Picnic fun....

Connor had his preschool class picnic last Thursday, and we weren't sure if it would even happen when we got up that morning. The skies were dark, and it was drizzling a little bit here. But within an hour, it was blue skies (and high humidity....but oh well). So we went to the picnic, being held at Adams Township Park. I've never been to the park before, but it was nice. In the photo at the top left, he's playing with his friend, Kallista. She and Connor were good buddies this year, particularly because they both liked to hug. :) He also was friends with another little girl, named Carly. She's in the picture at the top right. She liked to hug, too. Kallista once told me that she liked Connor best of all the boys because he liked to hug her back. Awwwww. I guess this means he's popular with the ladies already! :O He also got along really well with a little boy named Logan, who he is playing ball with in the picture above.

Anyway, it was a nice ending to the year. Connor is looking forward to going back next year.

New career?

Well, as you all know, we've been going through quite a few changes here in our house. My husband has been without work since November, and I lost what was my most lucrative freelancing job at the end of January. So we've not been doing very well at all.

The other day, I was reading a story about professions which are in demand and expected to grow over the next 10 years, and veterinary technicians were among them. A lightbulb went off in my head. Hmmmm......I like animals. In fact, sometimes I like them a lot more than most people. But that's a topic for another blog. And I know I'm good with them. My experience with Zorro is a testament to that. I have that cat now so comfortable with me that he comes to greet me when I'm outside and lets me pet him without first bribing him with food. Considering he was a wild nutjob when we first started helping him last summer, I'd say that's great progress.

So I started calling around to some vet schools here in the area. I was even thinking of asking my local vet if I could come down and shadow one of his technicians for a few hours to see if it's truly something I could do.

My husband and most of my friends have been very supportive. Some of my family members have not, though, as they feel I should not be thinking about working or going to school with a special needs child to care for. So now I don't know what to do. I guess that's a decision to place in God's hands.

Dirt boys.....

So my two favorite boys were playing in the dirt yesterday. Actually, they were working in the dirt. Our yard is so messed up from all the rain we've gotten that it's washed away a lot of the topsoil. So Connor decided to help daddy put some new dirt on the places where it needed it. It was cute watching them both hauling dirt in their wheelbarrows. Connor actually did a very good job with it. Now if I can just get him to help me rake leaves this fall, we'll have it made!

Remembering those who have served......

Happy Memorial Day!

If you love your freedom, and appreciate everything that this country has to offer you, then find yourself a veteran, shake his or her hand, and say THANK YOU!

Faith Like Potatoes.....

So we just finished watching the movie Faith Like Potatoes. Good stuff. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It's based on the novel of the same name, which is the true-life story of Angus Buchan, a Zambian farmer who leaves his farm in the midst of political unrest and racially charged land reclaims and travels south with his family to start a better life in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. He's a pretty angry man at the start of the movie, but is transformed by his faith. I won't give too much away in case you haven't seen it and would like to see it.

I just hope that if you want to see it, you have an easier time finding it than we did. I asked for it at Giant Eagle Video, and the worker there assured me I must have made some kind of mistake, because there was no such movie. I assured her there was, she assured me I was mistaken and that was the end of it. I finally found it in a video store near my parents' house. If you want to own instead of renting it, it is available at the Christian book store.

Power of prayer....

My mother-in-law sent me this today, and I thought it was worth sharing:

God's twenty six guards

Have you ever felt the urge to pray for someone and then just put it on a list and said, 'I'll pray for them later'? Or has anyone ever called you and said, 'I need you to pray for me, I have this need?' Read the following story that was sent to me and May it change the way that you may think about prayer And also the way you pray. You will be blessed by this....

A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan. 'While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, Every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days and Required camping overnight at the halfway point.. On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, Purchase medicine, and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital. Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, One of whom had been seriously injured.. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time Talked to him about the Lord. I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and Arrived home without incident.... Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated. He told me that he had known I carried Money and medicines. He said, 'Some friends and I followed you in to the jungle, Knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs.

But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards. At this, I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone in that jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, however, and said, 'No, sir, I was not the only person to see the guards, my friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.'

At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day this happened. The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who interrupted told him this story: 'On the night of your incident in Africa, It was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong; I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?'
The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary wasn't concerned with whom they were, He was too busy counting how many men he saw. There were 26. This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in behalf of those who love Him. If you ever feel such prodding to pray, go along with it,
You don't know what it can mean to that person. Nothing is ever hurt by prayer. I encourage you to forward this to as many people as you know. If we all take it to heart, we can turn this world toward God once again. As the above true story clearly illustrates, 'With God all things are possible'. More importantly, how God hears and Answers the prayers of the faithful.After you read this, please pass it on and Give God thanks for the beautiful gift of your faith, for the powerful gift of prayer, and for the many miracles He works in your own daily life... And then pass it on. Who says God does not move on the earth today? I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today.. To guide you and protect you as you go along your way His love is always with you, His promises are true, And when we give Him all our cares then God will see us through.
So when the road you're traveling on seems difficult at best, remember, keep on praying, and God will do the rest.

He finally gets it!

Potty training Connor has been a process, to say the least. We started when he was nearly 3, and it took him a long time to even find a potty he liked, let alone wanted to try to use. We finally settled on an insert for our big potty, complete with pee guard. We've been doing this for months now, and I started much like anyone else starts when potty training their child: I put him on every so often and hoped he peed. Once he seemed to get the hang of that, I bravely put him in real underwear. He had a few accidents on the first day, but then that was it. Now, I'm not saying he hasn't ever had an accident since, because he has. But they've been few and far between and have mostly happened overnight.

Although he was using the potty, I didn't consider him potty trained. The only one who was really trained was me. Granted, he'd used the potty. But he never told me when he actually had to go. Until he got to that point, I told myself he wasn't really adept at using the potty. Well, I am happy to announce that day has come. Over the last week, he has started telling me he has to go. He finally understands that feeling means he has to pee or poop and he responds accordingly. I am so proud of him! Way to go Connor! Double thumbs up, buddy!