A Lauren Story

Last night I stayed with Lauren while Jodi & Shaun went to a Christmas party. We had a great time together, and as usual, she was cracking me up. She said many funny things & did many cute things while we were together but this one tops them all!

As we were getting ready for her bath, she said she needed to go to the bathroom. She walked over to the toilet, lifted the lid, and just stood there. She then said, "Oops...I forgot I'm not a boy. If I was a boy, I could use my antenna & pee." I called her a silly goose & told her to just go to the bathroom. As she sat on the toilet, she called my name to get me to look at her (I was getting the bath water ready to go), and when I looked at her, she proceeded to motion (the correct motion - I might add) that if she had an antenna she could pee anywhere because pee comes out of the antenna.

At this point, I couldn't hold it in so I cracked up. Jodi, Shaun & I had a great laugh as I retold the story to them. They've never heard her use the word antenna before so they're not sure where she picked it up, but Jodi made sure to put it on paper to put in her book. :-)

I also showed her how to make a beard out of bubbles while she was taking her bath, and she thought it was pretty cool! :-)

Supper & A Funny Encounter

Today after school, Traci, Jeromy & I went to the funeral home for friends from church (their mother passed away). Prior to going, we had decided we would get supper together before Jeromy had to leave for work. We decided to go to Bob Evans.

Much to my surprise...part way through supper, Matt & his family walked in. It was a bit awkward at first because they were very close to us, but as time went on, it became very comical because Matt was hunkered down in his booth (which had him facing me) so I couldn't see him. As we left, we had to walk past them so I said goodbye to them. Traci laughed because he stared at me as I walked past, as I was checking out, and as we stood outside talking before going to our cars. Does he miss me? He should! I'm a good catch! :-) Do I miss him. Nope! Not now that I've gotten to see the different side of him.

God was definitely looking out for me in that situation - a prime example of God's ways being better than anything I could do on my own.

A Priceless Picture

While the picture of Abigail & grandma is precious, this picture of my aunt is priceless! She is always sharing "Jane" stories with us that make us laugh (there are far too many for me to share with you, but trust me...they exist). This picture was snapped by my brother-in-law & couldn't have been timed better. Jane...say cheese! :-)

Baby It's Cold Outside

Brrrr! I don't think I'm ready for this!

Grandma & Abigail

I thought this picture was precious, and it tells a good story. It seems as though Abigail and grandma have a special bond. No matter what kind of mood Abigail was in, she would always go to grandma, and if she was crying or upset, grandma was always able to comfort her & calm her.

Harrison's Birthday Party

My aunt called me prior to Thanksgiving to see if I'd like to help her throw a surprise birthday party for Harrison (his birthday is Dec. 5th so we don't get to celebrate with him since they are in North Carolina). I was so thankful she asked me to help, and Harrison was so surprised! :-) He loved it! Here are a few photos from the party.

Here's Abigail...all ready to party! :-)



Harrison's Birthday Cake (he loves the chocolate cookie cakes so Jane made him one)



There were party hats to add to the festivities. Here's Stacy (my cousin), Kevin (my uncle), and Miguel (a family friend) sporting theirs. Don't they look thrilled? :-)

The Week in Review

Here are the highlights from this past week. Enjoy! :-)

Monday...Lloyd Carr retired from Michigan. My how us OSU fans will miss him!

Tuesday...Finally got to see Harrison & Abigail (my nephew & niece - haven't seen them since July). Harrison just kept kissing me, hugging me, and telling me how much he loved & missed me. It was great to hear that, but it also broke my heart. I sure do miss him!

Wednesday...Helped grandma prepare for Thursday's big meal. Mom & dad also came up for Thanksgiving. They also brought Miguel & Norma (a couple from Charlotte - Miguel works with dad - who are from Puerto Rico so they didn't have family to spend the holiday with) to share Thanksgiving with our family. They about froze in Ohio! I think they had their coats on nearly 24/7! :-)

Thursday...3 celebrations! Celebration #1 - Thanksgiving (we had lunch - a feast of our favorite foods) Celebration #2 - Christmas (we had our exchange & opened gifts - something we started doing with dad's family after mom & dad moved down south) Celebration #3 - Harrison's Birthday (he's turning 7 on Dec. 5th so my aunt & I had a surprise party for him so we all could celebrate it with him)

Friday...Shopping!!! A tradition for my aunt, cousin & me...I spend the night at their house, and we get up at the crack of dawn (or earlier) to go shopping. This year the stores opened at 4 a.m. so we were on the road at 3:30 a.m.! We shopped from 4:00-9:30 a.m. After the shopping, mom & dad picked me up, and we went to visit friends we haven't seen in a while. I ended up spending the night with mom & dad in their hotel.

Saturday...Saw mom & dad off & then lounged in the hotel room until it was time to head to Lima for tomorrow's concert (we're singing at Lima First Church tomorrow morning - I'm excited because my aunt & her family are coming to hear us). After setting up the sound equipment, we had practice & then went to supper. Now we're hanging out in the hotel room & getting ready to go to bed.

Well...that's the highlights! Sorry it was so long, but there was a lot to say. I'll have to post some pictures when I get home (I haven't been there since Tuesday).

And the Winner Is...

WooHoo! We were victorious of those guys up north, and it was so sweet! The game wasn't near as close as most thought it would be (Michigan actually played really bad), but all that matters is that when things were said & done the final score was 14-3 in favor of my Buckeyes!

Here's a picture all of the Ohio State fans will enjoy. Someone sent it to me as a text message. I loved it! :-)

The Big Game

If you're asking me "What game?"...you should be knocked upside the head. :-) But in case you are that person, I'm referring to tomorrow's game between Ohio State & Michigan..."The Border Battle" as it's referred to up here.

Prior to this week, I've been thinking about my outfits and preparing for the week. My plan was to start out on the mild side and then progress as the week went by. Monday started with a gray velour jogging suit with a red tank underneath along with my buckeye necklace. On Tuesday, I wore dress pants with my scarlet & gray sweater vest along with my buckeye necklace & a couple of bracelets. Then it was time for Wednesday. :-)

Earlier this fall I made a purchase while shopping in Michigan that I've been saving for this week. It was a shirt that said:

APP-SOLUTE VICTORY
34-32
September 1, 2007 Ann Arbor, Michigan


I proudly wore the shirt which was a great day for Ohio State fans...the day Michigan got beat by a Division I-AA team (Appalachian State).

Well...I couldn't be outdone by Wednesday's shirt so I had something special made for Thursday. It was a gray shirt with red lettering that said:

I Love (actually it was a big red heart)
Appalachian State

Priceless! :-) I got a lot of compliments on this one!

Today...it was a pair of jeans that were cuffed to show off my Ohio State socks, my jersey, 3 necklaces, my ID lanyard (it's scarlet & gray beads with little football beads), my OSU earrings, and five bracelets. Think I got my point across?

In case you didn't know...I'm rooting for the Buckeyes!

Lauren's Picture

On Wednesday, I spent the evening with the Brossia clan (Jodi's family) celebrating Jon & Joe's birthdays. It was great to spend time with them, and Becky's supper was delicious.

After we were done eating, Jodi had to go to bell practice so I stayed & hung out with Lauren & Kennedy (Jon's daughter). Here's the picture Lauren drew for me. She held it up & announced proudly that it was her dog.

Our Last Weekend

A few years ago my church purchased 38.9 acres of land on the other side of town. Since then, we have been raising money for our new church. It was at a point where we needed to start building, but we didn't have enough money to do everything that needed to be done. But...we needed to start.

In the meantime, we've had our church for sale for quite a while, and nothing much had been happening there. But...in God's wisdom...He sent us a buyer (another church who was in need of a building). Now that we've sold our church we'll be able to complete our new building. It's all very exciting.

Now what? Good question! This is our last weekend in our present building so we're having a big celebration this weekend. Tonight we had a big concert with a time of reflection by the previous & current pastors. It's was similar to a Gaither Homecoming concert if you've ever seen one of them. Tomorrow there are several activities that will be taking place as well.

Starting next Sunday we'll be meeting at Starr Elementary (the school where I teach). The school district has been very helpful and are allowing us to use the facilities until our new building is finished. Pastor Mark told us tonight that the foundation is being poured so they've started the process. The last I heard they are saying it should take 8-9 months to complete (but you all know how building project go...we'll have to see what happens).

On a side note...at tonight's concert, several people approached me asking what church I've been attending or wondering where I have been. I relized that many people do not know that I'm touring with Katie (a little funny because we did our first "big" concert at our church, and we also did a big concert at Maumee Bay). I told a few people that they needed to start spreading the news (I almost called it a rumor, but it's the truth. What do you cal that? Hmmm).

Levy Update

Let me begin by saying that today ended on a much better note than it started on (and extremely better than I felt around 2 hrs. into the day).

I woke up this morning & came out to check the levy results. Unfortunately our levy did not pass. The good news is that it failed by less than 400 votes, but...it still failed. There had been talks last spring that there would be immediate cuts if the levy failed this fall so I was a little worried about what that meant to me. Although I was trying not to worry, it was very difficult. And then...a teacher (someone strongly associated with our union) came to me, patted me on the back, and apologized. That immediately had me worried! What did she know that I didn't? My stomach was upset the rest of the day.

Then...we got an e-mail after school was out from our superintendent. He said that due to the cuts that happened this summer we will be okay through the end of the year. That was extremely good news and let me take a deep breath! The levy will go back on the ballot (but it will be higher this time) in March. If it doesn't pass in March, cuts will be made for the coming year.

So...I'm safe for now! :-)

Working the Corner...In a Good Way! :-)

On Monday night, the gym teacher (Kris) and I stood on the street corner down from our school holding a levy sign. Our district has a levy on the ballot, and we really need it to pass! So...we all pitched in to do whatever we could to try & help. This isn't the best picture, but keep in mind that it was absolutely freezing (after 100 mins. - our shift - I could no longer feel my hands), it was extremely windy (we were afraid it would rip the sign out of our hands at some points), and it was raining! My...I must really want to save my job! :-)

Patty & Mark's Wedding

This past weekend I was in a wedding (I mentioned it in the last post). Here's a picture of the bride to be (Patty) sporting her sash. She was so proud! Can you tell?

So Many Things Going on in My Head...

It's getting late, and I really need to go to bed. But...I keep thinking of something else I need to do. As I was finally heading to bed, I decided I should make a post because I won't be able to post again until after this weekend. So...here's what I'm thinking about right now:

1) I'm looking forward to the weekend because I'll be hanging out in Sidney. My friend, Patty, is getting married on Saturday, and I am in the wedding. It'll be a busy weekend, but it'll be great to see everyone, and I'm very happy for Patty. I'll try to post some pictures when I return.

2) I realized after Steve & Tricia's comment on my last post that I haven't told you about my summer plans! Tim has asked if I'd be interested in doing some concerts in Oregon (the state...not the city where I live). :-) They have a wedding to attend (Katie's actually in the wedding) there so he's in the process of booking one or two concerts. So...I'll get to go to one of the states I've never been to (one of my goals is to see all 50 states). It'll also be nice to see Steve & Tricia! They used to attend our church (Steve was on the pastoral staff) but now live in Oregon. I'm really looking forward to this trip!

3) We had another exciting bit of news where the concerts are concerned. The church in Tipp City (where we sang this past weekend) e-mailed Tim to see if we'd come again in October 2009! Can you believe it? :-) This has been such a fun experience, and I can't begin to imagine where it could lead. Each adventure is new & fun for me!

Well...I really do need to get to bed. I'll post the beginning of next week some time. Hope you all have a great weekend!