Praising God that Kiley had a Fever

I'm sure the title makes you wonder. Well, I actually did praise God that Kiley woke up with a fever. Today was the official start of 3 days of "Family Life" at school. You might be wondering, "What is Family Life?" Well, it's a politically correct name for "Sex Ed!" After viewing the curriculum and videos last week at the parent viewing, I walked out wondering if my daughter was actually in high school and not the 5th grade! First of all, I can't believe how few parents showed up! There are approximately 90 kids in the 5th grade and I counted enough parents to represent only 8 students! Do parents not care??? Of the parents there, I personally knew 6 of them and we are all Christians. We quickly gathered in a group after the meeting to discuss if we were really going to let our children participate in this unit. We were all in agreement...this is not 5th grade curriculum and there is no way we are letting our 10 and 11 year-old kids be a part of it! I think the single most statement that made me put my foot down was from the teacher that would be teaching the girls, "I tell them that they never know when they're going to get their period, so they need to be safe so they don't get pregnant." Really? First of all, are there 5th grade girls that are sexually active? I certainly didn't know of any when I was that age. Secondly, why do 5th graders need to know the specifics of sex yet? Finally, what happened to morals??? So, a friend of mine that works at the school went to the teacher to ask for more specifics. She asked about teaching abstinence as a Christian value. The answer, more startling than the comment, although she personally believes in the value of waiting, she's not allowed to teach it!!! What has happened to schools in America? Everything, but God, is up for discussion. So, back to today's title, THANK GOD we did not have to lie to the school and say Kiley was out sick when she really wasn't!

Glass Seats for the Ducks

Hockey will never be the same again! We've had season tickets for the Ducks for a couple of years now and our seats are surrounded by friends that we love to watch hockey with. I've never complained about our seats because we enjoy them so much and are grateful God provides the money each year to renew them. This year, for John's birthday, I splurged the money and got tickets for John and me to sit on the glass (that's right, row A) for the game against Colorado. Let me tell you, it was the greatest thing that I actually wondered how I could ever return to our regular seats! It's an entirely different game from the front row. You can actually see the expressions on the players' faces, the sweat dropping from their brows, the blood from the fights.... There's nothing like a couple players slammed up against the glass 1 foot in front of you!!! It almost feels like you're on the ice with them, just give me a stick and I'll jump into the action! So, now that I've been completely spoiled by the new view of hockey, I decided I better come up with at least a few cons of sitting on the glass. First, it's harder to follow the puck because you're not looking down on the game, so it can get hidden between players.
Second, the fans, for the most part, are snobs in the lower section. Hardly any of them were wearing jerseys. Instead, they all wear the expensive leather team jackets and the women wear plunging neck lines to show off their augmented breasts. They just aren't as "in to the game." They seem to be there more for the status rather than the love of the game. So, at the next home game, when I return to our regular seats, I'll look around and enjoy the camaraderie of the "true" Ducks fans, proudly wearing their jerseys and painted faces and where they treat you like their best friend, even if you just met them, because you're there for the common bond of rooting on our beloved Ducks!

Cookie Booth Sales

Girls Scout cookie sales is finally coming to an end. Yippee! Kiley sold well beyond her goal and we are so proud of her. Today was our last day to have a cookie booth in the village. Fortunately for all the moms, we were set up right in front of Starbucks.....this is so much better than selling in front of the bank. All of the girls did a great job selling to people walking by. They had a great sales pitch without being obnoxious. They even made cookie costumes out of giant rolls of paper and the girls enjoyed taking turns wearing all the different kinds of cookies. Best of all, the idea for making the costumes came from the girls! Even the mayor of Claremont, Corey Calaycay, came to buy cookies. This may not sound that interesting, but last year's mayor, Ellen Taylor, really sealed the deal on being Claremont's rudest mayor ever when she tried to run off our troop from having a booth outside her office building. She was upset we didn't have a permit to be there, even though we had permission to be there and these are Girl Scouts for goodness sake. She also thought we were a danger to passing cars. She even called the police! The local press had a field day on this and people wrote into the paper for months poking fun of her crazy antics. No doubt, it will take many years to live down that event. Today as the mayor bought cookies, he promised not to call the police on us.

Daniel is Done, Didn't we Have Fun!

I just finished 12 weeks of the most intense Bible Study I’ve ever been a part of! It was Beth Moore’s, “Daniel.” I learned so much, but the homework was exhausting and the material was so in depth that there were moments I worried my brain would explode. It was worth every second!!!! I’ve done quite a few studies on different books in the Bible, but none as thorough as this. Daniel is such an amazing mix of prophesy, history, eschatology and more. We certainly live in a modern day Babylon and I'm striving to be like Daniel!

The Never Ending Day

Wow, what a day! It's after midnight and I'm finally crawling into bed. It was a typical crazy morning of getting the girls fed breakfast, lunches packed, homework checked and out the door to school. The 3 Coombs boys along with their neighbor arrived at our house where K and M and 2 other girls that get dropped off at our house in the morning gather to walk to school. They pick up another boy 2 houses away from us and then the 9 of them walk the remaining 4 houses to school. This is the same crazy routine we follow every morning, but we have it perfectly mastered and it works! I then had time for a quick shower before meeting a friend for tea and bagels. I made it home just a few minutes before the notary arrived at our house to sign some documents. As soon as he left, John was off to work and I hit the sewing machine to sew on all of K's new patches to her Jr. Girl Scout vest. I finished with 30 seconds to spare before I had to head up to the school to make popcorn for the popcorn booth to raise money for Science Camp (this is another regular Friday routine). After 2 hours of setting up, selling and cleaning up the popcorn booth, I was home for a few minutes to finally eat a sandwich for lunch (at 3:45) before heading back out the door to go to the bank and make swim team deposits. From there, I headed down the street of the village to meet up with Kiley and her G.S. Troop selling cookies in front of Starbucks. I helped there for about an hour before heading across the street for the kids along with a friend and her kids to feed the kids pizza. With the kids fed and exhaustion beginning to take its toll on me, I headed home to work on the laundry I had started in the morning for 30 minutes before K's friend and her mom to arrive for the girls to swim and "us moms" share the craziness we call life. After changing the propane tank twice on the patio heater (don't ask) we finally got to sit down and enjoy some hot chocolate and Baileys. After my friend left, leaving her daughter to spend the night, I began the process of making sure they all showered and had an evening snack. We had multiple discussions on where they should sleep and finally all agreed to sleeping bags on the living room floor. With the kids down, I grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before starting my regular Friday routine of cleaning all 3 bathrooms. By then it was 11pm and all I had left was some laundry to fold and clean sheets to put on my bed. Now it's 1am, I'm wiped out and anxious for John to arrive home from work in the next hour or so. Whew.....what a day!!!

Celebrating Carissa & Baby Hope with a Baby Shower

After weeks of planning and lots of cooking, Carissa's baby shower was a great success! It was a great pleasure and honor to bless Carissa this way. I first met Carissa when she was single and was the Children's Pastor at our former church. She bonded well with our girls and worked her way into their hearts and ours too. We were blessed to be a part of her life as she met Jaye, got married and now as she's expecting their first child in April. As soon as I found out she was pregnant, I told her I was giving her a baby shower. It's such fun watching her belly grow and I get to see her frequently at the Duck's games since our season tickets are right next to each other. We are so blessed to have Carissa, Jaye and soon to be, Hope Grace, in our lives. Although she's no longer a children's pastor, we know that she has and will continue to have a positive impact on K and M's lives.

Pioneer Day

The long awaited 3rd grade Pioneer Day finally came and went. This was a favorite event of mine when K was in 3rd grade and I couldn't wait to be a part of it again, this time with M. The day was filled with lots of events, such as quilt making, candle dipping, tin punching, leather carving, shaving, poker, checkers, apple pealing, butter making, laundry washing, rag dolls and much more. We had a blast and it was so awesome to share this special day with Makenna this time around. In fact, I even missed Bible Study for it, which is a big deal! M made it to almost all the booths, but found candle dipping to be her favorite. Finally the 3rd graders end the event eating the old fashioned way, out of old pie tins, enjoying such foods as pork and beans, cornbread, oranges and of course, all the butter they made. I, once again worked at the quilting booth, my area of expertise! It's hard for me to call it quilting, as the kids just sew to triangle pieces of fabric together and paste them to a stick on string to hang up. The picture at the top shows M proudly holding her creation. The sadness set in as I was leaving the school as I knew that I no longer had another child that would participate in this special 3rd grade event. However, I decided it didn't mean my time with Pioneer Day was completely over, I don't need a child in the 3rd grade to volunteer my time! For that, I am grateful and will enjoy it again in March 2010!

Home with the flu

It's after 8:00pm and I've just gotten out of bed for more than 5 minutes for the first time all day. I didn't think it was possible to sleep for almost all of a 24 hour period, but I've just proven myself wrong. I've got the cough, sore throat, congestion, fever and body aches. My hope is to take it easy for another 24 hours and wake up completely refreshed and well. Am I dreaming?

About right now I'm so grateful that my kids are, for the most part, self sufficient. They've managed to care for themselves all day, helping each other with homework and delivering Girls Scout cookies to the neighbors. Most of all, I'm extremely grateful for my BFF, Janet, who delivered a very yummy dinner to the door and took my precious Pebbles to the vet to get her shots so I can renew her dog license this weekend. I am so blessed!

Fun with my cousins in Ohio

I returned home on Wednesday after spending 5 days in Ohio visiting my cousins, aunts and uncle. I had a blast! It was a much needed getaway for me after a stressful year. Although I missed John and the girls desperately, it was nice to not have to worry about my responsibilities and just focus on quality time with my extended family. I was reminded on this trip where I get my sarcastic, don't beat around the bush personality. I am a Stuter! I definitely feel in my element when I'm
with my dad's side of the family. I used to spend every-other summer in Ohio and some visits in the winter too. I love that place and would move in a heartbeat! I'm sure all things seem better when you visit occasionally. I bet if we moved there, Iwould miss California. It was great to visit all the locations that I remember from my childhood. It wouldn't be an Ohio trip without visiting the Smuckers Store, Buehlers and my grandparents former house. I also got to visit my grandparents' graves and reminisce with my cousins all the funny moments with our grandparents. I realized just how much I miss my Ohio family and how our personalities are so similar. I think this will become an annual trip for me.


While I was away, the girls got to spend the weekend with my parents and play with my sister's girls. I'm told they all had a blast and hardly knew I was even gone! J also got some quality time with the girls which is so important for all of them. I have prohibited myself from thinking about how their hair must have looked each day at school! I'm sure it wasn't up to my standards!