changes

Changes....life is full of them, and we have to just roll with the punches. There are some changes coming to our house in the coming weeks, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about them as they are not the ones I was expecting.

Me: I didn't get a job even though I surely thought I would. Makes me sad, really, but I know that God knows best. So, I will be coordinating the sacks of love for our little part of the county hoping that will make a difference in the lives of some kiddos who need it. I hope to be facilitating a Bible study for minister's wives. I plan to sub (no, not my favorite thing to do) but it will at least give me SOMETHING productive to do. AND I'm taking two classes in the Fall.

Steve: He will carry on as usual although he is now an official blogger for Thomas Nelson Publishing. He also hopes to possibly do some teaching at the local technical school in his favorite subject: Religion. He is also going to be giving up his baby girl--well, I guess we both are--that will be different for him.

Luke: He's about to start back to school--8th grade--big man on campus. Whoo-Hoo He plans to try out for the wrestling team, do jazz band again, and his band teacher has several other activities planned for him as he is very advanced (in his class) on his saxophone. So, really, he's just growing up........hard to swallow for the momma!

Stevie: I guess the biggest changes are for her and those affect us all. College--finally decided on a program and a place. Trident Technical College in Charleston. She will be working towards an Associates degree in Film Production which will then allow her to transfer to The Art Institute of Charleston to finish her Bachelors if that is what she chooses to do after two years. She will be moving and living alone (at least at first) which is soooooooooooooo scary for me!

I will probably spend half my time visiting her in Charleston (I love that place anyway!) and the other half worrying about her. I'm trying to remember the verse--"Be anxious for nothing" but when you watch a child walk away who you have nurtured and fought for all through her life, it's hard. She's always walked to the beat of her own drummer, and she's doing that again. I just want to be in step so as not to lose her!

Changes........they can be wonderful, scary, and empowering all at the same time..........but above all of that, they are necessary.

my sister's keeper-part 2-ending spoiler

So, I stayed up and finished reading this one last night. It produced in me a myriad of emotions. I was furious with the ending. While there were several passages that moved me, the book as a whole proved to be a huge disappointment. I imagined myself with tissues by my side crying through the last several chapters, feeling the pain felt by the characters, and knowing that it was all worth it in the end.....knowing that, if in their shoes, I would have done the same things.

This was not the case. I didn't cry, I didn't feel their pain--what I actually felt was that her parents got what they deserved. Used up, poor Anna never got to really live and her mother got exactly what she had wanted all along. I guess my sense of fairness was offended. I always root for the underdog, and this time......THIS TIME.....the underdog lost.

AND, what parent--in his right mind--does not get their arsonist son some help? Again, the unfairness of it all. He just turned over a new leaf and became a hero instead of a goat? His character I did feel sorry for......I saw what could have been...had God not intervened in the life of the one I love.

So, all in all, to me......This. Book. Stunk.

my sister's keeper

So, I've started reading My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I am normally a fast reader, but this book is taking me a while to get through. The story kinda makes me mad, and it makes me ask questions of myself that I can't answer.

To what lengths would I go to save my child?

Would I desert the other children I have to focus on the sick one?

Could I, morally, fashion a child who is in essence made for the sole purpose of providing body parts for another?

I actually have had to put the book down several times because the mom in the book just grates on my nerves. I'm glad that I don't have to answer those questions. I've seen, first hand, the impact it has on a child to be the forgotten one when siblings are lost. It hurts, and leaves chaos in its wake. It fractures the one unit that should be steady and good and whole.

I thought I wanted to see the movie, now I'm not so sure. Have you read this one or seen the movie? How did it affect you?

grateful and praying...............

I'm grateful tonight for the health of my own sweet children, but praying for one whom I've never met.....................will you pray too for Stellan today?

You can visit his momma's blog at www.mycharmingkids.net

ugh

The acceleration

of Stevie's education

and subsequent graduation

has left behind some feelings of

anticipation,

trepidation,

and frustration.

Parent participation

in moderation

is an expectation,

but exasperation

is the prediction

from this mom

during this experimentation

into adultification (i know, that's a george w. word!).

UGH!!!!!!!

recipes

I'm taking a break from my NY posts....although I still have some things to say.

I thought I would share a favorite recipe that Steve makes for us from time to time in the hopes that you will also leave a recipe. We get tired of eating the same old things, and I thought that if you have that same problem, this might help all of us out. So here goes.....

Chicken Fajita dip:

2 or 3 chicken breasts
1 bag Blue Bird frozen peppers and onions
1 envelope of fajita powder
1/2 c. mayo
1 c. sour cream
1 small can of mexi-corn

Cook the chicken (we cook ours in the crock pot so that it is tender) and then shred and brown with fajita powder.
add vegetables and simmer until tender
mix veggies and chicken with sour cream and mayo and put into a casserole dish
bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes
sprinkle with shredded cheese if you want
serve with tortilla chips

Enjoy!! Please leave your favorite recipe for the Leigh family to enjoy.

more pics

I think blogger hates me. I can never get these pics positioned the way I want them! Here's Julie enjoying the view from our room; our first look at the BIG city from the bus; a Broadway sign--because if I am going to go, that's where I want to be!

Here we are after arrival in our room.

The M&M store--this is the pic my kids love the most! I can't wait to take them there.