Throwback Thursday

The date: July 31, 1980 - although he is obviously a little older in this picture
The place: Sulphur, Louisiana
The mood: I was elated. I was an aunt for the very first time at the ripe old age of 11. Since I'm the baby of my family, I didn't have any younger siblings so this was almost like having a baby brother.

This is my nephew Thom. I can't believe he is 28 years old today. He's married to his wonderful wife Katie and the executive director of a museum. How cool is that? I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. That blond hair and those big blue eyes made everyone fall in love with him. The first nephew. The first grandchild on our side of the family. My sister and brother-in-law live in the same town as my parents so I got to see him almost every day when he was little. He grew up being called Tommy, then somewhere along the way in college or maybe high school decided he wanted to be called Thom.

Happy Birthday, Thom. Aunt Rachel is as proud of you today as I was the very first day I laid eyes on you! Love you!

Because All the Pretty Girls Live There

The shower curtain in the boys' bathroom is a world map. I figured they might as well get a bit of an education since one of them likes to have something to read while he is taking care of business.

The other day I was helping Fletcher in the bathroom when we had this conversation.
Fletcher: (pointing to Brazil on the shower curtain/map) Dad says all the pretty girls live in Brazil.
Mom: Oh, he did, did he?
Fletcher: Yeah, but he met you in Texas.
Mom: Gee, I can't wait until Dad gets home.

Later when Dad gets home --
Mom: Fletcher told me that you said all the pretty girls live in Brazil. Would you like to explain?
Dad: That is NOT what I said at all. He got it all wrong.
Mom: (very suspicious) Go ahead. I am waiting.

Apparently, in the bathroom Fletcher likes Kevin to point out where family members live on the map - Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Wisconsin, etc. Fletcher asked one day where Kevin met me. Dad showed him Texas. Fletcher randomly pointed to Brazil and said that he wanted to meet his wife there. Kevin told him, "I am sure alot of pretty girls live in Brazil." Fletcher translated that to mean that ALL the pretty girls live in Brazil.

That's their story and they're sticking to it.

SPIDERMAN, SPIDERMAN (Girls' Weekend - Part 2 )

Like I mentioned in yesterday's post, our Girls' Weekend trips have mostly consisted of shopping, eating and visits to the spa. This year we decided to be a bit more adventurous and try out the man-made whitewater rafting center. It's similar to a regular river with various classes of rapids and rocks. It is just man-made. I think it is the only one of its kind in the US.

I've never been whitewater rafting. Ever. I'm not a very strong swimmer so water sports make me a little nervous. I tore my retina the last time I went waterskiing. But all the girls wanted to do this so I was not going to be a wimp. We arrive at the center and the guide gives everyone about a 10-15 minute safety lecture. He talks about how to hold your paddle, what to do if you fall out, how to make eye contact with your guide if you fall out, and then he casually says something along the lines of, "This hardly ever happens, but if you fall out and come up and it's blue then you are under the boat. You need to do the Spiderman crawl in one direction to get out from under the boat. Most people panic and start crawling in all different directions and can't get out." Have you ever been on an airplane when no one is paying attention to the flight attendant's safety demo? It was like that here. Except for me. I was hanging on his every word.

Those words would save my life.*

There are two sections to the "river". The first section are class II and III. These are considered the baby rapids. They take everyone on these first to make sure everyone in the boats can paddle correctly and follow the guide's directions. I was sitting in the back right of the boat in front of the guide. So that meant four of the girls were in front of me and one was beside me. The guide showed us how to wedge one foot under the seat in front of us for stability and put the other foot at an angle to brace ourselves. Did I mention that I have narrow feet? Not just narrow heels, but the top to bottom part is narrow too. She had various commands that she would yell out like "Lean right" or "Paddle left three".

We went through the first section once. We had a little trouble getting going because we couldn't paddle together. and then we were going to do it again before we moved on to the Class IV rapids. I think you can guess what happened. We came to the top of a wave (?) and the raft seemed to go airborne causing the seat in front of me to lift up slightly. My foot came out and I flipped over backwards out of the boat. I wasn't expecting that AT ALL. In my head I was thinking, "We were on the baby rapids!!! No one ever falls out on the baby rapids." I was expecting to pop up out of the water since I was wearing a life vest. Instead I slammed into something blue. Yep - I was under the boat. I started panicking and screaming in my head, "SPIDERMAN, SPIDERMAN" and frantically crawling in one direction. Those boats don't look all that big, but at the time it seemed HUGE. It seemed like forever before I came up out of the water. My heart was racing. Then I got into the position floating on my back with my feet up so I wouldn't scrape the bottom of the river.

I wear hard contacts. But for water stuff like this, I wear soft contacts. They had shifted in my eyes when I went under. So when I came up, I couldn't see ANYTHING. I am pretty much legally blind without my contacts. Remember, the safety lesson guy said to make eye contact with your guide so he/she can tell you what to do. Yeah, right. I could hear her yelling, "Swim that way." But I couldn't see where she was pointing. I could, however, see another boat coming my way. I was near some rocks so I climbed up on them. The guide for the other boat yelled for me to climb higher because his boat was about to hit those rocks. Frankly, this part was not exactly as fun as I thought it would be when I made the reservations. Finally, my raft came back and got me. The girls were a little freaked out because the four in the front hadn't realized that I had fallen out until Ali (the girl next to me) started yelling. They said it was really scary because they couldn't find me. Then they knew I must be under the boat. They all knew it was my first time to do this and I was not a good swimmer. It was probably only a matter of seconds, but they said it seemed like forever before I came up out of the water. When I was back in the raft, I remember thinking, "I am definitely blogging about this!"

We kept going even though I didn't have a paddle. We did the Class IVs three times and no one ever fell out. My foot is sore because I made sure it was wedged under that seat in front of me. One of our girls in the other raft fell out, but she grabbed the rope on the side of the boat and held on.

Was it scary? Yes. Would I do it again? At this place, yes. Out on a river, I'm not sure. Did we have fun? Yes. At the end of the trip, our guide finally asked us how old we were. She had been trying to figure it out the whole time by asking us questions. When we told her that we were all either 40 or about to turn 40, she was so shocked and impressed that we were there and that we had done so well.

If you want to see pictures of us in the boat (sorry, no pics of my fall), go to this link and look at page 2 photo #18
page 3 photo #19, 20
page 4 photo # 34,35
I'm third row to the right of the guide who is back center. You know, the one without the paddle.

One of the girls had a waterproof camera and she took some pictures, but she is out of town for three weeks so it may be awhile before we get copies of those pics.

*Hey, it's my blog -- I can be as dramatic as I want to be!

Girls' Weekend 2008 - Part 1

We were all single and fresh out of college in Houston for our first jobs. We met at Second Baptist and started doing a Bible study together. That was back in the early 90's. So most of us have known each other for at least 15+ years. Now we are spread out everywhere in Texas, the Carolinas and even Africa. About 8 years ago we decided to start getting together once a year for Girls' Weekend. No kids unless you were still nursing a baby. No husbands. Different place every year. This year they decided to come visit me at our new house. We ate, shopped, went whitewater rafting (more on that in another post) and saw Mamma Mia!. But mostly we just spent time talking and laughing into the wee hours of the morning. It is great to have people who know your history and love you anyway and can pick right back up where you left off a year ago. I love these girls. I love these weekends.

Drowning in a sea of testosterone

Kevin has a weight bench in our bonus room upstairs. It is not a dinky little weight bench. It is this massive thing that is painted the color of a school bus. Apparently, he can do every kind of lifting known to man and not have to go to a gym. He pulled the old "bait and switch" on me with this equipment. When we were having our house built, he suggested we should reinforce the floor joists upstairs in case we ever wanted to put a pool table up there. I thought that was a good idea. I like playing pool. In a separate conversation entirely, we discussed the benefits of getting this weight equipment that he could keep in the garage. I thought the garage was a fabulous idea and gave him two thumbs up. Well, that equipment never saw the garage. It went straight upstairs to the bonus room because --- you guessed it --- the floor is already reinforced anyway. So if you ever come to visit us, you can hop right our of our guest bed and get a work out in. This is what it looks like:
The other day Kevin, Fletcher and I were upstairs and Kevin says, "Let's see if mommy can do a pull up."

Mommy has the upper body strength of a gnat.

Fletcher joins in the excitement and says, "Yeah, mom, go ahead."

Kevin gets The Look from me, but is still laughing anyway.

I don't want my son to think I am a wimp so I get into position. But by this time I am laughing so hard I can't do anything.

Fletcher (ever the encourager) says, "Go ahead, mom. Pull yourself up. Pull. With your arms. On that bar. Try harder. Just pull. Up. You have to go up. It's a pull up."

In case you are wondering, no, I did not complete the pull up. I would not be a candidate for the Presidential Fitness Award.

Throwback Thursday

The date: probably sometime in 1972

The place: maybe Wisconsin

The mood: this was part of a family photo so I am sure there was a guy from Olan Mills with pork chop sideburns smelling like stale cigarette smoke saying "watch the birdie" trying to get Kevin to smile

Isn't he a cutie? He's probably 18 months old in this picture if I had to guess. LOVE the navy and white vest! But what happened to all that blonde hair?

Maybe I Should Have Gone to Seminary

Tuesday at lunch. Fletcher is at the snack bar eating his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Fletcher: Mom, I am not one of Abraham's sons.
Mom: Huh? (wondering who in the world he was talking about)
F: Abraham - I am not his son**
Mom: I'm not sure what we are talking about (I find myself saying this alot with Fletcher)
F: You know, that song about "Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had father Abraham. I am one of them. . ." He's not my father.

(Ahhh, yes. It finally all clicked for me. The song that goes on forever. Since I worked in the preschool area just this past Sunday at church, I am convinced that someone invented that Father Abraham song to give kids something to do in Sunday School when the pastor's sermon went long and the poor teachers were DONE. I mean, seriously, what does moving your right or left arm, or any body part for that matter, really teach you about Jesus?)

Mom: Well, technically the Bible says you are. We all are.

Parenting dilemma: Do I explain the covenant between God and Abraham in the Old Testament or maybe share that verse in Romans 4:16? I thought that a discussion of covenants and circumcision and being asked to sacrifice your son on a mountain might be a little much for a 4 year old to handle over peanut butter and jelly.

F: No, I'm not.
Mom: Um, it's time for me to feed Luke.

**Just a few days earlier, we had a conversation about adoption and what it means. He has always known he was adopted, but he is just now old enough to start putting the pieces together about birthmothers and birthfathers. We told him he could ask more questions if he had any so I thought his comment might be related to that.

For all the Little People

My parents kept some of my old toys from when I was a kid. Since I am the mom of boys, I realize that my boys (due to my husband's influence) will never get to play with my Donny and Marie Osmond dolls complete with matching purple outfits. And Donny's purple socks. Do you know I share a birthday with him? I thought that was pure awesomeness when I was younger. They also had holes in their hands so you could attach their microphones while they were singing, "I'm a Little Bit Country" and "I'm a Little Bit Rock and Roll". That, my friend, was good television. Fletcher and Luke won't get to play with my Charlie's Angels dolls either. They had matching jumpsuits, knee high boots and neck scarves. Jill, Sabrina, and Kelly - I wanted to be just like Jaclyn Smith. I did end up driving a Mustang similar to the one Kelly drove. That's another post for another day.

However, Fletcher has found the joy of playing with my Fisher Price Little People village. The barber shop, the dentist, the post office, the firestation, the jail, the movie theater, the walkover bridge with working stoplight and more. I remember playing with these for hours. I also had a camper, an airplane, and a hospital but they somehow were lost after Hurricane Rita. I've been tempted to buy them on ebay, but Kevin is thankful that I have resisted. Plus, it just wouldn't be the same knowing that they weren't really mine. Thanks to my sister, Fletcher also gets to play with the Little People barn, the preschool, the pool and the playground. He too spends hours playing with these in his room. I did have to explain to him what a phone booth was.

In case you missed it, please note that even after 35 years, I STILL have all 6 of the white plastic pieces of mail that the mailperson delivered to everyone in the village. Does anyone know how to spell anal retentive?

Luke - 11 months

• Favorite songs: If You're Happy and You Know It, Do You Know the Muffin Man?


• Favorite books: We're Going On a Bear Hunt, Baby Danced the Polka


• Favorite movies: just kidding


• Prefers walking to crawling


• Is very nosy - wants to be held so he can see what's going on


• Is starting to try table foods - like Goldfish, cheese, bread, etc.


• LOVES yogurt - cries when the carton is empty


• Screams at the top of his lungs if Fletcher is bothering him


• Tries to get into Sadie's food and water bowls. Every. Single. Day.


• Likes to help Dad get ready in the mornings


• Says Da-Da alot


• Only says Ma-ma if he is upset or hurt


• Says Na-na-na-na for No-no-no if things are not going his way (and let's face it in the mind of an 11 month old most things don't go his way)


• Likes to climb on things he is not supposed to like the chair in his room


• Likes to put on other people's shoes - if that doesn't work, he likes to eat them


• Likes to pick up toys (heavy ones) and drop them to hear them make a loud noise on the hardwood floors


• Likes dancing to fast music


• Loves riding in his stroller


• Makes the signs for "milk" and "more"


• Flirts with every female who comes within a 10 foot radius of him and it works every single time!

Weekend warriors

No postings this weekend. We have lots to do to get ready for the week ahead.
See you again on Monday!

Oh Lord It's (not hard) To Be Humble When You Live With A Four Year Old

I used to be a computer software trainer. When I was at the training for the trainers, one of the topics was proper classroom etiquette. All of our classrooms had dry erase white boards. The leaders reminded us that when we have our backs to the class we should erase the white board in an up and down motion instead of a side to side motion. I am not making this up. They were stating the obvious. Up and down motions produce less distracting bodily movement than side to side motions. Go ahead, stand up and try it - unless you are reading this at work.

Fast forward to breakfast Tuesday morning. Fletcher likes to sit at our snack bar to eat breakfast and he likes for Kevin to sit next to him and eat too. I am on the other side of the snack bar getting Luke's breakfast ready with my back to them. I was just mixing up Luke's baby cereal. Such a simple task. Just for the record, I was not mixing concrete.

Fletcher said, "Mom, your pants are jiggling."

I think Kevin might have snorted milk out of his nose.

Can cereal be stirred in an up and down motion?

Throwback Thursday

The date: the late 80's

The place: Pineville, Louisiana

The mood: you look at the pictures and you decideThis may come as a surprise to the masses, but I was in a band in college for almost 4 years. No autographs and no flash photography, please. We weren't just a singing group. We were a band with drums, bass guitar, keyboard, electric guitar and vocalists. We were cutting edge too because we sang some "praise choruses". Chris Tomlin was still in high school. David Crowder didn't even have facial hair much less a funky goatee. Our name - you might want to sit down for this one - Hosanna. Is that 80's enough for you. We sang at Sunday morning church services, youth retreats, Valentine's Day banquets, Friday night aftergame fellowships, Sunday night church services and anything else anyone would invite us to do. We travelled all over LA and TX in a van with no a/c that broke down ALOT. We didn't get paid. Imagine that. Churches gave us love offerings which were used to fund students going on summer mission trips from our college.

Five of my favorite things about Hosanna:

1. I loved the people in the group. It's a good thing because we spent almost every weekend together from Friday until Sunday night. Sometimes even later if the van broke down on the way home. Did I mention the van had no a/c? They were all as different as could be, but the unique personalities made every weekend unpredictable.

2. I loved the clothes. See the pictures. Really get a good look. We had outfits - either something denim and a solid color for casual concerts, black/white/red combos for more formal settings, and "modules" for other concerts. For those of you who did not grow up in the 80's, modules or units were cotton pieces of clothing in various solid colors that you could mix and match. The key was the stretchy belt that could be a solid, a pattern or even a print. If you were really trendy, you could put two belts together in a twisty sort of way and make knots, flowers, bows. The possibilities were endless! There was even a booklet to give you ideas of how to wear your modules. Guys did not wear modules; however they sometimes wore boleros instead of ties. Like I said. Cutting. Edge.

3. I loved the places we went and the people there. We saw places that I didn't even know existed. We got lost almost every weekend. Little bitty churches. Sometimes bigger churches. Always welcomed us with open arms. A town named Pumpkin Center where the water smelled like rotten eggs. Churches that fed us tuna sandwiches that had been sitting out all afternoon and resulted in a little thing we like to call food poisoning! The pastor who walked in on the girls changing clothes. Being stranded in Pearland, TX because of an ice storm. Breaking down on a military base and getting in trouble with the MP. People who sat through our LOUD music because they were thrilled to see college students doing something positive with their lives.

4. I loved the hair. From big hair perms on the girls to mullets on the guys. Really just study the pictures and take it all in. It just didn't get any better than hair in the 80's. I admit I own a Chi flat iron now, but I still long for the days of perms and mousse. Life was so much easier then. I'm just sayin'.

5. I love the memories I have from that time in my life. I could write a whole post about it, but only two or maybe three people who read this blog would understand it.

Big City Adventure

One of Fletcher's little friends in our neighborhood just turned 4 years old. Fletcher is not going to be here for Noah's party so we thought it might be fun for our families to do something together to celebrate Noah's birthday.

There's a train that goes all the way into the city for a very small cost. Kids ride free and at the last stop there's a really cool children's library (also free) with a Saturday morning story hour. The boys loved riding the train and looking out the window. They had fun at the library too - and only got in trouble once for running. Architects should not build libraries with long colorful ramps and then not expect children to want to run down them in my opinion. Luke and Ella had fun too. We finished the day at a downtown pizzeria. Fletcher wants to know when we are planning our next big adventure.

Happy Birthday, Noah!

P.S. Kevin was there - he was just taking all the pictures.

Wrestlemania

The WWF has nothing on these guys!


I love the fact that Luke already understands that playing with daddy is very different than playing with mommy. We grew up watching wrestling on Saturday mornings. We also tried to mimic their moves. It's a miracle that we didn't get hurt, but after all those pile drivers it may explain a few things. . . One of my favorite memories of my grandmother on my mom's side is that she LOVED to watch wrestling and swore up and down that it was all real.

Swimming Lessons

Fletcher has been taking one-on-one swimming lessons from one of the lifeguards at our neighborhood pool. He has been doing very well. I think he is much more confident in the water now that he has had lessons. We've waited to do lessons because we weren't sure he would be able to put it all together before now. He's learned to use his arms more to pull himself through the water while he kicks. He also learned some safety stuff like how to tread water and what to do if you accidentally fall in the pool. He's learned to "dive" for his diving sticks too. The lifeguard tried to teach him how to really dive and how to float on his back, but those didn't go too well. Maybe next summer!

We had a fun weekend -- stay tuned for a post about our big adventure into the city!

It's always better with books

Picture this: Fletcher is in the bathroom at TJ Maxx trying to take care of serious business with two other ladies in the stalls next to him. Mom and Luke are outside the stall waiting for him. Luke has discovered the acoustical qualities of the bathroom and is yelling at the top of his lungs. Fletcher has to talk over him to be heard:
"MOM, you know I do better when I p00p if I am at home with some books."

Muffled snickering from the other stalls.

Welcome to my life.

The painters were here all day on Thursday. Our walls look great, but the rest of the house looks like we just moved in. Again. All the furniture is pushed to the center of the room. There are no pictures on the walls. Decorative items are in bizarre places. Hopefully, we'll get our house back in order this weekend and post some pictures. It really is amazing what a little paint can do.

Throwback Thursday

The date: Sometime around 1956 or 1957

The place: Elton, Louisiana

The mood: Well, they look happy to me. I don't know if they were just dating in this pic or already married. I love my mom's dress and hat. They met at a rollerskating rink. I think my dad had just gotten out of the service. They were in their early 20's.

This picture is from their 50th Anniversary party we had for them last summer. I think dad was telling a joke. Their marriage has been a great example of love, faithfulness and commitment.

Good morning!

Luke always wakes up in a happy mood. He has the greatest hair of any baby ever! Kevin and I have decided that the wilder his hair is, the better he slept.

This is what he looked like Monday morning. We didn't add hairspray, gel, static or anything to get his hair to look like this. Move over Don King!

Did you really just say that?

I am usually never at a loss for words. I realize this comes as no big surprise to the majority of you. I can usually come up with something in most situations.
However, since I've become a mom the same scenario has played out more times than I can count.

It happened again last night at the grocery store.
We put the boys to bed and I went to the store alone. Luke's baby food supply was running low so I was stocking up on several containers of baby food.
The bag boy said, "You must have a baby at home waiting for you."
I replied, "Yes, I do and he eats alot."
Bag boy says in an uncomfortably loud voice, " WOW! You do not look like you have had a baby at all. You should write a book or something." (I am not making this up)

First, I am amazed at how often perfect strangers will make this comment. I got it alot right after both boys were born. At church, in the pediatrician's office, in the mall, in restaurants, you name it. Men and women. The way I was raised, you really just don't talk about a person's post pregnancy body size. Ever.

Second, I realize I am talking to a teenage boy and I used to teach teenage boys so I know there is no filter between his brain and his mouth so whatever he is thinking pretty much comes out. This will cause him much distress throughout his life until he gets married and his wife supplies the filter for him.

Third, I never know what to say in these situations. If I smile and say, "Thank you" then I am technically lying since I didn't physically give birth to either one of my children. And I think I could be setting up false expectations that everyone who had a baby will just pop right back into shape. Let me quickly add that it is not like I am in tip top shape at all. I just happen to be a little on the thin side because lugging around two boys who happen to be in the 95th percentile for height and weight is like doing a daily workout. It reminds me of those climber types who weigh down a backpack with rocks and carry it up a mountain just for fun. But I digress. I usually say something like, "That's because both of my boys are adopted so I didn't go through a pregnancy." Then the other person gets uncomfortable and starts apologizing and saying stuff like "oh, I didn't know". Adoption is nothing to apologize for, but I find myself telling them, "It is ok, I get that all the time. Adoption is a blessing." Then they start asking more questions (domestic or international, how long did you have to wait, blah, blah blah) and all I wanted to do was buy some milk and baby food at the grocery store for heaven's sake!

I predict that once Luke hits the one year mark all of these awkward exchanges will cease.

Christmas in July

I've been going back through some of the videos we have. This one is from Fletcher's Christmas program at his preschool.

Fletcher,
I hope you always have the courage to march to the beat of your own drum no matter what the world is doing around you.
Love,
Mom

For everything else there's Mastercard

Box 'o sparkly (legal in NC) fireworks: $20

Fire extinguisher twin pack: $ 32.95

Matches $ .29

Introducing your son to the world of pyrotechnics at an early age: priceless

For all the grandmothers and mothers that are reading please note the fatherly death grip in the upper left corner in case things go awry.

All went well until Fletcher stepped on the punk and burned the bottom of his foot. For those of you non-fireworks people, the punk is the stick that you use to light all your other fireworks.

The big bonus of the night: an upscale neighborhood near us had their own major show and we could see it from our driveway.

Happy Fourth of Strep Throat

The Plan
We were invited to spend the 4th at a lakehouse with some friends. Fletcher got to drive their boat last year and swim in the lake. They have never met Luke. They make homemade ice cream for the 4th of July. We were really looking forward to seeing them and hanging out.

The Reality
Thursday around lunchtime Fletcher starts complaining about his head hurting and suddenly he is burning up with a fever. It was like someone flipped a switch from Well to Sick. Thankfully, Fletcher just doesn't really get sick that often. To put it into perspective for you, he was 11 months old before he ever got sick (ear infection). We've been here for almost 2 years and I've never had to take him in other than annual checkups. I call the peditrician because I knew the office would be closed on Friday for the holiday and I didn't want to spend the evening at UrgentCare or the ER. We go in at 4 pm, they do a rapid culture and yes, he has strep throat. They do give him a popsicle since they have to swab his throat and make him gag. Poor thing. He can't be around anyone else until he has been on antibiotics for 24 hrs so no picnics or pool parties or lakehouses or homemade ice cream for us. But that's ok. I am still thankful for our freedom in this country!

Throwback Thursday

The date: July 4th weekend, 1997

The place: Atlanta, GA

The mood: all good - good friends, good food, good times

A group of us from Second Baptist in Houston went to Atlanta for the 4th of July weekend and stayed at Kevin's parents house. They were about to move to Florida so this was the last big gathering there. Kevin and several others from our group ran in the Peachtree Road Race which is a 10K race through Atlanta. There are thousands of runners and a guy from Kenya usually wins. I've never seen so many runners in all my life! We also went tubing down the Chatahoochee River. They call it "Shoot the Hooch." Kevin and I were dating at the time and were not yet engaged, but I was in love! Just look at how cute he is - how could I NOT be in love? This was such a fun weekend.

KG and MR

Fletcher saw these picture and asked, "Dad, did you win the race?"

It's just a job

Jobs I have had in my lifetime - starting with the oldest

1. Whopper flopper at Burger King - this was my first "real" job besides babysitting. I worked with two of my best friends.

2. I worked at a tv station. It was supposed to be like an internship for school, but I still got paid - $5/hr in 1986 was alot of money.

3. Itza Pizza restaurant worker in college. I even knew how to flip the dough in the air.

4. Runner for an attorney in college - I did absolute no legal work (that sounds weird). All I did was return his movies, get his drycleaning, pick up his grocery list from his wife, etc. It worked out well until he wanted to set me up on a date with his son who was ten years older than me and already married.

5. Math tutor in college

6. Day care worker during the summers and holidays in college. I changed my major after two summers of taking care of 1 year olds.

7. High school math teacher in both public and private schools in Texas

8. Temp clerical worker during the summers because I didn't make enough money as a teacher

9. Instructor and later Operations Manager at a computer software training company - lots of fun travel and great friends at this job

10. Part time financial assistant at a church

11. Ministry assistant at an on campus ministry - loved this job and the students

12. College and young singles director at a church - loved this one too and still miss it.

13. Stay at home mom - the most challenging job yet, but the hugs and kisses and smiles are awesome!

How about you? What jobs have you had? I need to get Kevin to make a list. He has had a variable plethora of working experiences in his lifetime.

Audrey

Update from Mike and Bonnie: The tumor was totally "encapsulated" and came out well without rupturing or breaking. It was pushing on the spleen and pancreas, but visually had not spread to or affected those organs. They took about 15 lymph nodes and one was swollen but no tumor was detected on it from initial analysis. We will have to wait possibly until next week for a full pathology report.

Audrey's surgery has been moved up today to 8:30 am central time/9:30 am eastern time. Please pray for her and her family and the doctors and pathologists who will be performing the surgery and examining the tumor.

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:11