the only First Lady to have been born outside of the U.S.

Helen "Nellie" Herron Taft (wife of 27th President William Howard Taft) planted the first of DC's cherry trees.

Lou Henry Hoover (wife of 31st President Herbert Clark Hoover) is the only First Lady to earn a geology degree from Stanford University and played a significant role in establishing the Girl Scout movement.

Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson (wife of 36th President Lyndon Baines Johnson) was given her nickname as a child. She raised national awareness of the environment as First Lady and continues to support the National Wildflower Research Center, which she founded in 1982. She also graduated in the top 10% of her class at the University of Texas.

~Lori

You've GOT to see this!!!

2009-07-07T19:29:00.004-05:00

Okay, I'm not a huge YouTube fan. Only when I'm trying to learn the "Thriller" dance, or watching little snippets of "1776".

And I'm not a huge fan of Harry Potter, either. Don't kill me.

But my friend said that she and her husband have been singing this song for days now. So, being the curious person that I am, I clicked on the link and was introduced to this catchy little ditty. Now Ryan and I are singing this too.

I can't wait to get this stuck in your head too. (Evil laugh).

Not Me! Monday

2009-07-06T22:05:00.003-05:00

I am NOT a "Patriotical" person, so I was NOT looking forward to the 4th of July. I was NOT bummed when I woke up to a gloomy rainy day. It did NOT rain all day long. It was NOT cold. I did NOT end up wearing jeans, tennis shoes, AND a fleece jacket. I was NOT still cold with all that on. Ryan and I did NOT end up going to some friends' house for a cook out and games. One of those games was NOT an egg toss in the rain. The boys did NOT end up setting off fireworks in the driveway. Our friend is NOT a deputy, so that is NOT why he bought the "legal" kind. Those fireworks did NOT end up setting off so much smoke that the cars driving down the street did NOT have to stop due to not being able to see. We did NOT laugh histarically at them. We also did NOT drive down to watch Kankakee fireworks, because Bourbonnais and Bradley did NOT cancel their fireworks this year. I did NOT freeze my "Kuehl-ster" off while watching the fireworks. We did NOT get bored due to the aweful display. And I am most certainly NOT posting pictures of this fabulous day.

Nope not me.
Hector and Alex checking the grill

Egg toss

Ryan lost
Smokin'!

The crazy group.

Holiday Weekend.

2009-07-03T23:58:00.004-05:00

So I've had a crazy last two days at work.

Thursday: Only had to work 4 hours. And again was in the babies' room with 4 babies, by myself. Came in at 2:00 and the morning teacher gave me the run down. Who needs to eat when, who needs to be changed, who needs a nap, etc. We have a huge dry erase board were we log everything. That info is then transferred to a daily sheet that is given to the parents, so they know what their kid was like that day. So...the teacher proceeds to tell me that one little boy was puking the night before and that he had a slight fever in the morning. But she didn't feel like calling the mom to come and pick him up. My guard was up for this kid. I gave him a bottle and he drank it right down, which he usually doesn't do. And he went to sleep (Praise the Lord!). Kid #2, gave him his pacifier after a quick snack and he was out like a light. Feeding kid #3, when Kid #4 crawled on my lap and started blinking her eyes slowly. Gave her some juice, and out she was. Played with Kid #3 for a while, til he started yawning. Put him in the swing and off to dreamland he went. That's right! ALL FOUR BABIES WERE ASLEEP AT THE SAME TIME!! And they all slept until their parents came to get them.

That's when the fun really started. Because, as you recall, Kid #1 wasn't feeling so well. Thankfully he was in Mama's arms when he threw up his entire bottle. None of it got on me, or I would have hurled. But I had to clean it up. Thank goodness, I was able to keep from dry heaving and what not. Ugh! I deemed my clothes "dirty" as soon as I got home. I almost took a shower too.

Friday: Between the shuffling of kids around and sending teachers home early, I ended up in the toddler room with between 5-7 kids. Several kids went home early though. "Kid A" came in at noon, during nap time. She fell asleep pretty easily and all the kids slept for over an hour. When they got up, I changed diapers and then took them outside for a picnic snack time. Makes for pretty easy clean up. I took chalk out with us, and our art project was the entire playground. I made the sign that you can see below. Well, "Kid A" became very clingy, which isn't like her, and she felt hot to the touch. But I didn't think anything of it, because we were outside, in the sun. After awhile, "Kid B's" diaper was smelling pretty ripe, so I had to drag them all back in to change her diaper. We all sat on the floor and drank some water. I taught them the way to drink Coca-Cola, "Sip, swallow, Ahhh!". They were pretty cute trying to get that "Ahh!" down.

An hour later I was holding "Kid A" and realized that she was still hot to the touch. I immediately took her temp, thermometer in the arm pit style (which means you have to add 1 to the reading on the thermometer). The reading couldn't go up fast enough. It was jumping numbers. Once it past 100, I was starting to get worried. My eyes about popped out of my head when it finally stopped at 103.1! Meaning her actually temp was 104.1!!! I ran to the room next door, ordering the other teachers to get the director. They could tell I was troubled and they about freaked out when I told them the reading on the thermometer. Parents were called and I tried to keep "Kid A" calm and relaxed while waiting. She did not like having a cold rag on her, but she did play with it, which helped a little. Mom came to get, I hope she doing okay.

If you could keep both kids in your prayers, I would appreciate it. Needless to say, I'm ready for some time off. I love you all. And...

Happy 4th! Love the Toddlers

~Lori

1776

2009-07-03T09:19:00.002-05:00

Last night I had to say goodbye to my best friend. Abbie and her family (I've blogged about them before) are moving to Wilmore, Kentucky (lucky dogs). It was really hard for me to say goodbye. So much change is going on right now. So much change has already happened, in just 6 months of 2009. So to cheer myself up, I've been listening to music from "1776". It makes me laugh every time.

So much more to blog about, and not enough time. I'll catch y'all later. Have a happy 4th!

~Lori

Presidential Trivia - Week 2

2009-07-01T22:31:00.002-05:00

So here are some interesting facts I found as I perused my Presidential fact book:

Three Presidents died on July 4th. Two of them within hours of each other ON the 50th Anniversary of the Declaration (1826). They would be John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. James Monroe died 1831.
Our 18th President, Ulysses S. Grant, is known for the scandals that took place during his two terms. Both of his Vice Presidents, one of his Secretaries of the Treasury and one of his personal secretaries were all implicated.
(This comes from HistoryChannel.com) John Tyler's wife, Julia Gardiner Tyler, insisted that "Hail to the Chief" be played at Tyler's entrance to official events. Creating a Presidential tradition.

~Lori

Sad Day

2009-06-30T20:12:00.003-05:00

Well, it a sad, yet happy, day for Ryan and I. Today at General Assembly for the Church of the Nazarene, Dr. John Bowling was elected General Superintendent and he accepted. Ryan and I watched the live feed, and I cried.

You see, Dr. Bowling is just some church guy. He is (er...was) the President of Olivet, our alma mater. Ryan and I love him as a person and as a leader of the fine institution.

He is friends with my family, so I always have something to talk with him about. (There is no getting away from my family.) Although he couldn't remember just how long I had been at Olivet, he knew who I was. I say that because one fall day he asked me how my sophomore year was going. I was a senior. I will forever remember his remark when I corrected him, "Wow, that went by fast". At that point in my life, it wasn't going fast enough. When I walked across the stage to recieve my diploma a few months later, he gave me the warmest smile and "Congratulations". He did however have a hard time tearing his eyes away from the tiara I had hot glued to my cap. :o)

Fast forward a couple years. Ryan and I were engaged and were heading to the Northwest Illinois District camp meeting. Ryan wanted to introduce me to people from his home church who would be there. Before leaving town, we stopped at Monicals (a local pizza joint) for a bite to eat. Dr. Bowling was there with his lovely wife Jill. We stopped to chat and told him where we were going. They happened to leave before we did. When we asked for our check, the waitress said that Dr. Bowling had paid for our dinner. We were shocked. Who does that these days?

And now he's off on to a new adventure. God Bless you Dr. Bowling. ONU wouldn't have been the same without you.

~Lori

Not Me! Monday

2009-06-29T18:28:00.004-05:00

I am not frustrated at the fact that there is an ant infestation in the Babies' Room. I have not cleaned everything again and again to get them to go away.
I am not looking forward to the garage sale that we are planning. I am not procrastinating going through all my stuff.
Ryan and I did not go to a church in the barn on Sunday. They did not have a sound system and a power point projector in said barn. I was not pleasantly surprised.
Ryan and I are not going again next week. A friend of ours is not the pastor and was not given this last Sunday off.
I did not go to hand deliver my resume to Kankakee Trinity Academy today. I did not go to Kankakee Community College to get my transcripts. I did not surprise a parent of one of my day care kids while there.

Nope, not me.

~Lori

Gluttony

2009-06-26T12:23:00.003-05:00

This week I've been watching sermons online about the Seven Deadly Sins. (Click here to view them yourself.) The sermon on Gluttony really hit home for me. Rev. Hamilton said that it not only applied to eating, but to spending habits, etc. Anything where you goal in life is "more". Now I won't list all my notes from this sermon, but just somethings I would like to share. Here are some tips to breaking free from his book "Enough".

Split the meal
Never but/eat on impulse. Wait. When it come to food wait 15 minutes. When it comes to shopping, wait an hour. If it costs more than $200, wait 2 day, more than $1000, wait 2 weeks.
Ask the right questions. Do I really need this? Will I feel better after consuming it? What are the consequences of consuming it?
Recognize what you are really hungry for and consume what really satisfies.

Must importantly, I need to trust that God will provide for today. That's why Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us our daily bread".

~Lori

Answer to prayer

2009-06-26T09:51:00.002-05:00

Let me first tell you how much I love God and my husband. God has saved us from many disasters. One happened just this morning.

Ryan has been pulled over many times for speeding and has never gotten a ticket. It's amazing! Well, the last time he wasn't so lucky. He says that I jinxed him because I was with him. He was cited for expired registration and an expired drivers license. Well, this morning he went to court to present the judge with evidence that he had taken care of all that. Everything is up to date.

The judge waived both tickets. So in a sense, Ryan still has no tickets on his record!

~Lori

Presidential Trivia - Cool!

2009-06-24T09:25:00.002-05:00

Last Friday, my family and I went out to Olive Garden (my fav.) to celebrate that I was done with classes. Mom and Dad gave me this book on the Presidents: Every Question Answered. My kinda book. :)

So flipping through it, I found out some interesting facts that I wanted to share with everyone.

Grover Cleveland's real name is Stephen Grover Cleveland.
Why did we give Clinton so much flak about not serving in the military, when there were others who had not served either? Examples: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and John Quincy Adams (to name a few).
John Tyler, the 10th President, was the first Vice President to become President. His predecessor, William Henry Harrison, was the first President to die in office. He died because his Inaugural Address was so long, and he stood outside in the rain without a coat and caught pneumonia.
Tyler, later in life, served in the CONFEDERATE House of Representatives. A former president serving in the Congress of a FOREIGN country!!!! Whoa, totally blows my mind.

More to come next Wednesday.

Ch-ch-ch-Changes

2009-06-21T18:42:00.001-05:00

As you can see, I'm making changes once again to the ol' blog. Check back regularly to see if I've added anything new.

~Lori

100th Blog!!!

2009-06-20T09:41:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that I've already written 99 blogs on this new site. I haven't even had it a year yet. To celebrate I thought I would post pictures of what our children would look like.

This is baby Colin. The face they made looks to old for a baby though, so he looks a little funny.

This is baby Cameron. She looks just like her brother, but better.

Aren't they cute?

~Lori

Not Me! Monday

2009-06-15T13:09:00.003-05:00

I am not annoyed that a car alarm in the neighborhood has been going off since about 7 this morning.
I am not wishing those special people in my family "Happy Birthday". Grandpa Dace is not 76, Desiree is not 30, and Aunt Paula is not 60!
I did not try out two new recipes on my new friends this week. They did not like either o them.
I am not dreading going to work today, after not be alone in the Babies Room all day Friday.
I did not trip and fall while trying to get a pacifier to a baby who did not wake up 10 minutes into his nap. I was not glad that I was alone and nobody saw it.
I did not stay wide awake until 2 am this morning, and therefore I am not tired and cranky.

Nope, Not Me!
~Lori

Recipes - I'm just like Grandma.

2009-06-09T11:03:00.002-05:00

We always tease my Grandma Jones about her recipes. We tell everyone to enjoy the dish now, because it won't be the same next time she makes it. It doesn't change every time, but quite frequently. She tweaks things here and there all the time. Constantly thinking, "Oo, that would be good if I added (fill-in-the-blank)."

Well, I'm not up to Grandma's standard, yet. But I do tweak recipes. It's rare when I make the exact recipe. I usually leave something out, or add something in. Here's an example:

Strawberry Squares:
1 box of Strawberry Cake mix
1/3 cup of oil
2 eggs
Glaze:
1 1/2 tablespoons of milk
1 cup of powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350. Mix cake mix, eggs, and oil. Spread in 9x13 pan. Bake for 14-16 min. Mix the milk and powdered sugar. Drizzle glaze over the squares.

Well, I didn't do that. I didn't make the glaze. I used vanilla frosting from a can and added sliced strawberries to the top. It turned out quite yummy.

~Lori

It's Over. I'm sayin', O-V-E-R, over!!!

2009-06-05T22:50:00.002-05:00

I am officially done with classes today. I turned in my last two projects, my last test was Wednesday. I have no more classes to take for my certification. I do however need to take one more test. But it's my content test, meaning it's a history test. Piece-o-cake.

I did turn in my application and resume Wednesday, to my principal, Mr. Gamble. I knew that this was a competitive market, but he said that he received 56 applications IN ONE DAY! That is ridiculous! Please keep praying that God's Will will be done. He knows where He wants me. Pray that He opens doors ASAP. Or at least cracks a window to give me hope.

I'm starting to work what I hoped would be full time at the daycare. But so far she's only scheduling me for 32 hours. Which is a big bump up from my 16 hours, but we were wanting to make a big dent in finances. One of the reasons I always have anxiety over going there is I never know which room I'm going to. I've been in the babies room one day, and the school agers the next. One of my friends there left not too long ago to go back to school. She was mostly in the babies room, if not then she was in the toddler room. I asked if I could just take her spot. Lori said that would be okay.

In other exciting news, Ryan and I have joined a new small group. It's a group of 5 couples. We don't have one leader, it seems that the men are taking charge. Which is fine with us ladies, we are still in charge of social events. We meet every Sunday night for about two hours. Right now we are going through an introductory phase. Each night one couple shares their testimony. Their personal testimony, and then their marriage testimony. I think Ryan and I are going last. Ryan's already set the bar high by setting his testimony to the tune of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire".

Ryan and I went into this group knowing only one couple. Yet, we've felt so welcomed by them all. Last Friday, as soon as I got home, Ryan received a call from Scott Shold, one of the husbands, asking if we could come over for dinner. We ended up hanging out with him andEmily until 10:45, playing games and just chit-chatting. The next day we went to the Farmers' Market (in downtown Kankakee) to find his booth. He owns his own bee hives and makes his honey, beeswax candles and soap, and lip balm. We were allowed to taste test it there. Now, I love honey, and I was fine with the store bought stuff. Not any more.

Then again this week, we were invited to a grill out. Everyone from the group was there. And we are already planning a dinner for next week. Let me tell you, I'm not the only one excited about this group. Everyone else is too. We are all excited to meet together, we can't do it only once a week. I feel like we are what the early Church was all about. Chillin' and hanging out, serving each other, praying for each other, and lifting one another up. It's A-MA-ZING!

My bible study just started a new book. It's a study by Beth Moore, who is a well know bible study maker. It's "Jesus, the One and Only". I'm enjoying it so far. She points out things that I've never thought about before. Like the fact that Mary was not the only one choosen to raise Jesus, Joseph was choosen too. So there must have been something about him that made God notice. Anyway...

Tomorrow is packed, for a Saturday. I have an in-service to go to at the daycare. Ryan has to quizmaster for a Regional Quiz team practice. These are kids from the Olivet Region (Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and, of course, Illinois). Then for dinner we are going to celebrate the end of my classes. We are going to Olive Garden, mmmmmm.

Well, that should catch you up on what we are doing.

Job Openings

2009-06-02T18:50:00.002-05:00

This is my last week of school. I'm so happy. I had two major projects due and a test this week. One project is completely done and the other is halfway done (and should be done tonight, if I can just get off FaceBook) and my test is open book. In July I'm taking my last test. I'm thisclose to getting my teaching certificate.

I say all this to preface that...There is a new job opening at BBCHS, for a Social Science teacher. I am turning in my application and resume tomorrow. I'm stoked and shocked to say the least. I had to read the posting in the teachers' mail room three or four times. I wanted to make sure I was reading it right.

I also found out that there is a another Social Science teacher is interviewing elsewhere. So there could potentially be TWO openings! Talk about manna from heaven. I picked the wrong content area to go into, because History teachers just don't retire. And Mom pointed out that there is an opening posted on a Education job bank in St. Anne, which is close by. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I can't believe this is happening.

My only prayer request is that God's will be done in this situation. While on paper it all looks perfect, there may be something that God doesn't like. I'm saying this to myself, too. A little pep talk, so I don't get too ahead of God.

~Lori

Not Me! Monday

2009-05-25T10:06:00.003-05:00

It's Memorial Day and before I begin my post, I want to thank all of those who served our country. Especially Grandpa Jones, my father-in-law Jim, and my cousin Matthew. I'm a proud to call you all family. And to those who gave your life for my freedom, I give my deepest gratitude.

Okay, now...

I was not excited to sleep in this morning. I did not stay up extra late last night, knowing I could sleep in. I am not listening to Ryan snore while sleeping on the floor here in the living room. He did not fall asleep watching Sports Center.
We do not have 3 cookouts to go to in 3 days. I was not excited about the idea of not having to cook for 3 days.
I was not excited to hear that we might be able to go to the Indy 500 for free! I was not disappointed to turn them down, due to prior commitments. I did not know that God would bless our decision.
And bless us, God did not! We were not able to secure more free tickets for next years 500. We were not told to invite my parents to come with us. The seats are not on Rows 1 and 2 near the Start/Finish Line.
I did not get all emotional on Friday and Sunday while watching my quizzers graduate from high school. I am not proud of them for their accomplishments and their future plans.
I did not pass my APT test by 23 points. I did not rush home to tell Ryan about it.
I am not halfway through my last class. I cannot see the end in sight.

Nope, Not Me!

Prayer

2009-05-20T16:45:00.001-05:00

I have been s-l-o-w-l-y reading through "The Way of the Heart" by Henri Nouwen. It's a small book, but some of the content is beyond my grasp. It's about the Desert Fathers and Mothers (monks and nuns) who went out into the desert of Africa for solitude, silence, and prayer. And through those three things they were able to connect with God on a deeper level. They were much sought after for their advice.

Here are some cool ideas about Prayer.

1)The prayer of the heart is nurtured by short, simple prayers.
- Fancy words are not needed and can be distracting.

2) The prayer of the heart is unceasing.
-Since prayers are simple, one can pray one prayer repeatedly during work, play, etc. If one gives to a neighbor/charity in need, that neighbor/charity will continue the prayer on your behalf while you are sleeping.

3) The prayer of the heart is all-inclusive.
- "Through prayer we can carry in our heart all human pain and sorrow, all conflicts and agonies, all torture and war, all hunger, loneliness, and misery, not because of some great psychological or emotional capacity, but because God's heart has become one with ours."

~Lori

LOL Dogs and Cats!

2009-05-13T18:02:00.005-05:00

Some of these reminded me of my family. And some I just that were too cute.

Not Me! Monday (Kentucky Derby Edition)

2009-05-04T10:11:00.002-05:00

It's that time again. But this week, I'm making it a special edition, dedicated to one of my favorite sports... The Kentucky Derby.

I was not excited about this years Kentucky Derby. I did not tell everyone about my plans.
I did not go to the official Kentucky Derby Party website to plan the meal.
Ryan did not come up with a name of our potential Derby horse..."I will survive the Derby".
Mom and I did not decorate hats, that we did not wear during the race.
I was not shocked by the 50-1 horse, Mine That Bird, winning by the largest lead since 1946.

Nope, not me!

~Lori

Not Me! Monday

2009-04-27T10:16:00.004-05:00

Okay, okay, I know... it's been a while since I've done an installment of Not Me! Monday. I have not been too busy to come up with hilarious versions of my antics. I did not forget about writing one either.

I did not have to read a state test to a freshman last Thursday. It did not take him an hour and a half, when it should have taken him 30 minutes. I did not want to pull my hair out.

I was not nervous about taking my APT test last Saturday. This test is not crucial for my teacher certificate. I was not nervous about driving up to Thornwood High School in South Holland, IL.

Ryan did not end up driving me, to save my sanity. He did not end up sitting in the car for 3 hours. I did not endlessly thank him for doing this for me.

I did not hit the snooze button on my alarm too many times this morning. I did not consider calling off, just so I could get some extra shut eye.

Nope, Not Me!

~Lori

Whew! Glad that's done!

2009-04-25T19:03:00.003-05:00

I finished my APT test today in under 3 hours. Considering that they allowed 5 hours, I thought that was pretty good.

Ryan drove me up to South Holland, IL, so I could study. I was really nervous about taking the test as well as getting up there. The test was 120 multiple choice questions and two essay questions. And those were right up my alley. The first question wanted a lesson plan for a learning activity that would incorporate technology. The second was about how I would utilize a Paraprofessional (teacher aide) in my classroom. I about cried with joy when I read that one, since that's my current job.

I will know in a couple weeks if I passed or not. I think I did okay. We'll see.

I still have to take a content specific test (Social Science - History) and take one more class. I should be able to start teaching this fall, if I can find a job.

~Lori

Randomness... (is that even a word?)

2009-04-22T16:54:00.002-05:00

Here are some random thoughts and goings on.

Squirrely Shirley is here in the library, on the computer, with a newspaper over her head. Maybe she's trying to reduce glare?
Last Saturday after Ryan had been gaming with the guys for 24 hours straight, he was trying not to fall asleep, while I rubbed his knees and hamstrings (thanks to Chet's workout, a lot more than his knees hurt). When I started on his hamstrings, he said that he didn't want too much pressure, so when I asked him if the way I was doing it was okay, he responded... "Yeah, we need to put the mailing address on it and get the bill sent out." My response was to laugh histerically.
This past Sunday we had two baby dedications at our church. This was after Annika's funeral on Thursday. Life does go on.
Also on Sunday, we had communion for the second time in two weeks. When I took the "bread" and the "wine", it just wasn't the same for me. When I was in junior high, my dad was a layman at our church. There's something special about taking a symbol of my Heavely Father's love for me from my Earthly Father. Thanks Daddy!
Today was the beginning of our testing season at school. The kids all have to take different State required tests, or the ACT. Then this Saturday I have to take my first of two tests for my certificate. I'm really nervous about it. Both taking it and getting there. Please pray for me.

I think that's about it...

~Lori

Another crazy Ryan-Dream

2009-04-17T11:01:00.002-05:00

On Tuesday, I went in to say goodbye to Ryan, as I went off to work. I thought I would remind him that we would be going to Granny's house for dinner. (Due to recent circumstances, people have been bring food by).

When I told him that we were going there for dinner, he said in his half sleepy state, "Oh good! I have coupons for there!"

My reaction was the same as it always is, "Okay".

But later, Ryan said that he didn't remember saying that. It's always fun to have some leverage on him. :o)

~Lori

No Words.

2009-04-12T15:51:00.002-05:00

I have no words. My family lost a very special person this morning. My cousin, Annika, went to be with Jesus. We always knew it could be a possibility, but I didn't think it would happen like this. I will miss her greatly. My sister in Christ, Princess with an Attitude.

I keep thinking I can ask her what it's like to die, but I can't.

I just can't believe she's gone.

Please keep the family in your prayers!

~Lori

Spring Cleaning!

2009-04-11T14:44:00.002-05:00

Yep, that's right I am cleaning. And it was my idea. I was wanting to do this yesterday, but Ryan was sleeping. Right now he's shampooing the carpet. We've discovered that Daisy doesn't like to use the litter box so much. YUCK! I've cleaned the bathrooms and mopped all floors (on my hands and knees, mind you). I am so sore... my shoulders and wrists are hurting. So I decided I needed to take a break.

Ahhhhh!

Well, I need to get back to work. Next on my list is to reorganize the kitchen cabinets and cupboards. But first I think I'll have a little nectar of the gods (aka Diet Coke)

~Lori

New Picture

2009-04-10T08:51:00.003-05:00

I finally received the JPEG from the Spirit of Chicago.

Ryan and I had our picture taken on the cruise. We have an 8x10 and a few wallet sizes, but we were able to get the JPEG, to share with everyone.

So here you go.

~Lori

Spring Break

2009-04-10T01:04:00.003-05:00

Hooray! It's finally here!

I think the teachers have been counting down the days for months. I wouldn't doubt it if the kids were too! Although I had a student ask me 5 times last week about when Spring Break starts. Sheesh.

Anyhoo... I won't be going anywhere. I have to work at the daycare. Although I am taking Thursday and Friday off. I need to have some sort of break, right?

I just hope the computer will keep working. It seems to be on it's last leg. Arrgh!

Okay, enough rambling... I need to go to bed.

~Lori

March Picture of the Month!

2009-04-02T21:50:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I'm a couple days late... Better late than never right??

So in this picture is what happens when Ryan is home and lets the cats in the bedroom with us. To the left you see the empty spot, where Ryan is supposed to go. To the right is what's left for me AND the TWO cats.

That lump you see at the top of the bed is me. I'm all curled up because there is no room for my feet. But there are times when I will crowd Ryan, so I can stretch out my legs. Or, I'll kick the cats out.

~Lori

Welcome Coach Calipari!

2009-03-31T19:22:00.002-05:00

Well, well, well, well, well...

To say the least I wasn't surprised to see Billy Gillispie fired from the University of Kentucky. Was I happy about it? No. I think that there is this new mentality in college basketball. If the PLAYERS don't perform, fire the COACH. Makes sense doesn't it? Anyhoo, that's over and done, moving on...

It is now official. John Calipari is now heading to Lexington to coach my beloved Wildcats. ESPN said so. There is a funny story about Calipari: When I was younger, and would shoot garbage into the garbage can, if I made it, we would say, "Call Rick". As in Rick Pitino, then coach of UK. It was in a sense to say, "Hey, we've got a good recruit for you." BUT, if you missed, we would say, "Call John." As in John Calipari, hahahaha! He was coach of UMass then, and gave Kentucky their only regular season loss in 1995-96. When Pitino turned down the opportunity to coach in the NBA (for a million dollars), Calipari took it for half that. Thus we called him the "Half Million Dollar Man".

And now he's my coach. While I feel that we "slept" with him way to early in this relationship, I sure hope this works out.

~Lori

Happy Anniversary!

2009-03-28T19:18:00.005-05:00

I can't believe that Ryan and I have been married for 5 years. Sometimes it feels like yesterday that we were at Kelly Prayer Chapel, saying "I do". And then sometimes it feels like we've been married FOREVER!

Due to the momentous occasion, we decided to "do it up right". But we had to work around Ryan's work schedule. So when I was researching ideas, whatever we did would have to be on Saturday afternoon. I went to EnjoyIllinois.com to find some ideas. I know it has tourist-y ideas, but with such a big city just an hour north, I had no clue where to start.

I found this awesome idea of a paddlewheel boat that takes you on a tour on the Fox River. But they don't open until May! So I went for some ideas in Chicago. I found the Spirit of Chicago. It's a boat cruise on Lake Michigan. They have lunch cruise and a dinner cruise. We chose the lunch buffet, due to time and money.

We went to Navy Pier to board the Spirit of Chicago. When the host was seating us, he wished us a Happy Anniversary. (When Ryan ordered our tickets, they asked him about any special celebrations.) When our server came by for our drink order, she asked which one of us had the MSG allergy. Neither of us do, she had us confused with the table next to us. But it made us feel special that they were looking out for us.

The buffet was amazing. Citrus chicken, Caesar salad, steamed veggies, and FABULOUS Macaroni and Cheese. The dessert bar was mostly chocolate items, and fresh fruit. Guess what I ate? The fruit.

Ryan and I finally ventured to the top deck, to see the famous Chicago skyline. But we couldn't see it due to the low clouds. You couldn't see the top of the Hancock, much less the Sears Tower. We didn't stay out for long, it was really cold. (They are predicting snow for tomorrow! I thought it was Spring!) Our cruise was cut short due to high winds. But that was fine with us. Ryan was tired and ready to get home, he worked the night before.

We had a great time and highly recommend it.

~Lori

Our God is so good!

2009-03-26T21:11:00.003-05:00

This past week, our friends, the Mantors, had quite a scare. They are fellow FaceBook-ers and Twitters, so I was able to keep up with them. That's how I found out that their youngest son, Ryan, was admitted into the hospital with Kawasaki disease. I know what your thinking, "What in the world is Kawasaki disease?" You are welcome to look it up, but I must warn you: it's a pretty scary thing. Abbie, the mom, has a blog that I read as often as she will update it. There she described the whole experience.

Tuesday night, Ryan and I went to see him. Little Ryan is my buddy, and I was really worried about the little guy. I wanted to see for myself what this thing is that had taken over my friend's body. When we walked into the room, he was lying so still in the bed. Normally he's a VERY active 2 year old. But when we gave him some fruit snacks, he perked up. He was talking to us and being his cute little self. It was hard seeing him hooked up to heart monitors and IVs. The nurse came in twice while we were there to check vitals. His temperature was still over 100. He kept asking Abbie, "My ickys go bye-bye?" No, not yet.

But we serve a God who loves and heals! Ryan got to go home today! They still have to watch over him, and keep an eye out for rashes or fevers. But he's home and feeling much better. I truly believe that God has healed him and will continue a complete healing! Praise the Lord!

~Lori

Not Me! Monday

2009-03-23T19:11:00.006-05:00

I was not upset that Kentucky didn't make it into the "Big Dance" this year. And I did not fill out a vindictive bracket, in which all the teams I hate loose.
I did not fill out several brackets. One of which was not for a class at school. I'm not excited to prove to the kids how well I can pick them.
I did not wish that they would have closed school last Friday due to the smell from the sewer back up. And I did not consider leaving school "sick", because I had a stain on my pants.
I did not go to Youth Group last Wednesday, expecting the same old stuff. I was not pleasantly surprised to be at a Julian Drive/Article One concert. Ryan and I did not buy CDs from both bands because we really liked them. I am not to old to be "moshing" with the young people.
I did not get up late everyday last week and therefore I was not late to work on most days.
I was not excited that a college student came back and took over my job in the toddler room. I was not bummed to find out that she was only on Spring Break.
After a crazy week last week, I was not looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday. I did not stay in my PJs until noon. And I was not excited to get back in the pool after a two week absence due to illness.
Ryan did not finally break down and alphabetize our DVDs. He did not complain about having "Legally Blonde" next to "The Last Samurai". We do not have 180 DVDs.
Daisy did not jump from our balcony to the roof over our front door. Ryan and I did not freak out until she jumped back over. We did not ground her from the outdoors, unless she has Parental Supervision.
I am not counting down the days until our 5th Wedding Anniversary. It is not in 4 days!

Nope, not me!

~Lori

More LOL Cats!

2009-03-22T16:51:00.002-05:00

This is how I feel most mornings.

Reminds me of a certain kitty I used to have. Now she a BIG kitty.

Hahahahahahaha!

Again, this one reminds me of Dixie. And I hear that Scott and Sara cat, Sneakers, is not too thrilled about Ruby.

Hahahahahahaha!

These are soooo funny! Ryan doesn't like the fact that they misspell words, so I told him to just look at the pictures. Some of these even got a laugh out of him.

~Lori

Can you name all 44 Presidents?

2009-03-21T10:04:00.002-05:00

Earlier this week some friends of ours, the Petits, had a baby girl. they named her Madison Taylor. Ryan asked me if she was named after a President. I said she was named after TWO. So this morning when I woke up and didn't want to get up, I got to thinking about that. Maybe we should name our kids after Presidents (I do my best thinking while trying to sleep in! ;o).

Here are some names we came up with (Note: we eventually veered over to Civil War Generals):

Arthur Fillmore
Lincoln Davis
Grant Lee
Robert Ulyses

This eventually led Ryan to see if he could name all the Presidents, not in order. He got stuck at 26. So I filled in the rest for him. I pulled out a poster that has the Presidents up to Bush Jr, just to make sure we got them all. We did.

Ryan then decided he wanted a challenge. So I told him to memorize them, IN ORDER, in TWO MINUTES! He agreed. But when I told him he had a minute left, he asked for three minutes. When I told him he had a minute left again, he asked for four. Finally he said he was ready. He did pretty good. At first he kept getting Tyler and Taylor mixed up, which is understandable. Yet everytime we went throught the list (which was about 4 times), he kept getting stuck on Grant, Arthur, Harding, and Hoover. But after one hint, he would get it.

For me it's easier to remember what era they presided over. And of course, if a President died, I can usually get his Vice President right away. I just remember that Lincoln was 16th, Cleveland was 22nd and 24th, and Roosevelt was 32nd. If I can just get through them, I'm good to go.

~Lori

P.S. A+ to those who gave give me the first name of all the Presidents I mentioned!

Oh, Now I Remember...

2009-03-19T22:24:00.002-05:00

Ryan said something funny the other day when I woke him up. He just helped me remember what it was.

He had played the game Settlers of Catan before going to bed. In that game you can trade resources so build settlements, roads, or cities. Those resources are: wood, ore, wheat, brick, and sheep.

So, this is what he said when I woke him up:

Me: "Hon, I'm going to work."

Ryan: "Do you need anything? I've got plenty of straws, and... um... um... and sheep."

Me: laughing "Did you play Settlers before going to bed?"

Ryan: "Oh, never mind."

~Lori

Ryan says the darndest things (when you wake him up)

2009-03-19T13:38:00.004-05:00

As I've said before, Ryan has some crazy dreams and usually talks in his sleep. Or when you wake him up in the middle of it, he will think he's still dreaming.

So yesterday, I walked in to give him a kiss. He responded with: "How did you survive the hurricane?"

Me: "What hurricane?"

Ryan: "You know, the really bad storm?" (Note: It was really sunny all day yesterday)

Me: laughing

Ryan: "Oh never mind!"

I'm loving this weather!!!

2009-03-17T23:14:00.004-05:00

Well, I think I'm finally getting better. I went to the doctor on Friday, and "it was what I thought it was." (Dennis Green). A sinus infection. And the doctor said what she always says, "Your sinuses are so swollen, I don't know how you are breathing." So again, I'm on an antibiotic and a nasal spray. I had a friend who just had surgery on her sinuses, because she would get infection several times a year. I hope it doesn't have to come to that for me.

Friday, Ryan and I went to Indy for a quizzing invitational. We stayed with his old youth pastor, Gary Gerstenberger, and his family. I had the most wonderful time there. Because I was still sick, albeit on the mend, I wasn't looking forward to getting up at the crack of dawn to get to the church for the officials meeting at 7:10. Ryan was the official, I wasn't. Renee, Gary's wife, offered to take me when ever I was ready to go. I ended up sleeping later than I had planned, and she told me that I could sleep longer if I wanted to. But I wanted to go see my quizzers quiz. They place 10th. Which is alright, as long as you have the Scripture in your heart as well as your head.

The final round was exciting! I liken it to the Red Sox being down 3-0 to the Yankees and coming back to win the pennant. The tournament was a 3 loss elimination. Fortville had 2 losses on the day and Three Rivers had none. Three Rivers only had to win one round to place first. Yet, Fortville managed to win all three rounds they needed. And all because the quizzer from Three Rivers accidentally said that the Shepherds went to Jerusalem to see Baby Jesus, not Bethleham.

Ryan and I ended up staying an extra night w/the Gerstenbergers. We got up early Sunday morning and drove back home. We made it back in time to go to church. Our good friends, the Jorgensens, dedicated their twin girls that day. Pastor had his arms full with a girl in each arm. And one of the girls decided to eat her dress the whole time.

Now it's back to the daily grind. We have a busy week ahead of us, so I'm eagerly anticipating a quite weekend.

~Lori

Ode to Chocolate!

2009-03-11T16:19:00.003-05:00

Oh my love, and my source of pain and suffering.
I have had to turn my back on you.
Not my decision, I assure you.
Now I find my life oddly... freed.
At first the decision want NOT easy.
Weening off of you caused me worry.
Cold turkey is the name of the game.

And it's worked so far. I like to compare it to those testimonies of those God saved from alcohol or drugs. Only my addiction wasn't life threatening. Like I said I've been doing great.

... Until today. This week at school is R.E.A.C.H. (Respect Ethnic and Cultural Heritages) week. Today as a special treat, the student council had chocolate "suckers" for the students. They were to be handed out during study halls. Since I help out in study halls the last 3 hours of my day, I had to hand out the chocolatey goodness for 3 HOURS. And when there were extras, the teacher would turn to me and say "Do you want one?". It was really tough to say no. BUT I DID IT!!!

And now I can't stop eating. I don't have any chocolate at home, so I've been trying to satisfy this craving with caramels and string cheese. Ugh!

~Lori

Not Me! Monday

2009-03-08T22:58:00.003-05:00

It's time for another installment of Not Me! Monday.

I am NOT writing this on Sunday, so I do NOT feel the pressure to get this done.
Speaking of pressure... I have NOT been sick all weekend. I have NOT felt like "hocking a a loogie" to make the pressure go away. I am NOT considering calling off again tomorrow, so I can NOT rest one more day.
I have NOT been referring to myself in the thrid person as "Momma" to the cats. Examples of some statements that I have NOT been using are: "Please don't step on Momma's stomach." "Momma doesn't feel very well." "Daisy, get away from the toliet, Momma is throwing up!".
Speaking of Daisy, we do NOT think she's on the brink of going through heat, yet again.
I am NOT taking Nyquil, and therefore I am NOT getting too sleepy to think of more to write.

Nope, not me!

~Lori

LOL Cats

2009-03-07T14:07:00.005-06:00

While at my parents house, I found a link on their computer to LOL (Laugh Out Loud) Dogs. Then I remembered my friend Christine posting about LOL Cats. So I went there and found some for your consideration.
This one made me think of Ryan, I wonder why?

~Lori

Has Spring Sprung?

2009-03-06T14:51:00.003-06:00

Can I put away the flannel sheets? What about my heavy coat? I sure hope so. While it's almost 70 out, there is a low front coming through, with temps in the 40's and 50's. But I'll take that over the 20's and 30's. I would really enjoy today if it weren't for the wind. When it's not blowing, it's really quite nice. But the wind still has the wintery bite to it that says "Wait, I'm not through with you yet." For now we have the windows open and I'm enjoying the sunshine. Daisy is mesmerized by the blinds flapping in the breeze. Thank you, Jesus, for today!

What I want to know is why do I always manage to get sick on these first days of Spring. I left work at the high school about 15 min. early and called from the daycare yesterday. I've got sinus pain/pressure, a sore fwoat, and was throwing up last night. I took some advice from a couple from our Sunday School class, and drank some Pedialyte. The husband swears by it for upset stomachs. I know it sounds wierd for an adult to drink it, but after drinking it, I wasn't queasy for the first time that day. Today, I'm off from both jobs and Ryan and I have canceled our plans to go to the Spring Play at the high school tonight. (I was looking forward to it, but we will still have our Friday Night Movie Night.)

So that's it for now, I think I'm going to go take a nap.

Daisy and the sticker

2009-03-04T22:57:00.004-06:00

Tonight Ryan donated blood again. I was shocked after what happened last time. But anyway, that's beside the point. When we got home from Church, Ryan put his "Blood Donating" sticker on the back of Daisy's head. What ensued was HILARIOUS! Enjoy...

~Lori

Facebook Surveys

2009-03-04T16:59:00.002-06:00

There have been several surveys that have swept Facebook. They are essentially the same as those emails that have been circulating for a while, but they are on Facebook. Instead of mailing it out, you create a note. If your friends want to read they can look it up. But you can also "tag" a friend in the note, and that should prompt them to read it.

One of the most recent surveys was "25 Random Things About Me". The rule was if you were tagged by a friend in their list, then you had to write one and tag 25 of your friends. It took a long time for someone to tag me. Ryan was the lucky one, and I used his as a template for my list.

So here are 25 Random things about me:

1. I only like fries from Burger King, although I will eat fries from else where.

2. I would love to take my brother and husband to Africa. Forget Paris or Florence, Victoria Falls is the place to be

3. I say that because I lived in Africa for two years when I was little (before my brother was born) and went there for a mission trip in college.

4. My husband maybe a clean freak, but I'm a germaphobe. I guess that's the biology nerd in me.

5. I ran track in Jr. High. My specialty was the high jump... but I could only clear 4 feet.

6. I have survived a bout with malaria. And it is because of said disease that I now have a little brother.

7. I was in the Color Guard in high school and that explains my fascination with anything Beatles.

8. I received my first speeding ticket with three girls from a youth choir in the car. Needless to say they had quite a story to tell on the flight to Europe the next day.

9. I have not been pulled over in 9 years (knock on wood).

10. The thing I am most thankful for is my husband. He very patiently explains sports to me when I don't understand why they would call that play.

11. My mom is my bestest friend. We are so much alike and that includes looks.

12. My first job was on the paint crew at Olivet. My freshman roommate and I picked out our room before orientation and made sure it was painted perfectly.

13. I have been charged at by two elephants. Once when I was 6, then again when I was 20.

14. I'm fascinated with WWII stuff. It's the history buff in me. I guess having a birthday on Aug. 6th is the reason.

15. I love to experiment with new recipes. Much to my husband's chagrin.

16. Because History is all about names and dates, remembering names, birthdays, and jersey numbers is easy for me.

17. I majored in History Education and minored in Biology Education. I know that's a weird combination, but they were my favorite classes in high school and what I thought would be fun to teach.

18. I truly believe the teacher makes all the difference. My goal as a future teacher is to get kids to like history as much as I do.

19. If I could live in any past era, I would live either in the Renaissance or the 1940's. But now 1770's are gaining on them.

20. This summer was the summer of John Adams for me. I watched any kind of movie about him. Read anything in print or online about him. And I even wrote a paper about his wife, Abigail.

21. I have a secret dream about being a US Senator. But the dirty politics really deter me.

22. I love watching sports (basketball, football, etc.). But after awhile I need something different, like the Food Network, Discovery Channel, or the History Channel.

23. I keep up with what's going on in my friends' lives via status updates. I spend quite some time reading them everyday.

24. I was on the local swim team when I was 10. I quite when I was 11, because the older age groups had to swim two laps, something I couldn't do. I ran out of steam at the end of the first lap.

25. I could spend my entire life in the pool. Once on vacation I got in the pool after breakfast and didn't get out until time for bed that night, eating all my meals there by the pool. When I went to sleep that night, I felt like I was on a water bed, even though it wasn't.

I would eventually write another list, but I will wait to share that with you another time. :o)

~Lori

Not Me! Monday (on Tuesday)

2009-03-03T12:18:00.005-06:00

My friend Christine, whose blog I read religiously, posts a blog every other week, that's an unusual way to let her readers know what's going on with her family. It's called Not Me Monday. She uses reverse psychology of sorts. Example: She did not leave a carton of half & half out on the counter all night, when in actuality she did.

I'm not sure if I will be able to do this everyweek or even every other week. And I'm not even doing me first post on Monday! Oh well, here it goes:

When I first thought about blogging this, I did not email Christine right away to see if it was okay. I did not sit down right after to write this post after getting the okay.
Ryan and I have not started a habit of taking naps before he goes to work and I go to bed. I did not lie awake during said nap last night thinking of what I would write here.
I did not put Daisy in "time out" last night for tormenting Dixie. I did not consider putting her back in "time out" when she jumped on the kitchen counter and hid behind the microwave.
I did not do a mini dance of joy when I found out that I would only have to take 2 tests instead of 3 for my Teacher's Certificate.
I did not say I would abstain from rolling my eyes, as a sign of respect to my husband. I do not roll my eyes every time he talks about going on Survivor.
I did not memorize how to spell the Duke Bluedevil's coach's last name to show off to my husband. I did not gloat when he couldn't spell it, and he's the one that's the fan. K-R-Z-Y-Z-E-W-S-K-I.
I did not run down the front steps to check if the power cord came. I did not run back up the stairs with the package held aloft, a la Olympic Torch. And I most certainly did not do my best Rocky impersonation at the top of the stairs. Ryan did not roll his eyes at my antics.
I have not resorted to taking sleeping aids so I have a good night's sleep. I do not have CRAZY dreams about my friends' babies named Garretty Hope.
I do not lock the cats out of the bedroom so I can get an even better night's sleep.
I did not buy all caffeine-free drinks and thereby I am not forcing Ryan to be caffeine-free as well.

~Lori

The Kuehls are back!

2009-03-03T12:12:00.002-06:00

Wahoo! We finally got the power cord we orderd over 2 weeks ago. Ryan ordered it at 4 in the morning on February 16th. He received a confirmation email and an email with the invoice on the 17th. They said that they would send another email with the shipping information (time shipped, tracking number, etc.) We waited and waited, no shipping invoice, no power cord.

Finally, on Friday the 27th, Ryan told me that he received an email with the shipping invoice and that the order date on that was the 24th. A week after he ordered it. (What in the world?!?) He said that it had been shipped. Needless to say, I was joyfull when I opened the front door to find our little parcel on the front porch.

So, I'm back World Wide Web. Did you miss me?

~Lori

The one that I adore

2009-03-02T19:55:00.002-06:00

The other day I was thinking about posting this blog. It's about how wonderful my husband is. But the day I was going to write it, we had an argument, and the words just would not come. Not matter how hard I tried to write them, they sounded so false to me. But now that we are no longer mad at each other, it's easier to write.

Here is a list of things that I adore about Ryan:

He cooks dinner for me. Last week he cooked two meals for us. Most of the time it's because we have a time crunch due to my job and we have commitments. But Tuesday I came home, thinking about what I would fix, and he already had it started. I was very appreciative!
He cares about my health. After gorging myself with chocolate and caffeine a couple weekends ago, he checks with me frequently about how I did through out the day.
He's hilarious. I was telling him how I thought a certain basketball player from Notre Dame had a funny last name. He came up with a new name for one of our favorite things to eat - McAlarney and Cheese!
He knows his Bible. Yesterday in Sunday School, our teacher was asking for readers of Scripture. Ryan volunteered, and was able to quote the whole thing!
He's caring and willing to reach out to others. We've instituted "Movie Night" on Fridays. We have a lot of movies, most of them I haven't seen. So we watch those, it's a lot cheaper than going to the movies or renting. The last two times we've had one, we invited people over. Jee and Desiree came over, and then Trevor and Annika.

While this post is not exactly Elizabeth Barrett Browning, it's my way of telling the world...
I HAVE THE BEST HUSBAND!

~Lori

Still no Power Cord, yet so much is going on in the Kuehl Household

2009-02-24T11:37:00.002-06:00

When we got Daisy, we hoped have a kitten would bring out the "motherly instinct" in Dixie. It hasn't. Inster it's brought out the tiger in Dixie. There are times when she does a half growl, half meow, it sounds so much like a tiger. She bites at Daisy and swats at her. It has us worried.

Add to that the fact that Daisy seems to be going through heat, AGAIN!! It's so annoying. Last night Ryan was trying to take a nap and I was reading, and Daisy was running around the house meowing and moaning. And whenever she walked by Dixie, Dixie would growl at her. Grrr!

Anyway, speaking of books... Ryan had gone to Moody Bible College for Founders Week. They were giving out free books. Ryan got me an advanced copy of The Missionary. It's not out until March. I wanted to get it done before then. I wasn't sure I would get through it in time. Well, it got really interesting and I can't put it down. I was so stressed about the outcome, I read the ending. I admit it, I cheated. I should finish it tonight. :o)

~Lori

Aargh! I hate computer problems.

2009-02-17T12:40:00.003-06:00

I have been having a rough time these past few days. The power cord to our laptop has been slowly dying and finally went kaput. We went to Best Buy to get a new one. To buy a "universal" cord would cost $100-$150! So Ryan went online at work and ordered one from Gateway, total $46. At least he's able to get on Facebook and such at work. I can only get on work email and Blogger. No personal email for me for a while. So sorry in advance if you don't hear back from me for a while.

So much has happened lately. First and foremost... Friday the 13th, followed by VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Our Sunday School class held a private viewing of the movie "Fireproof", on Friday (which also happened to the be the 5th anniversary of my wedding dress being destroyed by a fire, it was not fireproof!). We had a catered diner and then watched the movie. Afterwards, we played games, which included Hide-n-seek in the church. And we have a HUGE church!

Saturday was a quiz meet at our church. I had to coach since Sara just had a baby. Our team placed third, all on their own doing. After spending all day at the church, coupled with a late night playing games the night before, I was quite tired. But Ryan insisted that we get to the restaurant as early as possible, because it was going to be crazy. We got to Olive Garden at 4:30 and the wait was already 1:15! Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed our meal, once we sat down.

That's it for now. I hope to have my computer up and running soon. I probably have a TON of emails in my inbox.

~Lori

Heat Wave! In more ways than one...

2009-02-08T15:42:00.002-06:00

Oh... My... Gosh! The weather here in Illinois has been absolutely wonderful these past couple of days. Yesterday I wore my flip flops, in February! I thought that was quite an oxymoron. There is still snow on the ground, but on in places where it was really piled up high. And believe me, it was piled HIGH! I saw a lot of kids playing outside, without their coats on and in long sleeve t-shirts. It was the best day... now just wait, next week will be freezing again. Winter's not over yet, folks!

And speaking of heat... We think that Daisy's going through that right now. Ever since Friday she won't shut up! Always meowing and almost moaning, all this while she's wallowing on the floor. When we couldn't figure it out, we looked it up online (God bless the internet). So we have a couple more days of her misery. Ryan said that he feels bad for her, because her hormones are driving her crazy. So I asked what every wife would want to know, "Do you feel sorry for me, when my hormones are driving me crazy?" He answered correctly, although I bet it wasn't truthfully, when he said that he did. As soon as we can, we are getting her fixed! Dixie never went through this and you can tell it's annoying her too.

~Lori

Ruby Christensen

2009-02-07T20:21:00.003-06:00

Our friends Scott and Sara had their baby girl this week. She's absolutely precious! Ruby was born February 2nd. Weighing in at 7 pounds, 21 inches long. She looks just like her dad. Although I just realized I didn't get any pictures of them with their baby. Oops! Congratulations Scott and Sara! You have been blessed with a beautiful thing. I can't wait to spoil her rotten!

~Lori

Confession #2

2009-01-31T15:01:00.002-06:00

"34 bottles of nail polish on the wall.
34 bottles of nail polish.
If one should fall, you rush the mall,
33 bottles of nail polish on the wall."

Now that I have that song in your head...

I have to admit, I own 34 bottles of nail polish. For a while I stayed at 29 (there's something about the number 30). But then the beauty supply store had a sale on OPI (my favorite brand), and... well... what can I say.

Speaking of OPI, I love the names that they come up with for their polish.

Route Beer Float (Brown-ish/Purple-ish)
Have you seen my limo? (Iridescent Purple)
It's a doozi says Suzi (Dark Red)
The life guard make me blush (Bright Pink)

Totally makes it worth owning 34 bottles. And I'm willing to share. All you have to do is ask.

~Lori

New Scrapblog Creations

2009-01-28T17:12:00.003-06:00

Ever since I found Scrapblog, I can't add plain photos to my blog. That would be too boring. Let me explain what you are seeing.

My friends Abbie, Sara, and I had this idea to create some shirts that show our pain. Our husbands are always playing this game called "Settlers of Catan". They are ALWAYS playing. So we came up with our own "club" called the "Widows of Catan". We made them black, to show our mourning, and we had our maiden names put on the back. As for the bandanas, Abbie is wearing blue because her husband is always blue, Sara's husband is always yellow and Ryan is always red. We kept this a secret for a long time. When we revealed the shirts, it took Ryan a while to figure out it said "Widow", he was to distracted by the bandanas. Oh well, that's my husband for you. Gotta love him.

The second page has pictures of the cats playing with their Christmas presents from Grandma and Grandpa Jones. Well, they were bought for Dixie, we didn't have Daisy when Grandma bought the gift. Grandma and Grandpa, they love them. Thanks for thinking of our kitties. Love you both. Dixie and Daisy send their love, too.

~Lori

THIS WINTER HAS GOT TO END!!!

2009-01-27T12:06:00.001-06:00

And that's all I have to say about that.

~Lori

So I have blogged about the cats in a while...

2009-01-25T13:36:00.005-06:00

I realized that fact this morning. And when I talked to Christine at church, she asked about the kitty. So, without further ado...

Daisy and Dixie are working on getting along. There are times when they will be nose to nose in such a sweet little moment, and then one of them (usually Dixie) will take a swipe at the other. Last night they fell asleep on the arms of our chair, one on each side, facing the opposite directions. But when I got up to get the camera, Daisy woke up and decided to join us on the couch. Only she sleeps behind the back cushions. When Dixie woke up, she walked over to where Daisy was sleeping on the arm of the couch, and growled and hissed at her. To Daisy's credit, she just continued sleeping, only peeking at Dixie through one eye. Then Dixie curled up right there and fell asleep too.

I will reiterate that I feel like the mother of two teenage girls. All the "cat fighting" (pun intended) is getting old. Yet we have moved to a communal food bowl and water bowl and litter box. Right now they are taking a nap with Ryan. A nap sounds good to me too. So I will end this post. Good night!

~Lori

PS. I forgot to mention that the scrapblog above I created on Scrapblog.com. We have found Daisy doing some of the things that Dixie used to do. Thus, they are So Much A Like.