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| for my few xanga readers who are sure i've fallen off the face of the earth.... i haven't, but life just goes on in its daily pace, and my xanga isn't top priority right now. so, for the sake of michel at least, here are pictures of our granddaughter kayleigh, born july 26. (i am working on getting a few more, and some flute pics too, michel. thanks for your patience!)
dr williams, janelle, chas, kayleigh
kayleigh in her first hour of life
joyce (aka flutemom) holding kayleigh
janessa age 14 3/4
mayo (now known as grandpa to kayleigh)
joyce with kayleigh
julianne age 17
kayleigh
joyce with kayleigh
joanna age 6
jessica age 21
kayleigh 2 months old
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| so, for my few faithful readers.... it's time for another update. life moves at different speeds at different times, and since today is a cool and rainy day, the speed will be slow. don't ask me how i already know it, but suffice it to say that rain is not my favorite thing in the world. i know we need it, the pretty flowers need it, the gardens need it, and all that, but it still depresses me.
on to cheerier things.... j2 (whose real name is jessica; i've decided to use names here, since my blog is not very public to too many people, and most of them know me and my family anyway....) arrived home from nicaragua 12 days ago. she had a great time of ministry there and also enjoyed the warm weather (our recent 80 degree weather was still on the cooler side for her). she'd like to go back again and serve with the ministry team, but plans for the future are uncertain as of now. currently, she is in virginia for 5 days with a friend, then next week she'll go back to work at chocolate world. her dream would be to have full-time work in costuming (at choc world, she works in three different departments so she only gets to costume a little bit). she's thought about applying at big places like sesame street or disney world. this girl definitely dreams big! and i love her for it.
j1 (janelle) is doing well with her pregnancy; the baby is due the beginning of august. hubby (chas) is still dealing with the differences in his life as a result of being hit in the head with the baseball apr 1 of last year. full-time work for him looks like a far stretch at this time, and even part-time seems questionable. workman's comp still covers all their medical bills resulting from the injury, but we don't know for how long. an insurance settlement is being talked about, but they've found out that will only cover 10 years worth of income (state laws), so who knows?? well, God does, and He's still in control....
j3 (julianne) is trying to finish up her schoolwork for the year. she is really enjoying earning money from her job as server assistant (bus person, for those from my generation!). the workers love her and she loves them. they often "complain" when i pick her up at the end of her shift. if she was willing to give up 44 hours of her week to work there, they'd let her (that's as much as she can work, since she's under 18). she'd like some bits of free time this summer, so we're still deciding exactly how many hours she'll take once she finishes her school work for this year. next year will be her senior year, a bit lighter academically, so as long as there is work at the restaurant, she gets first dibs, since she can do the morning hours while the other kids are at school, then do her school work when she gets home after lunch. the benefits of homeschooling!!  she's managing to get in some driving time, too, although driving to work (7 min one way) doesn't help her get to her required 50 hours very quickly. she's doing well with it; it's just that there is so much traffic around here and we're not ready to get out on a highway at 55 miles per hour (which is most of our driving), with cars passing, exit ramps, entrance ramps, all the other things to watch for. someday..... and now that jessica is back home, she shares the small car (mazda protege) with her, so when jessica goes back to work, julianne will need to drive the minivan (not her favorite vehicle....).
j4 (janessa) is finishing up her math and english for this school year. next year starts her official high school years, with 9th grade. i think my kids are growing up too fast! she recently bought herself a very nice acoustic guitar and is working on learning to play (doing a good job at it, too, i might add)
j5 (joanna) will celebrate her 6th birthday tomorrow. these years have gone by way too fast! she is enjoying her school work, esp reading and math, and loves spelling also. on the warm days she likes to be outside riding her two-wheeler (we took the training wheels off about 3 weeks ago, and she mastered it quickly), or skating, swinging, playing with neighbor kids, running, playing baseball or catch, anything active. she's a delight and keeps me young (and a bit tired too!)
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| i feel like i've been in hibernation recently, in more ways than one. not much detail here, as i'll keep it more hidden inside myself. so....i've thought many times about posting. i've mulled over what to write, what to share, how to say it "just right" (being a perfectionist is still one of my great weaknesses!).
i might not post much this year (ha, who is surprised by that comment?!). for now, i'll comment on something relatively new for me this year- watching movies. i am, by nature and nurture, a reader. computer stuff is good, and e-books have their place, but i'm a hands-on book person. besides the fact that i don't often take 2 hours out of my day to just sit and watch a movie/dvd, depending on the movie, i'm generally not interested- too much animation, too difficult to follow the story line, other interruptions in life. now, with that disclaimer given, this year has been unusual for me in that i've watched maybe 4 movies so far this year. that's probably more than in the past two/three years total. and that was before we even got through february! most of what i watched will definitely go in my top favorite listings, and i urge you to find these and watch them, if you haven't already:
A Vow to Cherish- good insight into dealing with a loved one with alzheimer's, keeping one's marriage vows, pulling together as a family.
Fireproof- this is a top-of-the-line movie, a must-see if you haven't done so yet. great for all marriages, and great for teens forming their own thoughts about marriage. the commentary (an extra on the dvd) was quite fascinating, and there are some "hold on to" quotes in the movie, too- my favorite being don't follow your heart, because your heart can lead you astray. you've gotta lead your heart.
Flywheel (done by the same church which did Facing the Giants [also a great movie, but i watched it last year] and Fireproof)- this is another great family movie, which cuts through relationships to the heart issues in life.
the one movie i watched that i absolutely didn't like at all was Wall-E (sorry if any of you are wall-e fans). i'm already not big on animation, and even though there were a few small parts of this that were "cute", i generally give it a thumbs down, sorry i wasted my time with it, review. i spent most of the first 45 min or so trying to figure out what was going on (no dialogue to help)- what are they doing that for? where's he going now? wait, what was that supposed to mean? etc etc.
so, what else is new? i actually got to read through a book just for pleasure! i read Hang a Thousand Ribbons (i think that's the title). it was a historical fiction about Phillis Wheatley. for some reason, way back when i was in 6th grade, our english teacher introduced us to her poetry and a brief character sketch about her life, and it sparked some kind of interest in me. the past few weeks as i got to read through the book, i got to satisfy that interest. for a negro girl (she was only about 7 years old when she came to america from senegal) she was given lots of learning experiences that were unusual for people brought over as slaves. i just found the story fascinating.
well, i guess that's my post for today. life's duties and plans and schedules call my name, and my poor hungry tummy would like its breakfast!
meanwhile, thanks to those of you who post more regularly than i, and who take time to comment on the few posts i write. it encourages me. | | |
| quote from a story i read in our local community newspaper:
"I got my hopes up for something I couldn't have and in the process missed what is already mine."
learning contentment isn't always easy. 'nuff said. | | |
| ready or not, here comes 2009!..... 6 weeks from tomorrow is christmas, 7 weeks from tomorrow is new year's day 2009. wherever did this year go???
looking back, there are always times that go quickly and times that linger "forever". school, since we began for this year, is one of those lingering times. we've just been dragging our feet a little too much (a lot too much, actually!) and now we need to begin playing catch-up, as i don't want this hanging over our heads until june 30, which is our legal deadline. life for my daughter and son-in-law i would say is one of the lingering times as well. since his injury on april 1 (being hit in the head with a baseball), the numerous doctors' appointments, therapies, hospital visits, changing meds, and "try this/try that" philosophies have extended our year greatly. at this point, he is still not permitted to work until the next neurologist visit in march.
some of the go-by-quickly moments have been: my girls growing up, j3 starting a job and getting her driver's permit, j5 learning to read and taking off quickly with it, j2's missions trip to nicaragua (although she's been gone since sept and we miss her much, it has gone by somewhat quickly, and we await her return in mid-dec. of course, she's only home for three weeks before returning and staying until may, but we'll take the time we have her here and enjoy her), my brother's foster/adoption process of a precious little "hope giver" who turned two in august (the same day her adoption papers were received). i can't believe we're all another year older, hopefully another year wiser as well, although that is sometimes dubious.
a recent musical highlight for me was the opportunity to attend a flute clinic, and receive some one-on-one from the master technician. the whole afternoon was a learning experience for me. i continue to enjoy all my music activities- flute/piccolo, church choir, and handbells. if music is ever not a huge part of my life, i will shrivel up and die.
thanks to all those who post more regularly on xanga than i do. i read all your posts, and sometimes even leave comments. but getting my thoughts together for writing my own post is something i don't do often. maybe in 2009?? | | |
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