October is here, the start of fall.

Well with the new month came the new weather. A week ago it was still in the 70's and now it is in the 50's during the day and near freezing at night. Some parts of the state have already had frost and freezing temps this week. Our yard is covered in pine needles and every time we rake it just gets covered again. This next week Joseph finally gets his first paycheck from the new job. After several weeks without pay this will be welcomed. Bills have been waiting to get paid. I plan to take Hannah to pick apples and pumpkins. We might also go check out a place nearby called down on the farm. They have all kinds of fall activities and a cute market area. I have my annual women's retreat next weekend and I am looking forward to it. It is a weekend when women from all over the state get together for meetings, break a way sessions and fellowship. It is at a new hotel this year so it will be a bit different. I am sharing a room with 3 other women but it is a 3 bedroom suite so hopefully it will all go smoothly. I am excited to hit the bookstore while there. Our ABC, which is our denominations book store, always sets up a huge store while there. It is my chance to get books, bibles, games, toys and food. I can usually get some great deals on Christmas gifts.

My house is still in a disarray from moving. We got the outside of the house painted last weekend and we still need to do the shed and trim on the house. We soon will start on the inside. Once we get the electrical cable to run from the fuse box to the kitchen I can get my oven hooked up. I was able to get a great deal on a double built in oven. We are keeping our eyes open for a gas cook top yet. We have to tear out the extra walls in our kitchen to open up the kitchen, dining and living room areas. When we are done there will be new cabinets, new countertops, a new sink and faucet, an island with the cook top and breakfast bar and a pantry. After we finish the kitchen we will start on the bathroom/laundry area. We are ripping down walls in that area too and making the bathroom larger. We will move the laundry area to do that. We will put in a whirlpool tub and a pedestal with a vessel sink. I am doing it all in aqua and blue spa colors with a splash of lavender. After only having a shower for 3 years we are longing for that soaking tub.

I will finish purchasing the homeschooling curriculum next week and once I have my dining room organized I can start Hannah's lessons on a regular basis. It has been hard with all the boxes and busyness. Luckily kindergarten is not required in our state and I am not mandated to do anything with her.

I joined our YMCA and I worked out 4 days this week. I have a friend who goes with me and I think next week another friend from MOPS will join us too. It helps having someone motivate me to go otherwise I can come up with any excuse not to.

Long over due post...

It has been a very busy summer and I was without internet for the most part of it. We had to move July 1 and we did not have a place to live so our friend Jessica offered us a summer place on a lake in Waupaca. We moved out there for two months while we looked for a permanent place and work for Joseph. He remained unemployed for the whole summer, only getting a cash paying job for part of it doing work for the same friend who gave us the place to live. It sustained us not having to pay any rent and only having to cover the electrical bill. We found a place to live and moved again Sept. 1. We were offered a free mobile home in the same park we lived in when we got married and had Hananh. It is a nice, quiet park but I still feel like we are taking steps backwards. Since Joseph has graduated we have been unemployed and homeless in a sense and now we have a home but it is not what I wanted. At least it was free and the rent is cheap on the lot. We were also given 3 months free rent and my dad loaned us some money to get the place fixed up. We need to paint the outside within 30 days. We also need to do cosmetic work inside and get appliances. We have a double built in oven that we purchased and need to install. I am still looking for a refrigerator and washer/dryer. We might also get a dishwasher. We will be doing a lot of work reworking the kitchen, dining, living area and removing walls to make it more open. We also will be putting in a whirlpool tub and master bath area by our bedroom. We will also do new paint and flooring in all the rooms. It will be nice to fix it up and sell it for a profit, like we did with our last mobile home. The neighbours are nice here and it is quiet. We are also closer to town again which is very nice.

On another good note is that Joseph was offered a temp job by ABR at UWSP for a few weeks. He was then going to go to Associated Bank through Flex-Staff after that. While working at the university he was made aware that the position was going to need to start sooner at Associated. Joseph said he wanted to give a proper notice to the university so he was to start the next Monday. When the university found out he was leaving they rounded up the supervisors in his area and called him into the office. The told him the really like his work and did not want to lose him. They asked why he was going to another company and he told them is paid more and was longer term. They said they would like to offer him and LTE position until February and the pay was quite a bit more. They said it could go long term if something opened up in the mean time. Joseph accepted the position and then he found out that when they worked up his job duties that he is actually at a higher pay rate because he is a supervisor. The pay went up another $2/hr. He will be making a great paycheck. The only downfall is they pay every two weeks and it will be a month before he gets his first paycheck. Once that happens we will be able to save quite a bit each month.

So we have a new home, we are up to our ears in boxes and work to do and Joseph has full-time work. He will also have the holidays off which will be really nice. Life has been busy and we are starting to get all the fall activities lined up. I have been getting Hannah's homeschooling together and we will start soon. She also started ballet and has had two classes. She has a new teacher and loves her. She has all new girls in her class so she will need to make new friends. I also have her signed up for girl scouts and that will start at the end of the month. We joined the YMCA again and soon she will be in gymnastics for the last part of the year. I am attending our church women's retreat in October and also attending a moms conference in MN in November.

Well that is all for now, I am sure I will have lots of updates as this fall is very busy and we have a lot going on.

Good news, bad news and Celebrations

First off, I had Hannah's birthday party yesterday and she had a great time with her friends. Now just a few more days until her actual birthday.

I went to see the dr today for my sleep apnea and I am going to be fitted for a cpap machine. I am hoping this will help and I will have more energy. I guess I have a mild form of it. I stopped breathing an average of 22 times in each REM cycle, which I went into 4 times the night of my study. Each time I hit REM I stop breathing, and it did not matter if I was on my side or back. I am guessing on a normal night I probably stop more times, the night I had my study it took me a long time to fall asleep, I tossed and turned a lot and woke up very early. I am wondering how the cpap will feel.

Joseph's job ends Thursday and we have been submitting resumes and applications like crazy trying to find something for him. We are awaiting a job in MN yet for a school, that position closes June 22 so we might not hear anything until then. We found one online recently for the state of WI too that pays very well but I am not sure Joseph is qualified enough. Otherwise it is just local positions either temporary or at least temporary for him until somthing in his field comes along.

Our new landlord stopped by last night and talked to Joseph. I am not sure about him. He said his insurance agency is not allowing us to use the wood burner downstairs so if we are here in the winter we will have to completely heat with propane and that does not heat the basement where Joseph's office space is. I am thinking a move in inevitable.

I have been doing very well with my Wildtree business. I have had several parties in the last month or so and I have one tonight. I am hoping to get some bookings from this one because I don't have anymore right now. I have two interested reps and so hopefully they will sign up soon. It is nice to earn a little extra income and help people get healthy.

Have a blessed day.

Doctors are a pain

I had my sleep study done over three weeks ago. I called my dr's office last week and they called me back and said I do have sleep apnea. I was told to call the place I did my sleep study and they would get me fitted with a CPAP. That is a machine to keep you breathing at night. So I call the hospital where I did my sleep study and the lady says I have been referred to another dr, almost an hour away. I was given the number to contact him. I called and I get an answering service. Turns out they are moving their office and not answering their phones. So I leave a message. I did not hear back from them on Monday so I called back, still got the answering service. I guess they are having problems with their phones. I did not leave another message since I assumed they got the first and just have not called back because of the issues with their phones. I finally got a call today and the lady says they will have the referral coordinator call me back to schedule an appt with the dr for a consult. Then she asks if when they did the sleep study if they put a CPAP on me, I told her no. Then she asked if I had the study done in Wasuau and I told her I had it in Rapids. She said that changes things, I will probably have to be put on a machine at home for a while and then go back in for another sleep study. On top of that the dr is out and she won't be able to get back to me for several days. I am so frustrated with this. I just want this issue corrected because I am tired of being tired all the time. I really don't want another sleep study, the first was a horrible experience. I took forever to fall asleep, I tossed and turned all night and I felt like I never slept. Then they glued electrodes to my head and it took forever to get that glue out of my hair. I thought once they determined I had sleep apnea I would be able to get treated and be done with all this mess.

I had an expo yesterday for my Wildtree business. I was invited to be part of a first annual women's expo with the Christian Womens Club in our area. I only made a couple sales but I got the name out there, since most had no idea the business was out there. Some took catalogs and business cards so we will see what happens. I have tons of leftover food, we had some for dinner and Hannah says " I love this Wildtree stuff momma". She might be my best sales tool :-)

Nothing new on the job front. Have a blessed day.

Is it really June?!

I am sitting in my living room waiting for the conference call to start for my Wildtree business and wondering if it is really June. Why you may ask... because it is like 50 degrees outside. It has been cold and rainy for two days now and I am wondering when summer will come. We have been busy since getting back from graduation. I had Joseph's graduation party last Sunday and it was a hit. He was so surprised, I got him good. The job search continues, I have actually sent out the first resumes in almost a month. One was to a company we already applied to but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try again. The other was to a school in Minneapolis. I am pretty sure it is a Christian school and the position is perfect. It is a full time salaried position as a health and wellness coordinator working with inner city youth. I really did not want to move out of WI but the thought of living in the twin cities is a little exciting since there is so much to do. It is also within a 4 hour drive to get back home so that is a plus. We will see what happens. I keep searching but there is just nothing else out there.

I have gotten to see two of my long distance friends in the last week. My friend Sarah came home from Iowa last weekend and we had a picnic lunch with her family. Yesterday I got to see my freind Mercedes. She was one of my best freinds in high school and she lives in Portland with her husband. Her sister in law was killed in a horrible accident and they came home for the funeral. We went to the funeral as support for her and her husband as friends. We did not get to spend too much time together but I was glad to hear they are coming home in July for a longer trip. Her and her hubby are both laid off from their employers so please keep them in your prayers.

Hannah will be five in two short weeks and I can't believe it. I have her b-day party next Sunday. We also have our church camp meeting starting the weekend of June 19. We will be down there all week. We really enjoy camp meeting, it gives us a chance to see friends we only see once a year because people come from all over WI, MI, MN and even farther to our meeting. I really hope the weather warms up before then.

Well my meeting is about to start so I guess I will go for now. Have a blessed day.

Sorry I have been MIA..

It has been a while since I posted and I apologize. We have been so busy and while we were in Kansas I had limited internet. Joseph is a graduate!!!!! 

Since my last post we traveled to Kansas. We left Wednesday evening after Hannah's visit to the PAC to see where she would stand for her recital. We got into Hays, KS around 9:30a on Thursday. We found the campus and picked up Joseph's cap and gown. We also got some graduation t-shirts. We were able to check into Joe's parents room early to eat lunch and rest. We went to visit a local historical site and then went to bed early.

Friday Joseph had rehearsal for graduation. On Saturday we went to a breakfast put on by the virtual college and then we went to the colliseum where Joe's parents were saving our seats. We got there at 7am to get good seats, front row! Joseph graduated around 11:15am and then the ceremony ended about noon. We left Hays at 1:00pm and got home at 6:30am on Sunday. I was exhausted so I got a couple hour nap in before my dad stopped by with our dog, Abby. 

Then another long day started. I had to take Hannah to her first ballet recital and I was silly enough to volunteer to chaperone the first show. It was so hard because we did not know anything so we had to wing it on what to do and when to line the kids up. Hannah missed the final rehersal at the PAC so when she got on stage she forgot where to stand and half the dance. She was trying to watch everyone else and follow along. Then she decided to jump up to the front row. After her first show we went to subway and took the sandwiches to the park for a picnic. After eating we let Hannah play for a while. Then we had to be back to the PAC for her second show. We had front row seats to see her perform. Joe's parents and our friend Jennifer were there too. This time Hannah got lost immediately on stage and was on the wrong side of the stage and in the front row again. I can't wait to get the video because I think we may have a contender for funniest home videos. I was laughing so hard. She is 4 so I did not get too upset that she messed up so bad. It would be different if she was older. But it was her first year and her first recital and she missed final rehearsal.

While in Kansas we got a call from the local temp agency that I have worked for countless times. They offered Joseph a temp job at a bank in town until the end of June. He accepted even though the pay is low because we need the income. I have submitted so many resumes and we have heard nothing from any of them. It has not been easy finding something in his field. We are hoping the ministry gets a location soon so we can go full-time into that and stop this job search. I am hoping that is why there is nothing out there for Joseph right now. Maybe God has bigger plans for us, and it is just not ready yet.

We had our last MOPS meeting yesterday. We have a few playdates during the summer and I am looking forward to still meeting with these wonderful ladies. I have Joseph's party almost ready to go. I have to get the food and make it yet, get a few final decorations and decide on the table decorations yet. I have figured out how to get him there and how to get over there early to decorate and do the food without him suspecting anything. I hope it goes well. Once I have finished his party I can consentrate on Hannah's party. I hope she has a good turnout, I have only heard from two girls so far.

The weather has been so nice, I filled Hannah's pool the other day and she got to swim for the first time this year. She loved it. We have no big plans this holiday weekend. Joseph and Hannah are going to camp out in our yard to check out the tent for the upcoming camping season. We will grill out and have a bonfire to roast veggie dogs, make smores and maybe pudgy pies. I have a Wildtree party this afternoon and we have a birthday party on Monday.

Have a blessed day.

Job hunt continues...

6 days until graduation and no job on the horizon yet. Joseph went out to fill out applications and make connections today. He is registered with a couple temp agencies and my friends at Flex-Staff are blind coping his resume to some companies in the area. I love them down there!

We are leaving for Kansas in two days. Tuesday we will go see my mom and drop our dog Abby off with my dad. Before that we are meeting with the pastor to go over the property in Amherst that we might rent. We will discuss the health programs we want to offer and schedule the dates. I have been starting to look into places to  move to in the area, since this place is so up in the air. We are considering a fixer upper house or buying land and moving a mobile home onto it until we can build our earth home on the land. 

Hannah had her final rehearsal tonight for her recital on Sunday. I registered her for her class this fall and I am praying we are going to be in the area for her to attend. I love her ballet studio and looking at other potential areas we could move to I just have not found anything comparable both in price and quality.

Hard couple days

We have had some sad things happen this week. Our cat had kittens on my birthday back in April. They are about 5 weeks old and we will be giving them away in a few more weeks. We found one dead under our couch a few days ago. We don't know what caused it. He was fine the night before when I went to bed and Joseph found him the next morning when we didn't know where he was. He was still warm so it had happened recently. Then we found some ticks on one of our other cats legs. Joseph removed them and his leg was a little swollen. The next day his leg was even bigger, all the way down to his paw. Joseph removed 3 more woodticks and when he pulled the last one off a gush of puss and blood came out. We found where the infection was but unfortunately there was not much we could do for him. He continued to get worse and by Friday evening he was barely able to move and was moaning in pain. We called a friend who came over and we put him down. It was so hard, he was our Job and earned his name. When he was a week old our previous dog punctured his head by playing a little too rough. Since then he has had problems with balance and coordination. He was never able to use a litter box so he became an outside cat. He was such a sweet cat and loved attention, he purred so loud when we pet him. I think it was especially hard to see him die that way. I did not want him to suffer anymore since he has endured so much in his two years of life. He is at peace now and we will greatly miss him.

Joseph's graduation is coming up so fast. We leave on Wednesday and I am so excited. I got the invites out this week and I have a few to hand out at church yet. I also got Hannahs ivites out this week, they turned out so good. I will try to post a picture of them. 

Tomorrow is Mother's day and we are going out for brunch with Joseph's parents. Then we are going to Michaels to decorate a cookie. I am going to see my mom on Tuesday because we need to drop our dog, Abby off with my dad. He is so great, he always takes her when we go out of town.

Stem Cell Research

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDFJOzu9SyM

I am so glad someone is finally speaking out about this. I feel we are so uneducated about this topic. Most people agree with stem cell research because we have been told it is the miracle cure for so many diseases. What they don't know is that it has not been shown to cure anything. In fact, it causes cancer and has killed patients instead of healing them. Adult stem cells on the other hand have shown great success. So why is it that our wonderful president put a stop to funding adult stem cell research and increased funding for embryonic research. I think Oprah was pretty stunned on this video and since she almost single handidly put Obama in office she probably did not care for this on her show. It will be interesting to see what happens now. I on the other hand, find great hope in knowing my dad may have a cure within ten years and it does not mean a life will end so he can live. After seeing him undure the brain surgery I do hope they have a cure soon. He is such a wonderful man who does not deserve to have to suffer such a disease. Now if they can find a cure with these stem cells for MS I would be over the moon. My mom is so far gone with her MS I don't know that a cure could do her any good, but if it can save someone else that is all that matters.

I will get off my soapbox and be back soon. Joseph is almost done with school, he should be done in a day or so. We leave in a little over a week for graduation and the party planning is coming along. I will update again soon.

Angel's all around....

An angel made my day today. I was at church discussing Joseph's graduation and how I had to postpone the party because of finances. I was just making conversation and I was not trying to imply anything. A little while later one of our members came up to me and said she felt the Lord was urging her to help. She gave me some money to have Joseph's party this month instead of waiting until July. I was so touched. It is true angels come in all shapes and sizes. I met one today!

I am racing to get invites done by Monday since I should have gotten them out a week ago. I had a good friend make up a rough copy of some homeade ones we were going to do but now that that I moved the date back up I don't have time to get together with her to make them. I found some supplies in town and I am going to try to make something similar. I wanted something special and different than a store bought invite. I will post a pic once I have them finished. Luckily I had the planning all done so I just need to purchase supplies and make the food once we closer to the event.

I have my nephews birthday party tomorrow, he turned 4 today. I hope to get to work on the invites in the morning and at night. Joseph doesn't know I upped the party date so I am going to surprise him. It will be hard to get the invites done without him knowing. The printer is down in his office area where he usually does his school work. I will have to be sneaky.

14 days until graduation day.... I can't wait. Job hunting is still going, although we have had some good leads. I will keep you updated.

Move from WI????

I never thought I would contemplate moving from WI again, but it seems as I look daily for work for Joseph I get more and mor frustrated with the outlook. Graduation is looking us in the face in 18 days and some odd hours. What to do after that? Do we stay in WI and Joseph does something temporary totally unrelated to his degree until something better comes along? Do we venture out of WI for him to do his dream job for a while? What does the Lord want from us? So many questions, so many decisions to make. Joseph said to go ahead and apply for the jobs out of state and we will see what the happens. The Lord never shuts a door with out opening another one right? Alabama holds Joseph's dream job at Uchee Pines Lifestyle center. Colorado holds a very good position in his field to give him the experience he needs in an Adventist hospital. I guess we will see what the Lord has in store for us, maybe a small move and maybe a large move!

First storms of Spring

I am watching the first storms of spring. There are huge bolts of lightening streaking the sky and the thunder is so loud. I love storms when they don't bring distruction. 

I had a busy weekend. I took my aunt to the dr on Thursday and they decided to put her in the hospital on Friday. She has a mass in her colon area and they needed to do a colonoscopy. She was admitted so they could do the procedure and possibly surgery to remove it. At the last minute today they decided not to do the surgery because she is on a blood thinner that stays in your system for up to 14 days. They will do the surgery in two weeks instead. The good thing is the scope today showed her colon is clean and there is no cancer. They are thinking the mass is nothing serious.

We are down to the last two weeks of Joseph's school and the countdown is less than three weeks til graduation. I am scared, excited, nervous and excited- oh did I say that twice. I am scared and nervous because of the job outlook but I am excited that this five year journey is almost done. We have known nothing but school since we got married. Not a good way to start a marriage. Then add in a Hannah, infertility, family issues and normal life stress. Right now I am trying not to stress completely out as our outlook looks so bleak. I know God will provide the right job for Joseph, He will provide the right home for us if we need to move and He will provide for our needs. I just need to learn to let go and let God. I have not done that in a long time. I lost so much during this infertily journey and it is slowly coming back as I see the greater picture. There is a part of me that longs to carry another baby but maybe we are meant to adopt. I guess we will see what the Lord has in store for us.

Spa Night

I had a great time tonight at our MOPS spa night. My group helped plan it and it turned out great. It was so relaxing. I will really miss MOPS now that I am graduating out. Hannah starts kindergarten so she will be too old. I am hoping to find a homeschool group to get involved with once we know where we will be living. I sent out another resume for Joseph this week but there is just not a lot out there in his field. I am hoping for one that got back to him, Interra Health. They are located by Milwauke but he would be in a contracted position as a health screener. He would travel to companies in WI and put on health screenings for employees. I think we can live anywhere since he will travel to the company. We will find out more in June, that is when they will call for an interview. Then training begins in August. We might have to find a temp job to get us by if nothing else comes through before they call back.

Well, I don't have much to post. I have had a migraine for two days and I need to get some sleep, if I can. 

End of a stressful week and weekend...

Well I picked my dad up from the hospital on Friday, they told him he could be released around noon. He got dressed and we sat there until 2:30 waiting for discharge paperwork. I drove him home and stayed the weekend with him. My sister came up Saturday morning. It was nice to spend family time withouth our kids. Dad slept most of the weekend so Sam and I got some good bonding time. Dad has two long marks on the top of his head that are stapled shut. He will get the staples out in two weeks and that is when he gets the batteries installed in his device in his chest. I am so thankful that God brought him through this and that he is healing so fast.

My sister was telling me that my nephew is getting hit daily in his private area and they school won't do anything about it. It is supposedly not sexual harrassment because the boys are his age. WHAT? That is the craziest thing I have ever heard. I will be making some contacts to put this to and end. This so reaffirms us homeschooling Hannah. I am so glad I won't have to deal with the issues of public school, the bad influences and the horrible mean kids now days.

That is about it for now, have a great week.

Surgery was a success, so far

Well, I was up bright and early to get to the hospital an hour away. I got to sit with dad until they took him to get his "halo" put on, his MRI and then into the OR. I think he finally got into surgery around 9:30am and he was done around noon. I got to go up to his room around 1:45 and he looked great. His head was shaved and he had large gauze bandages covering the two holes on top of his head where they drilled into his brain. He also had two regular band-aids on his forehead where the "halo" was pinned. He seemed in good spirits and not in much pain other than a headache that he rated at a 5 on the pain scale. Understandable he would have a headache. The nurse forgot to bring his meds for his headache so two hours later I reminder her. She brought in some vicodin and he tried to rest. His headache was getting worse and he was not able to get any sleep. I went back to the nurses station and they came back to give him morphine by IV. They then took him for a CT scan to make sure he did not have any bleeding in his brain. I left after I ordered him dinner. I will go back tomorrow and they plan to discharge him early in the afternoon. I will drive him home and stay with him over the weekend. My sister is supposed to come up after work and stay the weekend too. I am so thankful for all the prayers and support from family and friends. Dad will go back in two weeks to get the device implanted in his chest to control the probes they put in today. Then hopefully we will see the full results from the surgery. Thank you Lord for you guidance today, we know you were watching over dad today and guided the hands of the physicians.

On another happy note Joseph is down to 30 days until graduation. I also got a lot of searching done at the hospital today and I think I have found a homeschool program for Hannah. It is called Five in a Row. I am excited to get started this fall. I am exausted after 12 hours at the hospital, so I am off for now.

Great Easter

Well we had a great Easter. I had Joseph's parents and my friend Jennifer over Friday evening for the Good Friday celebration. Jennifer had her two kids with her and it was a lot of fun. After we ate we went for a walk and then we watched a video on the Last Supper. After church on Sabbath we went to my dad's and spent the night. My sister and the boys came too. We went out for pizza and the place had games too. The kids had a good time earning tickets to redeem. After dinner we went to Walmart to get snacks and a movie. We put the kids to bed and watched Ironman. It was pretty good. Easter morning we did an egg hunt for the little kids and they seemed to have a good time. We went out for an Easter brunch and it was delicious. After we ate we parted ways and I went to see my mom. Sam and the boys had gone the day before. I guess mom loves seeing baby Dakokta and she even held him. When we showed up she had the blanket over her head and Hannah pulled it back. Mom was so excited to see us and she kept saying baby over and over. I think she thought we were bringing the baby back. We had a great visit. Mom was in such good spirits, she was laughing and holding a converstation. We took her for walk around the garden because it was a beautiful day outside. I had to video tape the conversation because it was unbelievable. I left with such a great feeling about that day. I was so glad I got to see a little of my old mom and so glad we got to capture it on video.

On Tuesday I went to Madison to visit Whole Foods. My friend Jennifer came with and brought her daughter. I took Hannah so Joseph could get caught up on school work. He is still behind from dealing with the effects of his thyroid issue. It was so great to find almost everything I needed in one place and at such good prices. I plan to go once a month to stock on items for the month.  We stopped at Panera Bread for lunch, it was so good. Joseph was a little jealous because he loves that place. I was excited to find out there is a Trader Joes in Madison too so next month I will hit both places.

My dad is having Deep Brain Stimulation surgery tomorrow. I am still trying to find out when. I am a little scared and I am hoping it goes well. I will stay the weekend with him after he goes home to make sure he is doing well. 

First Post

Hi, welcome to my blog. I figured since we have a lot going on in our lives right now I would start this blog. We started the job search for Joseph this week now that we heard we did not get the property in Portage. He sent out 3 resumes to positions in Wisconsin, all health promotion related. We will wait to see if we hear back on any of the resumes. There is not a lot out there and this economy is a little scary. We still don't know if our house is selling, but we have been told that the people who buy it will probably let us keep renting. I also have a huge dilema that I am trying to figure out. We have plans to go to Kansas in May for Joseph's graduation and we were going to leave on Wednesday so we can take our time getting there and spend some time visiting the area. Plus Joseph has some events to attend prior to Saturday. Well, Hannah has a ballet recital the day after his graduation and we planned to drive through the night and get back Sunday morning in time for her to get to her recital. I took her to ballet last night and they had the information for the recital in the new newsletter. I found out Hannah needs to be at a final rehearsal on Friday. That is going to be hard to do from Kansas. I am trying to figure out if we leave her with someone so she can be at her final rehearsal and then she misses her daddy's graduation OR we take her with as planned, she misses final rehearsal and possibly won't be allowed to to her recital. It is the only practice at the PAC where she will perform and if she misses it she won't know where to stand and such at the actual theatre. Ughhhh, why does it have to be so difficult. I wish I didn't have to chose.

On a good note, I am excited it is Easter weekend. I have everything all ready for Friday night. We always do a little agape feast at our home. We do a traditional foot washing and communion type service. We then do some readings and light some candles along with tasting some different types of foods that go along with the readings. We have horseradish that represents the bitterness of sin and applesauce that represents God's sweet love. It is a lot of fun. I then put out bible tpe foods, we will have dried fruit, grapes, hard boiled eggs, unleavened breads, olives, tapenade, grape juice, nuts, salmon and I make a braided bread that is so pretty. We have Joseph's parents and my friend Jennifer and her family coming. It should be a good time. I have a video that documents the last supper that I will show too. Then Saturday after church we are heading to dad's house and spending the night. My sister Sam and her boys will be coming too. We will go out to brunch on Sunday and then go visit my mom. On our way back home we are stopping to have dinner with my aunt Judy. A very full and fun weekend.