December and it's 23 days until Christmas.

For four months now I have been babysitting my grandson. That is good except I have to have two lives one in Indianapolis and one here in Oxford. The one in Indianapolis is definitely more exciting. Here in Oxford I watch movies on Netfllix. I read books and I do random chores. It is hard to clean some when I am only home 2 or 3 days a week. This week I am trying to pack on all kinds of things because I don't know when I will be here again.

New Bible Study Fellowhip study

So this year at BSF we are studying the life of Moses. The first meeting was this week and I now have a new friend Katheryne Burke Taylor. She is the niece of Dale and Becky Burke, OBF's first pastor and his wife.  The speakers words of the lesson were Only God.  Well, only God could have had Katheryne sit down in the sanctuary of hundreds and sit by me!
 So far I have learned that Moses wrote the first 4 books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus Leviticus Numbers, but I guess I never thought about that idea.  How did he know what to write for Genesis? My thoughts are that he heard the word of God as it was passed down orally generation to generation. When he wrote it down  on the scrolls, I don't think God had control of his hand but that the Holy Spirit spoke to Moses' heart through the memories he had as a child. Surely his mother told him the stories of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I know that he also had knowledge of Joseph. So if he wrote them down he must have heard them over and over and memorized them.
I have also learned that Only God could have planned that Pharaoh's daughter could find a Hebrew baby in the bulrushes and save him from death. Only God could have had his mother still be his nurse and then let a Hebrew be raised in the Pharaoh's court.
I am trying to memorize a verse of scripture each week. This week it is Deut.7:9 "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."
Here are a few other principles I have learned this week.
1.  God comforts us in our suffering so that we may comfort others and so we may grow in our faith.
2.  God has a plan for each of our lives. Yet we are to plan and be guided by His principles, trusting God for the outcome.
3.  God placed all of us in a family.

And now It is almost September?!!!

Wow!
Where did the summer go? I have really been loving babysitting my grandson. While I am babysitting the day seems slow moving but then I turn around and it is either lunch time or dinner time.
I find this to be a truly rewarding job.  It is relaxing to rock a baby and rewarding to have him eat and burp. It is also great fun to talk to him and have him smile and this past week even laugh.
Love  being a grandma!

Can't Believe this!

It is August and I am at Katie's house babysitting for Jonesy. He was very good for a baby today. only a little fussy around dinner time. Where did July go?

And Now July

Again the days are moving by so fast.  I really have spent a lot of time in a fantasy world this winter and summer. I spend  Too much time watching tv and too much time reading. Last week I read 4 books and this week I have already read one. I just get started and there is no one here to interrupt me so after I do the things I should do every day I just read and wander around the house to go somewhere in the house to read again.

June 18, 2014

When you are retired you can do anything you want, but usually I do nothing. Well, I do not really do nothing, just nothing of significance. This week I have been awaiting the birth of my first grandson. So I don't like to go out of town. I don't go outside without my phone and I don't even go and visit the neighbors.
Here is an example of what I do. I usually eat cheerios for breakfast from a white coffee cup. Then I go to the Miami University rec center and walk laps along their blue track.  It is up a long flight of stairs and  I have to stop twice and catch my breath.  I almost always see the same people there but while they all seem to walk the same pace I am slower and walk alone. There are groups of old men who chat and walk. I often see fathers of former students walking alone. Sometimes I walk with Andy Ward's mom, but mostly I am listening to my music on my I phone.
After walking for thirty minutes I come home, stopping at McDonald's to get a cup of coffee. It is only 60 cents and tastes better than what I make. Then I shower and change clothes. This is followed by Bible study and prayer time.
 Right now I go to a Wednesday night study over the book of Ezekiel. It is a book in the Old Testament with the theme that God is the only God and we need to worship him. He is sovereign and the people need to know that he is God. The Bible study is attended by about 20 women of all ages and Conversation is so good.
But  back to the routine. For the rest of the day I do random things like sit on the porch, call a friend or two, go visit the neighbors, play on the computer write on the computer or scrapbook. But my favorite thing is to watch t.v.
 I never used to do that much, but now I do. I think it is because I can pick what I watch and don't have to wait for a certain show to come on. Recently I have been re-watching my favorite series, Smallville.  I really like this show and no matter how many times I watch it there are certain episodes that make me cry or laugh. Of course I have my favorites. In season 4 I really like the first episode when Lois Lane appears and I like episode 5 where Clark and Lineal change spirits and become each other. Tom Welling's acting is really fabulous there.
Some how I get to lunch and dinner and evening Bible study and then it is time to decompress and go to bed. See not so interesting a day. Sometimes I clean and do laundry and dishes. But not always. I wonder how my grand mothers filled their days?

The Week of Birthdays

This week several of my friends and relatives had birthdays.
On June 16th my youngest cousin Jonathan Howard White turned 50. Hard to believe! But he will always be a 5 year old in my mind because the summer he turned 5, I was a his babysitter. Happy birthday Jonathan Jo with a mouth like an O.



This is Jon White, his Mom Mearlene,
and Jj He was about one in this photo

Here we have Jj Jon White and Thea
when we were about to move to Omaha.

Then today June 17 is My childhood friend Karen Styles 61st birthday. Again It is hard to believe. Some times I remember when we would sit on her grassy hill and talk or play games in her air conditioned bedroom. Our favorite games were Life, Easy money, and the Barbie game. Funny what you remember.
On Thursday my youngest sister Thea will be 55. I hope she has a marvelous time and receives some great gifts. I have lots of fun memories of her but a favorite one is the birthday when Caroline Kennedy and Jackie O and Jon Jr. were at the park having a picnic on the day she was celebrating her birthday!



Katie and me June 1981


Maybe my grandson, Katie's first born, will be born on Thea's birthday; in our family we try to have babies be born on other's birthdays. I love this photo of Katie learning to walk at my parents house the summer of 1981.

Where did May Go?

Well it is June now and somehow May went away. I did spend a lot of time watching tv and net flix. I also worked at Kramer and other schools to earn money to pay for the roof  as well as babysit.
Oh yes, we had a family vacation to both Georgia and Florida. I loved finally being warm. Florida is beautiful. Jonathan got married. The wedding was on the beach and so beautiful. My favorite parts, no need for shoes, just wear flip flops. seeing my family, and the lovely bride and brides' maids.
School is out now and the summer visits to the doctors have begun.
I have learned that I need to figure out why I fall asleep in the afternoon, how my sugars run and what to do about cravings. Ah thank you for the internet. I do poorly with a 5 o'clock wake up but great with a 6 o'clock one. To help with cravings I started taking a multivitamin. For the last week I have been recording my sugars.
Thank goodness my teeth are doing alright.
Next I need to get my sugars done at the hospital and schedule a visit with Dr. Spivey.

Soon

FYI
Soon I will be a grandmother.

Weird

I know I wrote on this last week and I added pictures even. OH well.
Nothing very exciting here except a teacher friend retired and there are many hours in a day. I did work out by walking around the track at the rec center 4 days. woot woot.
Updater:
1.  from the Raccoon saga.
The house was fixed; the raccoons removed, and I survived.
2.  J-Lo's wedding
This was in Florida and was great. I had a good time loved the sun and even enjoyed time with Eric and Julie. Lauren looked lovely and I loved that it was on the sand so I didn't have to wear shoes. Sara and Bruce came, so did Thea and Paul. Robin and her boyfriend Steve came too.
3. I worked cafeteria a few times in May. One was field day which wore me out.
4. The Pastor of our church, Jeremy Carr, moved on to greener pastures in Iowa.
5. Nora and Ronnie gave me their old patio furniture. Now I can sit on the deck with friends.
Found the previous post under drafts. I couldn't get photos to download tho.

And now it is April

I keep looking out the kitchen window and looking at the grass. I am trying to see if the grass is slowly  becoming green from that dead brown winter color. Every day I think that it looks a little greener.
The grass though is not the only thing I saw from my kitchen window. The other day I noticed some drain spouts from the side of my house had come unattached from the roof. There was one on the side closest to the porch and one from the front  of the house by the garage and one little piece from the bottom of a pipe outside my bedroom.
My friends Kathy and her husband Mick came over when I was sick with a cold and fixed the  drain pipes for me. So nice of them.
After the problem with the flooring in the kitchen I began to notice a scratching noise in the wall of the living room. I thought to myself, "Oh, no.  A mouse has gotten in."  Remembering the problems at the house on Elm Street, I  fully expected to smell a dead mouse smell one day as I opened up the door. But no dead mouse smell ever occurred. For several days I didn't hear any scratching and then one night as I was cooking some spaghetti I heard it again. Ah, I thought the mouse likes my cooking, but again no droppings and no dead mouse smell. The sound went away.
Then over the weekend and yesterday I heard it again in the day and told my hair dresser about it. The hair dresser mentioned it to Kathy at the beauty shop today. When she and Mick came over to fix the ice machine, I told them about it. Mick went out into the yard and began to look for  a way for a critter to get in, and as he was checking the house, he saw a really big raccoon getting into the attic by going under the roof. As he was also checking the house, he noticed a long section of soffit was missing from the roof in the back. So  I have a new set of problems:
1.  I need to get the raccoon out of the attic, the wall, and the roof.
2.  I need to get the roof fixed.
3.  I need to get the animal poop and urine out of my attic and wall.
4.  Someone needs to check in the walls to make sure they aren't destroyed by the raccoon.
5.  I need to keep on working to pay for the repairs.
And on top of this I still have a cold that doesn't want to get better!
Is it any wonder that I am looking out the back window for spring to get here with warm weather and green grass?

Monday

It is Monday and I feel like it is Friday. I know now why I am retired. I can't work even three hours a day without feeling fatigued. I have not been subbing in the classroom, but I have been subbing in the cafeteria doing cafeteria and recess duty. From the child point of view, the two best things about school.
My floors are now repaired and I am on a payment plan with the hospital. I still need to build up the savings reserve.
NO creativity here. Sorry world. I am just too tired, which I why I stopped teaching in 2011!

It is Friday again.

Hello world. Nothing like working on  a Friday and getting off and coming home. Things here are great I guess. I worked for 4 days this week and I will work for four days next week too. Now it is Friday.
Time for a great weekend.

From Valentines Day to George Washington's Birthday.

What a difference a week can make!
Last week end I had a visit from Katie Burford and Kathleen Grimes. They were so sweet to come and cheer me up. On Valentine's Day we went to dinner and got roses at Phan Shin. On Saturday we went to Cincinnati art museum. We visited the Cincinnati art section and I liked the pottery the best. On Sunday we went to church and I was reminded of how resolved Jesus was as he obeyed God's plan for his life. Good weekend with a message from God. Be resolved to listen to God's voice and obey. On a more practical note I also realized I needed new shoes and new support stockings. So on Monday Karen and I went shopping at Cincinnati Mills outlet center and I got what I needed.
IN regards to prayers for a job and money~ God provided three days of work and some money to help meet the insurance deductible. I am also serving some of my missionary friends by sending out, for them, a missionary newsletter.
I am not saying this to brag but rather to let you know that: "My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory."  God truly is good all the time. 
Where did I work? I was doing the work at Kramer elementary school, the best part of school at least according to children~ recess and lunch! On Tuesday I was filled with such Joy to be there among the people I know and love. Thursday and Friday were more of the same. Friday was however the most difficult day of all.  Because It is Friday!!!
And my house? Well, the kitchen floor is still torn up but the fans are gone and I can cook in the kitchen, when I want to!

Next week I have more work as a "lunch teacher",  and then on Wednesday I finally get to be approved to substitute as a classroom teacher. So many hoops to jump through in that job hunt. Can't wait to see how God answers prayers in the lives of my friends this week.

February

Thirty days have September, April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty one except February alone
Which has 28 in line and each leap year 29.

I am glad that February is a short month.
We have had too much snow. We have had too much death and I have had  too much to deal with that I didn't know how to handle.. It has really been snowing or too cold to melt snow since January 15.  We have had temps of minus 8 degrees several morning. Some days I don't even go out of the house. So I read or watch the television. We have so much snow that the piles of it are about 5 feet on the places they plow snow and put it into piles including my driveway.

ON the last week of January two acquaintances died. Both were named Tim. One was 36 and one was 76. Both had become believers. So one day I will see them in heaven. I drove to Kentucky for Tim's funeral and helped Jo Ann with a meal for Jane and for Tim's sisters. It was a small funeral and he had had a very large life but no one came but his sisters and care givers from hospice.  Tim Clark on the other hand had an enormous funeral and an enormous visitation. I only knew Tim when he was 13-15 years old so it was nice to learn that he had become a teacher and was a very good man who knew what God wanted for him in life. What devastation for his parents, children, and family! I can hardly comprehend it, the sorrow, the unreal feeling the questions.

Then this week was a week that I struggled not with death but with my own inadequacy as a home owner. On Wednesday I noticed water seeping up between the cracks in my floor. The water heater had sprung a slow leak, but I didn't know how or where the water turn off was or even how to deal with this problem. It was lucky Dustin knew and could tell me the steps to follow. I now have a new water heater with a pan that allows it to drain into the drain not to drain under the floor. The restoration people are stripping up the old floor. Giant heaters and dehumidifiers are blowing in the kitchen and I am going to have a new floor at some point.

I am going to have to work to build up my financial reserves. so out there job hunting.... I may have a job as a care giver to a blind man- cooking meals for him and visiting with him. I may have a job doing recess duty and cafeteria duty at Kramer.

My attitude? It is what it is. I am an overcomer and I don't have to walk through this alone. Two very kind friends have brought me food and the church gave me a Kroger card.
 My feelings? I don't know if I can be a single adult with house hold responsibilities. I need to look ahead and anticipate what could happen next.

My faith in God is growing because I believe that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  I keep picturing a forty something Olympic skier out on the hill struggling to ski up the hill. The camera's focused on his whole body but I can see his face with snot running down his face. To the side of the track his coach out there telling him. Come on; you can do it.  Get up the hill. Keep up your speed keep up your strength. You can do it. I feel like that skier. I remember the God's words in Hebrews.
Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses let us throw off every thing that hinders. And the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
I may be slow but show me where to go and I will try to get there!

Books # 3,4,and 5

This week I read a lot of books. One was The Silent Girl. One was Son of Hamas, and one was Heart of the Country. The Silent Girl was a thriller about  two detectives finding out who killed this woman. It takes place in Chinatown in Boston. The two detectives are Rizzoli and Isles  from the t.v. show. It is a pretty good story with a few twists at the end. The present day murder connects to one from the past and so there is that dimension.
Son of Hamas was a Biography of Mosab Hassan Yousef, a Palestinian who  became a Christian. He writes this book with an American and tells about Islam and the Jihad and his changing beliefs. This was gripping because it was about real people and a true story of a man who changed his mind about the way life should be. Some of his experiences were awful. Some were joyful. It helped me to understand events in the middle east a bit more and be thankful that I live in America.
And finally Heart of the Country was an easy read if for no other reason than it was written in Large print! This romance contains two prodigal son stories and is about two sisters and two brothers who chose two very different paths.
Today I will go to the library and get something new, if the roads get cleared and if I can get out my driveway without shoveling!

Saturday

Saturday makes me think of a song
Saturday in the park I think it was the Fourth of July.
Or even  Today is Saturday.  Today is Saturday is a song and children's book with pictures by Eric Carle.
I am sad today because Cathy is moving out. She is getting her own apartment so that they can keep the house in Florida and Jim her husband can come and visit her more.
So I am job hunting and praying the Lord will provide.

The week in progress

This week I read two books and watched several movies and watched many episodes of Scandal. We also had snow and I was very apathetic. I actually paid two sixth graders to shovel for me. I still am apathetic actually. the reason is this: the easiest thing is just to sit and watch t.v. because that requires that you actually do nothing.
Hopefully this attitude check will change soon.

Attitude Check

Lately I have had the I don't care feeling.
 I don't care about going outside.
 I don't care about seeing friends.
I don't care about doing things that require exercise.
 I believe the word I am searching for is Apathetic.
 I am Apathetic to every thing must be because it is January
.It is cold outside and can't make choices about what to do next.

Books # 2

This week I read a mystery called Gilt Trip by Laura Childs. It was about a Scrap book store owner who solves a mystery of who killed Jerry Earl. It takes place in New Orleans and the author often describes what the characters wear. It was an average read. I should have just stopped and gone to the end to see who did it. But I didn't; I read it all to the end. There are some good recipes at the end and a few scrapbooking techniques to try too.

Learning

YOU are never too young to learn to use a hammer. Yesterday 60 third fourth and fifth graders along with about 20 adults got together at Kramer Cafeteria and made bird feeders out of wood, wire mesh, rope, and of course nails. One of the students said to me, this is great I have never done this before. She was right! Making things like this with this tool is not something 8 to 10 year olds often do in school.

I recently learned that kids aren't the only ones who need to learn new things. I learned how to open the garage without the garage door opener working. You just pull a rope. I wondered what that thing hanging was!

When I traveled back from Washington, D.C. I learned some interesting things about art history. As a result my interest was drawn into discovering more. I discovered that the story of art travels much the same path as a child learning to draw. It begins with flat forms in limited colors and then develops perspective as they view the world in different schema.

Taking Control

Recently I felt like my life is no longer mine to control. I don't if you have ever experienced this feeling but, I have, often, in the last few years.  Several years ago I discovered I could not walk in to the ocean and maintain balance. then I discovered I could no longer walk on a hill without slipping. Then when I had a prescription problem and a different medical issue again I felt helpless.
So What could I  do to take control? I asked myself.
To begin with I called doctors and told them of the problems. They were busy but kind and helped to figure out one of them. Then I began to look at the things I need to do to regain better health. I planned to make some changes in some of the areas of my life.
New year resolutions
1. Eat more fruit and vegetables.
2. Eat less bread, rice and potatoes.
3. Exercise every day at least 20 minutes, an hour if possible.
4. Have a quiet time daily. God is waiting for me to come to chat with  him and he never says, I am too tired or no you can't come over. He also answers my texts, phone calls and e-mails
5. Pray for those who need prayer.
6. Learn more about Art history.
7. Be accountable.
8. Save money by not eating out so much.
9. Do more of the things I enjoy!
10. read a book every week and add a Friday book notes if I can think of something to say.
11. Finish that novel I started last year.
That is enough for today.

Books

              This week I read 4 books. None were too intellectual, all were fun and gripping. The first three were the Hunger Games books. The movies were pretty true to the books but the books were more detailed. And you can follow them  more easily. The third book isn't a movie yet and it will be interesting how they write that as  a script and whether or not they remain true to the story line.  May the odds be ever in your favor.



The fourth book was by Lee Childs and it was a thriller with a good ending and for once it wasn't too scary. Now I am reading a fifth one but it is a new week and some friends came by with another.

I also watched the movie Argo and it was scary but good. For my professional interest is watched  a movie called Chalk about teaching. It sort of reminded me of Up the Down Staircase.

So the first two weeks of the year were profitable!

Is it 2014 yet?

Hello world! I have not forgotten to blog.
 I just didn't feel like a writer this fall and August. A lot of things happened though and I have the photos to prove it.


Here are the pictures that I couldn't figure out how to put into the blog.

 Katie got Married on April 6, 2013. It was a wonderful wedding!

On the Fourth of July we waore mustaches.

Jonathan and Lauren got engaged.

 

I made some new Chinese friends.

Nancy got Baptized.

You can see deer in the back yard.

Last Year and the New Year!

Ok So this year has already arrived and I did a lot of stuff but I did not blog!!! I sort of forgot long about August.
Here is the list from last year and soon I will start the list for next year.

1.  Pray more often and more effectively~ This needs to be on 2014. In fact I just bought a book called Becoming a Woman of Prayer
2. Maybe that means buy or keep a prayer journal. +.
3.  Look for the silver lining. Not really measurable.
4. Do a good deed once a week. ( Make a list of them so I have 52.). Well this is a measurable objective but I didn't do it.
5. Decorate the walls in the living room. Started but not finished
6. Redo the computer room and my bedroom. Not done
7. Call my friends don't just text or e-mail. And arrange lunch dates to chat and everything! I did this
8. Call my sisters weekly. Well, I think I probably called Thea about 30 times and maybe Rachel 10. Does this count.
9. Work on managing my finances. Yes!
10. Keep to the budget. Yes! 
11. Crochet 3 baby afghans. Yes
12. Get a head start on Christmas, like buy or write stuff down as I see needs.NO
13. Go to Florida to see Cathy, Bill, Sue and others. No
14. Walk daily even if it is just up or down the hill. NO But I did join the rec center to make me walk more.
15.  Go to California to see my sister and her family~ Yes
16. Go to Paul Jr.'s wedding~ where is that going to be? Yes
17.  Start a going to China savings account to go to China in 2 years. Yes
18.  Read a book a week and report on it every Friday. NO
19.  Go to see Aunt Mearlene in Wilmington, North Carolina. NO
20.  Include more fruit and vegetables in my daily diet. YEs
21. Make a new friend or two. Yes
22. Continue to study Spanish or Chinese. NO this became too hard to teach myself and I was unmotivated.
23. Be accountable. Yes to myself.
24. Work in the Sunday school department at OBF.  Yes
25. Study the Bible and able to answer questions. Yes
26. Sing Karaoke with Katie and friends.
27. Go Katie's wedding and have fun there! Yes
28. Volunteer at the Middle School with Suzette  Yes
29. Go on 4 hikes with Katie and Dustin, one each season. NO
30. Go to Curves at least 3 times a week. Yes when there was a curves and now I go to the rec center when I feel motivated.