This past week

Well, this definitely hasn't been the best week of my life, but not the worst either. It all started Sunday morning when I was getting ready for church. Adam was already at church since he had to work the sound. I was joyful, well as joyful as you can be trying to dodge two cats while brushing your teeth (they like to drink from the sink and rub on me while I get ready...every morning). Then I started to clean my ears..like I do every 3 or 4 days, and have done every 3 or 4 days for the past 24 years when something weird happened. I stuck the q-tip into my right ear and pulled out just an empty stick. I immediately lost hearing in my ear and immediately started to panic. It's not like I slammed the qtip down my ear and forced it around...i just wet it, stuck it in and pulled back out. I called Adam and he told me to use a bobby pin to get it out....BAD IDEA BUDDY. I however listened b/c a)i like to hear and b) i know he is smarter than me. I started digging with the bobby pin but only got blood and wax. So i called him back (with a louder, more panicky voice) and he said ok, pour hydrogen peroxide in your ear and it will moisten the fibers and hopefully come out. Well, that is easier said then done. I would hold a mirror behind my head while pouring in the peroxide, hoping that I would see the qtip rise up to the top of my ear and I could grab it. Wrong again. I ended up drinking a lot of the peroxide and my ear begin to sting b/c it was so scratched up inside. So I vowed not to call Adam again :) and headed to Walgreens....2 seconds away. On the way to Walgreens I was thinking some pretty weird things...like hmmm..at least I have one good ear, maybe we can sue Q-tip and get a lot of money, or well, I have always wanted to learn sign language, but what if Adam's cant?, or this may help my teaching career since I won't be able to hear all of those noisy children. Anyways, the pharmicist there made me buy one of those baby nose syringes thingies and stuck this long flexible tube on the end. Then I laid in her lap (remember i dont know her from adam..haha) for about 20-25 minutes while she pumped this little syringe back and forth and dropped ointment into my ear. She was saying things like " honey, if i dont get this out, you will have to go to the ER, and I've heard of people busting thier ear drums while trying to get these things out". She finally started to get some of the fibers out and then all of a sudden the whole thing came out...i could instantly hear!!!!
Lesson learned- don't use q-tips. I was researching on the internet and there are tons of stories where people get them lodged in thier ear and suffer temporary and in some cases permanent hearing loss. I am going to use a washcloth and whatever I can get with that is going to suffice.

The next day (monday) I woke up and immediately was nautious and my stomach cramped. So i attempted to go to my GA but had to get up and ran out. I spent the entire rest of the day at home, flat on my back. We were hosting bible study at our house that night so I laid upstairs in bed while Adam led bible study downstairs. We thought I had food poisoning....from the church dinner on Sunday night...nothing bad to say about the dinner, it was fantastic, but that is just the first thing we thought off. Tuesday I woke up with ever worse stomach cramps so I went to the doctor. Turns out I have something that starts with a G and ends with itis. Its where my body is flushing out the lining of my intestines...great, who needs that anyways? So I have to take these pills full of bacteria that will latch on and start to rebuild the lining. I also can't drink dairy-which if you know me, you know that is horrible. I have at least 2 cups of milk a day and some yogurt for breakfast. Let me also add that I am lactose intolerant and therefore I crave the thing that hurts me. Oh well, as of today (thursday) I am feeling well, no nausea and my stomach has only cramped a couple of times.

The only other down side of the week has been my cooking. I LOVE TO COOK. Last night I was making a lemon cheesecake and tiramisu for some(3) parties we have this weekend and I had 6 egg whites left over. Being the savvy cook that I am I thought " hmm, i will make macaroons"...so I beat the eggs until they were fluffy ( thanks to my new standing mixer) and then added cocoa, vanilla and some sugar. Well when they came out of the oven they looked beautiful, and then 5 minutes later they had shriveled up and looked gross. Apparently I should have got out my cookbook and added the flour and confectioner sugar as well. Serves me right, thinking that I had reached diva chef level and no longer needed the aid of my cookbook. Adam still thinks they are good, but I'm not surprised...he ate my salt pie.

My Papa is on a roll..he is scanning in old photos and sending 3 or 4 to me every other day. This one is of Christmas...the women on the left is my beautiful nana with 3 of her 5 children. The little girl is my mom..nice glasses :). My mom thinks that my grandmother and I look similar...maybe? I love old photos!!

My mom - back in the day

Thanks Papa!! He just keeps on providing me with good stuff to blog about! He sent me this picture today and asked if I recognized the kids. The girl is my mom...probably about 7 or 8..the other two boys are her brothers Jeff and Ricki. They were in a car accident with my grandmother when they were 7 and 5 and were killed. There are pictures of them all over my grandparents house but I like this one the best. They were in Vent Hill, VA fishing during the summer while my papa was stationed there. They were re-located to Germany after the boys died..my mom stayed there until her senior year of high school!!

Just call us the "Handy Harvells"

I'm not to sure if Adam and I comprehend the idea of a "weekend". We definitely did not take two days off!! We are having Thanksgiving at our home this year so we have 7 people coming in tomorrow night (Tuesday) and staying through Sunday. This was the perfect excuse to finally get some things done around the house. We already have all of the Christmas decor up, but there were some little projects that I wanted to get done. First, we painted our coffee table to match our bookshelves...the green wood look ( LOVE IT). Next, we put a fresh paint of white enamel paint on our dining room table...we got the set for free and there were some black scuff marks on it. Next, we cleaned up the kitchen and in the process remembered that there was some paint on the bottom of the fridge. As I cleaned it off I discovered why...there were some rust spot...about the size of pieces of rice. So, we headed to Lowe's to get some paint for the fridge. Yes, they do make it!! We chose to paint it glossy white and it looks like a brand new appliance....love it. Finally, we got all the towels and bedsheets washed, both guest bedrooms cleaned and some christmas presents wrapped. Today I am going to tackle the 3 bathrooms (ugh) and vacuam!!!! Sounds like a lot huh...but so worth it. I am so excited for my parents to see our home and for Adam's parents to see all of the things we have re-done or painted or fixed!!!

P.S.- Priscilla did not help any this weekend. He peed twice outside of the litter box...and both times we caught him. We are going to watch and make sure that he doesn't have a bladder infection. Adam is pretty sure that he is stressed out...Elvis is not the nicest brother to him. So for now we are talking in very soothing voices to him and praising him when he uses the litter box.

Nordstrom Make Up Sale

Ok. Here's the deal. My sweet sweet mother in law just sent me an email with this website attatched. Nordstrom's is repackaging all of their make-up so therefore they are selling their old stuff for $1 a peice...thats right $1!!! It would make great stocking stuffers or a good Christmas present for yourself!!!! HAVE FUN!!!!

ITS ONLY MY FAVORITE MOVIE EVER

My mom sent me these pictures of the actors and actresses who played the 7 VonTrapp children in the movie SOUND OF MUSIC!!! They are still adorable and I want them to make a reunion video or something.
The house where the movie was filmed in Vienna will be mine and Adam's first stop when we go to Europe!!!!!
ENJOY!!

A Slow Fade

Ok. I know you all have heard this song" its a slow fade, when you give yourself away, its a slow fade, when black and white turn to gray"....its on all the time. And that is fine with me, I'm not complaining, it's kinda become my internal song (weird huh). Anyways, its so true of my life. I can look back and remember when I wouldn't say the word Crap, and now its one of my most used words. I also remember when my college pastor told me during my sophomore year that I saw things black and white, no gray area. He was complimenting me. I am afraid now my vision is a little more blurred and I might see gray. For example, I just used to know without a shadow of a doubt that MTV was bad for my spirit, my talk, my walk, everything. It seems however that I have formed an appetite for The Hills though that must be met weekly. I know these are silly examples but I bet if you stop and think about it you can think of things that you have slowly let creep into your life.
I have tons of other examples that I don't wish to publicize but I will tell you of a praise.
I have a real hard time with money. I have hard time tithing like I should. I will be the first one to donate my time, but my money is a whole other story. Thankfully the Lord gave me a husband who isn't phased by it. Adam could give his whole pay check and not flinch..isn't that awesome? I have really been praying that I would be less concerned with money and the Lord constantly reminds me that he takes care of the birds and he will take care of me. So the praise is that lately I have been remembering to bring the checkbook, write the check and put it in the offering plate....doesn't sound like such a huge thing huh? BUT IT IS. I really do want to give God what is His, really I do. It's just one more way that God is working in my life.

2 Cor 9: ⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

P.S.- what are your thoughts on tithing? Do you think that giving of your time counts as a tithe? I have heard people say that they don't tithe b/c they give time to the church..I've looked at scripture and after the resurrection I think the idea of tithing changed a little.

Veterans Day 11-11-08

Happy Veterans Day...I was listening to the radio as people called in to honor veterans in their lives. Take time today to thank God for those who fought for our freedom!!
My Papa sent me this picture this morning. The second soldier from the left is my younger cousin Chelsea. She is in the drama club at her middle school. Thought I would share.

READ THIS

This is the sermon that my pastor preached yesterday. It provides scriptural evidence of what our country is facing and currently going through. I feel very blessed to be under a pastor who is willing to stand in the pulpit and proclaim these truths.
I was definitely more caught up in the election then I should have been but after hearing this and re-examining my current relationship with the Lord I realized that there is never anything that can take me from his hands. Not government, not a new president, not a bad economy.

Sermon before Election

Speaking of scary things

So when I got on the internet this morning I had an email from my Papa with a link to see some pictures. All he wrote in the email was " Sorry I didn't invite you to my barbeque". These pictures were attached.


My heart sank. These are pictures taken of my great grandma's old barn and the trailer that sat behind it. The trailer was my Uncle's but now he has moved and it was deserted. No one was injured but still it breaks my heart. I know I have lots of memories of the barn and I am sure that my Papa does too.
The first pictures is my Papa and Uncle Mark looking at the trailer..to the right you can see my Nana who is rushing over to see what happened. She was at church when it started. She actually just had knee surgery so I sent an email back telling her to sit down and get off that knee!!!
The second picture is what gets me. It just my papa standing in front of all his burned memories. These are from the Enon Newspaper in Florida. I am glad that my Papa had a sense of humor about it all but it was definitely a shock to wake up to.

P.s.- I just love that all of the recent pictures I have of my Papa are of him in coveralls.
P.P.s- this is on Kinzie Lane.

Scary Things

So, as I was sitting in the library (where lots of thinking is done) I got to thinking about Halloween and all the things I am scared of. I don't watch scary movies. I started to realize that they really did get into my mind and so I just said goodbye to them all. Adam watches them...he's tough. I don't even watch previews b/c sure enough the minute I watch one I will find myself at home alone and Satan will pop an image into my head that takes a phone call to adam and some ice cream to get out!!! So anyways, here is what I am afraid of...in no particular order.
1. Adam dying first...no really, I rewrote our wedding vows so we didn't say "til death do us part" b/c that is just a sad concept to me. I know he will be in Heaven but it still scares me.
2. The dark...who knows what crazies could be in there.
3. Caves, no make that anywhere underground, no make that anywhere confining.
4. Bees, Yellow-jackets, Hornets-their only mission in life is to make me squirm
5. No Friends- I remember moving to JC and crying for weeks b/c we didn't have any friends...now we have so many that we are gone almost every night of the week and I LOVE IT!!!
6. My little brother driving-not his driving but the fact that he is out there on the road with the crazies.
7. Captain D's - fish from a fast food place just can't be right
8. The upcoming election- I am just scared of the changes that could happen...either way God is control
9. Having (adopting) children and being a horrible mother
10. Those big trucks with the big rims that look like they extend 4 ft into your lane.
11. Snakes- been there, done that
12. Needles,blood,anything that has to do with the internal part of your body...SICK OUT
13. Balding- I know it probably won't happen but there is always that chance.
14. Orks- from Lord of the Rings..if I ever saw one coming at me I would just lose it
15. Public speaking-not in front of the classroom, but like to crowds of 30 or more..I'm sweating already
16. Tornadoes- I have been through several hurricanes where tornadoes touched down all around my house, but I have never physically been in one.

October 08

Even though we (and by we I mean me) have not posted anything lately does not mean that there aren't stellar things going on in our life :). Ha...ok, maybe not. We really both have been busy. We are about 97% done with the kicthen and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!! We have 60 inches of new cabinets and countertop space, the painting is completed, and the floor looks beautiful. We are still working on shoe molding and I am painting a window to hang above the new countertops. I will post pictures soon.
Adam has not been a happy camper lately though..his Auburn Tigers have lost 4 straight games in a row. I have quit watching games with him.....I don't like it when he gets mad :). So, while he is watching football I have resorted to knitting ( I taught myself) and scrapbooking. I have almost all of my homemade Christmas presents done...and the last couple should be finished over the weekend.
Elvis (the cat) has become quite a little terror lately. He stuck his head in my glass of milk, got it stuck and when he pulled it out took the whole glass of milk with him. The milk went everywhere and came within inches of our brand new laptop.....I could have skinned him!!! He and Priscilla have also got in the habit of waking us up after the alarm has gone off...Here is the procedure. Alarm goes off at 7, Adam hits snooze, 2 seconds later the cats are on top of us, purring like crazy (they are soo loud) and licking any inch of skin that we leave out from under the covers....it sounds cute, but becomes annoying after 2 solid weeks. Then they follow us into the bathrooms and play with the shower curtains and whine as if they are starving (which they never are, they are tubby). However, if not for them I am pretty sure that Adam and I would both sleep in and be late daily.
This semester is flying by..i have 6 weeks of class left before student teaching. I have never been so ready to get on with something then right now. It could be b/c I have a teacher who gave me a C for being an overachiever...no really. She said that I was asking my art students to think to much, and that they probably wouldn't be that interested in art or art history. I told her that I don't do C work. That sounds cocky..but its the truth. I give everything 110% (well everything academically :). So I redid the dumb project, made it "easier" and put the initial project in my portfolio to show off some day soon :)!!
Other than that I am loving my job at Woodland and enjoying the kids there. My last day at the Medical Bookstore is Dec. 4th-a day that I have been looking forward to for over a year now. I really do enjoy the people there, and have made good relationships but you try being stuck in a basement, where you can't control the temperature and working in a field that honestly makes you sick to your stomach. Just ask Adam, the mention of the word needles can make me upchuck.
I'm SUPER SUPER SUPER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!( those are for you Angela :)) excited about Thanksgiving. Both of our families are heading up here for 5 whole days. My parents have not been able to see our house yet and neither one of them have met our church family!!!! They will get here Wednesday and leave Sunday after church. I am also excited that we will have enough room to sleep them all. My brother will be in the small guest bedroom, adam's parents in the guest bedroom, my parents in our bed, Adam and I downstairs on the sectional (where we sleep a lot anyways) and if Jason (adam's brother) comes he will have a blow up mattress downstairs.
I also get to make my first Turkey ( i think I will stow some ham in the fridge just in case). That Saturday is the Auburn vs. Alabama game and even though Auburn is having a crummy season it should be a good game. We have alabama fans coming and i think it will be great party. I won some catering from Main St. about a month ago and they are going to provide the food for that night.
Also, my mom is bringing up my wedding dress so that Brittany, Whitney and I can do trash the dress photos around Johnson City...I'm super excited...We are going to get our hair did and go crazy. I think my mom wants some more "good shots" though before trashing it...haha, lets just hope I can still fit in the thing!!!!
Ok, enough rambling...just thought I should give our blog a little attention.
Peace Out- and don't forget to vote early if you can!!!!

4 Day Hike

So today we are leaving for a 4 day hike on the AT with our good friends Whitney and Morgan (a married couple, morgan is the boy). Adam has already hiked almost all of the AT (they had to stop when his brother got lyme disease) and he has a 4 day route planned for us that will take us about 30 miles. We are leaving tonight and hiking about a mile in the dark to camp. Then we will get up Saturday and hike about 8 miles to where we are meeting two other couples from church to camp that night. Our camp site is about 2 miles from that meeting point. The next day we are getting up and having our own church service out in God's creation (this is what I am looking forward to the most). When I worked at Camp Rockmont in Black Mtn, NC we would get up every Sunday and meet on the pier in the middle of the lake and physically worship God as the sun came up. We would do certain moves to show gratitude, humility, forgiveness and other things...it sounds weird but it was very powerful and our worship can be physical!! Anyways, after that the two couples are going home and Adam, myself, Whitney and Morgan are continuing on for another 11 miles to our camping site for Sunday night. Monday we will have about 8 miles left to go til we reach our destination. I think all of us, minus Adam, have never been on a trip like this and we are very excited. Its been a lot of planning with packing foods, sealing foods, packing clothes, sleeping bags, tents, hygiene stuff ( a small amount) and arranging for a car to be at the end destination. I just know we will have a wonderful time and enjoy God's creation. Last night we took Whitney's car to leave at our last stop and decided to hike a little bit of the trail just to see where we would be ending up...it was breathtaking. The leaves are changing, the weather is perfect, and Whitney and I jumped twice in our little 500 yd walk at the site of bugs. Sounds like we are going to have a blast!

The VP Debate

Last night I watched the VP Debate. Someone asked me "why?, don't you already have your mind made up as to who you are going to vote for?". Well, No I didn't. And No, I never once considered voting for Obama. I just was not 100% for the Republican ticket yet..I guess that would have left me voting for Nader....or just not voting...which is another conversation for another blog. Anyways, I was very proud of Palin last night. I have been really troubled about how I felt with a women being in a "authoratative role" over the country and how that relates to men being our spiritual leaders. I have grown up Southern Baptist and I agree with thier doctrine that women should not lead over men. However, here I am thinking that on Nov. 4th I will more than likely vote for the Republican ticket....its a pickle isn't it? I mean I can't and WILL NOT vote Democratic, and voting Independantly would not suite me either. So what to do? Trust that God can work through her? Trust that God has a reason for her to be in this position...such as Ester? I know that God can and will work through imperfect people but there are places in the bible where He puts women in high ranking positions and they do make judgment calls over groups with men present. Its funny isn't. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Like I said though, I was very pleased with Palin's performance. She is a very likable candidate and I think she was very poised. She did not come off as a " unqualified, unintelligent, unknowing" person as the tabloids would lead us to believe. I do beleive that she is not your normal politican and not going to stand for those ways. I do believe that although she and McCain disagree on certain issues that she has our interests at heart.
My heart started to sink a little more with every word that both candidates said about Isreal, Iran and Pakistan. They said " wipe Isreal off the face of the planet", "have missles pointed at Isreal", "unstable governments with nuclear weapons at thier disposal". With so much uncertainty, my excitment over our upcoming move was definitely not increased. I just started thinking the worse...which by the way if that was a job I would be rolling in the dough. I just wonder how the situation in Isreal, especially Jerusalem will be next May/June. I know that God will take care of us, but we are not garunteed safety. I was talking to a mom at Educare, who adopted one of her sons from Isreal, about our trip and she kept saying " God's blessing is on that place, He will take care of you, He will bless you". And you know what, she is right!! God will take care of us, but I'm going to need His help in declaring that. Hopefully after the election in November some concrete interventions will be made in the Middle East and the government will be more stable than what it is now. If not though, God could still choose to send us there and I ask that you pray for us to be confident and bold. I ask that you pray for me to stop worrying. I also ask that you begin to pray for God to put Isreali people in our path that need to know Him, that need to meet Him. I'm thinking of sending IMB a letter to see what kind of missions that have avaliable over there. That would be a great ministry/ job for me while we are over there.
P.S.- you should see this kid that the lady from Educare adopted. His name is Noah and he has the most beautiful skin, dark red/brown hair and big brown eyes. He sees me in the afternoons and takes off running with his arms already open, yelling "Mrs. Kinzie"..When he gets excited, he grabs the hand of the closest person and invites them to jump up and down in joy with him....He has a little brother from gautemala and they hug each other in the afternoons b/c they have been seperated all day long and immediately talk about what they are going to do when they see thier dad.....melts my heart. WATCH OUT..we may bring some kiddos back with us!!

W A R E A G L E

This is in front of Samford Hall...one of the spots Adam sent me too during the scavenger hunt he came up with to propose to me.
Me and my best friend Virginia....in the new student center...with our AU tattoos on.
The next picture is of us right after we beat TN!! This is Toomer's corner and after every Auburn win the fans race down here to roll all the trees and cheer!

Heritage Softball Team

From left to right its (back row) Corrine ( my new bff :)), Adam, Me, Matt Deakins, Amy, Dave, Terra, Heather, Don. (front row) Abby, Justin, Jay, Chico and in the very front is Dawn!!
These are some pictures of the Heritage Softball team from this fall. This is right after we won the last double header of the season. It was a lot of fun and I think Adam and I will probably play again in the spring. Adam was nicknamed "Sweet Feet" after the speed he showed last night. He also batted 100% during the two games. We start tournament next week and then we are done for the season.
Here we are holding up our #1 (for the night, not for the season :)!!!!

Almost

So this weekend was lots of fun. Great weather...perfect for camping..which is what we did. We spent the night right beside a creek at Laurel Falls. We went with Morgan and Whitney and had a lot of fun. Then we went to Jerri's soccer game on Saturday which she won 2-0. Then we went to Best Buy where we found an awesome deal on a laptop, so we bought it..YAY. Then we went home so that Adam could yell at the TV during the AU vs. LSU game. It started out great...auburn got the first touchdown. I thought I was safe..I laid down beside Adam on the couch and went to sleep (my favorite activity during a football game). However, around 10:30 I was woken up to Adam yelling and doing the guy thing. LSU scored a touchdown in the last 2 minutes of the game and WON. I decided that I would just go onto bed and let him deal with this loss privately :). When he came to bed about 20 minutes later he leaned over and said " we almost had it". As we talked we both realized that God must think that about his people quite often " they almost had it"...and his sadness must be compounded. Lately, we have been in Genesis and there are several people and circumstances where we could say "they almost had it". For example Sarah and Abraham... In Genesis 15

But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit ^[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." 4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Only one chapter later we see Sarah and Abraham forgetting what the Lord has promised and forging ahead with thier own desires.

Genesis 16:

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her."
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me."

6 "Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

If they only knew that God already had Isaac on his mind. If they would have only let Him be God instead of doing things thier own way. Thus we have Hagar and Ishmael come into the picture and the beginnings of the Muslim belief system. It might be a bit much to compare almost winning a football game to almost following God's perfect plan but He can certainly work through our worldly activities to reveal things to us.

Educare

So I'm pretty sure that I am going to love this job. I could just have had a really good first day but let me remind you that this wasn't the kids or the programs first day. When I got there I met the guy that will be training me and about 10 minutes into our conversation we were laughing and I felt very at ease. Then we went through all the different procedures of checking kids in, how to collect money from their parents (auditers are picky), and how I will be paid (thats an important part). I also got Educare polo shirts...there is a different color for every day...even though yesterday all 4 of the directors had on different colors ??.
The kids arrived and immediately were interested in the new girl. He introduced me and pretty soon I was holding hands with one little girl who stuck by me the rest of the afternoon. Her name was Katelyn and boy can she tell a lie. She was trying to convince me that her teacher wanted her to color a white piece of paper blue, then use white out to write Cat in the Hat on it. Now, she had colored construction paper in her bag andI told her to use a blue piece of paper instead. She insisted that she had to color it...so she started coloring it, with a marker, that bled. Well then she saw me with a hole punch and insisted that her teacher wanted her to punch holes all over the paper saying "just like every other book". In a very sweet voice, I asked her if she had a paper with the directions on it and she said no and told me that if i didn't give her the hole punch then she was going to "make a zero on her homework". About 10 minutes later her mom came and she immediately balled up her "homework", threw it in the trash and skipped out. What an angel :).
It's also really weird what kinda stuff I pick up on now that I have had child development classes, child psychology classes and teaching methods. When all of my kids (3rd-5th) had left I went over to the younger group to see what was going on. They were in the gym playing with balls and hoola hoops. There is a boy with down syndrome in that group and he was walking around the border of the gym by himself. He was very responsive though and interested in what the other children were doing. As I sat down to play with one little girl I heard the other worker say "Kinzie, your mom is here". I of course turned around and noticed two other little girls running towards the door. The worker then said which Kinzie it was and she left. I got up and asked the other Kinzie how she spelled her name....Mackenzie. I told her what my name was and we were instant friends. We played roll the ball, bounce the ball and when I told her how I spelled my name she said "you spell yours wrong". When I asked her if we should invite Willie (the boy with down syndrome) to play with us she said "no, he won't want to". I said "he looks like he may" and she said " no, he doesn't play with us". I told Adam that its crazy, that this little kindergartner was already conditioned to notice differences and either be scared of them or discriminatory against them. None of the kids wanted to play with him actually. They already had labeled him and decided that they wouldn't include him. It was sad...but something I am going to work on...well when I get the time.
Other than that everything was fine, I got to leave early and we still get paid til 6. AWESOME.

As of today...

As of today I am a Woodland Elementary employee. The job is with Educare which is an after school program that is considered the best in Johnson City. Its put together so that students spend time in organized centers/activities...think Montesorri style. I am responsible for coming up with games, art lessons, cooking lessons and helping them with homework. I interviewed last Monday and wanted the job immediately. Yesterday I got a call at 10 and was asked to start work today. I went and met with my boss and she said "we will stay with you through next week and then you are in charge"....my stomach turned but I smiled and said "great". This is my 3rd job..I know, I know. I am an overachiever. However, let me break down my schedule for you. I work 8-10 every morning at my GA position (where i am writing this) which pays for my tuition and gives me a monthly stipend. Then I head to the bookstore where I work from 10-2 (only MWF). On tuesday and thursday I head to class from 11-12:30. Then from now on I will go to Woodland from 3-6 daily. See..its not that bad...I only have 3 classes and one is online..the other meets on Monday night. The Woodland job has great pay and I know it will be good experience and look great on my resume. Adam and I both agree that this will be the only time in my life where I will have 3 jobs....when its all compiled I only work 37 hours a week...have about 5 hours of class and work the occassional weekend for my GA. I will also get to keep my Educare job throughout my student teaching and since Woodland is a year round school there will be extra hours during thier two week breaks between semesters. God really did bless me with this job. They have a very focused education philosophy there...which is good...kids need consistency and will thrive when the teacher is consistent in thier discipline. They are also huge on bullying and sarcasm...its just not allowed. They even told me that if we don't move this summer that I have a position there waiting for me.
Adam and I are looking foward to this next weekend as we are going camping at Laurel Falls with some friends from church. Then the next weekend we will be heading to Auburn for the AU/ TN game....I can't wait to see my friends and AU family there!! I just hope that gas goes back down by then..key word "hope".
Other exciting news is that our friend Cassie's mom got her test back and she does not have cancer. Cassie was worried b/c there is a strong history of cancer in her mother's family. Luckily the mass is benign and the other masses are from arthritis. Another praise is that our friend's Tiffany and Dave had to take thier 6 month old to Vanderbilt for open heart surgery last Thursday. Ethan, was born with down syndrome and needed to have the surgery soon. He had to be placed on a feeding tube during the weeks leading up to the surgery so that he could gain weight. The surgery went well and Ethan is doing great...they are watching him to make sure he doesn't develop phuenomia but other than that he is on the road to recovery. Can I just tell you that he is the cutest head full of bright red hair!!!
OH YEAH- I almost forgot. I went to this party with my friend Brittany at a photography studio. They have a girls night out once a year where they give out prizes and invite you to look at everything they offer. We met Anna there and the three of us walked around the studio (an old historic home) and oohhhhedd and ahhheedd. We ate really good food too! At the end of the night they gave away prizes.....I won a party for 20 catered by the same people who were catering that night...I am thinking we will use it for our AU/AL party and whatever is leftover for Thanksgiving (they are usually close). Brittany won an hour long massage....LUCKY!!

I've been bored for over 5 minutes now.

So, since my life is pretty full right now...and thats a good thing...i haven't had a chance to be bored lately. Therefore, I haven't been blogging b/c I blog when I am bored. So here are some refreshing thoughts (ha, thats comical).
A. If we still lived in the hunter-gatherer era I would be the most awesome gatherer. Last weekend we went camping and before everyone else woke up I was outside gathering fire wood to cook our breakfast. I also collected blue and blackberries from around our camp site for breakfast. I'm pretty sure it was the best breakfast ever too... hard boiled eggs (yes on a campfire), bacon, smores (with reese cups), water and bananas.
B. Having long fingernails is not as great as you think. I'm pretty sure the cons out weight the pros (which is only one that I can think of - its pretty). I can't button my pants without stabbing my stomach, I can't pop the top of a coke can, I can't type well ( i am hitting two keys almost every time) and Im so concerned with breaking them that I have neglected other things.
C. Moving on- Ever since Pastor Reggie gave us the assignment to find an atheist and ask them why they believe that way (yes atheism is a belief) I have only been able to find christians wanting to tell me their views. THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM...just ironic. In the gym the other day this guy walked up, read my shirt and started a conversation with me about how much he loved the Lord, how we are the minority, how much he trusts God with his future and then as he was leaving he said "Nice to meet you Sister". Then in the line at Food City ( i went there b/c i had coupons, not b/c I have forgiven them for the video fiasco) I met a girl named Laura who was also using coupons and we got to chatting. She works for Campus Crusade and was inviting me to come to thier meetings. Then I went out to eat with my friends from school (point D) and for the first time we invited our husbands to join us. At one point Adam went riding in one of the husband's new cars and the girls were left alone to chat. Before you know it we were talking politics ( you weren't surprised huh?) and that led to Christ. The two girls I was talking to are Christians but admitted that they hadn't been to church in years. They were both interested in why I choose to live my life the way I do (with imperfection) and very interested in Heritage. Especially when I told them that our church is culturally relevant in the fact that we have what evereyone is looking for...CHRIST...we have what today's cultures wants...UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. We aren't putting on a concert every Sunday hoping that someone will be more entertained with church than with the re-runs they may find on TV at home. So anyways, God has really been showing himself to me this week and making my search for an atheist pretty hard!!
D. I have more friends from my graduate program than I ever had from Auburn. Isn't that weird? I mean I spent 4 years with the same group in the same building day after day and when I left there I only kept in contact with like 3 of them. All of my friends came from church. This is good and bad. It means I wasn't reaching out, but in the same sense I was spending my time with people who would bring me up, rather than pull me down. Just the opposite though has happened here at ETSU. I have only been in the program for a little over a year and I have about 10 really good friendships with people from class. There is a group of 5 girls that get together about every 3 weeks for dinner, and we just started inviting our husbands. I love growing these relationships outside of the classroom.
E. Wipeout has got to be the funniest show on TV. Seriously, on Tuesdays at 8 you will find Jerri, Adam and I in front of the TV laughing so hard that we are either holding our stomachs (adam), on the floor (Jerri) or slobbering (my attractive feature). It's not just the people falling and flipping that is funny, but the commentary is ridiculous. So here is my commerical for it....beware though it will crack you up!!!! If you get bored and want to watch it online, go to ABC, then their full episode player and then wipeout......you won't be dissapointed!!!

Sarah Palin

Did anyone listen to Palin's speech last night? I couldn't because I took my migraine medicine and was dead to the world. However, first thing this morning I googled it and WOWZER!!!! I have to say that I think she touched on every point that has been made against her. I think she also did a great job representing McCain. I believe her to be someone who is truly looking out for what is good for America, not her own interest. She doesn't want to be fussed over as Vice President with unnecessary spending. As govenor she got rid of the private jet plane and personal chef...she prefers to drive herself to work. I was also very glad that she pointed out the "fine print" of Obama's tax increases. Following this post will be an attatched chart of who is raising what followed by some websights that confirm these figures.
The one thing that I was dissapointed in last night was Rudy Giuliana's speech before Palin. He was almost mocking Obama, which is just unneccessary. Let's just stick to the facts.
Here are some highlights from Palin's speech (for you Caroline).
***(Palin)To the families of special needs -- (cheers, applause) -- to the families of special needs children all across this country, I have a message for you. For years, you've sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. And I pledge to you that if we're elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House
***(Palin)To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of the world's energy supplies, or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia, or that Venezuela might shut off its oil discoveries and its deliveries of that source, Americans -- need to produce more of our own oil and gas. (Cheers, applause.) And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska; we've got lots of both. (Cheers, applause, chanting.)Our opponents say again and again that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems, as if we didn't know that already. (Laughter.) But the fact -- the fact that drilling, though, won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all. (Cheers, applause.)
***(Palin on Obama)Government is too big. He wants to grow it.Congress spends too much money. He promises more. Taxes are too high, and he wants to raise them.His tax increase are the fine print in his economic plan. And let me be specific. The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes and raise payroll taxes and raise investment income taxes -- (boos) -- and raise the death tax -- (boos) -- and raise business taxes -- (boos) -- and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars. (Boos.)
***And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change. (Cheers, applause.)They are the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners or on self-designed presidential seals.

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON TALKING POINTS

ISSUE		JOHN McCAIN	BARAK OBAMA
Favors new drilling offshore U S		Yes	No
Will appoint judges who interpret the law not make it		Yes	No
Served in the US Armed Forces		Yes	0A No
Amount of time served in the US Senate		22 YEARS	173 DAYS
Will institute a socialized national health care plan		No	Yes
Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy		No	Yes
Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately		No	Yes
Supports gun ownership rights		Yes	No
Supports homosexual marriage		No	Yes
Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase		No	Yes
Voted against making English the official language		No	Yes
Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals		No	Yes
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MCCAIN	0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.
OBAMA	28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)
DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN	15% (no change)
OBAMA	39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')
INCOME TAX
MCCAIN (no changes)	Single making 30K - tax $4,500 Single making 50K - tax $12,500 Single making 75K - tax $18,750 Married making 60K- tax $9,000 Married making 75K - tax $18,750 Married making 125K - tax $31,250
OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)	Single making 30K - tax $8,400 Single making 50K - tax $14,000 Single making 75K - tax $23,250 Married making 60K - tax $16,800 Married making 75K - tax $21,000 Married making 125K - tax $38,750 Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!
INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN	- 0% (No chan ge, Bush repealed this tax)
OBAMA	Restore the inheritance tax Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.
NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA
New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!
		& nbsp;

You can verify the above at the following web sites:

http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/election/2008/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.taxes.html

http://elections.foxnews.com/?s=proposed+tax es

http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/politics/articles/mccain_obama_offer_different_visions_on_taxes.html

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/barack_obama/

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/john_mccain/

CAUTION....this could be classified as my soapbox.

So, this weekend we headed off to camp, hike, play frisbee golf and enjoy the weather. However, this has taken me away from the computer for 3 whole days (gasp)....days in which I have been thinking and discussing politics with any and everyone I can. While I was talking to someone about Obama's view of abortion they said "well that isn't so big that it would keep me from voting for him".....HELLO!!!! In my mind, the way he deals with abortion says a lot about his character. He is saying that if you get yourself into trouble, but don't want to deal with the consequences then just get rid of the problem...even if the problem is an unborn child. He is saying that there are not consequences for our actions, and that the answer is not to be more responsible but to give people the option of facing that responsibility. I am well aware that there are "unwanted pregnancies". My cousin was raped at a party, gave birth to a beautiful little girl and then died 2 years later from AIDS ( which she got from the rapist). That was an unwanted pregnancy but not an unwanted child. If you are on the fence about the seriousness of abortion let me show you scripture that might change your mind. The book of Amos (which is what my community group is studying -good job Morgan) is set up as different war oracles to 6 different territories surrounding Isreal. Amos is setting up the wickedness that occured in all the places and the destruction that God sent to show Isreal its fallen ways and the punishment they also deserved.
In Amos 1: 13 This is what the LORD says:
"For three sins of Ammon,
even for four, I will not turn back {my wrath}.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
in order to extend his borders,
If anyone else gasped (as did Brittany and I) while reading this then you get the picture. The Ammonites not only killed the people of Gilead but ripped open the women and killed what would be the next generation. Sounds a lot like abortion huh?This is the punishment that God promised to Ammon.

14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah
that will consume her fortresses
amid war cries on the day of battle,
amid violent winds on a stormy day.

15 Her king ^[g] will go into exile,
he and his officials together,"
says the LORD.

He promises to destroy thier own boundaries, take away thier military headquarters, send violent winds and last but not least send all authority figures into exile. Which brings up another good point. As my friend Brittany pointed out last night, you can not take a back seat when it comes to this election. We are given authority to vote for a leader who will represent our nation. Therefore, we are just as responsible for the actions of America as they are.

I know that some people don't like to discuss politics or just don't care but I think you should count yourself lucky that you live where you are given the right to care!!

Barack vs. Bush

So, Adam and I decided to watch Obama give his acceptance speech last night since we were informed that if we didn't we would miss history in the making. Since it came on at 10 ( quite late for us) we napped from about 6:30-8ish.
When everyone else (democratic senators and Al Gore) who hates "the last 8 years" got done talking, Obama walked out and said "thank you" a million times before the crowd got quiet enough for him to speak. I have to admit that he is a good speaker, and I like 75% of what he said.
I do think that college tuition is ridiculous and if you are like me you will leave college with some amount of loans to pay back. He said that he will make it to where if you promise to stay and work in the community you will get your college paid for. Well this is already the case..if you have government loans and work in a Title 1 school, then each year they will forgive a portion of your loans. So nothing new.
I also agree that we should promote the education system and encourage science and technology...HELLO..heard of a little thing called NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND?...and by the way if you are going to slam it as not being productive then just know that the last Democrat "Clinton" was the one who got the program going again, Bush just renamed it.
What I didn't like was the way that Obama seemed to be running against Bush....and talking about how we can't repeat the last 8 years. Well, as much as people dislike Bush, let's see if you could do a better job. I don't know why he felt he had to slam Bush..since McCain is who he is running against.
AND PLEASE OH PLEASE don't bring up the fact that you have the upmost respect for McCain for serving in the military and fighting for us.....pause to let everyone clap...and then say "Its not that McCain doesn't care, he just doesn't get it". That is not showing respect. If anything, say you have respect and show it, or don't say you have respect just to pay lip service.
He also said that McCain said we could just muddle through Afghanistan. Well as Adam recalled, McCain has said that he thinks we could have handled things differently, and maybe not have gone to war....its all how you twist things.
In the end this is what gets me the most. As he was wrapping up his speech he says this "We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country"....YOU ARE RIGHT OBAMA....we dont agree on Abortion, because you think its OK...and we know that is not the truth. Are you asking us to compromise?...Are you asking us to turn the other way so that people can get rid of thier responsibilities?
Finally, you have this picture of an African American family that includes two adorable little girls, holding hands with a white family (the Bidens) waving to you from the podium. If this doesn't win over America, I don't know what will. I am almost positive that he will win this election b/c America is ready to have an African American president, so ready that it will overlook all of the new taxes he will enforce, all of the gay relationships he will endorse and all of the innocent babies he will let die.

Let me just note that I am very aware that each party has flaws...however, abortion and gay marriage is not something I am willing to compromise on.
McCain has not secured my vote just yet either.