8-29-2010 Week in Review….

Let’s see, the week started off BADLY….

   Got Dade a hair appt. since he has been growing out his hair all summer and was hoping for a Style not the regular shave I give him.  Started to leave and realized I didn’t have my purse.

 

I remember asking Ryan if he saw it when we were leaving the beach and he told me it was in the back of the car so I call him and he informs me that he’d been talking about the diaper bag and the last time he saw my bag was under the bed in the condo we were staying at…..sigh.  So NO KEYS!

Luckily Dade walks in with the only spare there is and I’m so excited and pile the kids in the car…then realize I have NO MONEY…wait! I have the check book! 

So we head out and then I realize I have NO ID!  So we call the place (mid my tears) and they say they’ll take a check with no ID.  Thank you.  I then call my bank and cancel my card.  I call the resort place and they go and look and tell me it’s no where to be found.  BIG SIGH.  Dade’s haircut turns out GREAT and my fabulous SIL watched the other kids while we went so we hung out with her a bit so I could decompress.  I got home and started the long drawn out process of trying to get everything reissued.  Did you know you need a Visa to get a new ID??  What if your Visa is WITH your ID??  BIGGER SIGH…  Then I realize that my main bank account is under my last married name and that the way I was getting by using it all these years is because I had an old ID with my old name on it.  Well, that ID is gone now so I have nothing to prove I’m the person who owns that account.  I do have a marriage license that has my old name on it but I don’t have any ID proving I’m the one with the new name either!  BIGGEST SIGH EVER…. This is all going to take much longer to fix than I’d hoped but everyone was mostly helpful on the phone and I should have a few of my new cards in 7-10 days….in the mean time….anyone want to lone me some gas money?

We did go and meet Corben’s new teacher.  Should I be worried that he seems like he may have been hand picked by God just for Corben?  Actually, I’m not going to worry that things are too good to be true.  I prayed about Corben going to this school and some miraculous things have happened there for him so I’m going to sit back, keep praying, and not let my bad day tarnish my view of things.  If this teacher is all he appears to be then he is just the man I’ve been praying to be Corben’s teacher and I am so very, very thankful.

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Many wonderful people offered support to me last night and this morning.  It was a huge comfort.  Thank you!  Then, as I searched for official looking things that had my name on it I found my old bag where I’d stowed an OLD military ID with my old last name on it! AND my recently expired drivers license with my current name.  YEAH TO PHOTO ID!!

Headed to the bank today where they were super kind and let me get some money to survive on  until my new cards come in.  Came home and got the house cleaned up in preparation for school starting tomorrow (I wont have anyone to help me tomorrow!).  Had a random midday gallbladder attack, and then headed out in the evening to get a bajillion new keys made to replace to two sets of keys that are now gone.  (Be glad you don’t have 5 cars like me…WAY too many keys.)

Guess I should head to bed.  I have to get up EARLY tomorrow since it’s Dade’s first day of high school and I have to drive Corben to his school.  Some people look forward to school starting…I don’t.  I miss my crazy, arguing, rude, sarcastic, wonderful children.

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Here’s Dade heading to the bus on his first day of High School.  Don’t you love the “Really, Mom? Do we have to do this?” smile?  Somehow I missed Corben’s picture….  Anyway, they both had great first days.  I miss them.

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I called the resort again today.  They’re double checking….

AND……(after checking 6 times by 3 different people) THEY FOUND IT!!  Zippidy Do Da, Zippidy A!

Too bad I already spent $40 in new keys, $10 in new ID, and now $25 to have it shipped back….might as well have been robbed….lol.

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  A wonderful friend of Ryan’s came and worked on the deck this week and now all the boards are attached.  We spent several nights this week just sitting out there and watching the girls (and boy) run in circles.  We played with sparklers and found cool bugs.  It’s been great.  Can’t wait until it’s done.  Ryan and I stained it only to have a freak rain storm come out of no where (there were clear skies when we started) and wash a good bit of it away.  Sigh.  Guess it’s a great way to learn how to strip it and prep it again….

Anyway, here’s some of our time on it Sunday….don’t ya love Ella’s cicada??  She loves it…very much.

 

Sunday evening we headed out to the Schnegel family party.  We got to celebrate Sylvie’s upcoming b-day and Corben’s.  Since Gpa took all the pictures I’ll wait to post on the party next week….oh, and I’m sure there will be a special post just for Corben’s new FROG!! (Yes, he has a pet now….oh, and he rolled his foot at the party and limped to school today…good times!)

And now, a HUGE SHOUT OUT to everyone who came to my aid on this no good very bad week.  It’s so nice to know we’re loved so much!  Thanks is never enough.

Now with even more prizes!

I am thrilled to announce that OnSite Automotive has offered to add a FREE STANDARD (6qt) OIL CHANGE to the raffle! I will be adding it to the cake raffle as an additional prize pull--THANK YOU  SO MUCH ADAM!! And OnSite Automotive will come to YOU to do the job (providing you live in the greater Raleigh area--farther customers can bring their vehicle to Raleigh for their free oil change). This is such a generous donation to our raffle!

   If anyone else has anything they can and would like to donate, please send me an email--otherwise--LET'S START SELLING SOME TICKETS!! THERE'S ALREADY OVER $600 IN PRIZES TO BE WON ALREADY!!

We need your help & all you have to do is Enter to Win!

     Hello friends! I hope you will read this all the way through and will take a few minutes out of your busy lives to help my sister make a difference for someone else.

     My sister, Tammy, will be holding a raffle for the next few weeks to raise money for a dear friend of hers who lost everything in the floods in Nashville! The Grand Prize will be one of her custom cakes especially designed for the occasion of your choice, as a gift or transferable to someone else if you so choose (like if you're out of state, but know someone that lives here!) The possibilities are endless. Many of you are familiar with her cake designs, but for those who aren't I have posted pictures of just some of them. Does you child have special birthday coming up? Parents have an anniversary? Want something unique and special for the holidays? Baby shower? Graduation? Valentine's Day? If you can think of it--she can do it! Or she can help you come up with the design. The winner will have one full year to take advantage of their prize and Tammy will do up to three tiers OR a 3-D design of your choice! And then she'll even deliver within a 50 mile radius--but any further and she'll need you to make up the difference and meet her. So buy your tickets and start dreaming up what kind of cake you'll want to wow your friends with! We will also be offering 10 RUNNER-UPS  a plate of delectable large gourmet chocolate-covered pretzels. These are a highly coveted treat in our neck of the woods--I wish I had a picture--but you won't be sorry! Here are some of Tammy’s cakes:

    So now that you know what you can win, let me share with you the BIGGER PICTURE of what we're raising money for.

     In the early days of May 2010, Nashville, TN was hit with historic flooding caused by record-breaking rains. Many died and even more were devastated . Months later--long after the relief parties are gone and those who were able to help have done their part and gone back to their lives--thousands of people are still dealing with the aftermath. The photos are all nameless faces to many of you, so allow me to introduce you to just ONE. This is my sister’s friend Debbie. She was evacuated from her home at 6am--literally fleeing from her home for her life with nothing but her three dogs. She was unable to even return to her home to see the damage for days due to the high waters, but when she did she found she'd lost everything--literally. Her home, her car, her furniture, her clothes. They were all lost or destroyed in the waters that consumed everything.  

     Almost 4 months later, Debbie's life is still turned up-side-down. She is trying to rebuild her home and hasn't even begun to think about the costs of furniture and other essentials. Her dogs have also had to be boarded this entire time as she could not find a place that could take her and her pets, so the bills just keep coming. We wish we had enough to wipe it all away for her, but since we don't, we’re simply doing what WE CAN.

     SOOOOOO..... rather than just ask folks for donations, Tammy is offering this raffle to raise money for her!! Tickets will be just 5 DOLLARS--and as an added BONUS--for every 4 tickets for the cake raffle you can buy ($20 total), you will be added to a separate and smaller raffle to win a FREE FAMILY PHOTO SESSION from CS Heritage Photography! (That’s ME!)Same rules apply as above--you can give as a gift (the perfect Christmas gift for ANYone on your list) or keep for yourself--just use it within a year! This session includes an hour to an hour and a half- long photo session in a location of your choice (within the Raleigh area) with up to 6 people. You will then get a CD of the best edited, high-resolution photos from the session along with a release form to print them as much as your heart desires! – Feel free to visit http://csheritage.blogspot.com for a view of some of my recent sessions.

     Since tickets are only $5 a piece, we need this raffle to be HUGE in order to help make a difference for Debbie. Please tell your friends--your co-workers--your family members! And for every 5 tickets you can sell for me Tammy'll give you one for FREE!! Please don't forget about this as soon as you read this. We’ll will be running the raffle the entire month of September and will be posting reminders. We will video tape the drawing when the time comes and post it through email and Facebook.

SO HERE'S HOW YOU  CAN HELP!

1. Get an envelope (remember those?)

2. Send a check or cash for whatever number of tickets you'd like to purchase. Include a piece of paper with your name, phone number (so I can notify you if you've won) and an email address (so I can confirm that I received your $ and info).

3. Send to Debbie Raffle 729 Phelps Rd., Louisburg, NC 27549

4. If you are a friend of one of my family members--feel free to give the envelope to them (still please include all your info so I can confirm when I've received it!)

    THANK YOU IN ADVANCE EVERYONE!! EVEN JUST 5 DOLLARS FROM AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE FOR ONE PERSON! Please help us help her by sacrificing a few moments and just a few dollars!

Love,

Christy

*********** Please feel free to share this note with your friends on your page! REMEMBER: For every 5 tickets you help me sell, you'll get one for free! Thanks for your help!!*************

8-22-2010 Week in Review….

The boys were gone the first few days of this week, though Corben’s dad drove him up here for Karate Camp on Monday and Tuesday. 

So the girls and I just hung out trying to get some things done.  I was supposed to go to the beach today, but that didn’t work out….I’m only slightly bitter….:)

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Tuesday my mom came and watch the kids for me so I could run over and visit my Great Aunt Sarah Gwen.  She had a lung transplant on Friday and hadn’t been doing well.  She’s my grandma’s sister and since I don’t get to see much of that side of the family since Grandma died I wanted to make sure I went.  It was so nice to see people I recognized though I haven’t seen most of them since I was a child.  They recognized me, too, and spent much time talking about which family member I most resembled.  It warmed my heart and made my day.

The boys finally made it back from their week with their dad and grandparents.  I missed them so much but they did have a ton of fun!

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Dade had Court of Honor this week.  He received 5 merit badges and moved up a rank.  I’m so proud of him.  He’s well on his way to achieving Eagle!

 

This is the look you get when you call Dade’s name out and snap a pic! (Love the long hair? It’s taken him 4 months to get it that long! lol)

Getting his badges and new rank!

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Today was CORBEN’S BIRTHDAY!!!  He’s 10!!

He headed out to Camp and was pleasantly surprised when I showed up with Cupcakes!

I then rushed home to get to work on his tank cake…

 

…and found this new friend on our car tire.

We had a small family party and Corben was super excited to get one of the Wii games he never thought anyone would buy because it’s so crazy expensive...luckily he has a rich brother and a nice mom…

 

Ryan was out of town for the last 3 days working but made it home in time for the party!

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Next it was time for my sister, Lianna’s b-day!! Happy Birthday, Lianna!!

We started the morning with Dade’s high school open house (can you believe it?) and then headed over to meet the family and exchange gifts. 

 

From there we headed to Dade’s final sinus follow up where I managed to leave my bag while chasing 2 toddler girls through the office.  No worries, the bag only contained my NICE camera and our video camera….that’s all.  Sigh…  Luckily they found it and my mom was able to swing by and pick it up for me. 

At the end of this week I was worn out and needing a break.  When Ryan got home I filled him in on our calendar for next week and a million other things.  Then he asked if there was anything else and I mentioned that I still really wanted to go to the beach….He looked right at me and said, “Well, if we leave right now we can get there before dark!”  SERIOUSLY!!  Twice in one summer??!!  So, we found a place for Dade to stay (at his request) because he had a few responsibilities to take care of and we headed out! YEAH!

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Oh, what a glorious day!  The weather was perfect and we had the entire day to spend with some family and do what ever we wanted!

We headed to the end of the island where the tide was out and the water was so shallow.  There were sea shells EVERYWHERE!!

There weren’t any waves unless boats went by so Ryan was able to make Sylvie this little pool that she hung out in for some time.

Corben spent the entire time out on boogie boards with my cousin.  They had a great time together!

 

After baths and lunch we headed out to a local park….see that sign in the background??

IT SAYS…

Are you kidding me??!!  They even made him look all cute!  Corben kept a look out but we never saw him…thankfully!

My cousin, T’s, cute shoes!

We ended the evening with a fantastic dinner out and then after the kids were in bed Ryan and I headed out for a wonderfully quiet walk on the beach…it was fabulous.  Thanks, Aunt D!

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We headed home early Sunday morning and got home by lunch.  I started getting messages from a few friends about Dade’s testimony at church.  It’s not the Sunday that people usually go up and give their testimony so I was kind of confused…until I talked to Dade.  You see…2 weeks ago Dade was asked to give a 5-7 minute talk in Sacrament Meeting (our main meeting).  He was supposed to talk to the congregation on youth values.  He made two mistakes…First, he never told me about it…Second, he forgot himself!!  When he sat down in his seat with the family he was staying with, someone asked him what he was doing.  Suddenly his name was announced from the podium as being the first speaker! The person sitting next to him then showed him the program and his name printed as first speaker.  Then…(as quoted by a good friend from church, Beth)

“He did great! When his name was called, he stood from his seat, put his hand over his chest with a surprised look on his face (as if he had just found out he was announced as an Oscar winner). He excused himself as he crawled over the people sitting next to him. All eyes followed him as he walked to the stand. He proceeded to adjust the mike and began bearing his testimony like he had planned it all along.”

Dade said that the leadership up front all told him they wish they’d had a camera when his name was announced.  His expression was apparently priceless.  He headed right up and bore his testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel instead.  I am SO proud that despite his lack of preparation and memory he was still confident enough to go forward and speak to those several hundred people about what he believes.  Way to go, Dade!

Dade later had a church leadership meeting but as soon as he was home we headed out to celebrate the birthday of my dear SIL, Jessica!!  We love her SO much!

We then headed straight over to the church for Dade’s Seminary meeting.  Starting next Monday he will be attending an early morning scripture study class before school each day.  He got to meet his teacher and I was blessed enough to set up rides so I wouldn’t be dragging 4 kids out in their pj’s at 6am.  (Thanks, Callie & Sherri!!)

As soon as we got home Ryan rushed back out to go do his monthly visits with several church families.  We then happily collapsed and went to bed…  So much for a Day of Rest!!