Shallow and Deep

Look! My new bed deco arrived. I must say, I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

Before (left) & After (right)




And, it is SO comfortable. Between the new soft sheets & the fluffiness of the comforter...it's just heaven.

Now, to figure out what to get and put above the bed...

I had some issues at first. It all had to be ironed. I hate to iron. Then, I needed Euro pillows for the shams. Wal-Mart doesn't carry those. I had the option of driving to Fort Worth to find them, or internet shop. Target - 19.99 per pillow. Amazon - 23.00 per pillow. It occurred to me last night that the pillows on the couch seemed about the right size. They just get in the way, it's not like we use them all. Presto: perfect fit. So, guess what's in those pillows in the pictures - that's right. $40 SAVED right there!

Okay, now to be deeper (that was the shallow).

Thank you for all the prayers for Jenna and I.

Jenna has recently found the group Superchick (with my help since they're my fav). She wanted a CD to listen to in her room, so I made her one. Today at nap I heard her belting out, in her sweetest little voice, "I need your hand to hold, to hold me from the edge, The edge I'm sliding past, Hold on to me." She knows the general meaning of the song because she asked me what they were singing and what it meant. She is so close to understanding and accepting Christ, and she has an amazing heart. It brought tears to my eyes to realize that in her little innocence, she knows that she needs God to hold on to her in the tough times. How I wish a picture could catch the sound of that precious, sweet voice singing. Beautiful.

Coveting Prayers

No one's hurt or ill.

Jenna had one baby tooth that never came in. Peds all said not to worry, and then last year the dentist saw it - an undeveloped baby tooth in her gum. "That's got to come out." Off to the oral surgeon. "Teeth are funny little things. If they sense the slightest resistance, they won't come in." (aside: so, why did all 4 of my wisdom teeth push with great resistance on my other teeth while trying to grow in the wrong direction so that I had to have all 4 cut out?) Last summer, when I got the news (last July), I put it off. Until, this July. Nothing has changed. So, I set up the appointment for this Friday. Jenna will go in at 9:30 to take her sedating medicine, at 10:00 they'll start the IV, and do 'the procedure' which will last about 15 minutes. Supposedly she'll bounce back incredibly quick after a groggy Friday. So, what, you may ask, is the big deal. I'm TERRIFIED of sedating her. HORRIFIED. Like, I lay in bed at night and make myself cry because I'm so FREAKED OUT that she's not going to wake up. I fear they'll oversedate her. I have expressed my concerns to the dentist, and he's very reassuring. I'll state my fears, probably while crying, again on Friday. Anyway, please pray for Jenna to not have pain, to not have fear (I've hidden all emotion from her - calm & cool), and to have a speedy recovery. Pray that I won't have a nervous breakdown between now and then.

Changes...

Well, what do you think? I have envied Lisa's ability to make a photo collage on her blog, asked for the instructions, and been VERY frustrated when it didn't work out. I stumbled upon the "Compose" option instead of "Edit HTML" which is where I normally post (I don't know html, it just defaults there). I saw that I could drag & drop pictures. But, as she pointed out, my posting area is too narrow to place pictures side by side...so, I chose a new layout. Then, I didn't like the colors, so I changed them all by myself. I was a little nervous since the last major project in college I had to complete was a bound teaching unit, and when I went to pick up mine, Jer laughed, "It looks like a house in Mexico." (it was pretty loud, in his defense) I thought it was a clever use of colors, but I've never been that great with colors. Scrapbooking helped a lot, but I still prefer to have my color wheel and prepackaged, pre-coordinated paper handy. That's one reason I STILL haven't commited to paint in the house; I get nervous.

Anyway, thank you, Lisa, now I can work on my photo collage skills! And, I'm working on the post processing skills. Not where I want to be, but, it's still my first week!

Daddy's Gone Day 1

Highlights from yesterday:

We all got up at 5:45 (how do I get up at 5am during the school year?) to take Daddy to the office and drop him off. The kids were amazed it was still dark outside. On the way home, I took them to get donuts - any they wanted. After too many donuts they took in some cartoons...


OH - I got our electric bill today. It went DOWN from last month, so my 'silly' cuts are working out. It only shows $7 less, but if you account for how much more we've been home this month and the added AC use - we're making strides. That paid off one power strip!

Motivation

I need a little motivation in my life.

I did a great job working out last week, and decently so the week before. I ate pretty reasonably, but I gained weight. Yeah, I give people the "it's muscle" thing all the time, it's not. So, I've got to get my head in the game (perhaps I'm hearing too much high school musical).

I started to print pictures for scrapbooking since I haven't done any since March, and I look at pictures from the old point & shoot, 3.2 MP camera, and it's just, well, difficult to want to print any of them. Then, I move to the ones from my new camera in Dec and Jan, and they're, well, it's hard to find any to want to print there, too. Then, after Amy showed me RAW and I have taken the last week's worth (really just a few shots) in RAW, now I don't want to do anything with the thousands from the last 7 months I shot in JPEG. I need to just do it - the kids and memories are there regardless of the quality. The positive is that it shows how much I'm learning!

Another positive is our Flex account, the money I have the district withhold pre-tax for medical expenses. Last year we breezed through it by July. This year, it's July and we have $2000 left. Jen's oral surgery, what we expected to be the big kahoona this year, is 'just' $570. So, we need to spend about $1500 on medical expenses. Hmmm, where do you begin? New glasses for Jer, new glasses for me, dermatologist appt for both Jer & I, complete physical for Jer & I. That should do it, and cost us a little more, don't you think? Of course, we'll wait until October to make sure the kids don't get sick or something (or more bills don't come from the black eye ER visit, even though all she got was some sympathy, lights shone in her eyes, counting fingers and a popscicle, don't get me wrong, they were very nice, but healthcare is CRAZY).

Another positive - I've embraced my age: I wear a skirt swim bottom. I like it. I feel good in it. But, I remember standing in the dressing room of Beall's with the skirt bottom, boy short bottoms, and regular bottoms (only my bottoms wore out last year, the tops are fine). Regular bottoms - No! Boy shorts - not so much. Skirt - I can feel good about this in public. Then I stood there, looking at myself thinking, yep, you feel 20 in your head, but that is the body of a 32-year-old mommy of 2. Thank you God for my kids - I'd take them over my 23 year old body any day (but it was good)!

A new bedroom decor! I did it! I ordered it. I asked Jer again. The first time I found it I got, "Do you NEED it?" That miffed me - of course I didn't NEED it, or I wouldn't have asked him what he thought. I gave him my big spill - I LOVE it, I can sell the extras on eBay (thanks, Ash), I can use some of the fabric for a bulletin board I've wanted to make (thanks, Kendra), and use all the rest. "So?" "You won't believe it if I tell you." After some probing he told me, "I was thinking, well, you can sell the parts you don't need on eBay." Yep, we've been together so long we even think alike. Scary, huh?

Family Photos

I have to brag on Amy who took family pictures for us. Jeremy needed a new family picture for the next mailer for the church, and he directly requested Amy. I was super happy to have a reason to ask her. Go to her blog (listed on the right 'Coffey Family') to see her awesome work! She was also nice enough to share some of her "secrets" with me at Starbucks afterward. I LOVE it, and when I get a little better and less self conscious about it, I'll post to show what I learned.

Decision...

Okay, I have not updated our bedroom in 7 years. 7 years ago, when we bought our first house, first bedroom furniture (we brought our old stuff from growing up with us into marriage), I splurged and bought new bedroom decor - a tan quilt, accent pillows, and sheets (200 count). We've had that since. In March, when I saw my brother's new home and the stuff his girlfriend had helped him pick out, I got envious and wanted new stuff. They had great taste, but I couldn't just copy them, so I've been looking for my own stuff, with no luck. UNTIL...

I happened to see a Penney's mini catalog at my mom's, opened it and (hear the music), saw IT. One I really, really, really like. I came home, logged on, "out of stock." I was bummed out, I mean REALLY disappointed. Devastated. I checked ebay, I googled, checked back for a week: no luck. I gave up. Yesterday I bought new sheets (600 thread count - ooooooo - long story, but Jer loves the beds at the Hilton to the point he looked up how to buy one and started asking about sheets, which he also loves at the Hilton, so we've been talking about that one for a year) and looked at quilts/comforters with no luck. I yearned for my Kaiden set at Penney's.

Randomly, this morning, I went back to jcp.com and looked, added to cart, and, SURPRISE, it's in stock!

So, what's the issue, you ask? The whole set (sheets, comforter, valance, bed skirt, accent pillow shams, all) is $129 - good deal. Perfect colors (at least on my monitor). Will match the sheets I just got, will match the curtains I made last summer. Negatives: I don't need the sheets that come with it, don't need the bed skirt, don't need the valance, I'm not usually a fan of comforters (we used to need to wash constantly, but our kids don't spit up anymore, and there are no indoor pets, so I think that issue is over), and I haven't actually seen it in person. I guess if it gets here and I hate it, I can take it back to the store, right? Other thoughts: August is the last month I will receive my old full salary. Then, it's 1/2. I know, we're still fine, but I do have to adjust for that $24,000 I'm used to having in our budget...and I'm pretty sure updating our bedroom won't be in the budget (like it really is right now).

What to do? Here is a link: http://www5.jcpenney.com/jcp/ProductsHOM.aspx?ItemID=1449879&GrpTyp=ENS&CmCatId=SearchResults


So, what do I do?

Finally

I finally feel as if I'm in the relaxation of summer. That's part of the reason for no posts, nothing is happening around here - FINALLY! WOO HOO!

Here are some random things that have helped me get back to my "happy" place:

The kids singing their song: "Jeremy & Misti sitting in a tree, K - I - S - N - I - N - D" Yeah, spelling's not our thing, yet. I've corrected them a zillion times. I've decided it's just cute.

Hudson running around in his underwear. When he wears them, usually you will find his with just shorts on, no undies. I don't get it, but he thinks it's hilarious.

Running. I am back up to 4 miles. It's a 4 miles with a lot of cardiovascular pain during that last mile, but I'm getting stronger and my knee is hanging in there with me! Step classes at the Y are a good cross trainer for me and gives my knee some time off. If you need a "happy" place, come watch me do step class - I'm am quite the funny girl. For someone who was so graceful and coordinated in her years of competitive twirling (with ballet training, pageant training, and tumbling), I am a HOOT when you mix coordination and athletics! REALLY - last week I knocked my step over twice and fell down once, all in one class!

Me being Frugal Fanny. I got it from my dad. Did you know we can all be in the living room but like 7 other lights in the house are on? My dad used to go around counting them as he turned them off, now I do the same thing. Our high has been 10, and we were all in the living room, in the dark. Kills me. Also, I have connected all our TV/VCR/DVD/Digital converter box/Computer/other electronics to power strips. Every time we leave or go to bed, I kill the strip. Jeremy thinks it's funny that I've gone to this trouble to save a few cents. But, I'm convinced it's helping us and the environment. To reward myself, I've turned the AC down a little lower (I usually sweat us out trying to keep the bill down - again, from my parents who will leave the AC off until late June and then will sometimes even turn it off at night until about noon when it gets hot). Now if only I hadn't left the soaker hose on in the flower bed for 4 hours yesterday...but those flowers look GREAT today.

"Yes"

I'm working on being the "yes" mom. Don't think that means I'm letting my kids run like crazy little people, that means I'm getting my priorities straight. The last school year was tough, and required a lot of "no" every time the kids asked to do something. "Mom, will you come and play Barbies?" "I'd like to, but I have to finish _________ by tomorrow." There was far too much to do and too little time. My family suffered, and I suffered with them. So, to reconnect, because a lot of damage was done to their little egos and my mothering ego, I've tried to say "yes" as much as possible.

"Mom, there's a cool new flower outside, want to come and see?" "YES!"
"Mom, will you read me a book?" "YES!"
"Mom, can we snuggle and watch cartoons?" "YES!"

It's been hard because I'm task driven, and my task list is quite long some days. But, I want them to know that I'm here for them, love them, and want to share their lives with them. I don't want them to be teenagers and think, 'Mom's too busy.' NO WAY!

Plus, this has spilled over to my husband, who finds this life much easier and less stressful on him. Today he came home with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Poor guy. He was moved almost to tears as he told me how thankful he was that wasn't upset that he was home so late and had so much left to get done tonight.

Ahhhh

Jeremy and I were able to get a way for a retreat Wednesday through Friday of this week. Cedars on the Brazos in Glen Rose: books, no internet, just us. It was AMAZING! He got plenty read and planned for church, and I made headway on many things - school, a reading program for Jenna (now that we have 5 weeks left!), camera stuff, a fun book Secret Life of Bees, and sleep! It was terrific, and I am so relaxed, I'm still craving phyisical activity because I'm too blah! Wow.

The kids had wonderful times with grandparents, and brought home two new pets - tadpoles! I've wanted to order some from the internet, but luckily I read the fine print - those suckers have to live in water for 7 to 8 years! I wanted some you grow legs on and release into the wild (back yard). Thanks to Hudson for getting two with PawPaw at Big Rocks! After a little internet research, we have some boiled cabbage and betta food in the "tank" and some rocks for when they get legs/lose gills and need to get out of the water. I had them outside and Jer pointed out the birds might eat them, so they're living and growing right on my kitchen counter. Beautiful. I really am enjoying this, funny enough.

Relaxation

First of all, Jen's eye is greatly improving. She still hasn't had any pain, just self-consciousness. If the knot on her eyebrow isn't gone by next week, we'll visit Dr. Watts just to get her thoughts.

Second, the 4th of July was fantastic. The parade was the smoothest it's been, ever. We were finished in record time and even had energy left over to hit Taco Bell with the Barrett's and do a little visiting before a great nap. We ended the evening with some fireworks with friends. Then, Sunday was the Community Service in the Park. It was fantastic! Here's a glimpse at the crowd.

Third, here are a few of the swimming pictures. I have brag on H man - he moved up to the next age group within the first 10 minutes of lessons. He IS almost 4, but I still have to brag. They were even talking of moving him up to the 5 year olds (with Jenna), so we'll see what happens since we still have the whole month. I'll get more of Jenna tomorrow, but this is her in action of learning to float on her back - something she's NEVER trusted me to let her try!


Fourth, and last, this is our fishing trip at the McNeely's last night. Notice Jen's enthusiasm. She's like her mom, she wants a bite, or it's not fun. Hudson, the kids who wanted the fish the most, and caught a HUGE one at his PawPaw's, finally got one at the end of the evening. Gene was awesome with H, he took him as his personal assignment even when H threw his pole like a wild man and hooked Gene in the neck.

SERIOUSLY...

Really, about the drama, I meant it. But, God has some lesson he's working in my life - maybe empathy for the people with lots of drama in their life since I've always thought, well, it's kind of ugly, but, I've always thought, "so, get over it and move on."

Last night we went to work on the 4th of July float as our family fun night. I've been gone every evening this week and next week is full of events, so last night it was us, church friends, a float, and cheesecake at our house afterwards. We had a GREAT time at swim lessons (which pictures I had hoped to blog today, but these get priority now), great nap, I had a great time baking 2 cheesecakes & cup cakes, awesome.

Then I heard it - a deep thud, smack sort of sound. Turned my head to see Jen on the ground and I knew. Her eye started swelling immediately - so fast I've not seen anything like it. A friend who is an EMT said, "take her, now." So, off to the ER. Haven't been there, but they were great. No one else was there, just us. Verdict, she's fine, no eye damage, no skull damage, just a good black eye.
The culprit:

After we were home from the ER (I started to take my camera in, after all, it was with me the whole time, but I left it in the car because I wanted to be sure she was okay first):

This morning. The swelling has spread over her eyelid instead of the pronounced knot it was last night. Which is better? I don't know.

I'm just grateful that she's okay. On the short drive to the hospital, she was crying, and the sweet little girl asked, "Will you pray for me?" Of course - and God answered, no serious injuries, no pain, and peace. She cried very little in the ER. We're trying to make it fun, but if you see her, don't say anything unless she brings it up, she's pretty sensitive about it.

Summer Fun

The kids and I have gotten into the groove of summer fun...

First, and unrelated, check out this awesome and beautiful pie Kendra made for us. She was trying to cheer up Jeremy. How sweet and absolutely delicious!

The kids and I visited the Jumping Party for playgroup - we ran around like crazy!



Also, we got a slip and slide. It's been 20 years, but I can slip and slide too! Don't let those silly WARNING labels fool you - you CAN slip and slide if you are over 100 lbs and 5 feet. Not for adults isn't for real. There are no pictures of me sliding, but here are a few of the kids:




Also, Jer's spots on his face were benign! Yea!

Trying Times

I'm not used to Jeremy and I having a lot of what I would call "drama" in our lives. Yes, we're busy, but everyone around us is busy. I don't like to play the 'yeah, we'll I'm so busy...' game that we all seem to get into, like it's some sort of contest to see who's the busiest because it makes you the most important. Add to that the 'life drama'. I'm perfectly content with my answer, "not much" when people ask what's going on with us. But, this year it's been a big whirlwind of 'life drama.' I'm going to covet some prayers for these two as they pertain mostly to my loving husband.

One of Jer's friends growing up, Curtis, had an accident a week ago. Curtis is one of those guys that just has charisma, he's funny, intelligent, handsome - got everything going for him. Curtis has been Jeremy's friend since Kindergarten, he's been National FFA President, and Student Body President of Texas A&M, they were college roommates. Jeremy and Curtis have had some amazing discussions about God and faith, the best of which was a year ago August. Curtis is one of the reasons Jeremy feels so passionately about doing StoneWater the way we do StoneWater and why he feels such a passion to continue to plant churches. Say a prayer for Curtis' healing (he fell 40 feet on his head) and for Jeremy to know how to reach out and how to deal with this tragedy. Curtis is alive, and has come off the ventilator, which is more than doctors expected, but it's going to be a long road of healing.

Second, if you haven't heard about the double homicide in Granbury, it was just a mile from our home. It's on my usual running path, if that's not creepy enough aside from the murder. We felt like we recognized one of the names, and, sure enough, Jeremy will be doing his first funeral for a murder victim next week. It hurt him as he thinks about her children.

So, basically, just pray for Jeremy.

Gosh, a whole week

I can't believe I've let a whole week go by with no post. In my defense, leaving home at 7:00 and getting home at 6:00 is not an option for my life for the long term! That would KILL me (and my family wouldn't like me, either). For those of you who are wondering, we don't have the pathology back on Jer's spots...we'll let you know when we do.

Otherwise, I'm trying to figure out how to be lazy for the summer and not feel guilty. I need to clean house, organize, throw out stuff, but I want to lay around, play, and do as little as possible. So, while I was in bed this morning after my alarm went off (I had planned a 7:00 rise and get to the flowerbeds option), I felt guilty for laying there and not getting up. I hate being such an OCD perfectionistic type A.

Now, I'm off to take a nap with Jenna. I'm sure I'll lay there feeling guilty for something (like not reading, studying, or playing with photography stuff - and that's all the stuff I WANT to do - so why do I feel GUILTY for not doing THAT?). Someone slap me.

Jer had his face cut off...

Jer had two 'spots' on his face removed. We laughed about him 'having his face cut off' today. In and out in approximately 20 minutes. Less than a 1% chance it is anything serious, but a friend of his told him about a 19 year old we know that just got her results of stage 4 melanoma back...he didn't know about 'the procedure' today. We'll be at least a little nervous until the results come back, but we know God has a plan.

In other news, we had pie #2 from Cindy this week...beautiful. And, it tastes as beautiful as it looks. I've had to commence my workout schedule again!

Finally, I'm leaving at 7:00am and returning at 6:00pm each day this week for the Advanced Placement Summer Institute at TCU. It's good stuff, but they're long days full of lots of thinking & sitting. Ug. But, Monday begins official summer vacation for me - no more school commitments until August 10 or 15 or something - I don't even know!

Captain & Mrs. Fulton

Here's my baby brother & his wife, Ashley. We had a terrific weekend of wedding with the family. I LOVE seeing Michael so happy - Ashley, you're an answer to prayers and a dream come true.





We also had the flower girl & ring bearer:


This one is Jen dancing with her daddy. They were quite the entertainment while pictures were going on outside.

Cardboard Testimonies

You have to take the 8 minutes to watch this. Really, you do. Then, I challenge you to think about what yours would be.

If...

As we departed for San Diego last week, Hudson was very into directions. Jeremy & I joke that one of Jer's spiritual gifts is the gift of direction because he always knows which was is north (as opposed to me - whichever way I'm heading, that's north to me). I tell him that he could take me on a trip, leave me on the side of the road, and I'd be lost forever! Not Jer.

Anyway, H kept asking and Jer kept pointing West. So, when the plane took off, H asked, "Daddy, which way is San Diego?" Jeremy pointed behind us. You could hear the wheels turning..."If San Diego is that way, why are going this way?" We laughed - pretty logical for a 3 year old.

And, here's a view from the plane. I was experiementing with my manual skills on my camera, which was a lot of fun!

Be ready, I took 534 images on our trip. I'll try not to bore you with all of them at once (or the ones that are frightfully over or underexposed)!

Dr. Heizer

All I have to say is "THANK YOU" Dr. Jonathan Heizer!

16 years ago I broke off my front tooth in Missouri while doing a back handspring in a swimming pool on the way home from a national twirling contest. Yesterday, while flossing right before our flight home from San Diego, I heard a ding in the sink. It was my tooth. They always said at one point the bonding would loosen and I would have to have it redone. They were correct. I avoided speaking to anyone on the plane. Jer nicknamed me "Hillbilly Misti" (no offense to anyone). Today I am fixed. Jonathan ROCKS! He's my new dentist, by the way.

Beautiful San Diego

If you're wondering where I've been on the blog updates, you probably don't know us. School did a frantic finish and with confirmation of the job share, came the moving of the classroom. That was finished with graduation, taking the final test for the NBPTS in Bedford, and then packing & flying out to San Diego. San Diego is beautiful. We have had a great time hanging out with Joey, Lisa, Caden, Carson, & Corban. Here's just one picture we took. There will be more to come.

Job Share OFFICIAL!!!

We've been unofficially official for a month + now, but official word has been slow on coming. I was moving stuff this week when my dept head told me, "I don't know when we'll find out." I knew it wasn't as official as I had been told, but that kind of set me back a little. That was Wednesday, and Marsha (principal) also told me that day that she was meeting with the slow moving one the next day - Thursday. So, when I saw her in the workroom Friday morning and she didn't say anything, my stomach dropped a little. Marsha always greets, always encourages, but nothing. I was really okay with it - moving it all to storage was my biggest concern.

At 9:12, I got this message:

I just received a call to inform me that the English Job-Share proposal for next year has been approved!

ARRGH!

Marsha

I couldn't help but squeal with delight and jump up & down (with a room full of 22 Advanced Placement Juniors who were busy playing their games designed for The Great Gatsby). One minute later, Jana, dpt chair, came in squealing, too. It was contagious (and disruptive to the whole hall which was taking finals). We are all so excited! I have a job! I have the flexibility to be with my family! I know there will be trials and setbacks and frustrations, but I am so ready to do this. This morning I saw the curriculum coordinator for English and we spoke a little. She's excited, too! It makes me feel valued, it makes me feel like I'm making a difference (hopefully this will catch on for other teachers, too), it makes me feel like I can truly put my family first. Praise God!

Pomp and Circumstance

Pre school graduation, and I cried. Subtle tears. Pre school leads to grade school which leads to high school which leads to graduation to college to marriage. Yes, that's out of control. I'll cry at GHS graduation on Tuesday night, too. It's something that just starts with that march.

Jenna's preschool graduation was tonight. We got her all dolled up - dress, curled the hair, make up (but not so that you could really see it). As we were getting ready, she asked me who was coming. When I told her both Nana & Pawpaw White and Nina & Pawpaw Fulton, she got a very sweet smile and said, "I must be pretty special." Yes, honey, you are, deep sigh as I quickly reflect on infancy all the way to now. I can be so emotional.

Pastor Austin, of Our Savior Lutheran, home of Cross Town Preschool, spoke to Jeremy afterward. He said he sure is going to miss Jenna. "Jenna knows all the answers. Sometimes I have to tell her not to answer, and then if no one else can answer, I look at her, and she answers. She always says, 'My dad taught me that.'" That's our girl! Her dad is awesome at teaching her about God and the Bible.
her diploma
Look, a picture with me! Nevermind she's looking elsewhere.
Since she couldn't have cake, they made her and H special Jello.
We're saving this one for when she's off to A&M and for her TAMU '25 graduation.
The whole crew.
Pawpaw & Nana White
Pawpaw & Nina Fulton
Jen & Miss Erin, her teacher