Traveling - Evening Church

Dad had a couple new families to do membership class with on Sunday
night, so we went back over to the church. Each of the families had a
set of twins that mom and I would watch along with Ian. One of the boys
introduced himself and his brother. Then a little later when the girls
warmed up to being there with a new person, the one said we are twins
you know. And I said oh really, she said yes, we were born on the same
day. It was very obvious that each set was twins, fortunately one boy
had jeans and the other had army pants, and the girls had their hair
done differently. All four were impressed when I remembered their names
and attached them to the right child.
The five kids were very wound up, so we let them run a bit in the Sunday
school room, and then they painted and did some mazes. Mom and I were
impressed when we got all five of them to sit and watch a 20 minute
movie.
After they left, we walked back across the parking lot to the house and
Ian was very wound up, jumping and tumbling on the lawn in the cold.
Then we went inside and he ran laps around their kitchen, dining room,
hallway and living room. After a few minutes, I looked at mom and dad,
shook my head and said man am I glad he isn't twins. They just laughed.

TTFN
Pamela Lynn

Traveling - Shoe Shopping

Ian needed new shoes. So while we were within 30 minutes of two
different outlet malls what better time to go shopping for his new
shoes. None of his shoes at home fit him. He hadn't told us, he never
has. We only find out when we start seeing blisters on his feet.
We went to the Hagerstown outlets. So we had to go over the mountain.
I'm not sure what mountain but it's pretty big and a very winding road.
Ian loves it, says it's peaceful looking and loves to watch for deer. On
the downside of the mountain we could see another mountain in front of
us and there were 3 sections of snow for a ski resort. Ian wanted to
know if that was where Oma had gone skiing since she had just gone the
weekend before and I had to tell him no that it was not because she went
to one closer to her house.
At the outlets we went to Stride Rite because they have a good variety
of sizes and usually carry the wide width kids shoes. I had the girl
measure Ian's feet to be sure we got the correct size. His feet had
grown two sizes. Poor guy, I felt awful. So we bought 4 pairs of shoes,
two in this size and two in a size up. They were buy one get one half
off and I had a 10% coupon so we only spent 80 dollars for all four
pairs; not bad at all.
Ian did not like the ride home back over the mountain as much because he
was on the creek side so there was a pretty big drop off on that side of
the road.
Once we were back in Thurmont we stopped at Burger King again so he
could have a snack and play on the slides.

TTFN
Pamela Lynn

Traveling - Church

My father-in-law is a pastor, which was actually what moved them to the
area. Grandma teaches one of the younger classes and wanted to know if I
thought Ian would go with her or his friend Ethan. I said he would
probably want to stick with her since he was such a Grandma's boy and
she thought he would go with Ethan.
Then she asked why he was so worried about seeing her. So I told her
truthfully it was because he was worried about her from her last
hospital stay. She went in because her pancreas was acting up. Then she
tried to eat solid foods too soon and ended up there for an extra week.
Well Ian had overheard a conversation between Jeffrey and I that it
wasn't good and that she should basically know better than to push
herself. She said she just wanted to go home. So I told her I realized
that and that I was sorry and didn't mean to sound mean but she needed
to take care of herself, better to wait a day and stay in the hospital
then push it and risk dieing. She really hadn't looked at it that way
although she knows death is a possibility all she could think about was
going home. We hugged and I reminded her how much we all love her and
want to see her better. She said she would try to remember this
situation next time because she doesn't want to have Ian so worried
about her. All I could say was thank you. I'm so glad I have a good
relationship with my mother in law.
Church service was very nice, the first Sunday in Lent so there was a
long liturgy and communion too. But Dad's prayers weren't as long as
usual and his sermon was only 3 pages long. Dad was very happy that I
accepted communion. It's been 10 years of marriage and I hadn't done
that. He asked last time why and I said that it was because I felt
awkward since I wasn't a member there. He told me that as long as I
believe I should accept it. So I did and it put a smile on his face.

TTFN
Pamela Lynn

Traveling - The Park

Ian loves to go to the park when we visit his grandparents. The have
several very nice ones in Thurmont. There is the one downtown by Cozy (a
restaurant, shop and hotel), Loys Station (near a beautiful covered
bridge) and now Grandma wanted to bring us to the new one on Rt 15 at
the renovated rest area and information center.
I have to tell you though that for the life of me I couldn't figure why
there would be an info center there, I mean we were already an hour into
MD at that point on Rt 15. It dawned on me why when we did a u-turn to
get on the other side onto 15S. Where my in-laws live they are only 20
minutes from the PA border near Gettysburg. Silly me, it's the new
information center/rest area is for the people traveling south bound.
When we got there though, the park was roped off with caution tape
because it wasn't complete. Ian was very disappointed but we told him it
would probably be ready by the summertime when he visits. So we asked
where he'd like to go. His choice was Burger King; that way he could
have a snack and play on the slides outside. OK, whatever makes him
happy and he had a blast because he had the whole thing to himself.

TTFN
Pamela Lynn

Traveling - Pancakes

Mostly I'm putting this because I want to remember the brand of pancakes
my mother in law used. We both felt for sure we wouldn't remember so now
I'll have this to look back at. When we got to the house it was
lunchtime. Grandma and Grandpa wanted to have eggs and pancakes for
lunch which was fine by Ian and I because neither of us had been hungry
for breakfast before we hit the road. Mom tried a new (to her) brand of
pancake mix, it was Hungry Jack Buttermilk. They were awesome; the
batter was very airy and created wonderful pancakes. I'm definitely
going to have to switch to this brand.

TTFN
Pamela Lynn

Traveling - The Ride

The ride there was great, no traffic, not a lot of trucks (which I'm
deathly afraid of) and good weather. There was however a lot of cops. I
counted 20 cop cars and that was just the ones I could see, I'm sure
there were more. It didn't dawn on me until about halfway through the
trip why there were so many - spring break. I don't know about other
schools but several big schools here started spring break last weekend.
Even still I made good time the 238 mile trip only took 3.5 hours. Not
bad.
Ian asked every 30 minutes if we were there yet. It was cool because
he's starting to recognize landmarks on the trip to Grandma's (Busch
Gardens, King's Dominion, Cracker Barrel in Fredericksburg, The big
bridges and construction near DC, the "cool" buildings on I-270 and
Mountain Gate restaurant). So he knew when were getting closer but
didn't actually understand that was 30 minutes between each of those
things. Thank goodness for the portable DVD player. He watched two
movies on the way Star Wars Episode 2 and Sky High. It's weird though
listening to a movie while driving.

TTFN
Pamela Lynn

Traveling - The Talk

When we are in the car, Ian likes to play with my work badges, they are
on a pulley type string that winds back in when you let go plus he
thinks it is just cool that I have badges to get into my work. The one
badge is older (7 years) and he asks when it was taken because he
doesn't remember my hair like that. I told him it was taken while I was
pregnant with him and that for some reason that had made my hair curly.
Ian asks "What's pregnant mean?" I honestly though he knew that it meant
a baby was in a mommy's tummy but OK so I said it just meant it was
while he was in my tummy getting ready to be born. Ian asks "What's born
mean?" So I said it was when God decides you were ready to come out and
mommy went to the hospital so the doctor could help. He asks "How does
the doctor help?" (Ian has a look on his face like I'm nuts.) Well I
said; when the mommy is ready the doctor helps by guiding the baby out.
Ian asks "How can he guide the baby out when there is no hole?" Well
without going into any details I just said that there is a hole made
just for babies to be made and be born. He says OK like that explained
it all. Somehow I have a feeling he thinks that "hole" is my belly
button. I'm so not looking forward to the real version of this talk; I
don't like talking about my own body parts to my doctor never mind my
only son. I think that will have to be a conversation him and his Daddy
have.

TTFN
Pamela Lynn

Traveling - Not Fair

When I picked Ian up from school on Friday, I asked if he wanted to know
what his surprise was. Of course he said yes. So I told him that we were
going to see his Grandma and Grandpa, just the two of us. Not Daddy? I
knew this was coming and had already decided that if he was going to be
that upset about it we just wouldn't go and I told him so. No, no I want
to go to Grandma's was the reply I got to that one. But he says it
wasn't fair. I asked what wasn't fair. Ian said it isn't fair that you
and I get to go for fun at Grandma's and Daddy has to stay home and
clean. I asked him what makes you think that Daddy would have to be
cleaning and he just shrugged. So I told him that Daddy was staying home
for two reasons, one was because Daddy had work on Monday so we wouldn't
be able to stay as long if he came and because Daddy had a lot of school
work. Then he was a little better but wanted to leave right then for the
trip. I told him that we would leave first thing the next morning.
TTFN
Pamela Lynn

Tools Of Life

Sometimes, we just need to remember what the rules of life really are:
You only need two tools: WD-40 and Duct Tape.
If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40.
If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

Have A Good Weekend

Just wanted to wish everyone a good weekend.
I'm heading out early tomorrow to go visit my in-laws with Ian. He wants to see his Grandma. I'm so glad they get along and love each other so much. And as for relationships with the in-laws, I'm a pretty lucky person! They treat me like their own daughter, we have a wonderful relationship. Very cool.
I'll post on Monday to let you know how the weekend went.
TTFN
Pamela Lynn

What Font Are You?

Fixedsys - You are the person people go to when

they are having trouble with their computer.

Geeky but reliable.


What Font Are You? (Standard Fonts)
brought to you by Quizilla

Christian Ways To Reduce Stress

An Angel says, "Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice."

1. Pray

2. Go to bed on time.

3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.

4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.

5. Delegate tasks to capable others.

6. Simplify and unclutter your life.

7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)

8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.

9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.

10. Take one day at a time.

11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.

12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.

13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.

14. K.M.S . (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.

15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.

16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.

17. Get enough rest.

18. Eat right.

19. Get organized so everything has its place.

20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.

21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.

22. Every day, find time to be alone.

23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.

24. Make friends with Godly people.

25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.

26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Jesus."

27. Laugh.

28. Laugh some more!

29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.

30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).

31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).

32. Sit on your ego.

33. Talk less; listen more.

34. Slow down.

35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.

36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

How Open Minded Are You?

You Are 44% Open Minded

You aren't exactly open minded, but you have been known to occasionally change your mind. You're tolerant enough to get along with others who are very different... But you may be quietly judgmental of things or people you think are wrong. You take your own values pretty seriously, and it would take a lot to change them.

How Open Minded Are You?

Back to Work

So it's Friday and after two days home sick I'm back to work. Still not quite a hundred percent though the hot tea is helping, might have to go get more from home at lunchtime.
I came back to 45 emails. Some of them I could immediately trash - like notifications for the commander's call that was yesterday. Some of them, I'm trying to reply to in an orderly fashion. Hopefully I'll get through them all by the end of the day.
Looks like Ian and I will be going to my in-laws this weekend. The weather should be OK. I won't leave until tomorrow morning because I'm pretty sure I'll be exhausted this afternoon after my day back to work.
Hope everyone has a great day.

Home Sick

Hi All. I'm home sick again today. Monday I went to the doctor cause I'd been having sinus problems for two weeks. He put me on an antibiotic and a decongestant for the sinus infection. The Tuesday night my stomach was killing me. Wednesday I stayed in bed because anytime I tried to get up an unbelievable wave of nausea would come over me. Ugh. Couldn't even drink the water that Jeffrey brought me before he left in the morning. Today I'm a little better, I made it downstairs and ate a piece of toast and am drinking a bottle of water.
I have to be better for the weekend. I'm taking Ian to see his grandparents (well mostly he wants his Grandma but we'll see them both).
Oh well that's all for now. Praying this stupid cold will go away.

Last Semester!

Yay for Jeffrey! He started his last semester for his Master's degree
last night. He's been doing an on-line program to get his master's
degree in a year. It's been a long year, especially for him. I don't
know how he does it with work and still spending time with Ian and me. I
think he may want to sleep for a week when he is done in 8 more weeks
and I would gladly let him.

Last night he was telling me that on the first day/week of class the
students all give a brief introduction about themselves. He said this is
a bit redundant because most of the people in his last two classes have
been in classes with him for the whole year. But he said all of them are
ready for this to be done and he for one is ready to be a part of the
family again and go to bed early. I told him I think he's done an
awesome job of not detaching himself from Ian and me. Most night (like
99% of the time) he doesn't even start course work until after Ian goes
to bed. I'm really happy that he has done it this way really proud of
him for going back for his Master's.

TTFN
Pamela Lynn

Monday

Well I wasn't around much over the weekend. I didn't get to watch the Women's Free Skate in the Olympics on Thursday night. Even though I did a great job of not checking the medal count all day on Thursday. I ended up going to bed early with a migraine. Yuck.
Stayed home on Friday too because my head still was throbbing. I slept most of the day and only got up around 4 in the afternoon to take a shower.
Saturday we cleaned house. I'm so thankful to have a husband who doesn't mind helping out with the cleaning. Actually we do pretty good time wise because I do the kitchen and the bathrooms while he does the den/living/dining rooms. Then we work on the laundry and the bedrooms together. All done in about 5 hours time.
Sunday we went out to dinner and saw comedian Ron White with a bunch of friends. It was an awesome time. Dinner was wonderful, though expensive would have been much less without Jeffrey's martinis. The show was hilarious, roll on the floor laughing hysterically.
Ian had a good time with a new sitter. The daughter of a friend of mine from work came over to watch him. They played game cube, had some pizza for dinner, played a board game and played monster trucks for a while. When we got home he was trying to convinc the poor girl to let him watch a movie. Silly us forgot to warn her that he's not one to go right to sleep when you put him in bed. My co-worker said her daughter couldn't get over how sweet Ian was and how much fun they had. And Ian was still talking about her this morning. So I guess we've found a good new sitter.

Olympics

OK, I know I've posted that I love the Olympics. Jeffrey and I even showed Ian how much we love them and now he loves them.
Well today will be the finals of my favorite event, women's figure skating.
I posted on Scrapshare today that I wanted to stay off-line as much as possible today because I'm so tempted to go check out the live coverage of the event.
Well so far I've been good, it will be a little easier once I'm home because I'll have to make dinner, do dishes, give Ian a bath and by that time I can watch it on TV. But I sooooo, want to know what's happening with it. It's very very hard not to go look.
So I'm off to find some busy work, which I don't normally like, but today anything can help to keep me distracted.

Hooray For Ian

Yes, he did it! One day without talking in class!

His reward? He's playing Lego Star Wars before dinner.

Here's hoping he can do it the rest of the week.

P.S. Don't get me wrong, he's a good kid, he really is, he just like to talk and needs to learn when he shouldn't.

How Do Others Perceive You?

The Lively Center of Attention
Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

Not sure how true it is. You'll have to let me know.