Halloweens past

Halloween doesn't amount to much in our neighborhood. We used to have a few children come by for candy, but now all the local churches have big parties for the kids. So I buy candy (chocolate) just in case anyone comes, then eat the leftovers myself :-)

I decided to post some photos of Halloweens past to remind myself of my cute little kids who aren't little anymore. (I'll be lucky if I see more than one of them for Christmas, let alone Thanksgiving or Halloween.)

First we have scary Halloween (well, maybe not that scary):

Next, we have Bible Halloween (Pharoah, church mouse, and Moses):

Last, we have Pacific Islands Halloween (I carried R. in that laplap as a newborn):

Farewell, blue car

As soon as D. left home, we decided to get rid of the blue car. We had a family from church that was in need so we gave it to them. They, unlike us, are a family that knows how to fix cars, so when the blue car would hiccup, they knew what to do. Just last Sunday we were walking across the church parking lot and R. said, "Oh look, there's our car!" To which we said, "Yes, that actually is our car. Or was our car. Yay, it is still working well enough that they drove it to church." Sadly, when their teenage daughter was driving home from church Sunday night (in the rain), she hit another car and wrecked it. Only minor human injuries, but it is doubtful if the blue car will be drivable again.

When R. gets her own car, we'd like to find one that has as good of visibility as this blue car (a 1989 Plymouth Reliant K). We had to put a block on the accelerator so her short legs could reach, but it was an easy car to look out of and get a good view.

test #3

did this go by email to G&G?

Nice weekend with R.

R. had her short fall break on Friday. She managed to get a ride to Red Oak on Thursday night which took longer than advertised, so it was 11pm by the time we got home from picking her up there. She was able to talk to Stan and Betty for a while, and then they left the next morning after spending the week with us.

G.'s colleagues from Enterprise Architecture were here Wednesday - Friday, so I ordered pizza on Thursday noon to feed them and us and Stan and Betty. I got extra so we have some leftovers in the freezer. They took us out to eat on Thursday night at Spring Creek BBQ, so I've been well fed this week.

I took Friday off work to be with R. and to help her with a few school projects. She has two big projects due near the same time she will attempt to take the 3rd and final teacher certification test in November. I helped her by typing bibliography entries and doing photocopying and taking her to the library and stuff like that. It also helps if she reads confusing assignment instructions out loud to me and then we discuss what it means. She has always benefited from reading things out loud and/or discussing what things mean. She has a harder time simply reading something and fully understanding it.

Right after lunch on Friday I took her to get her hair cut, and it cost $5. My neighbor told me later about her daughter getting her hair "done" for $140! Of course, that included coloring it, but I was shocked. I had no idea it cost that much to go to a hairdresser. (Shows that I just take a pair of sissors to my hair, and maybe ask D. to help if he is home.) After her haircut we went and voted at the Dville library, then we did one of her school assignments (finding children's books about insects), then a quick trip to the fruit and veggie store and the bank and then home. By then she needed a nap. We had planned to go to the HS football game, but the weather didn't cooperate, so we did more hw instead.

On Saturday it was more hw, then an unsuccessful shoe shopping trip, then G. wanted to take us to Amaya's, an authentic Mexican restaurant in Lancaster. Immediately after that it was off to Cedar Valley college for their production of Annie. It was fun, more so because we know several of the cast members from church.

Today we skipped SS because it was actually canceled in lieu of a church meeting to discuss a new possible pastor. Then after church we did our usual Taco Bueno trip before driving R. back to Red Oak to get her ride back to school.

In other news, A. sent email saying he would be in Kenya this week at a Food Security conference. That is the new term for feeding the hungry. His friend, L., may be coming to visit us, which we are looking forward to.

D. phoned and left a message while we were out last night. I just phoned him back but he said he would call us back later. Right now he found a Steinway to practice on so he wanted to play until someone kicks him out (of the President's chapel at the National Presby church). He says they don't usually lock the place.

G. will be busy with the Ethnologue again this week. When will it finally get finished??

News from A.

We spoke wtih A. on the phone today. He is doing well. He got back safely from Germany, and he's off to Kenya on Saturday for a week. He says I should soon be receiving a CD of photos from him, so I'm looking forward to that. In the meantime, here is one he sent by email:

Two posts in one day

D. called today. He got up and went to early church, then to an ultimate frisbee league game at 11am, then grocery shopping. He called me while he was in the checkout line. Yesterday he went to an art museum at the Smithsonian and then to an organ concert. He's getting all cultured there in the big city.

We had a little success last Thursday. G.'s thick, thick reading glasses have been in horrible shape for a long time, held together with safety pins and old bows from R.'s glasses. We finally, after various attempts, found an optitican who was able to take the lenses and fit them into a pair of plastic frames by heating the frames and stretching them just a tad. Hooray--"new" glasses for only $139 (and that was with $50 off).

Update

I spent Thursday and Friday and half of Saturday with R. at her school. The weather was pretty, but we spent most of the time inside. I helped her find a few more references for her big Literacy paper due at the end of the semester. Got home after dark last night.

Stan and Betty are here visiting for a week. They've been here many times, so they don't really need me here to be hostess. Always good to see them.

My brother has had a second mild stroke and is in the hospital. I guess this happened Wednesday and he didn't even get help until Friday. sigh.

Today at church there is a dinner followed by a special hymn-sing or something. The church is celebrating 70 years. G. went early but I'm going later with Stan and Betty.

Yay for David

D. is having a very good day. First he got his MCAT scores (the medical school test) and he did very well, 97th percentile. So now he waits to be asked to come interview at the med schools he has applied at. He's trying for an MD/Ph.D program, but they are very competitive.

Then he also got his first pay check from National Institutes for Health. FINALLY!! He's been working for 6 weeks, and this is the first paycheck. Too bad he owes so much of it to us!

A. called D. today, since he wanted to know what his scores were. A. flies to Germany tomorrow. Keep praying for him.

Travels

G. is in Colorado Springs for just a couple days. He is meeting with the Forum of Bible Agencies CEOs to give them advice/consultation on their technical issues. He just called and said he was doing well, on his way out to dinner.

R. had a busy weekend with a short spiritual retreat on Friday night, then spent Sunday with her former roommate, going to her old church. I hope she had time to do a little homework too. She has turned in the paperwork to take the 3rd of 3 standardized tests on November 20. If she fails, she can take it again in February.

We haven't heard from D. this weekend. He should be getting paid finally!

A. flies to Germany on Wednesday for a few days, an important few days in his personal life. Be in prayer for him.

Yesterday I bought two pairs of shoes, then today I took one pair back and exchanged them for a different pair.

Not much else for news. Stan and Betty are arriving on Friday to spend a week with us. Always fun to have them here, with the sense of humor they bring.

Update

Yesterday Gary came home from work early in the afternoon. He said they had closed the Center because of a lightning strike nearby which blew out a transformer. Don't know if they got if fixed yet, but I'll find out soon.

We got a nice phone call from D. on Saturday. He seemed happy. One reason he was happy was that he finally had a little money in his pocket. Someone from the Dept. of Health and Human Services knocked on his door and gave him $30 cash for taking a survey. I asked him what kind of survey. He said, "Oh, one where they ask questions like, 'Have you used cocaine in the last 30 days?'" He called us while walking to Starbucks to go drink coffee and read a book. He was probably there to look for cute girls too. You know that he and St. are no longer dating? That didn't last long. I guess she wasn't quite over her former bf <--that's how you say 'boyfriend' if you're into the nothings.

Latest email from A. said his episode with diarrhea lasted 36 hours, but he is feeling better now. It is possible that SP will get a huge grant from USAID for Africa, and if the last round of negotiations don't change, 2.5 million could go to Ethiopia. Doesn't he seem too young to be handling that much $$?!

R. had not such a great weekend because she wasn't feeling well, but when I talked to her last night she sounded lots better and more cheerful. I filled out the form and got the money order in preparation to register her for the last of the three standardized tests that she has to pass to get her Oklahoma teacher certification. This last one cost twice as much, so it would be nice if she passes it the first time. She will take it in November and then again in February if she fails the first time. She loves singing in the choir. Too bad they only rehearse once a week because she finds that fun and relaxing.

G. is still trying to finish the Ethnologue. It is very close. But he's been saying that for two weeks. He goes to Colorado Springs on Sunday afternoon, but it will be just a short trip, coming back on Tuesday.

We have had a lot of rain the last few days, but we needed it.

It's Saturday

It is the end of another week. The Ethnologue still isn't quite done, but it is still "almost" done.

R. isn't feeling well, but hopefully she will get better soon.

I haven't heard much from D. this week.

This morning I got email from A. saying that he was feeling better after 36 hours of diarrhea and vomiting. He thinks his project in Ethiopia will be getting a sizable amount of funding from USAID. He also sent an article about how the protesting he did at Harvard last year about the loan repayment program has paid off with a $10 million grant.

It finally got cool here last night. We had a big rain, which we were needing, but the folks at Homecoming probably wished it had waited a while. Today G. is weeding his flower garden since the ground is now soft. The rain brought all the fire ants to the surface too--new mounds all over the place.

I went to church workday this morning for about 3 hours. Mostly cleaned up rat and cockroach droppings.