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Catch up

Since I haven't blogged in quite a while, I guess I'd better try to update everybody on what's going on in my life. This is the last week of finals and the last week of school!! I am so ready for it to be over. Don't get me wrong, I am very glad I did this--it has helped me tremendously. Very soon I will be where Kevin was just 2 weeks ago--pounding the pavement looking for a good job. I know those are hard to find and I will try to just let God direct me where to go to find one. I am glad that Kevin finally found a job--it was going to get scary really soon. I know this isn't much, but I really lead a very boring life. More later. Bye.

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Will the bad luck ever end?

Will the bad luck ever end? I go out Sunday morning ready to go to church and guess what?!? The van won't start. Nick is ready to go because it's his birthday and he has big plans. He has all kinds of things he wants to do. We call Chris Nunn (a friend of ours) and ask him to come and get Nick. I call my mechanic and ask him when he can come look at the van. He asks me what is it doing? I explain to him and even take the phone out and try to start it again. By that time it is not making any noise at all. He asks me to turn on the lights and try to start it. They stayed on. He said it sounds like the starter. Well, I call friends (have to wait until after church) and make arrangements to get a starter for the van. My mechanic says he will come Monday morning to work on it. Fast forward to Monday morning--my mechanic comes here and looks at the van and he decides to try to jump the battery. Guess what!! it was the battery. It cost me about $50 less, but it still cost me about $100 that I didn't really have extra. Well, maybe one day we'll get ahead, I just don't know when. Hopefully next time I post I will be my old optimistic self. It just seems like I've had a lot dumped on me lately-- I guess I'm allowed a bad day every once in a while. I need to vent sometimes. It does get better, doesn't it????????????????????

No New News

Well, guys, Kevin hasn't found a job yet. He is driving to all the surrounding towns and putting in applications, but no job offers yet. Nick and I miss him and he misses us. It has been a long week for all of us. This Sunday is Nick's birthday- he will be 17! It just seems like yesterday I was changing dirty diapers. They grow up so fast. Kristie is doing fine- she like it in Emporia. I guess she likes married life, also. I know this a short post, but when nothing is happening, there is nothing to write. More later.

Ups and Downs

I went through and read all the blogs I normally read and I realized that of all the ones that have been too busy to blog I am behind the most (except for Taylor, who looks like he has given up). It has been a rough month. As you most know Kevin is now unemployed. Cut-backs at Federal Mogul, and he was one of them. I have been trying to go to school and with so much on my mind lately it has been really hard to concentrate on my classes. This is to the point that one of my classmates and friend has commented several times that I am not myself because I can't seem to pay attention or remember anything. Thankfully, she has been trying to keep me straight. Kevin has had several things fall through so he decided to do something radical. He left for Berryville, Virginia this morning at 4:18 a.m. We have friends there he will stay with. As it stands right now he will stay for 2 weeks unless he gets a job there. If he gets a job he will stay and try to come home Thanksgiving. He already has one interview on Monday morning so please pray for him-it pays really good and it was very similar to what he was doing at his last job. This is a big step for us because we have lived in Monticello together all of our 23 years of marriage. Kevin moved here when he was in the 7th grade. We are all scared to death because we will be basically starting over, but we think there are more opportunities in that area. We also feel God is leading us there. It's really hard to know for sure where we will eventually end up, but we know that He is with us wherever we are. He is driving his old beat-up, Honda Accord, 5-speed with over 200,000 miles on it and this a test of my faith today and tomorrow to try my best not to go insane with worry about him. But I KNOW that God will take care of him because I have asked. Thank you Lord. I'll try to keep you updated about the trip and job hunt. Thanks for all your prayers!!

Please help

help,Help,HElp,HELp,HELP!!!!! I need help putting my picture on my profile. Is there anybody out there who can explain it to me in language I can understand??? I have been trying to do this for hours and cannot get it. Please, Please help me!!

Fall Coming???????

Is it me, or is it just wishful thinking? Is there a little coolness in the air? Just a little when the wind blows??? I love this time of year when it starts cooling down just a little bit. It brings relief and hope that the heat will be over with someday. I love yellow, red, and yes, even brown leaves falling off the trees. Although this year I think the leaves started falling early because of the scorching heat and no rain. Fall just always gives me a little lift and that is something I really need right now. Bring on the cold weather!!!!!

Back to school

I started back to school last Wed., the 23rd. So far I have already had too much homework. I am not a big fan of homework because that should be family time. We don't ever seem to have enough of that lately with Nick having his job and his girlfriend and everything else going on. It was a busy week-end with the marriage/parenting thing going on. It wasn't a good week-end for Kevin. He has a tooth that was infected and his face swelled up and he was running fever and saying "just let me die and get it over with". The bad thing was at the time he was serious. He has been through this before and it never is pretty. But luckily Dr. Denson got him in at 8:30 this morning, drilled down into the tooth (without any painkiller), and let it drain. He feels so much better now. I am glad that he is getting back to normal even though I am the target of being picked on since Nick is working tonight. Oh wait, he has conked out in the chair. Peace and quiet at last. Back to reading a book- my most favorite thing to do. See ya'll later!

Life Changes

You've always heard: "Your life can change in an instant". How true that is. I'm sure most of you know by now that Kevin lost his job last Tuesday due to cutbacks in the company he worked for. I still have one more semester of school. We have talked it over and decided that I need to finish. We have gotten better at stretching the little bit of money we have and we will just have to stretch even further. There are things we will have to do like take Nick's braces off early. He's ok with that because he is tired of the metal in his mouth anyway. We'll have to come up with some other things we can do without next. Maybe I can get a lot of old junk together and have a Garage sale. You never know what you can do until you have to "Just Do It!" You notice I am trying to be positive here: I have two other people depending on me to try to be strong. I really am trying, but I hope they forgive me if sometimes I am not so strong. I am only human, after all. I don't know what God has planned for us so I will have to listen extra hard. I know He is looking out for us because of recent events. I would like to thank you'all for all the phone calls and help that has been given to us. I start back to school Wednesday, so that will help keep my mind off things, I hope. I am ready to get that finished up. I only have 3 classes, but due to scheduling I have to go to McGehee every day. MWF I go from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and if I didn't have someone to carpool with then I couldn't make it because of gasoline prices. Well, you'all please keep on praying and we'll keep on pressing on. Thanks again.

Short post

I was going to blog about our experience this week-end, but I knew my wonderful husband could tell the story so much better than me. For a great (true) story go to www.kevinstox.blogspot.com. There's nothing going on with me right now, so maybe I'll write something later. I sure miss my daughter. Hopefully, we plan to go to see them on Labor Day week-end if nothing happens and I can scrape enough money together. Out for now............

Ridin' Around Town

My newest adventure would be teaching my 16-year-old son, Nick, to drive. It's been quite an adventure so far. I have been letting him drive around town when I know the traffic won't be too bad. Not during lunch or afternoon when a lot of people are driving. The place I hate the worst is the strip in front of Wal-Mart. That whole stretch of road is just dangerous. He really has been doing ok as long as he pays attention to what he is doing. It really has amazed me that even though he never listens to me, he has been listening to me while he drives. I am very impressed with this and it has really made things easier for me. If anybody has any suggestions please let me know- all will be appreciated. It has really hit me hard lately that my children are grown or almost grown. Nick has a girlfriend- long distance- named Danielle & I love her- she's great! She lives in Stratford, Ct. and they talk on the phone and over the internet constantly. They already have trips planned as soon as they can make enough money for plane tickets. And then there's Kristie- getting married last month and moving to Emporia, Ks. this week-end. Whatever am I gonna do without my little girl close by? Pause for crying session.............it's just now sinking in that she's gonna be gone- and ssssoooo far away!! Better go for now, it's just gonna get soggier. More later.

New Friends/ New Encouragement

I just finished checking my email. I finally put the email addresses from my new friends in Connecticut in my address book. Then I emailed all of them asking them to email me a line back so I would know I put them in right. Well, I got a few emails back today and I almost cried. They were so encourageing to me. For those of you who know me, you know I am basically very shy. I tried to put myself out there while I was there and Lauren,(she is the one on the far left)really made me feel good about it. I hope to keep in touch with the family we stayed with, if nobody else. They made us feel so at home, and have even said we are welcome any time. Thanks to all of them. I know you'all are getting tired of hearing of Conn. and NYC, but that is the most exciting thing that has happened to me in a long time!! Maybe I'll have something better to write about soon. Let's hope so anyway!!!

Just another day in the Neighborhood

Tonight we have home groups and I am glad to be back in town to be there. Although last week was great, I missed the fellowship with my great friends here. We have temporarily split up into male/female groups to do a study. I can't wait to see what we are going to learn. I have just been sitting here on the computer and thinking: Kevin has gone back to work, Nick has gone back to work, and I am ready to go back to work. I have only 1 more semester and I am ready to get it over with. I start back on Aug. 23rd, I think. I am just worrying that I will not be able to find a good paying job in this area. Maybe Kevin and I should consider relocating somewhere we can both find a good job. The week after a big trip is such a let-down, I am so depressed because there is nothing to do. Maybe it will get better next week. I guess I'd better stop before I depress every one of you also!!.......................bye

Home Again, Home Again

We are all back home from Connecticut now. I hope we have all recovered. I felt awful for the first 2 days after we came back. It felt like a sinus infection, but thankfully I feel better today. Maybe I will live. Here is a picture of my handsome son in New York. Doesn't he look like he belongs there? We all really had the best time there. I think my family would move if given the chance. I would love to be close enough to do the train ministry about once a week. That was huge for me. I learned that I could pray for someone without them knowing and feel like maybe I made a difference in their day. I know God answers prayers and I prayed for them to have a great day. I think I will try to make this a habit. Nick made some new friends this week. Here are some pics of these great people: Hopefully you can see everybody. Nick has been on the phone talking to his buddies every available minute. Glad they are mostly on Cingular. Those who aren't he has been Instant Messaging. Kevin has been having trouble figuring out how to blog on his site. I think I have figured out what he is doing wrong. He has posted 3 total times, but you can't see but 1. I'm going to try to straighten it out right now...................More later.......................

My perspectives of this week:

I tell you what: NEW YORK WAS BIG! When we got to Times Square, Nick looked up and said "Now I feel short." Now he knows how I feel all the time!! LOL We have had the most wonderful people that we are staying with, and all of the people of the church are great! They have been so kind to us and so patient, so helpful and they have been trying their best to take us sight-seeing to all the places that we are interested in and whatever they think might interest us. It has been a busy and wonderful week. The kids here are enjoying VBS this week- the theme is Artic Edge and it has great catchy songs and interesting stories for them. I even find myself singing the songs in my mind because the tunes are so catchy. I have seen a different side of some of my travel mates: for example I didn't know how good a teacher Misti is and how patient we can all be when a room full of kids are screaming to the top of their lungs. Amy is going to try teaching for the first time tomorrow;( Amy Flemister- she's 14- and kinda shy- I think this is Awesome!) I am very proud of my son- Nick- he's been great with the kids. My husband, Kevin has helped out wherever needed, mostly me, with lunch and snacks. Brandi and Jennifer have watched babies and helped clean up and whatever was needed. Most of them have done the Train Ministry and I get to go tomorrow- more on that later. We are having a dinner at the church tonight so we can meet all the parents of the kids who have been coming, and hopefully minister to them. Kevin and I have met some wonderful friends here and hope that we can all keep in touch with them and maybe come back next year. There are so many things I feel that I am leaving out, maybe later when I am not so tired I will write more. For now I am going to sit back and chill before everybody gets here tonite!

Gettin' ready for a trip

I am just sitting here wasting valuable time. I need to be up doing things to get us ready for our trip. My son just keeps on bothering me- that is all the time. We will be going on a Mission trip tommorrow and I just can't wait. We are going to Connecticut. This post is to let the people know that I will be posting whenever I can. I have also set up a posting spot for Kevin: kevstoxe.blogspot.com. He has not posted anything as of right now, but I just know it will be interesting when he starts because he has many great stories to tell. I have been reading all the life histories of my great friends in my home group and hope to someday soon tell my story. It will take some time to get my thoughts together for that. I am not sure what all I will share because I'm not sure you are ready to see me in that light yet. I will just say now that God has really worked in my life and sent me a great husband to guide me. I am also glad He sent me to Journey Church and to this home group. You 'all are the best. Guess I'd better get to work- I always heard a suitcase won't pack itself!! Later