Adventures of the Supersized 6

Yeah, I know.
I'm so fired as a blogger. (what else is new?)

So, here is the update. I will try to do better this summer. (Don't hold your breath)


Spring semester is done. I got to check my grades and I got a 4.0 Go Me! (Shameless plug) As you can see by my frequency on the blog, it was a rough semester. The kids are done for the year as well. Jake got along pretty well, and he is glad to have summer here now. He has plans for camping adventures with cub scouts, so that will help keep him busy. Madie had a great year, and is sad to see it end. She loves the challenge of school. Yet I find she is sleeping in till 10am and floating in the pool the rest of the day, so she didn't take it too hard. Noah is getting into the routine of summer and having a full house all day. He was recently diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, which is a high functioning Autism. We are working on some different therapy approaches over the summer to get him ready for first grade. He is doing very well with the changes. Miss Annika is now letting every know she is a 2 year old. She is independent and fiesty. She is so much fun. She is talking all of the time and on her journey of discovery. Aaron is busy with the youth gig. We have attended 2 conferences with the group and he is leading them in youth group every Sunday morning and evening. They are growing by leaps and bounds, both in number and most importantly in faith. We are taking the group to the Spirit Song Festival in July. It should be fun for all!

We just got back last night from a 3 1/2 day trip to our old stomping grounds in Illinois. Chicago looks as good as I remembered. We found comfort in the traffic, and were not surprised to see that the tolls were now $.80!! When we first moved there some 9 years ago it was only $.20. Inflation. And we found the right season, construction. We had to exit in a familar area for a pit stop. We found re remembered our way around and got to see some old sights and the new growth all around. We enjoyed the generosity of our good friends, the Markwicks. They not only opened their home to our family, but their hearts as well. We were able to catch up with our former church family. It was good to see all the kids and how they have grown. We loved the surprised expression of everyone when we arrived. Aaron and I know that we are truly blessed to have such an amazing extended family in Christ. A huge thank you to all who invited us over, fed us, and shared amazing fellowship with us! We love you all! We enjoyed meeting new blessings. All these babies were so adorable and will no doubt be little people the next time we meet them. We witnessed the most beautiful wedding I have ever been honored to attend. Jen and Keith will no doubt bless the Lord with their gifts, talents and service.
With only a few days to spend, we did miss out seeing some friends we had hoped to visit with. This only gives us opportunity to return.
Aaron and I truly love Northern Illinois and it will always have a place in my heart. Yet we are serving the lord in Ohio, and so we returned. It was great to come home to messages on the machine from our new extended family here in Ohio, and to missed by our family and yes, even our pets. God may call us back to Illinois, or he may keep us right here. But how blessed to know that at either place we are loved, and truly blessed.

On with Summer!!!
We can be found floating in the pool. Stop by if you are in the Cincinnati area! Our doors are always open!!

Be Blessed!!


TLM

So I watched this movie with Jennifer Garner, "13 going on 30". It is a cute movie about a girl who on her 13th birthday has a joke played on her by the "cool" kids and hurts her best friends (his name is Matt) feelings. While in a closet she says she wishes she were "30, flirty, and successful" which is an article she read in her mom's magazine. She wakes fast forwarding the last 17 years and she is now 30, flirty and successful. Her "best friend" is one of the "cool" girls. Trying to make sense of it all she trackes down Matt to fill in the blank. When she realizes that since she was 13 her life to a twist to be every thing she wanted. She was "cool" and had it all, except Matt. They stopped being friends and he was getting ready to marry another girl. She soon realizes that it cost her family, her best friend Matt, and most of all her self in the process. She doesn't like the person she had, or I guess could become. In the end she realizes that being 30, flirty and succesful stinks if you don't like yourself, and she loved Matt because he was the same as he was at 13. She makes a wish the same way she did to become 30 and she is back to herself at 13 (in 1987 to which I loved!) and she does things the right way and.... well as they say, lived hapily ever after.

I watched this movie the same evening I had talked with a good friend I had in High School. We were talking about "old times" and about the things we did, and who we knew those many moons ago. I had little desire to go to my reunion at either high school I attended, even though I was curious to see how some people turned out. My friend said she couldn't stomach it, after less than an hour she left. Could it be that bad? She said she heard people talking about myspace and blogs. So we decided to attend our own reunion in our own way, myspace. There is a feature that allows you to see members listed by the school they attended, and even the year they graduated. So we set out to check up on those we were the most curious about. After seeing what all the girls we knew were up to, we set out to check up on the old flames. What did we see in them? It turned out to be a loaded question. I ended up feeling a mix of emotions. It had been a while since I had seen those faces, and had heard the stories. "Remeber that one time..." is never a good start to a story from my younger days. I felt disbelief that I was actually that person. Did I do those things? Say those things? Be those things? How could I have liked myself back then? How did others like me? I was ashamed of myself, embarassed that I really didn't remember who I was until it was back in my face.

To be honest it is all a blur to me. It felt like a Tarantino movie. I was trying to piece together the clips in my head of how I got to where I am today. I remember bits and pieces of my actions, and my words, I remember times with my friends and my relationships. What did I see in those guys? I started to think of the person I would have been had I stayed in a particular relationship. Each one had a very bad scenario. One of those guys is now the owner of a well lets just say an establishment that caters to the male population. How could I have been involved with someone who would become that person? After I chronologically put back the pieces I had left in my memory I came to where I am today.

I don't know why my husband was drawn to me, I was a horrible person when he met me. But I was drawn to him in a fierce way, the Holy Spirit drew us together. Against all odds we have made it work. I think we work better than any other couple I have seen. We have both grown into these people who are so vastly different than those two people who met 10+ years ago. The journey to bo who I am now was rough, and equally as painful to remember. But the destination has been so worth it. What is even cooler is that my journey is not over. There is always room for improvement, and my faith, and the spirit will work on that. I am like an "Extreme Make Over: Life Edition". I think I can be ashamed of who I was, and for my actions and choices. But to say that I would go back and change it, or that it hasn't impacted who I am today is wrong. Each mis-step was a lesson into what I was going to avoid the next day.

I know now more than ever that I am heading in the right direction, it is OK to be ashamed of the me-past, like the me-now, and to strive to make the me-tomorrow better. I am married to the most amazing man, and we were drawn to each other for a reason. Marriage isn't all that much work if it is done right! Now that I am "30, (not so) flirty, and successful (in the ways that are important)" I would not want to go back to be that 13 year old to change things. I might whisper in her ear to go to youth group more, and to hang on, she'll eventually get it right!


TLM

Wow, it is nearly April 1st. Scary.

So lets see what is going on now.

School-
My Spring semester started yesterday and I can see that it is going to require much attention. I am going to work on my re-reqs to apply for the RT program, and if I am on the list when fall starts then I will fall back on the Medical Assisting program. But I will have both pans in the fire. So far all my instructors seem amazing and I don't anticipate any real problems.

Home-
We re-fied the house and we are saving ourselves a small sack of gold every month now. It is a huge relief for both Aaron and I. Adjustable mortgages are EVIL! We have been getting some things done around the house and I hope to see not one but now 2 potties in our house by summer. Wouldn't that be lovely!? Spring is here and it is hot! It is helping the flowers right along. We have some daffodils coming up and Aaron has been busy in the yard getting things looking green, and pretty.

Kids-
Jake is doing great! He got a great report card and he is enjoying cub scouts. He just got promoted and is looking forward to all the summer activities and being at camp "all summer". It is two weeks but it sounds like forever.
Madie is doing amazing as well. Madie is earning badges like mad in her American Heritage Girls troop and she is looking forward to summer activities also. Madie got a stupendous report card and reads ALL of the time.
Noah is enjoying kindergarten and got a great report from his teacher. He is all ready to go to first grade. Noah is enjoying the weather and bugging us about the pool daily.
Annika just turned 2!! I know crazy right!? She is into coloring and then eating the crayon when she done. She also loves ponies and babies. We are lucky she doesn't want to eat them too.

Church-
Aaron and I are busy with Church stuff as well. We took a group of 10 (including us) to Muncie Indiana for a conference called "Acquire the Fire". It was an amazing weekend and I think that all there got alot out of the message. I came home looking at everything that my kids come in contact with and I questioned what kind of influence it may have on them. What is influencing your kids? Your home? Your life?
We have lots of fun things planned for Easter and for the summer for both the children's and the youth ministries.

Well I guess I should get some homework done.
Enjoy the weather if it is as nice where you are as it is where I am.

TLM